BODYGARD

Chapter 14: The Woman Who Played Basketball!

A bustling city.

A university frequented by throngs of people.

Filled with diversity, a multitude of places perfect for planting traps to take a life.

If one wishes to assassinate someone at the University of Houston or to make someone vanish from the face of the earth, it would be extraordinarily easy.

Jack dislikes murder, but if he were to do it, to make several people disappear from the University of Houston without a trace today would be a piece of cake!

As Jack strolled along, he could clearly remember the path back.

At this moment, he squatted on the ground, picked up a small stone from the roadside, and played with it in his hand.

He liked to ponder on his own thoughts.

To be precise, he didn't much care for pondering, only pondering on what he was proficient in.

It was innate.

"The scenery at University of Houston is really beautiful!" Jack couldn't help but exclaim.

"The scenery is good, and there are many beautiful women!"

At this thought, a smile found its way onto Jack's face.

“But none are as beautiful as my sister!"

He uttered a heartfelt sigh, what an honest man.

"Hmm!"

At this point, Jack suddenly turned around.

"Hmm..."

"Don't!"

He saw a man and a woman passionately kissing in this alleyway. The woman was average-looking, but the man was kissing her with uncontainable excitement. His large hands couldn't help but seize the not overly abundant chest of the woman, kneading vigorously as if intending to consummate their union under the broad daylight.

"Sin...sin!"

Jack turned around.

He didn't mean to.

He was merely passing by——

He kept walking until a wall appeared before him, only then did Jack stop in his tracks.

He glanced at the wall in front of him, it was over three meters high.

"Climb over it!"

Jack thought to himself. With a swift leap, his arms suddenly grasped the top of the wall. With a roll, he was over the three-meter high wall.

"He..."

"He climbed over!"

A few female students around the age of twenty-one happened to see Jack effortlessly scale the wall, all of them gasping in amazement.

"It's over three meters high!"

"How did he climb over it!"

"I didn't see clearly, he climbed so fast!"

Jack climbed from one side of the wall to the other, gently landing, dusting his palms, and leaning against the wall as he surveyed his surroundings. However, this survey startled him considerably.

This was a basketball court.

The midday sun was fiercely intense.

Aren't basketball players usually men?

Jack mused internally.

"This—"

But running around playing ball weren't a bunch of guys, but a group of female students in shorts, revealing their white legs under the scorching summer sun.

Indeed, these female students were meticulously selected, their shorts and sleeves flaunting their appeal under the bright daylight.

"Did I... come to the wrong place?" Jack blinked.

These female students ran across the basketball court, engaged in their game, completely oblivious to Jack's arrival. Their fierce competition for the ball, passing, and shooting were incredibly energetic, chattering and shouting energetically, sometimes even revealing a bit too much in their fervor, completely unaware.

"Pass the ball to me!"

"Hey!"

"Where did you throw the ball!"

"Whoosh!"

The basketball slipped from one of the female student's hands, shooting in a different direction. Surprisingly, that girl had a strong arm; a miss-hit sent the basketball flying at a high speed directly towards Jack.

"Classmate!"

"Hey, classmate, watch out!"

"Classmate, be careful!"

The basketball flew straight towards Jack as the female students, now aware of Jack's presence, didn't have time to ponder how a male student had entered their space and immediately started shouting in their sweet voices.

"Smack!"

Jack reached out and caught the basketball.

Even in Jack's hands, the basketball trembled slightly before coming to a halt.

"Whoever threw it, has got quite an arm!" Jack thought to himself.

He wondered—

The ferocity with which these female students played basketball was one thing, but their strength was startling. The speed at which that basketball had flown was terrifying. If it had been an ordinary person, a moment slower in reaction, they might have been struck in the head by the ball. Fortunately for Jack, his reflexes were swift; he was not dazzled by the beauty before him, nor did he fall victim to the charms beneath their pleated skirts.

"Classmate, are you alright?" one of the female students ran over to ask.

"I'm fine!"

Jack leaned against the wall, holding the basketball with one hand, taking a moment to look at the girl.

She was about 1.7 meters tall with shoulder-length auburn hair, her eyes black and clear, devoid of any muddiness. She wore a blue short-sleeved shirt, not sporting the enticing shorts of summer like the other female students, but knee-length shorts instead.

Her legs were long.

Her attire was somewhat androgynous, but it could not conceal the charm of this woman. She was beautiful in a distinctive way, not like those who blindly follow fashion trends to look like everyone else. A single glance at her was like looking at a flame—youthful and vibrant. This was the impression she gave. But on taking a second glance, you'd discern a certain gentleness about her.

If you think you won't notice that gentle side, you'd be mistaken.

Because the first look will surely lead to a second.

The only pity was that, although this woman had a round behind, her chest was not particularly full.

This woman's name was Sophia.

Sophia took a moment to size up Jack, then looked back at the high wall, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "How did you get in here?"

"I..."

Before Jack could answer, the other female basketball players had also run over.

"Sophia, isn't your team short one player? Let him play!" exclaimed one of the girls.

"But we're a women's team, how can we include a guy?" another retorted.

"It's fine, it's just practice anyway," someone chimed in.

Hearing this, Sophia nodded—indeed, their team was short one person, which caused them to lose a few practice matches. Pondering this, she blinked and asked Jack, "Junior, do you play basketball?"

"Not at all!" Jack immediately shook his head.

"A big guy like you doesn't play basketball?" one of the female students shouted.

Jack gave a wry smile: "I really don't!"

Is it shameful not to know how to play basketball?

I just don't know how.

"He doesn't look like the basketball type with that frame!"

"Ah, those guys who play basketball are all robust; he doesn't seem like someone who plays!"

However, one female student, drenched in sweat with her chest still quivering, said, "No worries, you'll learn if you try! You just need to block for us; that's all. Since it's just practice, we don't have many rules. Just block them with all you've got!"

"Jack, do you really need to be so harsh, blocking us to death?" quipped Isabella as she wiped the sweat from her face, smiling, "After all, you guys had the advantage earlier by having one more player than us. This junior here is a man, yes, but doesn't play basketball, which makes things fair!"

"I... Can I not play?" Jack asked with an embarrassed smile.

Please—

Could you consider my feelings for a moment?

Can we not decide things for me before I've even spoken?

"Why are you beating around the bush, dude?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, her expression cool.

"Okay, I agree to play!" Jack relented.

He looked around at the enclosed basketball court.

"Just remember one thing: when they throw or pass the ball, you block them, that's it!" said Isabella in her sweet voice.

"I got it!"

"Alright, let's start!"

The girls ran back onto the basketball court.

Jack also joined the team's lineup.

"Inbound the ball!" shouted Sophia.

As the game began, the basketball court was filled with vigorous activity, and Jack was initially unsure of his role but decided to simply go along with the female students' game. He wasn't really planning to play basketball seriously; he was more interested in getting familiar with the layout of the University of Houston, a place he rarely visited.

Following Isabella's instructions, he focused on blocking the students in purple shirts, whether they were passing or shooting the ball.

Alright.

Jack did just that.

He followed closely behind a female student.

Oh no, in front of her.

This girl, wearing a provocative skirt, was rolling her eyes and dribbling the ball, looking for the moment to pass to her teammate. Mimicking Sophia's movements, Jack blocked her path, shadowing her movements closely. Wherever she went, he followed.

This left the girl dribbling and running but unable to shake Jack off.

"Junior, could you let me pass?" the female student asked sweetly.

Jack found her voice extremely pleasant to the ear and was momentarily tempted to give way. However, after a quick thought, he firmly shook his head, "No!"

One must stick to their principles. He had made a promise, and he couldn't just let this girl score.

"Oh dear, big brother, can't you just let me pass, please?" the girl coaxed.

Jack was momentarily stunned.

He was particularly susceptible to temptation.

But this is basketball, isn't it? You can't just cheat your way through.

Seeing Jack's momentary lapse, the girl giggled cutely, seizing the opportunity to attempt a pass in another direction.

"Smack!"

But just as she was about to make her throw, Jack's hands swiftly caught the basketball.

"So fast!"

The female student gaped in amazement. How could this junior, who looked so delicate, move so quickly? She was sure she had thrown the ball away, yet in the blink of an eye, Jack had intercepted it.

"You!" The girl who had just been coquettish stomped her foot in frustration, exclaiming, "Why would you do that!"

As Jack seized the basketball, another girl appeared behind him, stretching out her fair hand, attempting to snatch the basketball from him.

"Junior, run!" Isabella urgently yelled. They were genuinely worried that the hard-won ball would be taken by the other girls.

Actually—

They had no idea how many rules they had violated throughout the game.

Jack didn't care about the specifics. Heeding Isabella's advice to run, he gripped the basketball and sprinted. His agility was beyond what the female students could block.

"Run fast!"

"Don't let them stop you!"

Jack didn't think twice, running as if he was being chased by a pack of wolves, a pack of femme fatales.

"Stop!"

Then, Sophia shouted, "Running any further is a foul, come back!"

Jack ran back.

Was this really how the game was supposed to be played?

"Junior, you can't do that, you have to dribble, dribble, or it's a foul!" Sophia took a deep breath to explain.

"You're fouling!" another girl from the opposing side shouted dissatisfiedly.

"It doesn't count, it's his first time playing!" someone defended.

"You're still breaking the rules!"

Sophia stepped forward, her gaze sweeping the scene, "I have to say, Mia, using your charms to distract our team member doesn’t count as a foul?"

The girl named Mia stuck out her tongue, "No one said you couldn't use your charm on the court."

Seeing the clear disregard for rules, the girls simply pouted and began to argue their case.

"Junior, pass me the ball!"

"You need to dribble!"

"Run, they're coming to steal it again!"

"You're so clueless, run!"

"Pass me the ball! Pass, as in 'give,' oh no, 'pass' as in 'pass the ball,' do you understand?!"

Jack was utterly bewildered.

He simply stopped running and, with one arm, clutched the basketball tightly, eyeing protectively over the girls attempting to take away what he now considered his treasure.

They kept on insisting he didn't know basketball, pushed him to play, criticized him for hesitancy, and now they called him foolish for trying?

Talk about a hard time.

Isn't this just basketball?

He’d seen it on TV, the players raise their hands and the ball swooshes right into the hoop.

"What's so tough about that!" Muttering under his breath, a mix of anger and determination welling up, Jack no longer concerned himself with the specifics. He glanced at the surrounding female students, abruptly lifted the basketball, and in the next moment, he launched it with gusto—not so much a shot as a fling.

The ball soared.

Bang!

Clatter.

The next moment—

The once lively basketball court fell silent. The girls turned to each other, looks of astonishment in their eyes. Just like that, it went in?

From that distance?

Realizing Jack had been standing on their half of the court and had scored in the opponent's basket...

How far was that?

Practically the length of the entire court.

And just like that, it went in? No, it was flung in.

In simple terms, Jack had scored in the wrong basket.

Sophia pursed her lips, a tinge of frustration coloring her tone, "You know... junior, our basketball hoop is right there, in front of you, how did you manage to score in the other team's basket!"