HGTM CH33
Chapter 033: Metamorphosis (2nd Update)
“It’s just a double team, you should be able to break through. Why do you need my help?” He Bin couldn’t help but be curious.
“Coach gave me a task to get 21 points in three minutes, otherwise I’ll be put in deep freeze for the next game. I’m begging you.” Xia Chiyi clasped his hands together, his face full of sincerity.
“Twenty-one points? Is Coach Ling crazy?” He Bin covered his face with a towel and said mufflingly, “I’ll help you, no need to act cute!”
“Help him? How?” Chen Chuan asked in confusion while wiping his sweat.
“I don’t know. Hey, how do I help?” He Bin pulled Xia Chiyi back.
Xia Chiyi squatted halfway in front of He Bin and whispered, “Your existence is the biggest bait. Please provide help defense right beside me.”
He Bin revealed a look of realization. “Got it!”
The referee signaled that the timeout was over, and players from both sides returned to the court.
Ling Huanzhen looked at Xia Chiyi’s back and smiled. “This kid knows to find someone for help instead of fighting alone!”
“But… basketball isn’t a sport for fighting alone to begin with,” Assistant Coach Cheng Qing said.
As soon as the play started, Xia Chiyi was indeed double-teamed by two people. They stuck to him like glue; he couldn’t shake them off no matter how he swayed left or right.
He Bin suddenly arrived beside Xia Chiyi, making a motion to receive the ball.
“Not good—” Li Shuyun rushed over to defend.
Xia Chiyi faked a pass, then suddenly changed direction and cut through. When he slammed on the brakes at the three-point line, the Normal University coach nearly had a heart attack, and the audience erupted in “Oh, oh, oh!” cheers.
Xia Chiyi secured his fourth three-pointer, turning around to happily high-five He Bin.
Next, Xia Chiyi and He Bin were practically a match made in heaven, becoming the dual guns of this match.
While Xia Chiyi was being double-teamed, He Bin followed him constantly. The defending enemies couldn’t distinguish whether Xia Chiyi was faking a shot to pass, or faking a pass to shoot!
The two joined forces to easily take eight points in one minute. The Normal University side was about to smoke from overheating.
Ling Huanzhen smiled. It seemed Xia Chiyi and He Bin had figured out how to use the “guard duo” strategy without being taught.
In the final minute, Xia Chiyi played more and more smoothly, constantly moving off the ball near the opponent’s three-point line, nearly shaking the two players marking him until they fell over.
By the time Normal University reacted, He Bin suddenly made a brilliant pass to the corner. Xia Chiyi jumped without any defense and pierced Normal University’s basket once again.
“When did that guy run to the corner? I didn’t even notice!” Ye Chaoying was so excited stars were about to pop out of his eyes.
Before, whenever Xia Chiyi returned to the dorm at night, he was like a dead dog, and Ye Chaoying had thought he was pitifully overworked.
Looking at it now, how was this guy pitiful?
These training results were simply jealousy-inducing!
Ling Huanzhen glanced at Zhou Zhexiao. “How much time left?”
“46 seconds,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.
“This kid needs two more three-pointers to hit 21 points.” Ling Huanzhen was in a very comfortable mood.
A shout suddenly rose from the crowd. Xia Chiyi executed a large pull-back from left to right, causing the two defenders guarding him to crash into each other. Xia Chiyi arrogantly dribbled away.
“Stop him—stop him—” The Normal University coach shouted until his throat was about to break.
Li Shuyun jumped from behind Xia Chiyi, intending to swat the ball away from the back. But he didn’t expect that it was just a fake. Xia Chiyi created distance and calmly shot the ball. When Li Shuyun landed, he could only roar in unwillingness.
“Wow, it’s raining threes in the basketball hall.” Pang Shuai, holding his DSLR camera, captured many graceful frames, genuinely feeling his brother was explosively handsome.
As Xia Chiyi retreated to defend with his teammates, he turned his face to He Bin and said, “One more?”
“Come on.” He Bin pulled at his collar to wipe his sweat. Honestly, cooperating with Xia Chiyi was really satisfying.
Not to be outdone, Li Shuyun led two teammates skilled in shooting to charge into Ningchang University’s territory. He wanted to mimic Xia Chiyi’s strategy, confusing Ningchang’s defenders about whether he would pass or score from the three-point line.
When Shuai Bei engaged him head-on, he indeed passed. He Bin rushed over to defend. Seeing the opponent about to jump for a three, Xia Chiyi said to Du He, “Guard the basket.”
Unexpectedly, this ball from Normal University wasn’t a shot, but a pass back to Li Shuyun who was cutting into the paint!
At this moment, Du He truly rejoiced at Xia Chiyi’s reminder. Otherwise, once he left the basket, the spot would have been wide open!
Li Shuyun gritted his teeth, forcing a layup.
Bang—
This sound made Li Shuyun’s hair stand on end instantly.
Because the ball was stolen by Xia Chiyi again.
He was just under the basket, why did he appear there? Li Shuyun was confused.
“Xia Chiyi’s off-ball movement is too amazing!” On the bench, Ye Chaoying was so excited his feet were rubbing against the ground. “Xia Chiyi first saw through that Li Shuyun would cut to the basket, arranged for Du He to coordinate with Shuai Bei for a pincer attack, determined that Li Shuyun would definitely pass, and moved ahead of time—”
By this time, Xia Chiyi had already arrived at Normal University’s three-point line. The opponents had completely lost their spirit; they were too late to even jump and intercept, forced to watch helplessly as Xia Chiyi’s 7th three-pointer went into the basket.
Exactly twenty-one points.
“Too badass—” Ye Chaoying couldn’t contain his excitement. He felt that even if it were him, he couldn’t achieve positioning like Xia Chiyi.
At the end of the third quarter, Ningchang University had reversed the situation and overtook Normal University. Their players gathered in front of the coach with their heads down; it seemed their morale was completely gone.
When Xia Chiyi walked back, his whole person seemed to be glowing.
“Coach Ling, did I pass?”
“You got the 21 points. As for whether your braking and shooting release times passed, you have to ask him.” Ling Huanzhen gestured in Zhou Zhexiao’s direction.
Zhou Zhexiao had the clipboard face down on his lap, and in his other hand, he was scrolling through Xia Chiyi’s phone.
“Let me see.” Xia Chiyi went to lift the board. His fingertips almost touched a very healthy part of the other person, scaring him so much his hair stood up.
That was close…
If I really touched it, Zhou Zhexiao would strangle me.
Afraid of causing a misunderstanding, he poked the back of Zhou Zhexiao’s hand with his finger. The other party showed no intention of moving. “Don’t go too far, holding my data hostage and scrolling through my phone. Are you a team bully?”
Hearing Xia Chiyi’s accusation, Ling Huanzhen nodded in empathy.
You described it well. This guy used to be a team bully; I have no idea why you worship him!
Zhou Zhexiao tossed the phone to Xia Chiyi. Only then did Xia Chiyi see that he had used Xia Chiyi’s account to summarize his results to Jiao Yingfeng on WeChat: [3-pointers 7 for 7, time used 3 minutes, average braking time 0.4s, shooting release time 0.5s, 3 assists, 4 steals. Standards met.]
Xia Chiyi sat next to Zhou Zhexiao, looking at the thumbs-up emoji sent by Jiao Yingfeng, giggling foolishly “Hehehe” on the side.
For the final quarter, Ling Huanzhen patted the back of Ye Chaoying’s head. “Go on, go on. If I don’t let you go, you’ll wear a hole in your soles.”
“Oh yeah!” Ye Chaoying sprang up, looking exactly like a marmot rushing out of its hole.
Xia Chiyi winked at Fu Chenxue. “Congrats, Ye Chaoying won’t be pricking voodoo dolls of you anymore.”
Fu Chenxue exhaled and slumped in his chair. “No wonder I felt headaches, neck pain, and stomach aches. It turned out to be Ye Chaoying’s curse!”
As the fourth quarter started, the audience realized Xia Chiyi had returned to the bench and shouted in dissatisfaction.
“Let that number 15 kid keep playing! I want to watch him shoot!”
“You only let him play for three minutes? Is Ningchang University looking down on Normal University?”
“Watch out or you’ll get blown out in the last quarter!”
“We want to see a rain of threes!”
Even Xu Mi really wanted to shout along with them. After all, she only got three minutes of footage on her DV, which wasn’t enough for her edit.
Conversely, the Normal University team let out a breath of relief.
“Finally, he’s off…”
“Couldn’t guard him at all. I almost got a stitch chasing him…”
Hearing his teammates’ words, Li Shuyun frowned and said coldly, “Can you guys have some ambition?”
The teammates fell silent. The coach took a breath, his expression becoming serious. “Ling Huanzhen swapping out Number 15 means he thinks using that card for three minutes is enough to checkmate us. Do you feel honored?”
Li Shuyun turned his head and looked at Ye Chaoying. “Even if we want to lie flat, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy. Trust me, the opponent has sent out their fastest point guard. Unless you guys don’t mind being mocked until graduation.”
“Let’s go! Treat it as accumulating experience for next year!”
“If even Ningchang University can look down on us, we’ll have to cover our heads with pots just to pick up takeout downstairs.”
“We have to bite off a piece of their meat no matter what!”
Normal University’s players gritted their teeth, reigniting the flames of war.
Although the audience clamored to see Xia Chiyi at first, when the fourth quarter started and Ye Chaoying pierced through the opponent’s formation like lightning, passing three people in a row, the audience’s “love” shifted rapidly.
Ye Chaoying reached the basket directly, faced off with Li Shuyun, and calmly passed the ball to He Bin waiting in the corner. He Bin received the ball and took an easy three points.
The audience got lively again.
“Ningchang University is pretty good! With that three-point kid, and this guy with super fast dribbling, they have a shot this year!”
“Nonsense, if there weren’t good seedlings, why would Ling Huanzhen stay at Ningchang University?”
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhexiao’s hand was cupped on the back of Xia Chiyi’s head as he said to him, “Didn’t you want to learn the thinking logic of a point guard?”
“Mn.”
“Ye Chaoying’s logic is very typical. His field of vision is very broad; it’s not just the opponent in front of him. With just a quick glance, he can predict He Bin’s movement and create opportunities for He Bin.”
“But you are different.” Zhou Zhexiao turned his face. For a moment, Xia Chiyi thought the other’s nose tip would touch him.
“My difference…” Xia Chiyi’s eyes lit up and he shouted, “I know… my field of vision is very narrow. My target is either the basket or a specific teammate.”
“Mn.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded slowly, signaling Xia Chiyi to continue.
“If you are on the court, the first thing I think of is scoring through inside-outside coordination with you.”
“Mn.”
“If Ye Chaoying is beside me, what I think of is speed, rhythm, and steals…”
“That’s right.”
“If I partner with He Bin, I think about help defense near the three-point line to deceive the opponent… My choices are always one-on-one,” Xia Chiyi said.
“But Ye Chaoying can weave a web that belongs to him. Everyone has a function in this web. He sees everyone’s cuts and off-ball movements, just like playing chess; there are countless permutations and combinations.”
“Mn.” Xia Chiyi nodded gently, watching Ye Chaoying more intently.
“Before, you focused heavily on shooting, so you’re used to placing your attention on specific spots. But if you want to be a combo guard, meaning you have to assume the functions of a point guard, then the entire court is your basket. Your vision must encompass not just the space of the court, but also time. You need to be able to predict… what will happen on this court in that brief 0.5 seconds, or even one or two seconds later,” Zhou Zhexiao said.
“Mn.” Xia Chiyi looked at the court with burning eyes. Only this time, he wasn’t staring at Ye Chaoying himself, but the entire space.
Ling Huanzhen, who was shouting wildly on the sidelines, turned his head. Seeing Xia Chiyi’s incredibly serious appearance, he exhaled.
A true genius doesn’t just possess superb physical fitness and skills but must also be good at observation.
Observation is the most effective way to gain experience.
In the end, Ningchang University defeated Normal University 82 to 66, advancing to the grassroots tournament Final Four.
A rhythmic banging sound rang out in the arena.
“Ningchang University—Bang bang—Bang!”
“Ningchang University—Bang bang—Bang! Bang bang!”
“Ningchang University—Bang bang—Bang! Bang bang!”
Shuai Bei and Du He looked at the enthusiastic audience from all directions, feeling as if their chests were being tightly squeezed.
“This time it wasn’t luck, it was strength,” Chen Chuan said while organizing his sports bag.
Shuai Bei smiled and looked at Chen Chuan. “Yeah, still relying on the strength of the bench. The ace only flashed for three minutes.”
Chen Chuan picked up a towel, looking like he wanted to strangle Shuai Bei. “You brat, can’t anything nice come out of your mouth? Yes, I only have bench strength, are you satisfied?”
“That’s a super hard bench, though.”
Chen Chuan froze for a moment. He knew Shuai Bei had always looked down on him because he used to be Ma Wenhua’s bootlicker.
But Shuai Bei suddenly saying so seriously that he was “super hard”—why was Chen Chuan feeling a bit touched?
“Screw you! A super hard bench is still a bench!”
Ye Chaoying opened his backpack and found a can of drink. Just as he was about to open it, Xia Chiyi beside him opened it for him ahead of time.
He wanted to get a towel to wipe his face, but Xia Chiyi draped it over his shoulders ahead of time.
“Did you take the wrong medicine, kid?” Ye Chaoying patted around, wanting to eat a mint.
Who knew Xia Chiyi would pour one out for him a step ahead again.
Ye Chaoying hugged his arms tight, looking terrified. “What do you want to do? My relationship with you is purer than Zhang Fei and Guan Yu’s; I don’t need you to be this attentive!”
“I just worship you a little bit, that’s all,” Xia Chiyi said with a smile.
“Worship me.” Ye Chaoying revealed a beautiful smile and patted Xia Chiyi’s back. “Haha, sure enough, I am the true Ace of Ningchang University!”
“Ace, your ex is coming over.” Xia Chiyi lifted his chin.
Ye Chaoying turned around and saw Li Shuyun.
Everyone tensed up because Li Shuyun’s face was so sour; they felt his fist might hit Ye Chaoying’s face in the next second.
Yet Ye Chaoying looked at Li Shuyun with an arrogant face. “What?”
“Don’t get too smug, kid. The higher you climb, the harder you fall,” Li Shuyun said.
Ye Chaoying rolled his signature eyes. “If you don’t want to fall, just win until the end—that’s what you actually wanted to say to me, right?”
“Interpret it however you want.”
“Did you just come over to talk trash? Why aren’t your cheerleaders shouting that ‘drawing water with a bamboo basket in vain’ stuff anymore?”
Li Shuyun took a deep breath. It was evident he needed super endurance not to twist Ye Chaoying’s head off.
“Our coach asked if we could spar with your school team often in the future, play some practice matches.”
Ye Chaoying looked at Ling Huanzhen. Ling Huanzhen couldn’t ask for more, but still put on airs and nodded.
“Yeah, sure. But Li Shuyun, were you a towel in your past life?”
“Huh?” Li Shuyun revealed a puzzled expression.
“Why so twisted?”
As soon as Ye Chaoying’s words fell, there wasn’t a single teammate within a two-meter radius; even the bench was empty.
Even Xia Chiyi was scooped up by Zhou Zhexiao and moved to the side.
But the violent scene everyone secretly expected didn’t happen. Li Shuyun and Ye Chaoying actually punched each other once, and then Li Shuyun turned and left!
“Is this the first day you knew I was twisted?” Li Shuyun said.
Xia Chiyi felt disappointed and whispered, “Li Shuyun, are you impotent or something?”
The next second, his head was forcefully clamped by a hand. Although the force was light and he could easily break free, Xia Chiyi had a faint danger sense that his skull might be crushed.
Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang out: “You pay that much attention to other men?”
“No no no, I just think this bro is really magnanimous.” Xia Chiyi grabbed Zhou Zhexiao’s wrist. After using his strength for a long time, he still couldn’t move the other’s hand from his head. “If I don’t grow to 1.9 meters, will you take responsibility?”
“I can grow to two meters; let’s average it out.”
Holy crap, what is this high-and-mighty, self-righteous attitude?
Xia Chiyi really wanted to fight him… pity he couldn’t win.
Ningchang University’s official account was becoming more efficient. Less than five minutes after the game ended, the press release about defeating Normal University was posted.
“This was obviously written in advance. Just fill in the score at the end and publish.” Ling Huanzhen shook his head.
The first photo was still Ling Huanzhen’s heroic figure guiding from the sidelines with his arms crossed. It was said that to get news of him immediately, many of his fans followed Ningchang University’s official account. Reads broke 50,000 in three minutes, with over 6,000 likes.
Proper traffic. Principal Feng stroked his chin, feeling once again that inviting Ling Huanzhen as a coach brought advertising effects too—killing two birds with one stone!
The second photo used was Xia Chiyi’s shooting posture, ethereal and graceful. Zhou Zhexiao clicked on it without hesitation and selected “Save Image.”
“Don’t save it, waste of space! And who saves their own photo? Too narcissistic!” On the bus back, Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao started a drama of snatching the phone in the back row.
“I want it.”
“What do you want!”
“The photo.”
Ye Chaoying, who originally wanted to sleep, was annoyed by the noise. “Can you guys wait until we’re back in the dorm to ask for whatever you want?”
“Don’t speak so disharmoniously.” Xia Chiyi reached out to grab Ye Chaoying’s hair. “Wow, your hair is so smooth, and it smells good!”
In the front row, Shuai Bei, who was clearly sleeping with his head down, laughed with his arms crossed. “I wanted to say that for a long time. Finally, someone said it.”
Du He nodded along. “Yeah, during the game I was looking everywhere for what smelled so good, later I realized it was Ye Chaoying’s hair.”
Chen Chuan also joined the jeering. “Haha, Ye Chaoying, did you rely on your hair scent to charm your ex Li Shuyun?”
“Get lost, you bunch of tasteless roughnecks!”
Fatty, who was riding back with the team, said to Zhou Zhexiao, “I have many very clear photos. You can look at them on my computer when we get back.”
Zhou Zhexiao nodded.
Then Fatty wobbled over to Ling Huanzhen and said seriously, “Coach Ling, I applied for a Weibo account. I want to use it to post photos of our basketball team, and maybe mooch a bit of your game explanations and comments. I want the students of Jin Province to understand basketball; it’s like promotion, is that okay?”
Ling Huanzhen had seen Fatty’s work and knew the quality of his photos wasn’t inferior to those professional sports reporters. Plus, having more promotional channels would be beneficial for recruiting new team members next year.
He nodded. “It’s not impossible. I’ll ask for everyone’s consent in the group chat later; after all, it’s photos of the players. Also, show Coach Cheng the content before you post. We have some tactical training and player positioning we don’t want opponents to know in advance.”
“Understood!” Fatty revealed a big grin.
That night, Ling Huanzhen posted some of Pang Shuai’s works in the group. The group was full of “Wow” and “Whoa” exclamations, asking whose aesthetic was so high-end to capture Fu Chenxue’s focused expression while passing, Du He’s domineering roar grabbing a rebound, Chen Chuan’s handsome drive…
Shuai Bei: [Which photographer is this? Shot a cow pie like it’s gold.]
Chen Chuan: [Holy crap, the cow pie upstairs please shut up!]
Du He: [I sent it to my parents, they said I could debut as an idol on the spot!]
…
So, except for Zhou Zhexiao who abstained because he didn’t have WeChat, Student Pang Shuai passed with thirteen votes to become the Ningchang University Basketball Team’s designated photographer, possessing the exclusive right to report on the team on Weibo.
That night, Fatty carefully selected a nine-grid of photos and posted them to Weibo.
The basketball team members all reposted it to give him face. The first post of Fatty’s Weibo “Ningchang Basketball Team’s Photographer” quickly broke 10,000 reads, and followers increased little by little. Especially after Ling Huanzhen liked it, many people praised Fatty’s photos.
[Who is that little brother shooting in the middle? So handsome!]
[I watched that bro’s game against Normal University, 21 points in three minutes!]
[His eyes are so round, he looks so easy to rua!]
…
Xia Chiyi was sitting side by side with Zhou Zhexiao, watching an NBA game on the projector in the dorm room. Halfway through, Zhou Zhexiao would suddenly cover Xia Chiyi’s eyes and ask where a certain player was, or how he would pass if he were the point guard.
This was Zhou Zhexiao’s unique training method, helping Xia Chiyi expand his game vision and form the mindset of a point guard.
Ye Chaoying was initially lying on his bed with a facial mask. While masking, he pricked up his ears to listen to Zhou Zhexiao’s explanation. In the end, he couldn’t resist taking off the mask and joining their ranks.
Looking at Zhou Zhexiao’s back, he felt this guy was quiet usually, but actually hid his terrifying skills deeply.
Being able to assist Ling Huanzhen in sparring with Chen Chuan, Du He, and Shuai Bei showed his forward offensive ability was powerful.
In the first intramural game, Zhou Zhexiao had also hit three-pointers, showing his perimeter scoring ability was stable.
Now he could even train Xia Chiyi’s playmaking mindset, guiding Xia Chiyi’s brain to thread the needle on the court… simply all-around.
If this guy hadn’t been in a car accident, if he had really stayed in the NCAA, wonder if he would have been a starter too.
Just then, Pang Shuai suddenly spoke up: “Xia Chiyi, a sports brand DM’ed me, asking for your contact info. They want you to shoot a print ad!”
“Scammer, probably,” Xia Chiyi replied casually, continuing to watch the game.
Ye Chaoying asked curiously, “Which brand?”
“Called ‘Boiling Point.’ I don’t exercise much usually, so I’m not very clear about these brands,” Fatty said.
“Boiling Point?” Ye Chaoying scratched the back of his head. “A niche domestic sports brand that claims to make custom sneakers. The last time I saw this brand was in my first year of high school. It hasn’t gone bankrupt yet?”
“Whatever. I’m not some super handsome guy. If they ask me to shoot an ad and it doesn’t sell, they’ll blame me.”
“Hah?” Ye Chaoying raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think you’re handsome?”
“Are you being humble-bragging (Versailles)?” Fatty asked back.
The game in the video just ended, and Xia Chiyi looked back at them.
Ye Chaoying put his hands on his hips. “I forgot, you’re always handsome without knowing it.”
Fatty also nodded. “Yeah, brother, just keep this normal heart, and we can continue being friends.”
Xia Chiyi rested his arm on Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder and patted his back. “Open your eyes, this is the handsome guy, okay? Next time Pang Shuai, put Zhou Zhexiao in the center position of the nine-grid. Maybe AJ’s PR manager will come looking for you.”
Zhou Zhexiao slowly raised his eyes. Ye Chaoying nodded, “Mn, this brother is collector’s grade. Can’t be exhibited externally, it will cause a riot.”
“Holy crap—” Pang Shuai suddenly got excited again.
“Fatty, don’t startle people like that! I almost spilled my essence!” Ye Chaoying exhaled.
“Xu Mi followed me! Xu Mi, that blogger who specifically reports on the University First Level League! She even reposted my photos. Do you know what her comment was?” Pang Shuai asked.
“What was it?”
“Metamorphosis. She said ‘Metamorphosis’!”
In less than two minutes, Fatty’s excitement passed, and a worried look appeared on his face.
“What? Are other people’s comments nasty?” Xia Chiyi went behind Fatty and shook his broad shoulders.
“Yeah, they’re all saying ‘Welcome Ningchang University, the best sparring partner for our bench players,’ ‘What it metamorphoses into isn’t certain, maybe just a giant moth,’ ‘Even Ling Huanzhen might not be able to save Ningchang University because it’s a colander’…”
“Come, let’s see whose fans these snarky commenters are? We’ll put them on a blacklist.” Ye Chaoying took out his phone and clicked them one by one.
“One vote from Qincheng University, one from Mining University, one from Fusheng University of Technology… one from Southwest Aviation…”
Listening to their broadcast, Xia Chiyi laughed. “No, but, them mocking us as moths… doesn’t seem wrong, right? These are all National Top 8 teams…”
Zhou Zhexiao stood up, as if hearing nothing, grabbed his things, and went into the bathroom.
Xia Chiyi chuckled and said, “Zhou Zhexiao, aren’t you going to say something to make Fatty’s Weibo look a bit more imposing?”
“They won’t win the championship this year.”
After speaking, the sound of water came from the shower room.
Xia Chiyi and Ye Chaoying both looked at Fatty. Fatty shook his head like a rattle drum. “If I dared to post that sentence, I’d be drowned in the spit of college students nationwide!”
Zhou Zhexiao closed his eyes. The hot water fell from the top of his head; the crashing sound was like white noise, calming his mind little by little.
On the bench by the court, on the bus back to school, and just now sitting side by side watching the game, Xia Chiyi sat beside him, repeatedly approaching and moving away. Every time was like a bottle of orange soda suddenly having its cap pried off, bubbling gurgle gurgle.
Sweet and sour, making one want to drink it to the bottom in one go.
When Zhou Zhexiao’s breathing gradually calmed, he turned off the showerhead and braced one hand against the tiled wall of the bathroom.
Water droplets slid down from the ends of his hair one by one. His gaze was steady, but when he turned around, his eyes unexpectedly met a plastic basin in the corner.
Floating inside was a pair of style-less boxer shorts, covered by some innocent and naive bubbles.
The sound of a soda bottle cap being pried off seemed to ring in his brain again. White foam and orange-flavored soda rushed up frantically, flowing everywhere with a crash.
Zhou Zhexiao turned his head as if lacking oxygen, turned on the showerhead again, and switched it to cold water.
He seemed to return to the bench by the court. Xia Chiyi’s finger gently poked his arm, like a defenseless little antelope. He just wanted to grab his wrist and pinch it hard, pinch until it hurt.
Why always make such meaningless probes?
He still remembered the feeling of Xia Chiyi burrowing into his arms to snatch the scoreboard.
Why didn’t he just give it to him then?
The bathroom door was banged on—Bang bang bang. Xia Chiyi’s voice came through. “Zhou Zhexiao, how much longer! I need to use the toilet!”
“Hold it.”
Zhou Zhexiao’s cold voice transmitted through the sound of water.
“Just open the door. You wash yours, I’ll use mine. I won’t look at you, okay?”
“Hold it.” Zhou Zhexiao said with his head down.
“Tch.”
Xia Chiyi turned around, opened the room door, and went to the next dorm to borrow the toilet.
When he came back, Zhou Zhexiao walked out of the bathroom covered in steam. Xia Chiyi frowned. “Why are you putting on such a stinky face?”
Opposite them, Ye Chaoying said, “Maybe he didn’t drink milk tea today?”
Drink what milk tea? He just likes playing with the pearls inside.
“Xia Chiyi, next time you throw your pants in the corner without washing them, you won’t live to see tomorrow.” Zhou Zhexiao sat down at his desk and opened the book Accounting Basics.
Xia Chiyi tilted his head, ran to the bathroom to take a look, and then shouted, “Speak! Who threw their pants in my basin! Want to die?”
Pang Shuai paused and immediately waved his hands. “Not me!”
Ye Chaoying seemed to remember something and ran to the bathroom to look. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to! I thought that basin was mine!”
“Are you colorblind? My basin is blue, yours is green! My basin isn’t clean anymore, I don’t want it…”
“So noisy. I’ll buy you a new one.” Ye Chaoying threw the pants and basin away together, placed an order on his phone right in front of Xia Chiyi, buying him a metal basin. “Look, this time I definitely won’t mistake it!”
Xia Chiyi went to Zhou Zhexiao’s side and bumped him lightly. “Hey, apologize to me. I never save dirty pants.”
Zhou Zhexiao closed his eyes and turned his face away. A few seconds later, Xia Chiyi faintly heard him say “Sorry.”
Sensing the low pressure surrounding Zhou Zhexiao, Xia Chiyi retreated tactically, deciding not to fuss about it anymore.
But he had only taken one step when Zhou Zhexiao grabbed his wrist, stretched out his other arm, and took a box of new boxer shorts from the closet for him.
“Ah? For me?”
Xia Chiyi understood the principle of quitting while ahead, especially since this box looked expensive.
“Mn.”
“But won’t ours get mixed up?” Xia Chiyi thought for a moment.
This time it was Zhou Zhexiao’s turn to frown. “Why would you think you can wear my size?”
“So… you bought them too small? Using me as a return center?” Xia Chiyi froze for two seconds, then suddenly felt he missed the point. “What are you acting cool for? Do you really think your size is number one in the world?”
The culprit, Ye Chaoying, actually laughed wildly on the side without any conscience.
Wednesday night, at the end of training, Ling Huanzhen prepared to announce the starting lineup against Chengjiang College.
Xia Chiyi was eager to try. Chengjiang College was a tough nut to crack in Jin Province. If he could complete 21 points under their defense, that would be a real sense of accomplishment.
But unexpectedly, Ling Huanzhen said to Xia Chiyi right off the bat, “If you’re still thinking about scoring from the three-point line, don’t go on the court.”
“Why?”
“Zhou Zhexiao, help me shake his head, mix the brains up a bit.” Ling Huanzhen sighed.
After speaking, Zhou Zhexiao really clamped onto Xia Chiyi’s head and shook it.
Ye Chaoying said directly, “Bro, when you played against Normal University, the rain of threes was so torrential. Chengjiang College’s playstyle is very fierce. careful they don’t collide you straight to the moon!”
“But I’m not the Xia Chiyi who flies off the court with one collision anymore.”
“I know you aren’t.” Ling Huanzhen patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Physical confrontation ability can’t improve significantly in less than a month. I’ve seen the video of you and Zhou Zhexiao single-handedly challenging those two tail-enders from the provincial team. I don’t deny your individual ability. But the opponent has five people. How do you score while maximizing strengths and avoiding weaknesses?”
Xia Chiyi was originally a bit unwilling, but hearing Ling Huanzhen’s words, he calmed down immediately.
“I understand. I will observe their playstyle carefully.” Xia Chiyi raised his eyes to look at the coach.
Ling Huanzhen nodded with satisfaction. He was worried this kid would think he could take off vertically just because of a little improvement. It was good that he had the mindset to observe and learn.
“You don’t need to be sad, anyway Zhou Zhexiao will accompany you on the bench.”
Zhou Zhexiao, who was standing aside with hands in pockets almost drifting to the void, finally had his thoughts pulled back a bit upon hearing his name.
Ye Chaoying gloated on the side. “Yeah, you two are our Ningchang University’s Bench Duo. As long as you two don’t play, we won’t lose.”
Xia Chiyi was full of black lines. Bro, the title “Bench Duo” doesn’t sound like a compliment no matter how I hear it.
The starting lineup this time was no different from the last game, except Ye Chaoying finally got his wish to replace Fu Chenxue.
“Finally, I reclaimed the throne of point guard. I am the true command tower of the Ningchang University basketball team.” Ye Chaoying tilted his head back. “I need to tell Fatty to shoot me with a stature of 1.98 meters.”
Xia Chiyi looked at Ye Chaoying. In Friday afternoon’s game, he must see through Ye Chaoying.
Ye Chaoying turned around, noticing Xia Chiyi’s predatory gaze, and hooked his lips into a smile. “Kid, you can’t learn everything about me in just one or two games, because—I evolve too!”
“Heheh. You be careful, I heard Chengjiang College’s point guard is also very formidable!”
That night, Xia Chiyi sat side by side with Zhou Zhexiao in front of the projector in the dorm again to watch a game.
“Although you can’t play on Friday, there’s a gift for you tomorrow,” Zhou Zhexiao said.
“Gift?” Xia Chiyi’s eyes lit up. “What gift would someone like you give me? Probably something like a fascia blade again… might as well not give it.”
“Consider it given by the three of us.” Zhou Zhexiao paused and added, “Me, Jiao Yingfeng, and Ling Huanzhen together.”
“So what is it?”
No matter how Xia Chiyi asked, Zhou Zhexiao wouldn’t answer anymore.
This filled Xia Chiyi with curiosity, but he didn’t dare roll around on the bed, afraid Zhou Zhexiao would snap and crush his nose.
The quieter the room was, the more Xia Chiyi envied Pang Shuai and Ye Chaoying’s ability to sleep, while he was here excited about who knows what.
“If you want to toss and turn, just toss.” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Eh? I’ve been enduring without moving, how did you know I wasn’t asleep?”
“The sound of your breathing when you’re asleep isn’t like this.” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was faint and slow, sounding very comfortable to the ears.
“You even know the sound of my breathing when I sleep?” Xia Chiyi found it magical, and felt that playing dead until he almost sweated just now was truly meaningless.
“It gets drawn out longer, sounds very sound asleep.”
Xia Chiyi turned over in dissatisfaction, lying on the pillow. “Nonsense, don’t tell me my sleeping breath smells like oranges too.”
“I meant you sleep very soundly.”
“Oh.”
“So hurry up and fall asleep, so I can sleep too,” Zhou Zhexiao said softly.
It wasn’t until two or three seconds later that Xia Chiyi realized the meaning in Zhou Zhexiao’s words… Does he have to hear the sound of my sleeping breath every night to fall asleep?