Chapter 38: The First Time Lost

Yang Guang was still brooding over losing the basketball game to Qin Xuan when, unexpectedly, he ran into him again.

“I held back on the court to keep up appearances. But here, it’s a different story,” Yang Guang sneered, fixing his gaze intently on Qin Xuan.

Beside him, a burly young man stood up, easily over six feet three, watching Qin Xuan with amusement. “Xiao Guang, is this the guy you were talking about?”

“Yes, it’s him. He dared to disturb us while we were eating. If we don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll never know what we’re capable of,” Yang Guang said fiercely.

Qin Xuan was speechless. Yang Guang was utterly shameless—he and his group had clearly taken their spot, yet now accused Qin Xuan of interrupting their meal? The basketball game was fair and square; losing should have been the end of it. If he wanted a rematch, the court was always open. But instead, Yang Guang sought revenge, and it looked like he intended to use some rather “special” methods.

Zhou Xiaoyu and Xiaogang, who had rushed to the front, were simply ignored.

“Hey, you think you can lay a hand on my boss?” Zhou Xiaoyu said with disdain. “You’ll have to get past me first!”

Yang Guang glanced at Zhou Xiaoyu—short, slightly shifty-faced, and thin. He laughed, “Are you really such a difficult obstacle? Move aside, or you’ll regret it.”

Though Zhou Xiaoyu had performed well on the court, Yang Guang couldn’t help but scoff at his build—hardly intimidating.

“What about me?” Xiaogang flexed his muscles, looking fierce as he firmly planted himself beside Zhou Xiaoyu. “I’m warning you—if you start anything here, you’ll pay for it.”

“Oh, how loyal. But we basketball recruits aren’t afraid of you,” Yang Guang snorted. At his cue, the group that had been sitting and watching stood up together. They were all tall, robust young men.

It turned out Yang Guang had gathered upperclassmen basketball recruits for this meal, and now they’d run into Qin Xuan and his friends.

“So, you want to solve things with a fight?” Zhou Xiaoyu scoffed, “Is this the quality of a basketball recruit? Stealing someone else’s private room and provoking them?”

Yang Guang cursed, “So what if we have this ‘quality’? Damn it, you think I can’t handle you?”

The tall youth beside him took over, “Xiao Guang, no need to waste words. We basketball recruits stick together. They dare to disturb our meal—they’re asking for trouble!”

The group advanced menacingly toward Zhou Xiaoyu.

The fat restaurant owner, sensing trouble, hurried to call the police discreetly. He cared only for his business—now that the semester had just begun, business was booming, and any incident could ruin his prospects.

Yang Guang stood before Zhou Xiaoyu, towering a full head above him, and said with contempt, “Move aside. I’m in a good mood today—I only want to teach Qin Xuan a lesson. Don’t ask for trouble.”

“Who do you think you are? You think I’m afraid of you?” Zhou Xiaoyu spat without backing down.

Qin Xuan watched from behind, secretly approving—his subordinate was impressive, full of swagger, and, more importantly, genuinely unafraid of Yang Guang, not just putting on a show.

“Few people dare speak to me like that. No one who does ever comes out well,” Yang Guang said, his face darkening.

“I’d like to see how you’ll make me regret it,” Zhou Xiaoyu replied defiantly.

“Ahem, may I say a word?” Qin Xuan finally spoke.

Yang Guang waved him off impatiently, “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

“Damn you. You’re the one spouting nonsense!” Zhou Xiaoyu, suddenly enraged, slapped Yang Guang across the face.

Smack!

The crisp sound froze the entire room.

“You… you slapped me?” Yang Guang’s eyes flickered with disbelief. He’d never been slapped before—this was a first, and by someone he’d looked down upon!

“When speaking to the boss, you’d better show some respect,” Zhou Xiaoyu sneered, rubbing his hand. In fact, his hand was throbbing—he’d never slapped anyone before and had hit too hard.

If his hand hurt, one could only imagine how Yang Guang felt.

“Damn it!” Yang Guang exploded, swinging to slap Zhou Xiaoyu in return.

Smack!

But Qin Xuan would never let his subordinate get hit. He moved in a flash, grabbing Yang Guang’s arm.

“Xiaoyu, you really can’t keep your cool—how can you strike first? Remember, from now on, always act in self-defense,” Qin Xuan said with a smile.

“You’re right, boss!” Zhou Xiaoyu replied immediately.

Meanwhile, the circle of basketball recruits inside finally reacted, indignantly crowding toward the door, cursing loudly.

“Damn it, someone dared to hit one of us—they must have a death wish!”

“In two years at Jinling University, I’ve never seen this happen. Who would dare provoke us basketball recruits?”

“Let’s beat them up!”

This group was used to being arrogant—always the bullies, never the bullied. Usually, people stayed clear due to their numbers and strength. But today, they weren’t facing ordinary opponents.

Swish!

Fueled by rage from the slap, Yang Guang grabbed a wooden chair and swung it at Qin Xuan.

Qin Xuan’s eyes chilled. In a flash, he caught the chair, wrested it away with ease, and set it upright in front of him, perfectly blocking the others’ path. Then, with the rosewood sword case slung across his back, he drew a graceful arc and tapped Yang Guang’s knees twice.

Thud!

Yang Guang involuntarily dropped to one knee. When he raised his head again, he saw his own group staring, stunned. They’d seen agility before, but never anything like this.

These basketball recruits were frequent brawlers, experienced in fights. None of them could have handled the situation so effortlessly. That chair, swung with all Yang Guang’s strength and resentment, was formidable—he was, after all, a robust athlete.

Qin Xuan’s display was impressive, instantly subduing the opposition.

Even Xiaogang and Zhou Xiaoyu were amazed—they hadn’t expected Qin Xuan to be so fierce.

“Disperse, all of you! Who’s fighting here?” Suddenly a loud voice came from outside the private room. Yang Guang’s face lit up—reinforcements had arrived!

He looked up and saw the police had indeed arrived.

“None of you are getting away!” Yang Guang declared arrogantly.

At that moment, a squad leader entered the room, spotting Yang Guang half-kneeling on the floor and was startled. “Xiao Yang, what happened here?”