Chapter 330 A Tense Standoff

The group of boys who had just finished their game walked toward the stands, laughing and talking, their eyes already locked onto the girls sitting there.

There wasn’t a hint of the shyness you might expect on their faces when approaching strangers—only the eagerness of someone who’s spotted a target.

The leader, the tallest and most handsome of the bunch, wore a bright, natural smile. He walked without hesitation, leading his teammates right up to the group of six.

His face was flushed from the exercise and his eyes were bright. His gaze swept quickly across the girls’ faces before finally landing on Zhou Yue and Lin Xiaoxiao, who looked the most approachable.

"Hey, beauties, how’s it going?" he said with a cheerful laugh, his voice full of the energy typical of an athletic guy. "You look like freshmen. Here to get to know the campus?"

Zhou Yue had an outgoing personality. Although she wasn’t a fan of being hit on, she seemed used to it. She replied with a faint smile, "Hey, seniors. You’ve got a good eye. We are freshmen, just walking around to get familiar with the place."

"Of course! The freshman welcoming season is when we’re the busiest... oh, I mean, the most helpful." The tall guy made a humorous, self-deprecating remark, drawing a few low chuckles from his teammates. He then introduced himself, "I’m Zhang Yang. And these are my boys."

He gestured casually at the guys behind him, looking very nonchalant.

"Hello, seniors," Zhou Yue and Lin Xiaoxiao replied with smiles.

Su Yuqing and Zhao Ya gave polite, small nods.

Shen Xinghe, however, merely shot them a cool glance before turning his gaze back to the court, as if nothing around him had anything to do with him.

Chen Mo sat quietly to the side, observing with a calm expression.

Zhang Yang smoothly continued the conversation, but his gaze drifted more often toward the quiet and beautiful Su Yuqing—who was the prettiest of the group—and Shen Xinghe, whose unique presence and good looks were on par with hers (he still thought Shen Xinghe was a cold beauty). He extended an invitation: "It’s too hot today, and you guys look bored just sitting here. We were just about to head to the new cold drink shop nearby to take a break. Want to come with? Consider it a welcome treat from us upperclassmen. Plus, we can tell you about the fun places on campus and what pitfalls to avoid."

His words were smooth and practiced. The reason he gave sounded so plausible and natural that it was hard to find an immediate excuse to refuse.

Zhou Yue once again took on the role of spokesperson, politely declining with a smile. "Thanks for the kind offer, seniors! But we just sat down to rest, so we don’t feel like moving yet. Besides, we have other plans in a bit. Maybe next time."

Though he was rejected so decisively, the smile on Zhang Yang’s face didn’t falter. A hint of a challenge, however, entered his eyes. He had clearly been in this situation many times before.

He wasn’t discouraged. Leaning forward slightly, his gaze fixed more directly on the girls, especially Su Yuqing. His tone was half-joking but insistent. "Come on, don’t shut us down like that. It’s just a drink, a chance to make some friends. How about we add each other on WeChat first? That way, if there are any fun events at school, or... if some clueless guy tries to bother you, you can call us upperclassmen anytime. We’ll be there in a flash, guaranteed."

His words were now tinged with insinuation and confidence, even a subtle boast of his own capabilities.

This practiced, slightly pressuring way of hitting on them caused a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

Su Yuqing frowned slightly and subconsciously moved a little closer to Chen Mo.

"No thanks, seniors. We already have someone to protect us," Lin Xiaoxiao said, her eyes narrowing. She was starting to get annoyed by how pushy they were.

The moment she said that, all the guys instantly turned to look at Chen Mo. After all, in their eyes, he was the only other guy there, so he had to be the one Lin Xiaoxiao was talking about.

"Five beauties with just one Flower Guardian? I’m afraid that’s not nearly enough," Zhang Yang said with a chuckle. "Why not consider us?"

Chen Mo, who had been silent all this time, finally looked up. His gaze was calm yet held an intangible, piercing quality as it met Zhang Yang’s. His tone was completely level as he cut straight to the point: "We appreciate the kind offer from you seniors, but since the ladies have already said they don’t need this kind of ’service,’ you’d be better off finding someone else who needs your protection."

The rejection was clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation. You couldn’t even find fault with his wording.

The smile on Zhang Yang’s face finally faded a little.

A stocky teammate behind him, wearing a Rockets-style jersey, clearly had a shorter temper. He sneered, took half a step forward, and looked Chen Mo up and down with a scrutinizing, provocative gaze. "Kid, you’re guarding five girls all by yourself? Think you can handle that? We just want to make friends, get to know them. No need to shut us down completely, right?"

His words were incredibly rude, full of provocation and contempt, directly aiming the conflict at Chen Mo and painting him as an enemy for "monopolizing" the beautiful girls.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, thick with the smell of gunpowder.

Zhou Yue and Lin Xiaoxiao’s smiles vanished, replaced by nervousness.

Su Yuqing grabbed Chen Mo’s arm.

Zhao Ya’s expression also turned serious.

Chen Mo’s eyes turned icy as he slowly stood up.

He was about the same height as Zhang Yang, but the steady aura of someone who had weathered storms, combined with his sharp gaze, instantly overwhelmed the other guy’s athletic vigor with a tangible sense of pressure.

He stared at the insolent guy, his voice low but every word distinct and laced with coldness. "I don’t want to repeat myself. Are you leaving or not?"

The guy’s heart skipped a beat under Chen Mo’s stare, but banking on his numbers and his status as a seasoned veteran on campus, he stubbornly stiffened his neck, wanting to retort.

"Hah."

A soft scoff sounded out, tinged with a lazy sort of mockery.

Shen Xinghe, who had been watching from the sidelines, stood up.

He elegantly straightened his already neat collar. His beautiful peach blossom eyes swept over Zhang Yang and his friends, finally landing on the provocative one. His tone was flat but carried an undercurrent of disdain. "You’re all talk. I wonder if your skills on the court can back it up. Since you’re all basketball players and you’re so fired up, what’s the point of just running your mouths? Let’s settle this like ballers, on the court. Two-on-two, first to five baskets. If we win, you apologize for what you said and leave quietly."

As Shen Xinghe spoke, everyone suddenly realized—was this beauty actually a guy?

For a moment, the guys were a bit thrown.

At the same time, his proposal was completely unexpected.

Zhang Yang and his friends froze for a second, then re-examined Shen Xinghe, their eyes filled with a mixture of astonishment and unconcealed contempt.

A guy who looked like *that* wanted to play basketball against them?

"You? Play against us?" The guy in the Rockets jersey burst out laughing and made an exaggerated gesture. "Bro, that build of yours is for photoshoots, isn’t it? Don’t joke around. It gets rough on the court, and we can’t afford to pay up if we mess up that pretty face of yours."