Chapter 61

"It's fine," the burly man said. "My brother will wait here for your friend and the police. I'll take you to the hospital."

Joshua's brow furrowed. Something about this felt off. But before he could process it, the man had grabbed him, bundled him into a car, and sped off towards the

hospital.

On the way, the man chattered endlessly about all of Joshua's movies and TV shows he had seen. Joshua's head was spinning. He didn't have a chance to think, so he just sent a message to Joseph.

[Got into a little accident on the way. I'll be late. If you see Marguerite, keep her there.]

The car pulled up to the hospital. Joshua didn't want to go in, but he had no choice. The man simply hoisted him over his shoulder and ran inside. Joshua didn't dare shout for help, afraid of being recognized.

"Doctor, he needs a full workup, the works! I hit him with my car, and I'm really worried," the man said breathlessly.

The doctor was a bit taken aback. He'd never seen such a responsible person at fault in an accident. But then he recognized Joshua and it all made sense. The guy was clearly a superfan. It was common for fans to value their idols more than their own lives.

The game was about to start. Joseph saw his brother's message and frowned. He typed back: [She just looks like your high school girlfriend. It's not her. You said yourself that girl died over a decade ago.]

He added: [Just get here when you can.]

At first, he had just wanted to prove he wasn't mistaken, but now, seeing how invested his brother was, he was starting to regret saying anything.

He walked onto the basketball court, his eyes scanning the crowd for her beautiful face, but he couldn't find her. There were too many people.

But he knew she was here. After all, she had a massive crush on him. He didn't believe those paparazzi photos; the guy was probably just a friend. He had analyzed their body language; it wasn't romantic. And she sent him a message every single day without fail.

At that thought, Joseph slicked his hair back and smirked.

"You feeling confident, Captain?" a teammate asked, jogging up to him.

Joseph scoffed. "It's just Westside High. It'll be a piece of cake. They're nothing but a bunch of degenerates."

Westside High had a reputation for being the roughest, most

academically challenged high school in Northpine. It was where all the delinquents and outcasts ended

up.

Anyone with a bit of money or influence sent their kids elsewhere. was just Pinecrest's bad luck to have drawn them in the tournament. Joseph felt like their very presence was polluting the air of his school. His mother had always told him to stay away from the low-class poor.

"Over here! Here!"

Cedric, who had been searching the crowd anxiously, finally spotted Marguerite. And then he saw the tall, long-legged man walking beside her. In that instant, Cedric's heart shattered into a million pieces. The guy was incredibly handsome.

The two of them, a vision of male and female perfection, moved through the crowd as if they were in a different dimension. People were stealing glances at them from all sides.

Then Cedric's eyes widened. The man looked familiar.

As they got closer, he asked timidly, "You wouldn't happen to be... George Spencer, would you?” The legendary alumnus his teachers were always talking about.

George glanced at the chubby kid and nodded. "I am."

Cedric clapped a hand over his mouth. "It really is you! You're my idol!” Despite his poor grades, he had always admired George for his philanthropic work. He noticed the simple gold bamboo-link bracelet on the billionaire's wrist and thought Even the tycoon has caught the gold bug.

"I saved you two the best seats in the house! The view is perfect," Cedric said with a

wide grin.

The seats were front and center. But then, Pinecrest probably wouldn't even have a stadium this nice if it weren't for George's donations.

Marguerite thanked him and sat down, her gaze immediately drawn to the basketball court. The game was about to begin, and both teams were on the court. She spotted Joseph right away. He was wearing a black headband, his forehead exposed, looking the picture of youthful energy.

Then her eyes shifted to the player standing across from him, a tall, slender boy. His

long bangs obscured his eyes, and he carried an aura of dark, weary apathy.

In that instant, she knew.

It was her brother, Aaron.