Chapter 17 The Master of Feeding Balls

Chapter 17: The Master of Easy Returns

"Is that so?"

Bai Yingchuan's smile remained fixed.

I don't buy a word of it.

Seeing Bai Yingchuan standing frozen, Lin Lu hurried over and tugged his arm. "Come on, Geng Yu and Xie Liang are getting antsy! If we don’t hurry, we’ll lose the court."

At that moment, Lin Lu just wanted to get Bai Yingchuan away as quickly as possible.

Because earlier in the equipment room… he had seen Bai Yingchuan lowering his head, getting unusually close to the back of Jiang Ruotang’s neck.

Bai Yingchuan’s lowered gaze, his stealthy approach—careful not to let Jiang Ruotang notice—made Lin Lu even suspect that Bai Yingchuan wanted to kiss him.

But Lin Lu quickly dismissed the thought. Bai Yingchuan and Jiang Ruotang had barely spoken; how could he possibly be interested in Jiang Ruotang?

The four of them started playing tennis. Geng Yu and Xie Liang on the opposite side were average players, and Bai Yingchuan could still catch glimpses of Jiang Ruotang on the next court over. His badminton skills were indeed awkward, clearly not someone who played sports much.

Playing with Jiang Ruotang was Jian Sha, the girl who had joked earlier that morning about Jiang Ruotang tugging his collar open for Lu Guifan to sniff, saying it had *ABO vibes*.

Jian Sha served, Jiang Ruotang missed.

Jiang Ruotang served, Jian Sha returned it, and Jiang Ruotang swung at air again.

"Jiang Ruotang—are you the Air-Swing Prince?!" Jian Sha exclaimed.

"Sorry! I’m just terrible at this!" Jiang Ruotang quickly said sorry.

"Fine, I’ll put up with you because you’re handsome!"

"Haha, thanks! I’ll treat you to milk tea at lunch!"

"I want sugar-free!"

Watching this scene from the adjacent court, Bai Yingchuan couldn’t help but smile. Jiang Ruotang was actually quite adorable.

"Yingchuan—" Lin Lu’s voice called out, reminding Bai Yingchuan to save the ball.

Not only did Bai Yingchuan return it, but he also sliced it perfectly over the net, leaving Geng Yu and Xie Liang completely outplayed.

Cheers broke out around them, even the gym teacher clapping nearby.

"I had no idea Bai Yingchuan was this good at tennis!"

"Did you record that? That shot was killer!"

"He could totally play a tennis pro in films!"

The crowd grew larger, with even freshmen and sophomores from other P.E. classes gathering around, completely blocking Bai Yingchuan’s view of Jiang Ruotang.

He frowned, fingers tightening around the racket strings.

Lin Lu had been about to praise him but held back, unsure what Bai Yingchuan was thinking—he didn’t look happy at all.

As for Jiang Ruotang and Jian Sha, with everyone else distracted by Bai Yingchuan, they played more freely.

Jian Sha had never liked Jiang Ruotang much before, thinking he was a spoiled brat who lost all reason whenever Bai Yingchuan was mentioned, always needing Lin Lu to coax him.

Especially after Bai Yingchuan transferred this semester, rumors spread that Jiang Ruotang, as Director Jiang’s son, might force his way into Bai Yingchuan’s circle. That would’ve made Lin Lu’s job of managing Jiang Ruotang even harder.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ruotang seemed to have grown up this term, showing more restraint. And when Geng Yu, that spoiled brat, mocked the class president earlier, Jiang Ruotang had even called the class president over to stand by him. That made Jian Sha reconsider her opinion of him.

After a few more minutes of rallying, Jiang Ruotang finally managed to return the birdie, keeping it in play for four or five exchanges.

But Jian Sha was worn out, doubling over with her hands on her knees. "No… I can’t run anymore… Find someone else to play with…"

"Huh? No one else is as patient as you. If I play this badly, I’ll get mobbed, won’t I?"

Jiang Ruotang walked over, pulling a tissue from his pocket and handing it to Jian Sha.

She wiped her neck and teased, "Wow, you’ve learned to take care of people! Am I the first girl to get a tissue from you? How thoughtful!"

"Isn’t that normal?"

Under a nearby tree, Lu Guifan, who had been working on problems, glanced up, his gaze lingering briefly on Jiang Ruotang.

The boy was laughing easily, his slightly sweaty tee clinging to his slender build, outlining his slim waist. A sheen of sweat gleamed on his neck under the sunlight.

As if sensing Lu Guifan’s stare, Jiang Ruotang turned his head. Lu Guifan immediately lowered his eyes back to his problem set, but to his surprise, Jiang Ruotang walked over with his racket and sat down beside him.

Even without leaning in, the faint scent of Dragon's Beard grass wafted over with Jiang Ruotang’s movement.

"Class President, wanna play with me for a bit?" Jiang Ruotang asked with a grin.

Jian Sha nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah! Class President, you play with him… He’s still a baby, easy to handle!"

"How exactly is he ‘easy to handle’?" Lu Guifan countered.

Jian Sha said seriously, "Just return the birdie where he can hit it back. My record is five returns—see if you can beat it!"

Jiang Ruotang’s face scowled. What? Was this a competition to see who could feed him the most consecutive easy shots?

"Class President, you’ve already won the Math Olympiad. Math is no challenge for you. Why not try something harder? Like… playing badminton with me?" Jiang Ruotang instantly accepted the reality that he needed his opponent to set him up for easy returns.

Lu Guifan put down his pencil and workbook (Jian Sha promised to keep an eye on them), picked up the racket, and stood opposite Jiang Ruotang.

Something miraculous happened—Lu Guifan effortlessly maneuvered Jiang Ruotang around the court, yet every shot landed just right for him to return. Meanwhile, Lu Guifan barely moved, standing like a pro.

Jian Sha counted aloud: "One, two… Wow, five!"

Jiang Ruotang stepped back, sending the birdie over the net.

"Six—new record! Class President, you’re a feeding genius!"

"Seven, eight! Jiang Ruotang, we’re almost at ten!"

"Nine! Ten! Class President, you’ve ascended to Master of Easy Returns!"

Lu Guifan leisurely played with Jiang Ruotang for half the class until the gym teacher whistled, signaling everyone to return the equipment. Only then did Jiang Ruotang’s birdie finally hit the ground.

Jiang Ruotang sighed with lingering excitement. "Badminton’s kinda fun."

Jian Sha laughed. "It’s not badminton that’s fun—it’s the Class President feeding you perfect shots!"

Jiang Ruotang grinned at Lu Guifan across the net. "Haha, the Class President made me look good!"

Lu Guifan handed the racket back to Jiang Ruotang, then lowered his head and removed his glasses.

He lowered his eyelids, his long lashes seemingly brushing against Jiang Ruotang's heartstrings. Whether at twenty-eight or back to eighteen, Jiang Ruotang would still hold his breath at the sight of the other's lowered brows and eyes.

Even worse, Lu Guifan on the other side of the net was naturally handsome without even knowing it.

Jiang Ruotang felt that the most contradictory thing in his life was probably... whether he should let Lu Guifan keep wearing those glasses, so only he would know how good-looking he was, or have him take them off and let others see how handsome he truly was.

"What's wrong?" Lu Guifan put on his cleaned glasses.

"Nothing," Jiang Ruotang lowered his head and muttered softly, "Just an old issue flaring up again."

"Hmm?" Lu Guifan looked across the net at the boy opposite him, who had been full of energy and smiling just moments ago—why did he seem so down now?

"I'll return the rackets!"

Jiang Ruotang picked up the shuttlecock, put it back into the tube, and carried both rackets toward the storage room.

Lu Guifan returned to the tree, taking the notebook and pen Jian Sha handed him. After a pause, he still asked, "Jian Sha, does Jiang Ruotang have any old habits?"

"Old habits?" Jian Sha tilted her head and thought for two seconds before suddenly laughing. "Well, love obsession, prince complex, beauty-induced foolishness—which one do you think fits the symptoms, Class President?"

Lu Guifan: "..."

Jiang Ruotang arrived at the sports equipment room door just as Zhao Zhangfeng came out after putting away a basketball.

The guy's big, clear eyes were brimming with the thrill of winning. His sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders, revealing lean but defined forearms, and his untucked shirt hinted at his toned stomach.

This guy was a classic "airhead pretty boy." Earlier, while playing basketball, many classmates had watched him from the windows. Rumor had it that last semester, a girl had asked him to teach her how to shoot, but after ten minutes, he got bored and introduced her to another teammate.

Now, looking at the carefree yet ridiculously good-looking Zhao Zhangfeng, Jiang Ruotang couldn't help but worry he'd stay single through sheer cluelessness.

"Help me put these rackets away, will you?" Jiang Ruotang lifted his arm.

"Heh, no way! Do it yourself, you shorty!"

With that, Zhao Zhangfeng ran off.

If he hadn't been exhausted from playing earlier, Jiang Ruotang would've jumped up and kicked him.

Short? Who are you calling short? I'm a full 176 cm barefoot! How dare you insult my height?

Jerk! Hope you stay single forever!

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the storage room, he ran into Bai Yingchuan, surrounded by a few girls flirting and joking and asking him to help put away their rackets, blocking access to the cabinet.

Bai Yingchuan glanced up and smiled when he saw Jiang Ruotang. "Returning rackets? Hand them to me."

His voice and manner were so gentle it made others envious.

Jiang Ruotang stiffened. Honestly, in his past life, he had carried Bai Yingchuan's luggage, delivered snacks for the crew, and even driven a three-wheeler across long distances to deliver basic supplies when the remote filming location had no courier service. Yet when he fell ill, he never got so much as a word of concern from the other.

He knew why Bai Yingchuan had acted that way.

It was his way of rejecting him: No matter how much you give, I won't care.

Whether you choose to stop or not is up to you.

So now, when Bai Yingchuan reached out to him first, Jiang Ruotang realized... his kindness didn't mean much after all.

"You all keep talking. I'll handle it myself." Jiang Ruotang smiled, rose on his toes, and pushed the rackets onto the highest shelf.

Watching his efforts, Bai Yingchuan's lips still curved in a smile, but his eyes turned cold—because Jiang Ruotang had rejected him.