by Dragon King
“Really? They are that powerful?” Zhao Yanzi was surprised.
Su Han had a different perspective from that of Zhao Guang’s. As the East Ocean Dragon King, Zhao Guang certainly hoped for a stronger home base and more powerful assistance. However, Su Han, as an Inspector, didn’t like to see anyone in the East Ocean too powerful for her to control.
“You came to visit me because of them, didn’t you?” Su Han continued to ask Zhao Yanzi.
Zhao Yanzi looked defensive. “No… I came to visit you for fun.”
“I know what you’re thinking.” Su Han glanced at her before looking toward Xie Yujia in another corner of the court. “But I’m afraid the sisters are not the real threat to you.”
“You mean the real threat is the Class President.” Zhao Yanzi was smart and immediately guessed whom Su Han was talking about.
She continued, “She is a mortal, not qualified to be my rival.”
Su Han smiled, but she remained silent. She turned the topic back to the Lu Sisters. “Lu Linlin and Lu Lili are both powerful, and they are quite knowledgeable; they could be of great help to Hao Ren. Besides, they are not in our circle, and thus your identity does not affect them. In short, the odds of you defeating them is almost zero.”
“I… I didn’t say I want to defeat them. I only thought…”
“What?” Su Han asked.
“It is annoying!” Zhao Yanzi said.
A smile appeared on Su Han’s cold face. “Don’t worry. Hao Ren won’t go back on his promise. Whom do you think he is cultivating so hard for?”
“Sister Su, even you are speaking for him!” Zhao Yanzi glared at her.
“I’m only stating the truth. From what I know about his character, even if he doesn’t like you, he will try his best to cultivate and save your life. Before you turn 20, the more solid his realm is, the safer the process of returning you the Dragon Core will be. I think he knows that.”
Su Han patted Zhao Yanzi’s head. “But you are not nervous at all. He can take off the Mount Tai Bracelets for a while each day. But including today, he only took them off two times. He works so hard for you and you’re not showing any gratitude.”
“I don’t like him…” Zhao Yanzi mumbled.
With a smile, Su Han turned her gaze to Hao Ren in the match.
“To steady his cultivation realm, he chose the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll which possesses little combat power. He is indeed single-mindedly cultivating for Zhao Yanzi,” she thought.
Then, she turned her gaze toward Lu Linlin and Lu Lili, who were watching the match with adoration in their eyes, and was lost in thought.
Without the hindering burden of the Mount Tai Bracelets, Hao Ren gradually got used to the strength in his arms and was playing better and better on the court. Seeing Hao Ren’s excellent performance, Xie Yujia’s eyes got brighter and brighter.
Hearing Lu Linlin’s and Lu Lili’s cheers, the guys who had come to root for Hao Ren were so jealous that they all glared at him ‘viciously’.
Zhao Yanzi widened her big eyes at Hao Ren’s steals and attacks, thinking that the ‘Uncle’ looked quite youthful and vibrant.
The match ended with 58 to 51 with Hao Ren’s team winning.
Pulling off his jersey, Hao Ren walked toward Zhao Yanzi and asked, “What do you think? I was quite good, wasn’t I?”
“Smug!” Zhao Yanzi rolled her eyes. The truth was that she almost cheered when Hao Ren made the three-pointers.
After all, girls at her age were most easily attracted to dashing guys who played basketball.
Hao Ren chuckled while wiping the sweat from his face. “Your P.E. class is almost over. I will take you back.”
“You stink! Go take a shower! I don’t need you to take me back; Sister Su will do it.” Zhao Yanzi backed off half a step before holding onto Su Han’s arm.
With his well-intentioned offer rejected, Hao Ren turned to look at Xie Yujia and met her gaze. She looked away and turned to her older brother.
At this moment, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili jogged over to Hao Ren. “Gongzi, you were awesome!”
At this sight, Zhao Yanzi burned with jealousy and dragged Su Han away.
Poor Hao Ren was received with coldness by Zhao Yanzi when he tutored her in the evening, and he was treated the same way on Wednesday evening.
Thursday came.
Ignoring the guys’ envious and jealous gossips, Hao Ren spent his free time over those two days on studying the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll and finally understood the route of the Nature Essence Circulation in his body.
“Ren! We are at the gate of your school now!”
It was a little after six, and Hao Ren was cultivating secretly when he suddenly received Hao Zhonghua’s text message.
“Dad has really come to watch me play the match…” Hao Ren hurried to the school gate. Sure enough, there parked a white Ford.
He pulled open the car door and found his dad, his mom, Grandma, and… a man he didn’t recognize!
“Ren, don’t you remember Uncle Xie, Little Carrot’s dad? He returned with me this time to visit our home university!” Hao Zhonghua told Hao Ren cheerfully.
131 What a Coincidence
Bang!
With half of his body in the car, Hao Ren stood up abruptly and banged his head on the door frame.
“Ren, are you all right?” Grandma who was sitting in the rear seat asked Hao Ren anxiously.
“It’s nothing, nothing…” Hao Ren rubbed the back of his head before getting into the car.
“Good evening, Uncle Xie.”
“Hehe! I haven’t seen you for many years, and you’ve grown into such a big boy now.” Xie Ming grinned at Hao Ren. “I still remember your cute face and the cartwheels you used to do when you were little.”
Hao Ren smiled bashfully, but he was actually very nervous.
“So, this is Xie Yujia’s dad, and tonight…” he thought.
“Ming, Ren’s basketball match is about to begin, and I will take the three of them to the stadium. Then, the two of us can take a walk around the campus and relive our time in the school.”
“Good plan! I took Yujia here when she entered the school, but I never imagined that I could one day walk around in East Ocean University with you again!” Xie Ming said excitedly.
“Speaking of which, are you sure you don’t want to call Little Carrot?” Hao Zhonghua asked.
“It’s a basketball match. With my nephew Xie Wanjun as the Captain of East Ocean University’s Basketball Team, Yujia will definitely watch the match. I want to give her a surprise,” Xie Ming said with a chuckle.
Suddenly, he turned to Hao Ren.
“Your father told you her name. Why didn’t you look for Little Carrot? She called me to ask me the identity of her Little Older Brother these past two days, and I refrained from telling her thinking that I’m coming back anyway on Thursday.”
“Ugh. Because…” Hao Ren stammered, finding it hard to give a proper explanation. Of course, he couldn’t say the reason he didn’t tell her was that Little Carrot liked her Little Older Brother.
“Well, I know why. You feel awkward after not seeing her for more than ten years, don’t you?” seeing Hao Ren’s expression, Xie Ming guessed.
“Yeah. Yujia may have a boyfriend already, and Hao Ren would feel weird if he visited her suddenly. They were so close to each other that they ate and slept together. They will feel embarrassed when they meet again as adults,” Yue Yang said.
At her words, Hao Ren suddenly remembered that Little Carrot’s family used to visit his family. While the adults played cards late into the night, he and Little Carrot would sleep early on the same cool bamboo bed……
It had happened when they were in elementary school, but he still blushed at the memory.
“I’m sure that Yujia has no boyfriend. When I call her every week, she is either studying in the classroom or studying in her dorm. She doesn’t look like a girl who has a boyfriend,” Xie Ming said.
“Hehe, unlike Ren, I can’t wait to see what Little Carrot has grown into. Anyway, your Little Carrot was pretty when she was little, and I’m sure she is beautiful now,” Hao Zhonghua said while driving the car.
“She is ok.” Xie Ming said modestly. He glanced at Hao Ren and said, “Your Ren is really handsome.”
“Ok, stop trading compliments,” Grandma interrupted them and laughed, “Listening to you, I’m quite curious to see what the girl who used to run around with Ren has grown into.”
“Yeah. You used to give her the best treats when she came to our home. No wonder Ren was displeased whenever Little Carrot visited us, haha!” Yue Yang said with a laugh.
While they talked about the old times, Hao Ren couldn’t put in one word.
Seeing Hao Ren remaining in silence, Grandma asked, “Ren, you are quite nervous to see Little Carrot again, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Hao Ren exhaled helplessly and thought, “They would be surprised that Little Carrot is, in fact, my classmate.”
Seeing their excitement, Hao Ren decided to give them a shock since they were keen on making surprises.
The car arrived at the stadium, and Hao Zhonghua parked his car. He took a walk around the campus with his old classmate Xie Ming after asking the others to go to the stadium and get seats for them.
Knowing that the two old classmates had a lot to catch up on, Yue Yang didn’t stop them.
She helped Grandma into the stadium.
“Mom, how come Uncle Xie came with you guys?” Hao Ren asked.
Yue Yang put on a peaked cap and replied, “Your father encountered your Uncle Xie when he was in a meeting in the U.S. They were so excited after not seeing each other for more than ten years that your father insisted Uncle Xie to come back with him. Uncle Xie wanted to visit his daughter too, and they ended up coming back on the same flight.”
“How come he came to watch the match in the same car?” Hao Ren continued to ask.
“They flew to East Ocean City this afternoon. Since the airport is not far from our house, he paid a visit to us. After knowing that you have a match tonight, he decided to come with us to watch,” Yue Yang explained.
Hao Ren turned and saw Hao Zhonghua and Xie Ming talking animatedly while walking into the depth of the campus. It occurred to him that their friendship remained intact even though they had not seen each other for more than ten years.
“Didn’t Little Carrot’s mom come back?” Hao Ren asked.
“They have a factory in the States, and it’s hectic at this time of the year. Your Uncle Xie made a lot of rescheduling before he could come back. Her mom must have stayed in the U.S. to tend to the business,” said Yue Yang.
“Got it.” Hao Ren nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
“After so many years, we still feel close to Little Carrot’s family. After graduation from the university, your dad and I were all as poor as rats. Your father wanted to enter a research institute while your Uncle Xie wanted to build his own business. They had been good friends when they were at the university, and they continued to help each other after they married; they got through the most difficult times together. Later on, your Uncle Xie went abroad, and we lost contact with each other due to the limited communication methods at that time. After we sold the downtown apartment and moved to the seaside, it became more difficult for them to find us.”
Yue Yang said emotionally.
Hao Ren had a vague memory of those happy days in poverty. He faintly remembered that Little Carrot’s family had been a bit better-off than his since his parents insisted on building their careers in science research which at that time had been short of funds. Her family had helped his family a lot financially.
“I guess Uncle Xie doesn’t read science periodicals; otherwise, he should have seen Dad’s name and photos. Am I right?” Hao Ren asked abruptly.
“Your Uncle Xie has been busy managing a manufacturing plant. I suppose he doesn’t have much time to follow the biotechnology news. Besides, your father changed his name from Hao Hua to Hao Zhonghua as required by the institute, and it became even more difficult to follow his news.”
Then, Yue Yang waved her hand and said, “The past is the past. It’s a blessing that we can meet each other again. I just want to remind you that Little Carrot’s family helped us in the most difficult times, and you must be nice to her.”
“Got it.” Hao Ren sighed again and entered the gym. He couldn’t postpone the inevitable any longer, and he was just anxious to see Xie Yujia’s reaction when the truth was revealed to her.
It was her who drew the line between them after sensing the danger of attraction. Now, the situation got tricky.
It was still one hour from the match, and there were not many people on the stands. Yue Yang helped Grandma to a front row seat so that she could have a better view of the match.
“Grandma!” Suddenly, a clear voice pierced through the air in the gym.
Grandma turned and saw Zhao Yanzi, in the company of Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu, skipping toward her.
“Oh, Zi! I missed you so much……” Grandma clapped her hands before taking Zhao Yanzi into her arms.
Yu Yang in her peaked cap smiled and said to Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu, “I didn’t know you would come.”
As if in a tacit agreement, Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were also wearing peaked caps. They smiled at Yue Yang and replied, “A few days ago, Zi told us that Ren would be playing in the match, and we agreed to come and watch him.”
On the court, Hao Ren had changed into his jersey and was doing warm-up exercises with his teammates.
“I didn’t know our Ren could play basketball,” Grandma looked at Hao Ren on the court and said.
“Humph! I bought him the new basketball shoes!” Zhao Yanzi invited compliments.
“Hehe, our Zi is such a considerate girl.” Grandma looked down on Zhao Yanzi’s pretty face and rubbed her head lovingly.
Hao Ren turned his head and saw Grandma and Zhao Yanzi’s family sitting together.
He waved at them.
“Go! Ren!” Zhao Hongyu called out to him.
Hao Ren smiled before turning back to the warm-up. Zhao Jiayi who stood beside him saw Zhao Guang, Zhao Hongyu, and Zhao Yanzi and recognized that they were the family whose daughter was being tutored by Hao Ren. He wondered why they had come to watch this match.
However, he didn’t notice that the woman standing beside Zhao Yanzi was Yue Yang, an academician of CAE.
The door to the other locker room in the stadium opened, and the Basketball Team of Jinghua University in black jersey filed out.
Their average height was terrifying; they were on average 1.9 meters tall.
On the side of East Ocean, except for Xie Wanjun, there were only a few members who were taller than 1.9 meters. The tall members such as Bai Zhixiong couldn’t play the match due to the fight with Hao Ren; they were not even allowed in the warm-up zone and could only watch on the sideline.
The Captain of Jinghua University’s team was a guy who was even taller and looked stronger than Xie Wanjun.
With heavy steps, he walked over to them.
He glanced at the line-up of East Ocean University, and his gaze rested on Hao Ren and Zhao Jiayi. He said sarcastically, “Well, Xie Wanjun, you know you can’t beat us regularly, so you resort to the dwarf strategy now?”
With a cold face, Xie Wanjun pointed to the place behind him. “Your warm-up zone is over there. I don’t want to bicker with you. We will find out who is stronger on the court!”
“Go!” The guy who looked to be the Team Captain waved his hand arrogantly and led his players past the East Ocean University players toward the other half court.
While they passed, they intentionally bumped into the East Ocean University players with their brawny shoulders.
Hao Ren was also bumped in the shoulder by the Captain of Jinghua University Basketball Team, but he didn’t fight back. Instead, he backed off two steps intentio
nally.
“Power Forward.” Xie Wanjun patted Hao Ren on his shoulder as his eyes locked onto the Captain of Jinghua University Basketball Team whose number on the jersey was one.
“Bump into him hard in the match!” Xie Wanjun whispered.
132 Little Older Brother?!
It was half an hour before the match.
On the campus road, a white figure was riding a bike speedily. Darkness had fallen, and the streetlights spread weak illumination on the street.
It was Xie Yujia.
It took her some time to help the Administrative Office to organize some stuff. Afraid of missing the match, she skipped dinner and hurried toward the stadium.
“Ugh?”
Abruptly, she stopped paddling and looked ahead at the figures of two middle-aged men not far from her.
“Dad?!” staring at their backs, she braked slightly and called out tentatively when she got closer.
The two middle-aged men turned their heads simultaneously.
“Dad!” with her dad’s identity confirmed, Xie Yujia was pleasantly surprised.
However, when her gaze turned to the man standing beside Xie Ming, her expression froze, and she almost fell from the seat of her bike.
“Academician Hao?” her eyes widened as she called out in disbelief.
“Is this your daughter Yujia? She’s very pretty,” Hao Zhonghua said with a chuckle. Suddenly, he found that something was not right, and his face turned weird too.
“Isn’t she the girl who dragged Ren to line up for signatures?” he thought.
During that signing session, Yu Yang had winked at him. When she got home, she kept saying that Hao Ren had finally attracted a girl, and that girl looked so pretty and elegant; that was why he had a deep impression of Xie Yujia.
Hao Zhonghua and Xie Yujia looked at each other with weird expressions on their faces.
Seeing that they were in a daze, Xie Ming was confused as well. He told Xie Yujia, “He is your Little Older Brother’s dad, Hao Zhonghua. He used to be called Hao Hua and is my old classmate. You should call him Uncle.”
“Little Older Brother’s dad!” Xie Yujia’s hands holding the handles of the bike shook as she thought.
