Chapter 005: Natural Chemistry

Just as the assistant was about to say Sheng Xingming had to leave, Sheng Xingming caught the basketball Xia Chiyi handed him, looked into his eyes, and said, “Alright, I’ll teach you.”

All his explanations were spoken slowly. His peaceful voice was like some gentle, invisible pattern diffusing through the air, circle by circle, lightly touching Xia Chiyi’s young heart—calm and tolerant.

When Xia Chiyi got nervous from several failed attempts at dipping the ball, Sheng Xingming lifted him up, placed him on a step, and bent down so his eyes were level with Xia Chiyi’s.

For the first time, Xia Chiyi saw Sheng Xingming’s eyes so clearly. They were a bright and gentle amber. He lightly held Xia Chiyi’s fingertips and swung them like a rope.

“Relax. Dipping the ball is the starting point of a shot. It’s the extension of your whole body’s power from your legs to the basketball. Don’t be afraid of it; enjoy it.”

To this day, Xia Chiyi still remembered his hands—dry, carrying a restrained strength.

“Our turn.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s cold voice rang out, dragging Xia Chiyi’s thoughts from memory back to reality.

Yes, it was their turn again.

Setting aside the question of how Zhou Zhexiao knew he used to be bad at dipping the ball, today was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had to beat Gao Qing so badly that the guy would take a detour just hearing their names!

The next few minutes were a nightmare for Gao Qing and Lv Hang.

Lv Hang personally defended Zhou Zhexiao, naively thinking Zhou Zhexiao was only fast. He never expected this guy’s dribbling and crossovers to be master-class.

With a massive crossover, Zhou Zhexiao pulled the ball from left to right like magic the eyes couldn’t follow. Lv Hang had no power to counter and could only watch as Zhou Zhexiao breezed past, effortlessly passing the ball to Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi executed a step-back jumper right in Gao Qing’s face and scored.

Off the court, Xu Mi watched with her heart pounding wildly. Zhou Zhexiao’s playstyle was absolutely professional-level—decisive and sharp, as if tempered through countless bloody storms.

He was already unstoppable, but then he was paired with Xia Chiyi.

One could pierce the opponent’s heart directly; the other could shoot with lethal accuracy from afar.

A deck of cards had finally assembled both Jokers.

Xia Chiyi looked sideways at Zhou Zhexiao for a full three seconds. Probably sensing his gaze, Zhou Zhexiao asked, “What is it?”

“Teach me a line too.”

“Are you an elementary schooler?”

Xia Chiyi huffed quietly. Elementary schoolers only knew “bounced back, bounced back, and bounced back again,” okay?

Looking at the opposite side, Lv Hang was frowning deeply. Speaking of coordination, he and Gao Qing had trained together for so long and were familiar with each other’s styles and routines, yet there were still moments where their coordination fell short.

But what was going on with Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi? Zhou Zhexiao shouldn’t have been back in the country before this. Why were Xia Chiyi’s passes like they were custom-made for him!

Behind-the-back passes, quick passes, long passes—basically, as long as Zhou Zhexiao received the ball, he could score immediately.

The timing and positioning were impeccable.

At this moment, Gao Qing was on the verge of a mental breakdown defending Xia Chiyi.

Why hadn’t ten minutes passed yet? Did that middle schooler keeping time forget to stop the clock!

He was so tired, really so tired.

Xia Chiyi turned to break through. Gao Qing thought he had kept up, but he didn’t expect Xia Chiyi to pass the ball mid-turn!

A 180-degree turn, silky smooth!

“Defend Zhou Zhexiao—” Gao Qing’s voice rang out.

The two finally got back under the basket before Zhou Zhexiao, though it looked more like Zhou Zhexiao was going easy on them.

Zhou Zhexiao leaped, his gaze emotionless and heavy as it pressed down. Gao Qing and Lv Hang desperately built a human wall in the air, but Zhou Zhexiao didn’t raise his hand. He didn’t even look back, just lightly flicked the ball to his back right.

He actually passed?

Gao Qing and Lv Hang’s minds went blank. Even Xu Mi watching from the sidelines widened her eyes.

Everyone thought he would either dunk or switch hands for a layup. Who expected him to pass!

As if possessing a god’s-eye view, Xia Chiyi arrived at the spot ahead of time, caught the ball steadily, and easily scored an uncontested shot.

The middle schoolers on the sidelines whistled wildly in excitement.

Xu Mi stood there frozen; she couldn’t understand that coordination.

Was it a coincidence, or natural chemistry?

Liu Shun shouted loudly, “Ten minutes are up!”

Gao Qing and Lv Hang swayed where they stood. The moment their nerves relaxed, they almost sat down right there.

Zhou Zhexiao turned to look at Xia Chiyi. The boy with short hair was still adjusting his breathing, but what Zhou Zhexiao heard was the thunderous beating in his own chest, like a precursor to boiling over.

The opponents were too weak; victory was inevitable.

So Zhou Zhexiao used various methods to test this boy.

Can you keep up with me?

Can you always be in the right position?

Do you really know what kind of pass I need?

But Xia Chiyi’s neural pathways seemed to have connected with his in advance. Even the behind-the-back pass had calculated Zhou Zhexiao’s speed perfectly.

And that last ball—passed by Zhou Zhexiao—even teammates honed over years might not have been able to receive it, yet Xia Chiyi was right there.

Not a moment too early, not a step too late.

Xia Chiyi looked at him with those bright, completely trusting eyes again, like a young lion not yet mature, brewing with speed, explosive power, and infinite possibilities.

When Zhou Zhexiao fought alone, this little lion would always lurk by his side, observing him, learning from him—not to act cute and share his prey, but to rush out when he was in danger and deliver a fatal blow to their opponent.

Then look at him smugly, as if saying: See, you need me.

It was clearly a spur-of-the-moment idea, yet he received an answer that hit the bullseye.

“Nice Catch.”

Zhou Zhexiao walked up to the boy and rubbed his head firmly.

Xia Chiyi scrunched up his nose and eyes, then put on an indignant expression. “Don’t mess up my hair just because you’re a little taller!”

Zhou Zhexiao turned his face and whispered a sentence into Xia Chiyi’s ear.

Xia Chiyi’s eyes widened as he looked at the other person. “Holy sh*t? That would break bones, wouldn’t it?”

Zhou Zhexiao only gave him a faint glance, the subtext being: If you don’t dare, don’t try to learn it later.

Xia Chiyi walked up to Gao Qing, who was still sitting on the ground wiping sweat from his face with the back of his hand. Looking up, he saw Xia Chiyi’s cocky face.

“Thought you were the King? How’s the kneeling practice going?”

“F*ck—” Gao Qing bristled instantly. Just as he was about to throw a punch, his gaze passed over Xia Chiyi’s shoulder and met Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes.

That aura, cold enough to crush one’s heart, made Gao Qing freeze for a moment, and Xia Chiyi successfully retreated out of his attack range.

Liu Shun ran over excitedly and high-fived Xia Chiyi. “You guys are awesome—you actually beat the provincial team guys!”

Xia Chiyi lowered his head, not letting victory go to his head, and whispered, “They’re just benchwarmers. The real provincial team players are very formidable; we couldn’t crush them like this.”

“Oh—” Liu Shun showed an expression of realization.

Gao Qing’s face was extremely ugly. Lv Hang tugged at him, giving a “let’s go” look.

“When your skills aren’t up to par, impotent rage just makes you look like a clown,” Lv Hang whispered while patting his teammate’s back.

Gao Qing’s eyes were full of red veins. He held it in with all his might to keep the tears from falling.

Xu Mi walked up to Xia Chiyi and smiled. “Not bad. I was worried you’d give up basketball, but seeing you today, you’re actually even better.”

“Thanks.” Xia Chiyi rubbed the back of his head.

Xu Mi glanced at Zhou Zhexiao standing not far away. His expression was faint, chin slightly raised. Sunlight passed through the gaps in his slightly curly bangs and eyelashes, looking like a god returned to the mortal world from on high—seemingly indifferent and distant, but actually waiting for someone to approach.

“You two are very strong. Together, even stronger. I just didn’t understand the last pass. Your final position wasn’t convenient for Zhou Zhexiao to pass to. I didn’t see any signals between you two; how did you know he would definitely pass to the right?”

Xia Chiyi rubbed the back of his head, showing a bit of shyness. “Actually, I wasn’t sure either. But he plays so well, his match experience must be very rich, right? A real court doesn’t just have two opponents, but five.”

Hearing this, Xu Mi seemed to understand Xia Chiyi’s thought process.

“Zhou Zhexiao drove with the ball in his right hand. If blocked in mid-air, passing to the left is indeed smoother. But the opponents would definitely know that too, so there must be defenders on his left and rear left,” Xu Mi analyzed, following Xia Chiyi’s train of thought.

Xia Chiyi put his hands in his pockets and looked towards Zhou Zhexiao. “I believed the experienced Zhou Zhexiao would definitely do the opposite—pass to the rear right. If a teammate is there to receive, as long as the aim isn’t bad, they might score uncontested. Even if they don’t score, Zhou Zhexiao has the rebounding advantage.”

The silent Zhou Zhexiao suddenly spoke up: “If you miss, go home.”

“Hahaha, are you a tyrant?” Xia Chiyi tilted his head and asked.

“Forgot to ask, which university are you and Zhou Zhexiao at? Provincial Normal? Provincial Sports Institute? Or Chengjiang College?” Xu Mi asked.

Xia Chiyi walked to Zhou Zhexiao’s side and draped an arm over his shoulder. “We are students of the Economics and Management Department at Ningchang University!”

Xu Mi’s expression looked frozen.

The middle schooler Liu Shun shouted from the side, “What? That hopeless Ningchang University! Isn’t that like two fresh flowers stuck in cow dung!”

“Why can’t it be two flowers blooming on one stem! Only ghosts want to be stuck in cow dung!” Xia Chiyi grumpily rubbed Liu Shun’s head.

Liu Shun swatted Xia Chiyi’s hand away. “Who among us basketball players doesn’t know that in last year’s First Division University Basketball League, Ningchang University didn’t even rank 7th to 10th in the seven provinces and one city of the Southeast Division? They lost every single game! No one is more ‘glorious’ than Ningchang University!”

Hearing this, Xu Mi felt a pang of heartache. She suddenly wanted to do something for them; she couldn’t let their talents be buried like this.

Liu Shun continued, “Although the possibility of Ningchang University breaking out of the Southeast Division is about the same difficulty as the national soccer team breaking out of Asia, I’ll still cheer for you guys!”

Xia Chiyi put his hands on his hips. “Well, thank you very much!”

Liu Shun opened his WeChat QR code. “Scan this, let’s add each other.”

Xia Chiyi teased, “What, seeing that I study at a key university, you want to hire me to do your homework?”

“Have some ambition. If you can really go to competitions, even the amateur Sunshine League, I’ll bring people to cheer for you.”

Xia Chiyi laughed. “Kid knows a lot, even knows about the Sunshine League.”

Before he could finish, his phone rang. Upon answering, he found it was the airport calling to tell him someone had returned Zhou Zhexiao’s suitcase.

Thank heavens.

Zhou Zhexiao was actually quite smart; anticipating his phone would run out of battery, he had left Xia Chiyi’s number with the airport.

“Well… we have things to do, so we’re leaving first.”

Xu Mi took a deep breath and started thinking seriously.

She had recorded the video of the match just now. If she released it directly, although it could expose the unfairness of Ma Hongming’s selection for the provincial team, failing to bring Ma Hongming down would create enemies for the two boys, which might not be a good thing.

But she could show these videos to people who knew the sport. There would always be a talent scout who recognized a prize horse.

Opening her contact list, she saw the assistant coach of the National Youth U19 team, public relations managers from several clubs, and CBA player Ling Huanzhen, who was rumored to be retiring this year…

Ma Hongming wanted to run a dictatorship, but he could only do so in Jin Province.

The world was a big place.