Water and Fire~Chapter 86.1: Unprecedented Tenderness

 

Chapter 86.1: Unprecedented Tenderness

Chu Qianmiao ran back to the sidelines, gnashing her teeth as she continued to watch the game.

Liu Lifeng finally found another opportunity, seizing it to taunt her once more.

"Your brain is hopelessly stupid! You even went over with the ball. You're a football player! Why are you still applying to become an insurance agent with your idiotic brain? Just forget it and save the registration fee!"

Chu Qianmiao almost rushed over and kicked him to death.

"Just wait until I pass the exam and you'll be my underling!" She glared at the court, threatening Liu Lifeng.

"Ha!" Liu Lifeng sneered.

Suddenly, another round of cheers erupted from the audience.

Ren Yan drained another three-pointer. The handsomeness of his shooting form, the beauty of his mid-air posture, drew another wave of cheers, giggles, and whispers from the female employees. The words "Mr. Ren is so handsome!" echoed through Chu Qianmiao's ears like a barrage of sound.

She gritted her teeth and thought, damn, he's pretty handsome! That guy looks like he's been preservative-free. He's already 32, but he still looks like a young man. She fancied that with his qualifications, if he were employed at the White Horse Club, he'd probably earn at least as much as he would working in investment banking.

It's a pity that while he's handsome, his heart can sometimes turn wicked, and his taunts can be incredibly embarrassing.

She saw Ren Yan suddenly lift the hem of his shirt and fan himself on the court. A glimpse of his abdominal muscles was revealed. Chu Qianmiao's ears were filled with anxiety again. The female employees, somewhat shyly but not too reservedly, excitedly chatted with one another, "See? See? Mr. Ren's abs are so sexy!"

Chu Qianmiao almost suspected Ren Yan was doing it on purpose. How could there be so much sweat that you had to fan it off?

After he shot the three-pointer, Qin Qianyu requested a substitution, and Liu Lifeng took his place.

Qin Qianyu, panting, walked over to Chu Qianmiao and took the water from her. Without even looking for a stone bench, he simply sat cross-legged on the ground, gulping down the drink. He finished his drink, panting, "No, I have to go to the gym when I get back to Beijing. Why am I so exhausted right now? I just ran for a while, and I'm already panting."

Chu Qianmiao squatted down to chat with him. "Brother, you're better than Liu Lifeng. He was already gasping for breath twenty minutes before you."

Qin Qianyu, having been comforted by a more conciliatory method, seemed much happier. He looked at the court and sighed, "Our leader is such a gem! I didn't expect him to be such a great basketball player—not only technically, but also physically strong." After a pause, he added, "Honestly, I've never seen the leader partially naked. I always thought he was rather frail. Wow, this is eye-opening. He looks lean and strong, but he's got a lot of muscle."

Chu Qianmiao was worried Qin Qianyu might be turning gay.

"Didn't the leader say he wouldn't be participating in this competition? Why is he here all of a sudden? Not only did he come, but he even took off his clothes to play," she asked Qin Qianyu casually.

Qin Qianyu took another sip of water and breathed, "I just quietly asked the leader on the court. He said he's thought it over and doesn't think Qian Siji's arrangement for this match is as he said, a friendly apology. To apologize, you're looking for five strong men to play basketball against a bunch of us who've been sitting in the office all year. How can we see friendship? Only murderous intent."

Qin Qianyu took a breath and continued, "So the leader said Qian Siji was actually trying to intimidate us. We confronted Dou Shan and gained the upper hand, and Qian Siji can't stand being wronged. He had to find another excuse to gain the upper hand over us to feel satisfied."

Chu Qianmiao was a little surprised at first, but after thinking about it, she realized that this was exactly what was going on.

She was truly impressed by people in the business world. They might not be big-hearted, but they were certainly full of twists and turns.

Qin Qianyu wiped his sweat as he said, "So, the leadership said this game can be won or tied, but not lost. We, the agency, can't let Qian Siji take advantage. So the leadership came on and turned the tide."

Chu Qianmiao glanced at the score. Before Ren Yan took the court, Qin Qianyu and his team had been trailing by a wide margin due to the five muscular men from the company. After Ren Yan entered the court, he shot and shot, gradually closing the gap. A game that had once been a sure win for the company now became uncertain due to the narrowing scoreline, with one climax after another.

While she was talking to Qin Qianyu, Ren Yan hit another three-pointer. Another round of cheers erupted from the audience. Qin Qianyu sat cross-legged on the floor, slapping his hands vigorously and whistling, like a completely mad fanboy.

Chu Qianmiao's cheer nearly burst out of her throat, but when Ren Yan landed and glanced back at them, her cheer was stuck in her throat.

She couldn't act like a crazy junior schoolgirl anymore; she was done with him. She couldn't let him think that just because he was so handsome after a basketball game, she was going crazy for him, banging the wall for him.

Faced with her indifference to Ren Yan's goal, Qin Qianyu was initially displeased. "Qianmiao, are you cold-blooded? Our leader is so handsome, and you're still so calm. It's inappropriate! Scream! Brother, you must scream next time. Don't let your leader's heart, who's trying to maintain the upper hand for us, get upset."

""

Chu Qianmiao thought her naive older brother's sugar levels had skyrocketed recently. He was truly the leader's sweetheart.

With less than two minutes left, the score was already tied. If Ren Yan could score just one more goal, no matter if it was one, two, or three, Qian Siji's prestige would be shattered.

The five burly men already knew who their primary opponent was, and they tightly surrounded Ren Yan, preventing him from even getting a chance to shoot.

With the game almost over, Chu Qianmiao, frantically on the sidelines, said to Qin Qianyu, "If anyone tries to stick with me like this, I'm going to curse them out! This is so annoying!"

Qin Qianyu, also furious, clapped his hands, "If I were the boss, I'd kick them in the crotch one by one. Who told them to play such a shameless game?"

Time was running out. Ren Yan had no chance to shoot, so he took the opportunity to pass the ball out wide, to Cui Xijie under the basket.

With seconds remaining, Cui Xijie immediately prepared for a layup.

But just as he leaped into the air, a burly man from the company rushed over, knocking the ball out of Cui Xijie's hands and knocking him to the ground.

The final whistle blew. At the same moment, Cui Xijie's knee rubbed hard against the ground.

He collapsed on the ground, clutching his leg, unable to stand.

Qin Qianyu exclaimed, "F*ck!" This was the first time Chu Qianmiao heard Qin Qianyu curse.

Thankfully, Cui Xijie's leg wasn't broken, but it was bruised and bloody, a horrific sight.

The employee who had hit him was Wang Wantong, a manager in Liya Manufacturing's purchasing department.

In the end, neither Ren Yan nor Cui Xijie pursued Wang Wantong too much because Wang Wantong sincerely apologized to Cui Xijie and offered to take him to the hospital for a tetanus shot and cover the medical expenses.

Cui Xijie smiled and said, "It's okay, it's just a minor injury."

He managed to smooth things over and resolve the conflict.

In the end, Ren Yan had Qin Qianyu and Liu Lifeng help Cui Xijie get a taxi to the hospital.

The matter was resolved, the game was over, and the crowd dispersed.

Chu Qianmiao walked back to the dugout, intending to pick up the tracksuit jackets Qin Qianyu and the others had taken off before going on the court and take them back to the hotel. They had been in such a hurry to get to the hospital that they hadn't had time to return for their clothes.

She walked back to the stone bench in the dugout. Accountant Tang Jie was already dressed, carrying his gym bag and preparing to return to the hotel. Before leaving, he stopped by to thank Chu Qianmiao again. "Manager Chu, thank you for the water and the Band-Aid!"

Chu Qianmiao kept saying, "You're welcome."

Tang Jie left. Chu Qianmiao bent down to pick up the tracksuit jackets scattered on the stone bench. After she finished, she felt thirsty, so she found her bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Just as she put the cap back on, Ren Yan's voice rang out from behind her.

He called her.

"Chu Qianmiao."

She clutched her water bottle, turned her head, and answered, "Mr. Ren."

He stood ten steps behind her, raised his arm and gave her a sweet smile. His biceps and triceps flexed with his movements, a display of masculine virility.

Chu Qianmiao hurried over and stopped two steps away.

She looked up and asked, "Leader, what are your instructions?"

Ren Yan looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Everyone else has water to drink, but what about mine?"

Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat.

There really wasn't any water left for him.

The words were clearly written on her face. Ren Yan read it out, his eyebrows raised again. "Is that how you treat your leader?"

Chu Qianmiao immediately said, "I'll go buy it right away."

She started to leave, but Ren Yan stopped her. "Wait a minute."

Chu Qianmiao stopped herself and looked up at him. "Ah!"

"Don't you have another bottle?" Ren Yan reached out and snatched the bottle from her hand.

He unscrewed the cap and brought it to his lips.

Chu Qianmiao hurriedly said, "I've already had the leader's bottle."

She finished her words too late; the bottle's lip was already at his lips.

He tilted his head back and drank from the bottle, gulping, his Adam's apple rising and falling.

Chu Qianmiao was stunned for a moment. She watched his lips wetly wrap around the bottle's lip. It was the same spot her lips had just covered.

What was going on?

He finished the water and screwed the cap back on. He didn't throw the empty bottle away, but held it in his hand. He smiled at her, tilting the corner of his mouth. "Why, you're so reluctant to drink your bottle of water, don't you want a promotion or a raise in the future?"

Chu Qianmiao was about to speak when her waist suddenly tightened. Then her vision went dizzy, and her face slammed into a muscular chest. There was a thud in her ear, the sound of a hand hitting a ball. She buried her head in that chest, her nose filled with the scent of a man's sweaty hormones.

She raised her head, took a moment, and realized what had just happened.

A ball flew towards her, and Ren Yan grabbed her waist and carried her away, knocking the basketball away with his other hand.

She didn't know what to feel. She thought it was strange that such a coincidence could happen to her again and again, as if she had a basketball magnet embedded in her body.

The scene was exactly the same as their second meeting at school. What could be more moving and emotional than seeing a past scene replay itself in the present?

It was a pity he didn't remember it. He couldn't recall their first encounters, and the echoes of time had no profound effect on him. So there was no need for her to unilaterally express her deep emotion.

She stepped out of his embrace, lowered her eyes, and said, "Thank you, senior."

He looked down at her, seeing her curled eyelashes tremble softly.

That tremor touched his heart. Unfortunately, with her eyes lowered, she couldn't see the unprecedented tenderness in his expression as he looked at her.