Ling Tian and Shen Yueyan were currently on their way to the university clinic. He decided to walk her to her workplace because he wanted to be with her longer.
"Yueyan, how about we have dinner at my place later?" There was still plenty left from the vegetables and meat she brought, so he invited her to eat at his studio again.
Instead of answering his question immediately, she asked, "Why do I feel like you are planning something naughty right now?"
"I'm not!" he corrected his answer with a playful tone. "Well, maybe I will hold your hand and embrace you if the opportunity arises."
"Hehe." She giggled softly. "Sure! I will come to your place at 05:00 pm."
"Promise?" He raised his right little finger.
"Promise!" she intertwined her pinky with his.
After they arrived at the clinic, he waved goodbye and went straight to class.
When it was time for lunch, he headed to the cafeteria. He thought Lu Yichen's lackeys would cause trouble for him again, but he was wrong.
Once he finished eating, he decided to head to the treehouse.
At the same time, Lu Yichen was chatting with Hao and Dong on the basketball court. The moment they caught sight of him, their expressions changed drastically.
"It's him!" Dong shot an annoyed glance at Ling Tian.
"Yichen, it's a good time to teach him a lesson!" Hao added.
Lu Yichen grabbed his basketball and rose to his feet. "Hey, you! Were you the one who humiliated my friends yesterday?"
He behaved like a good friend because, this way, Ling Tian would think he only wanted to avenge Kai and Shang.
Ling Tian stopped his footsteps and turned to him. "Are you talking about the brown-haired and the green-haired students?"
"Yes! I'm their friend!" Lu Yichen approached him arrogantly, followed by Dong and Hao. "I want you to apologize to them in front of everyone."
"You have ruined their image, so you must apologize!" Dong shouted as he pointed his right index finger at him.
"I don't want to." Ling Tian refused right away.
"You!" Hao's face turned red from anger.
"Stop!" Lu Yichen stopped Hao from attacking Ling Tian. "How about this? We play a one-on-one basketball game. If I win, I want you to apologize to my friends. How is it?"
"What if I win?" Ling Tian was still not aware of Lu Yichen's role in Shen Yueyan's incident because Lu Yichen's current desire was to humiliate him.
"Haha." Dong and Hao laughed at his words.
Lu Yichen was a university basketball player, so there was no way Ling Tian could beat him.
"I will do whatever you want!" Lu Yichen was confident he would not lose to him.
"I accept your challenge." Ling Tian agreed.
Lu Yichen's lips curled up into a grin.
'Get everyone here. I will humiliate him in front of them.'
He glanced at Hao and Dong.
Even though he didn't say it directly, they understood his plan right away.
Ling Tian was still calm when he saw them calling everyone to the basketball court.
'So, that is your plan, huh?'
He didn't stop them because it was also a good opportunity to humiliate them.
"One-on-one basketball game with Lu Yichen? Is he out of his mind?"
"It would be an easy win for Lu Yichen."
"Of course! He is our university basketball player, you know?"
"Is this about a woman?"
"Maybe!"
All students believed Lu Yichen would win the game because they knew how good he was at basketball.
"The rules are simple." Lu Yichen began explaining it.
Shots inside the arc were one point, and shots from outside were two. The first to reach fifteen points won.
"I will be on defense." Lu Yichen was confident in his skills, so he gave Ling Tian the first move.
The yellow-haired man checked the ball to Ling Tian, signaling the start of the game.
Lu Yichen pressed up on him immediately.
Ling Tian dribbled twice before shooting from beyond the three-point line.
*Whoosh…
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
2-0.
The onlookers widened their eyes in surprise because Ling Tian made the long-range shot look easy.
Like the onlookers, Lu Yichen was also shocked.
But his surprised face vanished in the next second because he believed Ling Tian was just lucky.
The yellow-haired man checked the ball to Ling Tian again.
This time, Lu Yichen pressed up on him harder, but Ling Tian slipped past him with a single sharp crossover.
3-0.
When Ling Tian led 4-0, the onlookers stopped looking down on him.
Some of them even praised him because he could still lead despite facing Lu Yichen.
"Yichen, stop playing around!" Hao shouted. "Show him your real skills!"
"Crush him, Yichen!" Dong added. "Show no mercy!"
They thought Lu Yichen was not serious because Ling Tian could pass him easily twice.
"That's right! Show me how good your skills are." Ling Tian taunted.
Anger flashed through Lu Yichen's eyes. "I will make you regret it!"
The game continued.
This time, Lu Yichen played harder because he didn't want to lose.
But even so, the course of the game was still under Ling Tian's control. Sure, Lu Yichen managed to score a few points, but Ling Tian remained in the lead.
From the middle of the game onward, Lu Yichen's face darkened. His anger grew bigger when some of the onlookers cheered for Ling Tian.
His play became more aggressive, and he cursed venomously in his heart many times.
Not only him, but Hao and Dong were also enraged.
They gritted their teeth and clenched their fists in anger. They even accused Ling Tian of playing dirty a few times.
However, the onlookers were watching the game closely, so their accusations didn't work.
"I will end it here." Ling Tian moved back beyond the three-point line and shot.
*Whoosh…
The ball fell through the net.
Game over!
15-7.
Ling Tian won!
"He won?!"
"I knew he would win the game!"
"Not only did he win against Lu Yichen, but the gap in score was also big. It was like Ling Tian was our university basketball player, not the other way around."
"I felt bad for underestimating him earlier."
"Me too."
Chatter erupted after the game was over.
They previously thought Lu Yichen would win easily, but the reality was different from what they expected.
Of course, they were fine with the result because they were not hostile towards Ling Tian.
"Our university basketball player is just a so-so." Ling Tian's lips curled up into a smirk.
Lu Yichen didn't say anything, but he glanced at Ling Tian angrily.
"Since I won the game, it's time for me to give you an order." It took Ling Tian three seconds to come up with a good punishment. "Bark three times."
The onlookers were both stunned and confused once his order reached their ears.
'What's going on? Did they make a bet before?'
They exchanged glances with each other.
"You! Don't cross the line!" Hao shouted angrily.
"What do you mean by that? I only told him to bark three times, not hurt himself." Ling Tian turned to Lu Yichen. "Hey, are you going back on your word now?"
Lu Yichen didn't answer his question and only stared at him with bloodshot eyes.
Since Lu Yichen didn't bark immediately, Ling Tian decided to involve the onlookers. "Everyone, he challenged me earlier, saying he would do whatever I wanted if I beat him in a basketball game."
He then continued, "But look at him now! He broke his promise. Turns out our university's basketball star is nothing but a liar, someone who can't keep his word."
He didn't force Lu Yichen with violence because using the onlookers was much more effective.
Lu Yichen gritted his teeth when the onlookers began bad-mouthing him.
'Damn it!'
He wanted to defend himself, but he had no idea how to do that because one wrong step would ruin his image completely.
"You! Change your order now! Do you want to humiliate him?" Dong tried to defend Lu Yichen.
"Blame him for saying that." Ling Tian refused right away.
"I will kil-" Dong and Hao could not suppress their anger anymore and intended to attack Ling Tian, but he was stopped by Lu Yichen.
"Stop!" Lu Yichen shouted.
Ling Tian returned his attention to Lu Yichen. "Are you finally going to do it?"
Lu Yichen clenched his fists as he skimmed his surroundings.
Since breaking his promise would ruin his image even more, he decided to follow the order. "BARK! BARK! BARK!"
A whirlwind of chatter broke out.
"He is really barking."
"He is like a dog. Hehe."
"This is so funny! I'm glad I'm watching this game."
"Me too."
Some of the onlookers insulted him openly.
Ling Tian's grin grew wider after hearing their words.
'This is the price for picking up a fight with me.'
Even though he could not beat them up, he was still thrilled because hurting their pride was far more satisfying than hurting their bodies.
"Alright. I'm leaving now." Ling Tian turned around and headed to a treehouse. "Tell me if you want another basketball game. I would accept it gladly."
Lu Yichen was breathless with anger.
'You have humiliated me in front of many people. Just you wait, I will beat you to death later.'