Chapter 39
Lin Xiu hadn’t agreed to let Chi Aibei join the basketball team that day, but he hadn’t flat-out refused either. Chi Aibei, nursing a red, swollen bump on his forehead, had badgered him for days, but Lin Xiu hadn’t budged.
On Friday, during morning self-study, Lin Xiu suddenly asked, “Has the swelling on your head gone down?”
Chi Aibei lifted his bangs to show him. “It stopped hurting ages ago.”
Lin Xiu stared at the smooth forehead and gave a noncommittal “Mn.”
As soon as the first period of the afternoon ended, Lin Xiu said to Chi Aibei, “Let’s go.”
Chi Aibei, who was dozing off, saw Lin Xiu stand up and asked, “Go where?”
Lin Xiu: “Aren’t we going to the basketball team?”
Chi Aibei swallowed his yawn halfway through and snapped his mouth shut. “The basketball team?” He shot up from his seat. “Gege, you agreed?”
Jiang Yu turned around just in time to see Lin Xiu nod. He thought Lin Xiu had lost his mind. “You’re actually joining the basketball team?”
Chi Aibei pointed at himself excitedly. “And me! Don’t forget me!”
Jiang Yu felt that ever since Chi Aibei transferred to Class 1, Lin Xiu was becoming increasingly unhinged. They were in their second year of high school; shouldn’t their priority be studying? Joining the basketball team now seemed like a total waste of time.
He glanced at the eager Chi Aibei. “What are you going to do on the basketball team? Fetch balls?”
Chi Aibei was in too good a mood to bicker with him. “I know how to play, okay?”
Jiang Yu was skeptical. “You know how to play, yet you got knocked out by a ball?”
That incident was a stain on Chi Aibei’s life he’d probably never wash away. He retorted, “That was an accident!”
Jiang Yu didn’t really want them to go; in his eyes, it was neglecting their proper duties. “Just two days ago you said you wanted to score higher than Lin Yang. Did you forget?”
“Joining the team won’t interfere with studying,” Chi Aibei argued.
Jiang Yu thought to himself, How does it not interfere? If you spend all your time playing, when will you study?
Neither Lin Xiu nor Chi Aibei listened to his advice. As soon as they left, He Chenjiang entered through the back door. Seeing the two empty seats, he walked over and asked, “Where are they?”
Jiang Yu glanced at him. “Went to the basketball team.”
He Chenjiang hadn’t expected them to actually go, or rather, he hadn’t expected Lin Xiu to agree to Chi Aibei’s unreasonable request.
Jiang Yu had been observing He Chenjiang and Chi Aibei for the past few days. Although He Chenjiang hadn’t actively approached Chi Aibei since that day, Chi Aibei had never dropped his guard around him. Jiang Yu could tell: Chi Aibei didn’t like this guy; in fact, he hated him.
Jiang Yu: “They sat here all morning and you didn’t come over. The moment they leave, you’re here asking questions. Are you on some kind of sniping mission?”
He Chenjiang: “…” Since when is the top student so snarky?
Jiang Yu wasn’t usually a talker. After speaking, he turned back around, chewing on his pen cap. He wondered if he should join the basketball team too. He didn’t know how to play, but Lin Xiu probably didn’t either.
The little fool was already close to Lin Xiu; if they went to the team together, Jiang Yu would lag even further behind Lin Xiu.
Losing in academics was one thing, but losing favor with the little fool was a bit…
He Chenjiang was about to sit down when Lin Yang asked, “Where are you going?”
Walking out, He Chenjiang replied, “The basketball team.”
Indoor Basketball Court.
Several days had passed, and Qi Yuan assumed Lin Xiu wouldn’t show up. After all, the guy was a top student; hanging out with slackers like them to play ball sounded ridiculous. But what was even more ridiculous was…
Qi Yuan looked at Chi Aibei. “You want to join too? Do you even know how to play?”
Chi Aibei said confidently, “Yes.”
Qi Yuan raised a hand to measure Chi Aibei’s height, which was level with his chin. “With this height?”
Chi Aibei swatted his hand away, indignant. “Don’t look down on people! Have you watched Slam Dunk? Have you heard of Ryota Miyagi?”
Qi Yuan laughed. “Ryota Miyagi? You’ve got guts to make that comparison. Though, your height is comparable to his. Oh wait, you’re probably not even as tall as him.”
Chi Aibei stood on his tiptoes. “I’m 1.7 meters!”
Qi Yuan looked at him skeptically. “Are you really?”
Chi Aibei: “…” He didn’t know. He used to be, but he wasn’t sure about this body.
Chi Aibei switched tactics. “I’m still growing!”
Qi Yuan didn’t know how Chi Aibei had pestered Lin Xiu these past few days, but he knew Chi Aibei only came because of Lin Xiu. He looked at Lin Xiu. “Does a top student have time for ball?”
Lin Xiu: “Just accompanying him for fun.”
Qi Yuan’s mouth twitched. “Fun?”
Lin Xiu knew Qi Yuan would let them join, if only to spite He Chenjiang. Even if they couldn’t play at all, he wouldn’t turn them away.
As for why Lin Xiu agreed, he wanted to verify if Chi Aibei was truly what he suspected—he wanted to see what else the kid was capable of.
As the team captain, Qi Yuan was genuinely triggered by Lin Xiu’s word “fun.”
The team members looked at Lin Xiu and Chi Aibei standing on the court, their faces practically reading: Is the captain that desperate now?
One was a permanent fixture on the academic honor roll, the other the school’s notorious fool. What could they do on the team? Pick up balls?
Qi Yuan had someone toss over a ball. Dribbling, he said, “As long as you can steal the ball from me and score three times, I’ll agree to let you join…”
Before he finished, Chi Aibei suddenly dashed forward, flashing past Qi Yuan. Watching the ball get swiped, Qi Yuan froze. He turned to see Chi Aibei adopt a perfect shooting stance—
Swish!
The ball flew out!
A short parabola followed, and the ball smacked onto the floor, a long distance away from the hoop…
Qi Yuan’s eyelid twitched. “…” He hadn’t seen an airball that bad in a long time.
Lin Xiu was also surprised. He looked at Chi Aibei, who was still holding his follow-through pose. The speed was fast, the form was good, but the shot was a bit…
Watching the ball bounce away, someone on the team let out a snort of laughter. Soon, laughter erupted one after another, uncontrollable.
Chi Aibei stared blankly at the ball that hadn’t even touched the rim. Hearing the laughter, he didn’t feel embarrassed. “That was an accident. Again!”
Qi Yuan snapped back to reality. He had been careless, not expecting a sneak attack from the little fool. This time, he wouldn’t let the ball be stolen so easily…
Chi Aibei flashed past Qi Yuan again. Qi Yuan’s hands went empty, and he couldn’t help but curse, “Fuck!”
If the first time was negligence, this time Qi Yuan was prepared, yet Chi Aibei still stole it. The team let out a collective “Whoa,” thinking, The little fool’s got speed!
Qi Yuan turned to chase, only to see Chi Aibei had already reached the basket. The ball was tossed high into the air, then dropped vertically…
Chi Aibei dodged, barely avoiding being hit by his own throw.
“Holy crap.”
“Hahaha, amazing.”
“Pfft, what kind of special technique is this?”
“This is hard to judge. Does he know how to play or not?”
Qi Yuan looked at Chi Aibei in disbelief. When he said he was Ryota Miyagi, at least half of that statement was true—the speed was there, but the shooting was indescribable.
Lin Xiu was amused watching Chi Aibei play. Seeing Chi Aibei picking up the ball unconvinced, ready to go again, he pulled Chi Aibei aside and whispered something.
Chi Aibei looked up at Lin Xiu skeptically. “Can you do it?”
Lin Xiu: “I’ll try.”
This time, Qi Yuan was more serious than the previous two attempts. He wanted to see if Chi Aibei was just lucky or actually skilled.
Like before, the ball started with Qi Yuan. Chi Aibei spent a bit more effort this time grabbing the ball. Qi Yuan didn’t bother blocking him after the steal—he wouldn’t make the shot anyway.
The team shouted: “Aim better!”
“Careful!”
“Dodge it, don’t hit yourself!”
Chi Aibei: “…”
Chi Aibei threw the ball backward blindly. By the time Qi Yuan reacted, Lin Xiu was standing outside the three-point line, catching the pass.
Thump. The ball went in.
Qi Yuan: “…” It’s… a coincidence, right?
Chi Aibei stared blankly at the ball falling from the net. It wasn’t until he heard Qi Yuan say, “Continue, that’s only one,” that he snapped out of it, howling as he rushed toward Lin Xiu. “Gege, you’re so handsome!”
Lin Xiu caught him, stumbling back a step from the impact.
Chi Aibei turned to Qi Yuan. “Watch closely, from now on is our true strength!”
For the next two balls, Chi Aibei’s performance remained consistent.
Wang Xu commented, “That’s no Little Fool, that’s clearly Little Flash.”
He Dali nodded. “If only he could shoot a bit more accurately… Holy crap!”
He Dali had unconsciously become invested in Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu’s side. Seeing Chi Aibei steal the ball and happily toss it backward without looking, he got nervous.
Who passes like that? With only three people on the court it was fine, but add one more and he’d pass it straight to the enemy.
The ball didn’t hit the ground. Chi Aibei’s blind toss was surprisingly accurate. Lin Xiu caught it and sank another three-pointer. Qi Yuan chanted internally, Just a coincidence, just a coincidence, until the ball smashed into the net again. He turned to stare at Lin Xiu in shock.
Who the hell told him the top student only knew how to study?!
With Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu’s coordination, the three goals were easily scored. Chi Aibei walked over smugly. “Well? Convinced?”
Qi Yuan accepted defeat gracefully. He nodded. “Convinced is one thing, but I’m curious—how do you manage to shoot so terribly?”
Chi Aibei: “Is this a personal attack just because you lost?”
Qi Yuan: “Does stating a fact count as a personal attack?”
Chi Aibei didn’t care what he said; they won anyway.
Qi Yuan glanced at Lin Xiu. He had figured out Chi Aibei’s skill level: fast, agile, zero shooting technique. As for Lin Xiu… his three-pointers were deadly accurate, but the rest remained unknown.
At the entrance of the court, Jiang Yu, who had silently watched the whole thing, quietly retreated. On the way there, he had thought that if the team accepted Lin Xiu and Chi Aibei, one more wouldn’t hurt. But after seeing that… Never mind. Turns out I’m the only one who truly can’t play.
Although they joined the team, Lin Xiu didn’t go as often as Chi Aibei. Chi Aibei ran to the basketball team every day, and within a week, he was buddies with everyone there.
Saturday morning. Chi Aibei was in his dorm, on a video call with Lin Xiu doing homework, when he heard a knock.
Chi Aibei left his phone propped on the desk. He opened the door to find Wang Xu standing there, gasping for air.
“Quick,” Wang Xu panted, having run all the way. “Captain sent me to get you. Someone’s here to crash the court.”
Chi Aibei: “Who?”
Wang Xu: “It’s that guy named He who you used to follow around. He found out you joined the team and came to make trouble for the Captain.”
Hearing it was He Chenjiang, Chi Aibei frowned. “I’m not going.”
Wang Xu: “No, you have to go. The Captain already agreed to play him. That guy He said if our team loses, you have to quit the team.”
Chi Aibei paused. “Why are they betting on me?”
Wang Xu thought it was inappropriate too, but He Chenjiang had said it, and their Captain had agreed in the heat of the moment. “Anyway, that’s the situation. Just come with me. By the way, should we tell the top student?”
Absolutely not. He didn’t want to give He Chenjiang a chance to see Lin Xiu on the weekend.
Chi Aibei returned to the desk, glancing at Lin Xiu, who was still burying his head in problems on the video call. It seemed he hadn’t heard them.
“Gege, I’m going to buy a drink. I’ll call you back in a bit.”
Lin Xiu looked up at him, pausing for a long moment before giving a “Mn.”
Chi Aibei was in a rush and didn’t notice the brief pause. He hung up and went to the court with Wang Xu.
On the court, besides He Chenjiang and Qin Wanpeng, there were a few unfamiliar faces. They didn’t look like students from their school.
Chi Aibei: “Who are they?”
The dorm wasn’t far from the court, but Wang Xu was exhausted from the round trip. Hands on his knees, he said, “They’re from No. 6 High School.” He pointed. “The blonde one is Wang Du. Plays dirty.”
Chi Aibei: “Why did they bring outsiders?”
Wang Xu: “To win you back, obviously.”
Seeing He Chenjiang looking his way, Chi Aibei furrowed his brow. Win me back? Others might not know He Chenjiang’s goal, but he knew perfectly well.
Seeing Wang Xu bring him over, Qi Yuan walked up and asked, “When will Lin Xiu be here?”
“Gege isn’t coming. He doesn’t have time.” Chi Aibei looked at Qi Yuan. “Why did you bet me?”
Qi Yuan said, “It wasn’t me who wanted to bet; someone insisted.”
That was true, but what if he hadn’t agreed? In the end, it was because Qi Yuan got hot-headed whenever he faced He Chenjiang.
But joining the team was Chi Aibei’s own choice. He had guessed He Chenjiang wouldn’t let it go easily. Qi Yuan’s reaction was within his expectations, so he couldn’t really blame him.
Seeing Chi Aibei take off his jacket to warm up, He Chenjiang froze. “You’re letting him play?” Does he know a damn thing about basketball?
Qi Yuan knew from that remark that He Chenjiang, like him initially, assumed Chi Aibei couldn’t play. Qi Yuan smiled mysteriously. Better if you don’t know. Wait until you see our team’s secret weapon.
Qi Yuan clapped his hands confidently. “Alright friends, time to show them what we’ve got.”
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