Chapter 31: Keep Me Company

Previously, when Jiang Zhexi and the others gossiped about the Shi family siblings in front of him, although he hadn’t listened very carefully, he had still absorbed some of it.

He also agreed with his brothers’ assessment of the Shi family’s adopted daughter; there was no way the Shi family would accept a powerless, penniless orphan like her.

Her feelings for Shi Yanzhou were obvious to anyone with eyes, but in the end, it would only be her delusional thinking, and it was highly unlikely she would ever get her wish.

Yet, when he saw a trace of a barely perceptible crack appear on her otherwise calm face.

He inexplicably recalled her wet, fawn-like eyes from that night.

Along with the mole on her collarbone—a mole identical to Yao’s.

Inexplicably, he didn’t want to see her embarrassed.

So he suddenly squeezed through the crowd, walked up to her, and snatched the towel and water that were not meant for him.

***

The commotion caused over here was naturally noticed by Shi Yanzhou and Li Yunshu as well.

Suppressing her jealousy, Li Yunshu spoke with undisguised probing.

“Yanzhou, since when did this sister of yours become so familiar with Young Master Gao?”

Shi Yanzhou didn’t answer her; he merely looked at the sight of Shi Kezhen and Gao Cheng standing together, an indescribable emotion rising in his heart.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but overall, it made him rather uncomfortable.

“Yanzhou?”

Li Yunshu called out again when she saw him remain silent.

“Mm?”

“Didn’t you say you had reached an agreement with your sister, forbidding her from pestering you every day?”

“Why did she still eagerly come to watch you play today?”

Li Yunshu pouted her lips slightly, acting spoiled, but the light in the depths of her eyes was cold.

“Can you make her leave?”

“I don’t want to see her here.”

This time, Shi Yanzhou did not patiently coax her, merely saying a single sentence.

“I’m going over to rest for a bit; the second half is about to start.”

Li Yunshu’s smile returned.

“Alright, then get some good rest, and keep it up later!”

“Mm.”

Shi Yanzhou nodded, turned around, and walked over to sit in the empty space beside Gao Cheng and the other two.

Seeing him approach, Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo, who had been cross-examining Gao Cheng, sensibly changed the subject and began discussing several brilliant moments from the first half of the match.

Sitting nearby, Shi Yanzhou listened to the three of them chat for a while.

Recalling Father Shi’s instructions, he knew he should take the initiative to strike up a conversation with them and make an effort to blend into their circle.

But right now, his chest felt inexplicably tight with frustration.

Gao Cheng’s action just now had made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable, and he couldn’t muster the energy to try and flatter them.

He suddenly took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Shi Kezhen.

Yanzhou: [Leave. Don’t stay at the basketball court. Yunshu gets jealous when she sees you, and I don’t want to waste time coaxing her.]

After sending the message, he raised his head, his gaze piercing through the crowd to look at Shi Kezhen, who had already sat back down in her seat.

He watched Shi Kezhen suddenly lower her head to take out her phone, and after a moment, she looked up in his direction.

Their gazes met from afar amidst the clamoring crowd.

They stared down each other for roughly dozens of seconds before Shi Kezhen seemed to yield.

She compromised and picked up her bag, stood up, and then silently left her seat and silently walked out of the indoor basketball court.

Only when her departing figure had completely disappeared behind the doors of the gym did Shi Yanzhou withdraw his gaze.

He put down his phone and began chatting with the teammate next to him with a smile, waiting for the second half of the match to begin.

It was as though nothing had happened.

***

Leaving the gym, Shi Kezhen walked straight toward the small woods, which was her favorite place to spend time alone whenever she was in a bad mood during the day.

Arriving at the woods, she sat on her usual stone bench, leaning against the backrest as she looked up at the layered leaves overhead.

‘How ironic.’

She, the rightful wife, was being confidently demanded by her husband to yield just so his mistress wouldn’t get jealous.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then she pulled out her phone and switched to the Privacy Space.

Yao: – [Are you there? Keep me company.]

Cheng didn’t reply.

She sat alone in the small woods for over half an hour, but she still didn’t receive a reply from Cheng.

Consequently, she switched her phone back to the main space, stood up, left the small woods, and walked toward the school gates.

She didn’t want to stay in the dormitory tonight.

She wanted to find a quiet place where no one would disturb her to heal herself.

***

The second half of the basketball match concluded amidst waves of applause and cheers.

The Business School won by a landslide.

Gao Cheng walked back to his original seat, picking up the half-finished bottle of water he had snatched from Shi Kezhen’s hand earlier.

Tilting his head back, he drank the remaining half of the water in one go, only then picking up the towel to wipe his sweat with satisfaction.

Shi Yanzhou stared at the towel in Gao Cheng’s hand; he knew it had originally been prepared for him by Shi Kezhen, but now, it was in Gao Cheng’s grasp.

Suppressing the slight, inexplicable discomfort in his heart, he put on a warm smile and walked up to Gao Cheng.

“Young Master Gao, there’s a victory banquet tonight; let’s go celebrate together.”

Before Gao Cheng could even speak, Jiang Chengshuo and Jiang Zhexi nodded and agreed on his behalf.

“Yes, definitely!”

Jiang Zhexi chimed in.

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