Xiao Xian’s face remained flushed until the competitions for each group started one by one, and only then did it slowly fade away.
Qu Yang had whispered in her ear, "I’d be willing to wash your undies too," but the result was the harasser being dragged away by Mao Yi, who twisted his arm and pulled him to a safe distance five meters away from Xiao Xian.
"Good grief, Wang Ke is actually responsible for guarding against men." Qu Yang grimaced for a while, and only after promising to never act like a hooligan again, solemnly as if he were swearing to his grandma, did Mao Yi let go of his vice-like grip.
"And it seems like she’s doing it effortlessly. We need to be more cautious next time," Mao Yi, in the bustling crowd of onlookers, keenly observed that Wang Ke was still hiding some of her strength. In the latter half of the term, there were rumors in the school claiming Wang Ke’s performance next semester would be phenomenal, though there were also whispers of her taking banned substances. But later, the school doctor issued a certification stating there wasn’t the slightest trace of drugs in her blood samples.
"..." Xiao Xian didn’t comment, the more energy Wang Ke expended, the greater the hidden risks within her body.
Zhou Ziang watched from the sidelines, also with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Mengshan Company is a comprehensive biopharmaceutical company. During his time as a researcher at the institution, Zhou Ziang had some exposure to research on animal and even human potential. Among the comparison of physical capabilities between men and women, the gap does exist in reality. However, in the animal kingdom, this gap is not significant, and in some circumstances, female animals, when protecting their young or surviving adverse conditions, can even exhibit explosive strength greater than their male counterparts.
Wang Ke’s current situation does not fit either scenario. That only leaves one other possibility.
Before Zhou Ziang returned to China, one of his referrers, Aisha, had proposed to join him in going back to China for the New Year.
"I’ve always been an admirer of China’s ancient culture, I heard that the way Chinese celebrate the New Year is quite unique. Would it be convenient to invite me to go back with you? It just happens that I can check the effects of my first-class experimental drugs in China," those were Aisha’s exact words.
For a woman, she was already quite forward.
But Zhou Ziang didn’t think so. One, he didn’t like Aisha; two, he still didn’t like Aisha; and three, he just didn’t like Aisha.
This dislike was unusual for Zhou Ziang, who is usually approachable yet indifferent, hardly ever having strong aversions or preferences towards others. However, he sensed something seemingly familiar with Wang Ke. Aisha.
Besides, if he brought her back to China out of politeness, even if only to the airport, his mother Xi Lijuan’s first reaction upon seeing him bringing his colleague Aisha back would definitely be, "Ziang, is she your girlfriend?"
As for Zhou Qiang’s reaction: "I sent you to the United States to study properly, who allowed you to start dating, and even bring back a blonde lioness?"
So Zhou Ziang categorically refused, and he didn’t even inform Aisha when he would be returning to China.
Watching the competition, Fang Xin and Fang De were still discussing, "That girl is too fierce, how high did she jump just now? Xiao Xin, she’s even better than you."
"Yep, she would be a leading player even in a university setting, feel the pressure now," Fang Xin stuck out her tongue, the siblings could still joke around, but weren’t particularly nervous, they had played a few matches with Zhou Ziang beforehand and had a fair impression of his basketball skills.
Both siblings are not bad players, and with Zhou Ziang, needless to say, their combined strength is top-notch.
The match lost suspense by the third set of the five-round competition, having won two rounds by a large margin, Wang Ke’s opponent in the third round was practically in full retreat.
With a whistle, the match ended, Wang Ke triumphantly cast a seductive glance at Qu Yang and then forcefully rolled her eyes at Xiao Xian.
Competitions went on one after another, because of the draw, Zhou Ziang’s group didn’t come up until five o’clock. At five o’clock in early spring, the sky was already dim like seven or eight o’clock, and the north-east wind was blowing fiercer.
Mao Yi accompanied the other two, repeatedly moving across different courts, figuring out the details of most leading groups. As for the last two or three groups, if not for the bet on doing laundry, there was no need to wait at all.
"I’m freezing to death, why hasn’t it started yet, just take a quick look later, it’s already the last two batches," Qu Yang regretted making the bet. He was thinly dressed, without constant exercise to keep warm, and the north wind made him shiver like a plucked quail.