CHAPTER 31: My other half

"No way…" I said, utterly unable to believe him.

The corner of his lips curved up, casting me a mischievous look. "Just kidding," he blurted out suddenly.

I gritted my teeth and glared at him before kicking his foot with my shoe. It left a smudge on his pants, but he did nothing except laugh at me.

"Hey, why do you look like you’re disappointed?" he asked with a mischievous, teasing look.

I scowled at him, pulled the lollipop out of my mouth, and yelled, "In your dreams!"

He shook his head, the smile still lingering on his lips. He then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket andbegan dusting off the pants where my shoe had left a dirt mark from the kick.

"If you wanted me to apologize for what I’ve done to your pants, you won’t get it, because you deserved it anyway," I told him, my voice dripping with annoyance to make my frustration clear.

He just offered me a smile while looking down. "Don’t you worry, I came prepared," he said, raising his handkerchief.

I merely rolled my eyes, redirected my gaze back to the court, and sucked the strawberry-flavored lollipop back into my mouth.

And when my eyes went to the score board, I couldn't stop my eyes from widening when I caught sight of the current score on the board, it was 95 to 108.The leading team was no longer Yuan’s, but their opponents. Wait, was this for real? How did that happen?

My eyes scanned the court for Yuan, but I froze when our eyes met. He was staring right back at me. However, his face was dark, his brows deeply furrowed as he glared at me. Was he serious? Why did he look so pissed off at me?

When his coach called him over, he shook his head, tore his gaze away from me, and headed straight toward his team. What was his problem anyway? What happened to their score, why was the other team suddenly ahead? Did his body lose its peak condition?

Questions began piling up rapidly in my mind, but my thoughts came to a stop when I felt a pair of eyes staring intently at me, as if they had been fixed on me for a while.

I shifted my attention back to the guy beside me, pulling the lollipop out of my mouth before speaking. "Hey, the game isn't on my face, so stop staring at me," I snapped.

He just smiled at me. "I don't care about the game. I’d much rather stare at you all night," he said smoothly, making it sound so natural, as if it were a habit he was completely used to.

My brow furrowed even deeper. "Will you stop that," I ordered, my voice laced with exasperation.

"Stop what?"

"Annoying me," I added.

A strange spark flickered in his eyes. "I just want you to remember me, you know. I wanted you to notice me again."

I shrugged. "What if I don’t want to remember you at all?"

I watched his expression shift. The previous spark in his eyes vanished, replaced by a dark shadow. "Why?" he asked in a cold voice.

"Because if I do, you’ll probably just tease me even more," I retorted before shoving the lollipop back into my mouth.

His expression instantly changed again, softening up, though a serious look lingered in his eyes.

I noticed him tilting his head while keeping his gaze locked onto me. So I decided to ignore him and forced my attention back to the game.

"Focus on the game instead, not on me," I reminded him once more.

Even without looking at him, I knew he didn't follow my instructions. I could feel his intense gaze still rooted firmly on me.

I clenched my jaw around the lollipop stick, then turned back to face him. "Stop staring at me, asshole," I scolded, thoroughly annoyed.

This guy was seriously running my patience thin.

He blinked, as if snapping back to reality, realizing for the first time that his eyes weren't on the court, but entirely on me.

"Why does it feel like you look even more alluring with that lollipop in your mouth?" he remarked suddenly.

Without hesitation, I kicked his pants again. It left another dirt stain, but I didn't care, hopefully this would teach him a lesson. I didn't care if he got mad, as long as I got to vent my frustration on him.

What annoyed me even more was that he didn't seem to care at all about what I did, his eyes remaining glued to me.

I held up my middle finger right in front of his face. "Fuck you, I told you to stop staring!" I barked.

To my confusion, his lips pouted slightly as he stared at my raised finger. The corner of his mouth tilted up, and a strange, lingering glint appeared in his eyes. My eyes suddenly widened, and I yanked my hand back immediately as a realization struck me.

I had just remembered what he did the last time I raised my middle finger at him—he had licked it!

What a total bastard. Argh, I didn't even know what I was feeling right now, I felt like exploding from a mix of annoyance, anger, and utter embarrassment.

I cupped my face with my hands because it felt scorching hot. I felt like I was going to burst any second from this completely unfamiliar sensation.

I heard him laugh, but I ignored him. "Hey, why did you pull it back? And here I thought you intentionally raised that finger so I could lick it," he said in a meaningful voice.

"Shut up, bastard!"

"You’re really cute. Look at you, you’re blushing." He pointed at my face, making me instantly avert my eyes.

Shit! It felt like this bastard was truly going to drain every last drop of my patience. Ever since he sat down here, even if it had only been a few minutes, it felt like hours had passed, with him doing nothing but making my head boil.

"Can you please not bother me and just watch the game in peace, okay?" I stated firmly.

I turned my focus back to the game. It was already the fourth quarter with the score at 120 to 115. The opposing team was still in the lead, but at least Yuan’s team was closing the gap.

When the opposing team scored a basket, the guy beside me suddenly started clapping and cheered loudly.

"Woah! That was amazing, keep it up!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why are you cheering for the opposing team instead of your friend Yuan?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

His gaze shifted to me. "Friend? Who told you that bastard is my friend?" His voice was cold, serious, and devoid of any humor.

"Aren't you? You went to the club back then, and you even went to Stephen’s mansion," I reminded him.

"Just because I attended those gatherings doesn't make them my friends," he explained.

"Those bastards? They will never be my friends," he added in a grave tone.

I felt confused by his admission, my eyes remaining fixed on him. This guy was so hard to read. Was what Marcus said true, that he really was two-faced? It seemed like a lot of people disliked him. Was this the reason, because he never actually considered them as friends in the first place?

Suddenly, I saw his gaze soften as he looked at me. "But there’s someone I consider special to me," he said in a meaningful tone.

"Oh, so you do have a friend?"

He shook his head. "Nope. He’s my other half," he told me, his eyes dead serious and full of emotion.

For some reason, my heart suddenly beat faster. I didn't know why his gaze was pulling me in so strongly, making me feel like even if he didn't spell out who it was, I already knew.

Even though my throat had gone completely dry, I still managed to ask him, "Who?"

The corner of his lips curled up, and he looked at me with an amused expression.

"It’s you."

And upon hearing those words...it felt as though my heart completely stopped beating.