Chapter 630: A Mood Killer
With a hardened heart, Logan blurted out everything at once. But he didn't hear any response. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw Julia's face filled with sadness. He could even hear the sound of her heart breaking. Her eyes slowly lost their focus, which instantly made Logan feel helpless. He wanted to comfort Julia but didn't know how.
In an instant, Logan's heart softened, and the truth was on the tip of his tongue. But after a second thought, he decided that it was better to get the pain over with quickly. He had to stick to his story. He bit the tip of his tongue hard and finally held back.
He took a step forward and clumsily pulled Julia into his arms. He gently patted her back and comforted her in a low voice. "Don't be sad. This is a good thing for you. Bambi is not worth it. He's a total jerk! If you like him because of his face, you'll get tired of it soon. After looking at it for a long time, it's nothing special. If it's because of his personality, trust me, he's a jerk! I'm serious!"
Julia didn't reply. She just pushed Logan away and sat back on the bed, looking listless. She seemed to have lost all interest in the game.
Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally gotten through the crisis. All he had to do now was wait patiently. In a while, Julia would recover and completely forget about Lu Ke, and everything would be fine. The pain was only temporary.
Logan stayed in the room and comforted Julia a few more times. This time, he didn't force Julia to go downstairs to watch the live broadcast. He quietly left the room and closed the door. He leaned his back against the door and let out a long breath. That was a close call. He came up with a good idea in a pinch and successfully solved the problem. If he had let such a tricky situation continue, he didn't know what would have happened.
When he returned to the living room, Tiffany looked up. "Where's Julia?"
"Uh, she... she's not feeling well. She's resting for a bit," Logan said simply. He was worried that his words weren't convincing enough, so he added, "Besides, she's not interested in the Patriots anyway, so it's not a must-see for her."
This time, Tiffany didn't press him anymore. She just kept muttering, "Let's record the game. Otherwise, she'll regret it later and ask us why we didn't record it." Then everyone else started to chatter excitedly. The game had entered the coin toss stage, and the kickoff was imminent.
Logan sat down on the sofa next to him and felt a gaze from across the room. He looked up and saw Lu Ke's concerned eyes. Logan felt a little guilty. Recalling the nonsense he had just said, he almost couldn't look Lu Ke in the eye. He could only randomly nod and shake his head, indicating that he was fine. Then he exaggeratedly gasped, "It's starting, it's starting! The other main event of the day!"
Lu Ke didn't think too much about it. He turned his head and looked at the big screen, and he started to talk about the game with Austin. Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, the chosen one, miraculously defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers and came to face the New England Patriots. He was the biggest underdog of the playoffs this year. Now that Tebow was going against Brady, the discussion about this game had easily gone through the roof.
After Lu Ke led the San Francisco 49ers to victory over the New Orleans Saints this afternoon, even the CBS commentators who were broadcasting this game said that the "old versus new" rivalry had continued to this Divisional Playoff game, and Brady and his New England Patriots had to be careful to prevent an upset.
Austin was complaining to Lu Ke that he couldn't understand how Tebow had won the last game. In fact, the entire league couldn't understand it. Even the Steelers were baffled. They lost the game for no reason, and there seemed to be no better explanation than "God's favor."
"Julia!" Tiffany looked up and saw her daughter at the top of the stairs. She gasped, and then everyone turned their heads to look at her. "Didn't you say you weren't feeling well? You can rest well. We'll record the game, and you can watch the replay later if you want."
Julia looked at Logan and cleared her throat. "Um, it's okay. I'll join you guys and just watch from the side." Finally, her eyes landed on Lu Ke and Candice again.
After thinking about it, Julia was still not willing to give up. She hadn't even started fighting yet, but she had already chosen to surrender. This was not her personality, nor was it Lu Ke's. At the very least, she should bravely stand up and fight for it. Even if she failed, she wouldn't regret it. She didn't want to be a coward and bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
Mustering up her courage, she straightened her back and held her head high. Julia appeared in the living room again.
Logan frowned in frustration. He could already predict that a disaster was on its way, but he had already committed to it. He could only go along with it now. He watched as Julia walked toward the sofa in the center. He quickly stood up and leaped, jumping next to Lu Ke and quickly occupying the "strategic stronghold."
Originally, Lu Ke, Candice, and Youning Jiang were sitting on the central sofa. On the right side were Austin and Zhengze Lu, and on the left side was Logan. Tiffany was still walking around in the living room and hadn't sat down yet.
The sofa for three people was spacious enough and not crowded, but with Logan's bulky body crashing in, it was a mess. Tiffany was even more speechless. "Logan! What's wrong with you? There's so much space here. Why do you have to squeeze next to Bambi? Honestly, you're still a child and haven't grown up!"
Logan glanced at Julia and noticed the look of bewilderment on her face. He quickly said, "Julia isn't feeling well. I'll give that sofa to her so she can rest well." Then he straightened his body and bumped Lu Ke's shoulder hard. "Buddy, move over a bit. I'll squeeze in here with you."
"Logan, you're a little strange today." Lu Ke frowned. He looked at Logan in confusion and couldn't help but laugh. "Honestly, did you do something wrong? Are you trying to hide it now?"
"No way!" Logan spread his hands, trying his best to show his innocence. He didn't say anything but just stared at Lu Ke, silently protesting.
But Lu Ke just chuckled. He knew that something was definitely up. Logan was not good at lying. Every time he tried to hide something or had a secret, his actions would become particularly strange, even exaggerated. He would also try to reduce the frequency and number of words he spoke, for fear of accidentally exposing the truth. Just like now.
Candice, who was sitting next to him, quietly watched everything in front of her. She vaguely noticed Julia's odd behavior and seemed to have figured out the truth. There was always a kind of telepathy between girls, and they could sense subtle changes in each other's thoughts.
Just now, Candice had caught Julia's gaze, which always fell on Lu Ke, as if she wanted to say something but didn't. Then, when she looked at Logan, it was with a hint of complaint and blame. Finally, when she looked at Candice herself, her eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
With these little details and small changes, Candice suddenly understood everything. She looked at Lu Ke, then at Julia, and then recalled everything that had just happened. Candice's mood couldn't help but become a little subtle.
"Alright, alright, the game is starting! Hurry! Quiet, everyone quiet down!" Austin hadn't noticed the subtle changes here at all. He just heard a lot of noise and quickly spoke to stop it. On the live broadcast, the game had officially started, with the New England Patriots starting with the first drive.
Julia glared at Logan. He was such a mood killer. She knew that Logan was doing this on purpose! But what could she do? She felt helpless and depressed, but she still didn't dare to say it directly. She could only walk to the sofa on the left and sit down, staring intently at the sofa in the middle.
Lu Ke didn't notice anything strange. He raised his hands high and joined Austin in cheering. "Defense! Defense! Defense!"
As a player, Lu Ke wanted to face off against Brady. But as a fan, besides the New England area, there were very few fans who supported the Patriots in other parts of the United States. The Newman family was a typical example—they deeply disliked the New England Patriots, so they naturally chose to support the Denver Broncos in this game.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Lu Ke also started to cheer for the Denver Broncos.
Although Candice was meeting them for the first time, she wasn't stiff or shy. She also raised her hands high and clapped and shouted along, immersing herself in the atmosphere of the game. "Defense! Defense!"
Gradually, everyone in the living room started to cheer and shout. It was as if they were sitting in Gillette Stadium, cheering for the Broncos, who were playing an away game. They had become one of the tens of thousands of fans on the North American continent, and the atmosphere of the second Divisional Playoff game gradually became thicker.
In the midst of the joy, Julia's sadness had nowhere to be vented. She finally turned her grief into strength. She jumped up and stood on the sofa, cheering for the Broncos with all her might. Her passionate cheerleader dance was so wonderful and eye-catching that it couldn't be ignored. Everyone's eyes were on her.
Even Austin was stunned as he looked at his daughter. He was completely at a loss and didn't understand what was happening. The potato chips at his mouth even fell to the floor.
But Julia was completely lost in the moment.
Dance as if no one is watching. Sing as if no one is listening. Love as if you've never been hurt. Live as if today is the last day on Earth.
Gradually, a smile appeared on her lips again, and her mood lifted. Julia truly immersed herself in the game. She shouted loudly to her stunned family and friends, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to join me? Hurry, hurry! Defense! Clap, clap! Defense! Clap, clap!"
Her bright and brilliant smile once again showed the most beautiful posture of youth.
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