After gym class ended, Zhu Niao, who had no afternoon classes, planned to grab a casual meal before heading over to Miss Shopkeeper’s store to report for work.
But things didn’t seem quite right.
“What are we eating later?” Zhu Niao asked Gou Yu, who was next to her.
“Let’s just get two more buns for lunch. We have a match later,” Gou Yu said with a sorrowful look. “I was supposed to deliver food for half a day, but now there’s a basketball game in the afternoon.”
It was only then that Zhu Niao realized, “So the basketball tournament isn’t over yet?”
“Nonsense. There are so many teams, how could it be over in just one match?” Gou Yu replied, then paused. “If we’d lost the first round, then it would’ve ended for us, but we actually won.”
Zhu Niao howled miserably along with Gou Yu.
Gou Yu’s money was her money. If Gou Yu couldn’t make money, neither could she.
Suddenly remembering something, Zhu Niao said, “I remember seeing other girls competing in your previous matches. Does every class have both boys and girls participating? How come there’s no word from our class?”
“Because for our class, I just wrote all the girls’ names down, then on the day of the match said you were all skipping because of your period. Once we lost the first round, there was nothing else to play.” Gou Yu raised an eyebrow at Zhu Niao with a cheeky look, “Well, what do you think?”
“Damn, Gou, your IQ must really be two hundred and ten!” Zhu Niao didn’t hold back her praise.
“Is there another match today?”
Liu Xie, who was passing by, overheard their conversation and looked over at Gou Yu next to Zhu Niao.
As the class’s Sports Committee member and the PE class rep, Gou Yu nodded seriously.
Then Liu Xie smacked her forehead.
“I forgot to inform Liu Anran.”
She immediately took out her phone to notify her dear younger brother about the basketball game in the afternoon.
She walked off to the side with her phone.
After sending another message to make sure Liu Anran was free, she called him.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Liu Anran replied quickly, but it wasn’t the answer Liu Xie had hoped for.
[I’m busy with something, can’t get away right now. You go play by yourself for now. If it’s urgent, just call.]
After receiving this message, Liu Xie calmed down.
After all, she was sensible. She knew how to weigh the importance of things.
If even Liu Anran said he couldn’t get away, it probably really was urgent—definitely more important than a minor basketball game on her end.
So she put away her phone and caught up to Gou Yu and Zhu Niao, who were walking ahead, fooling around. “My brother says he’s busy. What about the game?”
“Put in a substitute, otherwise what did we bring those two hulks from the class for?” Zhu Niao replied matter-of-factly, and Gou Yu nodded in agreement.
“But if my brother isn’t there, won’t subbing someone in affect our overall strength?”
“Second child.” Zhu Niao patted Liu Xie’s shoulder earnestly, “You’re overthinking this. Let’s not even discuss whether our basketball team is actually strong—have you ever thought that maybe, from the start, we weren’t aiming to win a prize?”
Gou Yu nodded approvingly beside her, “Exactly. Honestly, I was planning to just throw together a team and forfeit the first round anyway. To be honest, I never thought we’d win the first match.”
Zhu Niao leaned on Gou Yu and struck a flamboyant pose at Liu Xie. “So you don’t need to worry so much. Losing this round might even be easier for us. At least Old Dog can go deliver food, and you can go back to the dorm and nap during your free time—at least you won’t be baking in the sun on the basketball court.”
As she finished, Gou Yu suddenly stepped back, causing Zhu Niao, who was leaning on her, to nearly fall to the ground.
But Gou Yu reached out and grabbed Zhu Niao’s back collar, tightening it around her neck.
Zhu Niao flailed her arms. “Hey, friend, fight all you want, but at least let me breathe a little.”
At that moment, Ye Qingchang caught up with the group.
She glanced at Zhu Niao and Gou Yu still horsing around, clearly used to it.
“The dorm leader went out to eat with Xu Nian again,” she remarked.
“As expected,” Liu Xie replied. “We have a basketball game this afternoon, but my brother can’t come. Maybe you should remind Xiao Yi’an too, in case he has something going on.”
“If he’s free, he’ll come himself. If not, you can’t force people. That’s not right,” Ye Qingchang waved her hand, unmoved.
Liu Xie thought about it and realized she was right.
So she changed the subject: “What’s for lunch?”
“Group deal meal. The one from a few days ago made me feel like I was going to have diarrhea but never quite did. Today I ordered an extra portion. I am determined to finally get the runs.”
Ye Qingchang said this with a kind of heroic spirit.
“Fine, I’ll risk my life and join you,” Liu Xie said, taking out her phone to join Ye Qingchang’s group order.
.
.
Liu Anran glanced one last time at the message on his phone—the final one from Liu Xie.
It showed her compromise, accepting that he couldn’t make time.
He rarely let Liu Xie make this kind of concession.
He always said that as long as he was free, he’d go to her side, help her solve whatever problems she couldn’t handle.
But in reality, almost everything could be put off, and nothing had ever really tied him down—until now.
But this time was different.
“Repeat the entire situation to me, word for word.”
Liu Anran massaged his temples, his eyes showing a mess of confusion and fatigue.
“Yes, President Liu.” The assistant beside him, having received the order, opened up the recorded notes.
“This morning, the company was running normally. All departments were operating in an orderly manner. After eight o’clock, everything connected smoothly, and there were no problems with the overall operation.”
“Then at nine o’clock, an employee, out of curiosity, discovered two people who seemed to be new cleaning staff. They didn’t even know how to use the cleaning equipment, so they went to HR to check.”
“After HR investigated, it turned out the two weren’t our employees—they were outsiders pretending to be staff. For the sake of company safety, we took measures to remove them.”
“After that…”
The assistant pushed the tablet over to Liu Anran.
On the screen were the company’s security guards and a man and a woman dressed in cleaning uniforms.
[Please don’t make us leave. We mean no harm. We just want to see our son.]
[Our son works here. He’s called Liu Anran now, do you know him?]
[We’re his biological parents!]
Well thats a suprise.