Chapter 004: You are so hot

Xia Chiyi glanced at Zhou Zhexiao. “Ignore him. His bad breath is incurable; even a gas mask can’t block it.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s expression remained unchanged. Was this the composure of someone from a prestigious school?

On the sideline, Liu Shun, who was timing, made an OK gesture.

“Look, even middle school students have modernized with smartphones. Your Nokia 5230 can’t even connect to a power bank.”

While teasing, Xia Chiyi pulled his sports shorts up slightly above his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and assumed a defensive stance.

Zhou Zhexiao remained indifferent.

Previously, the provincial team had evaluated Zhou Zhexiao. If they accepted him, they would have dropped Gao Qing.

Gao Qing had lived in constant anxiety for a whole month. Fortunately, news came of Zhou Zhexiao’s car accident and coma, allowing Gao Qing to keep his spot. But this also maxed out his hatred for Zhou Zhexiao.

“Just standing there cosplaying a telephone pole? Even someone in a wheelchair reacts faster than you!” Gao Qing shouted at Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao stood in a relaxed posture, silently watching Gao Qing and Lv Hang.

He can stay immovable as a mountain even against this? Xia Chiyi truly admired this guy’s self-restraint.

Sure enough, Gao Qing’s trash talk was just a smokescreen. He dribbled straight towards Xia Chiyi, shaking his shoulders, attempting to breakthrough with a fake move.

Sigh, with that shoulder fake, you’ll need another ten years of training to fool me!

Xia Chiyi instantly moved laterally and cleanly stole the ball. Just as he turned, he encountered Lv Hang coming over to help defend. out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Zhexiao—this guy had actually moved, and his positioning wasn’t bad! With a flick of his wrist, Xia Chiyi passed the ball under Lv Hang’s arm.

Alright, let them see if you really are a useless piece of trash!

Zhou Zhexiao’s dribbling speed exceeded everyone’s imagination, his clothes trailing in the wind. Gao Qing’s defensive speed couldn’t keep up at all.

He leaped into the air, his silhouette blotting out the sunlight overhead. With a loud clang, the basketball was dunked into the hoop.

“Whoa… was that a dunk…” A gasp of amazement came from the middle school students on the sidelines.

Xu Mi blinked. She had seen many athletes dunk, and most had a bit of showboating in them.

But Zhou Zhexiao’s dunk just now was different—straightforward and open, maxed out on power and speed. Hormones exploded silently, and the fleeting image was seared onto everyone’s retinas.

Gao Qing stood there frozen, his heart plummeting to the ground.

As Zhou Zhexiao passed him, he dropped a faint remark, “A baby walker is faster than you.”

The trash talk rebounded instantly. Gao Qing choked, unable to breathe properly.

Xia Chiyi blinked, applauding in his heart. He was so happy!

Zhou Zhexiao came to a stop not far from him and said calmly, “No problem.”

“What’s no problem?” Xia Chiyi was confused.

“My legs are fine.”

So this guy jumped up for a dunk right off the bat just to check if his legs were okay?

“Bro, aren’t those your own legs?” Xia Chiyi was speechless.

You’re only finding out now whether there’s a problem?

In this round, Xia Chiyi faced Lv Hang’s defense.

This guy stuck like glue. Several times when Xia Chiyi tried to dribble and break through, his path was blocked. It was truly an entanglement meant to last until the ends of the earth!

On the surface, Lv Hang appeared calm, but inside, his nerves were taut. Xia Chiyi’s crossover dribbles were not only fast but also varied in rhythm. Guarding him for ten minutes would age Lv Hang ten years mentally!

Just then, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly accelerated, shaking off Gao Qing’s defense. Xia Chiyi didn’t hesitate to pass the ball despite Lv Hang’s interference.

The pass was fast and powerful. Gao Qing felt a burst of secret joy—Zhou Zhexiao wouldn’t catch it!

But Zhou Zhexiao extended his long arm, faster than Gao Qing by more than half a body length. Under everyone’s surprised gaze, he caught the ball steadily and drove straight to the basket.

Zhou Zhexiao leaped again. His aura in mid-air dragged everyone’s gaze upward, the entire space seeming to shrink infinitely towards him.

Gao Qing jumped to defend but instead crashed towards Zhou Zhexiao.

—Let’s see how arrogant you can be!

But Gao Qing never expected that what he crashed into didn’t feel like flesh and blood, but a solid aerial fortress. Every bone in his body jarred, and he fell heavily to the ground.

The basketball fell and smacked him right on the head with a thud.

Xia Chiyi, who had followed up, was stunned. He had countless times dreamed of dunking on Gao Qing’s face, and Zhou Zhexiao had actually made that dream a reality?

Xu Mi on the sidelines was dumbfounded. Although Zhou Zhexiao was 192cm, he didn’t have Gao Qing’s sturdy build. How could he withstand Gao Qing’s intentional collision in mid-air?

Zhou Zhexiao landed steadily, the smooth lines of his shoulders and back tense, as if mocking Gao Qing’s excessive muscles.

“You’re too soft.”

Cold and concise.

Gao Qing sat on the ground. The words “too soft” were like a nuclear explosion, blasting his confidence into nothingness.

Xia Chiyi was also bewildered. What did Zhou Zhexiao just say? What happened to the promised self-restraint?

At this moment, Zhou Zhexiao walked up to Xia Chiyi, raised his eyelids indifferently, and said, “Nice pass.”

Xia Chiyi froze, his heart seemingly squeezed by those two words from Zhou Zhexiao.

In the high school league, he had also made passes that led the receiver by nearly a body length. This could avoid defenders and catch opponents off guard, but almost no teammates could catch them. He had even been talked to by the coach because of it, told to make his passes steady and not challenge his teammates’ heart rates during games.

But not only did Zhou Zhexiao catch it, he praised him?

The middle school onlookers couldn’t stay calm. Liu Shun shouted excitedly, “I know! I know! That provincial team guy committed a defensive foul! Should there be a free throw?”

Gao Qing had just been pulled up by Lv Hang, his legs still a bit jelly. Hearing “foul,” his head buzzed, and he glared viciously at Liu Shun.

Instead, Xu Mi had already taken out her phone and recorded the previous play. She said to Xia Chiyi, “Forget the free throw, no need.”

Because at this rate, Gao Qing and Lv Hang were likely to be completely shut out, which would be truly tragic to watch.

“Yeah—anyway, someone should know by now that they’re a glass cannon tank.” Xia Chiyi smiled like a smug cat, unable to resist sticking his tongue out at them.

Gao Qing was so angry he wanted to punch Xia Chiyi, but the sight of Zhou Zhexiao standing diagonally in front made him lose his nerve.

Lv Hang put his hands on his hips and let out a breath, secretly rolling his eyes towards the sky—because he felt Xia Chiyi was right. Truly more fragile than a freshly baked egg tart!

Xia Chiyi rotated his wrist. Although it had only been two rounds, this was the first time he had played so satisfyingly.

But how can I let Zhou Zhexiao steal all the limelight?

My touch is excellent today too!

Possession returned to Lv Hang. He tugged at his collar, thinking that if the audience were just a bunch of middle schoolers, losing wouldn’t matter much.

But the problem lay with Xu Mi. She had a Weibo account with many followers. If she posted their defeat, Coach Ma, who cared deeply about face, would really make them sit on the bench for a lifetime.

Lv Hang couldn’t shake Xia Chiyi off and desperately tried to pass to Gao Qing.

But Zhou Zhexiao’s positioning and defense were impenetrable; Gao Qing had no open passing lanes at all.

Lv Hang cursed a whole street’s worth in his heart: Gao Qing, you damn well don’t have the protagonist’s skills, but you caught the protagonist’s disease!

In the moment of thought, Lv Hang’s heart sank—his ball was stolen by Xia Chiyi!

Xia Chiyi turned and accelerated, dribbling towards the opponent’s basket.

Even benchwarmers on the provincial team were the cream of the crop. Lv Hang and Gao Qing sprinted back like madmen to defend. Zhou Zhexiao had already rushed to the basket ahead of time, ready to coordinate with Xia Chiyi.

Seeing Zhou Zhexiao’s slightly lifted chin signaling for the ball, the corners of Xia Chiyi’s lips curled up.

Sorry, this ball is mine!

With a jab step fake, Xia Chiyi shook off Lv Hang, creating space to shoot.

Gao Qing and Lv Hang’s hearts were in their throats, and they immediately jumped to block.

Xia Chiyi quickly dipped the ball, his gaze extending to the hoop. His upper arm and forearm formed a perfect angle. As he released the ball, the gap between his palm and the basketball seemed to let light shine through. The moment the ball left his hand, Lv Hang and Gao Qing quickly turned to grab the rebound.

That shot was too rushed; it won’t go in!

The middle schoolers and Xu Mi on the sidelines clenched their fists, breath caught in their throats!

But Zhou Zhexiao didn’t join the scramble for the rebound. Instead, he tilted his head back, his gaze following the parabola. As the ball entered the basket, his lips parted slightly.

A strong premonition told him this ball would definitely go in.

Amidst the admiring cheers of the middle schoolers, the ball swished through the net.

Xu Mi was also stunned. Xia Chiyi’s shooting had a beauty of “four ounces moving a thousand pounds”—time and space seemed to freeze briefly the moment he released the ball.

“Fuck—” Gao Qing stomped hard on the ground.

Lv Hang let out a breath. Honestly, he still didn’t understand why Coach Ma had cut Xia Chiyi. Physicality could be developed later, but Xia Chiyi’s basketball IQ and touch were one in a ten thousand.

Zhou Zhexiao walked between Gao Qing and Lv Hang, looking straight ahead as he dropped a line: “Moves fierce as a tiger, defense dumb as a rock.”

Half a second later, the middle schoolers clutched their stomachs, laughing wildly. Gao Qing and Lv Hang choked, nearly unable to catch their breath.

Xia Chiyi was thrilled, truly thrilled! He hoped Zhou Zhexiao would maintain this kind of refreshing on-court “etiquette”!

“How was it? I’m not bad either, right?” Xia Chiyi asked.

Zhou Zhexiao raised his eyes and saw the eighteen-year-old boy smiling at him. Under the wispy bangs were round, bright eyes revealing an almost brilliant ambition.

“You are so hot.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was deep, pronouncing words that made ears burn with perfect enunciation.

It made one’s heart heat up.

After his brain spun for a moment, Xia Chiyi realized Zhou Zhexiao was praising his shooting touch, not calling him sexy.

“Please speak Chinese. I’ve already returned my English to the PE teacher!”

Zhou Zhexiao thought for a moment and said seriously, “The way you dip the ball to generate power is beautiful. The special training ten years ago wasn’t in vain.”

Xia Chiyi’s breath hitched, staring at the other person, unable to recover for a long time.

The technique of dipping the ball when shooting—Xia Chiyi used to do it very stiffly when he was little, looking like he was hoisting an explosive pack to perish together with the opponent.

The more coaches tried to correct him, the more flustered he became, laughed at by other kids as “Plants vs. Zombies.”

The first time he was truly corrected was at that youth basketball camp across the ocean. He was only 8 years old then.

At that time, some very famous basketball stars would come to the site as coaches.

Calling them coaches was a stretch; they were really just there to play with the kids for a few minutes and take some promotional photos.

Back then, Xia Chiyi wasn’t lively or likeable enough. He could only watch from afar as those prominent figures seen only on TV and in sports magazines hugged other children for intimate photos.

And among the many stars, the least popular was probably Sheng Xingming.

While others taught impractical basketball tricks with an attitude of humoring children, only Sheng Xingming was too serious, so the kids avoided him. Eventually, there wasn’t a single child around Sheng Xingming, while the smiling yet perfunctory stars were so surrounded they couldn’t even leave.

An assistant was comforting Sheng Xingming: “Sheng, the kids come here for fun, not for competitive sports techniques.”

Sheng Xingming remained silent until Xia Chiyi approached him hugging a basketball, looked up at him, and asked carefully yet full of expectation, “Can you teach me how to dip the ball when shooting?”