HGTM CH48
Chapter 48: Xia Chiyi Has a Fan Group?
As it turned out, the first push didn’t move him at all.
This made Xia Chiyi feel a bit slighted. He pushed again with more force, but still, nothing. Instead, Zhou Zhexiao unhurriedly tilted his head back to look at him, his voice sounding a bit annoyed. “What are you doing?”
“Your hair is dry; you can sleep now.”
Should I add ‘Your Majesty’ to the end of that? Xia Chiyi wondered.
Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes, gave a dull “Oh,” kicked off his slippers, and burrowed into the blankets. By the time Xia Chiyi finished tidying up, it was already 1:30 AM. He couldn’t wait to curl up in his own quilt and meet the God of Dreams. Excitement was replaced by exhaustion, and Xia Chiyi let out a soft snore that was more prominent than usual.
The next morning, Zhou Zhexiao woke up a bit earlier than Xia Chiyi. He leaned against the headboard, yawned, and slowly turned his face. The boy in the other bed had half his face squashed into the pillow, his lips slightly parted, and one hand lightly gripping the corner of the duvet.
Logically, Zhou Zhexiao should have gotten up for a morning run, but for some reason, he just leaned there, listening to Xia Chiyi’s soft snores.
“Mmh… hng…” Xia Chiyi’s lips moved; he seemed to be talking in his sleep.
Zhou Zhexiao gave a very faint smile and, on a whim, mimicked the “mm-hng” sound. After a few seconds, Xia Chiyi seemed to respond in his sleep: “Mmh… hng…”
The sound was lighter than before, like a kitten.
Zhou Zhexiao replied somewhat perfunctorily: “Mm-hng.”
A few seconds later, Xia Chiyi spoke again: “Zhou Zhe… xiao…”
Zhou Zhexiao froze. He remained motionless, trying to discern if Xia Chiyi was awake or still dreaming. A dozen seconds passed; the room was deathly quiet. Xia Chiyi didn’t move.
Zhou Zhexiao’s throat bobbed slightly as he answered in a tiny voice, “I’m here.”
Xia Chiyi seemed to settle down. His alarm was set for 7:00 AM, meaning he could sleep for another hour. Zhou Zhexiao fell back onto his pillow; suddenly, he didn’t feel like doing morning drills either.
“Zhou Zhexiao…”
Though muffled, it was still recognizable—Xia Chiyi was saying his name again. This time, Zhou Zhexiao sat up, walked slowly to Xia Chiyi’s bedside, sat on the nightstand, and leaned down close to Xia Chiyi’s lips.
“I’m here.”
“Mmh… hng…”
Zhou Zhexiao waited for a moment, but Xia Chiyi didn’t move again. His knuckle lightly brushed over the boy’s eyebrow. His lashes weren’t long, but they were thick, like two rows of small brushes. When Zhou Zhexiao’s fingertip touched them, they felt soft and ticklish.
Zhou Zhexiao originally wanted to pinch Xia Chiyi’s nose, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The boy had played too hard last night; he looked energetic but was actually overextended and likely still very sleepy. Finally, Zhou Zhexiao’s fingertip lightly tapped Xia Chiyi’s lower lip, as if knocking on a door.
“Zhou… Zhexiao…”
As Xia Chiyi spoke, his warm breath touched Zhou Zhexiao’s finger. An invisible force surged through the fingertip and poured into Zhou Zhexiao’s heart. He let out an imperceptible breath, stood up, and closed the bathroom door.
Looking down, he finally realized the clothes he was wearing weren’t his. He pulled the collar of the T-shirt up and pressed it hard against his nose, as if the alcohol-soaked lemon from last night still occupied his brain. Every detail belonging to Xia Chiyi was taking advantage of the opening. Zhou Zhexiao’s habitual, restrained rationality hung on a knife’s edge while that irresponsible guy’s voice echoed in his ears, calling his name over and over in a mumble.
The alarm on Xia Chiyi’s nightstand rang for the third time before he finally groped for it and checked the time.
“Ah! I’m doomed!” Xia Chiyi sat up, stepped into his slippers, and rushed to the bathroom, only to find the door locked. “Who’s in there? Zhou Zhexiao? Why didn’t you wake me!”
“Wait a bit,” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice came from inside, sounding a bit low-pressure and raspy, as if his vocal cords were caught on something. To Xia Chiyi’s ears, it sounded like a stirrer pulling strands of brown sugar. Is this the legendary ‘vocal fry’?
“How long is ‘a bit’?” Xia Chiyi hunched over. “I need the toilet!”
“Go borrow someone else’s,” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice returned to its cold tone.
Thanks to the reminder, Xia Chiyi remembered Ke Yan and the others were staying here too. He quickly sent a WeChat message to Ke Yan. When he arrived at Ke Yan’s door, the other was yawning, still wearing last night’s clothes.
“Aren’t you guys in a hurry to get back to Qincheng? Doesn’t the first practice match start at nine?” Xia Chiyi asked while rushing into the bathroom.
Ke Yan wandered in a half-circle before flopping back onto his bed. “We played so late last night… we already asked the coach for the morning off. Besides, the second-team matches have nothing to do with the first-team, right?”
Finally relieved, Xia Chiyi asked curiously, “Aren’t He Zhan and Meng Ting in a hurry to go back either?”
“Of course not. They’ll definitely sleep until 9:30 before getting up for breakfast. Otherwise, they’d feel like they wasted the hotel room fee,” Ke Yan answered lazily. On the other bed, Xia Chiyi saw Yang Huaiyu was still asleep with no sign of waking. “See? Relaxed now? If the sky falls, the tall guys will hold it up. If the coach wants to scold someone, he can scold Yang Huaiyu.”
“Oh. Thanks for letting me use the bathroom.”
“Wait, what about your bathroom?” Ke Yan asked.
“Zhou Zhexiao. He’s in there. I don’t know what he’s doing, but he won’t come out.”
Ke Yan scratched his head. “Mornings are usually more… excitable. It might take a while.”
Hearing this, Xia Chiyi’s eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying Zhou Zhexiao is in there… doing that?”
“I didn’t say that! Don’t guess wildly! If you go back and get strangled, it’ll be you, not me,” Ke Yan said, hugging himself.
By the time Xia Chiyi returned to the room, he saw a message from Ling Huanzhen: [The Qincheng folks said you played late last night. Rest at the hotel this morning; just come over around noon.] This meant: Babies, don’t miss Qincheng University’s lunch buffet!
Relieved, Xia Chiyi went back to bed and forwarded the video Ke Yan had sent him to Jiao Yingfeng, adding: It’s hard to break out when the big guys sandwich you.
Jiao Yingfeng replied quickly: [Brother Fan and I will study this carefully. We’ll talk when you get back.]
In truth, Jiao Yingfeng had received the video the night before. Coach Ren had sent it to Ling Huanzhen first with a message: [Your Xia Chiyi is using our Center and Power Forward to practice double-team breakthroughs; shouldn’t we be charging a fee?]
Ling Huanzhen replied: [Your guys are also using my kid to practice their double-teaming. We’re even; let’s improve together!]
Ling Huanzhen knew Coach Ren’s “fee” was a hint for Ling to reveal Xia Chiyi’s physical training regimen. Otherwise, where would this kid get the stamina to play with He Zhan and Meng Ting for nearly two hours?
When Jiao Yingfeng saw the video, he couldn’t stop smiling. His training had worked; Xia Chiyi was improving in stamina, endurance, and technique. Even better, Xia Chiyi was thinking for himself—seeing his own deficiencies in every game and striving to break through. This kid… he’s going to go far.
Xia Chiyi lay on his bed for a while, but Zhou Zhexiao still hadn’t come out. He started to worry. Recalling Ke Yan’s words, he felt a bit flustered—was Ke Yan right? Was Zhou Zhexiao doing “big business” in there?
He knocked on the door and raised his voice: “Zhou Zhexiao, are you in there? You didn’t fall asleep on the toilet, did you?”
After shouting, Xia Chiyi pressed his ear to the door. Suddenly, the lock turned. Zhou Zhexiao threw the door open, and Xia Chiyi instinctively leaned back, meeting Zhou’s eyes. They were dark and deep, staring directly at Xia Chiyi like a fast break—slicing to the basket in the blink of an eye for a monster dunk. It was full of dangerous, unknown excitement.
“Wh… what were you doing in there?” Xia Chiyi asked. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. It clearly wasn’t just using the toilet or doing laundry.
“What were you doing the night before last when you were up three times?” Zhou Zhexiao raised his eyes to look at him.
“Oh…” Xia Chiyi tilted his chin, surprised that Zhou Zhexiao was so candid.
After another quiet moment, Xia Chiyi flopped back onto the bed. “Coach Ling said we can go back to Qincheng in the afternoon to watch. The morning is mostly second-team practice. Yang Huaiyu and the others aren’t going back yet either.”
“Mmh.” Zhou Zhexiao sat back down, leaning against the headboard.
Because it was so quiet, Xia Chiyi couldn’t help but wonder who Zhou Zhexiao was thinking about to stay in the bathroom that long. “Hey, who do you usually think about?” Xia Chiyi moved his head to the edge of the bed to ask.
“You wouldn’t want to know,” Zhou Zhexiao answered coldly.
“Stingy. I know about Pang Shuai and Ye Zhaoying,” Xia Chiyi rolled over, hugging his quilt and turning away to catch some more sleep.
Half a minute later, just as Xia Chiyi’s eyelids were about to close completely, he heard Zhou Zhexiao’s voice.
“What about you?”
“…What?”
“The ‘Up Three Times’ guy. What do you think about?”
“Me? It’s colorful and varied… anyway, stuff you wouldn’t imagine,” Xia Chiyi replied grumpily. He had felt guilty about it before, but since Zhou Zhexiao was being such a jerk, the guilt vanished. He decided to use his imagination to let Zhou Zhexiao suffer all sorts of torments in his mind.
He heard the sound of a quilt being lifted behind him. Xia Chiyi pricked up his ears. When the mattress behind him dipped, he got a bad feeling. He quickly pulled the quilt over his head. Zhou Zhexiao’s arm reached around but failed to pinch his nose.
“You’ve gotten smarter,” Zhou Zhexiao said chillingly.
“Duh! My nose, my rules!”
“If you don’t come out, you’ll suffocate,” Zhou Zhexiao said.
“Go away.”
Zhou Zhexiao looked at the few strands of hair peeking out from the quilt and slowly tightened his embrace. “Then don’t come out.” He buried his face in the quilt, as if by doing so, he could get closer to the image in his mind.
Finally, three minutes later, Xia Chiyi’s hand squeezed out from the quilt. “I give up! I give up!”
Zhou Zhexiao slowly straightened his back and returned to his own bed. Xia Chiyi was red from his face to his ears, a thin layer of sweat on his back. It took a full ten minutes for his racing heart to calm down.
At lunch, the group returned to Qincheng University. Xia Chiyi, thinking he wouldn’t get to eat this again after today, took three large platters.
Zhou Zhexiao frowned. “If you can’t finish that, don’t expect me to help you.”
“I won’t. I’ll definitely digest it myself.”
Yang Huaiyu propped his chin on his chopsticks, watching Xia Chiyi with a steak in his left hand and a crab-meat spring roll in his right, looking like he wished he had eight mouths. He couldn’t help but sigh enviously, “Young people… they sure can eat and drink.”
Coach Ren laughed too, saying to Ling Huanzhen, “He likes the cafeteria here so much, why not just leave him here?”
Ling Huanzhen rubbed his brow. “To be honest, I’m worried he’ll cry over his body fat percentage when he gets back and steps on a scale.”
After eating his fill, Xia Chiyi felt sleepy. He leaned against the basketball gym wall with Yang Huaiyu and the others, sitting on mats for a nap. Yang Huaiyu took the chance to fish for information while Xia Chiyi’s brain was sluggish from the food.
“Xia Chiyi, your lower body seems very stable. How do you usually train?” Yang Huaiyu asked.
“Kettlebell swings and hex-bar deadlifts.”
“Oh. What about shooting? You’re so accurate; you must shoot hundreds a day, right?” Ke Yan asked curiously.
Xia Chiyi tilted his head. “Never counted. If I’m in the zone, maybe two or three hundred? If not, I have to restart… then I don’t know how many…”
Yang Huaiyu could sense the “pity” in the second half of that sentence.
“If he’s in the zone, it’s 600. If not, maybe 1,000,” Zhou Zhexiao answered from the side.
Xia Chiyi blinked and leaned over. “How do you know it’s 600?”
“Ten shots per set, sixty sets total. Isn’t that 600?” Zhou Zhexiao asked back.
“Oh…” Xia Chiyi leaned back. He was too full; his brain wasn’t working. He started counting on his fingers, using both hands, then nodded. “It really is 600 shots.”
Yang Huaiyu looked down and smiled helplessly. “Did you really score over 500 on the Gaokao?”
Ke Yan, however, was shocked. 600 shots was a massive workload. Even their sharpshooter, Li Shunchuan, would be exhausted after 300.
“By the way, you’re the first guard to steal the ball from me mid-layup. Was that luck or specific training?” Yang Huaiyu asked.
“Specific training. There’s someone in our grassroots tournament who’s great at left-handed layups! To deal with him, Zhou Zhexiao practiced with me for two whole days!” Xia Chiyi patted Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder. “The steal wasn’t luck; it was hard work!”
Yang Huaiyu looked at Xia Chiyi, unable to look away for a moment. Then he couldn’t help but laugh. “Two days, and you can stop someone’s left-handed layup. That’s 99% talent plus a little bit of hard work.”
“But before that, he put in effort that normal people can’t manage,” Zhou Zhexiao spoke up.
Yang Huaiyu was stunned. This was the first time Zhou Zhexiao had spoken up to defend Xia Chiyi. “Effort normal people can’t manage” sounded like textbook lines to Yang Huaiyu—stuff like “where there’s a will there’s a way.” But in Yang Huaiyu’s world, talent was far more important than effort. He had seen Liu Suchen and Lu Yingnan; even if someone trained two or three times harder, they could only watch their backs.
Yang Huaiyu suddenly remembered Xia Chiyi saying he wanted an NBA championship ring. To Yang, that sounded as distant and ethereal as a child saying they wanted to be a scientist or an artist; children who said such things usually grew up to be mediocre. There was a clear barrier between genius and commoners.
In most people’s eyes, Yang Huaiyu was a genius. But in front of Liu Suchen, he was just a decent opponent, and there were even more powerful figures ahead. Yang Huaiyu saw his own ceiling. He didn’t want to fight fate; it was too tiring, so he had rejected the provincial team.
“Hey, Yang Huaiyu,” Xia Chiyi’s voice interrupted Yang’s internal “genius theory.”
“Mmh? What is it?”
“If you come to Ningchang, I’ll show you,” Xia Chiyi said.
“Show me what?”
“Show you all my training. You can try to keep up. If you can, then my training is just ‘normal person’ intensity. If you can’t… then in terms of training, I’ve already beaten a lot of people.”
Yang Huaiyu knew this was an “enticement” from Xia Chiyi—straightforward yet slightly childish provocation. But he couldn’t control his curiosity. What exactly gave Xia Chiyi the nerve to block his layup, to fight He Zhan, and to sink a fadeaway jumper under the lockdown of two giants?
“Fine,” Yang Huaiyu nodded.
Xia Chiyi held out his pinky. Yang Huaiyu laughed. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen. But no matter the age, a promise is a promise. If you come, I’ll treat you to Ningchang fried noodles, the ‘Family Feast’ version.”
“Eighty-eight yuan,” Yang Huaiyu hooked Xia Chiyi’s finger and pulled.
“No, the ‘Family Feast’ at the shop behind the school is only thirty-eight yuan.” Xia Chiyi raised an eyebrow as if he’d just saved a fortune.
Yang Huaiyu: “…”
Zhou Zhexiao: “That place apparently uses ‘gutter oil’ (recycled oil).”
“Really?”
“Pang Shuai ordered takeout; the garlic in it turned red.”
“Oh.” Xia Chiyi looked regretful and said to Yang Huaiyu, “Let’s stick with the eighty-eight yuan one then.”
Yang Huaiyu didn’t know whether to thank him. At least Xia Chiyi had a sliver of conscience… though not much.
The afternoon practice match ended. Because Shenghai University brought many people, they had chartered a bus. Thanks to the practice match, the relationship between Guan Qian and Ling Huanzhen had thawed. Xia Chiyi’s group was honored to hitch a free ride to the high-speed rail station.
Upon parting, Guan Qian repeatedly confirmed the time for the next practice match. “Ling Huanzhen, don’t stand me up! Don’t let me bring my team only to find you’ve booked a session with someone else!”
“I won’t! Definitely not. It’s just… you don’t need to bring such a huge crowd,” Ling Huanzhen smiled.
“What do you mean?” Guan Qian looked confused.
Ling Huanzhen leaned in and whispered, “Our school team is very streamlined. Just twelve people.”
“What? How many?” Guan Qian thought he’d misheard.
“So, if you bring twenty-four people, I can’t even put together a second team to play you, haha.”
Guan Qian suspected he was being conned. What team that makes it to the qualifiers only has twelve people? “No wonder… you have to go everywhere looking for practice matches. With twelve people, you barely have any combinations for internal scrimmages.”
“Haha, exactly. That’s why whenever you come, I’m only putting out the elites,” Ling Huanzhen guaranteed, patting his chest.
And so, Xia Chiyi’s trip to Qincheng came to an end.
By the time they returned to school, it was night. Xia Chiyi was surprised to find only Pang Shuai in the dorm editing photos; Ye Zhaoying was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s our dorm’s Queen? Shouldn’t he be in bed with a face mask at this hour?” Xia Chiyi asked.
“The two days you were gone, he’s been coming back late every day. Apparently, he’s training with his ‘Master,'” Pang Shuai answered.
Xia Chiyi remembered Ling Huanzhen had arranged special training for Ye Zhaoying and He Bin. I’m really looking forward to when Qincheng comes; we’ll definitely give them a run for their money.
The next morning, during a break in the Basic Accounting class, their class monitor walked over to Xia Chiyi’s row. “Hey handsome, the school’s anniversary celebration is coming up. There will be lots of activities. Our class is preparing a stage play; can you guys play some roles?”
The monitor’s idea was simple: Xia Chiyi, Zhou Zhexiao, and Ye Zhaoying were the famous hotties of their department. If they could make a cameo, even as background characters, the play would get plenty of “friendship” or “fan” votes during the evaluation.
Xia Chiyi scratched his head. “But we have a lot of training lately; I’m afraid we won’t make the rehearsals… maybe give the chance to other students?”
The monitor looked understanding but disappointed. “That’s a pity. It’s a group activity only once a year. The roles I have for you are very simple—no lines, just wearing costumes and walking through the blocking.”
Xia Chiyi looked at Ye Zhaoying, who was slumped on the desk from exhaustion. Then he looked at Zhou Zhexiao next to him, who was… slumped in a symmetrical pose on the other side. Zhou Zhexiao had recently adjusted his training schedule and increased his morning run, so he was sleeping like a log.
Xia Chiyi pressed his palms together in apology. “See? They’re exhausted. I really can’t promise on their behalf. Let us talk about it in the dorm, check with the coach, and then I’ll get back to you, okay?”
Promises you can’t keep often cause more trouble for the class.
Just then, a boy in the front row turned around and sneered, “Does the basketball team think they rule the country just because they made it out of Jin Province? School buses, taking leaves from class at will… you can’t even show up for class rehearsals? Do you really think you’re campus celebrities or something?”
The monitor quickly signaled for the boy to stop, then handed the schedule to Xia Chiyi.
But others were also disgruntled. The boy’s seatmate added, “You have so many privileges. You didn’t participate in the speech contest, you didn’t join the debate… if you come back empty-handed from the Southeast Regional Qualifiers, everyone won’t tolerate this anymore!”
“Exactly. And what ‘practice’? Just twelve people playing against themselves? Or playing against Teachers’ Colleges or Finance Universities every day? No matter how you play, it’s just provincial level. What’s the use?”
If it were just one person, Xia Chiyi might have thought they were just annoyed about missing group activities. But now he understood. These three were from the school football team. They hadn’t even made it into the provincial top eight, so seeing the basketball team probably made them feel sour.
Xia Chiyi sighed and said politely, “Bro, don’t be like that. Before this, the school bus was for the football team. You guys stopped using it, so the basketball team got the service. You have school-issued shoes, wristbands, and gym cards. Everything for the basketball team is bought with our own money. Even our gym cards are one card for the whole team, and we sign off on our usage. We don’t have privileges. We train day and night because we don’t want to let our classmates down.”
Someone suddenly chimed in, “Yeah, the football team has a specialized chef, and they’ve already changed three of them. The variety is almost like a royal feast, yet they complain about the food every day.”
“Right! And Xia Chiyi only takes leave for games. Didn’t the football team skip the speech and debate contests too?”
“Plus, the equipment for the last debate—Chen Chuan and Du He from the basketball team helped carry it up. I’ve never seen anyone from the football team lend a hand.”
One of the football guys quickly made an excuse: “That’s because we were afraid of getting injured during the season, not because we didn’t want to help…” He realized his mistake halfway through, as the basketball team had games then, too.
Just then, “Little Fatty” shouted, “Whoa! Big news—Shenghai University’s basketball team is coming to our school for a practice match next week! And they’re coming here, not us going to them!”
The students immediately pulled out their phones to check the school’s public account.
“The basketball team is doing great! Shenghai University is coming to us for a match!”
“Shenghai was top 16 in the country last year, right?”
“That match is going to be amazing!”
The football guys looked embarrassed. Their leader snorted, “They’re probably just sending their second team or subs to farm experience. Their starters wouldn’t travel all the way to Ningchang.”
Someone nearby countered, “Unlikely. The post says Head Coach Guan Qian is leading the team personally. Why would a head coach leave his starters and take subs to another city just to farm experience?”
“Exactly. That would be like picking up a sesame seed and dropping a watermelon.”
The three boys looked miserable. One tried to leave, but his seatmate held him back, whispering, “If you leave over something this small, are you going to skip class entirely if the basketball team makes the qualifiers?” The football guys could only sit there with stony faces, suffocating on their own frustration.
The monitor checked the news, patted Xia Chiyi’s shoulder, and whispered, “Don’t mind the football guys. They lost their provincial matches; they’re feeling a big gap. Plus, your team has too many hotties. Apparently, many of their fans have switched over to follow you guys.”
Another classmate turned back. “Focus on training for now. Don’t slack off; bring glory to Ningchang University. Besides, everyone has their own specialty. You aren’t drama majors. You can show off during the school sports meet instead!”
“Thank you. I really appreciate everyone’s understanding,” Xia Chiyi thanked them sincerely. He looked at the guys on either side of him—they were sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to the drama.
After lunch, Pang Shuai was about to take a nap while Zhou Zhexiao sat at his computer, looking at the edited photos of Xia Chiyi. Ye Zhaoying suddenly burst into the room. “Hey! What did Xia Chiyi say he was doing after lunch?”
“He just said he had ‘something to do.’ Didn’t say what,” Pang Shuai turned his head. “Maybe picking up another package for Zhou Zhexiao?”
“No way! He’s a traitor! He’s behind our backs having milk tea with a girl!” Ye Zhaoying’s voice jumped an octave.
“Huh? What? Which girl?” Pang Shuai, who was about to lie down, sat back up.
“The monitor! Our class monitor! The photos have been posted to Xia Chiyi’s fan group! I didn’t even know he had a fan group! Damn it, I don’t have one, but he does!”
Zhou Zhexiao’s finger, which had been on the mouse, lifted slightly at the words “class monitor.”
“Put the fan group aside—Xia Chiyi treated the monitor to milk tea! This is going to be explosive news in the department!” Pang Shuai paused. “Actually, I noticed the monitor always goes to Xia Chiyi first for everything… if this keeps up, are they going to become a couple?”
Ye Zhaoying shook Pang Shuai’s bed frame in frustration, though Pang Shuai was too heavy to move. “What do you mean? You knew he had a fan group too?”
“He’s had one for a long time, okay?” Pang Shuai sighed toward the ceiling. “I said the moment he arrived that he was handsome and clean-cut—put him in a white shirt and jeans, and he’s the quintessential campus heartthrob. After the grassroots tournament, with his ‘three-point rain’ and blocking Chen Hang twice, his popularity surged. He has plenty of fans—not just girls, but guys too.”
Pang Shuai omitted one detail: his photos always captured Xia Chiyi’s handsome and powerful moments perfectly. They were very alluring.
“Good grief…” Ye Zhaoying looked up. “Is Xia Chiyi going to be the first one in our dorm to escape the ‘single’ life? The heartthrob and the monitor… a perfect match.”
Zhou Zhexiao closed all the windows on the computer and stood up. “Where?”
Pang Shuai and Ye Zhaoying both turned to look at him. Zhou Zhexiao put his room key and phone in his pocket, walked to the door, and asked again, “Where?”
“Where what?” Ye Zhaoying was totally lost.
“Which milk tea shop?”
Ye Zhaoying’s eyes lit up. He opened his phone, pulled up the photo, and thrust it in front of Zhou Zhexiao. “Miss MOMO Milk Tea! Left of the school gate, thirty meters!”
In the photo, Xia Chiyi and the monitor were sitting at a small round table by the window. They were saying something; the monitor was laughing happily, and Xia Chiyi was looking down at a list in his hand.
“Actually… they might have just run into each other at the shop,” Pang Shuai said, feeling a strange aura coming from Zhou Zhexiao. It felt like watching Meteor Garden when Dao Ming Si finds out Shan Cai likes Hua Ze Lei…
“Little Fatty, if he were really ‘clean,’ why didn’t he just say he was treating the monitor instead of saying he had ‘something to do’?” Ye Zhaoying completely missed Pang Shuai’s hint. “Since when does he drink milk tea anywhere but through delivery? Is he the type to wait in a shop?”
Pang Shuai closed his eyes and let out a breath: Xia Chiyi, it’s not that I’m not saving you, it’s that Ye Zhaoying wants you dead.
Ye Zhaoying patted Zhou Zhexiao’s back. “Let’s go together!”
After they left the dorm, Pang Shuai silently took out his phone and sent a message: [Bro, Ye Zhaoying goaded Zhou Zhexiao into going to Miss MOMO to see you having milk tea with the monitor.]
When they arrived at Miss MOMO, Xia Chiyi was indeed sitting face-to-face with the monitor behind the floor-to-ceiling glass window. Even though their milk tea was already in hand, they hadn’t left. The monitor was lightly squeezing her straw, nodding and smiling.
Zhou Zhexiao stood with his hands in his pockets, watched for about a second, and then suddenly turned around.
Ye Zhaoying grabbed him. “Hey, hey, where are you going? Go in.”
“Go in for what?” Zhou Zhexiao asked back.
“To order milk tea!”
“Order it on the phone.”
Ye Zhaoying laughed and poked Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder. “Hahaha, you’re unhappy, right? If Xia Chiyi really dates the monitor, he won’t let you use his phone anymore. Otherwise, you’d see them showing off their love every day—all those ‘mwah’ emojis… you’d be stuffed with ‘dog food’ (displays of affection)!”
“I’m not a dog. Why would I be fed dog food?”
Just then, Xia Chiyi saw them. He tapped on the glass and gestured for them to come in. Ye Zhaoying immediately dragged Zhou Zhexiao inside, ignoring the icy expression on his face.
“Yo, monitor! Having milk tea here?” Ye Zhaoying said with a smile.
“Mmh. Xia Chiyi’s treat.”
“Oh—Xia Chiyi’s treat. I’ve never even had a milk tea he paid for.” Ye Zhaoying’s acting was truly flamboyant.
“Because the one who always treats you is Pang Shuai,” Xia Chiyi sighed helplessly.
The monitor laughed. “Anyway, focus on your training. I didn’t realize Qincheng University might come; I can understand why you can’t participate in the anniversary celebration now. I won’t spread this around; I’ll keep it under wraps until Yang Huaiyu and the others arrive.”
Ye Zhaoying froze. “Anniversary… celebration?”
Xia Chiyi closed his eyes in defeat. “While you and Zhou Zhexiao were sleeping like logs at the desk, the monitor and I were discussing the anniversary arrangements.” He explained the monitor’s invitation.
“Oh… so you treated her to milk tea because…” Ye Zhaoying looked between the two.
“Because I very un-tactfully rejected her invitation in front of everyone. It would make it harder for her to organize the rehearsals later. For example, those three football guys might make things difficult for her out of spite,” Xia Chiyi said.
“Well, you should have said so earlier. We should have treated her to a meal.”
The monitor quickly stood up. “No, no, it’s not that serious. But hearing that a nationally famous powerhouse is coming for a practice match… even as a non-player, I feel proud.”
After a bit more small talk, the monitor left. Xia Chiyi picked up a bag next to him containing several cups of milk tea. He fished one out and handed a double-pearl one to Zhou Zhexiao. “Here, yours.”
Zhou Zhexiao took it and sat down next to Xia Chiyi.
“What for? Drink it on the way. Let’s head back for a nap,” Xia Chiyi said.
“Drink it here.” Zhou Zhexiao’s legs were very long; when he sat down, his knee pressed right against the outside of Xia Chiyi’s, almost like another way of hugging.
Xia Chiyi laughed helplessly. He could feel that Zhou Zhexiao had been in a bad mood just now, but he seemed better now.
Ye Zhaoying also took a milk tea, sat at another table, and checked his phone. He asked about the three football guys. “I knew it was because of that,” Ye Zhaoying said.
“Because of what?”
“The guy who led the trouble, Zhang Xiulin—his ex-girlfriend is currently a very active member of your fan group!” Ye Zhaoying turned his phone to show Xia Chiyi.
Xia Chiyi frowned and pulled back. “What is this?”
“Your fan group. Not many people, only about ninety… or so.” Ye Zhaoying sounded a bit salty.
He saw a message in the group: [Chiyi and the monitor were just having milk tea to discuss school anniversary business. Please stop spreading the photos randomly!]
The sender was “Ningchang Basketball Team Photographer”—wasn’t that Little Fatty?
Soon, the messages in the group started scrolling rapidly.
[Our Chiyi baby should just focus on basketball; he’s still too young for dating!]
Xia Chiyi had a ‘confused Nick Young’ face. Too young? I’m an adult!
[Hahaha, the official debunking was fast! But I still want to say—dating will affect the speed of your crossovers!]
Xia Chiyi was even more confused. My dribbling speed depends on explosiveness and coordination; what the hell does dating have to do with it?
[People these days are too much, telling stories based on one photo. Basketball players are allowed to have normal social lives, okay?]