Chapter 28: Loves to Tell Little Lies

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Loves to Tell Little Lies

On the basketball court, it was Chen Yuan’s turn to attack, with Li Dongyang guarding him closely.

Chen Yuan wasn’t in a hurry. He spoke as he dribbled:

"Have you finished that 2000-word PPT? Song Jianye happens to be here, so you can give it to her."

Li Dongyang’s heart skipped a beat.

’He knows Song Jianye is here too?’

’I have to win this one-on-one!’

’Huh? Where’d he go?’

Just as Li Dongyang was planning his moment to show off, he realized Chen Yuan had vanished. He turned around to see Chen Yuan was already under the basket. A standard three-step layup, and the ball swished through the net.

Possession doesn’t change on a score, so Chen Yuan played some more mind games. For the second basket, he shot a three-pointer and made it.

The score was 2-0.

"Can you stop with all the trash talk? Or is running your mouth the only thing you’re good at?"

Chen Yuan dribbled in place, then went between his legs twice to throw off the defender’s rhythm. After creating some space, he quickly moved forward.

Li Dongyang’s defense kept up, but Chen Yuan hit him with a sudden stop and step-back. Li Dongyang stumbled, nearly falling over.

Dribbling in place, Chen Yuan didn’t rush the layup.

Li Dongyang continued to defend. Chen Yuan went between his legs into a behind-the-back dribble and charged the basket. He then spun with a low center of gravity, palming the ball and raising it in a fake. Li Dongyang jumped to follow, but his footing was unstable, and he nearly fell again.

"Boss, you’re making him look like a total fool!" Liu Shiyu said, giving a thumbs-up.

Chen Yuan gently tossed up a floater, and it swished through the net.

For the fourth ball, Chen Yuan shot another three-pointer, but it missed.

Li Dongyang got his chance, his eyes burning with anger. Chen Yuan held his advantage, standing inside the three-point line, giving him space to shoot but not to drive.

Seizing an opportunity, Li Dongyang rushed forward, but his target clearly wasn’t the basket. He swung his elbow right at Chen Yuan.

The instant before contact, Chen Yuan took a step back. Li Dongyang’s body lost its pivot point, and he went tumbling out of bounds.

He whiffed his ultimate.

"Haha..."

Roars of laughter erupted from the basketball court.

Li Dongyang’s expression was awkward. A few people from the School Student Union who had been watching the show covered their faces, unable to bear the secondhand embarrassment.

"Too weak. Bring in a ringer."

The court’s surface was concrete, and Li Dongyang’s fall wasn’t light. There was no need to continue after that.

Chen Yuan returned the ball and waved. Song Jianye walked over to him.

"Ah... wait, what?"

Cao Yumeng watched Song Jianye walk away from her. ’She’s just leaving like that?’

’Didn’t we agree to go to the library together? Why did she ditch me right after we ate?’

’Player!’

Liu Shiyu sat under the hoop, stunned for a good while. ’The boss and Song Jianye just left?’

’Then what was that last-ditch, super long-range three-pointer I took all about?’

’Dammit!’

"Senior, I’m leaving now. You can stay here and lick your wounds."

Kind words can warm three winters, but hurtful words are just so much fun.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Chen Yuan left with Song Jianye.

Li Dongyang nearly ground his teeth to dust!

’Why is this happening!’

"Senior..."

Just as Li Dongyang was seething, a girl with a ponytail quietly approached him.

"Hello, junior."

Li Dongyang composed himself, trying to look a little more presentable.

"I’m fine, don’t worry. Just scraped my knee. A small injury like this is nothing to me."

"No, that’s not it. I wanted to tell you, can you play a little cleaner next time? If Chen Yuan hadn’t dodged so quickly, you definitely would have hurt him. So shameless. Ptooey!"

After cursing him out, the ponytail girl spun on her heel and left.

Li Dongyang froze. The people around him didn’t say a word, listening to the sound of a simp’s defenses shattering.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan and Song Jianye had already left the basketball court and were walking side-by-side under the shade of the trees.

In black denim shorts and a small white shirt, Song Jianye was a beautiful sight walking across campus.

Chen Yuan felt that Li Dongyang was someone who couldn’t read the situation, with pathetically low emotional intelligence.

Jin Ziyi: "Charge! If I’m number one, I can unite with Miss Ovum!"

Jin Zi’er: "Idiot, we’re in a mouth."

Faced with a person like that, Chen Yuan didn’t really have a good way to deal with him.

"Have you eaten?"

Song Jianye shook her head. "No."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Uncle Zhang told me to call him when I wasn’t busy. He’s going to give me some cut fruit. We can go pick it up and then eat out."

"Alright, let’s get a Songyang combo."

The two left campus, and Song Jianye proactively bought Chen Yuan a lemonade to quench his thirst.

"Why’d you only buy one cup?"

"Uncle Zhang prepared cut fruit. I’ll eat that in a bit."

"So you plan to let me drink a beverage made with artificial flavoring while you eat fresh fruit?"

"Th-then I’ll drink this, and you can have the cut fruit," Song Jianye said, her words getting twisted from nervousness.

"But I like lemonade too."

"I’ve got it!"

Song Jianye put on a very clever-looking expression.

"Let’s just eat the lemon slices directly. They have a lemon flavor, and they’re also fruit."

"Let me just say, thank you... because of you... the four seasons are warm..."

The two walked to University City. Since students from all the universities had returned to school, the place was packed with people, and you could see couples everywhere.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I’m not eating. I’m not hungry."

Chen Yuan looked Song Jianye over. "Did you already eat?"

"No! I’m really not hungry!" Song Jianye said with a straight face. "I’ll just have some fruit later, and I’ll be fine."

[The child is slowly growing up and has reached the age where she tells little lies...]

’No mission?’

’Just a notification?’

According to Tongzi’s progress tracker, Song Jianye was now two years old.

A human toddler over two years old was already capable of simple communication.

Telling little lies also fit the characteristics of that age.

"Suit yourself, then."

"Mhm."

Chen Yuan didn’t go eat anything else either. He just bought a smoked meat flatbread, and then the two of them walked toward the Lanting Hotel.

As expected of a four-star hotel, the lobby was spacious and bright, giving one the feeling that their money was well spent.

After they entered, Song Jianye went to the front desk while Chen Yuan sat down on a nearby sofa.

A bite of smoked meat flatbread, a sip of lemonade... Ah, that’s the stuff.

"Nian Nian."

Seeing Song Jianye come in, the lobby manager came up to greet her, her gaze also falling on Chen Yuan.

"Sister Jing."

"I’ll have the back kitchen cut some fruit for you."

"Okay."

Apparently, this task had already become a routine for the staff; they knew what Song Jianye was here for.

Song Jianye returned to the sofa in the lobby and sat down next to Chen Yuan. The lobby manager, Xu Jing, and a female receptionist watched from the side, enjoying the drama.

"Manager, that guy... is he the young miss’s boyfriend?"

"She brought him all the way here, so President Zhang probably knows about it. I’d say so."

"He’s pretty handsome, but he looks a bit... disheveled," the female receptionist said.

"What do you know? Let me tell you, they’re a perfect match!"

"How are they a perfect match?"

"Look at him, he’s still sweaty. Even if he’s not a sports major, he’s clearly a guy who loves sports. He’s a perfect match for our young miss."

"Athletic guys are all... intense, right?" the female receptionist snickered.

"I can only say that most of them are decent, and the proportion is a bit higher," Xu Jing said.

"But the most important thing is the vibe. Look at them sitting there. They just have this vibrant, youthful energy."

The female receptionist looked at Chen Yuan and Song Jianye again.

The combination of the disheveled college guy and the prim and proper pretty girl... the more she looked, the more she shipped it.

Soon, the back kitchen had the fruit cut. Just then, Uncle Zhang came down in the elevator and saw Chen Yuan sitting on the lobby sofa.

"President Zhang."

Uncle Zhang smiled and nodded in response. Xu Jing carried the bag, and the two of them walked over to Song Jianye.

"Uncle Zhang."

Chen Yuan stood up and greeted him. Xu Jing handed the fruit to Song Jianye.

"Uncle Zhang, Sister Jing, we’re heading out now."

"Alright, off you go."

Taking the fruit, the two of them got up to leave. But just then, a man and a woman walked in from outside.

The girl was very attractive and had a good figure. She was wearing loose black pants and a small beige shirt, with her hair tied up in a bun, giving her a clean and sharp look.

The guy: Not worth mentioning.

Chen Yuan recognized the girl, though he didn’t know her well.

Her name was Jiang Shuyi. She was in the same major, a sophomore from Xinyuan, and also the head of the External Relations Department of the School Student Union.

When he was a freshman, she had approached him and asked if he wanted to join the External Relations Department, but the process was too much of a hassle, so he’d refused.

’Are they here now to solicit sponsorships?’