Chapter 0130: Zhou Zhexiao VS Geng Lu

“If you win, you win. Even if I sent you a red envelope, you wouldn’t use the money anyway.”

Xia Chiyi thought to himself: What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is still mine. A bet will definitely end up existing in name only.

“The winner gets to leave a hickey on the loser.”

Xia Chiyi almost choked on his own saliva. What did Zhou Zhexiao just say?

“Where… where did you learn that?”

Zhou Zhexiao didn’t answer, merely maintaining a slightly lowered head posture as he looked at him.

Passersby walked by from time to time, casting curious glances at these two handsome guys just standing there motionless, wondering what they were doing.

“Change it to something else.”

“Alright, the loser has to smell Ling Huanzhen’s socks and say they smell great.”

Xia Chiyi’s face immediately scrunched up like a steamed bun. “Then I’d rather smell your socks!”

Zhou Zhexiao’s lips curved up: “Oh, surrendering before we even compete.”

“Someone like you really deserves to be a single dog for ten thousand years. Isn’t the main point here whether I’m willing to smell your socks?”

“Or you can go back and kneel on the electronic scale.”

“That’s nothing, it’s not a durian…”

“Kneel until it displays the exact number I tell you.”

Resting his hands on his hips, Xia Chiyi burst into laughter. When it came to playing around, Zhou Zhexiao really knew how to play.

“From now on, I’m forbidding you from playing on your phone. You are not allowed to be exposed to all this messy information.”

“So which bet are we choosing?”

“Leaving a hickey. But where it’s planted has to be decided by the person receiving it.”

Zhou Zhexiao smiled very faintly. “Since you get the final say, why do you keep covering your neck with your hand?”

“Because you pissed me off so much my neck went crooked, satisfied?”

The two walked a few steps and arrived at Chenghu Park. There was a dedicated jogging track here. Exiting Chenghu Park and walking two more bus stops would get them back to school.

For the first round, they competed to see who could complete a hundred left-handed V-dribbles in the shortest amount of time.

Zhou Zhexiao beat Xia Chiyi by a full twenty seconds. His steady dribbling posture made it look like even if he held a thermos of chrysanthemum and goji berry tea in his right hand, not a single drop would spill.

“Are we planting the hickey now, or putting it on an IOU?” Zhou Zhexiao asked, balancing the basketball in one hand.

“What are you thinking? What if we scare the grandpas and grandmas taking a stroll in the park?”

“Oh, so it’s an IOU.”

Seeing the other’s unbothered expression irritated Xia Chiyi a bit. He refused to believe he would keep losing.

If he couldn’t win at V-dribbling, then they would compete in same-side foot sudden-stop pound dribbles. This required good rhythm, otherwise it was very easy to lose the ball.

Zhou Zhexiao: “I couldn’t tell you were this greedy.”

“What greedy?”

“One hickey isn’t enough, you want me to give you two.”

Xia Chiyi’s heart skipped a beat. If it were his right hand, he could dribble like an agile, bouncing rabbit.

But with his left hand, it was easy to lose coordination during sudden stops, especially dropping the ball during a continuous sequence.

He was trying to make things difficult for Zhou Zhexiao, but ended up making things difficult for himself.

By the time Xia Chiyi reached his thirtieth dribble, he lost the ball. Zhou Zhexiao swept his long arm out, scooping up both the basketball and Xia Chiyi.

“This time doesn’t count. A butterfly just flew by, and I was afraid of scaring it, so I want a do-over!”

Zhou Zhexiao nodded very magnanimously: “Okay.”

Trying again, Xia Chiyi lost his rhythm on the forty-fifth dribble. The ball bounced off his foot—another failure.

“That only happened because I stepped on an uneven patch of ground… I want another do-over!”

“Okay.” Zhou Zhexiao retrieved the ball and handed it back to Xia Chiyi.

“Aren’t you mad that I keep acting shamelessly and breaking the rules?” Xia Chiyi asked curiously.

“As long as it’s not an official match, you can always have a do-over.”

When Zhou Zhexiao said this, that feeling of being favored swelled up in Xia Chiyi’s heart again.

Just then, a little kid wearing a helmet whizzed by on a scooter. His dad followed closely beside him, nervously guarding against the kid steering into a flowerbed or bumping into pedestrians.

“Dad,” Xia Chiyi suddenly said.

“Hmm?” Zhou Zhexiao lifted his eyelids, looking around. “Where is Uncle Xia?”

Xia Chiyi suddenly smiled, revealing his little canine teeth. “I’m calling you, Papa Zhou! You guard me so carefully, not letting me step off the sidewalk and guiding me so I don’t bump into anyone. Doesn’t that look just like that dad accompanying his son riding a scooter?”

“You can save the title of ‘Dad’ for another time.”

“Ah, what time?”

Zhou Zhexiao made an ‘OK’ gesture, the circle formed by his thumb and index finger placed right in front of his lips. Even though he had no expression on his face, he made a tiny movement, licking his upper lip. It was very subtle, but that tiny glimpse of red almost made Xia Chiyi’s soul fly out of his body.

“I’m going to continue practicing my left-handed dribbling.”

“Go ahead.”

“But I want a hickey right now.”

“We can’t do it in the park.” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice actually sounded somewhat hypocritically innocent.

“Then why did you seduce me!”

Xia Chiyi grumpily turned around and continued his left-handed dribbling. For some reason, it went exceptionally smoothly this time; he dribbled all the way to the park exit without a single hiccup.

But he naturally still lost to Zhou Zhexiao.

“I’m really so annoyed. Is there absolutely anything you aren’t good at?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Three-pointers. Right now, my three-pointers aren’t as good as yours.”

“I’m so honored.”

Xia Chiyi pretended to have completely forgotten their bet. Entering the school gates, he greeted a few classmates he knew, went into the small supermarket to buy grilled sausages, and gave one to Zhou Zhexiao as hush money.

Looking into Xia Chiyi’s eyes, Zhou Zhexiao knew exactly what he was thinking and shook his head.

“What? You don’t like the black pepper flavor, you prefer the corn one?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Between the grilled sausage and the strawberry, I choose the strawberry.”

Right in front of Zhou Zhexiao, Xia Chiyi stuffed both sausages into his mouth. “Then you don’t get to eat!”

“Your capacity is pretty decent. Why do you look so pitiful when it comes to me?”

Xia Chiyi’s hair was about to stand on end. “Do you want to get grilled too?”

“Then I won’t eat the grilled sausage. I want to eat fried little bird.”

“Where am I supposed to find you a fried little bird!”

“You look like you just exploded (got fried), doesn’t that make you a fried little bird?”

With one hand, Xia Chiyi pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I want to check your recent browsing history… Did you go looking up messy things again!”

Things like [Ten Must-Visit Spots to Take Your Little Boyfriend]… that one was acceptable…

[How to drain his fish pond?] Who’s raising fish? What pond? My heart is clearly a vast Daming Lake!

[What egg can be looked at but not eaten?]

See? See? I told you his recent internet history was absolutely impure!

Xia Chiyi clicked the search result. The answer was actually: [A face (脸蛋 – liandan, literally “face egg”)].

Holy crap, who on earth invented such a terribly dry joke?

Returning to the dorm, Xia Chiyi was startled by Ye Chaoying. This guy was slumped in his chair like a dead fish, his head tilted back, so tired he hadn’t even put on a face mask.

“Which demon sucked the soul out of you?” Xia Chiyi crouched beside Ye Chaoying and asked.

“I practiced five hundred shots today…”

Xia Chiyi didn’t expect Ye Chaoying to actually specifically practice shooting. Wasn’t this guy only ever interested in dribbling and steals?

It seemed that after the battle with Connecticut, seeing the opposing guards—whether it was Gloomy Bro or Arthur—able to score via shooting, Ye Chaoying also wanted to align himself with international standards.

“How was your accuracy?”

“I made two or three out of ten.”

Zhou Zhexiao happened to walk out after brushing his teeth. “Even multiple-choice questions give you a 25% chance if you close your eyes. Isn’t your percentage a bit too low?”

Ye Chaoying grabbed Xia Chiyi’s collar. “Just let me die…”

The phone in Xia Chiyi’s pocket buzzed. Taking it out, he read it and said, “Ye Chaoying, do you know your training plan for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know… probably more shooting.”

“My Master is currently drawing a salary from the provincial team and has to take them out for a competition tomorrow, so he packaged you up and sent you to my other Master.”

“Oh… oh…” Ye Chaoying still looked like he hadn’t fully woken up.

Two seconds later, he suddenly sprang up from his spot.

“What? Your Master is Jiao Yingfeng, right?”

“Yeah.”

“My Master just gave me away like that? Does he not care at all that I’m defecting from his tutelage?”

As if he had touched a live wire, Ye Chaoying suddenly became highly energetic, rushing into the bathroom and starting a series of operations.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to shave, deep cleanse, and apply a face mask so I can go meet Jiao Yingfeng glowing with radiance!”

Why is he acting like he’s meeting an online date in real life?

The next morning, they had classes. In the afternoon, Xia Chiyi, Zhou Zhexiao, and Ye Chaoying excitedly arrived at the basketball stadium.

He was going to meet Geng Lu today—the man Liu Suchen constantly longed for.

As soon as they reached the stadium floor, a rich aroma of coffee beans permeated the air.

Xia Chiyi closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose, sniffing for a long time. “Although I don’t know how to appreciate it, it still smells so good!”

“It’s the smell of Geisha coffee. Old Fan is a hardcore coffee enthusiast. He only brings out the Geisha to entertain guests who perfectly suit his tastes.”

Ye Chaoying was already bubbling with sour jealousy. “Xia Chiyi, just what kind of luxurious environment do you practice basketball in every day!”

“The most luxurious part of my training environment is my Master. I never even drink this Geisha or Autumn-sha coffee!”

Zhou Zhexiao calmly pushed open the frosted glass door. By the side of the spacious and bright basketball court, Fan Qingliang’s folding table and chairs were set up. On the table sat the small butter cookies Xia Chiyi wasn’t allowed to eat, the siphon coffee maker was bubbling away, and Fan Qingliang was chatting with a young man, looking like he had met a soulmate.

The other party wore a loose plaid shirt and charcoal gray casual pants, a baseball cap on his head. His voice carried a smile as he spoke. He was sitting right on a basketball, his long legs spread out, exuding a sense of relaxation that made people want to approach him.

“Uncle Fan, since you love coffee so much, I’ll send you some Panamanian coffee beans next time.”

“You’re too polite. You traveled thousands of miles from the capital to get here; we must definitely host you well.”

Xia Chiyi poked his head out. He had only seen Geng Lu in last year’s game tapes. Back then, he was wearing Qing Da’s jersey with a buzz cut. Xia Chiyi didn’t dare recognize the guest sitting on the basketball right now.

Instead, Zhou Zhexiao walked straight over with his hands in his pockets. “Uncle Fan, brewing coffee, I see.”

“Mhm.” Fan Qingliang raised a hand to introduce them. “This is Geng Lu. He currently plays point guard for the Capital Fengche team. He just flew in from the capital.”

Zhou Zhexiao looked at Geng Lu and nodded. “I know. Last year, Liu Suchen ascended to the FMVP title with your assistance.”

Ye Chaoying covered his eyes. As expected of the Arrogance King of our team. That’s a senior from the Division I League, a professional player who passed the draft.

Geng Lu, however, put on no airs whatsoever. Resting his chin on his hand, he looked up at Zhou Zhexiao from that angle. “I know you. You played 1v1 with Liu Suchen for almost forty minutes; very formidable.”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao wasn’t modest at all. Right in front of Fan Qingliang, he picked up the entire plate of butter cookies from the table.

Fan Qingliang was speechless. This guy’s stinky, do-as-he-pleases temper was quite similar to that person’s, except that person never ate butter cookies.

“You brat, if you want to eat some, just take two pieces, and I won’t tell Jiao Yingfeng. But taking the entire plate is way too arrogant, isn’t it?”

“Oh.” Zhou Zhexiao took two pieces and put the plate back.

Fan Qingliang: “Have you ever been afraid of Jiao Yingfeng?”

“There’s a guest.”

There’s a guest, so I have to give Jiao Yingfeng face.

Zhou Zhexiao walked over to Xia Chiyi and handed him the two pieces. Xia Chiyi took one and gave the other to Ye Chaoying.

Sitting on the basketball, Geng Lu turned around and pushed the brim of his cap up with his index finger, revealing his features.

His eyes and brows belonged to a gentle, non-aggressive type. His eyes weren’t large, and his nose bridge wasn’t particularly high, but the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly, making it look as if he were always smiling.

“So you are Xia Chiyi. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Geng Lu slowly stood up and walked over to Xia Chiyi.

“You’ve heard a lot about me?”

“Lately, whenever I chat with Liu Suchen, he’s always complaining to me, saying he doesn’t know how to shut down a three-point killer like you if they run into Ningchang University at the Nationals.”

Being praised by the other party like this made Xia Chiyi feel bashful.

“But I heard you’ve been practicing defense recently and got broken through by Zhou Zhexiao so much you’re almost losing your confidence. How about we practice a bit today?”

“Practice?”

Geng Lu smiled. “Did you think I’d be your opponent? We’re both guards. Whether it’s blowing past opponents or being blown past by opponents, it’s a common occurrence. The most important thing is how to defend against a guy like that.”

After speaking, Geng Lu pointed in Zhou Zhexiao’s direction.

At this time, Jiao Yingfeng also arrived. He directly handed his ceramic mug to Old Fan and received half a cup of coffee.

“I invited Geng Lu here to let you know how to defend when facing a scoring-type player like Zhou Zhexiao. If you choose to defend one-on-one, you’re wasting your own advantages.”

Geng Lu rolled his wrists and walked over. “Today, you just stay on the sidelines and watch closely how this… classmate Ye Chaoying and I stop Zhou Zhexiao.”

Ye Chaoying didn’t expect the other party to actually be able to call out his name; he instantly felt a sense of familiarity.

Xia Chiyi, however, froze. “Master, today… I’m just watching from the sidelines?”

“Mhm.” Jiao Yingfeng frowned. “You sneak food but don’t even know how to wipe your crumbs clean.”

Xia Chiyi immediately lowered his head, walked over to Mr. Fan, and sat down on a small folding stool.

Jiao Yingfeng said to Ye Chaoying: “Little Leaf, treat this as if it’s the National Tournament right now, and the person opposite you is Liu Suchen. Use everything you have to defend him, and leave the rest to Geng Lu.”

“Understood.” Ye Chaoying took a deep breath, stepped up to Zhou Zhexiao, lowered his center of gravity, and braced himself.

Zhou Zhexiao dribbled slowly. He observed Geng Lu’s position. Geng Lu was standing behind and to the side of Ye Chaoying, a bit far away. Even if he wanted to double-team later, he might not make it in time.

Zhou Zhexiao suddenly pushed the ball. His speed was fast and his wingspan was long; this push almost completely cleared Ye Chaoying’s side as he suddenly accelerated his pace.

Even though Ye Chaoying had already activated his pursuit footwork, facing a player of Zhou Zhexiao’s caliber… he was already too late.

Xia Chiyi could almost predict the scene of Zhou Zhexiao going up for a layup.

But what Xia Chiyi absolutely did not expect was that Geng Lu actually appeared right in Zhou Zhexiao’s breakthrough path. Although Zhou Zhexiao evaded Geng Lu, he was forced to slow down. Following closely, Ye Chaoying adjusted and caught up, and the two worked together to force Zhou Zhexiao toward the sideline.

Because he was close to the sideline, Zhou Zhexiao’s dribbling space narrowed. He immediately engaged in physical contact with Geng Lu while dribbling, trying to squeeze out some space.

But this contact lasted for barely more than a second before Zhou Zhexiao abruptly withdrew his force. Geng Lu continued lunging forward due to inertia, and Zhou Zhexiao forcefully squeezed out through the gap between the two of them, slipping his shoulder past their hips. Seeing the two of them about to stick to him again, Zhou Zhexiao decisively shot a fadeaway jumper.

The ball went in.

With his hands on his hips, Geng Lu didn’t seem to feel that failing to defend Zhou Zhexiao as a professional athlete lost him any face. Instead, he openly praised, “He really is very formidable!”

“Your judgment of the double-team direction is also very formidable.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

Sitting on the small folding stool, Xia Chiyi watched with unblinking eyes. Even though Zhou Zhexiao still got the shot off, the power of the “tripwire” was very obvious.

In a forty-minute basketball game, if the ace scorer was targeted like this for even five minutes—facing a double-team defense every time they broke through—even if they could forcibly score, it would severely drain their stamina and energy.

Jiao Yingfeng asked Xia Chiyi, “From this, what did you understand?”

“Predicting the direction of the double-team is very important.”

“Just that? Close your eyes and think back. Was it merely the direction of the double-team?”

Xia Chiyi tilted his head back, thinking back carefully and seriously.

“Oh, I get it. It’s not about predicting the double-team direction, but rather controlling and influencing Zhou Zhexiao’s breakthrough direction. Geng Lu deliberately stood behind and to the side of Ye Chaoying, seemingly leaving a certain amount of breakthrough space for Zhou Zhexiao. But anyone with experience knows that breaking through there would result in an immediate pincer attack from Ye Chaoying and Geng Lu, so Zhou Zhexiao chose the other side.”

“That’s easy to understand. The key is that, given Geng Lu’s position, it took time for him to run over, but how did he manage to catch up right on time?” Jiao Yingfeng asked again.

“Because from the moment Zhou Zhexiao initiated his crossover, Geng Lu confirmed his breakthrough direction. If he ran toward Ye Chaoying, he would inevitably miss. What he predicted was the position two or three steps after Zhou Zhexiao’s breakthrough.”

Hearing this, Geng Lu revealed a smile. “The small potato is quite perceptive.”

Xia Chiyi’s expression instantly turned dissatisfied: “Liu Suchen is smearing my name again! Where are you going to find a 1.88-meter-tall small potato!”

Geng Lu smiled. “You have to learn from Zhou Zhexiao. If someone talks trash to you on the court or mocks you, the thing that makes the opponent most uncomfortable is actually a look of total disregard. The fact that they can’t shake you or influence your emotions makes them suffer far more than you.”

Xia Chiyi recalled Zhou Zhexiao’s expression when facing Jenkins; it truly possessed an attack power unmatched by any trash talk.

“Again,” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang out.

Drinking his coffee, Fan Qingliang laughed: “Oh my, when Student Zhou PK’ed Yuan Tingxuan, he looked like he was about to fall asleep. Changing opponents actually ignited his fighting spirit.”

Ye Chaoying lowered his center of gravity again, tightening his focus. He refused to believe he would get blown past by Zhou Zhexiao every single time.

Expressionless, Zhou Zhexiao continued to dribble slowly, as if he didn’t care at all about Jiao Yingfeng’s 24-shot clock on the sidelines.

Right when Zhou Zhexiao abruptly pulled the ball outwards to the right, Ye Chaoying tensed up completely. Zhou Zhexiao pulled the ball back, took a small hop with his right foot, bringing up a very subtle drag step. Ye Chaoying wasn’t displaced by the shift in center of gravity, staying steadily with him.

The ball bounced up, and Zhou Zhexiao braked with his right foot to change direction. Ye Chaoying slide-stepped to follow, but immediately after, Zhou Zhexiao did a between-the-legs crossover. As the ball bounced back, he switched to a left foot forward jab. Geng Lu, who had been making small movements nearby the whole time, finally activated!

Zhou Zhexiao brought both hands together to gather the ball, then suddenly misdirected toward the opposite direction, finally faking Ye Chaoying out. Most importantly, Geng Lu also headed in that direction. Zhou Zhexiao had faked out two people at once…

“Wait, that’s not right—” Xia Chiyi’s eyes widened.

After taking just one step, Geng Lu slammed on the brakes. With a lateral slide step, he caught up with Zhou Zhexiao once again and decisively reached out to strip the ball.

Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes flashed sharply. He decisively switched the ball from his right hand to his left and engaged in contact again, bumping Geng Lu away.

Because Geng Lu’s obstruction had slowed down Zhou Zhexiao’s dribbling, it gave Ye Chaoying time to catch up. Seeing that the two of them were about to complete the pincer attack again, Zhou Zhexiao turned into a strong post-up. With a shoulder shimmy and hip rotation, moving extremely fast, he faked out both of them at once and shot a fadeaway jumper.

Geng Lu turned around. He thought a shot taken this hastily wouldn’t go in, but who knew the ball swished right through the net.

“Hah, you’re harder to deal with than Yang Huaiyu. That outside-pull forward-jab into a step-back was very silky! If Yang Huaiyu had your post-up fadeaway jumper level, who knows who would have won the championship last year.”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao agreed with Geng Lu’s assessment.

But the offensive and defensive battle just now had truly opened Xia Chiyi’s eyes.

Geng Lu asked, “Student Little Xia, it’s time to hand in your reading report.”

“You two are both actors on the court.”

“Oh?” Geng Lu lifted his chin, signaling Xia Chiyi to continue.

“Zhou Zhexiao’s reverse misdirection—the person he actually wanted to fool was you. It wasn’t until he confirmed you had activated that he chose not to pull the ball back and continued his breakthrough. However, that step you took was a fake-out to trick Zhou Zhexiao. You predicted early on that he would break through on your side, and you immediately doubled back to strip the ball.”

Geng Lu smiled slightly. “Mhm, I just didn’t expect his left-handed dribble to be so sharp; I missed the strip.”

“So the second key point of double-team defense is not only to predict the opponent’s breakthrough direction but also to predict the opponent’s intentions.” Xia Chiyi took a deep breath. “This is practically a Russian nesting doll of mind games, layer upon layer. Until the very end, you don’t know who trapped who.”

“Haha, isn’t that the most interesting part of defense?”

Jiao Yingfeng looked down at Xia Chiyi. “Therefore, even with experience and reactions like Geng Lu’s, it’s impossible to guard Zhou Zhexiao one-on-one. So, Xia Chiyi, you must remember: defense utilizes not just your own skills, but everything on the court. For example, your teammates, and even your opponents.”

“I’ll remember, Master,” Xia Chiyi nodded.

Ye Chaoying walked a small half-circle with his hands on his hips. “So in this entire offensive and defensive battle, I’m the only blockhead?”

Jiao Yingfeng smiled: “Little Leaf, you’re not a blockhead. In the future, the front court will rely on the coordination between you and Xia Chiyi to pin down the opponent’s ace.”

Hearing Jiao Yingfeng say this fired Ye Chaoying up even more.

“Round three, let’s go!”

This time, Ye Chaoying and Geng Lu changed their defensive positioning. Given Zhou Zhexiao’s powerful left-handed dribbling ability, Ye Chaoying stood on his right, while Geng Lu defended his left. This was a glaring left-right pincer attack that was already formed.

Xia Chiyi was curious: How will Zhou Zhexiao break through this time, and how will Geng Lu defend?

Zhou Zhexiao’s center of gravity rose and fell like ocean waves, incorporating jab steps. The basketball looped between his legs as if drawing a large circle. This kind of center-of-gravity variation was highly deceptive, making Ye Chaoying and Geng Lu constantly shift their forward-backward footing, preparing to launch an interception at any moment.

In a split second, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly wrapped the ball from between his legs to behind his back, dropping his shoulder and surging forward. Geng Lu’s reaction was too fast; he immediately blocked that direction. But Zhou Zhexiao suddenly executed a drop step backward, the ball suspending in the air. He did a fake gather, then launched forward off the drop step—a breakthrough utilizing the change in rhythm and center of gravity!

Those seemingly complex movements were actually just constantly disrupting the defenders’ rhythm.

But Geng Lu was practically possessed by a prediction god. Slamming on the brakes, when he turned around, his fingers even grazed the floor to maintain his center of gravity as he dashed out, staying close to the ground and chasing right behind Zhou Zhexiao.

As a bystander, Xia Chiyi felt his hairs standing on end. Just what kind of reaction speed was this?

In last year’s game tapes, Geng Lu wasn’t this formidable yet.

But Zhou Zhexiao’s reactions exceeded imagination. With an extremely powerful pound dribble, the ball floated almost to shoulder height. Geng Lu lunged past underneath the ball, failing to get the steal. Zhou Zhexiao was in a half-turned state, and the moment he brought the ball down, he faced a steal attempt from Ye Chaoying.

Ye Chaoying’s move was absolutely brilliant. Extending his arm, he directly pushed Zhou Zhexiao’s ball away.

“Beautiful!”

Both Fan Qingliang and Jiao Yingfeng applauded from the sidelines.

Xia Chiyi’s fingertips grew slightly hot. It was his first time experiencing that if two-man defense coordinated tacitly enough, its power was immense.

Geng Lu turned around and high-fived Ye Chaoying enthusiastically.

“Beautifully done, Little Leaf!”

“That turnaround steal of yours was godly!”

The two point guards expressed mutual appreciation on the spot.

Only Zhou Zhexiao silently smoothed his hair, glancing in Xia Chiyi’s direction.

Even though he was expressionless, Xia Chiyi detected a sliver of grievance.

“Oh… I understand…”

Jiao Yingfeng lowered his eyes and asked, “What do you understand?”

“If I were on the court, making it a 2v2, Zhou Zhexiao wouldn’t have been stripped of the ball at all. He could have passed.”

Hearing this, Jiao Yingfeng laughed and tugged at the back of Xia Chiyi’s collar: “Alright then, Little Prince, get on the court for a 2v2.”

“Really? I can play!” Xia Chiyi immediately stood up, almost knocking over Fan Qingliang’s coffee table.

Fan Qingliang lifted the coffee pot at the critical moment.

“Whoa there, don’t get too excited kid! Getting on the court doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll display your grand plans; you might just be serving as the control group!”

Xia Chiyi: “Who am I teamed up with?”

Jiao Yingfeng said, “Didn’t you always want to defend against Zhou Zhexiao? Then you team up with Ye Chaoying, and Geng Lu teams up with Zhou Zhexiao.”

Ye Chaoying rested his hands on his hips and tilted his head. “Zhou Zhexiao is already fierce enough, and you’re giving him wings?”

Geng Lu laughed, his eyes curving. “If you think I’m a pretty good pair of wings, you can consider joining our Capital Fengche team.”

Xia Chiyi tightened his shoelaces and stepped onto the court. “Little Leaf, not only are we going to pluck his wings, but we’re also going to let him know that a featherless phoenix is worse than a chicken!”

“Since we’re practicing defense, Zhou Zhexiao and Geng Lu, bring it on,” Jiao Yingfeng lifted his chin.

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao dribbled unhurriedly.

Xia Chiyi knew this state of his; he was brewing something.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhexiao charged straight with the ball right between Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying, seemingly uncaring if he bowled over either of them.

Xia Chiyi’s nerves instantly tightened. While watching Geng Lu defend Zhou Zhexiao earlier, although he was sitting off-court, his brain hadn’t been idle, running simulations back and forth many times.

The first step is to judge Zhou Zhexiao’s breakthrough direction. Can’t tell yet… Don’t shift your center of gravity carelessly; wait for that split second to arrive!

Ye Chaoying had already moved laterally, intending to tighten the gap between him and Xia Chiyi.

Zhou Zhexiao suddenly slammed on the brakes, executing an incredibly clean front crossover, faking toward Xia Chiyi’s side…

But he definitely won’t go this way!

At that moment, Xia Chiyi’s mind was incredibly clear. He took a large stride around Ye Chaoying’s back.

Sure enough, Zhou Zhexiao chose to break through on Ye Chaoying’s other side, because there was no Xia Chiyi defending that side, and he could also receive support from Geng Lu!

Prediction accurate!

Zhou Zhexiao immediately switched hands dribbling and engaged in contact with Xia Chiyi.

Ye Chaoying’s reaction was also fast. He didn’t circle around to Zhou Zhexiao’s other side, but urgently defended the passing lane to Geng Lu.

Geng Lu continuously ran routes, trying to shake off Ye Chaoying’s pass denial.

Xia Chiyi engaged in contact with Zhou Zhexiao for three or four consecutive steps, already approaching the basket. Xia Chiyi knew Zhou Zhexiao was about to bounce him off and release a floater.

At the exact moment Zhou Zhexiao exerted force, Xia Chiyi planted his other foot firmly into the ground, forcefully holding his ground. Zhou Zhexiao rapidly pulled back, and Xia Chiyi lost his balance, falling forward due to inertia. Zhou Zhexiao immediately jumped, releasing a right-handed floater.

But Xia Chiyi used his thigh strength to steady himself, jumping up behind Zhou Zhexiao and turning his body to swat the ball from behind.

Geng Lu was stunned. This kid’s reaction speed was absolutely godly!

But unfortunately, Zhou Zhexiao used a deft flick of his wrist to finesse the ball into the hoop. Instead, Xia Chiyi ended up crashing into him, and Jiao Yingfeng directly blew the whistle for a foul.

Xia Chiyi rested his hands on his hips, exhaling an unwilling breath.

Zhou Zhexiao looked at him. His lips had barely parted when Xia Chiyi spoke first: “I don’t want your praise. Failing to stop it is failing to stop it. Even if I correctly predicted your movement, a loss is a loss.”

Ye Chaoying also clapped his hands. “Next ball, let’s keep going!”

Xia Chiyi picked up the ball and tossed it back to Zhou Zhexiao: “Again!”

Zhou Zhexiao looked into Xia Chiyi’s eyes. The other’s gaze was profound. When they faced each other, he was no longer that soul from the past whom Xia Chiyi admired, but a unique opponent, a high mountain that had to be conquered.

The power brought forth by these eyes presented a greater challenge than all the opponents standing at the pinnacle in his past.

Because… he wanted to captivate that gaze forever.

Zhou Zhexiao accelerated with the ball, initiating physical contact right from the start, pushing through Xia Chiyi’s defense the whole way.

Finding an opening, Ye Chaoying immediately collapsed for the double-team, aiming to strip the ball before Zhou Zhexiao could switch hands.

Who knew Zhou Zhexiao, while fending off Xia Chiyi, would throw a bounce pass. The landing spot of this pass was exactly to Ye Chaoying’s left. Being on his weak side made Ye Chaoying’s steal attempt a beat too slow. Receiving the ball, Geng Lu immediately hit a step-back jumper.

“Ahhhhh!” Ye Chaoying gnashed his teeth in anger. It seemed he needed to properly train his left-handed steals too.

Xia Chiyi didn’t expect Zhou Zhexiao to be so simple and brutal this time. He was also reminding Xia Chiyi: If you encounter a highly aggressive scoring player like me—such as Yang Huaiyu or Liu Suchen—don’t let yourself get stuck in a position of physical contact. Try your best to force them to pass, or complete a steal, before the contact is initiated.

Jiao Yingfeng nodded at Geng Lu: “Your shooting is much more on track than Yuan Tingxuan’s.”

Geng Lu smiled. “I still need to fix the issue with my shot arc. The high-arc shot is a technique even current active NBA stars covet. We have a ready-made expert locally, of course I have to come learn.”

“I’ll teach you properly tomorrow,” Jiao Yingfeng nodded.

Perhaps feeling that Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying weren’t frustrated enough, Fan Qingliang chimed in: “Ah, hearing Jiao Yingfeng say that, Geng Lu will definitely put in even more effort.”

Ye Chaoying directly rolled his sleeves up to his shoulders: “Working hard is good! We were afraid that as a pro, he would look down on us college students and not be willing to put in the effort!”

Xia Chiyi also adjusted his mentality and hooked a finger at the opponents: “Come again! I refuse to believe we can’t stop you guys even once all afternoon!”

Zhou Zhexiao tossed the ball to Geng Lu, signaling for him to start this possession.

Geng Lu’s dribbling blow-by didn’t have that many flashy tricks; facing Ye Chaoying, he went straight into a drag step.

But unlike the drag step commonly used by college students, Geng Lu’s inner foot incorporated a small dig step, which allowed his breakthrough to change speeds much faster than a regular drag step.

He thought this move would fake Ye Chaoying off his feet, but unexpectedly, as if he had predicted it early on, Ye Chaoying immediately recovered his center of gravity and gave chase.

Ye Chaoying had taken Jiao Yingfeng’s pointers from earlier to heart.

Don’t follow the ball, and don’t just follow the person. You must predict the opponent’s breakthrough direction.

When Ye Chaoying caught a glimpse of the force angle of Geng Lu’s small dig step, he anticipated his true direction.

Geng Lu put away all his smiles, realizing this kid wasn’t easy to deal with. He suddenly pushed the ball and rotated his hips to blow past—unexpected yet smooth as flowing water. Ye Chaoying really didn’t manage to keep up, and after breaking through, Geng Lu didn’t linger in the fight, immediately passing to Zhou Zhexiao.

Xia Chiyi was sticking closely beside Zhou Zhexiao. When Geng Lu bypassed Ye Chaoying, Xia Chiyi predicted he would pass the ball.

Zhou Zhexiao dribbled rapidly, Xia Chiyi staying right beside him. Just as the two were about to engage in contact, Xia Chiyi suddenly withdrew. The moment Zhou Zhexiao adjusted his center of gravity, Xia Chiyi suddenly pressed up against him again, attempting to suppress his layup speed.

But Zhou Zhexiao executed a large sweep-through, looping the ball around Xia Chiyi, and tossed it right into the hoop.

“You improved…”

Before Zhou Zhexiao’s “You improved” could leave his mouth, Xia Chiyi turned his head and walked away.

Enjoying the drama, Ye Chaoying deliberately said, “Oh my, it looks like Ningchang’s Number One CP is facing dissolution! Do you want me to buy you a washboard?”

Xia Chiyi echoed coldly, “Don’t you know that kneeling on washboards isn’t trendy anymore?”

“Ah? What’s trendy to kneel on then?”

“Kneeling on an electronic scale.”

Ye Chaoying, who was highly proficient in all sorts of internet slang, immediately replied, “Then won’t it read five hundred kilograms!”

Hearing this, Geng Lu burst out laughing. “Your knees would get crippled from kneeling.”

Playing back and forth like this for half an hour, Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying still had zero points (duck eggs).

The two of them looked like they had been fished out of the water, their chests and backs completely soaked.

Jiao Yingfeng called a timeout, letting them catch their breath and return to the sidelines for a proper summary before continuing.

Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying slumped on the sidelines, drinking energy drinks while pulling at the collars of their tank tops.

Zhou Zhexiao took a towel out of his sports bag and pressed it against Xia Chiyi’s face. “Don’t catch a cold.”

Ye Chaoying put on an ‘as expected’ expression. “Where’s mine? Is no one going to get a towel for me?”

Zhou Zhexiao grabbed Ye Chaoying’s sports bag and brought it over. Ye Chaoying was full of joy, thinking he’d receive special service from Zhou Zhexiao, but unexpectedly, Zhou Zhexiao just dropped the bag right onto his stomach.

“Couldn’t you take it out for me?”

“I’m afraid I might pull out underwear and a wig.”

Xia Chiyi instantly burst into laughter.

“I came here to fucking play basketball, not to cosplay!”

Jiao Yingfeng walked over to the two of them, scooped up a basketball, and sat down.

“Alright, we’ve played for quite a while. What experience have we summarized? Let’s make Geng Lu feel his long trip wasn’t a waste of effort.”

Ye Chaoying scratched the back of his head: “I observed Geng Lu’s defense against Zhou Zhexiao earlier. I don’t know if I’m right.”

“Speak.”

“When he defends, he rarely stands with his feet parallel; instead, he has one foot forward and one back. Lowering his center of gravity like this, even if he gets faked out by the opponent, it won’t be beyond saving.”

Beside him, Xia Chiyi nodded vigorously. It seemed he had noticed this too.

“Also… the closer you get to the baseline, the more you have to stick tightly to the opponent. Even if Zhou Zhexiao says my physical contact is inferior to Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu’s, as we near the baseline, I absolutely must go all out to tight-mark him. The pressure has to be sufficient. Until the opponent completes the play, I absolutely cannot give up,” Xia Chiyi said.

This time, it was Zhou Zhexiao beside him who nodded.

“Furthermore, to judge the opponent’s dribbling route, observing their ankles is still an extremely useful method,” Xia Chiyi added.

At this time, Geng Lu spoke up: “But looking at your ankles, it’s very hard to predict your next move.”

---

[Author’s Note]
Liu Suchen: My Brother Geng went to teach someone else, and to teach them how to deal with me no less!
Yang Huaiyu: Hahaha, what goes around comes around!