Chapter 170: Evan Shaw Is Injured Again

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Evan Shaw Is Injured Again

「The next day」

In the bustling hallway between classes, Ethan Prescott strode forward and blocked Evan Shaw’s path, his tone laced with obvious hostility.

"Evan Shaw, you’re always so close to Chloe York lately. Isn’t that getting old?"

The memory of seeing Evan Shaw and Chloe York shopping together the day before made Ethan Prescott’s blood boil, and the look he gave Evan could have set him on fire.

Evan Shaw stopped and looked at him, one eyebrow raised, his tone tinged with provocation. "Chloe and I are just hanging out. How does that concern you?"

"Of course it concerns me!" Ethan Prescott took a step forward. "I like Chloe York, and she used to be my fiancée. What do you think you’re doing, orbiting her every day? Is it that hard to stay away from her?"

Evan was taken aback for a moment, then gave a faint smile. "Ethan Prescott, you can’t force feelings. Things that are forced never end well, do they?"

"Spare me the platitudes!" Ethan Prescott cut him off. "Starting today, talk to her less, and stop walking with her."

"And if I don’t?"

Ethan Prescott hadn’t expected such a direct reply and froze. It wasn’t until Evan let out a disdainful scoff that he realized he’d just been bluffed.

"Evan Shaw, since you won’t agree, how about this? Got the guts to play me again? If you win, I’ll stop bothering the two of you. But if you lose, you stay away from Chloe York and stop messing with her head."

Seeing the seriousness in Ethan’s eyes, Evan sighed and feigned helplessness. "So you’re challenging me to a game to settle this? Fine. You’re on."

"But a game is just a game. Don’t use Chloe as the prize, and definitely don’t use this to force her to choose."

"Good, you accepted!" Hearing Evan agree, Ethan couldn’t be bothered with the details. "To the courts, right now. You dare?"

"Why wouldn’t I? Bring it on!"

The two of them headed straight for the athletic fields.

A few sharp-eyed students passing by immediately recognized them as the school’s two Campus Princes, and a commotion instantly erupted.

"Whoa! Ethan Prescott just stopped Evan Shaw! Looks like they’re gonna play a match!"

"Hurry, hurry! Let’s go to the fields and watch the show!"

"I heard they’re both incredible players. Their rivalry started back in high school, but I never thought we’d be lucky enough to see them play in college."

Word spread like wildfire, reaching half the student body in an instant.

Soon, the court was surrounded by people, and a constant buzz of chatter filled the air.

"Did you hear? Campus Prince Shaw and Campus Prince Prescott are having a match on the courts."

Chloe York, who was studying in the classroom, heard the news but was unfazed. They were always like this back in high school, so it came as no surprise.

It didn’t even cross Chloe’s mind that they might be playing this match because of her.

Wendy Winters, clutching her schoolbag, plopped down beside Chloe York and gently shook her arm, her face beaming with excitement. "Chloe! Campus Prince Prescott and Campus Prince Shaw are playing basketball on the courts! Everyone’s going to watch, let’s go join the fun!"

Her high school hadn’t had any cute guys, so this was her first chance to see handsome boys play basketball. Her excitement was at its absolute peak.

Chloe was flipping through her textbook and didn’t even look up, refusing flatly, "I’m not going. It’s not that interesting."

’I’ve seen it all before. What’s so great about it?’

"Oh, come on, Chloe~" Wendy whined, shaking her arm back and forth. "Let’s just go watch for a little bit! We’ll be back soon. It’s so stuffy in here; it’ll be good to get some air on the courts."

Chloe still wouldn’t budge. Without stopping what she was doing, she said mildly, "You can go by yourself. I want to read."

"But I don’t want to go alone! Please come with me, okay?~" Wendy wheedled, rubbing against Chloe’s arm. "Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw are incredible players! Tons of students are there. It would be a huge shame to miss it. Just this once, please? I promise we’ll come straight back after. It won’t mess with your study time at all!"

"You don’t understand! My old school had zero cute guys, so I’ve never seen two hotties face off in a basketball game before. Now that I finally have the chance, you have to come with me! Let me broaden my horizons, please? My dearest Chloe?"

Worn down by the pestering, Chloe looked at Wendy’s pleading face and was reminded of Stella Winters. Back in high school, she hadn’t wanted to go either, and Stella had convinced her to watch a game in much the same way.

She finally relented, closing her book with a resigned sigh. "Alright. Just for a little while."

Hearing Chloe agree, Wendy was ecstatic. Before Chloe could say another word, she jumped up, grabbed her hand, and started pulling her outside. "I knew you were the best, Chloe! Let’s go, let’s go! If we’re late, we’ll miss the best parts!"

The two of them practically jogged all the way to the courts—or rather, Wendy dragged Chloe the whole way.

They could hear the near-deafening roar of the crowd from far away. The entire court was swarmed with students, packed several rows deep, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric.

Wendy pulled Chloe along, painstakingly squeezing through the crowd to a spot near the front where they could finally get a clear view of the court.

On the court, Ethan Prescott and Evan Shaw were locked in a fierce battle. Both were agile, their movements crisp and decisive as they ran back and forth, switching between offense and defense.

Ethan played with a tenacious, unyielding spirit, his offense ferocious as he focused solely on winning. Evan, by contrast, was much calmer, his defense tight and his shots precise, handling every play with composure.

The cheers from the sidelines came in waves, one cresting over the other. Shouts of "Go, Evan!" and "Go, Ethan!" were nonstop. Swept up in the atmosphere, Wendy clutched Chloe’s hand and excitedly joined the cheering.

Meanwhile, Chloe was thinking, ’As long as these two are at the same school, is this going to happen every single year?’

"Chloe? Aren’t you going to cheer?" Wendy asked after shouting a few times, noticing that Chloe hadn’t made a sound.

She had been cheering for both of them—it didn’t matter if it was Evan or Ethan; if he was cute, she was cheering.

"Go, Evan?" Chloe said softly, her voice almost questioning.

Hearing Chloe’s first instinct was to cheer for Evan only made Wendy more certain that the two of them were a couple.

The game grew incredibly intense. The score remained neck and neck, with neither player willing to give an inch.

Just as Evan drove past the defense and prepared to jump for a shot, Ethan rushed forward to block him. As their bodies crossed, Evan’s foot suddenly slipped. He lost his balance in an instant and fell hard onto the court.

The roar of the crowd died instantly. A sudden silence fell over the court as all eyes turned to Evan, who was down on the ground.

Evan was propped up on one hand, his other clutching his ankle. His face had gone pale—it was clear the injury wasn’t minor, and for a moment, he couldn’t get back up.

Ethan immediately stopped as well and rushed over to Evan’s side, a frantic look on his face. "How are you? Are you okay?"

As much as he wanted to win, he had never wanted Evan to get hurt. And to make matters worse, the same thing had happened during their last game in high school: Evan had suddenly fallen and injured himself in almost the exact same way.