HGTM CH22
Chapter 22: That’s a Belt, Not a Seatbelt!
“Why are we a ‘side dish’?” Xia Chiyi revealed a confused expression. “In the first quarter of today’s game, weren’t you and Du He the core of the offense?”
The word “core” made Shuai Bei’s heart skip a beat.
Ye Chaoying also yelled, “Exactly! Which strong team doesn’t have a power forward who crushes the competition! I think your aura is very alpha!”
Shuai Bei closed his eyes and exhaled. “Enough, Xia Chiyi. You’re either a dreamer or a master of false promises.”
Seeing Xia Chiyi’s disappointed expression, Shuai Bei unexpectedly felt a special kind of satisfaction.
So what if you score a lot? You’re still out of my league.
Shuai Bei turned and walked away, unable to suppress a smile as he faced the sun.
“Ah! I forgot to ask Ling Huanzhen for an autograph!” Du He suddenly shouted, turning to run back.
Xia Chiyi’s brain buzzed. “I forgot to get an autograph too!”
He hadn’t even started running when his back collar was firmly grabbed.
Turning around, he saw Zhou Zhexiao’s cold face.
“He’s already retired. His autograph is meaningless now.”
“He represents the Golden Era! An era, do you understand?! Let go of me, I’m going!”
“I thought your era only contained Sheng Xingming.”
“Sheng Xingming will always be in my heart, but Ling Huanzhen is right there ahead! Let go, I’m going, I’m going!”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’ll give you my meal card!”
“No.”
The next second, Xia Chiyi was hoisted onto the other’s shoulder.
Everything happened too fast; Xia Chiyi didn’t even know how he suddenly ended up on Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder.
Ye Chaoying picked up the sports bag Xia Chiyi had dropped, stroking his chin as he followed them.
“Du He—get an autograph for me—” Xia Chiyi stretched out his arm towards Du He, unwilling to give up.
That appearance reminded Ye Chaoying of the show Legend of the New White Snake he watched as a child; Xia Chiyi’s expression was exactly like when Bai Suzhen was locked into Leifeng Pagoda.
At this moment, Ling Huanzhen was surrounded by a group of enthusiastic university students.
Many were tugging at their own T-shirts asking for his autograph. Ling Huanzhen never expected to receive such treatment after retiring.
“Ling Huanzhen! If only you were our coach—”
“With you here, we could definitely break out of the divisional tournament and win the championship!”
“Ling Huanzhen! Coach! Ling Huanzhen! Coach!”
When one person started, the surrounding people seemed infected, clapping and shouting along.
Looking at the eager eyes, Ling Huanzhen would be lying if he said he wasn’t moved.
The school leaders and the office director had to act as bodyguards, separating the students to make a path for Ling Huanzhen to leave.
Just before the exit, Ling Huanzhen encountered Du He again.
The latter rushed in front of him holding a T-shirt and shouted all at once, “Ling Huanzhen! You are my fan! Please give me an autograph!”
“Huh?” Ling Huanzhen was stunned.
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
It took a while for Du He to realize his mistake. “No no no, I am your fan, you are my idol! Please give me an autograph!”
Ling Huanzhen took the marker, asked for Du He’s name, and signed with a flourish on his T-shirt. “Your name is Du He (River), right?”
“Yes!”
He had spoken with the men’s basketball team’s top power forward! The excitement made Du He’s face burn.
“Although your name is Du He, I hope you have the ambition to cross the sea.”
Ling Huanzhen’s words struck Du He’s heart hard. He suddenly remembered what Zhou Zhexiao had said to him—If you are not brave, no one will be strong for you.
“Wait, can you sign one for my teammate Xia Chiyi from the game just now?” Du He suddenly remembered Xia Chiyi’s request. He frantically searched his bag for paper, finally finding his vocabulary exercise book.
“Xia Chiyi? Why didn’t he ask me directly? Is he shy?”
Honestly, Ling Huanzhen quite wanted to see that little brat up close.
“He was carried off to the cafeteria by Zhou Zhexiao…” Du He lowered his head; he couldn’t lie to his idol.
Ling Huanzhen paused for two seconds, imagining the scene, and muttered, “Is that guy a team tyrant? He even controls who asks for autographs?”
After signing, it was time for the school leaders to warmly entertain Ling Huanzhen.
Although it was just a private room in the school cafeteria, all the school leaders were present. They wouldn’t give up this opportunity to take photos with Ling Huanzhen and publish a press release to boost the school’s reputation.
Ling Huanzhen had no airs and soon chatted familiarly with them.
The vice-principal laughed heartily, “You have too much prestige among the students! If our school team wasn’t at such a low level, we’d want to hire you as a coach!”
This was just polite flattery, and others chimed in.
But Principal Feng genuinely raised his tea. “If you could stay and guide the children, even for a day or two, I believe they would improve rapidly. Our school team gets crushed in the Southeast Division. If you could give them some pointers, it would give them more confidence.”
Ling Huanzhen had been worrying about how to broach the subject. As a famous retired CBA athlete, running to a university team… and one that couldn’t even make it out of the divisionals to be a coach… how could he bring it up?
But his promise to Zhou Zhexiao was there.
Jiao Yingfeng was still obsessing over who had worn out his limited-edition sneakers.
If Zhou Zhexiao exposed him, Ling Huanzhen saw black spots just imagining Jiao Yingfeng’s rage.
Now that the school leaders had spoken up, offering a ready-made step, of course he had to take it.
“Sure! The performance of those few kids today really surprised me; they’re catching up to the National Youth Team selection level! It would be a waste not to polish them properly!” Ling Huanzhen put on a hearty, guileless face. “I happen to plan on resting for a year. Staying in Ningchang for this year wouldn’t be bad!”
The vice-principal who first brought it up was stunned.
Were his ears broken? What did Ling Huanzhen just say?
Principal Feng’s eyes flashed shrewdly. Since Ling Huanzhen was being generous, he had to seize the opportunity to finalize this as soon as possible.
“You mean you’re willing to be the coach of our Ningchang University team?”
“Yes. I think the food in your school cafeteria is delicious too!”
The vice-principal hurriedly reminded him, “Um, do you want to consider it more? What if later… you regret it?”
“What’s there to regret?” Ling Huanzhen laughed. “Eh, wait, doesn’t your school team already have a coach? Don’t let someone lose their job because of me; that would be my fault.”
Principal Feng immediately said, “The original Coach Ma has been hospitalized for months due to illness. He couldn’t even come to guide the provincial grassroots competition. If you can come to coach, Coach Ma can rest easy and recuperate. Everyone wins!”
Hearing this, the vice-principal quickly hinted, “This Coach Ma Wenhua is the cousin of Provincial Team Coach Ma Hongming!”
With this relationship, the vice-principal hoped Ling Huanzhen would respect Ma Hongming and not take his cousin’s position.
Who knew Ling Huanzhen would look considerate and say, “Then I must stay even more to share Coach Ma’s burden! With me here, it doesn’t matter if Coach Ma rests until the league ends next June!”
The vice-principal felt lost in the wind. Who am I? Where am I exactly?
At this moment in the student cafeteria, Xia Chiyi looked at the clay pot stewed short ribs in front of him with zero appetite.
“I wanted Ling Huanzhen’s autograph…”
Seeing his desolate look, even Ye Chaoying felt sorry for him.
“You wouldn’t understand it even if you got it,” Zhou Zhexiao responded coldly.
“How could I not understand…”
“Because it’s ugly.”
Ye Chaoying and Xia Chiyi both looked at him, feeling like he was solemnly talking nonsense.
Ling Huanzhen’s signature must have been designed by a professional; how could it be ugly?
Just then, Du He rushed into the cafeteria. After scanning around, he finally found Xia Chiyi. He came to them with an excited face, opening his jacket to reveal the signature on the T-shirt inside.
“Look! It’s Ling Huanzhen’s autograph!”
Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying immediately pounced to look. They almost rotated Du He’s T-shirt 360 degrees but still couldn’t make it out.
“What on earth is this thing?”
“Told you it was ugly.” Zhou Zhexiao lifted his soup bowl and took a sip of the legendary seaweed egg drop soup with the posture of tasting tea.
“So Zhou Zhexiao wasn’t lying…”
“Truly a teammate, he doesn’t deceive us.”
They invited Du He to sit down. As they collectively reached their chopsticks towards the clay pot ribs, Xia Chiyi paused.
“Did we forget something?”
Ye Chaoying frowned. “Yeah, after all, there are four people in a dorm…”
A figure appeared behind Xia Chiyi, and a low, disappointed voice sounded: “Do you still remember Pang Shuai by Daming Lake?”
“Little Pang, thanks for your hard work! Sit down quickly, look, we ordered clay pot stewed ribs for you!”
“Yeah, no one has touched their chopsticks yet!”
Pang Shuai sat down contentedly and handed his DSLR camera to Xia Chiyi next to him. “Take a good look! You guys won big today. The news club stopped me at the basketball hall entrance, saying they wanted my photos to supplement the school’s official account. I think they only snapped shots of Ling Huanzhen, and probably didn’t get a single usable game photo.”
Hearing this, Xia Chiyi immediately turned on Pang Shuai’s DSLR and connected his phone to the camera’s wireless transfer function.
Although Little Pang didn’t understand basketball rules and didn’t watch many games, he captured many thrilling moments.
For example, Du He’s opening jump ball, eyes wide and focused on the sky, a small head taller than Chen Chuan, full of dynamism.
Shuai Bei’s dunk, the vibration of the hoop practically coming through the screen.
“Wow, we have to send this to Shuai Bei later, let him know he looks truly handsome playing basketball!”
Ye Chaoying jumping in mid-air to intercept the pass to He Bin, looking like he was catching a cannonball with his flesh and blood.
Xia Chiyi held the phone in front of Ye Chaoying. Ye Chaoying’s eyes widened as he took it. “Yo, Little Pang… you have such powerful skills! You are our dorm’s treasure! Everyone looks like a mortal becoming a god in your camera!”
“You just found out!” Little Pang smiled smugly.
Scrolling further back, Ye Chaoying showed an envious and jealous expression. “Zhou Zhexiao, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, one dorm cannot accommodate two handsome guys. How can this guy be so handsome?”
“How handsome? Let me see!” Xia Chiyi took the phone back.
Zhou Zhexiao was used to this and seemed uninterested. However, Xia Chiyi’s eyes grew round looking at the screen, sparkling as if shaking them would spill countless little stars.
When Zhou Zhexiao dribbled past people, his center of gravity was low, body leaning forward, pushing off to accelerate. Every muscle line was stretched out, as if pulling on Xia Chiyi’s heartstrings. His expression was cold, gaze focused, moving like the wind and lightning, reminding Xia Chiyi of Sheng Xingming’s commemorative ad in the subway station.
Gulp. Xia Chiyi swallowed, his heart racing. He looked to the side and found Zhou Zhexiao hadn’t heard him swallow, finally relaxing. He swiped to the next photo.
It was Zhou Zhexiao with his index finger on his lips, gaze cold and sharp, signaling to Xia Chiyi: The scoring contest begins.
A close-up of his face. The exquisiteness of his brow and eyes, the sharpness of his jawline were all captured. Xia Chiyi dared to say those celebrities might have Zhou Zhexiao’s looks, but they wouldn’t have his aura.
Xia Chiyi quietly saved it. He could send it to his mom to show he was taking good care of Zhou Zhexiao.
Swiping to the next one, it was Zhou Zhexiao tapping his wrist, lifting his chin to signal Xia Chiyi that if he didn’t focus, time wouldn’t be enough.
That arrogant look, do you really think you’re King Zhou of Zhou?
But Xia Chiyi’s body was honest despite his mouth, and he saved that photo too. After all… being handsome was a reason to forgive his smugness.
Swiping down again, it was his own buzzer-beating three-pointer. Look at my posture, the arc of my parabola. Xia Chiyi felt like he was falling in love with himself.
And in the bottom left corner of the photo was Zhou Zhexiao looking up, as if chasing that basketball.
Xia Chiyi felt inexplicably nervous and zoomed in on that spot.
Thanks to the DSLR’s pixels, it almost perfectly captured Zhou Zhexiao’s upturned eyelashes. His lips were slightly parted, his face stripped of its coldness, replaced by a kind of anticipation. Xia Chiyi suddenly realized that Zhou Zhexiao might really like watching him shoot.
Of course, this was just his guess. If he guessed right, Xia Chiyi would keep it a secret.
“Why aren’t you eating yet?”
Unknowingly, Zhou Zhexiao had leaned in.
Did this guy have a subwoofer? Speaking right by his ear, making his heart tremble. Xia Chiyi shrugged and put the phone on the table. “Not looking anymore, I’ll pick later. Eating now.”
Instead, Zhou Zhexiao picked up the phone he had placed face down on the table and started looking.
Scrolling down further were Xia Chiyi’s celebration gestures after scoring, making OK signs over his eyes, tilting his head like a little owl waiting to be petted.
Zhou Zhexiao smiled very faintly, until beside him, Xia Chiyi picked the bones out of a boiled fish slice and placed it on his plate.
“Your Majesty, the food is getting cold!”
“Mn.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded and put the fish slice into his mouth.
“Why? I want someone to pick fish bones for me too!” Ye Chaoying was sharp-eyed.
“He got stuck by a fish bone before. Have you?” Xia Chiyi asked back.
“But my mom says people who can’t pick fish bones are fools!”
“Boring.” Zhou Zhexiao ended the meaningless argument with two words.
Back in the dorm, after a quick shower, Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying climbed into bed and fell asleep. Little Pang remained at the desk, opening his laptop to select photos.
He was focusing on his work when he inexplicably felt a pressure behind him. Turning around, he found Zhou Zhexiao standing there.
“Ah… Zhou… Zhou Zhexiao… do you want to select photos?” Little Pang didn’t know why he stuttered.
“I want to take a look.”
“Oh, take a look. Then sit down and look, otherwise I keep feeling a death stare like the dean’s.”
Little Pang actively moved Zhou Zhexiao’s chair next to his own.
He found that Zhou Zhexiao was actually very quiet and wouldn’t make any comments unless Little Pang asked him. He wasn’t even interested in which of his own photos would go on the Ningchang University official account. But when Little Pang scrolled to Xia Chiyi’s photos, Zhou Zhexiao would visibly lean forward.
“Have you noticed, Xia Chiyi sometimes pouts.” Little Pang’s mouse hovered over a photo of Xia Chiyi with hands on hips, head down, thinking about how to catch up to Zhou Zhexiao’s score in the remaining time.
“Mn. He does that when he’s thinking,” Zhou Zhexiao said lightly.
Little Pang looked over in surprise, finding Zhou Zhexiao’s expression much gentler than on the court.
“Like that Cheshire Cat meme.”
“Mn?”
“I’ll find it for you.” Rarely chatting with Zhou Zhexiao, Little Pang took out his phone, opened WeChat, found the meme, and showed it to him.
The indentation at the corner of Zhou Zhexiao’s lips became more pronounced. “It is very similar.”
“Right?” Little Pang turned back to continue selecting photos.
“You took good photos.”
“Really?” Little Pang suspected his ears were broken; Zhou Zhexiao was actually praising him.
“Mn. Better than those photographers at the NBA games.”
Little Pang paused. He originally thought Zhou Zhexiao was very solitary; aside from Xia Chiyi, he hadn’t seen him speak more than five words to anyone else.
Being praised by him now, Little Pang suddenly felt closer to this guy the more he looked at him.
“You have taste. 4 PM, milk tea, let’s go.”
“Mn. 70% sugar, double pearls.”
“No problem!”
Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying were vibrated awake by their phones. It turned out the class teacher was tagging their dorm in the class group to hurry up and get their military training camouflage uniforms.
Xia Chiyi slept until his head looked like a bird’s nest; his fringe refused to cooperate, sticking out in different directions. Smacking his lips as he got up, he slowly climbed down the ladder. As soon as he landed, he saw Zhou Zhexiao opposite him sitting on a chair, holding a super-large milk tea with both hands and sucking on the straw. In front of him was Little Pang’s laptop, mutely playing a recent NBA game.
“Wow, you really know how to enjoy life!” Xia Chiyi walked over and pushed the other’s shoulder.
Zhou Zhexiao made a “Wu” sound.
Xia Chiyi leaned next to him and said seriously, “Zhou Zhexiao, drinking milk tea like this every day, you’ll easily turn into a square, you know that?”
Zhou Zhexiao looked up and glanced at him. “My exercise intensity is higher than yours.”
Xia Chiyi suddenly felt insulted. Was it because he didn’t do morning exercises like Zhou Zhexiao?
A wail from Ye Chaoying came from the bathroom. Xia Chiyi wondered if the guy had fallen on his tailbone.
Pushing the door open, he saw Ye Chaoying was fine, just with greasy stuff all over his fingers. “I used too much hair wax.”
“Too much is too much, so what!”
“380 yuan a bottle!”
“Uh, I now understand the reason for your heartache.”
Xia Chiyi was about to turn and leave when Ye Chaoying grabbed his hair and pulled him in.
“What are you doing! Ye Chaoying, are you trying to murder me? Don’t touch my hair! Don’t put that stuff on my head! It’s so greasy, I don’t want it! If I go bald, will you compensate me for my hair?”
Zhou Zhexiao stood at the door, silently continuing to suck on his pearls.
Little Pang leaned over and asked, “Xia Chiyi is screaming so miserably, aren’t you going to help him?”
“It’s just hair wax. Many NBA stars use it too, though most of them have buzz cuts.”
A few minutes later, Xia Chiyi walked out, leaving Little Pang stunned.
Xia Chiyi’s plain textured crop had been styled with wax to have layers. His exposed forehead highlighted his handsome brow and eyes, bringing a fashionable yet innocent youthful look.
Little Pang gulped. “If I were an older sister, I’d definitely date you.”
Ye Chaoying walked out smugly. “If I were an older brother, I’d want to keep you as a sugar baby too.”
“Get lost!”
Zhou Zhexiao silently took his wallet from the locker and pressed it into Xia Chiyi’s arms.
“Wh… what for?”
“Play basketball well, don’t be kept by others.”
It was the first time everyone saw Zhou Zhexiao’s wallet. This guy didn’t even use online banking; he always withdrew cash from the ATM and pre-deposited the money for meal cards, class fees, and late-night snack splits that Xia Chiyi paid for him into Xia Chiyi’s card.
Opening the wallet a crack, a thick stack of red bills almost blinded Ye Chaoying and Little Pang.
“Holy… haven’t seen this much cash in a long time. This looks like gift money,” Little Pang exclaimed.
Ye Chaoying asked, “What exactly is your relationship with him?”
“What relationship?” Xia Chiyi also found Zhou Zhexiao’s ID card in the wallet. This guy is legit; Little Pang’s ID photo looks like a wanted criminal, but his could be used for a talent show audition.
“Think carefully?” Ye Chaoying continued to ask.
“Brothers in the same dorm?”
“Come on, Liu Bei wouldn’t give all his assets to Zhang Fei!”
Just as Xia Chiyi was about to jump on Ye Chaoying’s back to beat him up, Zhou Zhexiao stood at the dorm door asking coldly, “Are you guys coming or not?”
King Zhou is setting out; how can the attendants not do their duty?
They quickly stopped playing around and followed.
When their dorm appeared in the classroom to collect camouflage uniforms, they immediately became the focus of everyone’s attention, somewhat like the entrance ceremony of the Olympics.
The morning game was too inspiring. The school’s WeChat official account had already released a press release. Besides the aura-filled Ling Huanzhen, it was said that photos of Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi had been downloaded by many students. People kept commenting to post the photos on the school forum quickly because the ones on WeChat were too low resolution.
As Zhou Zhexiao walked past the students, everyone looked up at him.
“I feel like… the top alpha in pure romance novels suddenly has a face…”
“You missed this morning’s game; Zhou Zhexiao was truly explosively alpha.”
The class teacher specially instructed the three of them to try on the uniforms in the classroom quickly, in case the size didn’t fit and needed exchanging.
After all, the three of them were the peak height of the entire department.
After Ye Chaoying changed, he immediately started taking selfies. This guy was a natural clothes hanger; opening the collar of the camouflage uniform gave him a somewhat lazy French vibe.
Pang Shuai was awkward. Shoulders fit but belly didn’t; two sizes up, belly fit but sleeves were long enough for Chinese opera.
Military camouflage uniforms really needed a good figure to wear, like Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao. Both had broad shoulders and tapered waists. Years of basketball made their postures upright. Xia Chiyi stretched his arms upward, intending to test the room in the shoulders, but casual hormones rushed forth, making the girls in the class unable to look away.
Xia Chiyi adjusted his cuffs, then squatted to test if the pants’ waist was suitable. Looking up, he saw several girls smiling at him. While squatting, he draped his long arms in front of his knees, pushed up his sleeves, and revealed his clean-lined wrists.
Others smiled at him, so he smiled back with curved eyes.
The girls froze, then suddenly looked away from him to exchange glances with each other, as if exchanging some secret brainwaves.
Ye Chaoying saw this scene from the corner of his eye, shook his head helplessly, and whispered, “Is this kid doing it on purpose?”
“On purpose what?” Xia Chiyi stood up and asked Ye Chaoying.
“Nothing, just stay like this.” The other patted his shoulder. “For men to maintain a refreshing, non-greasy handsomeness, it’s when they don’t know they are handsome.”
Xia Chiyi tilted his head to look at him. Ye Chaoying couldn’t resist and snapped two photos click click.
“You took photos of me.”
“So what if I did? Blind me if you have the skill.”
Ye Chaoying looked at his photographic masterpiece, especially Xia Chiyi squatting on the ground looking up and smiling… While oblivious, he had probably slain countless hearts with his innocent handsomeness.
Turning around, Xia Chiyi saw Zhou Zhexiao holding a belt and studying it.
Probably due to his height and long legs, his entire aura became sharper and more solemn. Even if his eyes revealed exploration and confusion, it looked like he was studying something very important.
“What’s wrong?”
“What is this seatbelt used for?” Zhou Zhexiao asked.
Xia Chiyi couldn’t help laughing. “That’s a belt, not a seatbelt!”
With that, Xia Chiyi took it, reached around Zhou Zhexiao’s waist. The other lowered his head and didn’t move, really thinking he was an emperor waiting to be dressed.
Xia Chiyi helplessly pulled the belt towards himself. Feeling the force from behind his waist, Zhou Zhexiao stepped half a pace closer to Xia Chiyi. Xia Chiyi leaned back against the corner of a desk, simply sitting on it to adjust the belt length at this height.
The whole classroom suddenly went quiet.
Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes and could see Xia Chiyi’s ear, the fine fuzz on his cheek becoming clearer, and that small section of the back of his neck revealed by the camouflage collar. The line extended cleanly downwards—that would be his spine, his waistline…
With a click, Xia Chiyi buckled the belt.
A very soft sound of inhaled breath came from the classroom.
Everyone had eyes; the finishing touch of this belt was too obvious. Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder-to-waist ratio and leg length were killer individually, but combined, they were a visual royal flush.
“It really is a safety belt…” Xia Chiyi sighed. “Strapping it on makes people want to commit crimes.”
This must be the legendary ascetic handsome guy.
“What?”
Zhou Zhexiao’s aura of keeping strangers away disappeared. He propped one hand beside Xia Chiyi, lowered his head, and turned his ear close to Xia Chiyi, wanting to hear clearly what he just said.
In that instant, the powerful hunter suddenly retracted all his aura and sharp edges, approaching gently.
“Nothing. Just praising that you look exceptionally handsome after fastening this safety belt.”
Xia Chiyi noticed everyone’s gaze. He could only pat Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder and squeeze out of Zhou Zhexiao’s encompassing range.
The girls’ eyes seemed suddenly lit up, like they had discovered a new continent.
When leaving, Zhou Zhexiao mimicked Xia Chiyi saying “Goodbye, Teacher.” The class teacher was surprised to find this seemingly difficult boy… was actually quite obedient.
“The school should hire you to shoot admission ads,” the class teacher laughed.
Soon, rows of camouflage uniforms were drying on the dorm balcony.
Pang Shuai brought in another courier box, sitting at the desk and slicing it open with a small knife.
“Brothers, distributing insoles! Take them! Rubber-soled shoes have hard soles and don’t absorb sweat! These insoles are soft and cushion shock!”
“Thanks! Little Pang, you are our dorm’s mascot!” Ye Chaoying rubbed the top of Pang Shuai’s head.
At this time, Xia Chiyi was sitting in the corner, holding a small basin and scrubbing the rubber-soled shoes. If the canvas wasn’t washed softer, it would definitely hurt his feet.
Since he planned to continue playing basketball in university, he couldn’t let his feet get injured.
Zhou Zhexiao also borrowed Pang Shuai’s folding chair, sitting opposite Xia Chiyi. Holding a toothbrush over a basin, he mimicked Xia Chiyi’s scrubbing.
After brushing for a while, Xia Chiyi remembered something and looked up. “Where did you get that toothbrush?”
“By the toilet.”
Xia Chiyi almost fainted. “That was the toothbrush I swiped from the guesthouse! Because you complained its bristles were hard, I specifically brought it to scrub the toilet!”
Without a second word, Zhou Zhexiao immediately carried his basin back to the bathroom to change the water.
Little Pang said with lingering fear, “I almost used that toothbrush by the toilet to scrub my shoes too.”
Ye Chaoying’s eyes widened. “Oh my god… I…”
I already used it to scrub my shoes!
Once military training ended, their university life would officially begin, including joining the school basketball team.
Xia Chiyi sighed while drying the rubber-soled shoes. “I wonder if Ling Huanzhen has left Ningchang yet… It would be great if he could be our school team coach!”
Ye Chaoying laughed. “Stop dreaming. When players of Ling Huanzhen’s level retire, they usually enter the Basketball Association.”
Zhou Zhexiao stood next to Xia Chiyi, mimicking him by clipping the shoelaces separately to dry. “He won’t leave Ningchang.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
“He will frantically eat barbecue and drink beer until blisters pop up in his mouth, or until Jiao Yingfeng slaps him; otherwise, he won’t understand moderation,” Zhou Zhexiao said.
“Although I don’t know where your news comes from, I feel like what you’re saying is true…” Xia Chiyi tilted his head to look at him.
Zhou Zhexiao rested his hands on the balcony edge, looking at Xia Chiyi. “He won’t enter the Basketball Association either, because he’s not cut out for bureaucratic talk.”
“Oh.” Xia Chiyi nodded. “Speaking of Jiao Yingfeng, I really admire him… the Three-Point King of Asian Men’s Basketball.”
“Mn. His brain works a bit better than Ling Huanzhen’s.”
Hearing the other speak as if he knew the duo who dominated Asian men’s basketball for a decade very well, Xia Chiyi couldn’t help laughing. “Hey, Zhou Zhexiao, I have a pipe dream.”
“What kind?”
“Ling Huanzhen as my team coach, Jiao Yingfeng as technical advisor, and then… that person as my one-on-one trainer. It would be like a royal flush.” Xia Chiyi clenched his fingers, then opened them like a volcano erupting.
The star between his fingers flashed by.
Such a setup was practically a king’s entourage; Xia Chiyi knew he could only imagine.
Because “that person” was Sheng Xingming, who no longer existed.
The balcony was quiet, with only the sound of gaming coming from next door.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Zhexiao spoke: “I know.”
Xia Chiyi chuckled, assuming he had just shared a beautiful dream with the other.
“You will have everything you want, as long as you don’t stop.”
“Hm? Are you painting me a big pie (making empty promises), or feeding me chicken soup for the soul?” Xia Chiyi asked.
“Dinner. I’m hungry.”
Zhou Zhexiao turned and went back into the room.
“Are you a Pixiu? Always saying you’re hungry, but never seen you bring in wealth!” Xia Chiyi complained helplessly.
That night, Ling Huanzhen lay alone on the large hotel bed, the Cheng River visible outside the floor-to-ceiling window under the night sky.
Just the day he retired, he felt empty, lonely, and cold. Now, lifting his hand, the enthusiastic shouts of students in the basketball hall rang in his ears.
He sent a WeChat message to Jiao Yingfeng with one hand: [I’ve decided to stay at Ningchang University as a coach.]
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t someone who could keep secrets. In his thirty-seven years of life, neither long nor short, he was used to sharing everything with Jiao Yingfeng—from being eliminated by the Jin Province team together, to studying abroad and playing NCAA together, to being recalled to China.
He took a deep breath and sent another message: [The Great Demon King is here. I want to achieve dreams with him.]
The first message got no reply. But less than five seconds after the second message went out, Jiao Yingfeng called.
“Ling Huanzhen—are you an elementary schooler? Using such clumsy methods to provoke me again?”
Ling Huanzhen touched the tip of his nose, smiling as he sat up. “Jiao Jiao, the Great Demon King is really here. Have you finished your certification exams? If you have, come to Ningchang! The Ningchang University team is really interesting. I want to cultivate that boy properly.”
“Which boy? The one called Zhou Zhexiao?”
“No no no, Zhou Zhexiao doesn’t need us to cultivate him. I mean the boy you had your eye on, Xia Chiyi… Do you believe it? Zhou Zhexiao is the Great Demon King reborn!”
“Why don’t you say he’s Michael Jordan reborn!”
“Don’t curse Jordan, okay!”
“Do you grow a head just to look taller? What method did the other party use to trick you to Ningchang? You wait, I’m coming over right now to crack open your skull and see if it’s filled with the Pacific Ocean!”
The WeChat call hung up without warning.
Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath. “Sigh, almost forty, does the whole country know you’re this violent?”
Threatening to crack my skull every day.
Meanwhile, Ma Wenhua in the nursing home was like an ant on a hot pan.