"Did you see this circle on the ground?"

Although Chen Lei hated the feeling of being led by the nose by Chu Ge, he was still full of curiosity and subconsciously nodded.

"I'll stand inside this circle and give you five minutes. As long as you can touch the basketball once, or if my feet leave the circle, you win."

When Chu Ge finished speaking, Chen Lei was stunned. He was dazed for a full three to four seconds before coming back to his senses, and then he laughed.

Chen Lei wasn't amused; he was infuriated, and his eyes looked at Chu Ge as if he were an idiot.

"Are you sure?"

Chu Ge nodded, "Want to play? If you think five minutes isn't enough, we can add a few more."

Chen Lei's face twitched, "Ha! What a joke! Five minutes is too much! Ten seconds is enough!"

"Then let's do it, let's settle this quickly. My colleagues are waiting for me to start the celebration banquet."

Chen Lei squinted his eyes, "Alright! Don't say I'm bullying you. I'll count down to three, so you better be ready!"

Although he felt the countdown was unnecessary, Chu Ge didn't bother to say more and just responded with a "hmm," starting to dribble the ball with a "thump thump thump."

"Three!"

"Two!

"One!"

Staring closely at the basketball in Chu Ge's hands, Chen Lei counted down but didn't immediately make a move. He decided to only strike when he was sure he would directly defeat Chu Ge.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, now!

Chen Lei's large hand swiftly reached for the basketball in Chu Ge's hands. Unfortunately, the confident expression on his face changed to surprise and annoyance before it could appear.

Missed?

"Thump, thump, thump"

The basketball bounced unhurriedly between Chu Ge's right hand and the ground, looking like the most ordinary stationary dribble.

Chen Lei couldn't understand. He had clearly timed it right, and there were no signs before he made his move. How could Chu Ge nonchalantly change his dribbling rhythm, as if he could read his mind?

It must have been luck, just luck!

Slightly furrowing his brows, Chen Lei adjusted his mindset, his gaze becoming sharper, ready to pounce like a tiger eyeing its prey.

In the ninth second of the showdown, Chu Ge's wrist sank as he slapped the basketball from his palm.

Chen Lei's eyes lit up, confident that he would not miss this time!

However, just as he extended his large hand again, Chu Ge unexpectedly tapped the basketball with his palm, transferring it from his right hand to his left.

Chen Lei missed again.

Chen Lei's face twitched once more. He had boasted that ten seconds would be enough, but now, even without looking at the time, he knew ten seconds had definitely passed.

It must have been luck, definitely just luck!

Chen Lei made several more attempts, but the basketball in Chu Ge's hands kept bouncing up and down slowly. It seemed like it should be easy to touch, yet he couldn't hit it!

Chen Lei couldn't believe it. Since waiting for the right opportunity didn't work, he'd switch tactics to a high-frequency, high-speed steal. Even if it looked bad, he had to redeem himself.

Swish swish swish swish...

Initially, Chen Lei only used his right hand, but with each miss, he grew more frustrated and started using both hands to swipe at the basketball, looking like an angry bear waving its long arms quickly.

Chen Lei's strategy seemed to be working, as he often nearly touched the ball. Chu Ge's movement space was only within a one-meter diameter circle, and it seemed like it was just a matter of time before he touched the ball.

Chen Lei's eyes shone brighter, his energy surged, and the anxiety and irritation on his face turned back into excitement and pride.

Seeing Chen Lei looking so high-spirited, Chu Ge found it more amusing. After contemplating for a moment, since there was no one else around, he decided to show a bit more skill to completely earn Chen Lei's respect.

Otherwise, even if he wins today, with Chen Lei's current posture, Chen Lei might challenge him for a second, a third time, over and over again.

Thinking of this, Chu Ge raised the corners of his mouth, suddenly squatted down slightly, and the rhythm in his hands also changed.

You want to win with tempo and speed? Then I'll be faster than you, make you utterly speechless, completely convinced, and not bother me anymore.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

In an instant, the frequency of the basketball hitting the ground became as intense as a fierce storm, with the sound blending into one. The ball moved erratically behind Chu Ge, through his legs, weaving in and out without pattern, leaving Chen Lei dizzy.

At this moment, Chen Lei was stunned, completely stunned. He gulped, recalling a cartoon from his childhood called "Slam Dunk," never imagining that someone could actually dribble at such a speed in real life.

In his vision, Chu Ge was surrounded by shadows of the ball, yet he couldn't discern its exact position. The relentless "thump" of the ball hitting the ground was like a dense drumbeat, making his heartbeat involuntarily speed up.

Chen Lei reached out towards a shadow of the ball, grasping nothing but air, reached out again, and still caught only an afterimage.

Unknowingly, five minutes had already passed. Chen Lei himself lost track of how many attempts he had made, yet every time he returned empty-handed. From beginning to end, he hadn't even touched Chu Ge's clothes, let alone the basketball.

Finally, Chen Lei gave up on any hopeful attempts, standing foolishly in place and reluctantly uttering the three words he didn't want to admit.

"I... lost."

"Snap"

Chu Ge stopped dribbling the ball, tossed it casually to Chen Lei, and turned to leave.

He believed that after this incident, unless Chen Lei had a penchant for punishment, he shouldn't be bored enough to challenge him again.

Leaving the alley, Chu Ge went straight to the restaurant hosting the victory celebration.

Although everyone was curious about the result of the showdown, seeing that Chu Ge didn't intend to mention it, they all suppressed their curiosity. In their view, Chu Ge must have lost to Chen Lei, which is why he deliberately avoided the topic.

Because the last time Pan Changqing's issue made things unpleasant, no one invited outsiders this time. Everyone was in a good mood, indulging heartily in food and drink. Particularly while drinking, no one held back, finishing three bottles of liquor and two boxes of beer without realizing.

Even Mo Xiaoran, who usually had the lowest alcohol tolerance, unusually drank more than two bottles of beer, so there was no need to mention others.

After eating and drinking to their fill, they found a KTV, booked a large room. Although it wasn't as high-end as the premium VIP room of Roman Holiday, it was still quite nice.

In the room, everyone mostly sat in the same spots as last time, with Feifei and Mo Xiaoran still on either side of Chu Ge.

Once seated, everyone strongly requested Chu Ge to sing first. Chu Ge didn't stand on ceremony with his colleagues and sang the song "Ten Years" again.

While he sang, Mo Xiaoran went to the song-selecting machine, spoke quietly with Lu Gang who was in charge of choosing songs, then returned with her head down to sit next to Chu Ge.

After Chu Ge finished singing, the room erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. Then, Mo Xiaoran, with her head down and face flushed, took the microphone from him.

The speakers began playing the prelude to a song, and "Courage" appeared in subtitles on the screen.

Mo Xiaoran stood up from the sofa. Due to drinking more than usual today, her delicate face was flushed even in the dim room lights, her body swayed slightly, and her tightly gripping hands trembled a bit.

During the prelude of "Courage," Mo Xiaoran bit her lip lightly, glanced back at Chu Ge, opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing, turning her gaze back to the screen.

"Finally made this decision, I won't care what others say, as long as you also affirm it, I'm willing to follow you to the ends of the earth, I know everything isn't easy..."

Although Mo Xiaoran sang softly throughout the song, never turning back or saying anything else, her lilting voice fully conveyed her feelings to Chu Ge.

Pressing on his brow, Chu Ge felt some headache, faced with such a shy, gentle as water girl, he really didn't know what to do.

Moreover, Mo Xiaoran hadn't explicited anything, instead conveying her feelings through the lyrics of "Courage."

It seemed the best way for him was to continue the cold treatment until Mo Xiaoran no longer harbored fantasies about him.

As Chu Ge was pondering Mo Xiaoran's situation, he suddenly felt a weight on his left shoulder. Turning his head he saw Feifei had leaned her head over, closing the original space between them, she was now snugly against him.

Patting Feifei's shoulder, Chu Ge intended to wake her, but she only nestled her head further into his shoulder, making a mumbling sound, showing no intention to get up, instead finding a more comfortable position.

Chu Ge was speechless, but seeing Feifei with her eyes tightly shut, clearly already asleep, he couldn't bear to wake her, so he let her lean against him.

After all, earlier in the restaurant, Feifei really drank quite a bit, finishing more than half a pound of liquor on her own, and also four or five bottles of beer. It seemed the alcohol hit her hard.

Meanwhile, Chen Lei, who lost the duel to Chu Ge, lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep thinking about the unbelievable scene. Suddenly, he sat up, frowned, and dialed a number.

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