On a rainy night, the school beauty knocked on my door and asked for shelter

After Zhang Yang and his group left, the tense atmosphere completely dissipated.

"Wow, that scared me! I thought they were really going to fight." Zhou Yue patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really? You seem pretty excited about it?" Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at her sideways and smiled.

Having her secret exposed, Zhou Yue immediately stuck out her tongue and shrank her neck.

Wang Lan abandoned his "one-man show" demeanor and moved closer to Chen Mo and Shen Xinghe, asking curiously, "What did he whisper to you about? He was all smiles at the end, it didn't seem like he came to cause trouble, it seemed like he came to become sworn brothers."

Chen Mo and Shen Xinghe exchanged a smile. Chen Mo explained simply, "It's nothing, they just felt that the post on the forum made them lose face, so they wanted to challenge us to a friendly match to regain some dignity."

"Huh? We're going to fight again? Did you agree to this?" Su Yuqing asked with concern, not wanting Chen Mo to get into any more trouble because of this.

"I've agreed," Shen Xinghe replied calmly. "It's just a fixed match. We'll lose to them by a few points and let them save face."

"Uh, so he came here to ask you guys to throw the match!" Li Zhe was quite surprised.

Watching them walk away, Wang Lan asked in a low voice, still somewhat unwilling, "Old Mo, Xinghe, did you really agree to let them off the hook? Isn't that just giving them a free ride by sacrificing your reputation?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, it'll be bad if someone hears you." Chen Mo made a shushing gesture.

Chen Mo glanced at Wang Lan and said in a calm voice, "It doesn't matter whether we win or lose a pickup game. Xinghe and I don't make a living from basketball, nor are we professional athletes. If we lose, there's nothing to criticize us for. We can avoid unnecessary trouble and even make a few seniors owe us a small favor. It's a good deal."

"He was very humble and let us name our terms. As a newcomer, it's always better to have more friends than more enemies," Chen Mo added, waving his phone, which displayed a video of a promise that Zhang Yang had just sent.

Shen Xinghe added casually, "As amateurs, we've already won once, and the post is there, that's enough. Losing another match would save face for them without harming us. Public opinion can be quite subtle sometimes."

Li Zhe adjusted his glasses and calmly analyzed, "From a game theory perspective, this is currently the optimal solution. It's very worthwhile to exchange potential interpersonal benefits and reduce the risk of future conflicts at the lowest cost."

Zhou Yue, who was listening nearby, blinked and laughed, "You two are pretty clever! I thought you would refuse outright!"

"I didn't expect this senior to be so flexible," Lin Xiaoxiao commented, her tone somewhat surprised. "But you're right, my mom always told me before I came to university that having more friends means having more options."

Su Yuqing looked at Chen Mo with understanding and a hint of admiration in her eyes.

The boy she liked was not only strong, but also wise and worldly-wise, which made her feel at ease.

"I knew it! How did we suddenly shake hands and make peace? Lao Mo, Xinghe, you guys really know how to handle things! You avoided conflict and even gained a favor for free—a win-win situation!" Wang Lan scratched his head, feeling a bit aggrieved, but thinking about it, it did seem to make sense. "Just keep it to yourself. Anyway, call me if you need to fight!"

"Now that everything's alright, and I haven't eaten all morning, I'm starving! Let's go eat!" Wang Lan exclaimed, taking the lead towards the cafeteria.

Everyone laughed and followed, easily dismissing the little incident. "Let's go eat," Chen Mo said with a smile, walking naturally to Su Yuqing's side. "What would you like to eat?"

The two chatted sweetly in hushed tones, just like always.

……

The eight people had a lively lunch in the cafeteria.

With nothing planned for the afternoon, I decided to go back to my dorm and get some rest.

Chen Mo escorted Su Yuqing back to her dormitory building.

"Take a good rest this afternoon. You spent the whole day shopping yesterday and got up early for a medical check-up today," Chen Mo advised.

"Okay, you too." Su Yuqing nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked softly, "Is that competition... really okay?"

"Don't worry," Chen Mo smiled slightly, his eyes calm. "We know what we're doing in a game. Besides, that arrogant senior is probably more eager for the game to proceed 'naturally' than we are."

His composure reassured Su Yuqing, who waved goodbye and turned to go upstairs.

When Chen Mo returned to 504, Wang Lan was browsing the forum on her phone, marveling: "Hey, the posts about you guys and Senior Zhang Yang are getting more and more popular. Zhang Yang actually replied to the post saying he wants to fight again."

Shen Xinghe, wearing a face mask, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest, as if everything was irrelevant to him.

Li Zhe leaned closer and asked curiously, "Let me see what he said?"

Zhang Yang's reply quietly appeared below that highly popular post and was quickly promoted to a top comment by sharp-eyed "forum users".

[Zhang Yang (Basketball Club)] replied to [Shocking! Freshman scores a game-winning shot against senior on the basketball court! Good looks and skill combined!] (Breaking News):

I wasn't feeling well that day. I woke up with a slight fever and my limbs felt weak. I never expected to play so badly on a casual game, making a fool of myself in front of everyone. Of course, it's possible that my two juniors, @陈默 and @沈星河, are actually quite skilled, but one casual game doesn't prove anything. Once I've recovered in a few days, I'll find some time to arrange a proper 5v5 game and show everyone my true abilities.

This reply instantly reignited the already popular post, which had over 500 replies!

【555L】: Holy crap! The real deal is here! Senior Zhang Yang! [Shocked face.jpg]
【556L】: Low-grade fever? Weak limbs? This excuse... why do I smell a faint aroma of tea? [doge emoji for protection]
【557L】: Replying to 556L: After all, they are professionals in the basketball club. Is it really possible that they would lose without even scoring a single point? If you say they would lose, I wouldn't be surprised, but it would be too strange if they didn't score a single point. I am more inclined to believe that the senior was really sick and not in good condition at the time.

【558L】: Let's have a match! Let's do it! Full 5v5! That'll be way more exciting than half-court 2v2! These seniors are serious this time!
【559L】：@ChenMo @ShenXinghe Junior, come out and take on the challenge! Don't be a coward!
【560L】: This 5v5 is just taking advantage of the fact that the freshmen can't find anyone to play with. It's already ridiculous enough that two majors are playing against two amateurs, but five majors are playing against five amateurs? How did you even manage to arrange this?!
【561L】: Replying to 560L: Okay, let's have another 2v2 match then, let's see how the two juniors want to do it. (This reply was from Zhang Yang himself.)

【562L】: Replying to 561L: Senior is just not convinced and wants to get revenge! This revenge battle is interesting; I'm already looking forward to it! (End of Chapter)