Chapter 1249: You donut

"Hihihi." Ginnie giggled as she thought of the plan she had in mind. "Senior Hugo, once the game starts..."

She trailed off, forced to move back as Max suddenly squeezed himself between her and Hugo. Deep lines appeared between her brows while Hugo scrunched up his nose.

"Max?" Hugo’s voice was tinged with surprise and dismay. "Hey, man, what the—can’t you sit elsewhere?"

"Max, what are you doing here?" Ginnie asked, shifting back a little to give him more space. "This is a practice game, and I don’t think you should be here."

"That’s right. You own the other team, don’t you?" Hugo arched a brow, watching Max cross his arms and rest one leg over the other.

"Well, I am here," Max stated matter-of-factly. He cocked his head back and shot Hugo a deadpan look. "And you’re here as well. What’s wrong with that?"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"It’s not like my team and yours are playing against each other. Besides, I’m here to meet with a higher-up," Max added, casting Ginnie a glance. "And no, I’m not talking about you."

"I didn’t say you were," she blinked innocently. "But even so, I don’t think you should be here. There’s no executive around, and I doubt they’re holding a meeting here."

"Well, this is where I was told to go. You can’t kick me out."

Hugo and Ginnie exchanged looks, momentarily speechless. Max obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Ginnie suspected he still hadn’t moved on from how Lily bossed him around during their trip.

"Well." Ginnie shrugged. "If you say so, then whatever."

"Are you really a businessman? You’re acting like a child who didn’t get what he wanted," Hugo hissed, shaking his head. Then, tilting his head, he gazed at Ginnie over Max. "Hey."

As soon as Ginnie and Hugo’s eyes met again, they smiled at each other mischievously. Max, on the other hand, darted his eyes between them, his face twitching in irritation. He lifted his hand to block their view of each other.

"The game is about to start, and you two are just flirting," Max clicked his tongue irritably. "Hey, Ginnie. Do you realize you’re working right now? Save your personal feelings for later."

"Huh?" Ginnie scrunched up her nose, but before she could say anything, a loud whistle blew. Turning her head, she saw the players wrapping up their warm-ups. "Whatever, Max. If I find out you’re lying, I’m kicking you out myself."

With that, she rose from her seat and marched toward the court.

"What is she even doing?" Max frowned as he watched her check on the players and even hand them water. "She’s not even the coach, but she’s acting like one."

"Why do you care?" Hugo remarked. "Ginnie has proved herself in this game. Even though she can’t play, she’s been crucial to the team. Without her, they wouldn’t even have a shot at the championship."

Slowly, Max arched a brow and turned his gaze to Hugo. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh? I’m here because I’m here. My friends play on this team, so why are you even asking?"

"Hah..." A short scoff escaped Max, making Hugo furrow his brows even more. "You insensitive piece of meat."

"???" Hugo’s mind filled with question marks, completely baffled by why Max was picking a fight with him. He wasn’t even in the mood for banter. But it seemed Max wanted that.

Another sigh escaped Max as he shook his head. "Hugo, I’m warning you—if you have no intention of pursuing someone, don’t give them mixed signals. Let them move on with their life. You have no idea how much pain you’re causing."

"Insensitive jerk," Max spat before rising from his seat and looking at Hugo with bitterness. After another huff, he shifted his gaze. Seeing a few men in suits, he shot Hugo one last look.

"Take that as a warning. I’m serious."

With that, Max stormed off to meet with the executives. Hugo, meanwhile, watched him go, utterly bewildered.

"...?" Hugo blinked a few times, tilting his head. "What the hell just happened? What did I do?"

His already-question-mark-filled mind overflowed with even more question marks. He had no clue what just happened, nor could he recall hurting anyone.

"Pursuing someone... and mixed signals?" he muttered, still confused. "What the hell is that guy talking about? Seriously. Something is wrong with him."

Shaking his head, Hugo decided not to dwell on it. After all, it was Max. They’d had problems since they were kids—some days, they got along, but most of the time, they fought. They were like fire and water.

---

[Half an hour later...]

"This is why you’re never going to be my brother-in-law!"

"Useless! Is that all you can do?!"

"Hey! You only have one job, and even a kindergarten kid could do it! Yet, you can’t!"

"Go, team, go—ugh! What the heck?! No one’s blocking you, and you still can’t score, you donut!"

Hugo, still sitting on the bench, continued yelling, relentlessly criticizing both teams for playing "poorly."

At first, the players ignored him. But the longer they did, the harsher his comments became.

"I’m going to kill him," one of the players growled, taking a step forward. His teammates quickly grabbed him, holding him back. "Today will be his death anniversary."

"Stop! Don’t let him get to you!"

"Just treat him like a ghost!"

"Don’t kill him! He’ll die on the battlefield, eventually! Just think about it!"

"Uh-oh, someone’s getting angry~!" Hugo laughed out loud. "You guys! You’re professional players from the major league, but you’re getting outplayed by someone who isn’t? I think I’m better than you even with all of you combined!"

"I’LL KILL HIM—"

"PLEASE HAVE MERCY! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!"

Meanwhile, Ginnie watched all of this unfold, nodding in approval. She glanced at the scoreboard and smirked in satisfaction.

’Not long ago, they were all down because of the recent incident,’ she thought, her eyes shifting toward Hugo. Her smirk widened. ’I’m glad Senior Hugo agreed to distract them.’

Because of Hugo’s antics, the team—who had been struggling to focus—was now fired up, playing like they used to, even without their star player.

Little did Ginnie know, as she admired how well their diversion plan was working, that Max had just finished his meeting with the executives.

As he returned to the court to check on the situation, he stopped. His eyes fell on Ginnie, who was smiling — while looking in Hugo’s direction. In Max’s eyes, Ginnie was admiring Hugo.

Max clenched his jaw, his fists tightening at his sides.

"That foolish, hopeless romantic..." he muttered bitterly, looking away. Unable to bear the sight of this one-sided, unrequited love, he turned and walked off fuming with a few thoughts in mind;

’What did she even see in Hugo? Is she into that... kind of man?!’