Chapter 031: Little Golden Egg

The spectator seats in the basketball arena were four-fifths full. Even the Municipal Sports Bureau had sent staff over, and some of Ling Huanzhen’s fans had even driven in from out of town just to catch a glimpse of his heroic figure in his coaching debut.

This really gave Ling Huanzhen a lot of face.

Aside from the general audience, relatively strong university teams within the province, such as Ningchang Normal University and Ningchang University of Finance and Economics, had sent scouts to watch the battle. They wanted to evaluate exactly what kind of changes Ling Huanzhen’s guidance had brought to this school team this year.

Even though… this guidance had been going on for less than a month.

The most nervous person wasn’t a starting player, nor was it Assistant Coach Cheng Qing, but Ma Wenhua, who wasn’t even present.

He hadn’t been able to stay in the sanatorium any longer and had returned to his own home to “recuperate.”

From the moment he learned of Ling Huanzhen’s starting lineup, he had been pacing around his house like an ant on a hot pan, his blood pressure nearly skyrocketing to 150.

“Why? Why isn’t he using that Zhou Zhexiao who came back from overseas? Or Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying?”

“If he used that batch of new players, beating Ningchang Medical College would be a matter of course!”

“But he insists on using last year’s veterans… If they lose, fine. But if they win… everyone else will say it was my incompetence, that the same lineup in Ling Huanzhen’s hands could win beautifully!”

“They absolutely won’t win… absolutely… they won’t be able to handle the first quarter. I know exactly how trash their skills are! If they had any ability, I wouldn’t have…”

Panic grew in his heart. The more beautifully the current basketball team won, the more it would highlight how garbage he had been in the past.

In the first quarter, Du He’s jump ball was aggressive. After receiving the ball, Fu Chenxue immediately initiated a fast break. Chen Chuan received the pass and cut in, scoring frequently under the opponent’s basket.

18 to 8. Chen Chuan contributed ten points, while Shuai Bei contributed 8 points and 2 rebounds.

It had only been ten minutes, but the live audience could feel that Ningchang University was completely different from last year. The coordination was fluid, and the transition between offense and defense was rapid.

They actually had the vibe of an established powerhouse team. Even those who just came to watch the spectacle had to say, “Ningchang University is pretty amazing.”

In the stands, the Finance and Economics University team, who had qualified first last year, got nervous. They immediately sent texts and made calls, telling their teammates to hurry over and watch.

By the second quarter, the Medical College strengthened their defense in the paint, wanting to curb Chen Chuan and Shuai Bei’s scoring ability. But they never expected that Ningchang University’s perimeter had a shooter like He Bin. He intensified his off-ball movement, hitting three consecutive three-pointers, pulling the Medical College’s defensive line from under the basket out to the perimeter.

Once holes appeared in the Medical College’s paint defense, Shuai Bei and Du He began a dunking contest.

The score pulled away to 35 to 20. This made Ling Huanzhen’s fans in the stands wave flags and shout, declaring him not just the Rebound King, but the King of Coaches.

Xia Chiyi propped his chin up, observing Ling Huanzhen. The guy’s grin was stretching to the roots of his ears; he was so smug.

In the third quarter, the opponent assigned a specialist to man-mark He Bin, the cannon. But He Bin and Chen Chuan were old partners in the pick-and-roll. He Bin continued to snatch three-pointers, while Shuai Bei and Du He practically lived under the opposing basket, not letting a single rebound slip by, allowing He Bin to shoot without any burden.

The score reached 65 to 28. The Medical College had been beaten until they lost all morale.

Ling Huanzhen finally decided to substitute players in the last quarter.

Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying looked at him eagerly, but Ling Huanzhen swapped out Du He, Shuai Bei, and Chen Chuan, letting other forward teammates go up to practice.

Ling Huanzhen pressed down on Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying’s heads, one on the left and one on the right. “My goal is to save you two for the divisional competition, to catch those guys off guard.”

“By the time the divisional competition comes, we’ll be eligible for our pension!” Ye Chaoying howled.

Xia Chiyi added a knife to the wound: “What are you thinking! Coach Ling didn’t pay for our pension insurance at all!”

The Ningchang University students in the stands, however, were thrilled to death.

“This is too amazing! We didn’t even use the team’s strongest lineup and we got such a huge point difference!”

“Last year in the divisionals, other teams treated us as practice for their bench players. This is the first time the tables have turned…”

“The cut-and-pass coordination is fully several levels higher than last year!”

Finally, the game ended with a score of 88 to 36.

Ningchang University’s official account quickly posted a bulletin: Ningchang University Basketball Team Victorious in First Battle of Provincial Grassroots Tournament!

Looking at the score, Principal Feng covered his mouth, unable to stop laughing, not even noticing the goji berry stuck to his teeth.

Ningchang University’s debut also made the entire Jin Province look at them with covetous eyes.

Ma Wenhua looked at the message popping up on his phone, his mind completely blank as he slumped into his chair.

“Won… they really won?”

88 to 36. This score could be called a massacre. Ma Wenhua had never even dreamed of it.

“No, no, no. There are still many strong teams in Jin Province. They only beat the Medical College. With Chengjiang College and Finance and Economics University ahead, Ling Huanzhen shouldn’t think about qualifying from the grassroots tournament…”

Ma Wenhua kept hypnotizing himself, but his back was soaked with cold sweat.

---

On the day of the win, Ling Huanzhen paid out of his own pocket to treat the whole team to a buffet.

Watching these half-grown boys eating until their faces were shiny with oil, plates piled higher than mountains, Ling Huanzhen worried they would be blacklisted by the restaurant.

That same afternoon, Jiao Yingfeng returned from the capital and messaged that he wanted to have a chat with Xia Chiyi.

His master’s tone was too serious, making Xia Chiyi, the disciple, a bit nervous.

“He doesn’t regret taking me as an apprentice, does he?” Xia Chiyi suddenly lost his appetite.

“He won’t,” Zhou Zhexiao said with a calm face.

Reassured, Xia Chiyi polished off another basket of mantis shrimp.

As soon as the afternoon classes ended, Ling Huanzhen drove Xia Chiyi to the hotel where Jiao Yingfeng was staying.

This time, Jiao Yingfeng brought not only a thick stack of documents but also a laptop and some things Xia Chiyi had never seen before.

“I’m very happy. During the time I was away, you completed the training plan I set for you one hundred percent.”

Jiao Yingfeng smiled, took a can of cola from the hotel minibar, cracked it open, and pushed it in front of Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi didn’t pick up the cola. Instead, he looked into Jiao Yingfeng’s eyes and said, “Master, whatever new decision you’ve made, just tell me straight. If you want to tell me that midnight has struck and Cinderella’s dream must end, I… can accept it.”

After all, it wasn’t the first time he’d been cut.

“Then if Cinderella’s dream really ends, what will you do?” Jiao Yingfeng asked with a smile.

“Without a Fairy Godmother, I’ll rely on myself. I’ll continue the training plan you left me and walk the path of the First Level League until I can’t walk it anymore.”

Xia Chiyi raised his head, looking firmly into Jiao Yingfeng’s eyes.

Jiao Yingfeng had planned how to comfort and tease Xia Chiyi, but he hadn’t expected to be shaken by the boy’s determination instead.

“Good. I called you here to ask how far you want to walk this path. If it’s just the First Level League, you don’t need me.”

“I want to play in the NCAA, I want to play in the CBA, I even want to play in the NBA… I want to play in the highest level of basketball games,” Xia Chiyi answered.

Because only on the highest-level courts could he find traces of Sheng Xingming’s existence, feel him, and surpass him.

Looking at Xia Chiyi’s eyes, Jiao Yingfeng seemed to hear the cheers of the Olympic arena, the squeak of shoes against the floor, and the inspiring sound of the ball swishing through the net again.

“Listen, I showed your data to some coaches of very high caliber and level. They unanimously agreed that while you are a bit green right now, you have great potential. You need systematic, professional, and targeted training. Any later, and it might really be too late. None of them want your talent and potential to be wasted, so they jointly created this training plan for you.”

Jiao Yingfeng looked at Xia Chiyi and spoke with an extremely serious expression.

The document looked heavy, thicker than a dictionary.

Xia Chiyi’s throat moved. His heart began to pound—thump, thump, thump—more nervously than during any final he had ever played.

“If you choose to accept this training plan, you must be clear: I will demand of you and push you with the standards of training a professional athlete.”

Xia Chiyi clenched his fists tight.

“If you can’t persist and want to give up, you can say so at any time. Don’t waste my time and energy, understand?”

When Jiao Yingfeng said this, it was already half a threat.

“I won’t give up unless I…”

Before the word “die” could be spoken, Jiao Yingfeng covered his mouth.

“What do you want? Peh peh peh, child’s words carry no harm, let the wind blow them away!”

Seeing Jiao Yingfeng’s nervous expression, Xia Chiyi’s eyes curved into crescents, and he giggled, making Jiao Yingfeng laugh too.

“Brat, if you want to laugh, do it now! Starting tomorrow, you’ll only be crying!”

“Master… which coaches did you go to for my assessment? Tell me, boost my confidence! I’m just trash who was cut from the provincial team!”

Jiao Yingfeng pulled at the corner of his mouth and smiled. “Do you need a confidence boost? You looked pretty confident even after being cut by Ma Hongming, challenging the provincial team players one-on-one with Zhou Zhexiao and shaving their heads clean. The video of that game has also been dug up by the seniors who once guided me.”

“Wow, so am I famous?”

The next second, Xia Chiyi experienced a knock on the head from Jiao Yingfeng.

“I’m telling you this just so you know that Ma Hongming isn’t the only coach in the world.”

After speaking, Jiao Yingfeng opened the laptop he brought.

“Asking you to read through this thick stack of training materials would be too hard on your brain. So I prepared videos to let you understand what aspects of training you will undergo. I have to warn you, not many people can stick with this training intensity.”

Xia Chiyi watched the video explanation very seriously. The further he watched, the more he felt that this set of training was designed to keep him in a state of fatigue as much as possible, practicing shooting when the body entered an extreme state.

Among them, the “21-Point Shooting Drill” occupied a large proportion of the technical training. In the drill, within 2 minutes, Xia Chiyi had to score in different ways, including three-pointers, mid-range jump shots, layups, etc. Since a layup is closest to the basket, it counts as 1 point, and before every offensive attempt, Xia Chiyi must sprint to the midfield line.

“Is this a training method Sheng Xingming used?” Xia Chiyi felt this training mode was incredibly familiar.

“Yes, but this is only Level 1. When he played NCAA at Duke University, he used this training method to fight for a starting position. We will start advancing from seventy percent of Level 1, until you can complete it one hundred percent. Your idol, Sheng Xingming, could get 21 points in just one minute.”

“Then what is Level 2 like?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“I don’t know, probably only that lunatic Sheng Xingming could do it. If you really reach that step, we can ask his trainer.”

Xia Chiyi continued to watch the training video explanation and discovered that in the equipment training, the Hex Bar Deadlift accounted for one-third.

“Is this to exercise my glutes and thigh muscles? To reduce the pressure on my ankles?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Bingo. In addition, I have customized a special ankle sensor device for you. Once your ankle shows fatigue or other conditions, we will know in advance. Ankles can’t not be used in a game, but we have to use them sparingly. Mm-hmm?”

“Mn, understood!”

“Also, as a shooting guard, the ability to stop and brake suddenly is very important. We will focus on cultivating your ability to stop within a third of a second after a half-court sprint and complete a shot within half a second.”

“Stopping in a third of a second, shooting in half a second… these are Sheng Xingming’s stats too…” Xia Chiyi’s eyes lit up.

Jiao Yingfeng pulled out a tissue, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Xia Chiyi’s head. “Brat, don’t make everything about Sheng Xingming! Look at me, your master can do it too!”

“Oh, Master is so amazing!” Xia Chiyi clapped like a seal.

“Perfunctory.”

“But Master… these trainings look like they require a venue, equipment, and trainers, but I…”

Xia Chiyi didn’t know how to ask his family for this money. For his parents, being cut from the provincial team already meant “the end.”

“These aren’t things you should think about. You just need to work hard, leave the rest to me. There must be some athlete funds or sponsorships we can apply for.”

Or else, your master can pay out of pocket. Even if you really are a gold-swallowing beast, my income over these years is more than enough.

Jiao Yingfeng rejoiced for the first time that he was good-looking; he had taken endorsements during his glory days and had quite a lot of savings.

Xia Chiyi looked at Jiao Yingfeng, then pounced on him. “Master! How can you be so good!”

The most important thing was that sentence “You just need to work hard, leave the rest to me”—Zhou Zhexiao had said something similar!

“Get off, it’s hot to death!”

---

That night, Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao finished the team training and walked on the road back to the dorms.

“Hey, Zhou Zhexiao, do you know the ’21-Point Shooting Drill’?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“I know it. Many NBA stars use it.”

“Sheng Xingming used it too, and it was devil-level. Do you think… if I stick with it, will I be one step closer to him?”

Xia Chiyi hopped onto the stone curb, walking forward while swaying with open arms.

Just as he tilted to one side, about to fall off, Zhou Zhexiao silently strode to his side, catching his hand just in time and pulling him up.

“I don’t know if his training method suits you, but I know that because you are chasing from behind, he had the courage to keep moving forward.”

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi didn’t quite understand this sentence.

Sheng Xingming’s life had already ended. Moving forward… where could he move forward to?

“Master said he’d think of a way to apply for some athlete sponsorship for me… the pressure is so big. I seem to have become a gold-swallowing beast.” Xia Chiyi looked up. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“You don’t need to understand. It’s enough that I understand.”

“You understand?” Xia Chiyi looked at him.

“Mn.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

Xia Chiyi’s originally somewhat low mood soared again, and he dragged Zhou Zhexiao into a run.

“Say, how come you understand everything? How are you so amazing?”

“Yeah.”

The night wind blew against their faces, and a smile rose on Zhou Zhexiao’s lips.

The next day, Zhou Zhexiao took Xia Chiyi to the print shop outside the school and downloaded a long application letter and form from the internet. Xia Chiyi’s head felt big just looking at it, but the title made his heart beat wildly: Sheng Xingming Basketball Talent Training Fund Application Form!

Zhou Zhexiao bound the printed documents in order, checked boxes for various options with great familiarity, filled in “Yes” and “No,” and then accurately found the pages for Xia Chiyi to sign.

It was Xia Chiyi’s first time signing something like this. He glanced roughly at each signature spot; basically, they were promises to use the funds for basketball training-related matters, to honestly declare various expenses, and clarifying which expenses were included and which were not funded.

“I feel like I’m signing a deed of sale. Is it really possible that Sheng Xingming’s fund will approve me just because I applied?”

“So we need to take it to Ling Huanzhen and Jiao Yingfeng for signatures. Look, two guarantors are needed here. They fit the qualifications perfectly.”

Xia Chiyi leaned in to look. It required signatures from national-level athletes, provincial-level coaches, or NCAA university team coaches as proof.

“Will they sign? Guaranteeing has risks, signing requires caution.” Xia Chiyi scratched his cheek, feeling like he was engaging in some online loan sharking, wondering if he’d appear in the cracks of social news tomorrow.

“They will. They are keen on shearing Sheng Xingming’s wool; they won’t give up this opportunity.”

Sure enough, when Xia Chiyi took the application form to Ling Huanzhen, the coach’s eyes glowed gold, and he signed his big name without hesitation.

That afternoon, Ling Huanzhen personally sent Xia Chiyi to undergo Jiao Yingfeng’s 21-point shooting training.

First, he put Xia Chiyi on the treadmill to warm up. Jiao Yingfeng glanced briefly at the application document, then dragged Ling Huanzhen and Zhou Zhexiao to a corner of the gym.

“This is the fund you established yourself; you must be clear about the conditions for passing, right?” Jiao Yingfeng waved the thing in his hand.

“Mn, I’m very clear.”

“But this fund has been out of your control for ten years. Many rules might have changed,” Jiao Yingfeng reminded him.

“No matter how the rules change, I am certain that as long as you two sign, Xia Chiyi will definitely receive the aid. No matter how the lawyers change, no matter if the fund manager is my younger brother or someone else, they must execute it.”

Ling Huanzhen was confused. “Why? You’ve already kicked the bucket, how can you still control how others use your inheritance?”

“Ten years ago, I taught Xia Chiyi how to play basketball at a children’s basketball camp.”

“I know, isn’t that the starting point of that brat being a fanboy to the point of life and death, viewing everything you do through a filter?” Ling Huanzhen said sourly.

“He told me that when he grew up, he wanted to stand on my court and play ball with me. He spoke very seriously, so I believed him.”

“And then?” Jiao Yingfeng raised his hand, hoping the “old friend” in front of him would speak frankly and not squeeze it out like toothpaste.

“Then I thought of you two. When you two first came to study abroad, it was too miserable. Living in an old, broken, small apartment. No heating in winter, no AC in summer. Jiao Yingfeng had to endure Ling Huanzhen’s smelly socks…”

“I bought new socks later!” Ling Huanzhen shouted.

“Jiao Yingfeng worked part-time in a café and was harassed because he was good-looking…”

“Pass on that part. I beat that idiot into a pig’s head,” Jiao Yingfeng immediately waved to stop him.

“Ling Huanzhen almost went to a bar to be a strip…”

“I didn’t! I wasn’t! I was a laborer at the bar! Carrying beer crates in the back alley and cutting fruit platters!”

“In short, all of this was because there was no money. To try and avoid him suffering the hardships you ate, and since my agent was promoting ‘Happy Basketball’ for kids at the time, I set up a trust to let him play happily, using his name and ID. There are three conditions to use this fund. First, the money can only be used for basketball-related cultivation, which of course includes food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Second, it requires two national-level athletes, provincial-level coaches, or NCAA college team coaches to sign as guarantors for its use. Third, he must be under 25 years old,” Zhou Zhexiao explained.

Jiao Yingfeng wore an expression of disbelief. “Did you fancy him in your past life or something?”

“What do you mean by ‘not wanting that kid to have it worse than us’? Are we the control group?” Ling Huanzhen put his hands on his hips, angry out of nowhere.

“How much is the trust limit?” Jiao Yingfeng asked.

Zhou Zhexiao extended the index finger of his right hand.

“Ten thousand… what kind of trust is that? So it’s a hundred thousand? That should be enough to rent a specialized venue.” Ling Huanzhen exhaled.

“It’s one million,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

“One million?” Jiao Yingfeng’s eyebrow raised. “You were quite generous with education! Then we can hire a specialized physical trainer!”

“US Dollars,” Zhou Zhexiao continued.

“Pfft—” Ling Huanzhen sprayed his soda a meter away.

Jiao Yingfeng’s mouth opened wider and wider. “So we can rent a specialized venue, hire professional strength trainers, technical trainers, even nutritionists and athletic trainers… If this kid continues to improve, maybe we’ll need a data analyst and such…”

“Those types of expenses should be within the payment scope,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

“That damn expensive ankle sensor? And things like heart rate monitoring sports watches can be reimbursed too?” Jiao Yingfeng’s eyes widened.

“Mn.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

“Steak, prawns, sole fish, nutritional supplements, a chef…”

“Mn.”

Ling Huanzhen thought for a moment and added, “Buy a car to pick him up and drop him off for training?”

“How is that possible!” Jiao Yingfeng wanted to smack Ling Huanzhen just hearing it.

“For a car, it depends on how you declare it. This trust should be paid out in stages according to actual usage.”

Ling Huanzhen turned his head to look at Xia Chiyi, who was moving at a constant speed on the treadmill, and sighed, “Baby, it turns out you’re a little golden egg!”

Jiao Yingfeng also let out a breath. “You prepared way too early for this.”

Zhou Zhexiao looked at Xia Chiyi’s figure and replied, “Not too early, not too late. Just right.”

---

Today was Xia Chiyi’s first contact with the “21-Point Shooting Drill.” He was completely flustered and couldn’t keep up with the rhythm. By the time the training ended, apart from barely getting 21 points in the first round, the rest was a total mess.

Jiao Yingfeng’s roar was in his ears: “Get up! Don’t lie down! Heart rate! Heart rate! Heart rate!”

Xia Chiyi could only barely walk around the training ground until his heart rate recovered.

He really did too poorly on this shooting drill!

As Xia Chiyi sat against the wall reflecting on all his movements, someone squatted down in front of him.

Feeling the light blocked, Xia Chiyi lifted his eyelids and met Jiao Yingfeng’s serious expression, scaring him so much he almost blacked out.

“You did well.” Jiao Yingfeng’s palm rubbed Xia Chiyi’s sweaty head.

Xia Chiyi swatted his hand away. “I’m not a child, you don’t need to comfort me like this.”

Jiao Yingfeng laughed. “It was actually good. Did you really think you could reach the sky in a single bound? Many famous stars gave up on this set of training. Persistence is victory.”

Ling Huanzhen, standing aside with his arms crossed, also let out a breath. “Kid, I saw you were scared to death during training. Not scared that you wouldn’t make the shot, but that in some round you’d say ‘so tired,’ ‘gonna die,’ ‘I quit.’ Your master would definitely breathe fire and roast you into barbecue meat. Then I’d just buy some cumin powder to sprinkle on top, and dinner would be served.”

Xia Chiyi giggled out loud.

“Alright, go shower.” Jiao Yingfeng pulled him up from the ground.

Just as Xia Chiyi was about to walk to the bathroom, he saw Zhou Zhexiao sitting on a coach’s chair nearby, holding a plastic bag of milk tea, calmly slurping away—slurp, slurp.

“Zhou Zhexiao—are you even human! I almost passed out, and you’re actually drinking milk tea!”

Zhou Zhexiao remained silent, took a cup from the small table beside him, and handed it to him. “Yours.”

“Mine? I can drink it too?” Xia Chiyi’s eyes lit up.

“Mn, special supply.”

Xia Chiyi picked it up and took a big suck. “Wait… why does this taste so weird?”

“Protein shake,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

“Damn it…” Xia Chiyi realized the label on the milk tea cup still said “Brown Sugar Boba 30% Sugar.” Clearly, Zhou Zhexiao had finished a cup, then used it to mix a protein shake, pretending it was milk tea.

Once Xia Chiyi went to shower, Jiao Yingfeng walked up to Zhou Zhexiao with his hands on his hips, frowning. “That was too cruel of you. We’re all cheering for Xiao Xia, and you’re slurping milk tea on the side? You never used to eat this stuff. You’ve gone bad!”

Zhou Zhexiao opened his knees, revealing the plastic bag underneath. There were two more large cups inside.

“Yours. If you don’t want them, I’ll drink them myself.”

“I want it!”

“Of course I want it!”

Jiao Yingfeng and Ling Huanzhen immediately took the milk tea out and sucked it down with incredible speed. They tacitly agreed to finish it before Xia Chiyi came out, so the kid wouldn’t discover everyone had betrayed him!

But plans can’t keep up with changes. Xia Chiyi entered the bathroom, realized he forgot his towel, and wobbled out to find his gym bag thrown on the sidelines. Then he discovered his three most trusted people, each holding a cup of milk tea, heads down, sucking vigorously.

“Aooo—you bastards—”

Xia Chiyi waved his towel and charged over.

Ling Huanzhen almost choked on a pearl. Jiao Yingfeng decisively hid behind Zhou Zhexiao and whispered, “Handle him!”

Zhou Zhexiao calmly sucked his cup empty, stood up abruptly, and with one arm, scooped Xia Chiyi up by the waist, walking quickly back to the shower room.

“Put me down, you traitors!”

“Uh-huh.” Jiao Yingfeng nodded while patting Ling Huanzhen on the back. This guy really couldn’t do anything bad without getting caught.

Zhou Zhexiao put Xia Chiyi down at the bathroom entrance. Xia Chiyi still wanted to go out, but Zhou Zhexiao had absolutely no intention of moving. Xia Chiyi slammed into Zhou Zhexiao’s chest two or three times, but the other party didn’t budge an inch.

“Are you throwing yourself into my arms?”

Zhou Zhexiao asked.

One of his hands rested on the top of the door frame, the other on the side of the door. He lowered his eyes slightly to look at Xia Chiyi. The entire space seemed to press toward Xia Chiyi. Such a strong aura…

“I’m going to shower…”

Xia Chiyi tragically clutched both ends of his towel and went into the shower stall. Hearing the splashing water sound, Zhou Zhexiao leaned against the door with his arms crossed.

The shower stalls here had partitions higher than the ones at school; one could only see Xia Chiyi’s ankles through a palm-wide gap at the bottom.

Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze focused on that square inch of space. The water flowed along Xia Chiyi’s heels, outlining clean and smooth lines. The beautiful ankle bones reflected a glittering light due to the covering layer of water, reminding Zhou Zhexiao of the feeling of gripping it that night.

He really wanted to pull him over, hold him in his arms, and protect him tightly.

---

After the shower, Xia Chiyi lay refreshingly on the mat. Jiao Yingfeng said he would give him muscle care.

Originally, Xia Chiyi was very excited, wondering how Jiao Yingfeng’s technique was. Master was just too good to him.

Unfortunately, excitement couldn’t block the instinct of drowsiness. As soon as he lay on the soft mat, listening to Jiao Yingfeng and Ling Huanzhen discussing tactics for the next game—high post offense one moment, low post defense the next—Xia Chiyi’s head buzzed, and before long, his mind wandered to the void.

In a daze, he felt someone lift his leg, slowly kneading along his gastrocnemius muscle. The blood spread out with the other person’s movements, and Xia Chiyi felt like he was floating.

He had rarely done hex bar deadlifts before. Today the intensity was high, and his glutes and thigh muscle groups were extremely sore. If he didn’t take good care of them, he might not be able to move tomorrow morning.

When the other person flipped him over and their powerful palms wrapped around his tired muscles, Xia Chiyi felt a sense of security he had never experienced before.

Xia Chiyi let out a small snoring sound, causing Jiao Yingfeng and Ling Huanzhen, who were chatting outside, to poke their heads in.

“Yo, didn’t know your technique was so good? When did you learn it?” Ling Huanzhen’s teasing voice rang out.

“Oak Hill Academy teaches this too?” This was Jiao Yingfeng’s voice.

Xia Chiyi woke with a start at that moment. If the one speaking was Jiao Yingfeng, then who was giving him the care?

“I taught myself.” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice sounded from behind Xia Chiyi.

Like a sonic bomb, Xia Chiyi’s blood rushed down south, his ears ringing, aftershocks lingering.

Don’t flip me over…

Don’t flip me over…

Don’t flip me over…

Xia Chiyi kept his eyes tight shut, praying in his heart.

But obviously, God didn’t feel his sincerity. Zhou Zhexiao’s hand clamped onto his shoulder, half-holding him to flip him over.

But for some reason, halfway through the flip, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly stopped.

A very light breathy sound was heard; it seemed like the other person smiled, or perhaps was just a bit helpless.

“What’s there to be nervous about? It shows you’re healthy.”

After saying that, Zhou Zhexiao put him back down and draped his own sports jacket over Xia Chiyi’s lower back.

He left the mat and walked toward Jiao Yingfeng and Ling Huanzhen. “So for the next game, you still don’t plan to let the three of us play?”

“Yeah, Jin Province Agricultural University… I still plan to use them to practice high post offense…”

Xia Chiyi’s heart was pounding thump-thump-thump. What did Zhou Zhexiao mean by those words?

He saw it? He discovered it?

So embarrassing, I want to die.

If it were Jiao Yingfeng teasing him like that, he would tease back with “Master, you’re hale and hearty too,” but against Zhou Zhexiao, he felt completely destroyed by a single sentence.

No, I can’t think of that guy’s name anymore, otherwise when will I calm down?

“By the way, how long do you think he needs to adapt to this intensity of training?” Ling Huanzhen asked.

Jiao Yingfeng rubbed his chin. “Coach Xie’s standard is to adapt within three months, but I think Xia Chiyi’s adaptability is very strong.”

Ling Huanzhen smiled. “Alright then, I bet one month.”

Jiao Yingfeng was silent for a while. “I think half a month should be enough. What about you? How long do you think it will take?”

“One week,” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang out.

Xia Chiyi suspected he was having auditory hallucinations. He almost cried for his daddy today. When Ling Huanzhen said “one month,” Xia Chiyi felt the time was still reasonable.

Jiao Yingfeng was his master; him saying “half a month” already put huge pressure on Xia Chiyi.

Zhou Zhexiao actually said “one week”? Is this guy even human?!

“Hey, one week? Are you even human? We are doing scientific training, don’t break the kid!” Ling Huanzhen spoke up.

Xia Chiyi nodded frantically in his heart. Exactly, exactly, Coach Ling is the humane one.

“Have you forgotten that when he went one-on-one with Jiao Yingfeng, even with his stamina bar empty, he could still pull off extreme crossovers?”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice silenced the other two, and even Xia Chiyi, who was pricking up his ears to listen, grew nervous.