by Dragon King
Then, she turned and walked out of Room 302.
“Ren, don’t worry, it’s probably going to be detention or something! I will see the Guidance Counsellor tomorrow and explain everything. I will take full responsibility and accept all consequences. In any case, this should have nothing to do with you!” after Xie Yujia walked out, Zhao Jiayi looked at Hao Ren and said.
“It can’t be that simple…” Hao Ren responded silently.
Xie Yujia was right. If this incident had taken place at any other time, it would not have been a big problem, and they might get off with just a verbal warning. However, the fact that it happened right before the basketball match between East Ocean University and Jinghua University had made it complicated.
Jinghua University was the runner-up for last year’s National College Basketball League, and their basketball team’s skill sets were comparable to those of East Ocean University’s. After all, they lost with a mere two-points difference at last year’s finals.
This year, they called for a friendly exhibition match with East Ocean University before the official start of the season; it was obvious that it was an act of provocation. If East Ocean University lost this match, it would significantly impact the morale of the team and their confidence to do well in the regular season. As a result, both the basketball team and the school placed immense emphasis on winning this match.
Yet, during such a pivotal moment, the top players on the school’s basketball team had been injured in a fight. This has turned into a very sensitive matter.
If the school was hoping to defend their champion title this year, they would have to take the basketball team’s concerns into consideration. Having said that, even without the imminent match, the school would have ruled in the basketball team’s favor to pacify the group anyway.
Moreover, Hao Ren knew that the captain of the basketball team, who usually only took responsibility for training the team and rarely got involved in any school affairs, had taken matters into his own hands this time.
One way or another, this dispute had to be resolved!
63 Game Plays…
There were two periods of the elective, Art Appreciation, scheduled in the afternoon. However, with the recent incident, no one was in the mood to go to class.
Zhao Jiayi was resting in bed, Cao Ronghua had buried himself in homework, Zhou Liren was sitting cross-legged and listening to his MP3, and Hao Ren was gathering materials for his tutoring session tonight.
“I’m treating you guys to dinner tonight. I’ve thought it through; in the worst case, I will just drop out of school! Screw their punishments or detentions!” Zhao Jiayi announced as he abruptly jumped up from his bed.
“Ay, why would you want to throw your life away like that?” Cao Ronghua turned his head and urged.
“The school always takes the side of those bastards anyway. What is the point of studying in a school like this!?” Zhao Jiayi shouted despairingly.
“Exactly!” taking off his headphones, Zhou Liren joined in angrily, “The basketball team is the pride of the school, and we are nothing, is that it?”
Hao Ren was feeling unsettled, too. Actually, the conflicts between the members of the basketball team and the other students were mostly derived from the use of the basketball court, nothing else. It was people like Huang Xujie who grew so self-important because of their connections with the players that irked him the most.
Examining the incident closely, it was indeed Zhao Jiayi’s impulsiveness that had led to the fight. Even so, the fact that it was not the first time Zhao Jiayi had to deal with the members of the basketball team forcefully taking over the court should be taken into consideration as well. In addition, some of the basketball players there were the ones who had provoked them at the Bar and Grill last time. Zhao Jiayi naturally believed that it was personal, and they were trying to provoke him again. Therefore, his temper exploded at full force instantly.
At this moment, Hao Ren suddenly thought of something. On Thursday night, the night he had Marxism Philosophy was the same night in which his grandma collapsed due to having high blood pressure… he left school and did not make it to the field at eight o’clock. In other words, he had stood Huang Xujie up. Could Huang Xujie be the one behind all this?
After finding out that the members of the basketball team were injured badly, Hao Ren had gradually calmed himself down. But now, his anger rose once again. If it was Huang Xujie who instigated the basketball team to harass Zhao Jiayi, then there would be no need to try and reason!
“Let’s go! Let’s eat out today! We might get expelled tomorrow anyway!” Zhao Jiayi demanded as he pounded at the three one by one.
Zhao Jiayi was now in a terrible state of mind. He could see that the school would inevitably favor the basketball team when handling this incident, especially when he was the one who initiated the fight.
The thought of no one occupying the berth below him made Hao Ren uneasy. Now that the match against Jinghua University was nearing, he had absolutely no clue what kind of punishment the school would be handing out.
All in all, even though Zhao Jiayi initiated the incident, it was Hao Ren who injured those players. Therefore, Hao Ren felt that he had reasons to shoulder the blame together with Zhao Jiayi, even if he were to be expelled.
“Come on! It’s on me!” Zhao Jiayi continued calling out to them.
Seeing Zhao Jiayi in such a bad mood, there was nothing Hao Ren and the others could do but to agree to go with him. The four of them went to the best eating joint in the nearby Hongji Square.
Since Zhao Jiayi was feeling dejected, he immediately started downing glasses of liquor. Since they could not stop him, Zhou Liren and Cao Ronghua could only join him. On the other hand, before going out with Zhao Jiayi, Hao Ren had made a call to Zhao Yanzi’s home to inform them that he would not be there for dinner that night.
“Sons of b*tches! When I saw them walking towards our court, I could tell that they were coming for you, Ren!” the more that Zhao Jiayi drank, the louder he got.
Hao Ren was moved. At first, he thought that the fight was purely over the use of the court. Now he understood that Zhao Jiayi started the fight trying to stick up for him.
“Those bastards, they have their own gym and training facilities, yet they had to come practice outdoor! What for? Just because the basketball courts were close to the girls’ dorms, and they wanted to have a female audience!” with a black eye, Zhou Liren was drinking and complaining at the same time.
“Last time at the Bar and Grill, they couldn’t lay hands on us because we had the numbers advantage. This time, they obviously recognized us since they didn’t bother with the other unoccupied courts and came right at us instead. It was totally personal!” Cao Ronghua said as he put down his drink forcefully, banging the table.
Squeezing the glass in his hand, Hao Ren remained silent.
“Hoho, isn’t this the second-year long-distance race champion?” Just as Cao Ronghua and the others were taking turns venting, a remark in a taunting tone came from the entrance of the restaurant.
Hao Ren turned at the voice and saw Huang Xujie leading a group of male students, strutting into the restaurant.
“I waited for you at the field on Thursday, how come you didn’t show up? Too scared?” he asked as he approached Hao Ren.
Glaring at him, Hao Ren paused slightly and then asked, “Are you behind what happened today?”
“Ah, you mean your fight with the basketball team?” Huang Xujie shrugged as if he genuinely was not involved and said, “They did want to make a point on my behalf. But I’ll tell you this; I don’t need their help at all.”
“So, you’re saying you have nothing to do with anything that had happened today?” Hao Ren further attempted to verify.
Huang Xujie got very close to Hao Ren and arrogantly stared at him in the eye from just five centimeters away. He declared slowly, “To deal with you, I don’t need anyone’s help.”
“Okay, I’l
l let it go today then,” Hao Ren said as he moved his intense gaze away.
“How boastful? Hahahaha… How dare a second-year talk so big?” the guys behind Huang Xujie yelled as they let out roaring laughter at Hao Ren’s serious remark.
Bang!
Abruptly, the glass in Hao Ren’s hand shattered.
The golden-colored beer dripped along his arm and hand, onto the floor.
At that moment, all of those who were taunting him just seconds ago had tightly shut their mouths.
Huang Xujie was also slightly bewildered. “If the rumor about Hao Ren taking on the basketball team on his own was true, then I might not be Hao Ren’s match,” he thought.
Huang Xujie just assumed Hao Ren’s “no show” on Thursday was due to cold feet. Yet, judging from Hao Ren’s actions today, Huang Xujie found Hao Ren to be more capable and mysterious than he had initially believed.
Still, quickly adjusting himself, Huang Xujie calmly stated to Hao Ren, “Your friends have guts. It takes a lot of courage to pick a fight with the basketball team. However, this thing between you and me, I will come to you about it myself.”
“Whatever the basketball team did to you had nothing to do with me. But since they are my friends, I will help them work this out! Enjoy your meal with your friends, second-year! This could well be your last meal! If everything goes right, the punishments should be handed down tomorrow!” straightening his body, Huang Xujie slightly waved his arm with his back to Hao Ren, and he lazily but confidently left his last words before walking towards the back of the restaurant.
Thump!
Hao Ren stood up so abruptly that his chair fell over.
Yet, a strong, muscular arm had grabbed onto his shirt and stopped him from rushing to confront Huang Xujie.
Hao Ren turned around and saw Zhao Jiayi shaking his head at him.
Hao Ren understood that Zhao Jiayi did not want the incident to escalate any further. Zhao Jiayi knew that there was no way he would get away with it, so he hoped Hao Ren would not get involved again.
“Huang Xujie’s father is the Deputy Mayor. If his dad says anything in the basketball team’s favor, there is nothing left for us to do,” Zhao Jiayi sat Hao Ren down with force and pointed out gloomily.
Gloom had gradually taken over Hao Ren’s face as well. He found himself extremely naive for oversimplifying the scale of the matter.
After Huang Xujie and his group walked away, Cao Ronghua asked Hao Ren in a daze, “How did you break the glass?”
With a bitter smile, Hao Ren replied, “The restaurant owner gave me a glass that already had cracks in it.”
“Really?” Zhou Liren, who believed he was stronger than Hao Ren, skeptically held up the glass in his hand and started squeezing it with full force. Yet, nothing happened.
Hao Ren did not want to explain himself any further. Glancing over at Huang Xujie who was ordering food and drinks with his friends in a perfectly calm and collected manner, Hao Ren felt a sense of loss.
He thought there was no use in being brawny. Zhao Jiayi would surely be at a disadvantage when the school makes their decision.
The fact that Huang Xujie looked so comfortably confident seemed to suggest that he might have been guaranteed a favorable outcome and already knew that his friends would not suffer any consequences. That was probably why he didn’t seem to care about what happened and was eating out and having fun with his friends.
Again, Hao Ren thought of the basketball team captain who went to see Lu Qing today. He understood that the basketball team had to hold their own ground and would try to look out for their members…
“Moreover, Lu Qing would try to protect me due to his special hidden identity… In the end, Zhao Jiayi would likely be the sole scapegoat…”
Looking at his good friend Zhao Jiayi who was sitting on the other side of the table and was trying to drown his worries in alcohol, Hao Ren vowed to make things right with the broken glass in his hand.
However, his parents had not returned from overseas, which meant that he could not make use of any of their connections… Also, the incident was known to the entire school, and the school’s management team must have been properly informed. Therefore, Lu Qing alone might not be able to turn things around…
For Zhao Jiayi’s sake, Hao Ren was willing to withstand embarrassment and shame. Obviously, the reason Huang Xujie could behave so recklessly at school was that his father was the Deputy Mayor. Yet, Hao Ren’s nominal future father-in-law was actually the biggest shareholder of East Ocean University, and his company was the economic leader of the entire East Ocean City!! What could that entail?
Hao Ren decided he must make the school handle the incident fairly. Or else it would be shameful for him, the son-in-law of such a prominent figure!
64 Grandma’s Suspicion
When they finally returned to their dorm room, all four of them were feeling a little intoxicated. Still, Hao Ren was the soberest.
After such stressful events, Hao Ren should have stayed in the dorm to care for Zhao Jiayi. However, at this time, he dearly missed his grandma who had recently been discharged from the hospital. Also, he would like to have Zhao Guang’s advise on the matter. Hence, Hao Ren gathered up his materials and took the bus to Zhao Yanzi’s home.
When he arrived at Zhao Yanzi’s, it was already seven o’clock in the evening. Zhao Hongyu had just finished cleaning up after dinner and had joined Hao Ren’s grandma for conversations while watching TV.
As Hao Ren entered the house, he was surprised to see the healthy glow on his grandma’s face.
“Ren, we were just talking about you! I thought you are not coming tonight.” seated cozily on the couch, Grandma was pleasantly surprised to see Hao Ren.
“Something happened at the school, so I couldn’t leave until later. How are you feeling, Grandma?” Hao Ren asked.
“Haha! Never better! Even my blood pressure has returned to optimal levels!” Grandma’s answer was loud and clear.
Indeed, Hao Ren thought Grandma’s face looked vigorous, nothing like a recovering patient. In fact, she was looking a few years younger than before.
Standing next to Grandma, Zhao Hongyu smiled in silence.
“Hongyu took excellent care of me, after all. She’s been making me chicken soup every day for the past two days, so my body has recovered quickly and grown even stronger!” Grandma added as she looked to Zhao Hongyu appreciatively.
Hao Ren suspected that Zhao Hongyu had been putting some elixir in the chicken soup. The more he looked at her smile, the more he believed it. By all means, it could also be that Grandma was in a great mood, so she was able to recover quickly.
In any case, seeing that his grandma was in good health, Hao Ren finally felt relieved. He turned to Zhao Hongyu and asked, “Where’s Zi?”
“She’s working on her homework upstairs, go join her. I will chat with your grandma some more,” Zhao Hongyu responded kindly.
“Okay!” carrying his stuff, Hao Ren started climbing up the stairs.
On his way, he turned to look at Zhao Hongyu and Grandma who were in the living room. He found that they were getting along exceptionally well and seemed to have developed a relationship even closer than that of Grandma and her own daughter-in-law. “What an interesting world this is,” he thought.
Soon, he arrived at the door of Zhao Yanzi’s room. Quietly pushing open the door, he found Zhao Yanzi sitting in front of her desk and burying herself in homework.
Hearing the door, Zhao Yanzi turned around and immediately let out a “humph” at Hao Ren.
“What now? What did I do to piss you off this time?” Hao Ren walked over and returned the few textbooks he had borrowed from her last time.
“My mom made a lot of your favorite dishes tonight. Yet, with just a phone call telling her that you were not coming to dinner, you made all her good intention and effort go to waste,” pouting her lips, Zhao Yanzi replied grumpily.
“Oh?” as he only learned that from Zhao
Yanzi right now, Hao Ren felt surprised and touched.
“Something happened in school today so that I couldn’t make it,” Hao Ren explained as he sat down next to her and started pulling out materials from his bag.
Zhao Yanzi ignored Hao Ren’s remark as she continued to puff out her cheeks, looking like a pufferfish.
“Your midterm exams are this Friday, aren’t they?” Hao Ren asked.
“Yeah,” Zhao Yanzi nodded her head lightly.
She was wearing a ruffle layered printed top and a pair of mid-length khaki pants, looking nifty and vivacious. Yet, the outfit also made her seem especially sweet. Her lovely petite body gave off a faint after-shower fragrance, slightly stimulating Hao Ren’s olfactory sensations.
She was no doubt the daughter of a renowned designer as even her casually matched outfits were even flawlessly brilliant.
“Let’s review for the midterms then,” Hao Ren suggested as he spread out the materials.
After having read the textbooks Zhao Yanzi lent him, Hao Ren now had a clear understanding of her learning progress and was able to pinpoint the areas that she should focus on. Therefore, he could now tutor Zhao Yanzi in a way that would better help her prepare for the midterm exams.
Surprisingly, Zhao Yanzi did not try to argue but simply followed Hao Ren’s instructions this time and began the review session at once. In the end, it turned out to be the most productive tutoring session Hao Ren had had with her thus far.
Hao Ren felt that Zhao Yanzi was genuinely trying to learn. He could tell that she was taking the midterm exams seriously this time.
After he finished arranging and refreshing the important concepts of each subject for her once, two hours had already passed.
Hao Ren suddenly stopped lecturing and turned to her as he said, “You should go to bed now. I’ll go check on my grandma.”
“Okay,” Zhao Yanzi nodded while her head was still down, busily organizing the notes from today’s lecture.
Her unexpected compliance had caught Hao Ren off guard. For a second, he suspected whether if the Zhao Yanzi before him really was the real Zhao Yanzi.