Chapter 144: Ye Chen

"Brother, we'll take this court. Move along and find somewhere else to hang out," Zhao Shijie said arrogantly as he walked over to Yang Fan.

Yang Fan ignored him entirely, turning instead to Tang Xin and Liu Jingjing to ask, "Do you girls want to give up the court?"

Naturally, the two girls had no intention of handing it over. Moreover, seeing Zhao Shijie's arrogant expression filled them with intense irritation.

"Why should I give it to you? Who do you think you are?" Liu Jingjing glanced at Zhao Shijie, her face full of displeasure.

Seeing that Liu Jingjing refused, Zhao Shijie didn't dare to blow up at her. Instead, he shifted his gaze to Yang Fan. "Hey kid, I'm talking to you!"

He wouldn't dare do anything to Liu Jingjing because she was the woman his boss had set his sights on. Coming here today was primarily about making trouble for Yang Fan.

"You heard them, they don't want to give it to you," Yang Fan said with a shrug. "Please move aside and don't interrupt our game."

With that, Yang Fan tossed the basketball in his hand to Liu Jingjing.

Liu Jingjing caught the ball and threw it upward with both hands, the ball dropping cleanly through the hoop.

"Yay!" Liu Jingjing cheered, jumping up with joy.

She couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Zhao Shijie standing right beside her. With Yang Fan around, she had no fear of these guys causing trouble unless they had a death wish.

Zhao Shijie's face turned dark, his heart burning with rage.

"Brother, we're on the school team. Offend us, and you'll have a hard time in school from now on," Zhao Shijie stared at Yang Fan, his tone venomous.

As a member of the school basketball team, he naturally carried a sense of superiority. Most team members were sports majors, each built like a tank, and few people dared to cross them. Furthermore, their team captain was a formidable figure; backed by him, the team members ran amok through Mingzhu High School. Cross them, and you could kiss goodbye to any peace in school—you were guaranteed some "special attention."

"So what if you're on the school team? Do you really dare to lay a hand on me in broad daylight?" Yang Fan gave Zhao Shijie a calm, indifferent look.

"What the hell! We're talking to you politely, which is already showing you some respect. Don't be so shameless!" snapped a boy standing next to Zhao Shijie, stepping forward to curse at Yang Fan.

This guy was Zhou Yuansheng, another school team member. Seeing Yang Fan acting oblivious, Zhou Yuansheng was itching to throw punches.

Yang Fan raised his head and looked at Zhou Yuansheng. His eyes were sharp, radiating a chilling coldness.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Fan took a step forward and arrived right in front of Zhou Yuansheng, delivering a vicious slap before the latter could even react.

With a crisp crack, Zhou Yuansheng took a heavy blow to the face. Letting out a miserable shriek, his body spun in a full circle before he landed hard on his backside.

The slap left him completely dazed, the bright red handprint stark and glaring on his cheek.

Students watching from the surrounding area collectively drew in sharp breaths of cold air.

The force behind Yang Fan's strike was utterly terrifying, actually sending a person spinning in place. Looking at Zhou Yuansheng and the vivid red imprint on his face, everyone felt a pang of pity for him.

"Holy cow, who the hell is this guy? To dare offend the school team like this—he's got some serious guts," an awestruck student exclaimed.

The school's basketball team members were a bunch of unruly bullies who frequently picked on ordinary students. And since they were all built like giants, no one ever dared to provoke them. Yet Yang Fan not only provoked them, but actually hauled off and slapped one of them, which caught everyone completely off guard.

Instantly, all eyes locked onto Yang Fan, filled with curiosity about his identity. If he was just some reckless fool who had no idea who the school team was, he was in for a world of hurt. That was the consensus among the gathered crowd.

"I recognize him! Last time in the cafeteria, I saw him easily take down a bunch of sports students. Those guys didn't even get a chance to fight back; they were all just lying on the floor groaning."

"Tsk tsk, this kid is hardcore."

"If he dares to mess with the school team, he must have some backing, right? Otherwise, how could he have the nerve to strike?"

Many students murmured among themselves in hushed tones. Quite a few of them had witnessed Yang Fan handling sports students before and knew he was a powerhouse. But could he take down the school team members with the same ease? That remained the question.

"Damn it! You actually dare hit us!" Seeing his own man beaten, Zhao Shijie flew into a rage and launched a flying kick straight at Yang Fan.

In Yang Fan's eyes, his movements appeared several times slower than normal, riddled with openings.

Yang Fan lashed out with a direct kick that connected squarely with Zhao Shijie's abdomen. The immense force sent him flying a full five meters backward. And that was with Yang Fan holding back; otherwise, Zhao Shijie's fate would have been far worse.

Watching Zhao Shijie get launched through the air, the onlookers gasped again. This was entirely too terrifying.

"Damn it! They're hitting our own! Brothers, get him!" On the other side, seeing their teammate taken down, the rest of the school team members howled and charged forward.

In an instant, eight imposing figures surged forward, looking as though they intended to tear Yang Fan limb from limb.

Faced with this situation, the onlookers could only offer silent prayers for Yang Fan.

Standing his ground calmly, Yang Fan maintained a serene expression, as unbothered as if Mount Tai were collapsing before him. To him, these thugs were nothing more than small fry that could be cleared away with a flick of his wrist.

"Stop right there!"

Just as the charging mob was about to reach Yang Fan, a commanding voice rang out.

A handsome young man stepped into view.

At the sight of him, the charging team members instantly halted their advance.

Meanwhile, the surrounding girls erupted into squeals of excitement at the appearance of the handsome youth, some of them wearing lovestruck expressions with undisguised adoration in their eyes.

Ye Chen—the heartthrob of Mingzhu High School. Tall, handsome, captain of the basketball team, and an exceptional player.

And there was another crucial detail: he was the third young master of the powerful Ye family from the capital. With such a prestigious background, he was the undisputed prince charming in the hearts of the female students.

"Captain, this punk had the nerve to hit one of our guys!" Zhao Shijie walked up to Ye Chen, glaring bitterly at Yang Fan.

Ye Chen waved a hand dismissively, flashing a smile as he looked at Yang Fan. "Brother, you laid hands on my people. How are we going to settle this?"

"Then what do you want?" Yang Fan countered.

"How about this? Play a game of ball with us. If you win, we'll call it even," Ye Chen said, adjusting his collar while keeping his gaze locked on Yang Fan. "If you lose, you let them hit you back, and you apologize."

Hearing Ye Chen's proposal, the surrounding students instantly felt it was an act of blatant bullying. Everyone knew how formidable the school team was at basketball; who on campus could possibly match them? If Yang Fan agreed, everyone would assume there was something wrong with his head.

"Not interested," Yang Fan rejected flatly.

If they wanted to fight, they were welcome to try. No matter how many came, he would knock them all down—that was the extent of Yang Fan's confidence. Apologize? Did they really think that was a possibility?

Hearing Yang Fan's response, Ye Chen turned his gaze to Liu Jingjing and smiled. "Liu Jingjing, is this the boyfriend you found? He's spineless. Your taste is truly terrible."

Liu Jingjing flashed a bright, innocent smile, stepped forward to loop her arm through Yang Fan's, and retorted, "The man I, Liu Jingjing, choose will at least be no worse than you."

"Is that so? Somehow I think he's just a coward who doesn't even dare play a single game of basketball." Ye Chen's face still bore a faint smile, his tone dripping with provocation.

"Since you love playing basketball so much, I'll play a game with you," Yang Fan said with a shrug.

At this point, if Yang Fan refused again, it wouldn't look right. How could he show weakness in front of the woman who had implicitly claimed him? Since someone was deliberately begging for a beating, he might as well oblige them. Besides, he could already sense the underlying tension between Ye Chen and Liu Jingjing.