Smile

Li Ke wore an exceedingly sincere smile as he ran. "Wang Cheng, if you rush over there first, I guarantee the coach will keep punishing you!"

Wang Cheng was startled. His pace gradually slowed, and he turned back to look at Li Ke behind him in confusion.

At that moment, Li Ke quickened his pace and swiftly caught up, running alongside Wang Cheng. "Think about it. Fang Shan hates it most when people are late. The three of us are almost an hour late, yet he only told us to run one lap? Do you think that's possible?"

"Really?" Wang Cheng muttered, looking at Li Ke skeptically. But when he saw the sincerity on Li Ke's face, so convincing that it was impossible not to believe him, he could not help frowning.

What is Li Ke trying to do? Wang Cheng thought. He still did not trust Li Ke.

Wang Cheng looked at Li Ke, then turned around and jogged slowly, ignoring him.

"Go ahead and run. You were later than Zhu Zhan and me. Once you get there, Fang Shan will definitely make you do extra shuttle runs!" Li Ke shouted as he chased after him, seeing Wang Cheng's reaction.

"Hmph, Coach Fang Shan and I get along pretty well. He won't punish me!" Wang Cheng replied without stopping.

But when he looked up, he happened to see the other members of the school team doing shuttle runs on the basketball court. Everyone looked unwilling, yet they were running hard across the court.

Damn, what rotten luck! Wang Cheng cursed inwardly, and his pace gradually slowed again.

If I go back to the team now, won't he make me keep doing shuttle runs? Damn it! Wang Cheng cursed inwardly. He stopped where he was, panting heavily as he patted his aching thighs.

"See? I told you I was right!" Li Ke had caught up by then and looked at Wang Cheng.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" A cold gleam flashed through Wang Cheng's eyes as he stared at Li Ke.

Li Ke smiled and pointed at Zhu Zhan, who was slowly catching up from behind. "Simple. Let him run the first lap, and we'll run the second lap!"

Wang Cheng looked back and indeed saw Zhu Zhan running toward them. He was only five or six meters away from catching up.

Seeing Li Ke's shifty gaze, Wang Cheng's heart suddenly tightened. He silently cursed Li Ke as a bastard and said, "Do you take me for an idiot? If I run another lap with you and can't outrun you, wouldn't I have to run yet another lap? That means I'd be running three laps!"

The smile on Li Ke's face stiffened, but it quickly returned. He shrugged. "Whatever you want. You can choose to go back first and do shuttle runs. I played a full-court game all morning, and I'm exhausted. I don't have any strength left. I'm planning to walk the remaining lap. I'm not going back to do shuttle runs, anyway!"

After saying that, Li Ke stood where he was and breathed deeply. He reached up to wipe nonexistent sweat from his forehead, bent forward slightly, planted both hands on his knees, and panted heavily.

Wang Cheng froze. He turned to look at the players doing shuttle runs on the basketball court, then looked back at Li Ke's composed appearance. Gritting his teeth, he cursed, "Damn it!"

Yet his feet did not move. He stood there waiting for Zhu Zhan to pass him. Zhu Zhan looked at Li Ke, who was bent over and panting, and felt his heart tighten.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhan saw Li Ke tilt his head slightly. Though his mouth was panting heavily, he gave Zhu Zhan a hard wink, a hint of cunning in his eyes.

I wonder what Li Ke's plan is. Seeing Wang Cheng watching him, Zhu Zhan resisted the urge to nod at Li Ke and hurried past him.

When he reached Wang Cheng's side, he glanced at him and saw Wang Cheng casually sweep his eyes over him, as though Zhu Zhan was beneath his notice.

Another reason Zhu Zhan disliked Wang Cheng was that Wang Cheng relied on his decent basketball skills to act arrogantly in the team, always putting on an indifferent, aloof air.

The moment Zhu Zhan passed him, Wang Cheng stepped forward and quickly chased after him. Looking back and seeing Li Ke indeed strolling along behind them at an unhurried pace, Wang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He slowed down as well and began jogging leisurely.

Zhu Zhan looked toward the basketball court ahead, where Coach Fang Shan was watching him with his arms crossed over his chest. Fang Shan turned his head and glanced at them.

Zhu Zhan's heart tightened, and he immediately lengthened his stride, sprinting forward.

I wonder if Li Ke has enough strength to overtake Wang Cheng, Zhu Zhan thought as he ran.

Ah! Right, Li Ke only played a little over one quarter at noon before Zhang Jian's iron elbow knocked his nose bloody. He must still have plenty of stamina. That means...

Zhu Zhan was overjoyed. When he turned his head, he indeed saw Li Ke bounce in place, his eyes gleaming sharply. Li Ke suddenly took a huge stride, like a male lion on the grasslands hunting prey, and rapidly chased after Wang Cheng.

"Phew, phew..."

"Coach, I'm done!" Zhu Zhan panted as he looked at Fang Shan before him.

"Mm." Fang Shan nodded at Zhu Zhan, his dark face revealing no expression.

"Return to the team. Do two sets of shuttle runs first!" Fang Shan's eyes swept over Li Ke and Wang Cheng, who were still running on the track, and he spoke calmly.

Zhu Zhan groaned inwardly, but he said nothing. Wearing a miserable expression, he obediently ran over and began doing shuttle runs.

Fang Shan glanced at him calmly and shook his head.

Then he turned and looked at Li Ke. The corners of Fang Shan's mouth curled into a faint smile.

But a scheming glint suddenly flashed through his eyes.

On the track, Wang Cheng panted heavily as he ran with dragging steps.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him, and Wang Cheng hurriedly turned to look.

"Li Ke, what are you doing?!" Wang Cheng cried in shock as Li Ke charged up at an astonishing speed.

Li Ke grinned and looked at Wang Cheng as if he were an idiot. "What am I doing? Passing you, of course. Only an idiot would run an extra lap!"

Even as he spoke, he quickly ran past Wang Cheng.

"You..."

Wang Cheng froze, then roared and gritted his teeth as he tried to catch Li Ke. But Li Ke had barely expended any energy. Now that he accelerated with all his strength, how could Wang Cheng possibly catch him? Wang Cheng could only watch helplessly as Li Ke sped past him.

"Li Ke, you bastard!" Wang Cheng loudly cursed Li Ke from behind. Li Ke did not even turn his head. His feet flew beneath him, and before long, he had completed the lap.

Li Ke panted lightly. Looking ahead at Fang Shan, who stood with his arms crossed and a gentle smile on his face as if he were waiting for him, Li Ke suddenly shivered for no reason.

Why do I have such a bad feeling? As Li Ke ran, Fang Shan's faint smile made that thought suddenly surface in his mind.

The basketball court in Zhu Zhan's residential complex.

Zhu Zhan trudged toward the court with his basketball in hand. When he arrived, he saw Jiang Shi shooting on the court and called out, "Uncle Jiang."