The noon sun baked the playground, a wave of heat constantly hitting people's faces. The sound of cicadas pressed down from the trees all around, and the edge of the bleachers was packed tightly.
From the basketball court came whistles and the squeak of shoes against the floor, surrounded by incessant cheers.
"Damn, Cheng An is so handsome. I hope he crushes Zhou Chiye!"
"Why do I think Zhou Chiye is hotter..."
"Don't you think he's scary? He seems like the kind of guy who curses at the sky, the ground, his girlfriend, even cats and dogs."
Ji Zhaoxi, clutching a bottle of water, desperately pushed her way through the crowd. Just then, she accidentally bumped into a girl.
The girl immediately spun around angrily, and Ji Zhaoxi immediately apologized, feeling guilty: "Sorry."
The moment the girl saw Ji Zhaoxi, the anger on her face melted away. She froze for a second. "Oh, I wasn't glaring at you."
She frowned tightly and began scanning her surroundings, trying to figure out who had actually bumped into her.
If you're going to come watch the game, come early! Shoving your way in halfway through is just annoying?!
She suspected everyone around her, and anyone who met her gaze frantically shook their heads in panic.
Ji Zhaoxi timidly tugged at her sleeve. "Hey, the person you're looking for is probably me."
The girl glanced at Ji Zhaoxi, who looked completely innocent, and smiled. "No, really, it isn't you. The person who bumped me did it from behind."
Ji Zhaoxi was silent. But she had come in from behind.
The girl's eyes finally locked onto a guy standing diagonally behind her. She didn't remember seeing him when she arrived.
The guy gave her a confused look. "I've been here forever, and I don't have a thing for standing close to girls!"
The girl muttered under her breath, "Next time someone dares to push me, they're going to regret it!"
Ji Zhaoxi, standing nearby, looked at her, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.
The referee's whistle blew on the court. Zhou Chiye held the ball with one hand, casually wiped the sweat from his face, and lazily walked off the court.
His tank top was soaked through with sweat, the contours of his muscles rising and falling with each breath. He radiated heat, but his eyes remained cold.
"Ye Ge, that block just now was insane! Cheng An's face went totally dark," a guy said excitedly, following Zhou Chiye.
Zhou Chiye didn't respond, but the others didn't think anything of it, already replaying the winning move in their minds.
He leaned back on the bench in the rest area, breathing hard, his arms resting casually. Just as he was about to close his eyes, a bottle of water appeared in front of him.
Zhou Chiye frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the hand holding the bottle. Her fingertips were a nearly translucent pink, her nails cut short and neat.
It made his hands look... really rough...
Seeing that Zhou Chiye wasn't taking the water, Ji Zhaoxi called out awkwardly, "Brother Ye!"
That nickname again.
The surrounding area fell silent without warning, all eyes carefully fixed on them.
Zhou Chiye clicked his tongue in annoyance, took the bottle, and downed it in one go.
He sat on the chair with one leg propped up, frowning at Ji Zhaoxi, crushing the empty bottle in his hand with a crackling sound.
The people nearby quietly backed away, afraid of being caught in Zhou Chiye's bad mood.
"Ye Ge, come on! She was just being nice, offering you water. You're not going to throw the bottle at her, are you?" a guy ran over in disbelief.
Zhou Chiye let out a short laugh. "Get lost!"
The guy quickly disappeared.
Ji Zhaoxi met Zhou Chiye's gaze and nervously stepped back. It's fine, she thought; when he throws it, she'll just duck. He definitely won't hit her.
"Did you buy it with your own money?" Zhou Chiye's tone was harsh.
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated, then nodded.
Zhou Chiye looked even more irritated. He stood up directly, grabbed his stuff from the seat, and said, "Let's go."
Ji Zhaoxi quickly followed him.
As they passed by a group of girls, the girls shrank back in fear.
"I told you, Zhou Chiye curses at everyone! And you said he was handsome!"
"I don't think he's handsome anymore..."
The incessant chirping of cicadas was maddening. Zhou Chiye walked ahead, hands in his pockets, taking long strides.
Hearing the soft, light footsteps behind him, he let out a quiet "tsk," kicked a pebble on the path, and slowed down.
"Brother Ye."
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at him, catching up, and held out a tissue.
Zhou Chiye's gaze stopped on the tissue. He gave a scoffing laugh. "Miss, real men don't use tissues to wipe their sweat."
He roughly used the hem of his shirt to wipe his face, messing up his hair in the process.
"Real men use their clothes," he said coldly.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at his hair, then silently used the tissue to wipe her own sweat.
As soon as Ji Zhaoxi saw Zhou Chiye walk into the supermarket, she knew he was going to spend money on her again.
Zhou Chiye grabbed a bottle of water for himself and leaned against the counter, drinking it without even looking at her. "Grab whatever you want."
"Brother Ye, can I take anything?" Ji Zhaoxi's eyes sparkled with barely contained happiness.
Even those snacks she had been eyeing for so long without being able to buy!
Zhou Chiye stared at her silently.
Ji Zhaoxi recognized that look. She immediately grabbed a basket and went to pick her items.
Zhou Chiye tapped away at his phone, playing a game. Ji Zhaoxi was back before the match even started. He looked up and saw her basket was half full.
Without a word, he pocketed his phone, grabbed a shopping cart with a look of impatience, found the few things she had picked, and filled the cart to the brim.
"When you do something, just do it properly."
Ji Zhaoxi stood nervously beside him.
She didn't want people to laugh at her for taking too much...
The cashier stared silently at the mountain of items on the counter. But when she noticed Zhou Chiye standing next to her, she understood.
In the end, Zhou Chiye walked out of the supermarket carrying several large bags. He hadn't initially planned to carry them, but seeing how the bags were almost bigger than her, he had to. If he walked next to her with her carrying those giant bags and him empty-handed, that would be embarrassing.
The two of them headed in the direction of the classroom.
Zhou Chiye suddenly spoke. "You want to stick with me, don't you?"
Ji Zhaoxi nodded hard. "Yes!"
Zhou Chiye already knew. But the guys who followed him were all male. There are no girls. And guys and girls aren't the same.
He frowned deeply, looked at her, and said, "Fine."
Just as Ji Zhaoxi started to get happy, Zhou Chiye added, "But you have to stop pulling those scams from now on."
Ji Zhaoxi froze. She was just about to ask him how he knew.
Zhou Chiye's tone grew hard. "If people find out about that, it's my reputation that's at stake. Since you're following me, you can't do those things anymore."
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. "Brother Ye, but it's quick money."
Zhou Chiye's frown deepened. "How much have you made from this so far?"
Ji Zhaoxi didn't dare to answer, mumbling without saying anything concrete.
Zhou Chiye pushed impatiently. "Tell me."
"Twenty thousand yuan." Ji Zhaoxi's voice got smaller and smaller.
Hearing the number, Zhou Chiye relaxed inwardly. That was just his twenty thousand yuan. So she had only scammed him so far.
The expression on his face finally softened a little.
"Alright. Stick with me. What's twenty thousand yuan?"
Zhou Chiye pulled out his phone. "Open your WeChat."
Ji Zhaoxi promptly pulled up her payment QR code.
Zhou Chiye stared at the QR code for a moment, scanned the payment, then opened her profile QR code and added her on WeChat.
As he was leaving, Zhou Chiye specifically warned her, "Don't go pulling any more collision scams, got it? I don't want to have to bail you out of the police station."
Ji Zhaoxi nodded silently. "Got it, Brother Ye."
The money Zhou Chiye gave her was way more than what she made from the scams, and the scams were much riskier.
