The gasps made Liu Duanhe instinctively look up, and driven by an inexplicable feeling, he reflexively shifted his body to the left.
The whoosh of the basketball stirred Liu Duanhe’s hair even as he stood still, and behind him came a chorus of screams.
“Bang!” The rapidly spinning ball slammed into the seats in the same row, making them seem to tremble. The gymnasium erupted in screams, and even the players on the court froze mid-motion, startled by the sudden turn of events. Amid the referee’s instinctive warning whistle, Feng Xingyun rushed into the stands in three quick strides.
Liu Duanhe’s heart was still pounding wildly. He had just sat up and hadn’t yet looked to see where the ball had landed when a dry, scorching breath suddenly surged in front of him.
Feng Xingyun had hurried over, his expression unable to hide a sudden, flustered panic. His breath was searing hot, and his hands gripped Liu Duanhe’s shoulders like iron clamps. “Are you okay?”
Feng Xingyun shot a glance at the crowd behind him, his gaze cold and fierce. The one who had thrown the ball was a guy from the neighboring department who had never gotten along with Feng Xingyun, always resorting to cheap tricks during games.
Just now, he had deliberately bumped into Feng Xingyun, but unexpectedly, when passing the ball, he had put too much force into it and sent it flying straight into the stands.
Liu Duanhe followed his gaze. Fortunately, he had dodged quickly. He had already been hospitalized once before due to a head injury, and if he had been hit again, the consequences would have been hard to predict.
At that thought, Liu Duanhe’s expression darkened. If it had been a genuine accident, that would be one thing, he wasn’t an unreasonable person. But if it was deliberate malice, he would make sure the culprit knew he wasn’t someone to mess with.
The man, having been glanced at by Feng Xingyun, also felt a flicker of panic. If Feng Xingyun called him out on the spot… Liu Duanhe had a formidable background, and Wu Ke didn’t believe rich people had particularly kind hearts. What if Liu Duanhe held a grudge and made things difficult for him?
Wu Ke’s instinct for bullying the weak and fearing the strong made him keenly aware of how far he could push his antics. His previous little tricks, for instance, Feng Xingyun had simply been too lazy to bother with.
But now it was different. Feng Xingyun seemed to have a pretty good relationship with Liu Duanhe, and that deadpan face of his could actually show other expressions. When the ball had flown toward Liu Duanhe, Wu Ke had even seen fear and panic on Feng Xingyun’s face, beyond his usual disdain and mockery.
Wu Ke’s heart felt like it had sunk into an icy lake, his limbs stiff and numb, too frozen to move.
The most terrifying state was the unknown wait for the outcome. But this time it really had been an accident. Wu Ke wished he could go back five minutes and never throw that basketball!
Liu Duanhe was helped up by Feng Xingyun, who supported him by the arm. The sudden incident still had its effects, his head was throbbing with heat, dizziness overwhelming him, the lingering effects of his concussion flaring up.
Once he took in the situation, his pounding heart gradually steadied. A basketball, while capable of injuring someone, was at least not a sharp object.
He had faced no shortage of dangers growing up, attempted kidnappings, human traffickers, scam artists faking accidents, and people with extreme personalities who tried to run him over. The worst injury he’d ever sustained was still the fall in the bathroom half a month ago. As long as he hadn’t run into another lunatic, he’d be fine.
Liu Duanhe turned his head to glance at Feng Xingyun, who was supporting him. The crowd gathering around brought a wave of warmth in the late autumn, but what was even hotter was the rough, calloused grip of Feng Xingyun’s hands on his shoulder and arm.
The basketball had rolled on the ground, covered in who knew how much dust and bacteria, yet Liu Duanhe didn’t think about any of the things he usually cared about at that moment.
He leaned slightly against Feng Xingyun’s shoulder. His slightly longer hair was soft and fine, and because of Feng Xingyun’s movements, it lightly brushed against his neck and collarbone, his prominent Adam’s apple shifting from the ticklish sensation.
Liu Duanhe, meanwhile, was still pondering the change in Feng Xingyun’s expression from moments ago.
Although Feng Xingyun was his boyfriend, the slightly ugly, panicked look on his face when he’d rushed to help him up still caught Liu Duanhe off guard.
Overall, it didn’t feel bad, after all, who would mind having one more person care about them?
Feng Xingyun was still half-crouched, one knee nearly touching the ground, gripping his shoulder as if trying to see through his clothes whether he was injured underneath.
After a moment of hesitation, Liu Duanhe didn’t pull away Feng Xingyun’s tanned hand. Instead, he placed his own hand over it and gave it a light pat. “I’m fine. The ball grazed past me.”
At such close range, the vibrant vitality radiating from Feng Xingyun was unmistakable. His thin tank top couldn’t contain his radiating body heat, like a furnace, a volcano beneath a glacier, the contrast striking.
Feng Xingyun was startled by the smooth, warm touch of the hand on his, only then realizing how intimate his posture was with Liu Duanhe. Around them, a circle of people was staring at them with burning curiosity, faces brimming with excited gossip.
His arm stiffened for a moment, then he slowly lowered it to his side. Liu Duanhe keenly noticed Feng Xingyun’s discomfort and, without further hesitation, pushed him away and sat up, repeating himself. “I’m fine. I dodged in time. I didn’t get hit.”
Feng Xingyun nodded. “That’s good.”
He turned his head and said coldly, “Wu Ke, you almost hit someone, don’t you know to come out and apologize?”
The culprit found it hard to slip away. Thousands of eyes were watching what happened below, and most could clearly see the actions on the court, not to mention his teammates who had a perfect view from the field.
They were all college students; most hadn’t yet developed thick skins, and their sense of right and wrong leaned toward black-and-white thinking. The people standing next to Wu Ke, afraid of being mistaken for the ones who threw the ball, immediately stepped aside and even shoved him forward, urging, “Go apologize.”
Under the pushing and shoving of his teammates, Wu Ke finally came over. Being called out not only shattered his hope of getting away with it but also lessened some of his original fear.
He walked forward trembling, nearly collapsing to the ground with each step.
Once Liu Duanhe’s gentle expression faded, the coldness in his handsome features began to show. When anything goes to an extreme, people tend to keep their distance.
When Liu Duanhe’s face was expressionless, his beauty was amplified to the point of being almost eerie. If he always maintained this attitude toward others, no one would dare stop him to confess their admiration.
Wu Ke certainly didn’t feel that way now. The students around who were taking photos of the handsome guy had no leisure for that, their pupils trembled, their backs felt weak, and Wu Ke forced a smile onto his face. “Sorry about that, Classmate Liu. I almost accidentally hit you.”
After getting closer, Wu Ke’s first thought was that Liu Duanhe was really tall, almost the same height as him, a national second-level basketball athlete. But he’d heard Liu Duanhe was a swimmer, so being tall made sense.
Under everyone’s gaze, he also felt intense humiliation. After saying those words, he lowered his head, his face and ears turning red.
White teeth showed in a faint, ambiguous smile as Liu Duanhe looked up at him. In just a moment, he had roughly figured out Wu Ke’s character.
Shallow and ignorant, yet unaware of his own stupidity, showing off his self-righteousness, a mediocre man with schemes, the classic image of a useless teammate.
Even while sitting and looking up at Wu Ke, Liu Duanhe’s aura became even more refined and noble without a smile. He showed no trace of the unease that came with being looked down upon, and calmly repeated, “Accidentally?”
His friend from the same department saw Wu Ke stammering and unable to apologize properly, his face red as if embarrassed. He elbowed Wu Ke hard in the lower back and, gritting his teeth, hissed a warning through clenched teeth, “Say it now.”
Wu Ke’s face flushed even redder. He said cautiously, “I’m sorry. I accidentally threw that ball just now, I didn’t think it would almost hit you.” He squeezed out a somewhat ingratiating smile.
Feng Xingyun let out a cold snort. Wu Ke pretended not to hear it.
After seeing through him, Liu Duanhe grew increasingly impatient with his performance and the silent drama playing out in his eyes. He suppressed it and curled his lips into a smile, as if the earlier unpleasantness had never happened, making his previous silence seem like an illusion.
“Alright, even though I wasn’t hurt.”
“But next time you play, you should remember this incident and not do it again.”
Wu Ke nodded repeatedly, hoping Liu Duanhe would let him off the hook.
Feng Xingyun had long grown tired of his disgusting, fawning demeanor. He walked over to Liu Duanhe, wiping the dust from his hands with a tissue, and said to the captain of their department’s basketball team, “Our department will never schedule another match with yours. You don’t need to worry about next time.”
Then he let out a cold laugh and glanced at Wu Ke. “Especially certain individuals, don’t even think about it.”