Chapter 422: Basketball Match

“Young Master Fu, it’s not that we don’t dare; we want to help you teach him a lesson, too. But this place isn’t right.”

A student tried to persuade him earnestly, “Today’s the school sports meet. Not only are all our parents here, but the principal and teachers are also present. If we fight at school, it’ll cause too much of a stir. After all, Young Master Fu, you’re still trying to chase after those two girls. You don’t want to ruin that over this, right?”

“Expelled? Do you know who I am? Who dares expel me?”

Young Master Fu held his nose as he spoke, sounding muffled. But after being talked down by the group, he finally calmed down.

“Still, what you said makes sense. So how do you think we should deal with him? I can’t just swallow this humiliation.”

“Young Master Fu, I have a good idea. Let’s have him play a basketball match with us. On the court, we’ll humiliate him and even injure him. Later, we can say it was just an accident. No one can blame us, and those two girls won’t have anything to say either. What do you think?”

One student leaned in and whispered a strategy into Young Master Fu’s ear. Young Master Fu nodded repeatedly, eyes gleaming.

“Excellent, we’ll do it your way.” Young Master Fu decided on the spot.

Then he turned to Lin Xiao and snarled, “Hey, punk, got the guts to face us on the court?”

Lin Xiao had sharp hearing. He caught every word of the students’ conversation, not missing a single detail.

To Lin Xiao, their so-called plan was childish to the extreme. Utterly stupid.

“Not interested.”

Lin Xiao tossed out these words indifferently and turned to leave.

But just as he took a few steps, two students blocked his path. One of them sneered, “You think you have a choice? If you don’t agree, don’t even think about leaving today.”

Lin Xiao frowned slightly, his tone turning cold. “You really want to go up against me?”

“That’s right. You broke Young Master Fu’s nose with a basketball, but he’s generous enough not to hold it against you.”

Young Master Fu had tissues stuffed in his nostrils. His once handsome face now looked rather ridiculous. “As long as you have the guts to play a match with me, I’ll let you off. How’s that sound?”

“I know what you’re plotting, but let me warn you. Don’t end up lifting a rock only to smash your own foot.”

Lin Xiao had his hands in his pockets, voice lazy. “If you’re smart, you’ll let me leave right now. Otherwise, you’ll regret your choice.”

“Regret? If I let you leave now, that’s what I’ll regret most.”

Young Master Fu shouted through gritted teeth, “Enough talk. I’ll ask you one last time, do you accept or not? If you don’t, don’t blame me for being rude to Yuan Yu.”

A flash of cold, murderous light swept through Lin Xiao’s pupils. “You’re threatening me?”

“Heh, to be honest, I’ve had my eye on Yuan Yu for a long time. I just didn’t expect some disgusting guy like you to appear out of nowhere.” Young Master Fu’s tone was full of malice. “If you refuse to play, I’ll collect what you owe me from her.”

Lin Xiao was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke again, his voice had turned frigid, like the cold wind of midwinter, “Fine. I accept.”

The moment he said this, Lin Xiao had already sentenced Young Master Fu to death in his heart.

No matter who the guy was—if he dared use Yuan Yu as leverage, there was only one possible outcome: death.

But Young Master Fu remained oblivious to the catastrophe looming over him. Still feeling smug about his cleverness, he looked down at Lin Xiao and said, “Go wait on the court. I’ll be right there.”

Lin Xiao said nothing and walked toward the basketball court.

Watching Lin Xiao’s retreating figure, which seemed to emit a chill, one student suddenly felt uneasy.

“Young Master Fu… maybe we should drop this? I have a bad feeling.”

“Bah!” Young Master Fu spat a bloody wad onto the ground. “You think I, Fu Chengguang, am just anyone? No one who crosses me gets away unscathed. If I don’t ruin that guy today, I’ll change my surname.”

***

On the basketball court.

Lin Xiao stood quietly in a corner, his eyes lowered, calmly waiting.

The court was lively, with many students playing, but Lin Xiao seemed completely out of place. A cold aura surrounded his body, making people subconsciously keep their distance.

Ten minutes later, Fu Chengguang arrived at the court with his four lackeys, followed by a crowd of students, making quite a scene.

His nose, injured by the basketball, had been treated. Though still swollen and red, it was no longer serious. It didn’t affect his appearance at all—if anything, it added a bit of rugged charm.

He was a prominent figure at Guanglai High School—the school heartthrob. Rich, powerful, handsome—“tall, rich, and handsome” could have been coined just for him. He never lacked admirers.

As Fu Chengguang stepped onto the basketball court, cheers and screams erupted. A crowd of girls swarmed toward him, surrounding him tightly.

He wore a modest smile, waving to the girls, which only made the cheers grow louder.

Amid the crowd, Fu Chengguang strode up to Lin Xiao. He raised his hands and motioned downwards, and the roaring crowd instantly fell silent.

Fu Chengguang shot Lin Xiao a hostile glare, then swept his gaze around before speaking loudly, “Dear fellow students, although I, Fu Chengguang, may not excel academically and have been held back two years, making me older than most of you, still, I think you all know what kind of person I am, right?”

One of his lackeys shouted from the crowd, “Young Master Fu is suave, wealthy, generous, and loyal—nothing bad to say about him!”

“That’s right! Brother Fu is the best!”

“Brother Fu, I want to have your babies!”

Most students, unaware of the truth, shouted praise. The girls swooned, while a few who knew Fu Chengguang’s real nature simply sneered in silence.

A flicker of pride crossed Fu Chengguang’s eyes. He raised his hand again, quieting the crowd.

“But today, right here at school, I was punched by this guy for no reason.”

He pointed straight at Lin Xiao.

“Who is he? He dared you to punch Young Master Fu?”

“Where’d this guy come from, acting all wild at Guanglai High?”

“Hit our school’s campus prince? I’ll fight him myself!”

The girls around Fu Chengguang looked furious, glaring at Lin Xiao.

But Lin Xiao didn’t even lift an eyelid in response to their shouting.

“Everyone, don’t worry. Though I was punched by this person, I’ve magnanimously decided to forgive him. On one condition, he must play a basketball match against me.”

Fu Chengguang spun words skillfully, twisting the story. After all, Lin Xiao was alone. Even if he had a hundred mouths, he couldn’t explain himself.

“To keep things fair, I’d like four volunteers from the crowd to team up with him. We’ll do a five-on-five match.”