Basketball court.
The summer evening breeze drifted gently by, the sunset glow dyeing the clouds red at the horizon, yet the basketball court was blazing with heat and energy.
Quite a few passersby paused to watch the most eye-catching figure on the court.
The man wore a simple white T-shirt and black athletic shorts, the loose strands of hair on his forehead damp with sweat, a few wisps sticking to his full temples.
His figure was tall and agile, his arm lines smooth and firm, his wrist turning lightly as he dribbled.
When a defender stepped up to block him, he sidestepped nimbly, his fingertips controlling the ball steadily. Bending his knees to lower his center of gravity, he suddenly accelerated and broke through.
With a light press of his wrist, the basketball traced a clean, crisp arc through the air, swishing through the net without touching the rim, striking the hoop with a clear ring.
“Nice shot!”
Scattered gasps of admiration rose from the sidelines, while his teammates bumped fists to celebrate the win.
Cao Xuyang: “Nice one, kid. Haven’t seen you in all these years, and your skills haven’t rusted a bit.”
He thumped Lu Yanshuo, who had just stolen the show, hard on the shoulder.
Before Lu Yanshuo could even respond to Cao Xuyang’s teasing, two girls walked straight toward the court.
One of them had a high ponytail, exposing a smooth forehead, with elegant features that were very pleasant to look at.
The other, who seemed to have come along with the ponytail girl, had short hair and was a bit shorter, her looks nothing remarkable.
“Handsome, we’ve been watching you play for a while. Can we add you on WeChat?” The short-haired girl held the ponytail girl’s arm with one hand and waved her phone with the other.
Cao Xuyang shot a teasing look at Lu Yanshuo beside him, then glanced at the ponytail girl.
Inwardly, he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Girl, you’ve really picked a tough one.
“Sorry, I’m not in the habit of adding strangers.”
The man’s tone was distant. He only gave the two of them a brief glance before his gaze shifted to the vending machine not far behind them.
The rejected short-haired girl clearly hadn’t expected him to be so blunt, and she looked somewhat embarrassed.
The ponytail girl beside her gently tugged at her sleeve and whispered in her ear, “Forget it, let’s just go.”
The basketball court was mostly full of guys. Besides Lu Yanshuo’s group, who had just finished playing, quite a few others were on their halftime break.
At this moment, they were all more or less deliberately or otherwise directing their gazes this way.
But the short-haired girl, having been publicly turned down, was clearly unwilling to give up, so she patiently asked again, “Handsome, do you already have a girlfriend?”
Lu Yanshuo was drenched in sweat at this point and only wanted to rehydrate quickly. Hearing the girl ask again, he frowned slightly, clearly annoyed.
Cao Xuyang, true to his role as Lu Yanshuo’s best friend, precisely read his mood and quickly smoothed things over. “Ahaha, my buddy here just isn’t used to adding strangers.”
“Miss, there are still plenty of single guys who were playing with us just now. Want to take a look at them?”
As he finished speaking, he winked and waved toward the group sitting over there.
The moment the two girls turned around, they met a sea of eyes. Those guys looked utterly ordinary, and now with their shirts soaked in sweat, they seemed even more disheveled.
The two girls lost all interest at once, hurriedly apologized, and left.
Watching the two figures flee in defeat, Cao Xuyang shook his head and slung an arm around Lu Yanshuo’s shoulder. “You really are cold-hearted and unsociable. That poor girl’s heart is probably shattered.”
Lu Yanshuo ignored him, swatted his paw away, and walked straight toward the vending machine.
Cao Xuyang hurried after him, muttering, “You’re not getting any younger, you know. You really have no interest in dating?”
When Lu Yanshuo reached the vending machine, he realized that because of the earlier interruption, he’d even forgotten to grab his phone.
So he turned to Cao Xuyang behind him and said tersely, “Phone.”
“Fine, fine. You’re really my lord and master.”
Cao Xuyang was just about to turn around when his pupils contracted slightly, and he forcibly stopped the step he was about to take.
What—what—what was he seeing?
Talk about a face-slap coming way too fast.
A girl in light blue overalls, her hair tied up in a bun, had somehow appeared beside Lu Yanshuo.
She was holding a bottle of ice-cold mineral water, offering it to the expressionless man.
From Cao Xuyang’s angle, he could only see the girl’s profile.
It was slightly round, with a bit of baby fat, looking youthful and unpolished.
Cao Xuyang couldn’t help comparing her to the two girls who’d just been rejected.
In his heart, he gave her a big thumbs-up. Girl, you’ve got some nerve!
Just as Cao Xuyang expected her to be mercilessly rejected by Lu Yanshuo, he saw the handsome man in the white shirt and black pants take the bottle of water without a moment’s hesitation!
Cao Xuyang’s first thought was: He’s finally come to his senses?
His second thought was: So he’s into cradle-robbing!
“Shuo-ge, you just finished exercising. You can’t gulp water down—you have to drink it in small sips.”
Shi Yin tilted her head up, her clear black-and-white eyes fixed on the neighbor’s older brother she hadn’t seen in ages, showing none of the shyness one might expect upon seeing a handsome guy.
“Put away that look like you’re enjoying a show. It just makes you look like an idiot.” Lu Yanshuo didn’t rush to twist open the cap; instead, he shot a look of disdain at Cao Xuyang, who wasn’t far from the two of them.
Shi Yin turned her head at that moment, and her gaze met Cao Xuyang’s exactly.
He had dyed yellow hair, and his overly shocked expression made him look a bit silly. Not especially handsome, but not ugly either—though standing next to Lu Yanshuo, he was instantly reduced to a background extra.
Needless to say, at the basketball court today, Lu Yanshuo was, without exception, the target that could be locked onto at a single glance.
Because Shi Yin had turned her head, Cao Xuyang naturally looked at her as well.
His first impression was one of disappointment.
Shi Yin was indeed rather plain.
Especially compared to the high ponytail girl from just now.
But her skin was very fair—standing next to Lu Yanshuo, she didn’t lose out to him at all.
You have to understand, back in their school days, Lu Yanshuo had been envied by plenty of girls in class—a guy who was not only handsome but also had such great skin.
Especially during the ravages of adolescence, when everyone looked like they’d had their essence drained by a demon—sallow skin and dark under-eye circles.
And in those circumstances, Lu Yanshuo stood out like a crane among chickens in their class.
Cao Xuyang’s thoughts churned, but none of it showed on his face. Thanks to Lu Yanshuo’s reminder, he finally realized he must have misunderstood.
“And this young lady is?” He walked up to the two of them in a few quick strides, his gaze roaming over Shi Yin.
Hmm, she looks so young. She’s probably still in high school.
He repented for one second over the dirty thought he’d just had.
Shi Yin then handed over another unopened bottle of mineral water, introducing herself with a smile: “I’m Shi Yin. You’re a friend of Brother Xiaoshuo’s, right?”
Hearing how Shi Yin addressed Lu Yanshuo, Cao Xuyang became even more certain in his heart—just as he’d suspected.
He accepted the bottle without ceremony, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and then spoke up: “Little sister, did you come to call him home for dinner?”
Shi Yin had deliberately not clarified that she was merely Lu Yanshuo’s neighbor, precisely to close the distance with Cao Xuyang first.
Because she knew Lu Yanshuo wouldn’t bother explaining much about such things.
So now she chatted naturally with Cao Xuyang, leaving the two men’s main subject standing off to the side.
Lu Yanshuo looked at the girl before him, and memories from childhood gradually came flooding back.
She’d grown up—and gotten a bit bolder, too.