A Hard Truth and a New Proposal

[Targeting location…]

[Current location: Second Basketball Court]

Zhou Yi: “…”

She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

‘This guy! I called him a slowpoke, and he truly is one. What time is it now, and he’s still running off to the basketball court to ambush Jiang Chen?’

‘Hasn’t he realized yet? Su Xiao’s affections are fickle; she’s probably out drinking milk tea with some new senior, while he’s still foolishly clinging to his “goddess” mission, hurtling down the wrong path.’

“Alright, I’ll have to go fish him out of the basketball court.”

Resigned, she turned and headed towards the court.

As expected, the moment she neared the court, she spotted Li Yanze squatting by the sideline in the distance once more.

His gaze, fixed longingly on Jiang Chen on the court, was uncannily similar to that of her old dog, Big Yellow, back home—the one that would frantically wag its tail and rub against Uncle Liu from next door whenever he returned.

He was practically barking.

“Hey!” Zhou Yi walked up to him and slapped his shoulder, her tone sharp. “Your goddess is practically running off with someone else, and you’re still standing here like a door god?”

Li Yanze jumped, nearly dropping his mineral water bottle. “S-Senior?”

Seeing Zhou Yi so suddenly, Li Yanze felt a pang of guilt.

“I just…”

“Just what?”

Without waiting for his answer, Zhou Yi grabbed his collar and forcefully dragged him towards the spectator stands, steering clear of the inquisitive gazes from the court.

‘Just what?’ Li Yanze couldn’t articulate it himself. He only knew that the distance between him and Su Xiao was growing increasingly vast.

This morning, as usual, he had brought Su Xiao’s favorite sandwich and hot Americano, waiting for her downstairs. Yet, he found a line of boys already gathered outside the girls’ dorm, surmising they were likely there because of the post on the campus wall.

He watched as these boys fawned over Su Xiao, while he, the “long-time patron,” didn’t even receive a single “thank you.”

In the end, he could only awkwardly take the breakfast back to his dorm, pretending nothing had happened. The meticulously prepared sandwich ultimately ended up in his roommate’s stomach.

Clearly, that post had propelled Su Xiao into the spotlight.

The post had crowned her the “new pure and innocent goddess.”

He felt uneasy seeing the slander against Senior Zhou Yi in the post.

As an eyewitness present at the scene, he had watched her being publicly shamed and cyberbullied, yet he hadn’t dared to utter a single word in her defense.

He knew perfectly well how aggressive Su Xiao had been, and how Zhou Yi had been cornered into making that video call. How could the narrative online be so completely twisted?

He had initially considered posting an explanation to help Senior Zhou Yi, his finger hovering over the send button for a long time. But then, the thought of upsetting Su Xiao and having her ignore him forever…

He chickened out again.

This cowardly thought filled him with such shame that he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself.

Since he couldn’t solve it, he could only escape.

So, after class, he habitually squatted by the basketball court once more.

In Li Yanze’s mind, the only way to recapture Su Xiao’s attention was to help her get Jiang Chen’s WeChat contact.

****

On the other side of the court, seeing Li Yanze by the sidelines once again, Jiang Chen felt a distinct sense of helplessness.

To be honest, the kid hadn’t done anything wrong; his obsession was just too profound. Jiang Chen couldn’t bring himself to directly tell him to leave, so he simply tolerated his presence.

It wasn’t until Zhou Yi’s spirited figure burst onto the court that Jiang Chen noticed her almost instantly.

‘Why is she here again?’

‘Could she be… looking for me?’

This thought made him unconsciously adjust his stance, and even his passing movements became a little more deliberate.

To his surprise, she didn’t even glance his way upon reaching the court. Instead, she simply pulled Li Yanze aside and walked away.

Jiang Chen: “…”

‘So, she wasn’t looking for him after all.’

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. His momentary expectation had been rather amusing.

He refocused his attention on the game, yet somehow, his gaze kept drifting towards the spectator stands.

The basketball spun in his palm, but he found himself unable to concentrate.

“Chen Ge!” His teammate’s shout snapped him back to reality. “What are you spacing out for?”

He leaped, launching a three-pointer that arced sharply through the air, only to clatter off the rim and bounce away.

A chorus of disappointed groans rose from the sidelines, but his gaze remained fixed on the corner of the stands.

In the corner of the stands, Zhou Yi pressed Li Yanze into a seat. The moment she sat down, she cut straight to the chase: “Junior, I need to talk to you about something!”

“W-What is it?” Li Yanze dared not look up at her, shrinking his shoulders as if to escape.

Zhou Yi grabbed the attempting escapee, pulling a gilded invitation from her backpack and slapping it onto his lap. “Let’s team up for the entrepreneurship competition! There’s a twenty-thousand-yuan prize!”

Li Yanze picked up the envelope, glanced at it, and stammered, “This… I… I might…”

Seeing his hesitation, Zhou Yi softened her tone and offered what she believed to be an irresistible condition:

“How about this: if you agree to team up, I’ll find a way to get Jiang Chen to add Su Xiao on WeChat. What do you say?”

Li Yanze’s eyes lit up instantly; he was on the verge of nodding!

Then, as if remembering something, his enthusiasm immediately withered. “N-No… If Su Xiao finds out I’m teaming up with you, Senior… she’ll definitely be even angrier with me, and she’ll ignore me even more…”

“Well, is she paying attention to you now? You tell me!”

“…N-No, but what if…”

“What if what?”

Zhou Yi leaned closer, glaring at him. “What if she suddenly goes blind one day? What if she finally realizes you’re a treasure? I’m telling you, you could squat here until graduation, and she still wouldn’t spare you another glance!”

“I… I just want to…”

“Want what?!”

Zhou Yi’s patience completely snapped; she was practically fuming.

“You can’t be so foolish as to think devotion alone can move the heavens, can you? Do you really believe this kind of boundless sacrifice will win your goddess’s heart? Wake up! All you’re doing is making her see you as cheaper and easier to use!”

Li Yanze’s face flushed bright red. He lowered his head, speechless.

“But… but I’ve liked her for three years…”

“Do you know what a sunk cost is? You’re not betting three years; you’re betting all the three years to come.”

She could see that Li Yanze was reluctant to let go of the feelings he had poured into Su Xiao; the more he gave, the harder it was to release.

She pointed towards the court. “See Jiang Chen?”

Li Yanze looked in the direction she indicated. Jiang Chen had just completed a brilliant breakthrough, but his final shot missed its mark.

The basketball bounced a few times on the rim before rolling away.

His teammates around him began to jeer playfully, one of them laughing as he called out, “Chen Ge, you’re not on your game today!”

Jiang Chen simply smiled, unfazed. Instead, he reached out and helped up the junior he had knocked down during defense.

“People always make mistakes,” Zhou Yi said softly. “But he wouldn’t negate his own worth just because he missed a shot.”

She turned to Li Yanze. “Because his worth doesn’t need to be proven by others’ approval. Just like you right now, if Su Xiao doesn’t like you, does that truly mean you’re worthless?”