Chapter 31 Chapter 31
Wen Shuo finally finished warming up and felt like he was feeling good today, not about to embarrass himself in front of Ren Li. He handed the basketball to Ren Li and said, "Try this. I'll teach you."
Ren Li withdrew her thoughts. The thought of shooting in front of Wen Shuo made her quickly shake her head. "No, I'd better watch you practice first."
Wen Shuo nodded and demonstrated the three-step layup to her, perfectly. But he figured Ren Li wouldn't understand, so he broke it down step by step and demonstrated it to her again.
"Get it?" he asked.
Ren Li didn't really understand anything, she just thought his smooth movements were beautiful. But she was too embarrassed to admit she didn't understand, so she nodded and said, "Yeah, that's about it."
Wen Shuo handed her the ball and reminded her, "Pay attention to your posture when holding the ball."
Ren Li took the ball, thinking about Wen Shuo's previous actions in her mind. However, after taking two steps, she heard Wen Shuo sighing from the side.
She lowered her head and realized that she was only focused on remembering the movements of her feet and didn't even hit the ball.
She had no confidence in herself to begin with, and now she felt even less confident: "Why not just forget it? I don't really feel like practicing today..."
"No." Wen Shuo's damned desire to win instantly rose up, "I will definitely teach you today."
He demonstrated over and over, then Ren Li took over. Several times while Ren Li was practicing, he nearly had to correct her himself. Fortunately, after some guidance, Ren Li gradually let go of her burdens. Wen Shuo seemed genuinely interested in teaching her, and no matter how she acted in front of him, he showed no sign of mocking her.
Only then did she gradually calm down and her movements became more and more relaxed.
Finally, after half an hour, her movements began to become more normal.
After completing a decent layup, Ren Li looked back at Wen Shuo excitedly:
"Did you see that one just now? I made that shot!"
"I see." Wen Shuo curled his lips and glanced at the time. "It's been half an hour. It's really not easy. Okay, let's take a break."
Ren Li: "No, I have to consolidate my condition while I'm still in good shape."
She was still immersed in the joy just now. Wen Shuo let her go, found a place to sit down, and watched her pitch while drinking water.
The door of the venue was pushed open and someone came.
Ren Li heard the noise and looked in the direction of the sound. She was startled. The ball slipped out of her hands, bounced on the basket and fell down, then was caught by Wen Shuo with his quick eyes and hands.
Wen Shuo was just wondering who came to disturb his interest so early when he saw Zhou Qi, Lu Rendong and others.
"Hey, Brother Shuo, why are you here so early today?" Zhou Qi was loud and started yelling before he even entered the room. However, when he saw Ren Li standing next to Wen Shuo, he was shocked and stopped in his tracks. "Ren Li? Why are you here too?"
"Who's that? The legendary Shuo Ge's girlfriend? Let me see." Lu Rendong was also loud, coming over as if to watch the fun. He followed Zhou Qi's gaze and saw the girl in front of him with two pigtails.
Strictly speaking, this was his first time actually meeting Ren Li, even though he had heard the name countless times before. But the moment he saw Ren Li, he was still attracted by this innocent-looking girl who looked at Wen Shuo in confusion.
Not to mention Wen Shuo, he felt that any normal boy would be inexplicably moved when he saw her, and would be overwhelmed with a desire to possess her. At that moment, he silently sighed in his heart, Wen Shuo is really blessed, no wonder his girlfriend is so secretive.
He couldn't help but blurt out: "Damn, Wen Shuo still has to be you."
Wen Shuo ignored Lu Rendong's nonsense. He knew that Ren Li would not like what happened next, so he turned around and asked, "It's almost time. Do you want to go back? I'll take you there."
His tone was unusually gentle, and Lu Rendong beside him got goose bumps when he heard it: "Why don't you introduce yourself? Wen Shuo, can't you afford to play, hey..."
Ren Li was obviously a level 10 socially anxious person. Seeing so many unfamiliar boys standing opposite her, she quickly nodded.
Wen Shuo threw the ball in his hand to Lu Rendong and didn't intend to pay attention to him: "You guys play first, I'll take a break."
He took Ren Li and left, leaving everyone standing in the basketball hall, staring at each other in confusion.
It wasn't until they left the basketball arena that Ren Li finally remembered to ask who the people who had just arrived were. She already knew Zhou Qi, and the other person's name was familiar; it seemed to be Lu Rendong. She later remembered who Lu Rendong was, and she actually wanted to thank him, especially since he was Zhang Xintong's superior regarding the radio station incident and had helped her a lot.
"Next time." Wen Shuo said, "If you want to thank him, you can come with me next time I invite him to dinner."
Ren Li hadn't really wanted to join Wen Shuo's circle; she'd always felt like she had no connection to them. But it seemed like it wasn't entirely unrelated to his circle of friends; at least Zhou Qi and Lu Rendong were there.
She had just sweated while exercising, and now the sweat was dripping. When the wind blew, Ren Li felt a little cold again.
She unconsciously pulled her hands back into her sleeves and glimpsed Wen Shuo, still wearing only a thin jersey. Although she could understand the boy's indifferent attitude, it was really easy to catch a cold.
Ren Li then remembered that Wen Shuo had left his coat at the basketball court. She turned around and pointed in the direction they had come from. "Did you leave your coat there? Otherwise, we should go back and get it."
Wen Shuo: "No need. This place is very close to my home. If you are not in a hurry, you can go back with me to get your coat, and then I will take you to the subway station."
It wasn't even noon yet, so Ren Li wasn't in a hurry. She just didn't want to disturb Wen Shuo's parents. If there were any elders at home, she'd think it would be strange for a girl to go to a boy's house without permission.
"I won't go in. I can wait for you downstairs of your house." she said.
Wen Shuo: "My parents are on a business trip. You can go in and wait for me. I'm alone at home today."
Ren Li said "oh", but she felt the atmosphere was even weirder.
Wen Shuo led the way, and soon they reached their destination. Next to the iron gate was a wall. Wen Shuo tapped his fingerprint on the combination lock, and the door opened, revealing a neatly tended garden. At the far end of the garden stood a white building. Ren Li hadn't anticipated the concept of "downstairs" here; after all, Wen Shuo lived in a single-family villa.
She had never seen anyone living in such a house in the city center before. After experiencing it for herself, she finally understood what Zhang Xintong meant when she said that Wen Shuo's family was "rich".
Wen Shuo saw that Ren Li was in a daze again and reminded her: "Let's go."
"Oh." Ren Li felt like she couldn't say anything else. She followed Wen Shuo through the garden and into the room. The decor was modern, exuding a cool, high-end feel that really matched Wen Shuo's temperament. She looked around and was about to take a closer look when she saw Jiang Lan peeking out of the study. She was caught off guard and startled.
The same situation happened to Jiang Lan. She didn't expect that Wen Shuo went out for a while and brought back a girl quietly.
Wen Shuo also didn't expect such a situation. Fortunately, he was relatively calm and said helplessly: "Ms. Jiang, aren't you on a business trip today?"
Jiang Lan had seen Ren Li's photo on Wen Shuo's phone before, and now she understood the situation. This was the first time her son had invited a girl home, and she was delighted that Wen Shuo had finally caught on. But as a parent, she also felt a little relieved that her business trip had been delayed because of the meeting rescheduling.
Although she didn't believe Wen Shuo would do anything out of line, she also had to ensure that nothing irreparable would happen when the adolescent boys and girls were alone in a room.
"The meeting has been postponed, so I'll go to the airport this afternoon instead." She briefly answered Wen Shuo's question and quickly greeted Ren Li, "You must be Ren Li, right? I've heard Wen Shuo mention you many times. I'm Wen Shuo's mother. Welcome, welcome."
Ren Li then remembered that she should have seen Wen Shuo's mother before, in a restaurant near the school, so it was no wonder that she felt she looked familiar just now.
"Hello, Auntie."
Jiang Lan chatted with Ren Li for a few words and fully respected her ideas. He just said that he had some work matters to deal with at the moment, asked her and Wen Shuo to feel free, and then returned to the study.
Wen Shuo suggested taking Ren Li to his bedroom. Ren Li felt that she would disturb Jiang Lan if she stayed in the living room, so she agreed and went upstairs with him.
He went to change clothes next door, and Ren Li sat in front of his desk waiting. Wen Shuo went for a while and still didn't come out. Ren Li glanced at her phone, feeling a little bored.
Looking around, Wen Shuo's room was simply furnished. A simple Apple computer sat on the desk, a digital clock quietly turning pages. Ren Li turned her head and saw a large double bed in the back of the room.
The bedding was a blue-black four-piece set, topped with a white throw blanket, on which lay a Mac laptop and the white headphones that had been featured so frequently in their videos. The bed was piled with soft pillows, making it look very comfortable.
Out of curiosity, Ren Li sat down on Wen Shuo's bed. The mattress was soft. She reached out and touched it. The silk texture of the bedding shimmered with pearls, just as she had imagined. She thought of Wen Shuo sleeping here, his profile deep and his breathing even. Perhaps when he woke up, his hair would be as messy as hers...
She suddenly retracted her hand as if she had been electrocuted.
Just now, some very strange and unthinkable images appeared in her mind. The feeling seized her and made her feel panic, so much so that she began to feel restless.
She stood up from the bed. Wen Shuo also came back after taking a shower and changing clothes. Seeing her standing still, he couldn't help but look at her.
The moment their eyes met, Ren Li was unable to think.
Her face flushed and she stuttered as she spoke: "I just remembered that I have something else to do. I need to go home."
She seemed very anxious and couldn't wait even a moment. Wen Shuo didn't know what happened during the ten minutes he was away, so he suggested that they go out to eat something before sending her back, but Ren Li firmly refused.
She hurried downstairs. Jiang Lan was in the living room. Ren Li said goodbye to her politely and left without even stopping.
Wen Shuo was about to leave when Jiang Lan stopped him. She asked in a slightly stern tone, "What did you do just now?"
Wen Shuo was also confused: "I didn't do anything. I just went to the side to take a shower and change clothes. You have to believe your son. If I really wanted to do something, I wouldn't wait until today when you are at home."
Jiang Lan: ...
Ren Li ran outside in a hurry, and the wind finally cooled her hot cheeks a little.
She then recalled how embarrassing her behavior in front of Jiang Lan must have been. But it didn't matter anymore. Just now in Wen Shuo's bedroom, she was frightened by the "horrible" scene that suddenly popped up in her head.
On a sunny morning, she woke up from bed, opened her eyes, and saw Wen Shuo looking at her gently.
Ren Li didn't know why she had such thoughts. She kept reminding herself that Wen Shuo had someone he liked, and she shouldn't think like this. Why would she think like this... But once those thoughts came up, she couldn't help but appear in her head again and again. She was overwhelmed by these thoughts and felt a little ashamed.
She walked towards the subway station with her thoughts in a mess, not even daring to look back.
Seeing Ren Li's unusual behavior, Wen Shuo's first reaction was that something had happened at her home. Worried, he quickly chased after her. Fortunately, Ren Li didn't get far, so Wen Shuo silently followed her all the way to the subway station. After seeing her get on the train, he immediately followed her into the next car.
She probably didn't notice Wen Shuo. After the door closed, Ren Li found an empty seat by the side and sat down, leaning her head against the car, wondering what she was thinking.
Wen Shuo was a little worried, so he took out his cell phone and sent her a message.
W【Reply to a message when I get home】
Not far away, Ren Li felt the vibration of her cell phone and took it out of her pocket.
She bit her lip and looked down at the message for a long time, but did not reply.
She didn't know what she was thinking about until the station announcement sounded on the radio - the next stop had arrived, then she turned off her phone and put it back in her pocket.
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