No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 4

Shu Luo was biting the end of his pen, agonizing over an essay. He had been thinking about it all night, and his brain was completely fried.

Shu’s mom saw how much he was struggling and couldn’t stand it.

“Luo Luo, why don’t you go ask your Brother Mu? You look like a little old man, and I can’t bear to watch.”

Shu Luo shook his finger. “No way! I’m not going to ask him!”

“You’re Chinese; how can your Chinese language skills be so bad? What are you going to do when you get to high school?” Shu’s mom was already worried about his high school career.

“Oh, high school is still a year away. Don’t worry, huh?”

Shu’s mom gave him a cold look. “You’re very eloquent when it comes to talking back.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Shu’s mom went to open the door, and it was Jiang’s mom.

“Luo Luo, do you have time right now? Could you help me take A Mu’s jersey to him? He has a game today, but I forgot to put his jersey in his backpack.”

A game? Shu Luo’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “No problem! I’ll ride my bike over right now. Where’s the game?”

“At the court in Central Plaza.”

He took the jersey, put it in his backpack, and happily ran out the door. He had completely forgotten about the unfinished essay from last night.

Shu’s mom could only shake her head helplessly, while Jiang’s mom was full of gratitude.

The basketball court at Central Plaza was hosting a street basketball tournament today. Dozens of teams of all kinds of people were participating in the preliminaries. The ultimate winner would get to train with an NBA team for three months. Everyone was there for that tempting prize.

Jiang Mu was a last-minute replacement. He wasn’t even a substitute on the team, but today, their small forward had a family emergency, so Jiang Mu had to fill in.

The game was in half an hour, and he’d been called to play so suddenly that he didn’t even have his jersey. He’d called Jiang’s mom, not knowing if she could make it in time.

“Hey, Jiang Mu, I’m really sorry I called you at the last minute.” The captain, Li Mosheng, patted him on the shoulder. “Did you have a family member bring your uniform?”

“Yeah, they should be on their way. My house isn’t far from here.”

Li Mosheng nodded, then looked at Jiang Mu in front of him and couldn’t help but sigh. What a kid, he’s only in eighth grade and he’s already this tall. He wasn’t much shorter than him. He was a junior in high school, but the height difference was only three or four centimeters. Man, I’m so exhausted. Kids these days grow up so well.

He seemed to have forgotten that Jiang Mu was of mixed heritage, with half of his blood being European. It was not surprising that he was tall.

“Wow… Did you see that? There’s a mixed-heritage kid over there! Oh my gosh, he’s so handsome!”

A girl from somewhere in the crowd suddenly shrieked, and Jiang Mu attracted a lot of attention.

“He’s so handsome! Is he mixed? His hair is brown. His features are so refined! He’s a stud!”

“Don’t be so loud, you’ll scare him away.”

“Is he a player today? I really want to see him play and get all sweaty. I have to take pictures!”

Jiang Mu: “…”

Li Mosheng: “…” Why aren’t they talking about me?

All the players: “…” Why are women so shallow!

“Jiang Mu, Jiang Mu! I’m here to bring you something!”

Jiang Mu thought he was hearing things, but when he turned around, he saw Shu Luo running toward him with his backpack.

Li Mosheng looked at the little boy running toward them, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “Your brother? He’s so small.”

“Yeah, a little kid,” Jiang Mu said, a smile on his lips as he watched Shu Luo run toward him.

“Hey… I’m so tired.” He clutched his knees, breathing heavily. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, and his clothes were soaked.

Jiang Mu reached out to push his sweat-soaked hair back and frowned when he saw a bruise on his forehead. Then he scanned his whole body and saw bruises on his elbows as well.

“Did you fall?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I fell on the way here. It doesn’t hurt.” Shu Luo hadn’t expected him to notice. He just gave a dry laugh and waved his hand, pretending it was nothing so Jiang Mu wouldn’t laugh at him.

Jiang Mu was speechless at his cavalier attitude. He felt a fire building in his chest, and his face instantly darkened, becoming intimidating.

Shu Luo looked at his expression and didn’t dare to meet his gaze. Oh no, he’s so scary.

Li Mosheng patted Shu Luo on the head. “What’s your name, little brother? My name is Li Mosheng; you can call me Sheng Ge.”

Shu Luo looked at Li Mosheng, who was as tall as Jiang Mu and also quite handsome.

“Haha, my name is Shu Luo.”

Seeing Shu Luo still so happy, the inexplicable fire in Jiang Mu’s heart burned even hotter.

“Go home.”

“Huh?” Shu Luo heard him say it so coldly. He seemed upset, but Shu Luo had no idea what he had done to him.

“Whatever,” Jiang Mu said, taking his jersey and walking straight to the locker room. You could feel the tension from his back.

Shu Luo was bewildered. What happened?

Li Mosheng shrugged, said something, and went to warm up.

The indoor court was already buzzing with excitement. There were over a thousand spectators in the stands.

Shu Luo touched the sweat on his body, accidentally hitting a wound, and gasped sharply. His legs were still a little wobbly. The most serious wounds were probably on his legs.

He walked to the bathroom alone, rolled up his pants, and saw that both of his knees still had small cuts that were bleeding. He had been in such a hurry that he hadn’t noticed a car at the intersection, and he’d accidentally crashed into a metal trash can.

But he thought of Jiang Mu’s uniform and silently got up. The car’s driver was also startled. Although Shu Luo said he was fine since it was his own fault, the driver insisted on giving him his phone number and address, saying he would take him to the hospital after he finished his business.

Sigh…

He looked at his disheveled reflection in the mirror and winced as he touched the wound on his forehead. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face. I’m so tired. Hmph! He went to all this trouble to bring him his jersey, and he didn’t even have the decency to be nice. He was going to tell Auntie Jiang!

He stood up, ready to leave the bathroom, but suddenly felt unwell. He leaned back on the sink, needing to rest.

The game was over, and Jiang Mu’s team easily won first place in the preliminaries.

“Oh, Jiang Mu, not bad. Why don’t you ever practice with us?” Li Mosheng said, putting his arm around Jiang Mu’s shoulder happily.

Jiang Mu was still gloomy, his mind still on Shu Luo.

“Alright, your little friend didn’t do anything to you. Why are you so upset? He brought your jersey for you, and I didn’t even see you thank him. And he fell! You didn’t even check on him. What if the kid started crying?”

Jiang Mu suddenly realized that his attitude had indeed been a bit too much. He anxiously said to Li Mosheng, “I have to go. I have something to do.”

Li Mosheng waved his hand. “Go ahead. Make sure you make it up to him, okay?”

Jiang Mu nodded and turned to walk outside. He glanced at a bicycle next to the green space in Central Plaza but didn’t pay much attention to it.

At Shu Luo’s house…

“Oh my God, really? Is Luo Luo hurt?!” Shu’s mom was completely shaken when she heard the news.

The car’s driver had come to their door to apologize. They had expected Shu Luo to be home but he hadn’t returned yet.

Shu’s mom was on the verge of tears. “Oh my Luo Luo, where are you? He must be in so much pain.”

Jiang’s mom also felt terrible about what had happened after she asked Shu Luo for a favor.

“Sister, I’m so sorry. If it weren’t for me…”

Shu’s mom didn’t blame her; she was just worried about Shu Luo’s condition.

“Mom? What’s going on?” Jiang Mu walked in, seeing that Shu Luo’s front door was open. He wondered if something had happened.

Shu’s mom saw him and immediately asked anxiously, “Did you see Luo Luo? He’s hurt!”

“What?!” Jiang Mu’s brows furrowed, sensing the gravity of the situation.