On the basketball court.
With an explosive leap, a handsome young man launched a three-pointer. A gust of wind flipped up the hem of his jersey, revealing chiseled abs where sweat trickled down and disappeared into the waistband of his black shorts.
As he landed neatly on his feet, the ball swished through the net and hit the ground with a heavy THUD.
The referee’s whistle blew.
Long Yu’s team had won!
"AHHHH! He’s so hot!"
"Young Master Long! Young Master Long!"
"AHHH, Young Master Long won!"
...
The girls all rushed over excitedly, a huge crowd of them trying to give Long Yu water.
"Here, bro." A young man next to him wiped his own sweat with a towel before grabbing a fresh one and handing it to Long Yu.
Long Yu caught the towel and began wiping away his sweat, but his eyes darted toward Jiang You.
Jiang You was hurrying over, clutching a chilled peach soda.
A flicker of light crossed Long Yu’s eyes. He didn’t accept the water offered by the surrounding girls, seeming to be waiting for something.
When Long Yu didn’t take the water from the other girls, they dejectedly dispersed.
Jiang You hadn’t expected so many people to be offering Long Yu water.
She glanced at the female lead and saw her holding several bottles, handing them out to each of the players.
A moment later, the female lead reached the male lead and offered him a bottle of water.
Timing her approach with the female lead, Jiang You also hurried in front of Long Yu. She seemed to burst into his vision, her face so exquisitely beautiful it was blinding. Long Yu’s golden eyes narrowed, and his heart began to race.
This sudden visual assault of her beauty made his head spin even more.
Unaware of his reaction, Jiang You had approached at the same time as the female lead. She held out the peach soda, her tone arrogant and patronizing. "Hey. A reward for you."
Zhou Yan froze for a second and glanced at Jiang You. She was also holding out a bottle of mineral water for Long Yu.
’I made it in time!’ Jiang You thought.
Next, the male lead would accept the female lead’s water and reject hers, making her resent the heroine all the more.
[Mission Eight complete.]
Jiang You waited for the male lead to take the female lead’s water.
But to her surprise, Long Yu gave her a deep look and decisively reached out, grabbing the peach soda she was offering.
Jiang You froze. She hadn’t actually intended to give it to him, so she was gripping the soda bottle tightly. For a moment, Long Yu couldn’t pull it free.
Long Yu narrowed his eyes. His long fingers, slightly red, were wrapped around the bottle. The skin over his knuckles was particularly flushed, likely from the force of playing basketball.
When he couldn’t tug the bottle free, he tilted his head and said, "Thanks?"
His words seemed to snap Jiang You out of her daze. She quickly let go, allowing Long Yu to take the peach soda.
Long Yu twisted off the cap and tilted his head back to drink.
The young man’s long neck was flushed and beaded with sweat from the game. As he tilted his head back, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow. The sheen of sweat on his reddened skin gave him a raw, magnetic appeal.
Witnessing this, Jiang You’s eyelashes fluttered, and her heart skipped a beat.
Seeing that Long Yu already had a drink, Zhou Yan simply turned and handed her bottle to another boy nearby, as if she were just a calm and collected water girl.
Jiang You’s mind was in utter chaos.
’It’s over. The male and female leads are both going off-script.’
’They’re not following the plot, but I, the villainess, still have to!’
"Watch out! Get out of the way!" a startled voice cried out.
Jiang You instinctively looked over and saw a basketball flying straight toward her.
’My mind went blank!’
’Wait, why is the ball coming at me? It’s supposed to hit the female lead!’
’Next, the male lead is supposed to coolly block the ball for her, right?’
A gust of wind swept past.
A figure suddenly flashed to her side, shielding her. The basketball slammed squarely into his back with a loud THUD.
The ball dropped to the ground, bouncing with a series of THUMPS.
Beneath his slightly long hair, Zhou Yu’s exquisitely shaped eyes were half-lidded. His gaze was dark and chillingly cold, as if she were being stared at from the depths of an abyss.
Jiang You’s pink eyes constricted.
Even after taking the full force of the basketball to his back, Zhou Yu only swayed slightly, his dark gaze never leaving her.
Long Yu had been about to reach out and block the ball, but he never expected someone to rush over and shield her with their own body.
He glanced sideways at the person, only to see that their eyes were fixed entirely on the girl beside him.
Long Yu couldn’t help but frown.
’So others were already coveting the girl he had his eye on.’
"Xiao Yu, are you okay?" Zhou Yan’s anxious voice cut in.
The strange atmosphere was broken.
Zhou Yu lowered his chilling gaze and looked away. Without a word of greeting to Jiang You, he turned to leave. "I’m fine."
Zhou Yan hurried after him. "Let’s go to the school infirmary and get it checked out."
The boy who had accidentally thrown the ball while fooling around picked it up and followed them. "Yeah, man, if you’re hurt, I’ll pay for your medical expenses..."
But Zhou Yu didn’t go to the infirmary. Instead, he went back to cleaning up the court.
Zhou Yan stayed to help him clean, and the other boy pitched in as well.
They wouldn’t get course credit if they didn’t finish their required hours.
Jiang You pulled her gaze away, her heart still pounding.
Her thoughts were a complete mess.
’What was that all about? Zhou Yu actually blocked a basketball for me.’
"You know him?" Long Yu pressed the half-empty bottle of peach soda against her cheek.
The cold, condensation-beaded bottle against her skin made Jiang You jolt back to her senses.
She looked at Long Yu, her lips moving before she finally said with disdain, "I know him. He’s just a plaything."
’According to my persona, that should be the right thing to say.’
Long Yu’s intuition told him it wasn’t that simple, but he decided not to press her about the guy.
"Weren’t you the one who refused to give me your contact information the other day?" Long Yu’s gaze deepened as he stared at her cheek, which had flushed red from the cold bottle. He slowly moved the soda to his other hand and reached out to wipe the condensation from her face. "So what does it mean, you bringing me a drink today?"
Jiang You felt his slightly rough fingers brush against her cheek, and it stung a little.
Long Yu had been thrown into military training before, so his fingers weren’t smooth but rather calloused.
Jiang You was a complete mess inside.
’According to the plot, the male lead was supposed to take someone else’s water, and I was supposed to storm off in a humiliated rage!’
Jiang You could only improvise based on her persona. She lifted her chin arrogantly. "Hmph. You’re the Crown Prince. That means you’re worthy of my attention now."
’That’s right. I’m only changing my attitude because of his status.’
’I’m only interested in his title as Crown Prince. I’m a shallow, brainless, social-climbing woman with zero substance.’
’The male lead likes women with substance, definitely not an empty-headed beauty like me!’