Chapter 0125: Lu Yingnan: Understand it upon hearing, but useless once double-teamed?

Zhou Zhexiao turned his head back and, sure enough, saw Xia Chiyi sprinting wildly toward him with both arms raised, his choppy bangs flying up to reveal his forehead.

His heart swelling with infinite affection, Zhou Zhexiao didn’t high-five Xia Chiyi. Instead, he pulled the boy’s head directly into his embrace.

Almost breaking his nose bridge from the impact, tears welled up in Xia Chiyi’s eyes.

Hearing a soft whimper, Zhou Zhexiao let him go and said in a low voice, “Good job.”

“Hehe.” Xia Chiyi turned around and extended a fist toward Lu Yingnan. “I also have to thank Captain Lu for the screen.”

Lu Yingnan wiped the sweat off his face and bumped fists with Xia Chiyi. “It was what I ought to do.”

“Captain Lu, do you still have the energy to steal the ball?” Zhou Zhexiao asked.

“Yes, I can mark Santos so he can’t receive the ball. But for ball handling…” Lu Yingnan lifted his eyes to look at Zhou Zhexiao.

“I’ll do it. Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu have been misfiring for quite a while now. Slacking off like this is too unprofessional.”

“Huh? What did you say?” The veins on Liu Suchen’s forehead throbbed.

“I said you can’t do it.” Zhou Zhexiao turned his face sideways; his expression was truly incredibly punchable.

Yang Huaiyu, however, just gave a lazy smile. “Being a blue-collar worker grabbing rebounds is also very tiring, you know.”

Li Xiaoran initially thought he needed to call a timeout to let them rest and reorganize how to deal with Santos. He didn’t expect these brats to have actually discussed and arranged it themselves.

“Do you feel like you’re very redundant?” Ling Huanzhen asked with a smile.

“You’re redundant too,” Li Xiaoran rolled his eyes at Ling Huanzhen.

The pace of the game took off once again. Lu Yingnan applied the exact same defensive routine Arthur used on Xia Chiyi onto Santos, with footwork that was even more agile and interference that was even stronger.

Xia Chiyi couldn’t help but be drawn to Lu Yingnan’s defensive footwork. The seamless transitions between sliding steps in various directions, stutter steps, and jump defenses were as fluid as an ultimate dance on the court.

Jiao Yingfeng and Fan Qingliang hadn’t specifically trained him on defense yet!

He needed to practice, he needed to learn, he needed to be like Lu Yingnan… No, he needed to be even more formidable than Lu Yingnan!

From the corner of his eye, Lu Yingnan caught sight of Xia Chiyi and smiled very faintly: My signature skills are probably going to be learned and stolen away by this little Ningchang potato.

The key was, he wasn’t even paying a single cent in tuition fees.

Jenkins was defended by Zhou Zhexiao to the point of almost committing a charging foul, completely unable to escape. Just as he was about to pass the ball to Santos, it was intercepted by Lu Yingnan!

“Captain Lu is the highest!”
“Captain Lu, the steal king!”
“Captain Lu, the defensive anchor!”

The people from Southwest Aviation University screamed crazily. Zhuo Zheng looked like a fanatic fan; he absolutely had a Captain complex.

Lu Yingnan handed the ball to Zhou Zhexiao. Zhou Zhexiao activated his ball-handling mode, shattering the opposing defense into pieces before distributing the ball to Liu Suchen.

Liu Suchen actually went straight up against the tallest player, Martin, pulling off a shoulder-riding layup. It was incredibly arrogant, yet he cleverly managed to avoid an offensive foul.

“Who did you say is tired? Who did you say can’t do it?” Liu Suchen looked at Zhou Zhexiao and raised his chin.

Zhou Zhexiao turned around abruptly as if he hadn’t seen a thing.

Sure enough, the best way to motivate a man was to tell him he “can’t do it.”

Santos took a deep breath. He looked at Lu Yingnan in front of him; this guy’s defense… was flawless.

With twelve seconds left in the third quarter, Lu Yingnan actually stole the ball from Santos and passed it to Zhou Zhexiao again.

Expressionless, Zhou Zhexiao threw a bounce pass right between Jenkins’s legs—a naked provocation and mockery that drove Jenkins crazy with anger.

Yang Huaiyu received the ball and went up for a layup against Martin and Carl. From behind him came Zhou Zhexiao’s voice, “Pass it back if you can’t do it.”

Yang Huaiyu twitched the corner of his mouth into a smile: This guy Zhou Zhexiao sure knows how to deliberately get under people’s skin.

With a massive double-clutch in mid-air, Yang Huaiyu aggressively passed in front of Carl, extended his arm, and sent the ball around Martin and into the hoop.

The entire arena erupted in cheers. The young ladies from the women’s basketball team shouted in unison, “So handsome!”

“Oh—” Xia Chiyi’s eyes widened too.

The next second, the back of his head was pressed down by Zhou Zhexiao.

“You really are the designated hype man of the court, aren’t you?”

The whistle blew, marking the end of the third quarter. The point gap had suddenly shrunk from 6 points to 2 points.

Assistant Coach Carpenter’s back was drenched in sweat. He suddenly regretted not selecting one or two more first-string players to bring over.

He initially thought Santos would be their scoring ace, but he had been completely locked down by the opponent.

Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao sat shoulder-to-shoulder, with the same towel draped over the tops of their heads.

“Tired?” Zhou Zhexiao unscrewed the cap of the water bottle for Xia Chiyi with one hand.

The movements of his wrist and fingers exuded a casual handsomeness.

Xia Chiyi took a deep breath, quickly adjusting his breathing. “I’m alright. I want to buy a big bath towel.”

“Hmm?”

“The kind that can cover both you and me.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Zhou Zhexiao said, his expression calm.

“Dare what?”

“Kiss me under the towel.”

Xia Chiyi was tilting his head back to drink water and was choked so hard by Zhou Zhexiao’s words that tears almost came out.

His heart pounded like a drum, a rush of heat surging from his heart straight to the top of his head, his skin flushing a distinct shade of pink.

“If you dare, I dare,” Xia Chiyi said, muffled.

Li Xiaoran walked over and asked Xia Chiyi, “Can you still run in the final quarter?”

As a coach, he naturally knew that the person who truly consumed the most stamina in this entire practice match was Xia Chiyi.

This kid had endured two rounds of one-on-one tight marking, plus a running volume at least double that of his teammates. To be able to hold on until now made Li Xiaoran look at Xia Chiyi in a new light.

Xia Chiyi lifted the edge of the towel with one hand, revealing bright, round eyes as he looked at Li Xiaoran. “Haha, the other side is definitely thinking the same thing, assuming I’m out of stamina. But I’m doing perfectly fine. In the final quarter, I’m going to give them a huge surprise!”

Li Xiaoran didn’t know whether to smile or be worried.

The happy part was that with Xia Chiyi’s scoring and off-ball movement abilities coupled with his endurance, his future was limitless.

The worrying part was, if they ran into this version of Xia Chiyi in the National Tournament… how were they supposed to deal with him?

“If you can’t run anymore, I will sub you out immediately,” Li Xiaoran poked Xia Chiyi on the cheek.

Then Li Xiaoran went over to Lu Yingnan and held his shoulder. “Listen, it’s great that you can lock down Santos, but based on my experience, he’s going to have a lot of physical breakthrough attempts in the final quarter, trying to break through your defense even if it means fouling. I want you to…”

“I will guard him,” Lu Yingnan answered.

The next second, his head was pressed down by Li Xiaoran.

“There will be plenty of practice matches like this in the future. I want you to prioritize protecting yourself. Don’t get injured; don’t miss this year’s National Tournament.”

Lu Yingnan paused slightly, then nodded very seriously: “Rest assured, Coach Li.”

The final quarter of the game began. Assistant Coach Carpenter stood with his arms crossed; the expression on his face was worlds apart from the beginning.

Santos pressed one hand against the tattoo on his neck, twisting his neck with dark eyes, ready to strike.

Small forward Carl rotated his ankles and wrists, stretching his shoulders, his chin lifted with a touch of arrogance. Assistant Coach Carpenter had demanded that he stun the opponents right from the start.

Pulling the towel off his shoulder, Jenkins stared at Zhou Zhexiao on the other side, his gaze as cold and sinister as a poisonous snake.

However, Zhou Zhexiao had absolutely no reaction to his provocative gaze, remaining as calm as if this were just a morning exercise.

As for Arthur, who had been defending Xia Chiyi for an entire quarter, the heavy running had caused his styled hair gel to soften from sweat. Occasionally, some of it ran into his eyes. Feeling itchy, Arthur wiped it forcefully with a towel, simply rubbing off all the residual gel from his hair.

With ten minutes left, Carpenter had told Arthur that the elementary-school-looking shooting guard should be subbed out. Because in any NCAA game, that amount of running would require the coach to rotate the player out for a rest after just one quarter.

Yet, Xia Chiyi had persisted for three quarters.

It should be very difficult for the opposing team to find a shooting guard harder to deal with than Xia Chiyi. Arthur had to capitalize on their weakness and go for the kill.

But as they took the court, both Assistant Coach Carpenter and Arthur were inwardly surprised because Xia Chiyi was still on the court. He was even tugging at Zhou Zhexiao’s jersey, leaning in close to his ear, smiling like a cat licking a tin can.

This small potato hasn’t been mashed into potato puree and stuffed back into the can yet?

The whistle blew, and the game restarted.

Although this college team was very strong, Connecticut would absolutely not allow their glory to be broken here.

Just as Li Xiaoran predicted, Santos initiated a tough physical confrontation mode against Lu Yingnan’s defense.

While running off-ball, Xia Chiyi observed Lu Yingnan, ready to assist at any moment.

He noticed that if Lu Yingnan engaged in arm-locking physical confrontation with Santos, Santos would inevitably break through.

But Lu Yingnan’s emotions were completely unaffected. He immediately adjusted his defensive method, using footwork to restrict Santos’s movements.

Lu Yingnan’s various pivot foot predictions and restrictions were off the charts, finally infuriating Santos into a dribbling charge…

Xia Chiyi had sharp eyes; he was certain that Lu Yingnan had half-stepped back to protect himself a moment before being hit, but he still fell flat on his back.

The referee blew the whistle: charging foul.

Santos raised his hands high, furious but with nowhere to vent it.

Assistant Coach Carpenter made a “calm down” gesture.

Lu Yingnan slowly climbed up, patted his butt, looked at Xia Chiyi, and placed his index finger to his lips, a trace of a smile revealing itself in his dark eyes.

Xia Chiyi’s eyes darted around as he thought to himself: I learned it.

Possession returned to their side. Zhou Zhexiao accelerated his dribble, impacting Connecticut’s zone defense. With a change of direction so wide people thought he was going to do the splits, followed by a spin fake, he blew past three people in a row and entered the paint.

Jenkins eagerly rushed over to defend. Zhou Zhexiao couldn’t even be bothered to give him a glance, directly engaging in a physical confrontation and bulldozing Jenkins backwards two steps to get under the basket.

Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu urgently rushed over to support.

“Holy crap…” Xia Chiyi also wanted to get closer, but Arthur was like an opponent’s photon shield; he couldn’t bypass him in a short time.

A moment of inspiration struck Lu Yingnan. In a split second when there was a slight gap between Xia Chiyi and Arthur, he suddenly moved in, executing a mismatch switch defense on Arthur.

Just as Xia Chiyi broke free, the airborne Zhou Zhexiao, facing double defense, expressionlessly whipped the ball out.

It wasn’t to Liu Suchen, nor was it to Yang Huaiyu, but to Xia Chiyi, who had arrived at the corner.

All of Connecticut’s defensive forces had been dragged under the basket by Zhou Zhexiao. Xia Chiyi only needed to catch the ball and shoot.

Only then did Jenkins realize he had fallen for a trap.

But… was this Zhou Zhexiao? Constantly drawing fire to make wedding dresses for his teammates.

The basketball swished through the net, and Xia Chiyi scored again.

“Ha!” Xia Chiyi turned around and immediately high-fived Lu Yingnan. “Thanks, Captain Lu!”

“You’re welcome, as long as you score.” Lu Yingnan’s expression remained stoic, showing neither joy nor anger. “He’s unhappy now, remember to soothe him a bit.”

“Huh? What?” Xia Chiyi was still wondering what on earth Lu Yingnan meant as Lu Yingnan took two steps back like nothing happened, then turned to retreat to defense.

Following Lu Yingnan’s line of sight, Xia Chiyi saw Zhou Zhexiao tilting his head slightly, looking at him.

Holy crap… Zhou Zhexiao looked like he had just become an orphan.

Xia Chiyi extended his arms and chased after him to high-five him, bringing this giant baby back.

The battle under both baskets intensified. When Connecticut unleashed full firepower, it was truly hard to defend against.

Center Martin charged into the paint. When his shot missed, he actually grabbed his own rebound and put it back in with a dunk. A self-sufficient operation as fierce as a tiger.

Small forward Carl showed off his inside skills, even pulling out an incredibly fast-spinning jelly layup, eliciting continuous gasps from the audience.

After eating a foul, Santos had calmed down significantly. Using a shamgod and constantly changing rhythms, he shook off Lu Yingnan. Facing Zhou Zhexiao and Liu Suchen under the basket, he actually executed a mid-air half-spin combined with a small double-clutch. Incredibly flashy.

“Ah… so formidable…” Xia Chiyi tilted his head back, looking toward the basket.

Arthur wore a cold expression, staring at the back of Xia Chiyi’s head. He thought to himself that this small potato’s stamina had finally declined, as his off-ball movement range had decreased significantly.

The score was being pulled further away by Connecticut. Assistant Coach Carpenter had also changed from his arm-crossing posture to putting his hands in his pockets. He gave Arthur a look.

Arthur left Xia Chiyi and played a combo with Jenkins. After receiving the ball, he was about to do a pull-up jumper.

Who knew that the moment he dipped the ball, the ball disappeared!

The one best at stealing, Lu Yingnan, was clearly still near Santos. Who was it…

Arthur quickly turned around, only to see Xia Chiyi’s back as he rapidly dribbled away.

Carpenter’s hands also came out of his pockets—How is that possible! It’s already the fourth quarter, how can his dribbling still be this fast?

Jenkins and Martin quickly retreated to defend.

Small potato, if you dare come under the basket, I’ll smash you into mashed potatoes!

Zhou Zhexiao and Liu Suchen arrived on either side of Xia Chiyi, leaving the opponents fully guessing: who exactly was he going to pass to?

Xia Chiyi didn’t pass the ball to anyone. He actually cut right into the paint, jumping up while looking in Zhou Zhexiao’s direction.

Jenkins: He’s definitely faking a layup for a real pass!

Unexpectedly, Xia Chiyi pulled the extended ball back, switched hands in mid-air, bypassed Jenkins, and gently sent it into the basket.

After a brief moment of silence, the entire arena was shouting Xia Chiyi’s name.

Upon landing, Xia Chiyi looked at Jenkins, a smirk hooking the corner of his lips: “Who is the small potato? Me or you?”

Jenkins almost shattered his molars from gritting his teeth. What was this little liar so smug about?

He was just about to step forward when Zhou Zhexiao grabbed the back of Xia Chiyi’s head a step earlier, pulling him behind his back.

Fearing a physical altercation, the referee immediately blew the whistle, signaling the players of both teams to separate.

Carpenter stood dumbfounded on the sidelines. What had he just seen?

—How does that Xia Chiyi still have the stamina to get a steal?

Not only a steal, but also to dribble at high speed into the paint?

And facing tall giants like Martin and Jenkins, he could still execute a mid-air fake and a double-clutch switch-hand layup?

If Carpenter’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, Xia Chiyi’s hang height just now was barely any different from Martin’s… what kind of vertical leap is that?

As for Arthur, he too stared fixedly at Xia Chiyi’s back. Just how deep is this guy’s stamina bar?

Precisely because of this, Arthur couldn’t focus on scoring; he had to stick to Xia Chiyi in a one-on-one tight defense again.

But as soon as he applied tight defense, Xia Chiyi returned to looking like a frost-bitten eggplant—wilted, with completely passive off-ball movement.

This made Arthur suspect that Xia Chiyi’s sequence of stealing, cutting in, and layup just now was just a final burst of dying energy.

Having eased up for nearly half the quarter, Yang Huaiyu entered hard mode. Driving the ball into the paint, he actually went up against Martin in mid-air. Pulling the ball back to his waist with both hands, he suddenly threw it out, catching Martin completely off guard.

Martin’s ears buzzed. He usually only saw this level of play in Connecticut’s first string.

Yang Huaiyu’s imposing shout also stimulated Liu Suchen.

In another round of clashing, Santos broke through Lu Yingnan’s defense. Just as he was about to score a layup, he didn’t expect Zhou Zhexiao to charge out and directly give him a majestic block (hot pot). The whole arena gasped, and the breath in Assistant Coach Carpenter’s chest hitched… This Zhou Zhexiao not only jumps high, but his speed in reaching the apex is incredibly fast!

Liu Suchen caught the ball and charged toward the opponent’s side, with Lu Yingnan and Yang Huaiyu trailing behind him.

Ahead was the triple defense of Martin, Carl, and Jenkins. Liu Suchen actually jumped just past the free-throw line. As if having calculated the exact angle, he threaded through the gap between Martin and Carl, switching hands to toss the ball right before landing—it went in!

Liu Suchen tugged at his own jersey, then clapped for himself.

Yang Huaiyu rested his hands on his hips and smiled; Lu Yingnan coldly turned around to retreat to defense.

Carpenter’s throat bobbed. Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu, these two fierce scoring generals, maintained vigorous scoring abilities even in the final quarter.

He couldn’t even think of any tactical or personnel arrangement to restrict them.

The point gap had been chased down to just one point.

On the bench, Gloomy Bro looked at Rudy, and Rudy’s brows were also tightly furrowed.

They… might actually lose.

With four minutes and thirty seconds left in the game, Zhou Zhexiao erupted with overwhelming under-the-basket strength. After receiving the ball, he took a powerful power dribble, jumped right in front of Jenkins, turned his body sideways in mid-air to evade Jenkins’s collision, and threw the ball over Jenkins’s shoulder into the basket.

“Whoa—” Ling Huanzhen clapped vigorously.

“If only Pang Shuai were here…” Xia Chiyi revealed an expression of pity.

“The guy in your dorm who is really good at taking photos?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“Yeah. If he were here, he’d definitely be able to capture Jenkins’s dumbfounded expression and turn it into a widely circulated meme.”

“Ha, Jenkins should be thankful Pang Shuai isn’t here.”

The issue was that after scoring this basket, Zhou Zhexiao quietly stared at Jenkins for a full two seconds.

The veins on Jenkins’s temples throbbed as he waited for Zhou Zhexiao to talk trash.

But Zhou Zhexiao just remained expressionless, turned around, and walked away.

Saying nothing at all was the truest form of trash talk.

You are nobody.

On the sidelines, Carpenter took a deep breath, still immersed in Zhou Zhexiao’s shot. Was this truly a level a normal college student should possess?

Such calm, effortless handling made it seem like he had played professionally for many years.

The game continued, with very little time remaining.

Not to be outdone, Santos engaged Zhou Zhexiao in mid-air, forcing a hook shot, and scored.

This was his provocation toward Zhou Zhexiao. Santos had realized that Zhou Zhexiao was probably the strongest among them.

Santos’s various extreme changes of direction and pull-backs caused the hearts of the spectators to clench nervously. However, he didn’t expect to be jointly double-teamed by Lu Yingnan and Liu Suchen. After stealing the ball, Liu Suchen passed it to Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi caught the ball, wanting to break past Arthur but lacking the angle. Gritting his teeth, he posted up to engage Arthur physically.

Arthur put away all his expressions, staring coldly at Xia Chiyi: Can you really match me in physical confrontation?

Unexpectedly, Xia Chiyi took a heavy power dribble, almost driving close to the ground. Arthur tightened his nerves and mobilized his footwork to intercept: Small potato, no matter how low your center of gravity is, I won’t let you pass!

But it was a fake move. His pivot foot hadn’t moved at all. With an extreme spin, he maneuvered to the other side of Arthur.

And because of momentum, it was too late for Arthur!

Carl rushed over to help defend, not expecting Xia Chiyi to shoot a fadeaway. The ball was well beyond reach.

On the scoreboard, Xia Chiyi’s side went from trailing to overtaking, leading by 1 point!

On the sidelines, Carpenter’s eyes were practically glued to Xia Chiyi. He had always thought this kid was only good at dribble drives and long-range shooting; he never expected his post-up turn fadeaway jumper to be so proficient.

Moreover, it was a smaller player playing against a larger one—agile yet steady.

What else can’t this kid do?

Arthur still didn’t understand. Why isn’t the small potato tired? Why can he still execute such extreme maneuvers? Why does he still have such accuracy when the game is entering the final countdown? He makes my tight defense look like a joke!

As time constantly slipped away, both sides continued a tug-of-war, the score unable to be pulled apart.

By this point, emptying the stamina bar didn’t matter anymore anyway.

Liu Suchen received a pass from Lu Yingnan and immediately encountered Santos’s defense. This guy looked formidable at scoring on offense, but his defensive footwork was actually just as incredibly formidable.

Yang Huaiyu had already hurried over to support, but Liu Suchen dribbled the ball toward the side of his left foot with his right hand. Seemingly trying to drive from the left side, he actually switched to dribbling with his left hand. Immediately following that, he took a large stride with his right foot toward the front right. Santos’s center of gravity had just shifted left when he was faked to the right. Without giving him a chance to react, Liu Suchen continuously stepped his left foot to the front left, executing a forceful power dribble. When the ball bounced up high, Liu Suchen gathered it high with both hands and bypassed Santos.

Seeing that Jenkins was rushing over to swat the ball, Liu Suchen quickly laid it up, scoring rapidly.

Yang Huaiyu sneered, “Worried about you for nothing, you show-off.”

How could the faked-out Santos not retaliate? He actually double-teamed Xia Chiyi alongside Arthur, forcing Xia Chiyi to engage physically with Arthur, deliberately leaving a loophole for Xia Chiyi to pass through. Unexpectedly, using his wingspan advantage and an extremely low center of gravity, he intercepted Xia Chiyi’s ball.

“Holy crap—”

In all his years, this was the first time Xia Chiyi had encountered such a flashy operation.

Meng Ting and He Zhan’s double-teaming was simply elementary school level in front of Santos.

Santos charged into the paint with the ball, directly facing the dual defense of Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu. He just floated past when he jumped. Zhou Zhexiao had sharp eyes and immediately realized he was going for a large looping double-clutch, instantly rushing over to deliver a block.

In that brief instant, Santos felt Zhou Zhexiao’s approach. That aura filled Santos with a sense of crisis.

In a moment of taut nerves, Santos tossed the ball high out from the side of Zhou Zhexiao’s wrist.

The moment Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu landed, they immediately prepared for a second jump to grab the rebound.

Who knew that this ball would actually go in!

“Holy crap… that can go in?” Xia Chiyi rested his hands on his hips.

Lu Yingnan walked past him, “Did you learn that?”

“Isn’t that exactly ‘Understand it upon seeing, but useless upon tossing’?” Xia Chiyi mimicked a floater motion.

“It’s just a pity; Zhou Zhexiao almost blocked him,” Lu Yingnan said.

Looking at Zhou Zhexiao’s back, Xia Chiyi shook his head: “In Zhou Zhexiao’s world, there is only success or failure. There is no such thing as ‘almost succeeding’.”

Just as Lu Yingnan was about to turn around, Xia Chiyi suddenly asked: “If you encountered the double-team defense from Arthur and Santos just now, what would you do?”

“I would proactively engage physically with Santos, switch to dribbling with my left hand, suddenly withdraw my force during the confrontation, and then break through.”

“Oh…” Xia Chiyi visualized the scene in his mind.

“Does it seem like ‘Understand it upon hearing, but useless once double-teamed’?”

Xia Chiyi smiled, “My left-hand dribble probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rhythm.”

The game entered the final twelve seconds, and the point gap between the two teams was only 1 point.

Connecticut went into a full-court press tight defense. Lu Yingnan held the ball to organize the offense, unexpectedly finding himself double-teamed.

He delivered a real-time live demonstration of the breakthrough method he had just described to Xia Chiyi.

A rapid switch of hands, an overpowering physical confrontation, an instantaneous power dribble breakthrough—so handsome it sent him flying.

Zhou Zhexiao received the pass from Lu Yingnan, driving in with an unstoppable momentum. Under the basket, he executed a logic-defying double-clutch, his mid-air posture peerlessly elegant. Using his core strength to twist his body, the three big men under the basket—Martin, Jenkins, and Santos—actually failed to stop him. With an earth-shattering dunk, the blood of the audience rushed to the tops of their heads, their hormones ready to explode.

—Is this really something we can watch without buying a ticket?

“Good—” Li Xiaoran clapped vigorously.

For some reason, Ling Huanzhen’s eyes grew hot.

His old friend Sheng Xingming had always wanted to play forward. An unfulfilled wish from his past life—he wondered if today’s game had satisfied him.

Carpenter’s face was completely devoid of expression, but his scalp was tingling.

Zhou Zhexiao’s final dunk wasn’t for showing off; it was an airborne breakthrough with a clear purpose, a fusion of physical prowess and skill.

Across the ocean… hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Carpenter suddenly realized that facing such a lineup, losing was not shameful. The most important thing was gaining experience from tough opponents.

He comforted the players he brought, telling them that they had underestimated the enemy somewhat today, but for the next few days, they must go all out.

Jenkins sat in his chair with a towel over his head, spouting a frenzy of trash talk.

He hadn’t won a single ball over Zhou Zhexiao under the basket. Conversely, Zhou Zhexiao had scored ten points over his head.

Even that small potato was able to pull off a double-clutch in front of him.

Carpenter’s expression turned cold: “Quit your complaining.”

Jenkins was so hateful he ground his teeth, but could only emit suppressed sounds of anger from his throat, not daring to curse another dirty word.

Arthur sat in his chair, leaning back hard, letting the sweat run down strands of his hair. At this moment, he truly didn’t want to say a single word, not even wanting to do post-match stretching. His mind was filled with the weak-side breakthrough Xia Chiyi had improvised on the spot… as well as his elegant shooting form and various clever off-ball movements.

“He’s definitely a little monster.”

Sitting next to him, Gloomy Bro nodded in deep empathy.

Meanwhile, Xia Chiyi and the others were in the ecstasy of winning. After Zhou Zhexiao scored, Xia Chiyi had fiercely jumped onto Zhou Zhexiao’s back.

Zhou Zhexiao leaned forward slightly, hooked Xia Chiyi’s legs, and stabilized his center of gravity.

But Xia Chiyi excitedly bounced up and down on his back, followed shortly by Yang Huaiyu and Liu Suchen swarming over.

Lu Yingnan was relatively restrained, standing not far away with his hands on his hips, watching them.

Xia Chiyi’s smiling face looked exceptionally dazzling under the ceiling lights. Even with so many people crowding and bumping into him, Zhou Zhexiao steadily kept Xia Chiyi carried high on his back.

Ye Chaoying asked Ke Yan beside him: “Is this real? Did we really beat Connecticut?”

Ke Yan nodded vigorously: “Yes, yes! We beat Connecticut!”

It was Ling Huanzhen who pulled them from their inflated egos back to reality: “Wake up, babies. We assembled the elite of three major divisions just to beat their second string.”

Even though this was true, the corners of Li Xiaoran’s mouth were like an AK, impossible to suppress.

“Starting tomorrow, it won’t be a combined university team facing them. Among all the university teams, yours has the thinnest roster. Coach Ling, your Ningchang University is the newly crowned Southeast King; don’t lose too badly and embarrass us.”

Ling Huanzhen smiled: “What are you thinking? We’ll continue to be the dark horse.”

Carpenter walked over. This time, his attitude while shaking hands with Li Xiaoran was much more humble.

The two chatted for a while. Li Xiaoran invited them to eat together, but Carpenter said that having lost the game, he needed to take his players back to review, and they would go all out in the upcoming practice matches.

Li Xiaoran thanked them politely.

As Carpenter turned to leave, he glanced at Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi was saying something to Zhou Zhexiao with dancing eyebrows and radiant delight, even making a few shooting gestures. Zhou Zhexiao’s expression was calm, but a faint smile played at the corners of his lips.

Carpenter could faintly sense a subtle tacit understanding between Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi, only that Zhou Zhexiao hadn’t appeared until the second half, perhaps deliberately hiding their level of synergy.

There would probably be big surprises in the next few days.

Once Carpenter led his team away, Li Xiaoran clapped loudly to attract everyone’s attention: “The players who just played, do your post-match muscle relaxation as soon as possible. Change clothes if you need to, don’t catch a cold! The rest of the players, follow the coach’s orders and start the practice matches!”

As the host, Liu Suchen led Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi to the locker room, teaching them how to use the shower cubicles.

Yang Huaiyu and Mo Chuang chatted while packing their waterproof bags. Lu Yingnan had already carried his things into the shower cubicle.

They had all come to Qing Da to play practice matches before. Only the two new guests, Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao, were still slowly packing up their lockers.

Xia Chiyi was blocked by the locker door, digging around for something unknown inside.

Zhou Zhexiao sat on the bench behind him, quietly waiting for him.

Liu Suchen chuckled and teased, “Xia Chiyi, are you mixing perfumes on site?”

“Mixing what perfume?” Xia Chiyi felt somewhat guilty.

“An enchanting potion. Otherwise, why haven’t you come out after so long?”

“I’m looking for my change of clothes… almost, I’ll be done very soon!”

Liu Suchen tilted his head. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but the section of Xia Chiyi’s nape visible past the locker door was a bit red.

However, Zhou Zhexiao, sitting on the bench, didn’t seem to find anything unusual about Xia Chiyi. His hands even hung lazily by his sides, exuding a calm demeanor that suggested he would wait no matter how long Xia Chiyi dawdled.

Liu Suchen felt he was poking his nose where it didn’t belong.

“Alright then, I’m going to wash up first.”

Only when the locker room was completely empty did Xia Chiyi curl over and exhale a long breath.

He carefully tugged the waistband of his pants outward, peeked inside, and despaired as his face turned even redder.

“Because you were too excited from the match and can’t calm down in a short time, it’s affecting your blood vessel constriction. Your current condition is normal.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang out out of nowhere, contrasting with the sound of water from the showers. It sounded so cool and detached, as if stripped of all desire.

Like a startled fawn, Xia Chiyi turned his head to look at him. His skin, previously pink, had now turned the color of a rotten tomato.

“You… you… why are you still here?”

Zhou Zhexiao tilted his head slightly. “You’re still here, why shouldn’t I be here?”

“Are… are you waiting for me?”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

“No need, we’re not elementary school students who have to go to the bathroom together after class. You go first.”

A nuclear explosion was playing out in Xia Chiyi’s mind. Right now, he just wanted to stay alone for a while, unwatched and unnoticed, waiting for his surging hot blood to cool down…

“I’m your boyfriend. Shouldn’t I wait for you?”

Zhou Zhexiao straightened his back, leaning toward Xia Chiyi.

Being stared at like this, Xia Chiyi’s heart beat faster and faster, and his cheeks grew increasingly hot.

Zhou Zhexiao’s sweat-dampened bangs had curled up, and his eyelashes were wet too, making him look like a siren resting on the deck of a ship, while Xia Chiyi was the sole bewitched tourist in the sea.

“I won’t be that fast… you go wash first.”

Xia Chiyi didn’t dare to keep looking into Zhou Zhexiao’s deep eyes. He turned his head away, continuing to face his sports bag in the locker.

“I’ll help you.”

“I don’t need it! I can do it myself!”

Xia Chiyi panicked. It was truly too embarrassing; to actually have his hot blood surge up after playing a game and for it to endure so long. Zhou Zhexiao said it was normal, but who knew if he would laugh at him once they stepped out of this locker room.

“What are you nervous about? I said this is a common occurrence… I’m not lying to you.”

After saying that, Zhou Zhexiao stood up and pressed against Xia Chiyi’s back. His left arm wrapped around Xia Chiyi’s shoulders, pulling him into his embrace, probably to prevent him from thrashing around and injuring himself again.

Gentle, soothing kisses landed on Xia Chiyi’s neck. Just as Xia Chiyi was about to struggle, the kisses suddenly became forceful, as if wanting to suck all the blood out of Xia Chiyi.

Even though it carried the dangerous sensation of being devoured whole by the other party, it stimulated Xia Chiyi even more.

The tip of Zhou Zhexiao’s nose rubbed affectionately against the hollow of his neck, his teeth nibbling finely from the collarbone all the way up to his chin. Every bite was painless, yet it felt like he was tracing the trajectory of his flowing blood, filling Xia Chiyi with anticipation, making his bones tremble slightly.

Xia Chiyi grabbed onto Zhou Zhexiao’s arm with both hands. His legs felt as if they no longer belonged to him, almost unable to stand.

Zhou Zhexiao kissed past the side of his Adam’s apple, finally tracing the jawline to the corner of his mouth. The tip of his tongue pried open the seam of his lips, dominating with fatal aggression as he pushed inside.

The corners of Xia Chiyi’s eyes grew wet, kissed by Zhou Zhexiao until he couldn’t stand steadily. Zhou Zhexiao’s arm tightened its grip.

“Forgot to tell you, a pilled wristband… is the most useful at a time like this.”

Zhou Zhexiao said softly.

Xia Chiyi almost went crazy.

Because on his right wrist, Zhou Zhexiao was wearing that pilled wristband, and it occasionally brushed against Xia Chiyi. The sparks of that instant completely burned away Xia Chiyi’s mind and reasoning.

Yang Huaiyu had already finished washing and come out. The sound of slippers slapping against the tile floor echoed; every step made Xia Chiyi feel the panic of being exposed.

Zhou Zhexiao felt Xia Chiyi’s trembling and let out a very soft, muffled chuckle, as if pulling the trigger on Xia Chiyi’s nerves. The instant the bullet left the chamber, Xia Chiyi’s tension suddenly released into relaxation.

Fortunately, the locker Yang Huaiyu had chosen was a bit far from them. His teasing voice came through several lockers away, “Are you two dating in the locker room? Dawdling until now and still not going to wash? Are you waiting until we all leave?”

With his head lowered, Xia Chiyi thought to himself: Yang Huaiyu, how do you manage to hit the bullseye while being completely clueless?

Zhou Zhexiao slowly let go of Xia Chiyi, but still placed a gentle kiss on the back of his head.

His arm brushed past Xia Chiyi’s shoulder, reached into the locker, and with an easy pull, dragged out Xia Chiyi’s waterproof bag.

“Let’s go.” Zhou Zhexiao turned and walked toward the showers.

As they walked past, Liu Suchen and Mo Chuang happened to walk out.

“Haha, small potato, wrapping yourself up so tightly—who are you afraid is going to peel your potato skin?” Liu Suchen gave a wicked smile, pretending to hook the bath towel wrapped around Xia Chiyi’s waist.

Mo Chuang bumped him with his knee. “Don’t be mean…”

Before he could finish, Liu Suchen stumbled forward, his face landing right against Xia Chiyi’s abs as the bath towel fell off. Liu Suchen’s eyes widened.

“Xia Chiyi—who wears compression pants inside a bath towel?”

“None of your business!”

“But for someone who looks so tiny, your abs look so good?” Just as Liu Suchen’s hand was about to cover them, he was yanked back by the collar by Zhou Zhexiao.

“Holy crap… Zhou Zhexiao, are you trying to strangle me to death?”

“Xia Chiyi has abs? Let me see!” Mo Chuang also leaned in.

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[Author’s Note]
Lu Yingnan: These fools, only I see the truth.