The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

With the ball in the basket, Xu Nian was overjoyed at the start of the victory.

He swiftly intercepted the falling basketball, dribbled around Xu Xi's defense, and then leaped into the air for a clean jump shot. The basketball grazed the net and fell into the basket.

Looking at the numbers jumping on the scoreboard, another point was added, and Xu Nian couldn't hide her joy, so she couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

Xu Xi simply watched him quietly, a faint smile always playing on her lips. Even her defense was merely symbolic; most of the time, she stood still, resting and watching the man's performance.

Jump shots, three-pointers, fadeaway floaters—Xu Xi never tried to stop him with all his might, so Xu Nian completely let go of his inhibitions, focusing intently on the basket and concentrating on shooting.

His repeated shots gradually warmed up his touch, his accuracy became more and more stable, and the frequency of the basketball going into the basket increased. Each swish into the net gave him more confidence.

In no time, the numbers on the blue scoreboard broke through the double digits and climbed all the way up to the triple digits.

Sweat trickled down Xu Nian's forehead, soaking through his shirt and clinging to his back.

He was panting heavily, his chest rising and falling slightly, his strength almost completely depleted.

But the thought that every goal he scored would mean one less payout for sleeping, and that he would soon be exempt from more than two hundred sleep deprivation payments, made all his fatigue seem to dissipate, and a surge of resilience welled up within him.

Xu Xi stood by the sideline with his arms crossed the entire time, watching him shoot and score again and again. He never stepped forward to contest for the ball or tried to stop him, letting him score at will.

Xu Nian turned her head to look at her, grinned, and said with a hint of smugness, "If I pay back all the debts today, don't hide and cry."

Xu Xi slightly raised the corners of his lips, his cold face remaining expressionless, showing neither joy nor anger, only a faint hint of contempt in his eyes, which vanished in an instant.

Xu Nian knew that his stamina wouldn't last long, so he didn't dare to get distracted and brag anymore. He gripped the basketball tightly and shot with all his might, hoping to take advantage of Xu Xi's relaxation and earn more points.

Just as he bent down to dribble again, a nimble figure suddenly swept past him, so fast that no one could react in time.

The next second, his palm was empty; the basketball in his hand had been snatched away.

Xu Nian was startled and turned around to see Xu Xi holding a basketball, running slowly towards the other side with a light and agile figure.

"Stop!" Xu Nian was anxious and immediately took a step to chase after him.

This basketball is the key to his reduced pay; he must get it back as soon as possible.

Xu Xi's smile deepened as she ran ahead at a leisurely pace, always keeping a step's distance from him, looking as if she could catch up with him by simply reaching out.

No matter how fast Xu Nian sped up, she was always just a little bit short and couldn't close the gap.

Having already been exercising for nearly an hour, Xu Nian's physical strength was already on the verge of exhaustion. After running only a few steps, her steps began to falter, her breathing became increasingly heavy, and her legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, causing her speed to slow down more and more.

"Don't...don't run..." he gasped, his voice weak and feeble.

She forced herself to run two more laps, but Xu Nian could no longer hold on. Her legs gave way and she collapsed onto the court.

The scorching sun beat down on him as he lay on his back, unable to move. All he could hear was his own heavy, rapid breathing, and he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

Xu Xi walked slowly to his side, a smile playing on her lips, and gently nudged his arm with her toe: "Run, why aren't you running anymore? Weren't you so capable just now?"

Xu Nian closed his eyes, too lazy to refute, this bit of mockery was irrelevant to him.

He's already made over a hundred shots, which is equivalent to almost a month's worth of earnings. He's made a profit on this, so even if he gets teased a bit, it's nothing to worry about.

Seeing that he was so tired that he didn't even have the strength to reply, Xu Xi's smile deepened, and a sly, dreamy look flashed in his eyes.

She turned and walked to the basket, gently moved her wrists and ankles to warm up, then raised her hand to hold the ball and gently tossed it towards the basket.

The basketball went in smoothly, and the red scoreboard, which had been stuck at zero, finally jumped up and became 01.

The basketball fell, and Xu Xi caught it steadily. He spun around and made another jump shot, with precise power, and it swished through the net once again.

Xu Nian lay on the ground, and in just five minutes, the number on the red scoreboard soared to double digits.

Xu Nian's heart sank, and he realized he had fallen into a trap.

It wasn't that Xu Xi couldn't beat him; it was clearly that she deliberately let him win, using the tactic of exhausting an old man, slowly wearing him down until he was completely powerless to resist, and then turning around to catch him off guard by fiercely chasing the score.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and forced his aching body to his feet. His legs trembled as he stumbled towards Xu Xi, his voice weak with exasperation: "You...you won't get away with this!"

He ran with all his might, but in Xu Xi's eyes, his speed was as slow as a tortoise crawl, posing no threat whatsoever.

Xu Nian staggered forward with great difficulty, and was about to reach out to stop him when Xu Xi just chuckled, lightly touched the ground, and took a few steps back to the basket on the other side of the court. He turned around and continued shooting, his movements calm and efficient.

Xu Nian was both angry and anxious, feeling a tightness in her chest, but she was completely helpless.

He lay there, paralyzed, watching the numbers on the red scoreboard skyrocket, helpless and powerless like a helpless husband.

After struggling for a while, Xu Nian finally exhausted her last bit of strength and collapsed heavily to the ground again.

This time, even opening his eyes was difficult, and he was completely unable to move, so he could only resign himself to lying there.

Seeing that he was completely exhausted, Xu Xi smiled wickedly, turned around and pushed over a triangular ladder, which he placed steadily next to the basketball hoop.

She slowly climbed the ladder to the top, sat at the very top, and her line of sight was just level with the basketball hoop.

She picked up the basketball with her left hand, casually put it into the basket, and then reached out her right hand from under the basket to catch the falling ball steadily. She repeated this process repeatedly, her movements relaxed and casual, as if she were scooping out eggs, without any effort.

Xu Nian lay on the ground, staring blankly, her mind a complete blank: How could there be such a thing?

But he couldn't even get up now, his whole body was sore and weak, so how could he stop her trickery? He could only watch helplessly.

286, 287, 288...

531, 532, 533...

747, 745, 746...

997, 998, 999.

Finally, the red scoreboard reached its maximum, 999.

Xu Xi slowly climbed down the ladder, dusted off her hands, casually put them in her pockets, and walked slowly to Xu Nian, who was lying on his back. She then gently touched his shoulder with her toes, her tone carrying a hint of triumphant coquettishness.

"Hey little brat, I've scored 1000 goals already!"

"You have to accept the consequences of your bet, so don't cry."

Xu Nian looked up at the glaring scoreboard, felt a tightness in her chest, and almost felt her vision go black.

He mustered his last bit of strength to speak, his words filled with defiance: "You cheated! This doesn't count! This is cheating!"

"Oh? I cheated?"

Xu Xi's eyebrows curved into a shallow crescent moon.

"Before the competition started, I don't recall saying that tools weren't allowed, right?"

She looked down at him, her tone calm and assertive: "Since there's no explicit prohibition, what I'm doing isn't cheating."

Xu Nian wanted to cry but had no tears.

Not only did they resort to the shameful tactic of dragging out an old man, but they even brought out the props.

Even after winning, he used this method to exonerate himself.

He was momentarily speechless in the face of such robber logic.

He collapsed to the ground, staring at the sky above, and slowly deflated.

However, he already owed a lot of money to his clients, so adding a thousand more times didn't seem to make much difference.