Li Yan stepped out of the restroom, spotting Chuxingyue seated in a chair. After rehearsing his words, he approached her.

"Sis, the boss is craving watermelon. He wants you to buy one specially for him."

Indeed, their scheme was simple: trick Chuxingyue into leaving first, let Xiao Mu escape while she was gone, then have Li Yan stall her upon her return.

To Xiao Mu, it was flawless.

"Sis?"

Chuxingyue’s focus wasn’t on the watermelon—it was on Li Yan’s address. A trace of joy bloomed in her heart.

"Repeat what you just said," Chuxingyue instructed.

Li Yan froze, unsure what went wrong. Swallowing his pride, he stammered, "Sis, the boss is craving watermelon. He wants you to buy one specially for him..."

"No problem!" Chuxingyue flashed a bright smile and strode out without another word.

Li Yan watched her go, speechless. She was too easy to fool! Still, step one was a success.

"Boss, it’s done!" Li Yan called out, stepping back into the restroom.

"Well done!"

Xiao Mu’s face lit up. He yanked out the IV needle, scrambled for his clothes, and changed swiftly. Before slipping away, he gripped Li Yan’s shoulder gravely. "Remember—stall as long as you can."

"Mission guaranteed!" Li Yan snapped a crisp salute, like a soldier bearing a nation’s fate.

Xiao Mu sneaked out of the hospital and found a quiet spot to call Night Glass.

*Beep… beep… beep…*

The phone rang endlessly. No answer. It cut off automatically.

Xiao Mu refused to quit. Once failed? Try twice. Twice failed? Try thrice.

He’d lost count of the attempts. Phone pressed to his ear, he waited in silence.

Suddenly, the beeping stopped. The call connected.

Silence stretched for seconds. Then Xiao Mu spoke softly, "Xiao Li, where are you now?"

"What do you want?" Night Glass replied coldly.

"I want to see you."

"Completely unnecessary."

"We need to talk properly."

"I said it’s unnecessary."

"Xiao Li…"

Another long pause. Regret pricked Xiao Mu’s chest. Maybe rushing to win over Chuxingyue had wounded Night Glass. He missed the quirky, mischievous girl—not this icy stranger.

"I’ll wait at the school gate. Come."

The line went dead.

Xiao Mu exhaled slowly, his gaze hardening. He would win her back. Absolutely.

…

Today was Huazhong’s basketball tournament day, with three senior classes competing.

The bracket was single-elimination: eight to four, four to two, two to one.

Xiao Mu’s class had the second morning match. Tip-off neared, but Xu Judong—their guard—was missing.

Losing just him wouldn’t matter; substitutes existed. But his entire clique had vanished—starters and benchwarmers alike.

"What’s the damn point of playing!" Wu Jie, team captain, snarled. He slammed the basketball hard onto the floor.

"We’re one player short. Everyone who knows a thing or two is already on court. The rest are total rookies…" Wang Feisheng, the vice-captain beside him, wore deep worry.

"What about Xiao Mu? Is he here?" Wu Jie’s eyes sparked with sudden hope.

Xiao Mu had pulled off too many "miracles" lately. Wu Jie trusted him inexplicably—if Xiao Mu showed, they’d be fine.

"I thought of him," Wang Feisheng said with a bitter smile. "But he’s still hospitalized after that fight."

The light in Wu Jie’s eyes dimmed. He turned away, shoulders slumped. "Just grab anyone to play. Tell her to do nothing—just move occasionally…"

To him, this game was already lost.