Grouping Game

After seeing the four people, Su Yang already knew which team he would be in. Zhang Ziming had the same thought.

Meng Wenzhou smiled and said, "So the four of you are the team leaders, right? Alright, then decide by playing rock-paper-scissors to pick your teammates."

Liu Meng looked at the other three girls and suggested with a laugh, "How about we just do the simplest version—rock, paper, scissors?"

"Sure," the other three nodded.

"Then let's begin."

The four of them placed one hand behind their backs and chanted in unison, "Rock, paper, scissors!"

As the words fell, Su Yang and the others quickly leaned in to see the results.

Pan Ning had thrown rock, Shen Yixue had scissors, while Liu Meng and Li Yutong both had paper.

The first round was a tie.

"Again."

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

This time, Pan Ning still threw rock, while the other three all had scissors.

Pan Ning won.

The other three sighed, their expressions tinged with slight disappointment.

Liu Meng smiled and said, "Go ahead and pick."

"Su Yang," Pan Ning pointed at Su Yang without even turning her head.

Li Yutong’s eyes flashed with another hint of regret as she watched.

Su Yang grinned and walked over to stand behind Pan Ning.

The four continued playing rock-paper-scissors, and after three more rounds, Li Yutong finally won.

She looked at Meng Wenzhou and said, "I pick Wenzhou."

Meng Wenzhou glanced at Liu Bo and Zhang Ziming with a smile before walking over to Li Yutong’s side.

Next, Liu Meng won. Knowing about Shen Yixue and Zhang Ziming’s relationship, she had no choice but to pick Liu Bo.

Liu Bo smirked triumphantly as he moved behind Liu Meng.

"You made the right choice picking me!"

Liu Meng rolled her eyes internally. As if I had any other option!

That left Zhang Ziming automatically assigned to Shen Yixue’s team.

After another round, Pan Ning won again. She looked at Tang Ziyun and smiled. "I’ll pick Ziyun."

Tang Ziyun froze. No matter how she thought about it, she never expected Pan Ning to choose her.

Su Yang was equally puzzled. What’s going on? She picked Ziyun? Doesn’t she realize Ziyun has a bit of a thing for me? What kind of move is this?

Tang Ziyun stood stunned for two seconds before finally walking over to Pan Ning’s side.

Su Yang grinned. "We’re on the same team now."

"Mhm," Tang Ziyun replied, her lips curving into a sweet smile, her crescent-shaped eyes sparkling.

After another seven or eight minutes of rock-paper-scissors, the teams were finally finalized.

The groupings were as follows:

— Pan Ning, Su Yang, Tang Ziyun, Yaya.

— Li Yutong, Meng Wenzhou, Xia Keke, Luo Yu.

— Liu Meng, Liu Bo, Liu Wenxin.

— Shen Yixue, Zhang Ziming, Yang Yuwei, Han Xiaoyu.

Yaya had volunteered to join Pan Ning’s team after she won, while Liu Wenxin was picked by Liu Meng at the very end.

Su Yang glanced at Liu Bo and subtly flashed an "OK" hand signal.

Liu Bo winked back at him, though even he hadn’t expected to end up on the same team as Liu Wenxin this way.

With the teams settled, Meng Wenzhou clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone, from now on, all activities will be done by team. Whatever we do, stick with your group."

"So what’s next?"

Meng Wenzhou turned to Su Yang and the others.

He grinned. "Everyone knows how to play basketball, right?"

Su Yang nodded. "Yeah, but it’s been years. I’m probably pretty rusty now."

"No problem. Here’s the plan." Meng Wenzhou turned to the girls.

"We’ll have a basketball tournament—one guy and two girls per team. Since most of the girls aren’t experienced and us guys are all around the same skill level, it’ll be fair."

"But basketball is so tiring," Han Xiaoyu muttered, her eyes darting around in reluctance.

"Life is all about movement! We won’t play for long—just first to 15 points. The four teams will draw lots to decide matchups, and the winners advance until we have a champion."

"What’s the prize for first place?"

Meng Wenzhou thought for a moment. "200,000 yuan. My treat."

"Damn, Meng, you’re the man!"

"Meng’s the GOAT!!" Liu Bo chimed in with flattery.

At the mention of a cash prize, the previously disinterested girls suddenly perked up.

"What if your own team wins?" Shen Yixue asked.

"If my team wins, the other three teams pool together 100,000 yuan for us. Fair enough?"

"Sounds good," Shen Yixue agreed. Even if they lost, splitting 100,000 among 11 people meant less than 10,000 each—a trivial amount for them.

"Deal."

No one objected.

Meng Wenzhou added with a grin, "One more thing—the winning team gets to decide what we play tonight, and the other teams have to go along with it. Don’t worry, nothing sketchy. Just fun and games."

"Fine by us."

Seeing no objections, Meng Wenzhou clapped. "Then let’s head to the court!"

The fifteen of them made their way to the basketball court, with one representative from each team drawing lots.

In the end, the matchups were:

Pan Ning’s team vs. Shen Yixue’s team.

Li Yutong’s team vs. Liu Meng’s team.

Su Yang dribbled the ball, trying to recapture the feel from his school days.

He hadn’t touched a basketball since graduating, and his ball-handling was noticeably rough.

Liu Bo, on the other hand, radiated confidence. Despite his bulk, basketball was his second-best skill after fighting.

He was dead set on winning today—and showing off in front of Liu Wenxin.

Meng Wenzhou waved Su Yang, Liu Bo, and Zhang Ziming aside.

"Su Yang, Ziming, how’s your game?"

Su Yang chuckled. "Not great. Like I said, it’s been years."

"And you?" Meng Wenzhou turned to Zhang Ziming.

"I’m decent. Back in school, they called me ‘Little LeBron.’"

"Little my ass. Did you forget today’s mission?"

"What mission?" Zhang Ziming frowned in thought.

"Tch. Helping Liu Bo win over Liu Wenxin, remember?"

"Ohhh, right, right. Got it. After I crush Su Yang’s team, I’ll throw the game to Liu Bo."

Liu Bo glared at him. "Who needs you to throw it? I’m the ‘Mini Shaq’ for a reason!"

Meng Wenzhou cut off their bickering. "Just make sure Liu Bo comes out on top in the end. Got it?"

"Got it. No problem."

"Bro, you’re the best—not just setting me up to win, but even fronting the 200k prize."

Meng Wenzhou smirked. "What are brothers for? Consider it an advance on your ‘hotel fund’—a little welcome gift for your future girl."

"You’re a saint!! If I were a girl, I’d—"

"Stop right there!!" Meng Wenzhou raised a hand to shut him up. He knew exactly where Liu Bo was going with that.

The mental image alone made him queasy.

Liu Bo grinned and changed the subject. "Oh yeah, the winning team gets to pick any game tonight, right?"

"Within reason. Nothing too wild, especially with so many girls around."

"Come on, man, what do you take me for? I just wanna try that little game we didn’t get to last night."

Su Yang blinked. "What game from last night?"

"The Ouija board!" Liu Bo waggled his eyebrows.

"You're talking about this, but several girls are too scared to play."

"That's why if I win, you have to listen to me."

"Honestly, I don’t mind—any type of immortal works. Anyway, we’ve got more people today, so it won’t be as scary."

"Okay, okay, I’ll organize it tonight."

At this point, Zhang Ziming’s expression turned serious as he interjected, "By the way, I should mention something. Yixue and I have an unexpected matter to attend to tomorrow, so we’ll probably have to head back to Haicheng early."

"What’s going on?" The three of them looked at Zhang Ziming.

"Something came up in Yixue’s family, and I need to go back with her. Sorry to ruin the mood."

Su Yang chimed in, "Don’t worry about it. My thought is—why don’t we all just go back tomorrow? We can always hang out in Haicheng whenever we’re free."

Meng Wenzhou nodded. "Then let’s all head back together. We’ll make the most of tonight and leave tomorrow."

He glanced at Liu Bo and added, "You’ve only got one shot tonight! Whether you can pull it off is up to you."

Liu Bo grinned. "Don’t worry, I’ve got this."

"Alright, we’ll notify everyone later."

"What are you four conspiring about over here?" Shen Yixue walked over after seeing them huddled together for so long.

"Nothing, just going over some basic rules."

"All right, let’s get started."

......