Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 704: 703 Regardless of Consequences
 

Everyone has their secrets.

Annie Galas was no exception, even though she was only eleven years old. Adults tend to think of the world of children as too innocent to contain any secrets; but they are wrong, adults must have forgotten the days of their own childhood, children have secrets, and they all know it.

With great care, Annie guarded her secret, not wishing it to be discovered.

However.

Unexpectedly, just like that, it happened, in a surprising way.

Even though Annie couldn’t run like Li Wei, now, Li Wei was right in front of her, getting into mischief with her—

No persuasion, no warnings, no concerns, no preaching of soulful wisdom, no worries about looking ahead or behind, not even a hint of hesitation or doubt. She naturally fit in and actively came up with ideas, escalating the prank.

Everything felt like a dream.

This was the vision Annie had always fantasized about. It didn’t need to be grandiose or magnificent; a small prank was already enough.

A little bit of rebellion, a little bit of adventure, a little bit of recklessness.

Just like a real eleven-year-old, doing something silly, getting into trouble, with no reason, just wanting to do it for the sake of it, so she did.

Without considering the consequences.

Once in a while, really just once in a while, Annie also wanted to cause a bit of mischief.

She just never imagined that it would be Li Wei joining her in the shenanigans.

But just like that, happiness filled her chest little by little.

Exhilarating, overwhelming, surging, a bit reserved, a bit overexcited, a bit touched, a bit sad, but everything was so wonderful.

“Annie Galas.”

Finally, she spoke up, extending her right hand across the corridor, knowing that now was the critical moment for the prank, knowing that it wasn’t the best time to introduce herself; but she still broke the silence.

Li Wei turned, saw the childish face that was trying to look serious, formally presenting herself with a bit of stubbornness and reservation, but undoubtedly, with her determination.

Li Wei took a deep breath, a smile quietly filling his eyes.

“Li Wei.”

Then, Li Wei reached out his right hand, forming a loose fist, and bumped Annie’s fist, making a muffled sound in the air.

Ha.

The two of them, in perfect harmony, flashed smiles, quickly retracted their hands, and leaned back against the wall, waiting patiently.

Thump, thump.

Their hearts raced without stopping, even the simplest and most basic prank could cause such a surge of excitement.

Click.

The door to the room was pushed open again, a voice barged in, “Annie? Annie! Are you in there?”

It was Felix.

But Felix didn’t come in right away, instead, he stood at the door, peered inside, and called out, waiting for a response.

Annie was eager to move.

It was obvious that the young girl rarely, if ever, played pranks, lacked experience, and didn’t grasp the timing well.

Li Wei quickly signaled with his eyes for Annie to be patient: Just a little more patience, a little more.

Annie bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and while watching Li Wei’s movements, she managed to control herself.

Just as it seemed Felix would turn and leave, he stepped in, leaning forward at the bathroom door to peer into the room.

Looking left, Felix’s eyes met Annie’s; they looked at each other, a surprise for both, so unexpected and sudden that Felix couldn’t react and was frozen in place.

Annie held her breath, still intently watching Li Wei, and after getting a sign from him, she leaped forward.

“Surprise!”

Felix’s eyes bulged in surprise.

A beat too late, he caught the lag in timing, and another voice came from behind, “Surprise!”

Felix turned his head, only to see Li Wei’s face suddenly magnifying in his pupils, his head full of question marks: ???

Caught off guard, his body instinctively pressed tight against the bathroom door’s wall, covering his wildly beating heart, his knees weakening and slowly sliding down.

“Jesus Christ.”

Ha ha, haha.

Annie couldn’t control herself any longer, excitedly jumping up, raising her right hand high to high-five Li Wei in celebration, clutching her stomach, she leaped onto the hospital bed, continually slapping the mattress, laughing uncontrollably.

It was only now that Felix finally came back to his senses, looking in disbelief, “Annie…” It was one thing for Annie, “Rookie, you, you shouldn’t be like this either.”

Li Wei’s face was full of apologies, “Felix, I had no choice.”

A look of being forced and controlled, yet the smile at the corner of his mouth and the bottom of his eyes told a completely different story.

Felix: …

“Rookie, please, at least be a bit more sincere. You didn’t even try to hide it,” Felix said, his face full of resignation.

Li Wei spread his hands, “Sorry, I’m not a good actor.”

Pfft.

Felix looked at Li Wei’s unabashed expression, ridiculous yet amusing, and could no longer control himself, his laughter bursting through his throat.

Behind him, a call came through.

“Annie, Annie?”

The voice was filled with worry and fear before the person even arrived, and Jenna burst into the room like a tornado.

“Annie, where did you run off to?”

Li Wei stepped forward a half step, protecting Annie behind him, “The reading room. I found her in the reading room. She totally lost track of time.”

While pranks were pranks, the fallout still needed to be dealt with; they couldn’t just leave a mess behind.

Annie’s cheeks reddened slightly; she had been ready to admit her fault but didn’t expect Li Wei to solve her predicament with just a few words—

The hospital did indeed have a reading room, not far from the chemotherapy room.

Because chemotherapy is long and boring, and since the main target here was children, a reading room was set up. Whether to help the children or the parents, this small space was intended to provide a brief escape.

Jenna paused, but Li Wei was so certain and composed that she couldn’t tell truth from falsehood, instinctively looking towards Annie.

Annie nodded, “Right, I lost track of time. I’m sorry, Mom.”

Li Wei spread his hands wide, “‘Harry Potter’ is indeed captivating; it’s easy to forget the time. If you’re interested, you can even watch the movies later.”

Annie grasped at this lifeline, “Yes, yes, ‘Harry Potter’; I do want to watch the movies.”

Details were the key to making a lie convincing.

Then, Jenna seemed to relax, “You should have taken your phone with you, so I wouldn’t worry.” It appeared that Jenna believed their story.

Annie and Li Wei exchanged a glance, both of them stealing a chuckle.

Gradually, Mahomes, Kelsey, and the others all arrived en masse. Seeing that Annie was fine and it was all just a false alarm, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

Only then did everyone remember the real business of the day—

The Kansas City Chiefs players were there to visit the children.

After all the commotion, they were just now getting to the heart of the matter. Li Wei looked at all the children moving from the chemotherapy room to the single rooms, then at Annie’s slightly weary expression, and raised his right hand high.

“Who’s ready to receive their jerseys? You can ask for autographs to your heart’s content! Patrick and Travis are on standby!”

“Me! Me, me, me!”

In an instant, the children popped up like little radishes, surrounding Li Wei and the others in a circle, the scene buzzing with noise.