HGTM CH17

Chapter 017: The Wonders of a Pilling Wristband

Seeing that sentence, Ling Huanzhen, who hadn’t shed a single tear when he retired, was now crying like a baby.

Even if the other person was a fraud, they were definitely a fraud who knew Sheng Xingming very well.

Even if it was just to chat about his old friend with someone else, Ling Huanzhen was willing to make the trip.

At 8:30 PM, Little Fatty ordered another pile of late-night snacks. Xia Chiyi helped him carry the large and small plastic bags upstairs. Just as they reached the corner of the second floor, they brushed past Zhou Zhexiao, who had his hands in his pockets.

“Zhou Zhexiao, where are you going?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Meeting someone. Heading out for a bit.”

“Someone’s actually coming to see you? Do you know your north from south? What time does the iron gate close at night?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Eleven o’clock.”

“Okay.” Xia Chiyi nodded. The child was grown; he couldn’t hinder his socializing.

Xia Chiyi took a cup of milk tea and a straw out of the plastic bag. “Ordered one for you too. Drink it on the way.”

Zhou Zhexiao took it and stared at it for a while. Xia Chiyi had already walked upstairs, his cheerful voice drifting down, “Shake it before you drink!”

More than ten minutes later, Zhou Zhexiao arrived at the barbecue stall a few hundred meters away from the school. Many people were already eating at the small tables. The most conspicuous figure was someone wearing sunglasses. His legs were too long, making him look cramped sitting on the small stool.

The person pursed his lips, looking very impatient. He glanced at the time on his phone every now and then, muttering, “Am I f*cking being played… Why did I have a brain fart and believe this kind of scam?”

In just a few short minutes, several waves of people had already come to ask him if he was that retired basketball player from the trending searches.

Sunglasses could hide his face, but they couldn’t hide his height of over two meters.

Ling Huanzhen told himself, one more minute, and then he’s leaving!

Zhou Zhexiao, carrying the milk tea, walked over unhurriedly. He used the tip of his foot to move the chair opposite the man and sat down boldly in front of him.

“Here. Did you order skewers?”

Ling Huanzhen looked up, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. “You… aren’t you that… Zhou Zhexiao from the video?”

Zhou Zhexiao’s expression didn’t change. He shook the milk tea in his hand several times, then took out the straw and started drinking right in front of Ling Huanzhen.

Watching the small black pearls surge up the straw one after another, Zhou Zhexiao chewed. The taste of brown sugar was too rich, sweet enough to numb the tip of his tongue. But the pearls were soft and bouncy, a texture he had never tried before.

“I am also Sheng Xingming.”

Ling Huanzhen’s pupils continued to quake. It took a long time before he spoke, “The Sheng Xingming I knew wouldn’t drink something this sweet. What kind of monster are you?”

“I’m young now. My metabolism is faster than yours.” Zhou Zhexiao glanced at him and said, “Ah, great. You’re not balding.”

Attacking with balding at the drop of a hat… it’s undoubtedly that Great Demon King.

Ling Huanzhen continued to be in disbelief. Except for a different face, the person in front of him—from his tone and demeanor to that punchable arrogance—was exactly the same as Sheng Xingming.

“Is this a super imitation show? Are there cameras nearby?” Ling Huanzhen looked around.

“I found the heart I wanted. If I fall into a desperate situation, I believe he will break out a new pattern for me. Ling Huanzhen, as a god descending the mountain, are you willing to give me a hand? Together with me, accompany him up the mountain once more?”

Ling Huanzhen froze there. He knew he shouldn’t believe it, knew all this couldn’t be true. He found countless reasons to deny it—it must be because he just retired and felt too empty, but the hot blood in his heart was hard to let go.

In the eyes of this young college student in front of him, he seemed to return to the golden age of ten years ago.

The applause was ours, and the boundless glory was also ours.

The key wasn’t the applause, nor the boundless glory, but “ours.”

Ling Huanzhen closed his eyes and sighed. “If you can tell me one more secret of mine, I’ll believe you.”

“Oh.” Zhou Zhexiao tilted his head back, overlapping with the Great Demon King of ten years ago. Ling Huanzhen suddenly felt like he was courting death.

“In the locker room, you used Jiao Yingfeng’s wristband to mastur…”

Ling Huanzhen’s soul almost flew out of his body. He immediately lunged forward to cover the other’s mouth. If he could, he wished he could strangle this guy on the spot!

This secret—besides that Great Demon King, Ling Huanzhen didn’t believe a third person knew.

“It’s because that wristband was pilling! It felt more sensational to use! It has nothing to do with Jiao Yingfeng! If you don’t believe me, you can try it!”

“Alright then.” Although Zhou Zhexiao’s mouth was covered, his eyes said “I don’t believe you.”

“Speak. What do you plan to do?” Ling Huanzhen said in a tone that was both resigned and extremely excited.

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At 10:59 PM, Xia Chiyi hovered in front of the iron gate of the dormitory, stretching his neck from time to time. Seeing the dorm supervisor already walking to the iron gate to fulfill his duty, Zhou Zhexiao finally appeared under the streetlights, hands in his pockets, walking unhurriedly.

“Run! It’s closing!” Xia Chiyi waved anxiously at him.

Whether Zhou Zhexiao didn’t hear or didn’t know that returning late to the dorm would cause points to be deducted from the class, he showed no intention of speeding up.

Even the dorm supervisor felt anxious watching.

The dorm supervisor deliberately counted down, trying to create a tense atmosphere. Several late returnees started running, but Zhou Zhexiao remained indifferent.

Xia Chiyi gritted his teeth and dashed out.

“Hey, student…” The dorm supervisor only saw his eager back.

He ran madly towards Zhou Zhexiao, his hair flying up to reveal his forehead, his eyes full of urgency.

When he grabbed Zhou Zhexiao’s hand, in that brief moment, his heart suddenly suspended as if it wanted to jump out of his chest.

Zhou Zhexiao followed Xia Chiyi’s steps, getting closer and closer to that door. Although they were a few seconds late, seeing how hard Xia Chiyi was trying, the dorm supervisor decided to give them five more seconds.

In the final few steps, Zhou Zhexiao ran ahead of Xia Chiyi. As they passed through the iron gate, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly turned back, clasped Xia Chiyi’s waist, and lifted him up.

In the moment of suspension, Xia Chiyi subconsciously grabbed Zhou Zhexiao’s collar. That force seemed to send him to a high place. The light shone on his face, dazzling him, but when he lowered his head, he saw Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes.

Xia Chiyi didn’t understand why Zhou Zhexiao suddenly lifted him up, but in that moment, he seemed to see Sheng Xingming from ten years ago. The other party lifted him up, placed him on his shoulders, and said to him—One day you will grow taller, and you will grow up. Your aiming point for shooting will also change, but one thing won’t change. There will definitely be many predecessors working hard to hold you up, hoping you reach peaks they couldn’t reach.

His heart beat so fast. The Zhou Zhexiao in front of him exuded a firm aura, making Xia Chiyi unable to look away.

The dorm supervisor’s criticism brought Xia Chiyi back to reality, lecturing them to be punctual in the future.

Xia Chiyi rubbed the back of his head, apologizing repeatedly.

It wasn’t until Zhou Zhexiao spoke—a sincere “Sorry, it won’t happen next time”—that the dorm supervisor’s anger instantly dissipated.

While going upstairs, Xia Chiyi asked him who he met and if the chat was happy.

When they reached the corner of the stairs, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly tugged at Xia Chiyi.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your wristband is pilling,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Xia Chiyi lifted his wrist to look. “Oh, this. I say I’ll change it every time, but I forget every time.”

Zhou Zhexiao stared at the pills on it, his deep eyes seeming to capture something.

Xia Chiyi opened the dorm door. Little Fatty was washing up, and Ye Chaoying was lying flat on the bed with a black face mask on, earphones in his ears, watching mindless videos.

“I’ll trade with you,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

“Trade… trade what?” Xia Chiyi looked confused.

“Wristband.”

After speaking, Zhou Zhexiao took out the wristband he wore when he brutally crushed Gao Qing from his locker. It was dark red, looked of high quality at a glance, and most importantly, the brand indicated it was quite expensive.

“Mine cost ten yuan for three. It’s not worth trading with me,” Xia Chiyi said amusingly.

“It’s pilling. I have a use for it.”

Only then did Xia Chiyi understand that Zhou Zhexiao’s point wasn’t the exchange, but that he needed a pilling wristband.

“Here. I was going to throw it away anyway. No need to trade.” Xia Chiyi amusingly pressed the wristband into his hand.

But Zhou Zhexiao was very serious and put his own wristband on Xia Chiyi’s wrist.

This guy loved cleanliness; the wristband used for playing ball had been washed that same day, emitting the same scent of orange sports detergent as on Xia Chiyi.

“Thanks.” Xia Chiyi touched it. Trading wristbands with a teammate seemed to create a special connection between them, warming Xia Chiyi’s heart.

“Give it to me when it starts pilling,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Xia Chiyi was helpless. “Got it!”

What kind of quirk is this… are you a lint pill collecting monster?

Zhou Zhexiao pulled out his chair and saw a half-drunk cup of milk tea on the desk. He picked it up smoothly and turned back to ask, “Whose is this?”

Little Fatty just finished washing up and came out. Hearing this, he shook his head like a rattle drum. “Not mine! I definitely wouldn’t leave leftovers!”

Ye Chaoying’s earphone happened to fall out. Hearing Zhou Zhexiao’s question, he also replied lazily, “Not mine. My takeout trash has already been thrown downstairs.”

At this moment, Xia Chiyi felt very embarrassed. They had just happily exchanged wristbands, and now were they going to be at daggers drawn because Xia Chiyi littered?

“Um… I put it there casually because I was waiting for you to come back…” Xia Chiyi raised his hand.

Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes, stirred the settled brown sugar pearls with the straw, and gently shook the cup to disperse them. Xia Chiyi didn’t understand what the other party wanted to do, but unexpectedly, this guy lowered his head to put the straw in his mouth.

“Hey—” Xia Chiyi hurriedly grabbed him, lowering his voice. “That’s my leftovers!”

“I want to eat the black pearls inside,” Zhou Zhexiao replied.

Xia Chiyi quickly looked back. Little Fatty had already climbed into bed to start his journey of reading satisfying novels, and Ye Chaoying had gone into the bathroom to remove his mask.

Luckily no one saw!