On the court, Nova Capital dominated with a commanding lead of 27 to 9 against BM Capital. Out of Nova's 27 points, Aiden Thompson had scored a staggering 18. Initially, it was his striking looks that drew everyone's attention, but it didn't take long for his stellar skills to win over every single spectator.

  Next to Grace Li, Olivia's voice was hoarse from cheering. "Aiden! Let's go! Aiden! You've got this!"

  On the court, beads of sweat glistened on Aiden's forehead as he skillfully dribbled the ball, dashing toward the hoop. Just as he prepared to leap for a shot, someone suddenly lunged out of nowhere, swatting at the ball in his hands. The ball slipped from his grip, and the unexpected collision nearly sent him tumbling. Aiden steadied himself, his sharp glare locking onto the offender—John Lewis.

  The referee immediately blew the whistle, signaling a foul for charging. Aiden huffed, blowing his bangs out of his face as he fixed John with a warning look that spoke louder than words.

  John raised an eyebrow, a smug, defiant smirk plastered across his face.

  The game resumed, growing more intense with every second. Dribbling the ball, Aiden found himself face-to-face with John Lewis. With a quick fake to the right, he baited John into lunging that way. The moment John realized he'd been duped, Aiden sold another fake pass forward. John, now on high alert, jumped to block it, only to find himself fooled again. Aiden unleashed a string of deceptive moves, each one leaving John scrambling like a confused puppy. The crowd roared with laughter, some nearly doubled over in their seats.

  John's face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Enraged, he charged at Aiden like a bull seeing red. Aiden, unfazed, smoothly executed a between-the-legs dribble, spun around, and passed the ball to a teammate. John lunged—and missed—yet again.

  Olivia laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath. "Oh my god, Aiden is unstoppable! He's totally clowning this guy!"

  But John wasn't one to let things slide. His pride in tatters, he clung to Aiden like a shadow, dogging his every move. Wherever Aiden went, John was right there, arms outstretched, crouched low in an exaggerated defensive stance. His ridiculous antics drew more laughter from the crowd.

  Aiden stayed cool, gliding across the court with ease. When the moment came, he spotted an opening in John's defense and slipped past him like a breeze, sprinting toward the hoop. On the other side of the court, a BM player attempted a shot. The ball spun on the rim, teetered for a second, and then rolled off the edge.

  Aiden seized the opportunity, leaping up to grab the rebound. At the same time, John lunged into the air, desperate to intercept.

  Aiden's hands reached the ball first. As he came down, he swung his elbow out, making contact with John in midair. The impact sent John off balance, and he landed with a loud, heavy thud, his body sprawled awkwardly on the hardwood. Aiden hit the ground too, skidding to a stop as the crowd gasped in unison.

  The referee's whistle blew again as both players lay on the floor, groaning in pain. The game came to an abrupt halt, and the team medics rushed onto the court. They knelt by Aiden and John, quickly assessing their conditions, asking about pain levels and injuries. After a tense moment, the medics gestured that both players would need further attention but were okay for now.

  In the stands, Grace Li's heart clenched. Her gaze locked onto Aiden, who was clutching his leg as he lay on the court. Without thinking, she shot to her feet and made her way toward the court, her pulse racing.

  On the floor, both players were still down, visibly in pain, as the medics continued their checks. The game was temporarily put on hold, with the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.

  On the court, John Lewis grimaced and pointed accusingly at Aiden Thompson, shouting, "He slammed into me! He did it on purpose!"

  Aiden, clutching his leg with a pained expression, retorted, "Be reasonable, man. I got the rebound first—you ran into me."

  "You... you're flipping the script! Unbelievable!"

  James Shun rushed over, panting. "John, you're both hurt. Can we drop the blame game already?"

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  Grace Li walked straight onto the court, ignoring the stares, and knelt beside Aiden. She helped him sit up, concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay?"

  Aiden winced as he inhaled sharply. "My ankle... it hurts. Feels like I twisted it."

  Olivia hurried over, practically tripping over herself. "Aiden, we should get you to the hospital, just to be safe."

  "Yeah, okay."

  Grace grabbed a bag containing Aiden's clothes, crouched down, and pulled out his jacket, carefully draping it over his shoulders. She then helped him to his feet, supporting his weight as he stood gingerly.

  "Can you walk?"

  "I think so."

  At that moment, Scarlet Harris appeared, rushing to his side. "Aiden, are you seriously hurt?"

  "I'll be fine," Aiden replied, his tone calm.

  Scarlet scanned him, her worry evident. "Maybe I should take you to the hospital?"

  Aiden glanced at Grace before responding, "No need. Grace can take me."

  Scarlet's face fell ever so slightly, disappointment flickering in her eyes. "Alright, then. Feel better."

  Grace steadied Aiden as they hobbled toward the parking lot. Olivia followed closely behind, carrying Aiden's bag and Grace's purse.

  Ryan and Mike came over to meet them. "Need a hand?" Ryan asked.

  Grace shook her head. "No, stay here. It'd look bad if you all left."

  瑞恩朝球场望去，发现约翰·刘易斯仍然坐在地板上，看上去精神不济。“你觉得比赛还会继续吗？”

  “有替补，”格雷斯说。“应该的。只要留下来，做好你的本分就行了。”

  “知道了。”

  在车上，格蕾丝帮助艾登坐进后座，然后注意到奥利维亚爬进了前排乘客座位。

  “奥利维亚，”艾登说，“你不必来。格蕾丝可以处理好这件事。”

  “但是我可以帮忙办理入住、开处方等等，”奥利维亚辩解道。

  艾登安慰地看了她一眼。“没事的。我没那么受伤。有恩典就够了。”

  奥利维亚不情愿地下了车，但艾登补充道：“如果有人问起，就说是韧带拉伤。如果传出我是假装的，我会被嘲笑。但说实话，给约翰·刘易斯一个教训是值得的。”

  奥利维亚笑了笑，点点头。“明白了。”

  格蕾丝发动汽车，驶出停车场，朝医院的方向驶去。艾登坐在后座上，向后靠着，痛苦的表情渐渐消失，取而代之的是一抹轻松的笑容。

  “格蕾丝，带我去商场吧。我想换掉这身衣服。”

  “先去医院，”她坚定地说。她注意到车里很冷，于是打开了暖气。“你冷吗？我刚打开暖气——很快就会暖和起来。”

  “我不需要去医院。”

  “迁就我吧，”她坚持说。“这样我会感觉好些。”

  艾登轻声笑道：“我没有受伤。”

  “嗯？”格蕾丝把车停在路边，停好车。她转过身看着他，目光落到他的腿上。除了膝盖轻微擦伤外，没什么可看的。“韧带拉伤怎么样了？”

  艾登靠在椅背上，披着外套，随意地交叉双臂。“都是假的。全部都是假的。”

  “你——”格蕾丝眨了眨眼，恍然大悟。“所以，你真的是故意撞到约翰·刘易斯的？”

  “是的。”他毫不犹豫地承认道，“这是他自找的。”

  格雷丝难以置信地看着他。“我以为你是个好人。”

  “哦？”艾登扬起眉毛，脸上露出顽皮的笑容。“失望吗？”

  “说实话……约翰·刘易斯是个混蛋。他罪有应得。”

  “那你觉得我说得对还是错？”

  格蕾丝犹豫了，想起了约翰·刘易斯因她拒绝而羞辱她的所有时刻。看着他在球场上被击败，这让她感到非常满足。

  “你做得很好。只是别养成这种习惯，”她语气坚定地说。“他是个小气鬼。你现在惹他，他以后会来找你的。”

  艾登咧嘴一笑。“让他试试吧。我一直在找借口真正打倒他。”

  格雷斯皱眉，“我刚刚就告诉你不要去招惹他，你就不能听我一次吗？”

  看到她真心关心，艾登心软了。“好啦好啦。我就放过你了。开心吗？”

  格蕾丝看了看手表上的时间——才下午 4:10。天还很亮。“如果你不去医院，接下来去哪里？”

  艾登悠闲地伸了个懒腰。“我还没想好去哪儿。你想去哪儿就去哪儿。”

  格雷丝戏谑地看了他一眼。“我把你卖了怎么样？成交？”

  “当然可以，”他懒洋洋地笑着回答道。“只要确保价格合理就行。”

  “多少才算‘好’？”她开玩笑地问道。

  “最低十位数。没有上限。”

  格雷斯大笑道：“太好了。只要取得一个大成就，我就可以退休了。”

  “那还等什么？走吧。”