Chapter 14: Lu Mengyao, Overwhelmed by a Sense of Crisis

In the blink of an eye, a week of military training had already passed.

During this week, the students suffered, yet found joy as well. Besides the monotonous drills and the nightly brainwashing sessions, the occasional entertainment in the evenings was enough to make them happy for the whole night.

The weather had improved significantly compared to the previous days. Due to several cases of heatstroke, the instructor had given special attention, and Liu Hanyue herself hadn’t missed any more sessions, persisting through them all.

Good looks truly attracted attention—students from other classes even came over to ask for her contact information.

Wang Wenbo glanced up at the clear, endless sky and said, “Please, heavens above, have mercy and give us some rain!”

Although the sun wasn’t as fierce today, the air was stiflingly muggy, leaving a heaviness in everyone’s chest.

Cheng Yao chuckled softly, “Instead of begging the heavens for rain, you might as well ask the girls.”

“What do you mean?” Zhu Huiyang didn’t quite understand.

“Well, maybe one of them is the Dragon King in disguise. If she gets excited, she might sprinkle you with some rain and cool you off.”

“Are you being indecent?”

Cheng Yao just smiled without answering. He wasn’t being indecent at all—everyone knows the Dragon King controls the rain.

At that moment, Zhang Lei arrived from the equipment room with a basketball.

It was a rare afternoon break, so the instructor had organized some recreational activities.

Class One would go up against Class Two—the winning team would get priority in choosing partners.

Everyone eagerly signed up for the game. Wang Wenbo volunteered right away, pulling in three of his roommates. Cheng Yao didn’t mind either way; he just went along for the ride.

Zhang Lei and Zhu Huiyang both liked basketball and had a physical advantage.

Cheng Yao said, “I only played a few times in high school, and I was terrible.”

“No worries, we’ll carry you. Those guys from Class Two actually think they can make a move on the girls from our class? In their dreams!”

“Well said!”

In the gymnasium, the bleachers were filled with students watching the game.

On the court, the boys from Class Two eyed them with hostility, but Cheng Yao and his friends weren’t intimidated—they were all eager to show off and dominate the other team.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on campus at the University of Finance and Economics, a group of girls walked together, looking around.

“Why did we come all the way to the University of Finance on such a hot day?”

“To watch the game. Wang Wenbo mentioned it in the group chat—this is the place.”

When they entered the gym, Lu Mengyao looked around and said, “There are so many people here.”

“Yeah. By the way, are there really any handsome guys for us to meet?” Jinyi’s friend grinned cheekily.

Lu Mengyao laughed, “I’m giving you all a chance. Whether you can seize it is up to you.”

In truth, Lu Mengyao felt no sense of crisis. After all, she only ever used that famous shampoo, and she was the prettiest in the dorm—good looks and silky hair made her confident.

The gym was filled with noise and cheering.

Luckily, there were still seats up front. As soon as they sat down, Chen Qian remarked, “Look, isn’t that Wang Wenbo? Gotta say, he actually looks decent in a basketball uniform.”

“Wang Wenbo? Is that the guy Lu Mengyao likes?”

The other roommates glanced at Wang Wenbo and thought he looked pretty average. What did Lu Mengyao see in him?

Average looks. Doesn’t shower?

Chen Qian said, “Yeah, that’s him. His family has some money, I suppose. I think his roommate is the good-looking one—the one wearing jersey number ten.”

Lu Mengyao frowned and glanced at Cheng Yao in the number ten jersey. “No, I’m just a bit interested, that’s all. Nothing more to it.”

For certain reasons, she really had to hold herself back.

But what frustrated Lu Mengyao was that, after a whole week, Cheng Yao hadn’t messaged her once. Playing hard to get shouldn’t be like this!

So, she couldn’t resist and came over. When Wang Wenbo mentioned the game today, she used the excuse of introducing handsome guys to bring her roommates along as cover.

Staring at Cheng Yao on the court, Lu Mengyao gnashed her teeth.

Was he really not afraid she’d stop looking for him, after spending so much money on her? If she really left, wouldn’t he lose big time?

But she wasn’t that kind of person. Since she’d accepted his money, she ought to fulfill her girlfriend duties—holding hands and a few kisses, at least.

When she remembered what Cheng Yao had done to her in the little park, Lu Mengyao’s cheeks flushed red.

That bastard, he really could hold back and not message her.

Lu Mengyao felt stifled. When had she ever been so aggrieved? If he weren’t good-looking and generous with money, who would bother with him?

“Tsk, tsk, still claiming you’re not interested, but you’re eyeing him with such longing,” Chen Qian teased, though inwardly she was genuinely curious. What made Lu Mengyao so persistent? Was Wang Wenbo’s family really that rich?

Nearby, Liu Hanyue and Wang Ruochu glanced at Lu Mengyao.

This girl looked so pure—how could she be into someone like Wang Wenbo?

Who would’ve thought Wang Wenbo had such skills!

Wang Ruochu whispered, “Wang Wenbo can’t be a player, can he? Always flirting with girls in our class, and he asked for your contact info before…”

“Who knows, maybe he really is a player.” Liu Hanyue widened her eyes, pricked up her ears, and listened intently to Lu Mengyao and her friends, collecting information.

Jinyi and her friends, ever the lively art school girls, had even brought props. Each of them wore a cheerleader outfit, holding bouquets and shouting, “Wang Wenbo, go Wang Wenbo!”

Instantly, all eyes in the gym were drawn to the spicy cheerleaders.

On the court, the boys from Class Two stared wide-eyed.

Well, well—even cheerleaders!

How could you compete with that?

Where were their own Class Two cheerleaders?

Cheng Yao glanced over and happened to meet Lu Mengyao’s resentful gaze, then turned to Wang Wenbo. “What’s going on?”

“Haha, bet you didn’t expect that! I invited them in the group chat, and they really showed up. That’s what you call social status, you know?” Wang Wenbo threw his head back, waving in greeting.

“Be honest—how much did you pay them?”

Zhang Lei and Zhu Huiyang had met Lu Mengyao and Chen Qian before and thought they were truly beautiful. They couldn’t believe the girls would come so readily, since Wang Wenbo seemed to only have money going for him—not good looks.

Cheng Yao said impatiently, “If we lose, we’ll be a laughingstock.”

“In fact, we’ve already won. Even if Class Two wins the game, we’ve still won socially.”

For a moment, Class Two fumed with rage, feeling completely humiliated.

The instructor, acting as referee, thought the game was great fun—this was what youth was all about.

“The match begins!”

At the sound of the whistle, Cheng Yao drifted along at the edge.

Everyone could play basketball, but few could play well. There were no real stars on the court—slam dunks or spectacular moves were out of the question.

But participation was what counted.

Class One and Class Two were evenly matched, both rather mediocre, going back and forth.

In the audience, Chen Qian said, “Honestly, they’re terrible. How can they be this bad at basketball?”

“To be fair, the guy in the number ten jersey is pretty handsome, but he seems a bit lazy. I barely see him move…”

“Haha, maybe he doesn’t even want to win. Want to introduce him to me?”

Lu Mengyao hesitated, then fell silent.

Chen Qian said, “Forget it, he’s not a good guy either.”

She remembered running into Cheng Yao at the bar, asking Lu Mengyao for her contact info.

“Who are you calling names? We heard that!”

Wang Ruochu couldn’t hold back anymore—this Chen Qian’s mouth was just too sharp.

Chen Qian frowned. “And you are?”

“I…” Wang Ruochu paused. Right, who was she, really? There wasn’t much of a connection. “I’m their classmate, isn’t that enough? If you want to watch the game, just watch. Haven’t brushed your teeth today?”

“What’s it to you?”

“We’re classmates, you know. It’s not nice to badmouth people behind their backs.”

Liu Hanyue’s willow-shaped brows furrowed. Since she knew Cheng Yao and thought he was a decent guy—he’d even carried her to the infirmary before—hearing him insulted left her unhappy.

“You’re crazy,” Chen Qian retorted, knowing deep down she was in the wrong, and then fell silent, not wanting to engage further.

Lu Mengyao, however, kept staring at Liu Hanyue, feeling an unprecedented sense of crisis.

That girl—did she know Cheng Yao?

…