NOVEL NEXT Chapter 225: The Acquaintance Ball (1)
"Don't you have a party to attend?" Grandma Bingbing asked as Kai massaged her sore shoulders.
"I do," Kai said. "But I can't go until this party of ours wraps up."
The old woman clicked her tongue. "What kind of party is this? You're massaging my worn-out shoulders."
"That's because you overworked yourself again," Kai scolded. "Why did you peel so many onions today?"
"Because it's the New Year," Grandma Bingbing sighed. "Isn't it obvious that more people would want onions for their celebrations?"
"They can peel their onions themselves," Kai grumbled.
Grandma shook her head. "I didn't think there would come a time where I would be scolded by my grandson," she muttered.
"Anyway, that's enough," she said, standing from the floor. "You need to go and get ready for the party. You're already late as it is."
"You don't even know when it starts," Kai muttered.
"It's the Acquaintance Ball in the Marriott Hotel! It's the biggest and most luxurious hotel in the city! Of course, I would know that it's a dinner party for all exceptional ball players in the city," she exclaimed.
"It's still shocking that your team got invited there. You should be bursting in excitement to go, but here you are instead, spending your New Years with me when they probably have better food," she continued.
"Nah," Kai said, shaking his head. "Hotel food sucks sometimes. The more expensive it is, the more unreasonable it tastes. Your home-cooked meals are still the best."
Grandma Bingbing clicked her tongue. "Just go and get dressed. Your suit is already on top of your bed."
Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Suit? You prepared me a suit?"
"It was your late father's," Bingbing sighed. "And, of course, I had to prepare you a suit. I didn't want my one and only grandson looking like a hooligan in front of other sports people."
Kai shook his head before entering his room. "I'll be back then!"
Kai quickly got dressed in the suit that his Grandma had prepared for him, and much to his surprise, it actually fit perfectly. So then, it meant that his dad had a pretty big build, too.
Well, it wouldn't really be a surprise since Kai must have gotten some of his prominent traits from someone.
As soon as he was done, he went out of the room, only to be met with his Grandma's anticipating face.
Her expression immediately brightened as soon as she saw Kai, and she placed her hands over her chest.
Kai scratched the back of his head.
"How do I look?" he hesitantly asked.
Grandma Bingbing smiled as she placed her hands over his shoulders. "Just like your father," she said in a nostalgic tone.
Then she moved her hand to flick a strand of hair away from Kai's face.
"We really need to do something about your hair, though. Once school starts and you have some time, let's cut it, alright?"
Kai's eyebrows furrowed in apprehension. "Who will cut it? You?"
Grandma smirked as she mimicked some scissors with her hands.
"Onions are not the only things I'm good at cutting!"
***
Kai went out of the bus and finally arrived at the Marriott Hotel.
He peered up at it with wide eyes, feeling as if he didn't deserve to be in such a place. He arrived at the front desk, and the staff looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Name, please?" she asked.
"Kai Guo," Kai answered.
The woman, who had been manning the same reception for the last couple of years, was a bit apprehensive of Kai since it was the first time she had seen him.
However, his name was on the list, so she had no choice but to let him in.
"Thanks," Kai muttered before heading to the entrance.
However, just before he entered, he shook his head.
"Next time, you won't even check my name on the list," he muttered before finally opening the door.
Meanwhile, the party was already full blast inside.
Some players were dispersed, especially the extroverted ones; however, most of them stayed with their teams, just having non-alcoholic drinks while looking around.
Kun and Jet, despite saying they had prepared for this event, looked like innocent stray cats in the corner of the room, not bothering to interact with anyone outside of their team.
Lina, who had just arrived due to attending dinner with her family, shocked the players as soon as they saw her.
Dressed in a long, white evening gown, her innocent beauty became more apparent under the fancy lights.
Zeren's eyes comically widened, and his mouth instantly went agape.
Jinping shook his head and stood next to him, manually shutting his mouth close.
"Stop drooling, you simp," he said.
However, Zeren merely shook his head and continued observing Lina.
Yuze also joined them, looking dapper in his suit. Some players looked over his way, already aware of his great basketball skills. Some of them were even more amazed that the Shizi Dogs had actually been invited this year.
"Are we all here?" Yuze asked.
Jet looked around before shaking his head.
"Nope," he said. "Shang wanted to come here, but he's not part of the team anymore," he chuckled as if enjoying his friend's demise.
"Oh, and Kai still hasn't arrived. Something about massaging a grandma or something," he continued.
Jinping's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Ay-yo? I didn't know that Kai was into that."
Lina instantly went to Kai's defense and slapped the back of Jinping's head.
"It's his grandma, you idiot!" she exclaimed.
Jinping massaged his sore nape before glaring at Lina.
"I didn't even say anything about it! You're the one who's green-minded," he said, making Lina raise her hand once again.
Jinping flinched and quickly covered himself with his arms.
However, before Lina could hit him, Jet spoke once again.
"Oh, there he is!"Jet exclaimed, causing them to pay attention to where he was pointing.
However, as the doors opened, it became obvious that they weren't the only ones paying attention to their teammate's arrival.
Other teams, especially basketball ones, looked at Kai with great intrigue.
Jet looked around and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Damn," he said.
"Now, I see why Yuze's suddenly feeling nervous."