Page 11

While Shen Yi and Fu Cheng were playing one-on-one, another group arrived at the basketball court. The place was large, with two courts in total. Shen Yi and Fu Cheng were on one side, and the group was on the other. They had been staying out of each other's way when a ball suddenly flew from the other side toward Fu Cheng. Shen Yi caught it with his bare hands.

Several girls were sitting on a bench off the court, taking pictures with their phones. When they saw the ball fly toward him, they let out small gasps.

The ball fell from Shen Yi's palm and bounced on the ground with a thumping sound.

"Sorry!" A few people walked over from the other side. "It slipped."

If Shen Yi hadn't caught it, the basketball would have hit Fu Cheng in the face. Shen Yi rolled his wrist and spotted a familiar "old friend."

Xu Fanchao and several other tall guys walked over, their numbers lending them an air of confidence. Xu Fanchao's status as their leader was on full display. He swaggered over with a smile on his face, and there wasn't a trace of apology in his voice.

"I didn't get a good look just now. Turns out it's you two."

Shen Yi glanced at him, then suddenly pulled his lips into a smile. "Are you blind? You couldn't even see that?"

Xu Fanchao's expression changed. He hadn't expected Shen Yi to be so rude right off the bat. He stepped forward and shoved Shen Yi's shoulder. "You little..."

Shen Yi seized his wrist and said gently, "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

A sharp pain shot through Xu Fanchao's wrist, and his face alternated between pale and red.

Their shadows stretched across the ground, overlapping. The atmosphere was tense enough to snap.

"You boys! What are you doing?" a voice shouted.

Shen Yi turned to look. It was the disciplinary director.

He released Xu Fanchao's wrist. The disciplinary director recognized the boys, especially Xu Fanchao, a troublemaker who was always stirring up trouble.

Xu Fanchao muttered "Fuck" under his breath, and the disciplinary director happened to hear him. He caught Xu Fanchao and gave him a scolding.

"Fuck what? Your dad's here for the parent-teacher meeting today, and you still can't behave, can you..."

After scolding Xu Fanchao, the disciplinary director warned the rest of them before leaving. Shen Yi was no longer in the mood to play. Xu Fanchao hadn't messaged him since last time, but judging by the way he was acting, he didn't seem inclined to let the matter drop.

As Shen Yi turned to leave, he threw the ball in his hand, striking Xu Fanchao squarely in the back of the shoulder. Xu Fanchao staggered from the impact and cursed through gritted teeth.

In a deliberately lazy tone that made him especially punchable, Shen Yi said, "Sorry, it slipped."

Xu Fanchao wanted to charge at him, but he seemed to have reservations. In the end, he only panted heavily and glared viciously at him. "You'd better hope I don't catch you outside school."

In the senior year Class 1 classroom, Fu Yuhe sat by the window and took in the whole farce. He was too far away to hear anything and could only make out their figures faintly.

He tapped a fingertip lightly against the test paper on the desk. The name "Shen Yi" was written in the upper left corner in bold, forceful handwriting.

A few minutes earlier, the test paper had been tucked inside Fu Cheng's book. The score was quite good.

It had to be said that there were still quite a few differences between the investigation's findings and the person himself.

As the parent-teacher meeting was nearing its end, Shen Yi and Fu Cheng returned to the classroom building.

There weren't many students in their class, so the seating was spacious. Standing at the classroom door, Shen Yi spotted the man sitting in the corner at a glance.

Among all the parents, he was the most eye-catching. His skin was cool and fair, and he was young and handsome. A black suit wrapped his perfectly proportioned figure. Even his casual posture gave off an imposing air, and he was entirely at ease in these surroundings.

Several girls in the hallway were whispering among themselves. Fu Yuhe's type was very popular with girls their age, but liking him was one thing. Someone like him could only be admired from afar, not touched. Fu Yuhe, a real-life domineering CEO, was far too aloof.

The main purpose of this parent-teacher meeting was to urge parents to pay more attention to their children's mental health. They were already in their final year of high school and had reached the final stretch before the college entrance exam.

"Fu Cheng, is that your brother?"

A girl beside him leaned over to ask.

Fu Cheng nodded.

"Your brother is so handsome," the girl said quietly.

Fu Cheng pressed his lips together and smiled.

"Isn't our Fu Cheng handsome?" Shen Yi chimed in with a smile.

Meeting his smiling gaze, the girl blushed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Hey." Fu Cheng nudged Shen Yi in the stomach with his elbow, blushing a little at the teasing too.

Before long, the parent-teacher meeting ended, and the people inside began filing out through the door.

There were no classes today, and students were free to make their own plans after the meeting. Fu Yuhe checked the time and said he would take Fu Cheng out to eat, and Fu Cheng brought Shen Yi along as well.

They went downstairs and, as they passed along a tree-lined path, ran into a burly middle-aged man in a suit. He was so heavily built that his muscles looked ready to burst through the fabric.

He came over with a smile to greet them. "President Fu."

His smile was clearly friendly, but his face gave off a fierce impression.

Fu Yuhe's response was neither warm nor cold. "President Xu."

"What a coincidence," President Xu said. "Here for your younger brother's parent-teacher meeting? No idea where that brat of mine has run off to."

Fu Yuhe suddenly said, "I saw him playing basketball just now."

He turned sideways and looked at the two teenagers behind him. "He was playing with you, wasn't he?"

Shen Yi was quick on the uptake. "Xu Fanchao?"

"He's Xu Fanchao's dad," Fu Cheng quietly reminded him from the side.

"Oh... he was playing basketball." Realization dawned on Shen Yi. He glanced at Fu Yuhe, who wore a politely distant expression, and picked up on what he had said. As if mentioning it casually, he added, "He also nearly hit Fu Cheng with the ball."

President Xu's smile stiffened. He laughed and said, "That boy never knows his own strength. So careless. I'll have a good talk with him later."

"A few bumps and scrapes are normal when playing basketball. There's no need to take it to heart." It was impossible to tell from Fu Yuhe's tone whether he meant it positively or negatively.