Chapter 044: The Challenge Flag Falls in a Second

However, when Wang Xiao led his troublesome teammates to apologize, Jiang Xiaohan, who was also involved in the incident, was not present. Strictly speaking, it was the Publicity Department that deserved the apology, and as the head of the Sports Department, she wasn’t directly related to the matter. Yet, when she saw that group approaching from afar, carrying something in their hands, her first reaction was still:

Why are those “bandits” here again?

In truth, the members of the Basketball Club weren’t really that unreasonable. On the contrary, they were easily embarrassed, especially when they realized they were in the wrong.

But perhaps the memory of their previous entrance was simply too vivid—whenever Jiang Xiaohan caught sight of them, she would instinctively shudder. Her next instinct was always to hide as far away as possible.

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If their first encounter could still be chalked up as a misunderstanding, their second meeting sealed the grudge between them.

Perhaps because of the earlier mishap, the Publicity Department quickly took the lead in organizing an interdepartmental basketball tournament. The venue was, once again, the university gymnasium.

There were plenty of basketball courts at A University, both indoors and outdoors. However, only the two indoor courts in the gymnasium were built to competition standards—measuring 32 by 19 meters.

To host the interdepartmental friendly matches, one of these courts was reserved long-term by the Student Union, leaving the other for general student use as a warm-up area and for the Basketball Club’s regular training sessions.

The day of the first group match arrived. As the head of the Sports Department, Jiang Xiaohan naturally had to be present to oversee the event and handle any emergencies.

But just as the match was underway, suddenly a ball came whizzing over from the adjacent court, landing right in the center of the playing area.

"What the heck! Who did that?!"

Jiang Xiaohan slammed the table and shot to her feet, her reaction even fiercer than that of the players on the court. Looking back, she saw several Basketball Club members awkwardly rubbing their hands together in embarrassment.

This time, however, they had learned their lesson. Without waiting for Jiang Xiaohan to explode, they hurried over to retrieve the ball themselves.

The match continued.

But less than twenty minutes later, another ball soared over, accompanied by a shout of "Watch out!" from someone unknown.

Jiang Xiaohan had just turned to see what was happening when the ball made intimate contact with the side of her face.

Before losing consciousness, all she could see was the number 15 jersey looming ever larger in her vision:

He definitely did that on purpose!

Because of this inauspicious start, the entire interdepartmental basketball tournament was nearly called off.

And Jiang Xiaohan pinned all the blame squarely on the current president of the Basketball Club, Wang Xiao—the very player who had thrown both balls.

"Minister, actually, those two balls..." It wasn’t Wang Xiao who threw them; he was trying to save the ball.

A member on the other side of the court, who had seen everything clearly, wanted to speak up for Wang Xiao. But before he could finish, Jiang Xiaohan covered her ears:

"I don’t want to hear a word in his defense! He’s on my blacklist now, and he’ll never get off it!"

For the next few matches, the Sports Department, determined to prevent a repeat of the incident, requisitioned both courts during game time and even moved the referee’s table to a corner by the wall.

But despite having just sworn never to see Wang Xiao again in her life, Jiang Xiaohan’s resolve was about to be tested:

"Senior! The counselor wants to see you!"

On her way to the counselor’s office, Jiang Xiaohan’s left eyelid wouldn’t stop twitching. And sure enough, as soon as she walked in, the teacher’s first words were:

"I hear Wang Xiao from our department is the president of the Basketball Club? Our department really ought to form a proper basketball team. Otherwise, in these competitions, the scores are just embarrassing!"