Chapter 137: A Lack of Promising New Talent
It was 5:45 PM on Monday. 15 minutes until the Shanghai 16 School Tournament started. The players were getting ready for their games, the organizers were taking care of the last-minute tasks, and the fans were getting more and more hyped as they packed into the Mall. Chu Fang had arranged for 500 seats, but there was still more space. Most of the seats were occupied, while there were more people walking by and stopping to look at what was going on. Among the crowd were two familiar faces.
“Come on! Come on!” Su Xue shouted, dragging Zuo You along with her. She searched around the arena for a place to sit. “There! There’s empty seats over there! Come!”
“Hey! Su Xue! Stop! You’re going too fast! What are we rushing for? Don’t we have another 15 minutes? I’m on high heels here! Lemme walk!” Zuo You shouted after her friend, who was already pushing through another group of people. She shook her head and grumbled, loud enough that only she could hear herself, “Why in the world did I let her drag me all the way out here for some stupid high school tournament? What’s so fun about this? Stupid high schoolers.”
Su Xue walked by some people, their gazes catching her attention. She looked away, but trailed a finger through her hair. Zuo You followed a step behind, fire just about blazing from her eyes. Fire as hot as her hair was red. Her eyebrows were permanently arched down to the center. But that didn’t stop the gazes. She saw them everywhere. They were everywhere. She tried shooing them away, cursing them, but the hint was not received. One guy she passed even left his arm hanging behind him, just a little out of place. She slapped it away and shouted, “Hey! Get off of me!” Then grumbled, “Fucking perverts.”
The seats Su Xue had her eyes on were almost on the other side of the hall. The two girls pushed through the crowd to get to them. A sea mostly made up of guys. There were more than a few guys in the hall who purposely slowed down or sped up, just to be within an uncomfortable proximity of the two women. They leered and sniffed, hoping to catch a whiff of the fading notes of perfume. They were creepy. They were disgusting. More than anything, they were disturbing and made the girls feel uncomfortable. All Su Xue and Zuo You wanted to do was go to a tournament and cheer for their friend. They didn’t come here to get harassed by strangers. By these creeps. But that was exactly what was happening. Hands constantly brushed against places that shouldn’t be touched. No one seemed to take the hints Zuo You almost screamed through the hall.“Hey, fuck off! What are you squeezing in for?”“You want me to break your hand and nose?"“You take one step closer, and I’m reporting you to the police!”“I’m not afraid to use these 7 inch stilettos. Come, try me. Let me stamp a hole in your foot!”
“Zuo You, Zuo You!” Su Xue stopped and looked at her friend, whose face was as red as her hair. “Is this really necessary? Let’s not make a scene. People are already staring at us. I just want to watch the games.”
“Hmpf! Why do you think they’re staring at us? These creeps need to stop it. This is sexual harassment! You should stand up for yourself a little more, Su Xue! You can’t let these guys just take advantage of you. If they try to touch you, you kick them in the balls! If they try anything funny, you hit them in the face and scream for the police!”
Su Xue shook her head and smiled. “Ah, come on. It’s not that bad! And you do look really good today! Your makeup compliments your outfit perfectly! And your hair, damn! And I love your heels! You have to tell me where you bought them!”
Zuo You curled her lips and said, “Oh shut it! I know you’re just trying to distract me! Any other time and I would’ve been happy. But right now? Absolutely not! I dress the way I dress because it makes me feel good. Because I want to be fashionable and pretty! For me! Not for the fantasies of these lonely fuckers! Besides... You know most of them aren’t even looking at me, right? They’re all looking at you. I’m the reason why they haven’t jumped on you yet…”