Chapter 150: Trouble Comes Calling

“Senior, I never knew you were so good at basketball too,” Pei Xin said as she came over.

“I’m all right,” Jiang Zheng replied.

“Senior, have you eaten? Why don’t we go get something together?”

Jiang Zheng glanced at Zhao Qi standing off to one side, hesitating.

He had promised Liu Hua that he would look after Zhao Qi until Liu Hua finished practice. Leaving now did not seem quite right.

“Let’s wait a little,” Jiang Zheng said.

Noticing his gaze, Pei Xin said, “How about this, Senior? I’ll invite them to come with us.”

“Not yet. Let’s wait until my roommate finishes practice.”

Pei Xin’s eyes shifted thoughtfully. She nodded obediently and said nothing.

Jiang Zheng simply stayed where he was instead of going over to Zhao Qi.

To be honest, he was still a little annoyed. Li Wenxin had been muttering at him the entire way, and he had no desire to go over there and see her.

Waiting here until Liu Hua finished practice could not be considered breaking his promise. After all, it had been Zhao Qi who had suggested coming to watch in the first place.

After the coach gave Liu Hua and the others a thorough dressing-down, today’s practice finally ended.

Judging by the expressions on their faces, they had been scolded rather severely.

Liu Hua came over looking dejected, but the moment he reached Jiang Zheng, his smile returned.

“Fourth, you’ve had a hard day. Come on, let’s go eat. I’m treating all of you,” Liu Hua said.

He cast a somewhat surprised glance at Pei Xin. He had noticed her from the very beginning; a girl that beautiful was hard to overlook.

At first, he had assumed she was a friend of his cousin’s who had come to visit the school with her.

But now she was standing beside Jiang Zheng, while his cousin and another girl stood off to the side. This left him rather puzzled.

Still, it was not a good time to ask questions. If he said the wrong thing, things could become awkward.

“Forget about eating. I have something to do. I’ll leave your cousin to you,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Don’t rush off. It’s not as if we have to eat this very second. We can have dinner first and then you can take care of your business,” Liu Hua urged.

Jiang Zheng had done him a tremendous favor that day. Liu Hua would feel guilty if he did not show his appreciation.

What Liu Hua said was reasonable. Having a meal before handling his affairs would not really delay him.

The problem was that, although dinner itself would not take long, Jiang Zheng did not want to eat with Li Wenxin.

“There’s really no need. If you truly want to thank me, just call me Dad,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Get lost! If anything, you should be calling me Dad,” Liu Hua retorted with a laugh.

“All right, there’s no need to be so formal between us. I’m leaving. Make sure you take good care of your cousin and the others.”

Jiang Zheng waved and turned to leave.

Liu Hua had no choice but to let him go, making no further attempt to persuade him.

Pei Xin followed Jiang Zheng, which made Liu Hua’s eyes widen even further.

After they had walked for a while, Pei Xin said, “Senior, can we go eat together now?”

“Of course.” Jiang Zheng nodded.

“This time, let me treat you. You paid for our last meal,” Pei Xin said.

Jiang Zheng acknowledged her with a sound and did not refuse.

Pei Xin chose an extremely luxurious restaurant, where the average diner spent more than five thousand, with no upper limit.

When Jiang Zheng saw the prices, his heart still ached a little.

He had quite a bit of money saved by then. It was not that he could not afford a restaurant costing five thousand per person; it was simply painful to spend that much on a meal.

Their attitudes toward money were different. A restaurant that seemed perfectly ordinary to Pei Xin struck Jiang Zheng as poor value. Even though Pei Xin had said she would pay, he was still reluctant.

“Let’s choose somewhere else. This place is too far from the university,” Jiang Zheng said.

Pei Xin replied, “All right, then let’s pick somewhere closer.”

Jiang Zheng nodded.

This time, Pei Xin chose a restaurant much nearer to campus, and the prices were far lower—only two or three hundred per person.

After all, a restaurant near a university had to keep its prices reasonable. If the cost were too high, most students would not be able to afford it.

She had chosen a Hunan restaurant with a distinctly spicy flavor, perfectly suited to Jiang Zheng’s taste. The meal was thoroughly satisfying.

After dinner, Jiang Zheng prepared to return to the hotel and continue his livestream.

“I’ll walk you to the school gate,” he said.

Although Pei Xin knew martial arts, Jiang Zheng was still uneasy about letting a girl walk back alone. Her personality made him even less at ease.

“The school gate? Aren’t you going back to campus, Senior?” Pei Xin asked.

“I have something else to do. I’m not going back to school,” Jiang Zheng replied.

Pei Xin’s eyes brightened slightly. “You’re not going back? Where are you going?”

“Uh… I’m going to get a room at a hotel,” Jiang Zheng said.

Jiang Zheng had originally thought those suggestive words would make Pei Xin back off, but to his surprise, her eyes lit up.

“Really? Can I come with you and see what it’s like?”

Jiang Zheng was speechless.

“I mean I’m getting a room at an ordinary hotel. What would you come along for?” Jiang Zheng said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh? An ordinary hotel?” Pei Xin immediately lost interest.

“What else did you think I meant?” Jiang Zheng asked.

“Hehe, that’s what I thought you meant too,” Pei Xin replied.

The two of them continued talking as they headed toward the university.

Before they reached the campus, a group of rough-looking men suddenly rushed out. Some carried steel pipes, while others brandished baseball bats.

Jiang Zheng frowned. Trouble had come looking for him again.

He had begun to feel that ever since he acquired the system, all sorts of strange problems had started finding him.

Before that, his life had been fairly smooth. The trouble he encountered had always been nothing more than ordinary problems of daily life.

The two of them were surrounded, but Pei Xin looked somewhat excited.

“Senior! Today, we’ll fight side by side!” She struck a battle-ready pose.

“Fight your head.” Jiang Zheng tapped her on the head.

Pei Xin covered her head and looked aggrieved. “Senior, why did you hit me?”

“That’s exactly why I hit you. Stay quiet and watch. Don’t cause any trouble,” Jiang Zheng said.

He was afraid that Pei Xin might act rashly and make the situation impossible to resolve.

Besides, there was something strange about a girl in a school uniform skirt getting into a fight.

“Oh.” Pei Xin acknowledged him and said nothing more.

Among the crowd, Gao Fu’s face was dark with fury. Watching the two people he had surrounded flirt openly with each other only made the flames of his anger rise higher.

Jiang Zheng looked at the crowd and called out, “Gentlemen, is there perhaps some misunderstanding? I don’t remember offending any of you.”

No one answered. They merely raised and lowered the steel pipes and baseball bats in their hands, letting them tap lightly against their palms before lifting them again.

The threat was unmistakable.

Jiang Zheng’s brow furrowed deeply. Since the other side would not even answer him, it seemed there would be no peaceful resolution.

At that thought, his heart tightened. The muscles throughout his body began to swell as he prepared himself for battle at any moment.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the other side.

“Boy, do you remember me?”

As he spoke, the encircling crowd parted, and someone walked in from outside.