Chapter 0118: Zhou Zhexiao VS Lu Yingnan

Several Rongzhou Tech players’ jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

“Did I hear that right? Someone is actually challenging Lu Yingnan?”
“You really do see everything if you live long enough…”
“I heard he also played a one-on-one with Qinghua University’s Liu Suchen. Looks like it wasn’t just a rumor!”

Ling Huanzhen sighed, “And here I was thinking Zhou Zhexiao was being very low-key today… I misjudged him…”

Yang Huaiyu was surprised at first, then broke into a huge smile. It was obvious he really wanted to watch.

Xia Chiyi wiped the sweat from his face, hurried over, and tugged at Zhou Zhexiao’s collar. “We just finished a friendly match, and you still want to go one-on-one?”
Besides, with so many people watching, no matter who won or lost, someone was going to lose face.

Lu Yingnan didn’t answer immediately; instead, he looked directly into Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes.

This freshman had long since attracted the attention of every major division. He and Xia Chiyi had completely different styles—he was tough yet flexible, straightforward yet frequently unpredictable.

“What makes you think I’ll agree?” Lu Yingnan asked.

“If you didn’t want to play, you wouldn’t have worn such nice basketball shoes here.” Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes, glancing at Lu Yingnan’s limited-edition sneakers.

Xia Chiyi looked down. “Hey, aren’t those the shoes you wanted to buy… but then you bought knock-offs and then…”

Ye Chaoying came over to deal an extra blow: “And then you were ordered by Xia Chiyi to return them?”

“So… there’s a backstory like that?” Yang Huaiyu asked, amused.

But Zhou Zhexiao’s expression didn’t change at all. His arm was stretched out straight and taut, and the basketball he had been holding up for almost thirty seconds didn’t waver in the slightest.

Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath, thinking to himself that this wasn’t how you were supposed to challenge someone to a match. After all, with so many people watching, someone was going to be left in an awkward spot regardless of the outcome, right?

“Alright.”

Lu Yingnan’s index finger gently tapped upward, and the basketball popped right out of Zhou Zhexiao’s palm.

Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze darkened. He was just about to snatch the ball back, but unexpectedly, Lu Yingnan was faster, steadily bringing the ball to his own side.

“Why does it feel like… the match has already started?” Du He looked bewildered.

“More than just started… weapons are already clashing, the sparks are flying right into our faces.” Shuai Bei draped an arm over Du He’s shoulder, clearly waiting to enjoy a good show.

“Half-court, or full-court?” Lu Yingnan dribbled unhurriedly and walked onto the court.

“Full-court.”

Lu Yingnan nodded. “Fine. A good chance to see each other’s dribbling sprint speed.”

Ling Huanzhen stood with his hands on his hips, eyes wide, thinking: Am I, the coach, still alive? Why does it feel like nobody cares about my existence?
Did I agree to this? These little brats are just starting a 1v1?

The Rongzhou Tech players also started discussing.
“Holy crap, the King of the Southeast and the King of the Southwest, ace against ace?”
“Is this a scene we can actually see before the Nationals?”
“Is there anyone who isn’t curious? Can Lu Yingnan actually shut down Zhou Zhexiao on the court?”

Amidst these discussions, Xia Chiyi started feeling nervous.

Yang Huaiyu walked up beside him and gently bumped his shoulder. “Is your saber-wielding bodyguard always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Other people wait for a disagreement before going one-on-one; Zhou Zhexiao just skips the whole ‘disagreement’ part.”

Calming down, Xia Chiyi could figure out why Zhou Zhexiao was doing this. “He’s doing it for me.”

“Hm?” Yang Huaiyu raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to elaborate.

“Because he noticed… I’m afraid of Lu Yingnan,” Xia Chiyi answered.

Lu Yingnan was probably the strongest defender he had ever encountered since he started playing basketball.
He was a deep swamp, a dark, silent pool, and no one knew where his defensive limits actually lay.

So Zhou Zhexiao wanted to personally test his depths.

In his past life, he had gone through countless hardships from the NCAA all the way to the NBA. His mind was resolute, and having faced numerous setbacks, no matter how strong Lu Yingnan was, he couldn’t shake him.

But Xia Chiyi was different. Having been carefully cultivated by Jiao Yingfeng and accompanied all the way by Zhou Zhexiao, he hadn’t experienced a true setback on the court—and Lu Yingnan was a genuine defensive floodgate.

Only by breaking through him could he “cleave open the gates of heaven with a sword” and reach another level.

“I’ll start, you don’t mind, right?” Lu Yingnan lifted his eyelids.

“Mm.”

Zhou Zhexiao nodded and lowered his center of gravity, preparing to defend.

As the sound of Lu Yingnan’s dribbling echoed—one bounce, two, three—the entire basketball court suddenly fell silent.

Lu Yingnan accelerated instantly. While Zhou Zhexiao was testing him, he was also testing Zhou Zhexiao.

As he blew past Zhou Zhexiao, the sense of speed was explosive. The back hem of his jersey flew up, and from his arms to his back down to his legs pushing forcefully off the ground, he was full of power.

However, Zhou Zhexiao executed an agile, large scissor step, stepping across just once before instantly accelerating to run shoulder-to-shoulder with Lu Yingnan straight toward the basket.

“Holy… he can actually keep up…” The Rongzhou Tech players were stunned.

Lu Yingnan’s expression remained stern. He had never underestimated Zhou Zhexiao, but Zhou Zhexiao’s split-second reaction and judgment amazed him—it was too seasoned.

Zhou Zhexiao wasn’t in a rush to steal the ball. Instead, he tracked him all the way until Lu Yingnan’s final dribble right before his layup, and then decisively struck. Few people present even saw his movements clearly before Lu Yingnan had already lost the ball.

“Zhou Zhexiao is way too composed,” Yang Huaiyu took a deep breath.

No one else could afford to allow an opponent to dribble all the way to the basket before finally making a move like Zhou Zhexiao did.
It required absolute confidence and decisiveness.

After stealing the ball, Zhou Zhexiao had almost zero buffering time; he instantly turned and accelerated.

The Rongzhou Tech players had their eyes opened wide. Someone was actually able to steal the ball right out of Lu Yingnan’s hands—this was equivalent to daring to break ground on the Grand Duke Jupiter’s head!

“Quick, quick, quick!”
“Score! Score!”
Everyone was anticipating Zhou Zhexiao making this shot!

Zhou Zhexiao sensed Lu Yingnan chasing him down. Just when everyone thought he would overtake Lu Yingnan to force him to slow down, they didn’t expect him to suddenly hit the brakes. With a side-step, it looked like he was about to create separation.

At this moment, Zhou Zhexiao’s figure overlapped with Xia Chiyi’s shooting form.

Countless times, Lu Yingnan had imagined in his mind how to block Xia Chiyi’s sudden-stop rapid-fire shots. He slammed on the brakes as well, taking a side-step to chase after Zhou Zhexiao, and the moment the basketball bounced off the floor, his hand smacked the ball away.

The entire court gasped in exclamation.

“He actually… blocked that?” Ye Chaoying grabbed his head, then looked at Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi’s heart clenched fiercely.

Zhou Zhexiao’s sudden stop was so abrupt, and his side-step so silky smooth—absolutely professional level. Even if it were Yang Huaiyu or Liu Suchen defending, they likely wouldn’t have been able to stop that shot.

But Lu Yingnan did it. His reaction speed… was simply inhuman.

Lu Yingnan recovered the ball, turned, and charged straight toward the basket again. Just as he went up for the layup, he sensed Zhou Zhexiao’s chase-down block, swiftly switched hands, and prepared for a left-handed layup.

But Zhou Zhexiao acted as if he had predicted it beforehand, smacking the ball away right during his hand-switch.

“Did he foul his hand?”
“Was that a foul?”

Both teams’ coaches were watching from the sidelines and simultaneously shook their heads, indicating no foul.

By the time Lu Yingnan landed, Zhou Zhexiao had already secured the ball in advance.

Lu Yingnan stared coldly into Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes, watching his black bangs sway and bounce with his movements.

This guy was rumored to be able to go one-on-one with Liu Suchen for forty minutes; his ball-handling skills truly were top-notch.
Calm, precise, and most importantly, capable of taking control and letting go when necessary.

Lu Yingnan frantically chased after Zhou Zhexiao. This time, the moment Zhou Zhexiao crossed the three-point line, he executed another sudden, unprompted emergency stop. Lu Yingnan’s sudden-stop level was the highest Xia Chiyi had ever seen—he actually managed to keep up with Zhou Zhexiao again.

The key was that Zhou Zhexiao used a fadeaway jumper this time, but Lu Yingnan sprang up immediately.

His vertical leap was incredibly high, exceeding Zhou Zhexiao’s expectations.

Logically, Zhou Zhexiao’s shooting arc was high, but with Lu Yingnan blocking him like this, it interfered with his mid-air posture. The shot didn’t go in.

It was only the first possession, yet the two of them had already exchanged blows for several rounds.

The people surrounding them didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath. This was probably the highest level of one-on-one offense and defense in the entire First-Tier League.

The longer he watched, the more cold sweat accumulated in Xia Chiyi’s palms.

Zhou Zhexiao posted up against Lu Yingnan, constantly jostling for position. Zhou Zhexiao shoulder-faked; Lu Yingnan judged it to be a feint, but he didn’t expect Zhou Zhexiao to actually spin around for a rapid fadeaway jumper.

His body seemed to pause in mid-air. For this shot, Lu Yingnan was powerless to salvage the situation. Zhou Zhexiao scored.

The sounds of exhaling could be heard one after another all around.

“Finally… someone finally scored?”
“Post-up spin fadeaway jumper, this is Zhou Zhexiao’s signature move, right? Zhuo Zheng is also good at it, but he doesn’t have Zhou Zhexiao’s kind of…”
“That feeling of pausing in the air for a split second?”
“Yeah, yeah, exactly. Very ethereal.”

Xia Chiyi watched blankly. In that instant, he felt like he knew how to deal with Lu Yingnan’s defense.

—To the absolute extreme.

Taking what you are good at to the extreme, making it so that even if Lu Yingnan predicted it, he couldn’t catch up—that was how you win.

Furthermore, he wasn’t alone on the court. As long as he had teammates, he could create a triple-threat of passing, shooting, and dribbling, bringing about far more variations than a one-on-one.

Zhou Zhexiao threw the ball back to Lu Yingnan. Lu Yingnan’s expression was very calm, devoid of surprise or annoyance. It was as if he was digesting Zhou Zhexiao’s shot while dribbling.

This was a true master—someone who wouldn’t let their emotions fluctuate over a momentary victory or defeat.
If you want to win, you have to be able to afford to lose.

Lu Yingnan stepped back a half step. After dribbling to sprint forward, he surprisingly also initiated a post-up play near the three-point line. He took a large stride to the left, looking like he was about to spin, but suddenly drove to the right. The entire process happened in a flash.

Such a turn could easily result in crashing into the person behind if one wasn’t careful, but he completely evaded Zhou Zhexiao and countered with a fadeaway jumper.

The arc was very steady, as if calculated after careful deliberation.

Zhou Zhexiao didn’t show much expression either; to him, Lu Yingnan scoring was only to be expected.

“It feels like… turning to ash in a snap of the fingers. Victory or defeat lies in the blink of an eye.” Ye Chaoying rested his arm on Xia Chiyi’s shoulder.

“Yeah… immortals fighting,” Xia Chiyi said.

On the other side, Yang Huaiyu laughed and pressed his hand down on Xia Chiyi’s head. “Don’t forget, you’re an immortal too.”

The contest between the two continued, as if neither would stop until the other collapsed.

This perfect match between the two of them made Xia Chiyi feel an inexplicable pang of jealousy for the first time.

Just as Lu Yingnan was about to execute a floater, Zhou Zhexiao blocked the shot the exact moment the ball left his fingertips. This heaven-defying leaping ability and explosiveness, and more importantly, his mastery over timing, shocked everyone present.

“Hah… so jealous. He can still pull off blocks like this.” Ling Huanzhen gritted his teeth in extreme envy.

Time truly was a butcher’s knife. Ling Huanzhen no longer possessed such judgment and explosive power.

Yang Huaiyu stood there stunned. He had suffered Zhou Zhexiao’s blocks more than once, but that one just now—the timing and rhythm were mastered to absolute perfection.

Just as everyone was stunned, the basketball bounced on the floor and surprisingly flew right toward Xia Chiyi.

It carried immense speed and power.

“Careful…”

Yang Huaiyu was just about to pull Xia Chiyi behind him, but unexpectedly, Xia Chiyi caught the ball with both hands. Almost like a conditioned reflex, he stepped back into an empty space and lightly shot the ball from out of bounds. The ultra-long-distance shot landed with pinpoint accuracy.

Lu Yingnan and Zhou Zhexiao turned their heads simultaneously to look at him.

Xia Chiyi flashed a smile. “You two g-g-g-great masters! If you keep playing, we won’t have time to pack our luggage and catch the high-speed train!”

Ling Huanzhen checked his watch and immediately clapped his hands. “Everyone, watch the time! Hurry back, take a shower, and pack your bags! We’re sleeping on the bullet train tonight!”

Yang Huaiyu ruffled Xia Chiyi’s hair. “Good thing you reacted quickly and gave them an out. Otherwise, these two almighty gods would have fought until the end of time. If we missed the train, Liu Suchen would be wondering why none of us showed up to support the Northeast Division finals!”

Lu Yingnan regulated his breathing, pulling his collar up to wipe his sweat.

“Do you still have to rush back to school to get your luggage?” Yang Huaiyu asked Lu Yingnan.

“No need. Mo Chuang will bring it to the high-speed rail station for me.”

Yang Huaiyu kindly reminded him, “Are you just going to go to the station in those sweat-drenched clothes? Be careful not to catch a cold when the AC blows on you.”

Hearing their conversation, Ling Huanzhen thought this was a good opportunity to get to know Lu Yingnan, so he actively invited him: “Then come with me. Take a shower in my hotel room, and just wear my clothes for now to make do.”

“Thank you, Coach Ling. I won’t stand on ceremony then.”

The two chatted as they walked back to the hotel from the basketball arena.

Ling Huanzhen asked about Southwest Air’s daily training, and Lu Yingnan didn’t hide anything, answering earnestly.
This included what time they woke up for morning practice, the volume of weight training, details of various dribbling and shooting drills, and even internal team selection assessments.

“You guys really run on semi-militarized management… Your playstyle is very rigorous too.”

“What about Ningchang University?” Lu Yingnan asked.

Ling Huanzhen chuckled. “They’re practically free-range.”

Lu Yingnan nodded. “Du He and Shuai Bei, those two big generals under the basket, must have been taught hand-in-hand by you, Coach Ling.”

“You can tell?”

“Mm. Their method of boxing out, their technique for grabbing rebounds, and some subtle skills are very similar. But Shuai Bei’s shooting—the timing and angle of his wrist snap is very similar to Xia Chiyi.”

“Shuai Bei’s shooting was practiced alongside Xia Chiyi. But… did you talk to Shuai Bei just now? Did he tell you?”

“No, I observed it myself.”

Ling Huanzhen’s eyebrows shot up. This guy’s observational skills were a bit too meticulous, and far too accurate.

“Then what else have you observed?” Ling Huanzhen asked with a smile.

“I’ve watched games from Ye Chaoying’s middle school days. Compared to his performance in the Southeast Division, his improvement is far more than just a little bit. He must have hired a trainer, but a regular trainer couldn’t elevate his skills that highly in such a short amount of time. Combining this with your background, I’m guessing the person who taught him must be Gao Jinshu.”

Ling Huanzhen rubbed his forehead. “Did you really figure this out from observation and analysis, or did someone tell you?”

Lu Yingnan took a few steps forward, realized Ling Huanzhen hadn’t followed, and turned his head to look at him.
His eyes were a very dark color, with all his emotions hidden at the absolute bottom, leaving only his powerful perceptiveness exposed.

“Half observation, half deduction.”

“Ha.”

“Looks like I guessed right.”

Lu Yingnan continued walking forward, while Ling Huanzhen narrowed his eyes.
This kid’s got game, actually reading a coach’s mindset.

“Yeah, you guessed right. I’m very curious, what else have you deduced?”

“He Bin, he’s very good at off-ball movement, and his shooting stability is very strong. He has a few shades of Ji Bo.”

“Old Ji did teach him for a while. Anything else?”

Lu Yingnan suddenly stopped in his tracks. The Ningchang University players walking ahead were fooling around.

“Aiya, it’s fine if I eat the five-yuan one… I won’t get diarrhea. I can handle spicy food better than you, ah ya…”

Ling Huanzhen and Lu Yingnan looked over and saw Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying surrounding an old lady selling cold snacks by the roadside.

Xia Chiyi wanted to eat cold, crispy lotus root slices, covered in garlic and chili. For only five yuan, the old lady scooped out a massive bag for him.

Zhou Zhexiao was tightly clutching the back of Xia Chiyi’s collar, looking like he wanted to haul him away to stop him from making impulse purchases.

“If you can’t finish it, don’t shove it onto me again.”

“Isn’t that what boyfriends are for?” Xia Chiyi whispered softly into his ear.

Upon hearing the word “boyfriend,” Zhou Zhexiao suddenly let go.
On his ice-cold face leaked a tiny bit of… hidden joy.

Sigh, this guy is actually so easy to read.

Xia Chiyi’s mouth was watering; he simply couldn’t resist the temptation of this kind of street food.

What could you buy in the school cafeteria for five yuan? The lunch lady shakes her spoon, and how many bites are you even left with?
But in Rongzhou, five yuan worth of cold lotus root slices… could probably buy out an entire cafeteria window.

“Granny, is this really five yuan? Not fifty?” Xia Chiyi asked.

The old lady chuckled, revealing a missing tooth. “Here in Rongzhou, things are cheap and high quality. If you can’t eat it all, just buy two yuan’s worth?”

Ye Chaoying leaned over. “No, no, no, five yuan is fine. Just split it into two bags, we’ll share it.”

Ling Huanzhen walked by, pressing down on the heads of the two little brats, one with his left hand, one with his right.

“You guys really do treat your coach like a dead man…”

He was just about to say that roadside food might not be clean, and what if they got diarrhea on the train later?
But taking one look at the old lady’s smile, Ling Huanzhen changed his tune: “Can’t finish five yuan’s worth? Aren’t I here?”

“Then I’ll divide it into three bags for you.”

Just like that, Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying walked in front, both carrying their bags, poking lotus root slices with bamboo skewers and eating as they walked.

Zhou Zhexiao walked next to Xia Chiyi. Whenever pedestrians passed by, he would raise his arm to act as a barrier so Xia Chiyi wouldn’t get bumped and accidentally stab his mouth with the skewer.

After eating two slices, Xia Chiyi couldn’t stop.

“So good, this is really good. I should have bought ten yuan’s worth.” Ye Chaoying also agreed it was delicious.

“For real?”
Du He and Shuai Bei immediately crowded around. Ye Chaoying yelled “Hey, hey” twice, but his lotus roots were already gone.

Chen Chuan and the others locked onto Xia Chiyi, wanting to come over and grab a taste too.

Xia Chiyi immediately pulled Zhou Zhexiao to the side of the road, skewered a piece of lotus root, and brought it to his mouth. “Here, eat it! If you don’t eat it now, there won’t be any left!”

Zhou Zhexiao immediately lowered his head and bit down on the lotus root with a crunch.

“Good?”

“Mm.” Zhou Zhexiao gave a slight nod.

The two of them had their heads practically pressed together as Xia Chiyi kept feeding him.

Chen Chuan shook his head, feeling a bit sour. “These two are really something else… Acting like they’re in a relationship day in and day out. You never see Zhou Zhexiao eating food fed by anyone else.”

He Bin rolled his eyes at him. “Do you dare to feed him?”

Ling Huanzhen sighed. “Did you all forget about me? I still have a bag here. Whoever wants some, come get it.”

Chen Chuan immediately ran over. “I’m not fighting that dog couple for food. Coach, you’re the best.”

The group continued walking forward. Lu Yingnan passed by Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao just as Xia Chiyi skewered the last piece of lotus root and brought it to Zhou Zhexiao’s lips.

Zhou Zhexiao kept his head lowered. Compared to how he was on the court, he seemed like a completely different person—devoid of aggressiveness, his sharpness restrained, overwhelmingly obedient.

Xia Chiyi tossed the bag into the trash can. Zhou Zhexiao pulled a napkin out of his bag and directly held Xia Chiyi’s chin.

“The sauce is about to drip down your neck.”

“Really? What a shame. If only I could lick my own neck.” Xia Chiyi laughed absentmindedly.

At this point, everyone else had walked up ahead.

Zhou Zhexiao suddenly turned sideways and lowered his head, quickly moving close to Xia Chiyi.

Before he even had time to let out a sound, his neck was swiftly kissed by Zhou Zhexiao. The sensation of the tip of his tongue sweeping past made Xia Chiyi almost scream on the spot.

Zhou Zhexiao quickly straightened his back, stuffing both hands into his pockets, looking as if nothing had happened at all.

Only Xia Chiyi felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

“What are you doing? Scared me to death.” Xia Chiyi looked left and right. Finding that no one was paying attention, he immediately shoved Zhou Zhexiao.

This guy couldn’t be budged anyway, so he just pretended to play along by swaying his shoulder and whispered, “Eating you.”

“Get lost.” Xia Chiyi shoved him again, but he still didn’t budge.

When they reached the entrance of the hotel, Lu Yingnan looked back and saw Xia Chiyi with a flushed face, his arms clamped to his sides, forcefully pushing Zhou Zhexiao toward the wall.

“What are they doing?” Lu Yingnan asked.

Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath. “That’s Ningchang University’s local specialty.”

Ye Chaoying walked by, completely unfazed. “A confrontation drill that suddenly starts out of nowhere while walking down the street.”

Probably having seen it too many times, Shuai Bei couldn’t even be bothered to give them an extra glance. “I don’t understand why Zhou Zhexiao won’t just yield to him a little.”

“Probably because Zhou Zhexiao enjoys that sense of superiority of ‘even if you use all the strength you have, you still can’t push me over.'” He Bin also walked inside.

Lu Yingnan nodded. “So this is how Xia Chiyi’s physical confrontation ability improved.”

Ling Huanzhen hesitated to speak. He really wanted to say: Please don’t spread this kind of ‘confrontation drill’ to Southwest Aviation. Our Ningchang University can’t afford to lose this much face.
What confrontation drill? It’s clearly just two elementary school kids pecking at each other.

By the time the group entered the hotel elevator, Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi still hadn’t caught up.

Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath. “Ignore those two. Let’s go up.”

Entering the room, Ling Huanzhen dug out some clean clothes for Lu Yingnan while chatting, “Continuing our previous topic, what else have you observed or deduced?”

Lu Yingnan stood by the window. Lowering his eyes, he could see Xia Chiyi was still wrestling with Zhou Zhexiao.
From this angle, he could see the crown of his head, as well as his ears and neck, which had turned red from exertion.

Ling Huanzhen walked over. “Are those two still not done messing around? So childish.”

“Xia Chiyi’s learning ability is very strong. If I only watched the Southeast Division finals, I could only see his results.”

“What results?” Ling Huanzhen looked over and noticed Lu Yingnan’s expression—his gaze was very deep.

“Blind-spot-free rapid shooting, agile dribble breakthroughs, unparalleled spatial awareness. He isn’t just a shooter; he is the core of the court.”

“Then aside from those results?” Ling Huanzhen asked.

“If you observe him starting from the Jin Province grassroots matches… at that time, his technique practically gathered all of Jiao Yingfeng’s and Sheng Xingming’s strengths. If Sheng Xingming hadn’t passed away, I would have suspected him of being Xia Chiyi’s trainer.”

Ling Huanzhen froze. He truly hadn’t expected Lu Yingnan’s observation skills to be this meticulous.

It was perfectly normal for him to see that Xia Chiyi’s shooting resembled Jiao Yingfeng’s.
But Sheng Xingming… how did he figure that out?
Zhou Zhexiao had never purely taught him specific techniques; most of it was learned implicitly by Xia Chiyi during their practice sessions.

“His current trainer is Sheng Xingming’s former trainer.”
Ling Huanzhen gave Lu Yingnan a reasonable explanation.

“No wonder.” Lu Yingnan’s fingertip gently tapped against the glass right over the top of Xia Chiyi’s head.

Zhou Zhexiao suddenly lifted his head and locked eyes with Lu Yingnan.
He bent down and, without a word, hoisted Xia Chiyi over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?”
“If we keep messing around, we won’t have time to shower.”

The scenery that had attracted Lu Yingnan was gone. He turned around and took the clothes Ling Huanzhen handed him.

“Although you all carefully cultivated him, you didn’t force him into a specific mold.”

“What specific mold?”

“Like the next Jiao Yingfeng, or the next Sheng Xingming. You gave him techniques, but what truly allowed him to grow were the matches. His basketball is developing more and more into his own style. He is very lucky. He wasn’t placed into a mold to grow into a specific shape, but was allowed to grow freely.”

After saying this, Lu Yingnan went into the bathroom.

Ling Huanzhen touched his cheek, thinking: Is he complimenting us coaches on doing a good job?

---

Coincidentally, the school teams of these three universities had all booked the exact same bullet train, and even their carriages were consecutive: 7, 8, and 9.

Lu Yingnan ran into his teammates at the high-speed rail station.

Mo Chuang handed him his luggage bag, then sized him up from head to toe.

“Oh my God! How did you change so much after going out with Yang Huaiyu! You’ve suddenly become youthful and stylish!”

Lu Yingnan looked down at himself. “These are Coach Ling’s clothes. I played a little one-on-one with Zhou Zhexiao and sweated. Coach Ling was afraid I’d catch a cold, so he lent them to me.”

Hearing this, the Southwest Air players all revealed shocked faces.

“Did we hear that right? We didn’t hear wrong, did we? Captain… you actually played a 1-on-1 with someone?” Zhuo Zheng was the first to act shocked.

In his mind, his captain was the kind of rigid, boring guy who always prioritized team spirit when playing basketball.

A while ago, Liu Suchen had been going around playing one-on-ones everywhere, even snuffing out the promising new seedlings from other colleges, resulting in their coaches “filing a complaint.”
This matter reached Southwest Aviation, and the coach had warned them at the time that if any Southwest Air players wanted to 1-on-1 someone from another school in the future, it was best to inform the coach first.

“Could it be he’s possessed by Liu Suchen?”
“Captain, you’re usually the one who follows the rules the most. Playing a 1-on-1… did you report this to the coach?”

Lu Yingnan calmly took his bag, skipped right past his teammates’ questions, and walked over to the head coach.

“Sorry, Coach, I…”

Southwest Air’s Coach Gu patted his shoulder. “Nothing to be sorry about. Did you gain anything from the 1-on-1 with Zhou Zhexiao? He’s no tender little sprout that you can snuff out. Even Liu Suchen was full of praise for him.”

“Very strong. Completely on a different level compared to his high school days,” Lu Yingnan stated.

The entirety of Southwest Aviation fell silent.

Zhou Zhexiao was the first person to ever receive Lu Yingnan’s stamp of “very strong.”
Neither Liu Suchen nor Yang Huaiyu had received this kind of treatment.

“Then do you still think you should be the one to man-mark Xia Chiyi?”

“Yes, I still think I should man-mark Xia Chiyi.”

“Why?” Coach Gu trusted Lu Yingnan a lot. Even if Lu Yingnan was stubbornly clinging to his own opinion right now, he wasn’t angry.

“Because Xia Chiyi carries a greater amount of variables.”

The coach nodded. “Understood.”

After a moment, the coach added, “Your outfit today is pretty nice. I really couldn’t compliment your fashion taste in the past.”

“Hm?” Lu Yingnan lifted his eyes, as if asking, ‘Just what was wrong with my taste?’

Coach Gu didn’t answer. Holding his thermos, he walked off to greet Ling Huanzhen.

Mo Chuang slung an arm over Lu Yingnan’s shoulder. “I’ve been wanting to say this for ages! What exactly were you wearing when you went out this morning? You looked like a plumber! Throw on some gloves and grab a toolbox, and you’d be ready to work! With your face and your physique, you’re absolute leading man material for a sports movie!”

“A sports movie?” Lu Yingnan’s normally perceptive eyes revealed a look of bewilderment.

Mo Chuang laughed and walked away.

“Captain, you should dress like this from now on!”
“I’ve been wanting to throw out all your brown, grey, and navy-blue T-shirts for a long time!”

Lu Yingnan frowned. “But they’re comfortable and don’t show dirt.”

“But they’re so gloomy!” Zhuo Zheng complained.

Lu Yingnan lifted his eyelids, looking rarely serious: “Are they?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Lu Yingnan lowered his eyes, looking at Ling Huanzhen’s T-shirt on his body.

Zhuo Zheng felt inexplicably worried, afraid his captain might overcorrect and start wearing rainbow colors.

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Once on the train, this group of teenage boys started various entertainment activities—playing Golden Flower and Fight the Landlord, having an absolute blast.

Especially the guys from Qincheng University and Ningchang University, who were all squeezed together.

The Southwest Air players were more disciplined. They stayed in their seats, either scrolling on their phones or sleeping. Barely anyone was even chatting.
They could only listen to the various cheerful sounds coming from the next carriage.

Finally, Zhuo Zheng couldn’t hold it in and asked, “Qincheng University had the King of the Southeast title snatched away by Ningchang University, so why do Yang Huaiyu and Ke Yan love hanging out with the Ningchang guys so much? Don’t they feel any pain in their hearts?”

Lu Yingnan was resting his eyes on the bottom bunk. “Because Qincheng University is famous for having an excellent competitive mindset. As long as they give it their all, they can gracefully accept the outcome and let it go.”

After a while, Lu Yingnan got up to get some hot water, unexpectedly bumping into Xia Chiyi, who was making milk tea.

The two met eyes. Xia Chiyi felt a wave of nervousness, instantly getting the feeling of running into his homeroom teacher. Lu Yingnan, on the other hand, quietly stood to the side, giving Xia Chiyi room to leave.

Doesn’t he have one nose and two eyes just like everyone else? Xia Chiyi, what the hell are you nervous for!

While fetching the hot water, Xia Chiyi briefly glanced over Lu Yingnan. To make the atmosphere less awkward, Xia Chiyi touched the tip of his nose and whispered, “Actually, lighter colors and warm tones suit you better.”

Lu Yingnan stayed silent for a moment before asking, “Did I dress like a plumber before?”

“A… a plumber?” Xia Chiyi was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter. “Who said that? I didn’t even think of that, hahaha! But it’s actually pretty accurate, what do I do?”

“You finally smiled.” Lu Yingnan stepped closer to Xia Chiyi.

“Ah?” Xia Chiyi took a half step back.

“During the Southwest Division finals, you looked at me often. And when I looked back at you, you would panic and avert your gaze,” Lu Yingnan said in a calm tone.

“That proves you were looking at me too.” Xia Chiyi crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and pulled out a smile. “Otherwise, how would you know I was looking at you?”

“I did look at you often.”

Xia Chiyi was taken aback and pointed at himself. “Looked at me often? W-Why? Besides, you’ve only watched two of my games live, right?”
Could that even count as “often”?

“I’ve watched all your game videos from high school up until now. As well as the various clips, analyses, and interviews you’ve participated in online.”

“Oh… you meant that… So you really have studied me thoroughly… I bet you’ve even seen through the color of my underwear.”

“What color?” Lu Yingnan lifted his eyes. Those pitch-black pupils had previously given Xia Chiyi a sense of pressure, but now they actually seemed quite pure.

“What… what color?”

“Your underwear.”

“Are you joking with me?”
This guy’s expression is way too serious, isn’t it?

“I can only analyze your basketball techniques. I can’t analyze your underwear.”

Xia Chiyi paused for a moment and scratched the back of his head.

Why did he find Lu Yingnan scary before? Because his defensive skills were too high-level, or because his eye color was so dark he seemed like an emotionless machine?
But this guy clearly just deeply loved basketball.

His talent didn’t stem purely from natural gifts, but from his resolve to thoroughly study every single opponent.

Lu Yingnan waited a while. Xia Chiyi still hadn’t spoken, so he said: “Your gaze suddenly filling with admiration makes me very unaccustomed.”

“Because I think you’re really amazing. You’ve studied so many opponents—Liu Suchen, Yang Huaiyu… I’d wager that out of the entire First-Tier League, the person who understands them best is you. Whereas I… I don’t have your kind of observational and analytical abilities.”

“What about you? Who have you stayed up all night studying?” Lu Yingnan asked.

“Um… Sheng Xingming. He used to be the person I idolized the most. I imitated his shooting posture, imitated his passing. I was only imitating; I wasn’t like you… understanding the meaning behind every movement. Later, I grew up and walked into his world, and ironically, I stopped imitating him.”

“As expected,” Lu Yingnan said softly.

“Hm?” Xia Chiyi leaned in to hear clearly what he had said.

“There is a shadow of Sheng Xingming in your basketball.”

Hearing the other man say this, Xia Chiyi felt a comforting sense of validation in his heart.

Lu Yingnan moved the already full milk tea cup away from the water dispenser and placed it on the counter next to it. “You filled it too high. When you carry it back later, be careful not to spill it and burn yourself.”

Xia Chiyi touched his ear. “Actually, I regretted it right after filling it too, realizing it was too full. I wanted to let it cool down a bit before moving it, but I didn’t expect you to show up.”

After getting his water, Lu Yingnan was about to leave. As if possessed, Xia Chiyi spoke up and asked, “Are you sleeping this early? Do you want to come play? We’re playing card games.”

“I don’t play cards.”

For some reason, Xia Chiyi didn’t want the other man to misunderstand and think he was a big gambler, so he quickly explained, “We aren’t playing Fight the Landlord or Golden Flower. It’s just a game. It doesn’t rely on luck; it relies on acting skills.”

Lu Yingnan stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at him.

Xia Chiyi softened his tone, extending a very sincere invitation: “Come on, Yang Huaiyu is there too. He’s too wicked. I’ve been scammed by him for several rounds already.”

“Does Yang Huaiyu scam you too? He’s pretty nice to you.”

“Of course he does. We’ve played three rounds, and I’ve been dead last every single time.”

Xia Chiyi painfully poured out a bit of his milk tea so it wouldn’t spill when shaken, then walked back to the carriage.

Lu Yingnan silently followed behind him.

When they arrived at Xia Chiyi’s berth, they saw Zhou Zhexiao putting a disposable bed sheet cover over the bedding.

Yang Huaiyu felt bad just sitting there doing nothing, so he helped smooth out the cover.

“Why are you two so delicate? Sleeping on a train sleeper and you still put this stuff on.”

Xia Chiyi placed the milk tea back onto the small table and laughed. “Right, right, right, I’m just delicate. Before, Zhou Zhexiao and I slept in a homestay, and I ended up getting an allergic reaction. I almost scratched myself until I bled. You have thick skin and rough flesh, so please just bear with us delicate boys!”

“Ah? You slept in a homestay with Zhou Zhexiao? What kind of homestay?” Yang Huaiyu pointed at Zhou Zhexiao. “This guy is covered head-to-toe in either designer brands or limited editions. He would sleep in a homestay?”

“Him? Sometimes he’s very delicate, and sometimes he’s extremely easygoing.”

Xia Chiyi handed the milk tea to Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao sat on the bottom bunk. With his eyes lowered, his cheeks puffed up as he eagerly slurped it down with glug-glug sounds.

Yang Huaiyu was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling that Zhou Zhexiao was acting so obedient. He inexplicably felt a strong urge to pat his head.

However, his experience on the court made Yang Huaiyu acutely aware that Zhou Zhexiao was a ferocious beast. One careless move, and he’d have his throat bitten cleanly off.

Only Xia Chiyi could stroke his fur the right way.

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[Author’s Note]
Liu Suchen: My sworn enemies are all huddled together having fun playing cards. I’m the only one taking damage from preparing for battle!