Chapter 13
It was already 1:00 am, so it was very quiet outside. Hearing a woman crying at such a time would have frightened most people and made them think they had encountered a ghost or some spirit.
But Icarus knew that it was Irene who was crying. He had noticed the deep sorrow hidden in Irene’s eyes during dinnertime. Perhaps she didn’t want to worry Luna, so she only allowed herself to cry quietly in the middle of the night.
Irene was clearly facing some serious difficulties.
Icarus thought she was a good person. Ever since he moved here, Irene often invited him to share meals with them after she noticed that he was living alone. Sometimes, she would buy fruit or snacks and ask Luna to bring them to him.
Although Icarus had a reserved nature, he was far from being cold–hearted, especially when it came to a kind neighbor
like Irene.
So, Icarus made up his mind that he would ask Irene about the troubles plaguing her the next day.
#to
The next day, there was a physical education lesson. This lesson provided a chance for all the senior classes to take a break from their studies and engage in sports activities.
Most students chose to take part in various ball games or go jogging. A few lazy ones, like Icarus and Donovan, didn’t bother with these activities. They went to the convenience store to buy some ice cream and sat on a bench by the school basketball court, eating and chatting away.
Initially, there were only a few people shooting hoops on the basketball court where Icarus and Donovan were sitting. But within minutes, a large group of people arrived at the scene.
The center of attention was none other than Xavier, whom Icarus had met the previous day.
“Why did Xavier come over here?” Donovan asked in surprise.
Then, he glanced at Icarus and recalled the rumors that had spread throughout the grade yesterday. He heard from his classmates that Xavier was displeased about Icarus being Ruth’s deskmate. So, he had personally come to their class the previous day to warn Icarus.
Donovan had been napping at his desk when it happened, so he wasn’t sure if the rumors were true.
“Hey, Icarus. That rumor yesterday… Did Xavier really-“Donovan was just about to clarify with Icarus when a series of excited squeals erupted from the edge of the basketball court.
“Ah!”
It turned out that Xavier had removed his shirt to reveal his muscular chest and abs. All the girls swooned when they saw his sculpted body.
Xavier was tall, well–built, handsome, academically gifted, and came from a prominent family. He was perfect and no doubt every girl’s dream boyfriend. In short, he was the perfect definition of a modern–day Prince Charming.
Xavier picked up the basketball and dribbled it. Then, with a leap from near the free–throw line, he slam dunked the ball with ease.
“Wow!”
His impressive dunk triggered another round of cheers and hoots from the crowd, including the boys. Jumping from near the free–throw line to make a dunk was something even many NBA players couldn’t do.
However, Xavier did it effortlessly!
“Oh my gosh. How can he jump so high and far?”
“Yeah! He’s even better than those NBA players!”
“Haven’t you heard? Xavier has been practicing martial arts since he was a ldd, and now he’s supposedly an innate… What’s that word? Oh yeah! He’s an innate fighter!”
A few boys near Icarus were discussing how marvelous Xavier was,
“He’s an innate fighter?” Upon hearing that word, Donovan was so amazed that the fat on his cheek shook.
He turned to Icarus and said, “Listen, if you got on his bad side, you’d better back down and apologize. You can’t afford to mess with an innate fighter.”
Icarus smiled faintly. He had known yesterday that Xavier was a 5th–stage innate fighter. This was equivalent to being, at the 5th stage of the refinement phase. D
To someone like Icarus, who was at the 9,832nd stage of the refinement phase, that level of cultivation was insignificant. But for ordinary people, especially for someone of Xavier’s age, it was indeed impressive.
By now, the crowd around Xavier had doubled. Most of the crowd consisted of girls. Every time Xavier scored, it elicited another round of screams from them.
Ruth was walking along the track with her best friend from the honors class, Edith Zeller.
“You should transfer back to our class. It’s so boring without you,” Edith said, holding Ruth’s hand.
sfer back
“I want to transfer back. But when I applied for a transfer, the headteacher refused and even scolded me,” Ruth replied helplessly.
“What? How dare he scold you? Just tell your dad, and have him call the school. I’d like to see the head teacher try to
pull rank after that,” Edith said angrily.
Suddenly, Edith seemed to think of something. She looked at Ruth suspiciously and said, “This isn’t making sense. A mere headteacher wouldn’t dare refuse your request. I think you just don’t want to transfer back, so you made up an excuse. Be honest, Ruth. Do you have a crush on Icarus?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ruth retorted with a blush.
“Aha, look at how nervous you are. It seems my guess is correct,” Edith teased, narrowing her eyes.
Just then, they heard the high–pitched squeals coming from the basketball court.
“What’s going on? Why are there so many people gathered there?” Ruth asked, trying to change the topic.
Edith looked over and immediately spotted Xavier, who was shirtless. As soon as she saw him, her eyes lit up. “Xavier’s playing basketball over there. Let’s go take a look!”
Upon hearing Xavier’s name, Ruth felt a wave of disgust and had no desire to get anywhere near him.
However, Edith forcefully pulled her along, and she couldn’t break free.
As more and more people gathered around, Icarus sensed that trouble was brewing.
“Let’s go. It’s too noisy here,” Icarus said, patting Donovan on the shoulder and standing up.
Right at that moment, Xavier walked over to him. Icarus cursed inwardly at not having left sooner.
“Fancy meeting you here, Icarus,” Xavier said, flashing his trademark sunny smile.
It was no coincidence. Icarus knew that Xavier was bent on challenging him.
“Is there something you need?” Icarus asked..
“Not really. I happened to see you sitting here looking bored. So, I thought I’d invite you to play basketball with me,”
Xavier said.
