Chapter 37: He Tian’s Basketball Skills

Wang Xinyou was utterly astonished. Her eyes and attention were completely captivated by the basketball spinning on He Tian’s finger. She forgot she was driving altogether. Naturally, the car veered off course!

He Tian gave a reminder, but seeing Wang Xinyou become even more flustered and seemingly at a total loss as to what to do, he quickly reached out to seize the steering wheel, finally regaining control of the situation.

“Get out. I’ll drive,” He Tian said, not giving her a chance to protest as he opened the door and got out.

“What are you yelling for? It’s all your fault anyway!” Wang Xinyou muttered a couple of complaints. Seeing He Tian already walking around to her side, she could only get out with a resigned sigh.

They swapped seats, and only then did they get back on the road.

“How come you suddenly got so good at this?” Wang Xinyou hugged the basketball, trying to spin it herself, but the ball was far too unruly and refused to obey her.

“Don’t talk to me,” He Tian replied in a muffled tone.

“Don’t be mad! Brother He Tian, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, is that not enough?” Wang Xinyou clung to his arm, her voice full of pitiful pleading.

“What do you mean, ‘is that not enough’? Do you realize how dangerous that was just now? If we’d been driving during rush hour, your distraction would’ve caused a crash before I could even react! A car accident! Do you even understand how much danger you were in?” He Tian’s face was stern, completely ignoring Wang Xinyou’s attempts to appease him. This time, he truly was angry.

He Tian could tolerate danger caused by external factors, but he would never accept carelessness from within. If he didn’t take this chance to teach Wang Xinyou a lesson, she’d probably never learn her lesson.

“Brother He Tian, I really was wrong!” Seeing how serious and angry he looked, Wang Xinyou’s apologetic expression became incredibly sincere, and her heart filled with a warm feeling.

She thought, this man, angry as he was, was only worried for her safety. With that thought, Wang Xinyou suddenly felt her heart overflow with sweetness, as if she’d sipped honey. There was also an indescribable sensation—like a current, like a vapor—flowing through her whole body, leaving her tingling but blissful, happiness welling up from deep inside.

“Do you really know you were wrong?” He Tian finally spoke after Wang Xinyou had apologized three or four times in a row.

She nodded vigorously.

“You practice martial arts too. Grasp the situation, control your environment—that’s how you spot your opponent’s weaknesses. But if you can’t even ensure your own safety, how can you look for flaws in others? Remember this well… I don’t care about other times, but whenever your carelessness might put you in danger, you must stay alert and take things seriously!” He Tian said in a grave tone.

“I understand!” Wang Xinyou nodded firmly, looking extremely well-behaved.

“All right, we’re here. Get out,” He Tian said, pulling up in front of the restaurant.

“You were so scary just now! Good grief… you nearly scared me to death!” Wang Xinyou stuck out her tongue as she got out, then clutched the basketball and dashed into the restaurant.

He Tian shook his head with a faint smile and got out as well.

However, he noticed that the two shops flanking the restaurant were already closed. Clearly, Lin Ying’s negotiations had borne fruit. Now, it was time for overall integration and renovation.

He Tian couldn’t say for sure how well Lin Ying would manage the restaurant. But from what he’d seen so far, her grasp of scale and operations at this early stage was quite impressive. It made him curious—could it be that all three of the “crazy women” Wang Xinyou had invested in were truly geniuses in their own realms?

Watching geniuses grow—perhaps that was something quite delightful. He Tian decided to watch and see.

When he walked in, he found Wang Xinyou already chattering away with Lin Ying and the others. Ouyang Bingbing, Li Yingying, and Li Kai were all present as well.

“Brother He Tian, it really is that Wu Sen making a fuss! Look, it’s all over the campus network already!” Wang Xinyou held her phone out for He Tian to see.

“Well, that was to be expected. Wu Sen’s looking to humiliate me, to push me away from you,” He Tian said with a smile as he sat down.

“He Tian, have you played basketball before? That Wu Sen is really good—at least at the college level, he’s impressive,” Li Kai said after sizing He Tian up, laying out the facts.

Li Kai had just heard a brief explanation from Wang Xinyou, who’d cursed Wu Sen as a despicable scoundrel for setting up He Tian. But regardless, now that the challenge had been accepted, it had to be faced—especially with the speed this news was spreading. If He Tian didn’t respond, he’d have a hard time showing his face on campus ever again—how could he hold his head up?

“I told you, he’s no match for me in anything, but neither of you believed me—not even Xinyou,” He Tian replied with a nod to Li Kai.

He could tell that Li Kai was no ordinary person either. When Li Yingying wasn’t suppressing him, Li Kai’s bearing was several degrees above his peers. Actually, it made sense—looking at Li Kai and Li Yingying, He Tian saw what people meant by the saying “there’s always someone who can keep another in check.” Li Kai was quite handsome, while Li Yingying wasn’t especially pretty, yet somehow the two of them just clicked, like a turtle meeting a green bean—eye to eye at first glance!

Perhaps the essence of love really was that it defied all reasoning, that no logic or rational thought could explain it. He Tian didn’t know. As a novice in matters of the heart, such deep questions were beyond him.

“To be honest, I’m starting to believe it now! Brother He Tian, show us something! Everyone’s busy, but they gathered here just to see what you can do—we’ll all feel better if you demonstrate a bit so we don’t have to worry!” Wang Xinyou said, handing him the basketball, her eyes full of anticipation.

Wang Xinyou felt confident He Tian must really be good. She sensed no nervousness from him, just the same calm composure as always—so she believed in him for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“That’s right, He Tian, let us see what you’re capable of! It’s not just about you—if you lose, we all lose, and that’s unacceptable!” Li Yingying declared passionately, clenching her fist in solidarity.

“If you really can beat Wu Sen, I promise I’ll rally all the girls in our class to cheer for you! Let’s make sure Wu Sen ends up utterly humiliated!” Lin Ying said, her tone both fierce and spirited, making good on her word.

Ouyang Bingbing just smiled faintly, saying nothing. But in her heart, she firmly believed He Tian could defeat Wu Sen on the basketball court. Ever since she’d seen He Tian shatter a table with one slap, she’d had faith in him—even if that faith bordered on blind trust.

“All right! Let me warm up a bit,” He Tian said with a slight smile. With everyone so invested, he knew he had to show them something.

Lin Ying and Li Yingying quickly moved the tables aside, clearing a space in the middle of the hall.

He Tian began dribbling the basketball—but the ball seemed like an unruly sprite, refusing to cooperate. When he sent it east, it went west. When he sent it west, it stubbornly went east.

Wang Xinyou, Ouyang Bingbing, Lin Ying, Li Yingying, and Li Kai all exchanged glances—how could someone like this possibly beat Wu Sen? His dribbling was so poor, it was hard to watch. Where did all his confidence come from?

Still, He Tian’s face showed not the slightest trace of anxiety. The others kept their eyes on him.

Slowly—or rather, quite quickly, after just three or four minutes—the situation changed fundamentally. It was as if the unruly basketball had grown up and stopped rebelling, or else He Tian had tamed its wildness.

Now, what they saw was He Tian dribbling with remarkable skill, occasionally adding a flourish or trick. After another minute or two, they were left speechless with amazement. The basketball seemed to become a part of He Tian’s body, spinning around him as if he were performing a circus act.

And if that wasn’t enough to prove he could beat Wu Sen, what came next certainly was: He Tian stood still, hurled the basketball at the wall, and every time it struck the same spot and bounced perfectly back into his hands—without a single mishap.

At this, Wang Xinyou and the others finally felt reassured.

“Hahaha, this time we’ll make sure Wu Sen is thoroughly humiliated! Sisters, wait for me—I’m off to rally the troops! See you on the court!” Lin Ying laughed heartily, wasting no time in keeping her promise to gather supporters for He Tian.

“Let’s beat Wu Sen and get some payback! Li Kai, let’s go get some gear for He Tian—we can’t afford to lose in any aspect!” Li Yingying was equally fired up.

Li Kai, whatever Li Yingying said, he did—he hurried after her, eager and obedient.

He Tian put away the basketball and flashed a broad grin at the remaining Wang Xinyou and Ouyang Bingbing. Cool! At this moment, no word could describe him better. Wang Xinyou and Ouyang Bingbing certainly felt so.

“No, I need to get ready—I want to record this!” Wang Xinyou said, quickly pulling out her phone, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

Ouyang Bingbing was excited too, but also puzzled. “How did you suddenly get so good?” She couldn’t understand how He Tian could go from clumsy to expert in such a short time. If that was really the case, it dealt quite a blow to her own self-assured sense of genius.

“I used to play—just haven’t in a long time. I was just a bit rusty at first,” He Tian replied with a smile.

“You used to play? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Wang Xinyou protested.

“I told you I could win, but you wouldn’t believe me. You kept going on about how amazing Wu Sen is…” He Tian was speechless—women really could be unreasonable!

“Well, Wu Sen really is good, I was just being honest! At the time, I didn’t know how good you were. Hmph, my good intentions were wasted!” Wang Xinyou objected.

“This whole thing started because of you, you know! And now you’re the one feeling wronged?” He Tian shot back, not giving an inch.

Ouyang Bingbing quietly slipped away to one side, not wanting to disturb the banter between He Tian and Wang Xinyou.