novelno Chapter 23 Clash of Two Women
Chapter 23 Clash of Two Women
In his previous life, Lu Yuan represented his college in basketball games during his university years, so his basketball skills were already quite solid.
Now that he's back to being eighteen, his skills haven't become rusty at all; on the contrary, they've improved even more, and his teamwork with Gao Zhe is now seamless and perfectly coordinated.
The entire match almost became a performance exclusively for the two of them.
Short passes and penetrations, pull-up jumpers, alley-oop shots, three-pointers... a variety of amazing moves were performed one after another, leaving the audience dazzled.
Every goal drew cheers and applause from the students watching on the sidelines.
Before they knew it, students from other classes gathered around, and the basketball court where Lu Yuan was located became the focus of the entire playground.
Lu Yuan was undoubtedly the most dazzling one among them.
He no longer deliberately tried to show off; instead, he was completely immersed in the joy of dribbling, breaking through, and shooting, exuding the unique vitality and dazzling charm of a young man.
Many girls on the sidelines looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Jiang Yiqing cheered for Lu Yuan with extra enthusiasm, jumping and skipping with excitement every time he scored.
In contrast, Xu Lingjing was much calmer.
It wasn't that she thought Lu Yuan wasn't handsome when playing basketball; it was just that she was used to maintaining a gentle and dignified image.
She had seen Lu Yuan play basketball before, but back then Lu Yuan always seemed to be trying too hard to please others. The more he tried, the more ridiculous and stiff he appeared, lacking any aesthetic appeal.
But Lu Yuan was completely different today. Although this disregard made her a little unhappy, she had to admit that Lu Yuan, who was focused on the game, was truly dazzling.
Indeed, a man who is serious is the most handsome.
The girls around Ye Yixian couldn't contain themselves any longer, chattering excitedly and discussing who was the most handsome on stage.
The vast majority of people voted for Lu Yuan, followed by Gao Zhe.
For some reason, hearing so many people praising Lu Yuan, Ye Yixian felt a secret joy rising in her heart.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and the first quarter ended.
Lu Yuan's team scored a whopping 32 points, while Li Xian's team only managed 11 points.
What was even more embarrassing was that Li Xian was already panting heavily and covered in sweat, almost completely exhausted;
Lu Yuan's breathing was slightly heavier, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, but he remained relaxed.
Throughout the game, Li Xian had no standout performance, and even his defense against Lu Yuan seemed ineffective, as he was frequently beaten.
He felt utterly humiliated and kept glancing nervously at Xu Lingjing, afraid of seeing even a hint of disdain in her eyes.
If Xu Lingjing despises him for being useless, he'll probably be upset for a long time.
What truly saddened him was that Xu Lingjing's gaze was fixed on Lu Yuan, and she didn't even glance in his direction.
What happened?
In the past, when Lu Yuan tried his best to please her and fawned over her, Xu Lingjing always ignored him.
Now that Lu Yuan is cold and distant towards her, she can't see him at all.
Li Xian simply couldn't understand how the world had become so absurd.
As everyone rested on the sidelines, Jiang Yiqing seized the opportunity and urged Xu Lingjing, "Quick, quick, now! Go buy Lu Yuan a bottle of water!"
Xu Lingjing glanced at Lu Yuan not far away, but he didn't even spare her a glance.
This made her already reluctant attitude even more conflicted, but she couldn't resist Jiang Yiqing's pulling and tugging, and in the end she still reluctantly walked towards the convenience store.
On the other side, Lu Yuan took out his phone and made a call to Ye Yixian.
Ye Yixian's phone suddenly rang in her pocket while she was in the stands, startling her. She quickly answered it.
On the other end of the phone, Lu Yuan's voice, tinged with amusement, came through: "How was it? Pretty cool playing basketball, right?"
Ye Yixian's cheeks flushed slightly; it turned out that Lu Yuan had known she was watching all along.
She instinctively wanted to say "handsome," but then she retorted, "How boring, you call just to ask this? PE class is a class too, be careful the teacher catches you playing on your phone."
"Hehe, the teacher doesn't have time to care about us." Lu Yuan said casually, "Go to the convenience store and buy a bottle of water for me and Gao Zhe each, and come back quickly."
"Shall I go buy you some water?"
Ye Yixian was taken aback.
Buying water is a small matter, but at this moment, in full view of everyone, she, a girl, went out of her way to deliver water to a boy. What would others think?
During one's student days, the implications of such an action are self-evident.
"What else? Hurry up, I'm dying of thirst."
After saying that, Lu Yuan hung up the phone.
Ye Yixian gripped her phone tightly, feeling extremely conflicted.
But ultimately, unable to find a reason to refuse, he could only get up and silently walk toward the nearby convenience store.
There weren't many people in the convenience store at the time. As soon as Ye Yixian walked in, he ran into Xu Lingjing and Jiang Yiqing, who were also there to buy water.
Jiang Yiqing kept urging Xu Lingjing to hurry up, because the sooner she got the water to Lu Yuan, the more it would show her sincerity.
Xu Lingjing was seething with anger. Lu Yuan wouldn't even look at her, so she decided to make him thirst a little longer as a small punishment.
Just then, the two saw Ye Yixian pick up two bottles of mineral water and silently walk towards the cashier.
Xu Lingjing's gaze sharpened as she looked Ye Yixian up and down.
She looked her over from left to right, but couldn't figure out what was so special about this plainly dressed girl who wasn't good at dressing up.
Why would Lu Yuan ignore a school beauty like himself and instead get close to such an inconspicuous girl? What is he after?
As she pondered, Xu Lingjing's lips curled into a slightly mocking smile. She laughed at Lu Yuan's childish behavior, at Ye Yixian's overestimation of his abilities, and even at herself for letting these two people disturb her peace of mind.
"This water... she didn't buy it for Lu Yuan, did she?" Jiang Yiqing asked in a low voice.
Xu Lingjing suddenly came to her senses, a sense of vigilance rising in her heart.
However, she did not panic. After paying, she quickly caught up with Ye Yixian, who was walking ahead.
"Ye Yixian".
Xu Lingjing took the initiative to call out to her.
Ye Yixian, holding two bottles of water, turned her head in confusion.
Looking closely at Xu Lingjing, whose makeup was exquisite and whose temperament was outstanding, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself.
The other person exuded a sense of meticulous grooming from head to toe, and even the breeze they stirred up carried a faint fragrance. Compared to them, she felt even more ordinary and inconspicuous.
"That's your name, right?" Xu Lingjing confirmed with a forced smile.
After Ye Yixian nodded, she spoke with undisguised provocation: "This water, is it for Lu Yuan?"
Ye Yixian nodded reluctantly.
She wanted to explain that Lu Yuan had asked her to buy it, but Xu Lingjing didn't give her a chance, her tone condescending and disdainful:
"Ye Yixian, can't you have any self-awareness? Everyone knows Lu Yuan likes me, and I've never said I wouldn't be with him. What's the meaning of your eagerness to get involved?"
Ye Yixian frowned.
Xu Lingjing spoke first again, her tone brimming with superiority: "I've already bought water for Lu Yuan, so don't waste your time. He'll only want me to deliver it."
After saying that, she told Jiang Yiqing to quicken her pace and headed towards the court first.
"nerve."
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Ye Yixian couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.
At the same time, Lu Yuan was discussing tactics for the next quarter with Gao Zhe when he suddenly heard a small commotion.
He looked up and saw Xu Lingjing carrying a bag of iced drinks, walking straight toward him under everyone's gaze.
Xu Lingjing put on a sweet smile and personally handed a bottle of chilled drink to Lu Yuan, her voice gentle: "Lu Yuan, are you thirsty? This is something I bought especially for you, drink some water."
Wow! The school beauty personally brought water to Lu Yuan!
"Lu Yuan is amazing!"
"If Xu Lingjing brings me water herself, I'd be willing to be her dog from now on."
A murmur of envy and jealousy immediately arose around them.
Li Xian saw this and almost fainted from anger.
Xu Lingjing's face was filled with undisguised smugness, as if she could already foresee Lu Yuan excitedly taking the water, treating it as a precious treasure, and being moved to tears of gratitude, and from then on obeying her every word.