The new semester had just begun, and Huo Chengdong took the lead in livening up the atmosphere.
- A friendly basketball match with a neighboring school was organized.
Although it was called a friendly match, both sides were preparing as if they were going to compete in the Olympic Games for a gold medal. Students from both schools had already started a war of words on the forums, and the neighboring school even brought a cheerleading squad.
Originally scheduled for May, the match was moved up to the present.
With the sudden change in schedule, Huo Chengdong and his teammates hurriedly tried to improve their skills but with little effect.
Huo Chengdong dribbled the basketball while walking, feeling frustrated.
"Huo Chengdong."
Huo Chengdong looked up at Su Qingyu, who had suddenly appeared. He didn't want to pay any attention to her and walked past her without a word.
Su Qingyu caught up with him. "Take it."
Huo Chengdong glanced at the bank card she handed over. "What's the point of blocking my way for no reason? Just stay out of my sight."
Su Qingyu said, "I'll compensate you for the car."
"What? Are you daring to mention that? If it weren't for you, those boxes of fireworks wouldn't have exploded. You're a menace on the road. You should have donated those two useless holes in your head."
Huo Chengdong replied irritably and tried to go around her again.
"It was you who bought those cheap fireworks in the first place, and fireworks are prohibited in the city center," Su Qingyu said, unable to suppress a smile at the thought of Huo Chengdong being blasted by fireworks.
"Me buying cheap fireworks? Are you questioning my wealth? Anything I own can't possibly be cheap!" Huo Chengdong retorted.
"I've already apologized to you. Isn't compensation enough?" Su Qingyu said.
"I don't need your measly amount of money. Get out of the way and stop making me angry when I see someone from the Su family."
"Damn bootlicker."
Huo Chengdong heard that.
He immediately turned around, about to get angry, but then he smiled.
"So what if I'm a bootlicker? You're also licking Xu Zhiyi's boots, right? Following behind her all the time, asking her questions every other day. What does that make you? A bootlicker's bootlicker? You can't even lick the soles of Xu Zhiyi's feet."
"You..."
"What's with the 'you'? I find you quite interesting. When your Su family wasn't in decline, you used to call me 'Young Master Huo,' but now that your Su family is in trouble, you suddenly have the audacity to use my full name. Isn't that a case of the shoeless being afraid of the shod? I won't hit a woman, but don't push me to slap you."
Su Qingyu couldn't be bothered to argue with him and forcefully stuffed the bank card into his pocket. "This young lady isn't used to owing people money!" she said and walked away.
"Hey, stay there and let me take these two measly coins from you..."
Huo Chengdong found Qiao Ying.
As he had said, Xu Zhiyi, that bootlicker, was also present.
"Yingjie, there's a basketball match against the neighboring school in a few days. Remember to come and support me," Huo Chengdong came specifically to invite Qiao Ying.
"Depends on the time," she replied.
"Come on, Yingjie, even if you only watch the first half, it'll be fine. I deliberately chose the basketball court in your Computer Science department. It's just a few steps away, and I'm sure many students from the other school will come just for you. You have to show your face and support Capital University, right?"
Qiao Ying knew Huo Chengdong's persistence and reluctantly agreed.
"Alright, I'll be there. Now I need to go practice," Huo Chengdong said contentedly, looking back at Xu Zhiyi.
When Huo Chengdong first arrived, he overheard Xu Zhiyi and Qiao Ying talking about Qiao Yi, which made him extremely angry.
So Huo Chengdong "kindly" reminded, "Xu genius, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, but it's better not to have any other intentions, like trying to compete with that person surnamed Qin. Even walking on the street can be dangerous and get you hit by a car. I'm reminding you out of goodwill, considering Principal Zhang's reputation."
Huo Chengdong thought to himself that Xu Zhiyi only knew math, and if he were capable of anything else, he wouldn't need to constantly seek attention from Qiao Ying.
Xu Zhiyi glanced at him but didn't respond.
When Qiao Ying looked at him, Huo Chengdong smiled playfully at her.
Two days later,
The basketball game began.
The match took place in the indoor basketball court of Capital University's Computer Institute.
Huo Chengdong sat on a bench, tying his shoelaces while turning his head to the uproarious spectators, saying, "Did Ying Jie come or not?"
Many students from the neighboring school came to cheer for their own team.
Of course, cheering and supporting their team was one thing, but they were also drawn by Qiao Ying's name.
So not only Huo Chengdong was looking for Qiao Ying, but the students from the neighboring school were also searching for her, wanting to catch a glimpse of this influential figure.
The neighboring school's cheerleading squad sent their school flower, and the students from Capital University cheered along with them as they performed an enthusiastic dance.
Huo Chengdong couldn't help but tap his teammate's head when he saw them getting excited. "Pathetic."
The teammate rubbed his head and said, "Brother Cheng, look at them. They're purely disrupting our team's morale. Using beauty as a strategy, it's too malicious."
"Yeah, they practiced in secret during the winter break and found various excuses to reschedule the match. Look at how arrogant and self-satisfied they are."
"If we had enough time, we could have formed our own cheerleading squad. With Ying Jie's appearance, once she took the stage, they would surrender immediately."
"You're daydreaming. If you let Ying Jie be your cheerleader, I hope your ancestors' graves are still intact. You're really daring, not afraid that Qin Hanyue will pluck your eyeballs out and use them as marbles."
The game started quickly.
Capital University and the neighboring school have always been in a "friendly rivalry," chasing and pushing each other. They have had several large-scale "friendship-enhancing" matches throughout the years, accumulating this "relationship."
However, this time, due to the opposing school's various reasons to disrupt the match and their secret training during the winter break, this "relationship" had intensified.
In the past few days, students from both schools had already exchanged "friendly greetings" on the forum.
Now that they met face to face, that "relationship" couldn't be contained.
The air was filled with excitement, as if the New Year's atmosphere was already present.
With the sound of the whistle, the referee started the game.
Huo Chengdong, relying on his height advantage and good jumping ability, quickly grabbed the ball, faked a move, dribbled between his legs to avoid the opponent, and successfully passed the ball to his teammate.
Huo Chengdong played basketball well, but his teammates were not on par.
So in the past few semesters, during these "friendship-enhancing" basketball matches, Huo Chengdong and his team lost more than they won.
Fortunately, luck was on their side today. Huo Chengdong dunked with a leap and scored the first point, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the whole court.
The students from Capital University cheered enthusiastically.
But things didn't go well after that. Huo Chengdong was the only one who could play on their side, and the opponents were already stronger in skill. Not to mention, they had practiced together during the winter break, so their coordination and individual abilities were stronger than Huo Chengdong's team.
Soon, they lost three games in a row.
In the spectator stands, tens of thousands of students from Capital University felt frustrated as they watched the opposing team's hundred students cheer passionately.
Qiao Ying sat in the spectator stands and found herself getting a bit sleepy.
Xu Zhili didn't know how to find her among the crowd and held popcorn in his hand. "Do you want some?"
Suddenly, there was an exclamation.
Qiao Ying looked over and saw that one of their teammates fell to the ground on the basketball court. He was the only one other than Huo Chengdong who played well.
It seemed like he fell pretty hard, caused by an attempt to snatch the ball.
"What the hell? Are you playing basketball or fighting? Do you guys really play like this? If you want to fight, just say so. What's the point of using basketball as a cover?" Huo Chengdong already had some grievances, and coupled with the fact that everyone else was pampered and spoiled, they had never been provoked before.
This sudden incident directly triggered the conflict, and Huo Chengdong and the others were ready to fight.
The opposing students clearly feared Huo Chengdong's identity and didn't dare to argue with them directly, so they only made sarcastic remarks.
