Chapter 6

To avoid the problem of not being able to distinguish friend from foe because they couldn’t tell Chen Gu and Chen Yishen apart, the two were automatically bound to the same team.

Jiang Mian wasn’t close with the others, only knew their names, so naturally, he was also on the same team as Chen Gu and Chen Yishen.

The remaining people were divided up by rock-paper-scissors.

As the captain of their team, Chen Yishen went to pick players, leaving Jiang Mian and Chen Gu standing next to the rest bench.

Jiang Mian kept his eyes lowered and silent, trying hard to minimize his presence. But Chen Gu insisted on looking at him. “Jiang Mian.”

The person whose name was called clearly paused, seemingly going through a brief internal struggle that ultimately lost to good upbringing, and looked up at Chen Gu. “Mm.”

Chen Gu curved his eyes slightly. “You don’t wear Wrist Guards?”

Jiang Mian deliberated for a good while. “No.”

He didn’t want to pique Chen Gu’s interest, but after observing several times, he still hadn’t figured out what Chen Gu’s trigger was.

For instance, now, Chen Gu continued, “You didn’t bring one? I can lend you one.”

Before Jiang Mian could get the “No” out, Chen Gu tilted his head and added, “It’s new.”

Jiang Mian, who was indeed quite afraid of injuring his wrist, fell silent for a moment. Resigned to his fate, he reached out his hand. “Thanks.”

Chen Gu’s lips curved. From his bag, he took out an unopened blue-and-white Wrist Guard and gave one to Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian said thanks again, then lowered his eyes and put it on his right wrist.

He noticed that Chen Gu wore his on his left.

Was Chen Gu left-handed?

But during the Puzzle and signing the Contract, he’d used his right hand.

The two didn’t speak further. Maybe sensing Jiang Mian wanted to keep his distance, Chen Gu didn’t approach him again.

This let Jiang Mian breathe a sigh of relief.

Over there, Chen Yishen had finished dividing teams amidst jokes and laughter. Song Wen was on their team, along with another classmate of Jiang Mian’s, though they’d barely exchanged a few words.

They weren’t playing a professional game, so there were no designated positions. Rock-paper-scissors decided who started.

Chen Yishen had good luck; they attacked first.

Just before the game started, Chen Yishen said to Chen Gu, “Bro, keep an extra eye on Jiang Mian. He’s not really athletic.”

Jiang Mian admitted he wasn’t, but why did Chen Gu have to look after him?

Chen Gu, prompted by his little brother, looked at Jiang Mian, who was once again emitting faint, silent resentment without saying a word. Chen Gu couldn’t help but smile. “Okay.”

Time was short, so there wasn’t much more chatter.

They warmed up and started immediately.

Jiang Mian’s basketball skills were genuinely average, ranking among the lowest here, so the opposing team didn’t bother much with guarding him.

What was surprising was that Chen Gu’s athletic ability was even better than Chen Yishen’s.

Initially, Chen Yishen did open up the game, scoring two baskets first and deeply frustrating the other side.

But on the third possession change, the ball was passed to Jiang Mian. He’d barely touched it before it was intercepted, instantly switching them from offense to defense. Then Chen Gu saved the play.

Not only did he save it, but he also sank a three-pointer off a step-back from beyond the arc—a perfect swish.

The dull thud of the bouncing ball grew quieter. Jiang Mian, running behind, gradually slowed down, eventually stopping about five steps behind Chen Gu.

He watched the beautiful lines of Chen Gu’s tensed arm. Realizing Chen Gu was about to look at him, he quickly averted his gaze, just in time to hear Song Wen and the others exclaim in admiration.

As the others passed him, crowding around to fawn over Chen Gu, Jiang Mian stared at the shadows on the ground, waiting two seconds before looking up.

But even so, he still met Chen Gu’s eyes.

Even though quite a few people stood in front of Chen Gu, Jiang Mian knew he was looking at him.

Especially when Chen Gu slightly tilted his head toward him and winked lightly, looking somewhat sly.

Jiang Mian looked away and went to retrieve the ball that had rolled out of bounds.

Chen Gu’s basketball skills were genuinely beyond everyone’s expectations.

And his style was clearly streetball—the kind ordinary people simply didn’t know how to defend against.

The opposing team had barely touched the ball at all. Jiang Mian just followed the shifts between offense and defense, constantly running.

His stamina wasn’t as good as theirs, so he was naturally the first to call a stop.

Panting heavily, his stamina completely drained, all thoughts of keeping distance were long gone. When Chen Gu handed him a sports drink, he just took it and drank several gulps.

He even choked a bit.

“Cough, cough…”

“Easy.” Chen Gu raised his hand, remembered something, and lowered his lashes to conceal the glacial coldness that flashed through his eyes. His tone remained as usual, carrying a hint of lazy smile. “Why didn’t you say something earlier if you were this tired?”

Jiang Mian subconsciously wiped the sweat about to drip down with the Wrist Guard and glanced at Chen Gu, whose expression was normal, not even breathing hard. For a moment, he couldn’t respond.

After he caught his breath a bit, he finally said, “You were playing too fast.”

He hadn’t even had a chance to get a word in.

Chen Gu had never expected that reason.

He looked at Jiang Mian sitting on the bench, leaning on his knees, holding the bottle, and gained a new insight about him.

Not just looked thin and weak—he genuinely was thin and weak.

Because Jiang Mian still hadn’t recovered.

“Sorry.”

Chen Gu pulled a clean towel from his bag and offered it to him. “Next time, just tug my shirt and tell me.”

Jiang Mian’s brain had mostly clocked out from exhaustion, but he still remembered who this person was, so he didn’t take the towel. “There won’t be a next time.”

He murmured, “Let PE just fail me if it wants to.”

Chen Gu smiled.

From the court, Chen Yishen, playing around shooting hoops with the others, looked over. “Bro, you still playing?”

Chen Gu didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at the crown of Jiang Mian’s head. “Are you going to play more?”

Jiang Mian glanced at the watch set to the side.

It was nearly nine o’clock. They’d been playing for over twenty minutes, roughly two quarters of game time.

Plus, he had work in the morning.

That was about enough.

So Jiang Mian shook his head. “I’m leaving.”

Chen Gu nodded. “Let’s go then. Where do you live?”

Feeling something was off about those words, Jiang Mian paused. He looked up, a bit bewildered, at Chen Gu.

He saw Chen Gu smiling, eyes full of mirth. “Let’s leave together.”

He said softly, “I only know you and Chen Yishen here, and you know how Chen Yishen gets once he’s playing. I’m not close with the others, it’s a bit awkward. So I’ll head out with you.”

The logic was sound. If Jiang Mian said they weren’t close either, he estimated Chen Gu would respond with “then this is a good chance to get to know each other.”

So Jiang Mian held it in for a bit, then could only nod. But the agreement only extended to leaving the Gymnasium together. “It’s fine, no need to see me home.”

Chen Gu mimicked his tone. “It’s fine, I have a Car.”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He admitted he was shamefully tempted.

Because rush hour was already over by now. Driving would be faster and more comfortable than switching buses and subways.

Besides, he really was a bit weak.

Today’s amount of exercise exceeded his entire month’s worth combined.

And before, when he’d pushed Chen Gu away so much, instead of distancing him further, it had clearly sparked even greater interest in Chen Gu.

Maybe he could try that method he’d searched online?

For people with personalities like Chen Gu, going along with them might actually make them lose interest.

But Jiang Mian found that a bit hard to do. Mainly, his radar reacted too strongly to Chen Gu. So he attempted one final struggle. “I still need to get my stuff from the locker room.”

In his locker, besides his suit and laptop, there was also Chen Gu’s pink bunny Hair Tie.

This struggle, however, was clearly equivalent to agreeing to leave together in Chen Gu’s eyes. “I’ll go with you.”

He paused, scanning Jiang Mian’s legs. “Need a hand?”

Jiang Mian: “?”

His confusion was genuine. “I’m not that far gone.”

Just a bit tired from running.

Chen Gu nodded to show he understood.

So Jiang Mian and Chen Gu left the basketball court together. Chen Gu was the one who said goodbye to the others.

Because Jiang Mian didn’t look like he could manage a loud voice.

On the way to the locker room, Jiang Mian belatedly realized that Chen Gu’s claim of feeling awkward with strangers was a very clumsy excuse.

…Because of Chen Gu’s overwhelmingly superior basketball skills, just moments ago, Song Wen and the others had been calling him “Brother Gu” and asking him to play again next time.

Chen Gu hadn’t even bothered to be subtle, promising right in front of Jiang Mian that he’d join them when free.

Jiang Mian fell silent.

Did he really look that easy to fool?

After Jiang Mian got his things, they entered the underground parking lot. Chen Gu pressed his Car key.

He drove a very famous brand, high-performance, high-price.

Jiang Mian wanted to sit in the back, but that was impolite, treating the person like a chauffeur. Yet the Passenger Seat…

That popular thing among young people lately, the “my Passenger Seat is reserved for you only” meme trend.

As Jiang Mian walked slowly, deep in debate, Chen Gu spoke again. “Sit in the front. I put some stuff in the back; there’s no room.”

“Okay.”

Getting in, Jiang Mian glanced casually.

Indeed, there were several boxes in the back. Judging by the logos, they were some small household items Chen Gu needed.

Chen Gu turned on the AC. “You just finished exercising. I won’t set it too high, so you don’t catch a cold.”

Jiang Mian paused, then meticulously corrected him. “Should be ‘we.'”

Chen Gu curved his eyes. “Thanks for your concern.”

This somewhat serious personality of Jiang Mian’s was very easy to trap.

“Where do you live?”

Jiang Mian gave an address. Chen Gu lowered his head to input it into the GPS, then started the Car.

At first, they had nothing to say, until they hit the city center—traffic jam.

Jiang Mian looked at the sea of vehicles and heard Chen Gu sigh, seemingly with a headache. “I encounter traffic jams almost every day since coming to South Boundary.”

Jiang Mian was still a bit dazed. Hadn’t rush hour already passed… Oh, it’s summer break.

He finally remembered this fact, feeling a bit numb all over.

During summer break in South Boundary, tourists were everywhere. Traffic jam times were very unpredictable. A short one might clear soon; a long one could leave you stuck on an overpass for two hours.

How had he forgotten this?

If they were stuck here unable to move, that meant being cooped up with Chen Gu in this tiny space for hours?

Jiang Mian felt like shutting down completely.

But it was just at this moment that Chen Gu looked at him, leisurely casting out the real purpose behind this step-by-step setup. “Jiang Mian.”

His tone was soft. “Why do I get the feeling you’re… scared of me?”