"..."

From Xia Xiaodie's gaze, Xu Fan saw the burning soul of gossip.

Perhaps as she had said, Shi Lei really had encountered some trouble. Xu Fan grew concerned and immediately followed Xia Xiaodie to pursue Shi Lei towards the back mountain of the school.

"Damn it! Lost him!"

Before long, the two of them arrived at the school's back mountain basketball court.

The court was empty with no sight of Shi Lei. Xia Xiaodie, stomping her feet in frustration, looked on angrily!

But Xu Fan remained silent. He activated his Perspective Eye with his right eye and looked towards the back mountain.

The lush trees before him gradually disappeared from view, and soon at the top of the mountain, he saw the figure of Shi Lei.

Right then, it seemed that Shi Lei was waiting for someone, and through the strong vision of the Perspective Eye, Xu Fan could clearly see the complex emotions on his face…

"Let's go, follow me up the mountain, and remember, don't speak from now on."

Perhaps Xia Xiaodie's guess was right. Without saying a word, Xu Fan quietly took Xia Xiaodie's hand and walked into the back mountain.

They caught up with Shi Lei shortly after.

Now hiding behind a large rock, Xia Xiaodie sneakily stretched her neck to look at Shi Lei in the distance and asked in a hushed tone, "Xu Fan, who is he waiting for?"

Xu Fan shook his head. The back mountain of Zijing Middle School was a route to skip school. Seeing Shi Lei waiting there meant the person he was waiting for was most likely from another school.

"Xu Fan, someone's coming!"

At that moment, Xia Xiaodie's eyes lit up as several figures slowly emerged from the dense woods ahead.

"This! That's the uniform from No. 1 Middle School! What on earth does Shi Lei want to do!"

As the three approached, Xia Xiaodie immediately recognized the uniforms of the three individuals!

Xu Fan's brows also started to furrow. In this year's high school basketball tournament, Zijing Middle School had finally made it to the finals and was about to face Jinling No. 1 Middle School.

As a member of the school team, what was Shi Lei doing meeting with the enemy at this time?

Hidden at a distance, the two could only see the three guys chatting and laughing with Shi Lei; they had no idea what was being discussed.

"Damn it! Shi Lei has definitely been bought over by No. 1 Middle School! He wants to deliberately lose the match!"

Xia Xiaodie angrily speculated, and in her impulsiveness, she wanted to confront Shi Lei and scold him for his traitorous behavior.

She hadn't even stood up when Xu Fan pulled her back.

"What are you doing?"

Xia Xiaodie looked at Xu Fan with a complaining glance, exclaiming, "Are we just going to stand by and watch him betray our school?"

"..."

From the current situation, Xia Xiaodie's guess might very well be correct, but Xu Fan was reluctant to believe it.

Shi Lei had always given him a good impression, and he had always considered him a friend. He couldn't have done such a thing.

"Shi Lei is my brother, and I refuse to believe he would do such a thing."

Xu Fan firmly held Xia Xiaodie back, declaring, "We'll wait for the guys from No. 1 Middle School to leave before going out. Don't worry, if Shi Lei is indeed at fault, I will handle this myself."

Going out at this time would only startle the quarry. Xia Xiaodie pouted, and although she wasn't fully on board with Xu Fan's protective behavior, she obediently crouched down.

Soon after, the three students from No. 1 Middle School finished their chat with Shi Lei and left the back mountain along the way they had come, laughing as they went.

"Shi Lei! Stop right there!"

At this time, Xia Xiaodie could no longer contain herself and rushed towards him.

"Xia Xiaodie? Boss?"

At that moment, Shi Lei was dazed and turned pale when he saw Xia Xiaodie and Xu Fan approaching him.

"Shi Lei, you better explain..."

"Shut up!"

Xia Xiaodie was fuming with anger, about to question Shi Lei, but a sharp glance from Xu Fan forced her words back down her throat.

"The master hasn't spoken, who allowed you to speak?"

"You! Wha..."

Seeing Xu Fan's cold expression, Xia Xiaodie was filled with grievance but, remembering that she was currently his little maid, she could only silently stew in her frustration.

"Boss, you, why are you here..."

Shi Lei looked somewhat nervous at that moment, while Xu Fan stared back with a stern face and asked, "Shi Lei, what were they looking for you just now for?"

"This..."

Shi Lei awkwardly mustered a smile and said, "They, they were friends of mine from the past; we, we just made plans to hang out over the weekend..."

"Okay, I consider you a brother, I believe you."

Faced with Shi Lei's full-of-holes explanation, Xu Fan chose not to expose him and simply said a few casual words before pulling the unwilling Xia Xiaodie and started walking down the hill.

"You! Are you crazy? This guy is obviously lying!"

Xia Xiaodie was being dragged down the mountain by Xu Fan, clearly unhappy about it.

As a member of Zijing Middle School, she was not willing to see the school's hard-earned chance at a championship ruined by Shi Lei.

"Talk nonsense again, and see if I don't spank you."

Xu Fan gave Xia Xiaodie a glance and couldn't be bothered to explain.

If Shi Lei considered him a brother, he would tell him the truth.

Even if he didn't, Xu Fan would have his own strategies to deal with it.

"Boss, wait a minute!"

As expected, Xu Fan and Xia Xiaodie hadn't walked far when Shi Lei called after them.

Watching Xu Fan turn around, Shi Lei bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "They're from Jinling's school team. They came to bribe me, asking me to throw the match during the finals."

"But I didn't agree! Boss, you believe me!"

"..."

"Don't worry, I believe you."

Looking at Shi Lei's excited demeanor, Xu Fan couldn't help but smile.

He could see that Shi Lei was not lying to him.

"But, Shi Lei, you have to tell me, why, they came to you."

But flies don't land on a seamless egg, and the fact that Jinling's people came to Shi Lei, in particular, had to have a reason behind it.

Hearing Xu Fan's question, Shi Lei lowered his head, looking despondent.

"Because, I, I've been short on money lately..."

"..."

Shi Lei's look of helplessness was clear to see, and Xia Xiaodie took it all in. Her previous resentment towards him dissipated, replaced instead with a tinge of sympathy.

She bit her lip and then said, "Shi Lei, I'm sorry for what happened just now, I misjudged you. The truth is, if you're really in trouble, you could have told any of us, we all would have helped you."

Xia Xiaodie's empathetic response took Xu Fan by surprise.

This temperamental girl, at heart, was kinder than he had imagined. Xu Fan affectionately stroked her head.

"Hmph, stop it, don't touch my head."

Xia Xiaodie, seeing Xu Fan get so close to her in front of Shi Lei, blushed instantly, pouted, and pushed his hand away.

Xu Fan didn't continue to tease Xia Xiaodie.

He was a man, and understood more clearly than Xia Xiaodie why Shi Lei didn't ask for help with his problem.

Pride.

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