Hormonal Impact

A gathering of twelve clubs, several hundred people—ordinarily, there really wouldn't be a venue big enough to hold them all.

But Yan Da could manage it. The seaside was a natural gathering spot: spacious, with great scenery.

After reaching an agreement with the school, the entire beach was handed over to the clubs. Of course, there had to be rules. The Student Union would probably arrange two hours of performances, and once they endured those two hours, the rest of the time would be theirs to party however they wanted.

As for all the supplies needed for the gathering, the school already had most of them. The only things they needed to buy were food and drinks.

Mo Qiong and Han Dang deliberately arrived late, figuring that by now they could sit down, eat, drink, and watch the performances.

It would be fine not to watch, too. As long as the freshmen were left there, everyone could do their own thing. Once the performances ended, they could use the venue to party. That was normal enough.

The school's side gate led straight to the seaside, and before reaching it, there was a row of basketball courts to the side. They had to pass by them.

"Looks like Luo Qing and the others didn't go either. They're all playing ball," Han Dang said, spotting a tall guy at once. He was only slightly shorter than Mo Qiong, which already made him exceptionally tall.

That was Luo Qing. Though they had never interacted, both Mo Qiong and Han Dang knew him.

"Doesn't seem like he took the bet seriously either. Wang Xiong's probably the only one who thinks he tricked him," Han Dang said.

Mo Qiong smiled. "Isn't that good? I don't care about that stuff. As long as I get the money, I'm good."

Han Dang grinned. "True."

The two passed by the basketball court without approaching it.

But just then, laughter erupted from the crowd watching at the sidelines, followed by a whooshing sound. Someone had taken a shot that missed everything and sent the ball straight onto the road.

"Watch out!" someone immediately shouted from the sidelines, because the ball was flying right at Han Dang.

Mo Qiong reacted swiftly, scooping it up with one hand and catching it securely against his arm.

After gaining his ability, catching a ball one-handed was effortless for him. Whenever he felt the ball about to slip free, he simply set its Landing Point on his hand. If it bounced away again, he did it again. It was easy to bleed off the force.

His palm hurt a little, though. He couldn't pull the same trick with hard objects or sharp weapons.

"Hey, could you toss the ball over?" Luo Qing called from the court.

When he saw Mo Qiong scoop up the ball with one hand, his eyes lit up. He felt that Mo Qiong had excellent control in his palm.

Mo Qiong swung his arm, and the basketball immediately crossed more than twenty meters in a graceful arc toward Luo Qing.

Luo Qing had taken two steps forward to catch it, but he soon froze and stepped back.

He had judged the ball's Landing Point. Taking even one extra step seemed unnecessary.

Thump. Luo Qing stood still and extended his right hand. The basketball landed directly in his palm.

Seeing that he couldn't hold it, he flipped his wrist and casually slapped it to the ground, beginning to dribble.

"Hiss..." Luo Qing murmured in surprise, amazed by the precision of that pass.

It was as though any extra movement would have been unnecessary. He only needed to wait for the ball to arrive in his hand.

If Mo Qiong could see the target he aimed for, there would absolutely be no error.

His line of sight was itself a form of auxiliary lock-on. Only when he fired at a target he couldn't see was it possible for the Landing Point to end up somewhere else that looked exactly the same.

"Hey, you've got a pretty good throw. Want to come play with us?" Luo Qing had a sharp eye. From just a few small movements, he could tell Mo Qiong had potential for basketball.

Not to mention that Mo Qiong was tall and powerfully built, with long arms and legs. Judging from his physique alone, he was suited to being a goalkeeper, but even better suited to basketball.

"No, no. I've got something to do." Mo Qiong waved him off and turned to leave.

But Luo Qing persisted. "Come on! You're heading to the gathering too, right? If you go this early, you'll just have to watch performances. What's fun about that? Come play a bit. We're just playing casually anyway."

"Come on, come on! Xiao Liu, get off the court..."

As he spoke, he suddenly threw the ball toward Mo Qiong again and pointed at someone on the court to leave.

Clearly, this guy had a bit of a Young Master temperament, as though everyone was bound to accept his requests. He didn't care what Mo Qiong said and simply acted as if he had agreed.

Mo Qiong casually caught the ball in his hands again. After awkwardly dribbling it twice, he said, "I don't know how to play basketball. You guys have fun."

Seeing his clumsy dribbling, Luo Qing didn't mind. Based on Mo Qiong's earlier catch and pass, combined with his height, he was already good enough to play center. Dribbling was something that could be learned easily with practice.

So he smiled. "It doesn't matter if you haven't practiced. I think you'd pick it up quickly. Join our Basketball Club."

"Pfft..." Han Dang couldn't help laughing beside them.

He couldn't help it. This afternoon, Mo Qiong had played brilliantly and caused Luo Qing to lose to his archrival, Wang Xiong.

Yet now, Luo Qing was trying to recruit Mo Qiong into the Basketball Club. It was as if he didn't know Mo Qiong at all, and had never even watched the school team play football.

Mo Qiong shook his head. He was from the Football Club—how could he join the Basketball Club? If Wang Xiong found out, wouldn't he blow his top?

"I'm not interested in basketball, and I'm already in a club." As he spoke, Mo Qiong casually tossed the ball back into Luo Qing's hands.

Watching that wonderful arc, Luo Qing felt that if it had been aimed at the hoop, it would probably have been a clean three-pointer.

"You're made for basketball. Otherwise, it's a waste. Your touch is so good—you should join our Basketball Club," Luo Qing said with a frown.

"I'm really not interested." Mo Qiong hurriedly waved his hands and pulled Han Dang away.

Seeing how firm his attitude was, Luo Qing felt extremely awkward and couldn't very well chase after him.

He could only plan to ask around that night and talk to him again later.

"Why were you in such a hurry to leave? You should've just told him we're from the Football Club and seen his reaction," Han Dang said with a laugh.

Mo Qiong shook his head. "What would be the point?"

By the time he and Han Dang reached the seaside, almost everyone had arrived. The venue had been set up, and many people were already having fun.

Some people were even doing who knew what inside the tents.

"Wang Xiong! Wang Xiong!" Han Dang looked everywhere for their club's area.

At that moment, a classmate from the same department said, "Magic Ball, Han Dang, you're finally here. I watched the game this afternoon. That was seriously amazing."

"Hehe..." Han Dang bragged with the classmate for a while, then continued asking, "Where are the people from our club?"

The classmate pointed toward a stage set up on the other side of the beach. "They're backstage playing around with the girls from the Drama Club."

"..." Mo Qiong was speechless and couldn't help sighing.

There was no doubt that the afternoon's match had finally given them something to brag about.

Han Dang's eyes immediately lit up. "Come on, come on! Let's go too."

The Drama Club did have a few pretty girls. People said the Drama Club had beautiful faces while the Dance Club had great figures. Even though Mo Qiong usually didn't pay attention to that sort of thing, he had heard about it.

Especially now that Hanfu was popular. Their ancient-style makeup gave them an even more refined charm.

Wang Xiong's girlfriend, Yang Zhi, was in the Drama Club. She had the bearing of a queen and was quite popular at school. Without her, Wang Xiong could never have invited so many girls to watch the match that afternoon.

The backstage area was full of lovely girls and was truly a feast for the eyes. Han Dang was stunned the moment he walked in.

Whether gentle and elegant, lively and energetic, or sexy and alluring, there was every type here.

Without Wang Xiong's connections, they wouldn't have been allowed in so casually.

"Huh? Our football stars finally made it." Wang Xiong was excited. He dragged Mo Qiong and Han Dang over and began bragging like mad, while making sure to include himself in the story.

"Ha, hello, everyone. Hello, sis-in-law." Mo Qiong smiled and politely looked at Wang Xiong's girlfriend.

They had met before, though they were only casual acquaintances. But this time, Yang Zhi seemed to stare at him for a little too long.

Her big eyes were practically fixed on him as she carefully looked Mo Qiong over. Then she actually stepped forward and touched his face, standing so close that she was almost pressed against him.

"Magic Ball, you played really well today... It was my first time seeing a goalkeeper score," Yang Zhi said with a smile. There was nothing wrong with her words, but Mo Qiong felt that her gaze was exceptionally heated.

Perhaps Yang Zhi also felt that touching his face had been a little abrupt. Her hand naturally shifted into a pinch, tugging lightly at Mo Qiong's cheek as if teasing him before withdrawing.

It looked like she had merely pinched his face for fun, but Mo Qiong felt as though he had been flirted with.

What the hell? Mo Qiong kept a calm expression, but inwardly, he was utterly bewildered.

He had indeed stood out a little today, but even if people had gained a new impression of him, at most he would attract a few freshmen fangirls.

There was no way it should make Yang Zhi act like this toward him. Besides... her boyfriend was standing right next to him.

"It was all thanks to the captain's assist. When he passed the ball back to me, I knew he wanted me to shoot," Mo Qiong said, turning to look at Wang Xiong beside him.

Though Wang Xiong looked as if he didn't care, Yang Zhi's unexpected behavior had made his smile a little stiff.

Mo Qiong hurriedly put an arm around Wang Xiong's shoulders, naturally putting some distance between himself and Yang Zhi as he stepped behind Wang Xiong.

Of course, his attention remained on Yang Zhi. Sneaking another glance at her, he found that she still seemed particularly enthusiastic toward him.

Yang Zhi stared at Mo Qiong and smiled. "Magic Ball, I never realized you were this tall before."

"..." Mo Qiong was dumbfounded. I've always been this tall, okay! Sis-in-law, what are you doing? You've been talking to me nonstop since I came in. Why aren't you talking to Han Dang? He came in with me. Why are you only being so enthusiastic toward me?

Wang Xiong shifted his shoulders awkwardly, and Mo Qiong tactfully lowered his arm.

Clearly, Wang Xiong looked especially short with Mo Qiong's arm around him. He actually wasn't short, but Mo Qiong was simply too tall. With his own girlfriend praising Mo Qiong like that, it made him feel even more awkward.

Fortunately, modern young people wouldn't bring up such a minor awkwardness. Everyone merely felt that Yang Zhi was being a little more enthusiastic toward Mo Qiong than usual.

They chatted normally, but only Mo Qiong knew that something was off.

Whenever he turned his head to look at Yang Zhi, she seemed to sense it and look back at him, then generously flash him a smile.

This doesn't feel right...

It wasn't that Mo Qiong was overly sensitive. He was usually just an unnoticed nobody, someone who spent his free time either working part-time or practicing archery. He could clearly feel that Yang Zhi was looking at him very differently from before.

"Hey, hey, why are you still in here? Get out, all of you!" A teacher came backstage and immediately started chasing people out.

Everyone dawdled a little, but Mo Qiong promptly walked out of the backstage area.

After coming out, Wang Xiong didn't say anything. He simply called everyone over to sit down. Once the performances were over, they could party however they liked.

Mo Qiong sat obediently, his mind racing.

"Has my attractiveness increased? Is it because I played football well today, or because of my ability?"

"If it's because of football, there's no reason for Yang Zhi to be so enthusiastic toward me while the other girls are completely normal."

"Is it because of my ability? When I looked at her, what did I fire at her?"

After figuring out his ability, Mo Qiong had worried that he might accidentally fire something off. But what could increase someone's attraction? Could it be electricity?

"Uh... hormones?"

Hormones were substances produced through the body's metabolism. They affected every aspect of a person. Without hormones, humans would not even have sensations or emotions, and their bodily functions could become disordered.

There were many kinds of hormones in the human body. One kind could be secreted through sweat glands and dispersed outside the body. Normally, the amount was around the microgram level, but intense exercise could multiply it several times over.

This hormone transmitted chemical information outward. In truth, it was a kind of scent.

Mo Qiong realized that the air touching the surface of his body every day would fly toward his target, so naturally, the substances secreted from his sweat glands would as well.

Once those substances attached themselves to another person's body surface or were even inhaled into their body, they would convey Mo Qiong's body's chemical information.

If that was really the case, then because of his ability, the target might receive every hormone Mo Qiong emitted all at once.

"This kind of chemical information, when emitted by someone in the prime of youth, carries immensely vigorous vitality and makes the recipient feel the source's attraction."

"They might even... feel impulses and enthusiasm toward me."

"This... was charisma."

P.S.: This inexplicable cover has completely dumbfounded me.