Semua Bab The Rising Temperature between Me and My “Step-brother”: Bab 71 - Bab 80

The tickets Asher gave were in the fifth row of the first-tier stands—an incredibly close position. Once inside the stadium, Gina beside Wendy couldn’t stop exclaiming.“Wendy, I should really pay your friend back for these tickets. Seriously, seats this good—I can’t accept enjoying them for free! I’m not that lucky. I don’t get this kind of fortune!”The aisle was so crowded that someone accidentally stepped on Wendy’s sneakers. She bent down to dust them off and casually replied, “He didn’t pay either.”“Why? Is he with the Lightning staff?! Wendy, who exactly do you know?”“He’s not with the Lightning staff!” Wendy awkwardly avoided Gina’s probing gaze. “He just got lucky and grabbed free tickets from the school.”“Oh my god, that’s insanely lucky.”Wendy nodded repeatedly. “Yeah, he didn’t

During halftime, Wendy couldn't help but ask Gina, "Is it just me not understanding football? Weren't they saying the opposing quarterback is really good? But why does he seem so much worse than Asher?"Was her bias toward Asher too strong?Yet she'd been genuinely worried for him. Even if Asher had an advantage, the opposing defense was formidable, and now they'd strengthened their quarterback—it sounded like a brutal matchup.Gina lifted her chin, nostrils flaring smugly as she declared, "Wendy~ Why compare him to Asher? Who could possibly measure up to our quarterback?"Wendy looked toward the rest area where Asher had his arm draped over Neil's shoulder, privately going over tactics. Neil listened intently, nodding seriously before finally giving Asher an impressed thumbs-up."You're terrifying, Asher!"Asher simply released him calmly, then instinctively sought out Wendy's location in the stands.Wendy smiled. "Gina, you're

From start to finish, all he wanted was to hold her hand.He ate quickly, so no one questioned why his hands disappeared from the table mid-meal. Wendy feigned composure, continuing to eat with chopsticks in her right hand while her left rested on Asher’s thigh. Even when she clenched it into a fist, he pried her fingers open one by one to toy with them.Thankfully, this was a Chinese restaurant where most diners were Chinese. Had it been elsewhere, she’d have loved for the Americans—who’d cheered his stellar performance earlier—to witness what this rogue was really doing!At the table, he wore an air of detached indifference.Beneath it, shielded by the tablecloth, he mischievously traced slow circles on her palm. The teasing caress made Wendy jerk her hand back repeatedly, but he refused to release her.He even [censored action] her pink-white fingertips, pressed her delicate nails, then slid his rough fingers between hers, locking them tightly t

Eleanor: [I ate the food you brought back for dinner. Thanks.]Though it was late, Wendy still replied with a "You're welcome."Next were the messages from Gina, who had sent several in a row.Gina: [The girl next door to me works at a bar, and she said Lightning held a party there, but! I have something that might shock you.]Gina: [Asher didn’t go! Can you believe it? Asher actually skipped the team party! OMG!]Gina: [I think he was on a date with a girl. Remember what I said before? Asher has a mysterious love interest—I bet she’s either an influencer or a celebrity. Super mysterious!]Gina: [Wendy, are you busy? You haven’t replied, so let’s talk in class on Monday~]Wendy thought about it but couldn’t come up with a response. She couldn’t just say, "That girl isn’t mysterious—it’s me," right? No way she could admit that.She opened Instagram and, unsurprisingly, scrolled t

The elevator doors closed, sealing them in an enclosed space. Gina fell silent, too intimidated by Asher's overwhelming presence to speak.Wendy and Gina parted ways in front of the sports complex, their classrooms being too far apart to walk together.Wendy's route happened to pass by the Lightning team's training facility. Gina waved goodbye, then lingered for a moment, watching with quiet envy as Wendy and Asher walked in the same direction—one leading, the other following.The man's bold golden hair framed a face that exuded raw masculinity. His tanned, muscular arms, revealed by the black T-shirt, radiated testosterone—arrogant yet undeniably cool.A complete contrast to the gentle, refined Chinese girl walking ahead of him.Their striking physical disparity created an oddly harmonious tension—the kind that made passersby look twice.Gina remembered Wendy's lips—still red and swollen from kissing.She coul