Chaoxing let out a sigh as he entered the elevator. Then, he looked at his reflection on the shiny doors and shook his head with a smile.
"It’s hard being famous, isn’t it?" he asked, pointing at himself with finger guns before smoldering.
He had just finished all the interviews that were supposed to be for Jian and Jimmy, and he felt like a world star! Finally, he was able to make it back to their hotel.
He skipped to their hotel room, opening the door with his key card. Chaoxing was expecting both his roommates to be inside, wanting to invite them for dinner.
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However, much to his surprise, only Jian was there, and he was eating one huge box of pizza to himself.
Chaoxing tilted his head to the side before walking over to where Jian was, snatching a piece from the box.
That earned him a glare from their star player, but he merely shook his head and took a bite of the pineapple pizza.
"Well, you look awfully sad," he said, making Jian frown.
"What do you mean?" he asked, fixing his position. He paused the show he was watching since he was genuinely curious about what Chaoxing had said.
"For one, you’re covered in your blanket," Chaoxing started off. "And two, you just look upset."
Jian frowned and looked at the mirror just right by his side. "I always look like this," he said.
Chaoxing shook his head. "No, you don’t," he said. "You won’t get it. I’ve known you for three years, so I can tell."
Jian clicked his tongue and removed his blanket from his body, throwing it to the floor.
Although he hadn’t verbalized it until now, he did feel more annoyed than usual. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it.
They had won a game! It was even a two-digit gap. They were also heading straight to the finals!
What did he want?
For Zheng to finally beat him?
For Kimmy to have watched their game?
For him to feel even an ounce of satisfaction for their victory?
Or maybe it was a mixture of it all.
"You should be happy, man," Chaoxing said, sensing his dilemma. "You just got your record back from Kai."
Jian’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
That, too.
He nearly forgot about it. He was more on edge during the game because he was thinking of the record. He didn’t think it would be broken by anybody else.
"It’s just expected," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and wanting to throw away such thoughts.
"I could go even higher if I like," he continued.
"I’m sure you could," Chaoxing smiled. "However, you got nervous for a second there, right? Kai had the record for a good three hours."
Jian bit his lip. "I don’t care," he muttered.
Chaoxing chuckled. "You say that you don’t, but you’re even eating pizza during the finals week."
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Jian’s frown deepened as he looked at the boxed cheesy goodness. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I always get pizza with you, guys."
"You do," Chaoxing said, taking another bite. "But not during this crucial period. You don’t eat junk food once our team is in the top eight. You eat healthy. You eat lean."
Jian clicked his tongue. "And so? That’s not a bad thing, is it?"
"Of course not," Chaoxing smiled, standing from his bed, but not without snatching another piece from the box.
"It’s a good thing," he continued. "I just want you to know that you unconsciously do these things. You also work hard."
"You just don’t want to."
***
Meanwhile, Jimmy didn’t go straight to the hotel after their game. Instead, he drove his car to their personal condominium farther in the city.
He hadn’t gone there since the start of the league, but for some reason, he was on edge about something.
Jimmy burst through the doors, only to see Kimmy lounging on the sofa with a bag of popcorn, some candy-covered chocolate, and a green face mask over her face.
She frowned when she saw her brother standing by the doorway. She stood from the couch and paused what she was watching—which appeared to be a Kai Guo Highlights video from a fan.
Jimmy went in further and saw what she was watching. He felt even angrier, so he grabbed the remote and turned off the television.
Kimmy’s eyes widened. "What the heck? I was watching that!"
"Now, you’re not," Jimmy said, breathing heavily.
Kai!
Kai!
Kai Guo!
He knew it was bad when their game had ended, and it was still Kai Guo the crowd was talking about. He wanted to wrack in more points for this particular game—wanting to beat Jian’s record, too—but he only scored less than thirty points for this particular game.
Pathetic!
He has been enrolled in prestigious basketball camps since he was young. Kai Guo’s shoes appeared to have been bought at a garage sale! How could he play better than him?
To make things worse, he knew that Kai had been scoring more than the average player for the entire Interhigh Nationals. Him beating Jian’s record—the overall high score for all high school players in the country—was his wake-up call.
With Jian and Zheng graduating this year, Jimmy had his eyes set on taking the number one spot. He didn’t care about Max. He knew he had a bigger chance since they had already made it into the finals.
That freaking Kai Guo was the problem!
Kimmy, sensing that something was wrong with her brother, took a hesitant step forward. "Jimmy," she said. "Is everything okay?"
Jimmy snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Kimmy. The younger gasped as soon as she saw her brothers’ eyes. She hadn’t seen him that way before!
"You," he said, taking a step forward with narrowed eyes.
"You have access to the list, right?" he asked, sounding desperate. "I know Ashley gave you some access."
"Show me," he continued.
"I need to know where I stand."