Chapter 886: lack of ability to forgive

The dispute between Max and the basketball team started as a roleplay, which Ginnie had playfully come up with. After all, Ginnie, Max, and even the captain of the former school basketball team had been quite close. Max and the captain would still play together, with the captain encouraging Max to join the team again or just practice with them.

However, Max respectfully declined, reasoning that his life had changed and basketball was no longer a part of it. He was simply glad he could still bond with the captain through casual, occasional games. His relationship with Ginnie was a bit surprising and complicated. They couldn’t say they were very close, but they shared a mutual respect for each other and a common interest in analyzing sports.

The situation, however, got blown out of proportion because Penny kept fueling the fire and twisting some words that were said. What started as a roleplay ended up turning into a real argument, and here they were.

With the gymnasium set up for the party, with stalls like a festival on the sides, everyone had to move to the other open court solely for this game. The betting pool started somehow, but Penny had nothing to do with it.

As everyone was busy transferring to the open court, some bringing snacks from the party, Benjamin and Slater couldn’t help but express their dismay.

"How is this possible?!" Benjamin roared in the men’s restroom. "How come no one wanted to join this team, and then everyone just raised their hands for the opposing team?!"

Slater nodded, arms crossed under his chest. "If I knew this was a popularity contest, I would’ve voted for myself to join the team!" He then glared at the closed cubicles. "Second Brother, how come you weren’t popular when you were one of the ace players back then?!"

Hugo, quietly inside one of the cubicles, sighed at Slater’s complaints. "Slater, it’s alright. Why are you both so angry about this?"

"Because it’s unfair!" Slater and Benjamin roared in unison, almost making Hugo flinch from inside the cubicle.

"Tch." Slater clicked his tongue. "This is why you should shower every day. Even if you’re good at what you do, if you smell bad, you won’t be popular."

Hugo instinctively raised his armpit and sniffed. "I don’t smell bad," he murmured, but Slater continued to complain.

"You always sweat and smell like a dog who hasn’t had a shower for two weeks!"

Benjamin looked at Slater and blinked. "I’d say three days."

"No, three days is when he’s wearing perfume."

"But I don’t think the Second Brother smells that bad," Benjamin muttered to himself. Still, it seemed Slater was keen on lecturing his brother about his smell. "Even so, I’m still not pleased that everyone joined the other team when my boss is so popular."

Slater scrunched up his nose at Benjamin, but for once, he wasn’t in the mood to argue. He would only argue with him if it was about Penny’s attention, but not about Zoren.

"Your boss isn’t that popular." That didn’t stop Slater from adding his side comment.

"What?!"

Slater blinked. "Have you forgotten that your boss doesn’t even have a photo available to the public?"

"..." Benjamin opened his mouth to argue, but Slater was right. Zoren didn’t like publicity about himself. He preferred publicity for the company and the Pierson Family. There weren’t any articles about Zoren because, before they could be published, they would be stopped.

"Still! People should know him! My boss’s aura is enough to tell people he is the big boss!" Benjamin barked, crossing his arms and looking away from Slater. "But people are too blinded to see the mountain before them."

"Haha..." Just then, another person in the men’s bathroom chuckled. When Benjamin and Slater turned, they immediately locked eyes with Ray’s smug look.

"This is why you should’ve let me in the team," Ray remarked, leaning against the tiled wall while looking at the two men. "I’m the most popular one among all of you here."

Slater and Benjamin’s expressions instantly soured upon hearing that. However, Benjamin didn’t immediately judge Ray’s claim.

"Third Brother, was he that popular during your time?" Benjamin asked quietly, leaning on Slater’s side and keeping his eyes on Ray.

"Mhm." Slater nodded. "He was so popular that the people who admired him were the first ones to start this fan club thing."

"Oh..."

"But this popular guy is also the reason my sister was targeted and bullied."

Surprised, Benjamin looked at Slater with wide eyes. "What?"

"What do you think would happen if a popular guy like him suddenly professed his love to my thirteen-year-old sister, who rejected his madness?" Slater continued in a matter-of-fact tone, facing Benjamin squarely. "His fans came after my sister every single day. You name it, they did it to her."

Although none of those attempts had ever succeeded, it was one of the reasons the Bennet brothers would never forgive Ray. No matter how much time had passed, Penny had suffered too much in their eyes.

Benjamin assessed the serious look on Slater’s face before drawing a deep breath. He closed his eyes as if trying to absorb that information. Meanwhile, Ray’s smug look began to twist into a nervous one.

"Hey, you two... it wasn’t all that bad..." Ray explained nervously, raising his hands in surrender. "Besides, I was young back then, and I also sincerely apologized. Not to mention, none of those attempts succeeded. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was actually Penny who pranked them every day..."

But none of Ray’s explanation reached Benjamin and Slater’s ears as they both looked at him with a displeased and disgusted expression. Ray was already used to this kind of look from the Bennets, but Benjamin had respected him—before.

"Sir Ray, what a disappointment!" Benjamin spat. "Sir, did you hear what the Third Brother said?! Sir Ray bullied Miss Penny when she was young—please don’t forgive him and stand up for us!"

"..." Ray pressed his mouth into a thin line, feeling all hopes of starting on the right foot with the Bennets slipping away. Now, he even had to fix his reputation with Benjamin and Zoren.

Surely, there were things one had done in the past that couldn’t be easily erased, no matter how much time passed.

’I kinda... relate to what Nina felt about Patricia’s lack of ability to forgive,’ Ray thought to himself.

Just then, all the cubicles opened up as if everyone in them had a silent agreement to come out together. When Slater, Benjamin, and Ray looked, all the guys in the jersey wore grim expressions.