Serenade

Chapter 70

Because the two kids lived at school during the weekdays, there were no ingredients at home, so the noodles could only be made with clear soup and little content. Other than the yellow egg yolks floating on the noodles, the food did not look very appetizing.

Shen Pingchuan looked at the two egg yolks in Bo Yan's bowl and said discontentedly, "Why does he get one more egg yolk than me?"

"Because he's the birthday boy."

Shen Pingchuan said unhappily, "You're obviously being biased. Ah, now that you have a man, you've forgotten your brother. I doted on you for nothing."

Looking at Jin Xi with his small nose and eyes, he was like looking at a big white-eyed wolf.

Jin Xi silently put the egg yolk from her bowl into Shen Pingchuan's bowl, "There, is this okay now?"

"Heh." Shen Pingchuan was very satisfied as he noisily slurped the noodles.

In his half-drunk, half-awake state, Bo Yan did not fuss over his wife. He gave the egg yolk from his bowl to Jin Xi and finished all the clear soup noodles in his bowl cleanly, without even leaving any soup behind. It could be said that he gave Jin Xi a lot of face.

Jin Xi took a tissue and wiped his mouth for him, smiling and saying, "After eating the longevity noodles, our baby will also definitely be safe and sound this year."

Bo Yan obediently nodded.

He was usually ostentatious and overbearing. It was rare to see this well-behaved and obedient side of him. He really looked like a baby.

Shen Pingchuan pursed his lips and mocked her tone in a pinch-voiced way, "Our baby will also definitely be safe and sound this year, ugh~"

Jin Xi couldn't be bothered to respond to him. She rolled up her sleeves, preparing to clean up the bowls and chopsticks. "It's late, find a clean change of clothes that you wear for the student to change into after showering, then go to bed quickly."

Upon hearing this, Shen Pingchuan instantly became spirited and vigorous. "No problem at all!"

After saying that, he dragged Bo Yan along, coaxing and deceiving him into the bathroom, and even locked the door tightly.

"Little Bo Yan, you can't escape now. Take a bath with your brother Shen, your brother will scrub your back for you!"

Jin Xi could hear Bo Yan's ghostly wails coming from the upstairs bathroom.

"Don't touch me!"

"Damn."

"Xi Xi, Xi Xi, where are you!"

"Piss off!"

...

Shen Pingchuan was too interested in Bo Yan's body. As a man who could never exercise his muscles no matter what, he had a strange fondness for the muscles on other people's bodies. Like touching a salty pig's trotters, he had to grope them a few times before he could be satisfied.

It was also thanks to Bo Yan being drunk, otherwise, how could that straight-as-a-pole man tolerate Shen Pingchuan's frivolous actions? He would have knocked him down and flipped him over long ago.

After showering, Shen Pingchuan locked Bo Yan in his own room, then went to Jin Xi and mysteriously said to her, "Sister, he really..."

He left his words hanging with a very complicated expression.

Jin Xi did not understand. "What is it? Say it."

Like an old father, Shen Pingchuan patted her shoulder affectionately and meaningfully said, "In the future, you will be 'happy'."

"..."

When sleeping, Jin Xi was still quite worried. She leaned against Shen Pingchuan's door and peeked inside.

"Baby, be good, eh, where's the person?"

Shen Pingchuan had locked Bo Yan out on the balcony. Bo Yan was banging on the glass door.

Shen Pingchuan smiled and said, "Stop worrying for nothing. What could I possibly do to such a big man? Lie down, accompany your brother Shen to sleep obediently."

He pushed Jin Xi out and locked the room door.

Recalling Shen Pingchuan's expression, Jin Xi couldn't help but shudder.

Shen Pingchuan was really too lonely. There were no male friends around him. Bo Yan was the only boy in the whole school who was nice to him. He probably really needed...to be around him more.

In the middle of the night, Bo Yan "defected" several times but was grabbed by the waist each time by Shen Pingchuan, "Where are you running off to!"

"Xi Xi, Xi Xi..." He vaguely called Jin Xi's name, truly like a maiden who had fallen into a pit desperately crying for help.

"Want to sleep with my sister at my house? Watch who you're paying attention to. Lie down properly and keep your brother Shen company to sleep obediently."

"Piss off!"

The two wrestled for most of the night. At three in the morning, Bo Yan finally could not take it anymore and fell deeply asleep. In his groggy state, he always felt someone burrowing against him. He subconsciously thought it was his girlfriend, so he reached out and embraced her in his arms.

The next morning at six, Bo Yan's biological clock woke up on time.

The east gradually lit up and morning light streamed into the room through the beige curtains.

The bed was soft memory foam. The quilt was warm and there was also a hot body in his arms.

His girlfriend's body wasn't this sultry!

Bo Yan slowly opened his eyes and looked down in horror to discover Shen Pingchuan resting his jaw on his shoulder, hazily burrowing against him, his coarse, pale arm hugging his neck.

He was suddenly shocked awake and rolled off the bed.

The big bed was made extremely messy by the two men, with clothes and pants strewn about.

Bo Yan's mind buzzed. He rubbed his temples, recalling everything that happened last night...including Shen Pingchuan squeezing and groping him inappropriately.

Bo Yan was furious. He raised his leg and gave a kick at Shen Pingchuan's upturned buttocks, but stopped half an inch away.

After thinking about it, he still could not casually kick him. Waking him up would just lead to more trouble.

Bo Yan quietly put on his pants, went out bare-chested, and sneaked into Jin Xi's room.

Jin Xi's room was unlocked at home. Her room was much darker, perhaps because the light-blocking effect of the curtains was more stringent.

If this girl didn't get enough sleep, she would have morning temper. Bo Yan was very familiar with this.

On the soft big bed, Jin Xi was curled up like a cat, hugging a pillow and sleeping heavily. She smelled very nice and he could even hear her lightly snoring.

Bo Yan walked to the bedside and gently took away the pillow she was holding. Then he lay down and put himself into her arms, facing her and letting her arms go through his shoulders to hug him.

"Baby..."

"Hmm?"

Jin Xi murmured lightly in her sleep and naturally hooked his neck, affectionately curling her little head into the crook of his neck —

"Have a safe and peaceful new year."

Bo Yan closed his eyes and kissed her forehead, "Definitely."

**

The basketball match between the College of Physical Education and the National Defense Academy kicked off in mid-October. Bo Yan was the captain of the National Defense Academy's basketball team and was fully in charge of selecting team members and substitutes.

He had previously promised Shen Pingchuan to let him participate in the match as a substitute. However, Shen Pingchuan had been sitting on the bench as an external aid during the preliminaries and semi-finals, watching the basketball team advance to the finals under Bo Yan's leadership. His heart was itchy and he was also eager to get on court.

Fortunately, Bo Yan still had some conscience and finally let Shen Pingchuan on court for the last match.

On the day of the finals, Jin Xi and Chu Zhao skipped class one after the other to go to the gymnasium to watch the match.

The gymnasium entrance was crowded with students. The student cadres from the Sports Department stood at the entrance and said to the students, "The seats in the gym are already full, you really can't enter anymore! Don't push, go on, disperse! The match video will be uploaded to the school website later, go watch the video!"

But the students were still somewhat unwilling and lingered at the entrance.

Most of those who came were girls. These girls did not usually pay much attention to basketball matches. Now they swarmed over to join in the fun, most likely also wanting to come see the handsome guys.

The confrontation between the two academies bursting with hormones and long-legged handsome guys attracted screaming girls that almost overturned the gym in the preliminaries and semi-finals.

The popularity was even more explosive in the final championship game.

The student cadres from the Sports Department shouted into megaphones at the crowd, "Don't push anymore! Bo Yan isn't here today! He's not playing! Stop squeezing!"

"Why isn't he playing? He's the captain."

"How would I know!"

Hearing that Bo Yan was absent, the girls immediately lost steam and dispersed by half.

Jin Xi pulled Chu Zhao to squeeze to the front. Jing Chi was waiting at the entrance to receive them.

Seeing Chu Zhao, Jing Chi hurriedly went over to hold her hand, "The match is about to start. If you don't come over now, you won't be able to enter after I go on court."

"Can't be helped. Skipping class is also a skill."

Jing Chi brought the two girls into the gymnasium and sat in the front row of the substitute rest area with the best view. Then he said to Chu Zhao, "Baby, just sit here obediently. If you're thirsty, there's mineral water over there."

"Okay, do your best!"

Jing Chi dawdled for a long time, originally wanting to get a hug from Chu Zhao, but Jin Xi was fully present, constantly mocking them, "Your baby doesn't like drinking mineral water but loves milk tea, so go buy her some too!"

"Buying, buying now." Jing Chi took out his phone, "I'll order some delivered milk tea for our baby right away, plus a bucket of KFC for the whole family. We can watch the game while eating fried chicken, it'll be great!"

"Oh dear!" Chu Zhao pulled him, "Who wants to eat a whole bucket, let's go in!"

He rubbed Chu Zhao's earlobe and left.

Bo Yan and Shen Ping Chuan also changed into their uniforms and took the court, and all the girls in the venue screamed.

With the contrast of Shen Ping Chuan's soft and tender fresh meat, Bo Yan's tall figure matched with the smooth and tight muscles was very eye-catching.

He had the typical clothes hanger figure that looked good in anything. The uniform fiery red basketball uniforms made the team wear gave him a touch of the Shohoku basketball team's flair.

He whispered worriedly to Shen Ping Chuan a few times, telling him what to pay attention to on the court.

Of course Shen Ping Chuan was very impatient, saying he didn't know how to play basketball yet, and didn't need to be told these things.

In the gap when the two were whispering, girls behind Jin Xi began to chatter excitedly.

"Wow, I never noticed before, Shen Ping Chuan and Bo Yan have such CP feel!"

"You're only noticing now? Rumors about them have been around for a while!"

Jin Xi widened her eyes and looked back, completely dumbfounded.

The girl behind continued to excitedly explain, "Haven't they often eaten together and played ball together? I saw Shen Ping Chuan use his own towel to wipe Bo Yan's sweat before!"

"Holy crap!"

"There's more! I saw in the cafeteria once, Shen Ping Chuan picked out all the meat from his bowl and gave it to Bo Yan!"

"Ahhh so doting!"

"Not to mention, how Bo Yan protected him from getting beaten up before, the whole school knows Shen Ping Chuan is under Bo Yan's protection."

"I'm settled on shipping this xiejiao CP!"

Jin Xi: ...

What did those two bastards do behind her back!

As the game started, Bo Yan sat down next to Jin Xi and rubbed her little head, "Here now."

Jin Xi asked him, "With Shen Ping Chuan's ball skills, he replaced you?"

"He cried and shouted that he wanted to play, so I have to give him a chance." Bo Yan leaned his elbows on his knees, shouting to the players, "Pay attention, Shen Ping Chuan! Pay attention on defense!"

Jin Xi asked again, "But his skills are so bad, he pants after running a few steps, can he do it?"

"With Jing Chi leading, there's no problem."

"You really treat him well, I heard you even protect him."

"That dumbass, being a student leader offended all the male students in the school, I'm impressed."

Jin Xi tapped his foot jokingly, "A boy spreading scandals with his uncle, I've really seen it all, you're quite a treasure boy."

Bo Yan was slightly startled, narrowed his eyes to look at her, and smiled lightly, "A girl who's even jealous of her brother, I'm also seeing for the first time."

"..."

Jin Xi didn't want to respond to him anymore. She looked around and soon saw Xia Qing in the corner of the stands.

She had come too.

Jin Xi heard from Bo Yan that Xia Qing was very low-key and introverted, rarely participating in group activities. It was rare for her to come watch a basketball game.

Maybe she came to see her brother.

Jin Xi felt this thought was a bit presumptuous. After all, nothing substantial had happened between them in over half a year.

But if her brother knew Xia Qing was here, he would definitely be happy.

Xia Qing wore a pink and white hoodie, with the hood on, looking both cool and cute.

Jin Xi took out her phone, intending to secretly take a picture of Xia Qing and send it to her brother after the game ended.

However, a terrible accident happened next.

As soon as the phone camera focused on Xia Qing, it flashed!

Jin Xi: ...

Xia Qing looked back in surprise, having obviously noticed she was being secretly photographed.

Jin Xi stuffed the phone into Bo Yan's hand, lowered her head, covered her face, and cried "Oh!"

This was just...too awkward.

Bo Yan took the phone and slapped his palm, expressionlessly murmuring "Idiot."

Nothing more to say.

The opposing basketball team wore blue uniforms. Following the tradition of red and blue making CPs, both teams had good looks. The girls in the audience were excited to the point of flipping the whole atmosphere.

However, Bo Yan soon noticed something wrong.

Several players on the opposing team, led by their captain Chen Yuxiang from the Sports Academy, seemed to specifically target Shen Ping Chuan. As long as the ball fell into his hands, several players would surround and trap him, making him extremely irritable and furious.

With Shen Ping Chuan's skills, it shouldn't take so many people to guard him, unless...

They were deliberately targeting him.

Chen Yuxiang moved forward aggressively, snatched the basketball from Shen Ping Chuan's hands, and elbowed him hard in the abdomen.

Shen Ping Chuan let out a muffled grunt, staggering a step, but still gritted his teeth and chased after him.

No one noticed the problem, not even the referee due to blind spots.

Bo Yan stood up, fists clenched tightly, frowning as he watched Shen Ping Chuan, his face full of worry.

Seeing their captain make a move, the boys on the opposing team looked at each other, and when Shen Ping Chuan went for a layup, someone tripped him.

Shen Ping Chuan lost his balance as he landed, crashing heavily to the ground. The dull thud was heard throughout the court.

He hugged his knees and rolled twice on the ground, his expression twisted in pain.

Jin Xi screamed and ran onto the court, "Brother!"

Bo Yan strode towards the referee angrily, "What kind of refereeing is this, you didn't see them injure him several times!"

The referee blew his whistle in a panic, penalizing the two players who deliberately injured Shen Ping Chuan off the court, but the captain Chen Yuxiang still remained on court, looking at Shen Ping Chuan and laughing coldly.

"Chairman Shen, don't pretend to be hurt now. Bumping and knocking during games is common, but you make it look like we intentionally injured you."

Shen Ping Chuan was already in too much pain to speak. Jin Xi hurriedly untied his shoelaces and took off his shoes. His ankle was sprained and badly swollen now.

Jin Xi was extremely distressed, not daring to touch Shen Ping Chuan's leg. Sobbing, she took out her phone to call an ambulance.

Shen Ping Chuan reached out and messed up Jin Xi's cheeks, weakly saying, "What are you crying for, your brother's not dead yet."

Bo Yan was furious. He went over and grabbed Chen Yuxiang by the collar, roaring, "Are you here to play ball or fight? If you want to fight we can go elsewhere, one-on-one."

His voice was low and expression cold, with quite an imposing aura.

Chen Yuxiang had been cursing but couldn't get the words out faced with the furious Bo Yan.

He didn't have the guts.

The referee blew his whistle at Bo Yan several times, warning him to let go immediately. Bo Yan's eyes twitched slightly but he showed no intention of releasing Chen Yuxiang.

Shen Ping Chuan had gotten over the intense pain, turned his head to look at Bo Yan, and shouted, "Bo Yan, I'm fine, continue the game!"

Seeing Bo Yan ignore him, he shouted again in a low voice, "Bo Yan, let go!"

Only then did Bo Yan slowly loosen his grip on Chen Yuxiang, forcefully pushing him back several steps until he tumbled to the ground.

Some classmates carried Shen Ping Chuan to the medical room. Originally Bo Yan and Jin Xi wanted to follow along, but Shen Ping Chuan adamantly refused. The game wasn't over yet, and the score difference wasn't big. The other team could catch up at any time, so Bo Yan had to get back on court.

As Shen Ping Chuan was carried out the door of the basketball gym, he saw Xia Qing at the doorway.

She had chased all the way to the door, her face full of worry.

Shen Ping Chuan was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He kept looking back until he could no longer see her figure.

Bo Yan was extremely aggressive in the second half. The opposing team had no ability to resist at all. In the last half hour he didn't let them score a single basket, widening the gap to win the basketball final.

Chen Yuxiang and his team had lost the game, but they didn't seem too upset at all, joking and laughing as they left the gym.

"However we played, we were bound to lose with Bo Yan's team leading. This game was a death trap from the start," said one of the boys.

"But at least we got to teach Shen Ping Chuan a lesson. Seeing him sprawled on the ground like a dead dog put a smile on my face. We got our revenge on Sun Kai's behalf," added another.

As the group headed into an empty alley by the dormitory building, a low female voice called out from behind -

"Stop right there."

The boys turned to see a tall girl in a pink and white hoodie walking slowly towards them.

Her hands were casually tucked into her hoodie pockets, exuding a faint air of coldness.

"Are you talking to us?" one boy asked.

"Mm-hmm," she murmured.

"What do you want?"

Xia Qing cracked her knuckles and said in a low voice, "To teach you a lesson."

The boys looked at each other incredulously for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! You? Teach us a lesson?"

"Little girl, are you still half asleep?"

"I don't hit women."

"Hey now, if she wants to play with us, it's not nice to refuse. Tell us, which one of us caught your eye? A one-on-one match to entertain you."

Xia Qing's eyes were icy as she scanned them. Her thin lips pursed to utter three quiet words - "All at once."