Chapter 37: The Game is Missing One Player

Chapter 37: The Game is Missing One Player

The conversation between Yang Qi and Shen Zhengfeng sounded like thunderbolts to the people standing nearby.

Hearing that he was going to be driven out of the city, Huang Gou felt a mix of emotions in his heart, but he did not dare to explain or even ask why.

Although he was a gang leader, he was no match for Shen Zhengfeng at all. He believed Shen Zhengfeng could deal with him in an instant. As for Yang Qi, whom even Shen Zhengfeng treated with such respect, he did not even dare to imagine. Although Yang Qi looked just like a student, Huang Gou did not dare to look down on him in the slightest.

Some of the gangsters could not accept this and wanted to say something, but Huang Gou rushed over and kicked them several times to stop them. Huang Gou knew that the more he explained, the worse things would get for him. Obeying quietly was the only thing he could do.

“Thank you for your mercy, Mr. Yang! Thank you for your mercy, Boss Shen! I will take my men and leave Ruiyun City immediately. I will never set foot in Ruiyun again!”

Huang Gou bowed repeatedly and quickly led the gangsters away from the place, not daring to stay any longer. It was better to leave on his own than to be driven away; at least he would not get beaten up.

Only Chen Dali was left behind.

Seeing his leader run away like that, Chen Dali had no strength left. He practically slumped on the ground, not knowing what to do.

“Uncle Chen, you should feel relieved now, right?” Yang Qi smiled as he looked at Chen Datian, who had been in a state of shock since Shen Zhengfeng arrived.

“Oh… yes, yes, this is best, this is best. It’s good for that beast to suffer a little. It’s good if he can learn!”

Chen Datian looked at Chen Dali, his eyes still filled with some pain and worry. He had spoiled this younger brother since childhood. However, a determined look soon flashed in his eyes as he said to Shen Zhengfeng, “Boss… Boss Shen, I’ll trouble you from now on. It’s fine if he works hard and suffers a little. If he really doesn’t listen, it’s okay to hit him! As long as you can teach him well!”

“You can just call me little Shen.”

Shen Zhengfeng immediately replied politely, “I promise I will teach him well and return him to you.”

“Thank you, thank you, Boss Shen. You are really a good person.”

Watching this from the side, Yang Qi secretly thought, if Uncle Chen knew that Shen Zhengfeng was actually the real “big gangster,” he wondered what expression he would have. However, that was not important. What was important was that Uncle Chen would no longer have to worry about his younger brother.

“Take him away.”

“Yes. Goodbye, Mr. Yang. Goodbye, Uncle Chen.”

Shen Zhengfeng took Chen Dali, who was like a heap of mud, to the car and drove away from the Courtyard. Yang Qi and Uncle Chen also went into the Courtyard. Uncle Chen wiped his tears; his feelings were mostly joy.

At that moment, in a car not far away, Du Ren was filled with shock and questions.

“Why is Shen Zhengfeng so respectful towards Yang Qi?”

Although he did not hear the conversation, Du Ren had seen everything clearly just now.

“Could it be that the person in the Courtyard that Shen Zhengfeng mentioned was Yang Qi?”

“Impossible, impossible. That guy is just a student. How could he make Shen Zhengfeng so respectful?”

“Did Yang Qi meet Shen Zhengfeng through the old lady? That’s more likely, at least more likely than Yang Qi knowing Shen Zhengfeng directly!”

Du Ren thought about whether to tell Deputy Mayor Deng Tong about this, but he felt that directly asking about it would be overstepping and too rash.

“It seems I need to find Shen Zhengfeng someday and try to get some information indirectly.”

Du Ren made up his mind. If he did not figure this out, he would feel really uncomfortable. This was probably the occupational hazard of being a detective.

…

Yang Qi walked into the Courtyard. The little girl Yuyu peeked out from the house. Seeing that the bad guys were gone and Yang Qi was back, she happily pushed the door open and ran out. Manzi also ran out and stayed close to Yuyu, afraid she might fall. His silly yet worried look was really amusing.

“Yang Qi brother, are the bad guys gone?” Yuyu asked. Seeing Yang Qi nod, she cheered and said, “That really scared Yuyu. Luckily Yuyu was smart and called Yang Qi brother.”

Since her body had slowly recovered, this little girl had become much more lively. Now she was starting to learn to ask for credit, haha.

“Yuyu is really smart.”

Yang Qi patted Yuyu’s head and then pinched Manzi’s cheek. He praised, “Manzi was also very brave. But next time, you must not be so reckless. You have to protect yourself first, understand?”

Manzi nodded, then shook his head and said, “Must… protect them first.”

Hearing this, Yang Qi let go of his cheek and patted his shoulder, giving him a bright smile. Seeing this, Manzi also smiled, a silly and happy smile that made people’s hearts ache.

“You guys go back inside first. We’ll have dinner soon. Remember, if something like this happens again, Yuyu must call me right away, okay?”

“Okay. I only needed to hear Yang Qi brother’s phone number once to remember it.”

After sending the little ones into the house, Yang Qi went to Granny Bai’s room.

“Sit down.”

Granny Bai asked Yang Qi to sit and stared at him for a while before slowly saying, “You have really changed a lot recently.”

At that moment, Yang Qi’s phone vibrated. He reacted quickly, slipping his hand into his pocket to transfer it into his Spatial Folding Bag. Then he said to Granny Bai, “Since my illness got better, many things have indeed changed.”

Yang Qi could not tell Granny Bai about the Superpower List, and he really did not know how to explain it.

“Getting better from illness is a good thing!”

Granny Bai said, “You have been sick since you were a child, and your illness is strange, especially your body being very cold, so you have always exercised. Maybe that is why your body is actually stronger than others and you have more strength. But you must remember, no matter what you do, think it through three times before acting, to avoid causing trouble and regretting it later. Having great strength is good, but if you cannot control that strength, it becomes a problem.”

The old lady pointed to her head and said, “You should understand what I mean.”

“I know Grandma means to use my brain to control my strength.” Yang Qi nodded and said, “I also understand the deeper meaning. I will think things through with my brain, not just rely on brute force.”

“You are a smart child. It is good that you understand these things. You have just recovered from your illness not long ago, so many things might suddenly change a lot. So you must remember, slow down, walk the path steadily, and then run. Haste makes waste; rushing for quick results will only backfire and lead you in the opposite direction.”

Granny Bai paused for a moment, then suddenly said, “Child, remember, learn to be a person first before trying to do things. Do not rush. Your road is still very long. Your recovery is just your beginning, and here, the Courtyard, Ruiyun, is just your starting point.”

After a pause, she added, “As the old saying goes, your biggest task right now is to get into university.”

After saying this, before Yang Qi could say anything, she told Yang Qi to leave, saying she was a little tired and to have Auntie Chen start the meal without waiting for her.

Seeing this, Yang Qi had some questions he wanted to ask, but had to give up for now. The old lady was someone who did not take back her words, and Yang Qi did not dare to be stubborn.

Because of the earlier incident, the meal that day was a bit late. When Auntie Chen finished cooking, the little ones all gathered around, saying they were starving.

“A-Yang, I really have to thank you for today.”

Auntie Chen came over to Yang Qi and said emotionally, “If it weren’t for you, who knows how long Dali would have kept making trouble. I heard from Datian that Boss Shen arranged a job for Dali, and it seems Dali is very afraid of Boss Shen. He just needed someone who could manage him. This is such a relief. I really hope Dali can change for the better! This Dali… just like Datian, lost his parents when he was young and got used to hardship. When he grew up, he did not have money for school, so he just messed around in society. Datian could not persuade him or control him, so he became like this. Being able to change would be a great thing for the Chen family. You know, Auntie cannot have children, and your Uncle Chen never had other ideas. The Chen family is counting on Dali to carry on the family line. If he can really change, Auntie would work like an ox, no matter how hard, to find him a wife. Otherwise, I would really let down the Chen family!”

“Auntie, don’t worry. I will support you in your old age, and all the kids in the Courtyard will support you when they grow up.” Yang Qi grinned as he smiled.

“Mm! Mm! Mm! Mm!”

Auntie Chen nodded heavily. As she turned to get rice for Yang Qi, she wiped her tears.

After finishing the meal, Yang Qi looked at the time and thought, oh no! He just remembered there was a basketball game that evening! He immediately told Auntie Chen he had something to do at school that evening and hurried out the door. After a few steps, he still felt uneasy, so he called Shen Zhengfeng and asked him to arrange for some people to be placed farther away from the Courtyard in the future, to prevent things like today from happening again.

Shen Zhengfeng said he had already arranged for people; he had been meaning to call Yang Qi to let him know before sending them over. Shen Zhengfeng was very thorough and could think ahead, which Yang Qi greatly appreciated.

After hanging up, Yang Qi saw several missed calls. Remembering the vibration earlier at Granny Bai’s place, they were from Niu Fengshan. Yang Qi called back once, but there was no answer, so he decided to forget it and go to the gym first.

At that moment, in the Ruiyun High School gymnasium, which was definitely one of the best in Jiangzhe Province’s high schools, the noise and cheers were already deafening.

The basketball game had reached the end of the second quarter. There were only two minutes left in the first half.

The current score was 13:42!

Ruiyun High School had 13 points, and Anderson Osborne High School had 42.

This was with the latter only having two main players on the court. This showed the gap in basketball level between Huaxia high school students and United States high school students.

Actually, you did not even need to look at the score; you could tell just by looking at the heights on the court.

Ruiyun High School only had one center who reached 192 cm, while the rest were almost all under 185 cm. The opposing team had an average height of 185 cm, and every one of them was built like a tank!

Niu Fengshan had expected a big gap, but he did not expect it to be this big. Whether in height, skill, strength, or speed, Ruiyun High School was completely outmatched. Forget the score; the biggest gap was undoubtedly in rebounds. The opponent’s offensive rebounds were more than their own defensive rebounds!

“Still no answer from Yang Qi?” Niu Fengshan asked his assistant. His biggest hope now was that prodigy Yang Qi would show up and reduce the point gap, so they would not lose so badly.

“Coach, my phone died while trying to call him and he still didn’t answer.” The assistant had a bitter expression.