Chapter 136: Let’s Have a Talk
Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated
East Ocean University and Jinghua University had been compet.i.tors on the basketball court for years. Now that Jinghua University was here to pick a fight, East Ocean University was able to win with a large lead, out of everyone’s expectation. The Basketball Team just lost a few of the main forces, yet they were able to guard their host game. The entire stadium became the heaven of celebrations.
Xie Wanjun sighed deeply as all his pressure immediately disappeared. It was his decision to kick Bai Zhixiong and the guys out of this game, so there was a lot of pressure on him to win this game against Jinghua University.
And now, Zhao Jiayi’s rapid improvement made him stand out, and Hao Ren’s hidden potential made him unbeatable at rebounds and three-pointers. All these showed that his original decision was right!
“Great work guys! Dinner is on me!” Xie Wanjun waved at the cold bench as well. “You guys are coming too! Zhixiong! Come apologize to Zhao Jiayi!”
Hearing this, the four of them on the cold bench knew that they still had a chance to play for the team; they all ran over hurriedly.
“You are the big hero today, Ren! Join our team officially!” Xie Wanjun patted his shoulder again.
“Nah, I was only here to help. I have no interest in playing basketball long term,” Hao Ren said upfront as he wiped his forehead with a white towel.
Although Xie Wanjun wanted to persuade him, he gave the thought up after some consideration. “Alright, we all have our pa.s.sions. But with your talent, I’m sure you can succeed in anything.”
He had been the Captain of the Basketball Team for a few years. Therefore, he had excellent leaders.h.i.+p skills and sharp eyes for seeing people’s potentials. From what he could tell, Hao Ren’s outstanding abilities would never keep him inside a little basketball court.
He certainly considered for his sister as well. Although a basketball player might seem cool on the court, their lives were usually filled with training. Basketball players were always seen sweaty, smelly and exhausted. Xie Wanjun didn’t want his sister’s boyfriend to be like that; he wished that Hao Ren could be able to spend more time with her.
Then Xie Wanjun said, “I think you are a good guy. If you do like Yujia, I will do my best to help!”
Zhao Jiayi and the rest of the team were both surprised at how straightforward he was. Zhao Jiayi was surprised because Xie Yujia was the Cla.s.s President, and the others were astonished because they knew Xie Wanjun was very protective of his charming little sister and never let any of them get in touch with her.
“Hao Ren must have excellent character and ability to make Xie Wanjun fond of him,” they thought.
Hao Ren laughed quietly, and Xie Wanjun waved at the guys again. “Come on, I’m paying!”
Hao Ren walked to the side and picked up his phone. There were several missed calls; they were from his dad, his mom, Zhao Hongyu, Xie Yujia, Zhao Yanzi, Lu Qing……
At this moment, Lu Qing walked in between aisles with Lu Linlin and Lu Lili. He said, “The team did very well this time!”
The players were all surprised at the Vice Princ.i.p.al’s praise. In the past, he didn’t even show up when they won the champions.h.i.+p in the National College Basketball League.
At the same time, Zhao Yanzi’s family, Hao Ren’s family, Xie Yujia and Xie Ming came over from both sides.
They gathered in the resting area.
Zhao Yanzi’s face twisted a little when she saw Grandma holding Xie Yujia by the arm.
Xie Yujia sensed the hostility in Zhao Yanzi’s eyes, but she still thought that Zhao Yanzi was Su Han’s cousin, and she was defensive on behalf of Su Han. Therefore, she didn’t care much about her and turned to Xie Wanjun. “Great job this time, Brother!”
“It’s all thanks to Ren!” Xie Wanjun took advantage of this opportunity to praise Hao Ren.
He noticed Xie Ming and greeted, “Uncle.”
“Wanjun, you are getting better and better!” Xie Ming smiled.
Seeing all those pretty girls coming to them, Zhao Jiayi suddenly recognized Zhao Yanzi, who caused the big scene at school last time, and Zhao Hongyu, who came to pick Hao Ren up in her Fararri. However, he didn’t recognize Yue Yang under her peak cap and Hao Zhonghua in his sweats.h.i.+rt. Zhao Yanzi never paid attention to the news and never thought these world-cla.s.s scientists would appear here.
Xie Wanjun didn’t want to stay there after seeing that all these people were coming for Hao Ren. He said to Xie Ming, “Uncle, I’m going out with the team for dinner. Are you coming to stay at my place tonight?”
“I’m staying with an old friend of mine tonight and will be going over to your place tomorrow. I’m not staying here very long; I probably will head back the day after tomorrow,” Xie Ming said.
“Ok,” Xie Wanjun nodded and turned to Lu Qing, “Vice Princ.i.p.al, I’m taking them out for dinner then.”
“Go ahead,” Lu Qing smiled and waved.
Xie Wanjun knew that Hao Ren wouldn’t be able to leave, so he didn’t insist. He took Zhao Jiayi and the other guys to the locker room.
After that, Hao Ren was only left with the three groups of people.
They surrounded hao Ren, formed in a triangle.
They looked at each other as they wondered what the relations.h.i.+p was between each other. All of them were too cautious to say something first. Even Grandma sensed the strange atmosphere and kept her mouth shut.
“Auntie, who is this?” Zhao Hongyu looked at Xie Yujia and asked after a few seconds.
“Oh, this is little Yujia. She has been a friend of Ren’s since they were little,” Grandma said.
Then, she continued, “This is Xie Ming, Zhonghua’s university cla.s.smate, and Yujia’s father.”
“h.e.l.lo,” Xie Ming smiled lightly at Zhao Hongyu.
“h.e.l.lo,” Zhao Hongyu smiled back politely.
Then, everyone started to introduce themselves in harmony. Of course, everyone learned that Lu Qing was the Vice Princ.i.p.al.
Grandma wanted Zi to be her granddaughter-in-law. However, she wouldn’t introduce her that way in front of everyone. Therefore, Zhao Yanzi’s family was introduced to Xie Ming as Hao Ren’s family’s good friends in East Ocean City.
Xie Yujia felt strange when the Vice Princ.i.p.al stayed with them with his two granddaughters.
“Does he have a relations.h.i.+p with Hao Ren as well?” she thought.
“Xie Ming just came back from the States today, and Zhonghua is going to have dinner with his old friend. Now that you all know each other, would you like to go together?” Grandma asked Zhao Hongyu’s family.
“Hehe, that’s alright. It’s been a long time since you saw each other. You should spend more time together,” Zhao Hongyu said.
She glimpsed at Xie Yujia as she spoke and thought to herself, “This girl is really pretty. Her temperament isn’t weak at all even though she has never cultivated.”
She was a world-cla.s.s architect and was extremely good at appreciating beauty. Even if Lin Li were to stand in front of her with a lot of makeup, she would think that Lin Li was just an ordinary looking girl.
Then, she turned to Lu Qing, “Vice Principle Lu, I would like to talk to you in private. Is that ok?”
Lu Qing said with profound respect, “Sure, sure, Mrs. Zhao. After you.”
A few minutes later, Lu Qing and Zhao Hongyu came back from a few meters away. Then, Yue Yang suddenly said, “Vice Princ.i.p.al Lu, may I borrow a few minutes to talk to you as well?”
Lu Qing looked at Yue Yang.
He sure didn’t want to reject her either. “Of course, of course…”
In a few minutes, Lu Qing followed Yue Yang back as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
Hao Ren looked at Xie Yujia, trying to guess what was going on. Hao Ren a.s.sumed she had already learned about him being her “Little Older Brother”. However, he had no idea what she thought about this. Just like him, Xie Yujia was wondering what Hao Ren’s thoughts were on it as well. They were both lost and confused.
Zhao Yanzi rolled her big eyes around, trying to a.n.a.lyze the situation. She knew that something was going on between them, yet she didn’t know where exactly the problem was.
She felt a bit jealous, but she didn’t want to admit it. Zhao Yanzi still felt like she didn’t like this “Uncle”. However, it made her uncomfortable to see him talking to other girls.
“I still need to tutor Zi today, so I’ll pa.s.s on the dinner,” Hao Ren said abruptly.
Everyone including Hao Zhonghua and grandma were surprised at Hao Ren’s decision.
“You haven’t seen Little Carrot for so long, Ren. Don’t you want to catch up with her?” Grandma asked.
“She is my Cla.s.s President, and I have lots of time to catch up with her,” Hao Ren answered.
Grandma and Xie Ming were both surprised at Hao Ren’s words. However, they could tell from Xie Yujia’s facial expression that he was telling the truth.”
“In that case, Ren is coming with us. Principle Lu, come along with your granddaughters. It’s my treat,” Zhao Guang said.
Hao Zhonghua didn’t want to fight over Hao Ren with Zhao Guang. He nodded. “Ok, your Uncle Zhao’s family came to watch your game today, so you should spend some time with them tonight. You can eat with Uncle Xie tomorrow.”
When the two groups of people were about to leave, Zhao Yanzi, who stood beside Zhao Hongyu, finally opened her mouth after being silent. “Big Sister, I would like to talk with you for a bit as well.”
It was to Xie Yujia’s surprise. However, she still nodded.
The two of them walked a few meters away from the crowd in front of everyone’s gaze. Zhao Yanzi was much shorter than Xie Yujia. They talked facing each other with no emotions what so ever.
The two girls came back after a little while. Zhao Yanzi said to Zhao Guang, “Come on, dad. Let’s go for dinner.”
Xie Ming looked at Xie Yujia with a questioning look. But she only smiled lightly and said to Hao Zhonghua, “Let’s go for dinner too, uncle.”
“Um, yes,” Hao Zhonghua nodded and waved goodbye to Zhao Guang and the others.
The two groups of people left through two aisles. Hao Ren was beside Zhao Yanzi. He wanted to ask what she said to Xie Yujia, but he tried his best to hold it back.
Lu Qing and Zhao Guang both parked on the other side of the stadium. They started their cars and left the campus in tandem. Lu Qing had Lu Linlin and Lu Lili in his car while Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi were in Zhao Guang’s car.
Zhao Yanzi kept her little mouth shut on the way to the restaurant. Her bright eyes reflected the brilliantly illuminated city, and no one could tell what was on her mind.
Zhao Hongyu smiled at Hao Ren in comfort. Then her eyebrows twisted in worry.
The restaurant was in the core of downtown. The seven of them sat around a table perfectly. This time, instead of sitting on both sides of Hao Ren, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili sat on one side of him while Zhao Yanzi sat on his other side.
The topic was mostly about the sisters. They asked about their lives and if they had adapted to the new environment. However, Hao Ren could sense Zhao Guang was paying a lot of attention to the sisters. This dinner was also a welcome dinner for them.
After dinner, Lu Qing took the sisters to Zhao Guang’s house – they seemed to have more important issues to discuss.
After arriving, Zhao Guang and Lu Qing went up to the attic on the third floor. They even put on a soundproof array formation.
Hao Ren noticed the seriousness in their looks. He knew that there must have been some tension in their situation lately. However, instead of asking, he went to Zhao Yanzi’s room to help her with her homework questions.
As usual, the Lu sisters were happy as long as they could be by Hao Ren’s sides. So they went to the room beside Zhao Yanzi’s room to rest.
An hour later, Lu Qing and Zhao Guang’s secret meeting came to an end. Lu Qing went downstairs with a serious look. He called over the sisters and prepared to head back home.
Hao Ren took advantage of this opportunity to finish up his lesson. He walked out of Zhao Yanzi’s room.
“Come back with me, Hao Ren. You can stay at my place, and I can give you a ride to school tomorrow. Let’s not bother the Dragon King,” Lu Qing said to Hao Ren.
“Ok,” Hao Ren nodded in agreement.
“Um, stay with Elder Lu tonight. I need to do some decorating with my place tonight,” Zhao Guang said.
Hao Ren nodded. “Take care, Uncle.”
Zhao Guang laughed and patted Hao Ren on his shoulder. “We are fine. Just go with Elder Lu.” Then he stopped and said to Lu Qing, “Can Zi stay with you tonight as well?”
“Sure. Not a problem. I will take good care of Ms. Zi,” Lu Qing said immediately.
Zhao Guang went into Zhao Yanzi’s room and talked to her for a bit. Then she walked out of her room, pouting. She had her school bag and a toiletries bag in her hands.
“Let’s go,” Lu Qing walked downstairs and drove away with the four of them.
There were city lights in the night. They seemed like floating lanterns through the car window.
Lu Linlin and Lu Lili sat on each side of Hao Ren as they each looked to their side of the window.
The light reflected on there faces through the window as the car pa.s.sed by. They looked very beautiful and elegant under the light. The sisters’ beauty was beyond words. No wonder the guys would always shout and yell in surprise when they saw them.
Zhao Yanzi, however, was in her blue school uniform still. She sat in the pa.s.senger seat with her hands holding onto her school bag, falling asleep.
“Elder Lu, is something going to happen soon?” Hao Ren finally couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“No need to worry. It’s just that we have heard some big characters from West Ocean are coming here this time. Hence, we need to do some preparations,” Lu Qing answered as he gazed into the traffic flow ahead.