Chapter 50: Carry You Back to Be My Bandit Wife

Shuai Bei threw his second shot; it hit the rim.

The young punks whistled again, even more arrogantly than before.

Shuai Bei let out a breath, spinning the ball between his hands a few times. He wanted to adjust his strength, but the next shot he threw didn’t even touch the rim, the backboard, or the net.

“Holy crap! That’s the first ‘airball’ I’ve ever seen, hahaha!”

“Brother, you’ve really opened our eyes!”

“Alright, why don’t you just give up now? The court is ours.”

When Shuai Bei went to pick up the ball, the veins in his temples were throbbing. He looked up and saw Xia Chiyi on the other side of the netting, his normally cold face showing a look of surprise.

Xia Chiyi knew that losing a bet to some street punks would, at most, make Shuai Bei feel annoyed. But being seen by a teammate throwing an airball was a different story.

Shuai Bei turned away, but Xia Chiyi called out to him, “Hey, Zhou Zhexiao can practice with you, so why can’t I?”

Shuai Bei paused but didn’t look back.

“Is it because Zhou Zhexiao is taller, has more explosive power, and jumps higher than me, so you think I’m weak? That I should only be used for screens and protection? That I’m not qualified to practice shooting with you like Zhou Zhexiao?”

Shuai Bei turned around and looked at Xia Chiyi.

He had originally felt that his embarrassing moment had been witnessed by Xia Chiyi, but at this moment, what he heard in Xia Chiyi’s voice was… why did it sound like Xia Chiyi was the one who was hurt?

“I… I’m not… I didn’t…” Shuai Bei met Xia Chiyi’s eyes, and for the first time, he found himself unable to form a complete sentence.

The young punks on the sidelines started shouting, “Hurry up! We still need to use this court!”

“Don’t stall for time!”

“Seven shots left, hurry up and finish your ‘airballs’!”

“Shut up!” Xia Chiyi suddenly roared at them.

He imitated Zhou Zhexiao’s tone—deep and imposing—nearly cracking his voice in the process.

The punks were stunned, momentarily speechless.

Xia Chiyi strode into the court and came to Shuai Bei’s side. He said to the one in the floral bandana, “Your bet didn’t say no one could coach him, right?”

The bandana guy’s throat moved as he spoke, “Go… go ahead and coach then… If you have the skill to make him sink 3 of the remaining 7 shots, we’ll concede.”

“Yeah, this guy is like a block of wood. Whoever can teach him could save all of humanity!”

Shuai Bei took a deep breath and whispered, “Forget it, it’s late, you…”

Xia Chiyi took the basketball from Shuai Bei. “Pay attention to your shooting form; raise your hand above your shoulder.”

Hearing this, Shuai Bei followed suit.

Xia Chiyi stepped behind him, stood on his tiptoes, and pressed firmly against Shuai Bei’s palm, then suddenly released it, flicking his fingers upward.

“Feel that? Your fingers aren’t mechanical power; they’re like a spring sending the ball out!”

After saying this, Xia Chiyi moved to Shuai Bei’s side and demonstrated a release gesture. “Look, the last contact with the ball should be these two fingers.”

Seeing Xia Chiyi’s serious expression, Shuai Bei became serious too, trying it out beside him.

“Right, just like that. Try another shot!”

Shuai Bei took a deep breath and stepped to the free-throw line. Thinking back to the sensation of Xia Chiyi bending his fingers, he tried to release the ball from his knuckles to his fingertips. The arc of this shot was much more beautiful than the previous ones, but it still hit the rim.

The bandana guy shouted, “That’s the fourth shot!”

Xia Chiyi watched from the side, pouting in thought for a few seconds.

“Shuai Bei, adjust a bit more. Lower your release point slightly. If we were at the three-point line, I think your previous release point was fine, but for the free-throw line, I think the release point could be a bit lower.”

Xia Chiyi came to Shuai Bei’s side. “Consider the lowest point of your dip as position 1, your abdomen as position 2, extending all the way up to the top of your head as position 9.”

“Try releasing it at position 7.” Xia Chiyi gestured near Shuai Bei’s ear.

Shuai Bei nodded and shot again from the free-throw line. Seeing the parabola of the ball, his heart seemed to fly with it. At that moment, he had a strange feeling—this shot was going in.

Sure enough, when the ball passed through the net, the young punks were stunned.

“He actually made it.”

“What are you surprised about? It was definitely a fluke.”

“Exactly—like a blind man guessing on a multiple-choice test; even if you guess ABCD at random, you’re bound to get 2 out of 10 right!”

Xia Chiyi patted Shuai Bei on the shoulder and said in a low voice, “Ignore them. There are always more people in this world who put you down than cheer for you. Pay attention to your breath; exhaling as you shoot can increase your stability.”

“I’ll try.” Shuai Bei looked at Xia Chiyi. Perhaps infected by his mood, his originally restless heart gradually steadied.

The shot he just made seemed to help Shuai Bei find the feeling between power and distance.

On the sixth shot, following Xia Chiyi’s suggestion to time his breath, Shuai Bei made it again!

Crucially, it felt even easier than the last one.

Shuai Bei looked at Xia Chiyi in surprise, and the latter smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

“He made another one?” The bandana guy felt things were going south; they might actually lose the bet.

Xia Chiyi pressed his palms down, signaling Shuai Bei to stay calm and take it slow.

Shuai Bei held the ball, let out a breath, and moved from the dip to the release in one fluid motion, but this time the ball hit the rim.

The bandana guy laughed, and his friends began acting as the “atmosphere crew,” constantly making gestures and jeering.

Xia Chiyi came up behind Shuai Bei and squeezed his shoulders. “Don’t be nervous, buddy. You’ve found the knack. With three shots left, you can definitely sink one.”

Immediately, the punks started chanting, “Airball! Airball! Airball!”

“If you guys keep yapping, I’ll knock your milk bottles out of your hands, you believe me?” Xia Chiyi looked at the group, raising an eyebrow.

Regardless, Xia Chiyi’s 1.86m height paired with the nearly 2-meter-tall Shuai Bei was quite intimidating. The punks froze for a moment, changing their loud jeering into quiet curses.

Shuai Bei said, “I’m okay.”

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi looked at him, hands on his hips as he laughed. “I just find them annoying. This is actually my first time teaching someone how to shoot!”

Shuai Bei smiled slightly, adjusted his breathing, relaxed his shoulders, and shot again.

With a swish, the ball passed through the net.

Some of the punks covered their eyes, while others sighed.

“Damn, he actually got three.” The bandana guy sighed with regret.

The others also shook their heads.

But even after waiting ten seconds, the group of punks still didn’t leave.

Xia Chiyi stood with his hands on his hips, watching them along with Shuai Bei.

The bandana guy said, “That was only the eighth shot. There are two left. Let’s see if you can keep making them.”

“Yeah, if you can still make them, then it’s not a coincidence. Otherwise, we’ll regret not saying it only counts if you make 5 out of 10.”

Xia Chiyi was almost driven to distraction by their shamelessness.

“Fine, Shuai Bei, let’s take the last two shots.”

“Yeah.” Shuai Bei nodded.

With the pressure reduced, the performance for the remaining two shots was even better; both went in.

This time, the bandana guy was truly shocked. “Damn, we’ve been watching this guy for a while! He’s shot over a hundred balls here and only made maybe fifteen or twenty! It was so boring we almost fell asleep, but he kept practicing.”

“To be honest, it’s not that we absolutely had to have this court, it’s just that seeing him completely failing to get the hang of it was making us really annoyed…”

“Yeah, wouldn’t it have been better to ask a friend to help you sooner? You wasted your own time and ours too, didn’t you?”

Hearing them talk like that, Shuai Bei’s ears turned visibly red. It seemed deep down he agreed with the punks.

“It’s 10:40, handsome! If we don’t get back to the dorms, we’ll have to climb the fence,” Xia Chiyi kindly reminded.

“Got it, let’s take a taxi back,” Shuai Bei waved his hand.

With a ride to hitch, Xia Chiyi quickly followed.

The young punks behind them whistled, but this time it wasn’t jeering; it sounded more like a celebration.

---

Inside the taxi, Shuai Bei kept looking out the window.

A buzzing sound filled the cabin. Xia Chiyi didn’t notice it until Shuai Bei spoke up: “Your phone keeps vibrating.”

“Huh? Mine?” Xia Chiyi felt his pocket; it really was.

Opening it, he saw Zhou Zhexiao’s name flashing. Upon answering, a cold voice came from the other side, “Where are you? Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“Ha? You’re asking me? I haven’t even had a go at you yet! I thought you ran all the way to the Wetland Park! I ran out of the school gates and all the way to the Metasequoia Boardwalk to find you. I didn’t expect you to go back to the dorm, so I’m just taking my time walking back.” Xia Chiyi quickly shifted the blame onto Zhou Zhexiao.

Since Shuai Bei didn’t want the team to know he was bad at shooting, Xia Chiyi chose not to say anything.

Who knew Zhou Zhexiao would expose him mercilessly: “The Metasequoia Boardwalk closes after 9 PM.”

“None of your business,” Xia Chiyi thought. As long as I’m unreasonable, you can’t do anything to me.

“You…”

“I’ve already called a cab and I’m on my way back.”

Xia Chiyi hung up the phone and then bared his teeth at Zhou Zhexiao’s name to show his dissatisfaction.

When Shuai Bei turned his head, he happened to see this scene and couldn’t help but laugh, though he turned back quickly.

But when Xia Chiyi noticed the missed calls, he saw there were three, all from Zhou Zhexiao. There was also a missed text: [Why aren’t you back yet?]

Xia Chiyi was somewhat surprised because Zhou Zhexiao seemed like the type who wouldn’t call again if the first one went unanswered.

“Do you only practice free-throw line shots?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Can I become an expert overnight?”

Xia Chiyi nodded. “Once you’ve mastered the free-throw shot, we can practice catch-and-shoot with a 90-degree turn. I think that’s used more in games.”

“Used more?”

“Yeah, imagine this: I’m being double-teamed and harassed on the three-point line, and I can only keep circling around the edge. At that moment, you follow on my side and catch my pass. Everyone expects you to drive to the basket for a dunk or a layup, but instead, you turn—whoosh—and shoot. Isn’t that cool? And it’s impossible to defend.”

Xia Chiyi tilted his chin toward Shuai Bei, as if envisioning a beautiful blueprint of the two of them linking up inside and out to crush their opponents.

Shuai Bei subconsciously imagined it too and couldn’t help but nod. “That would be pretty satisfying.”

“Then once you’ve mastered the free-throw shot, let’s do it!”

“Yeah.” Shuai Bei remained expressionless, but he couldn’t hold it in and looked down with a small smile.

When they returned to the dormitory area, Shuai Bei, being a sophomore, wasn’t going the same way as Xia Chiyi, but strangely, he kept following behind him.

“I say, big guy… you’re not planning to walk me back to my dorm, are you?” Xia Chiyi asked curiously.

“I am.”

“I’m not a girl,” Xia Chiyi frowned.

“It’s for your own good,” Shuai Bei said plainly.

It was obvious he really wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

As Xia Chiyi walked, he kept looking back at him. “Seriously, this is far enough, or your dorm gate will be locked.”

Shuai Bei tilted his chin, signaling Xia Chiyi to keep moving forward.

Xia Chiyi was full of questions. He had only taught Shuai Bei how to shoot; had their friendship suddenly progressed so rapidly that he needed to be walked home?

Is male bonding really this easy?

When Xia Chiyi reached the iron gate of the dormitory area, he saw a tall figure standing on the other side with hands in pockets. Against the light, his features were unclear, but that familiar low pressure was palpable.

Like a dark sculpture in a horror movie.

As he got closer and met those deep eyes, Xia Chiyi confirmed it was Zhou Zhexiao.

“Holy cow, are you here cosplaying as a door god?”

Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze shifted past Xia Chiyi’s shoulder to meet Shuai Bei’s eyes on the other side of the gate.

Shuai Bei said, “I played ball with him outside for a bit. Returning him to you now.”

“Mhm,” Zhou Zhexiao responded softly.

Xia Chiyi frowned and tilted his head. “What do you mean ‘returning’? Is he my dad or something? Am I his son?”

Shuai Bei added, “Zhou Zhexiao, either buy a smartphone or a child’s watch with a GPS function, so you don’t have to keep looking for him.”

With that, Shuai Bei turned and left.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Zhou Zhexiao turned around.

Xia Chiyi looked at Zhou Zhexiao, then at Shuai Bei’s receding back, feeling like there was some understanding between them that he couldn’t grasp.

That night while sleeping, Zhou Zhexiao took Xia Chiyi’s phone and opened the shopping app again.

Xia Chiyi, whose head had already touched the pillow, suddenly bolted upright: “Ah! I didn’t pick up those packages you bought! The locker will charge a late fee!”

Even if it was only fifty cents, if Zhou Zhexiao had ten packages, that would be five dollars!

Zhou Zhexiao answered slowly, “I’ll pick them up during morning practice tomorrow; it won’t be over the time limit.”

The next morning, Xia Chiyi opened the shopping app with a curious heart to see what else Zhou Zhexiao had bought.

“Holy…” Xia Chiyi almost spat out.

It was actually a child’s telephone watch, a high-precision GPS version.

Xia Chiyi put his hand to his forehead. Zhou Zhexiao, why don’t you just buy a smartphone?

…But if he really did, Xia Chiyi suddenly felt a bit empty.

It would be as if the connection between him and Zhou Zhexiao was cut off; they would be in their own worlds, and Xia Chiyi wouldn’t even have many excuses to talk to Zhou Zhexiao before bed.

So… a telephone watch was enough.

---

The next time he saw his mentor, Jiao Yingfeng, was on Tuesday afternoon.

Before they even started the equipment training, Jiao Yingfeng placed a body fat scale in front of Xia Chiyi, crossed his arms, and said, “I’ll allow you to strip naked before stepping on.”

They had bought a coffee machine at some point, and Fan Qingliang was grinding coffee while chuckling softly, “Man eats, the scale watches.”

It seemed that the news of his binge-eating at Qincheng University had been told to Jiao Yingfeng by Ling Huanzhen.

Xia Chiyi took a deep breath. “Wait a moment, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Before the door even closed, he heard the laughter of Jiao Yingfeng and Fan Qingliang behind him.

When Xia Chiyi stepped onto the scale with the mindset of “a warrior never returns,” Jiao Yingfeng’s eyebrows twitched slightly upward.

Fan Qingliang leaned in to look as well. “Hmm? He controlled it pretty well. No change.”

Xia Chiyi doubted his ears. He looked down at the data; it was exactly the same as when he left.

“It seems you burned a lot of calories. How did it feel being double-teamed by Qincheng University’s center and power forward?”

Xia Chiyi sighed. “It felt like facing the Great Wall—stretching on forever with no end in sight.”

Jiao Yingfeng smiled again. “Fine. If you still have energy after completing all today’s training, we’ll focus on breaking through double-teams.”

Hearing this, Xia Chiyi felt full of drive. Jiao Yingfeng was also satisfied with his performance in the 21-point shooting drill.

“Actually, you encountered double-teams back in high school. Did it feel difficult then?” Jiao Yingfeng turned on the projector; he had found many classic clips of breaking double-teams from the CBA and NBA.

Xia Chiyi shook his head. “No. To be honest, in high school games, I rarely encountered people as tall as He Zhan and Meng Ting. Their wingspan and defensive range put a lot of pressure on me.”

“And more importantly, despite being large, they are good at lateral movement and using their height advantage to block your passing lanes,” Jiao Yingfeng analyzed.

Xia Chiyi nodded immediately.

“So, facing such a trap, besides using dribbling to create space, the most common way is through contact-based breakthroughs.” Jiao Yingfeng looked into Xia Chiyi’s eyes. “You were very bold in challenging He Zhan at Qincheng, but you probably didn’t realize the techniques you were using yourself.”

Jiao Yingfeng showed those videos to Xia Chiyi—first at normal speed, then at 0.75x slow motion, so Xia Chiyi could see the contact during the dribbling process clearly.

As he watched, Xia Chiyi seemed to figure out some patterns.

When the last video was opened, the person on the screen made Xia Chiyi’s spirit jolt.

Because it was a clip of Sheng Xingming being double-teamed in an NBA game.

He was sandwiched between two muscular African-American players. From their wingspan and the gap in their bodies, it looked like Sheng Xingming had no chance to accelerate or break through. The clock was ticking away into a pit of despair.

Xia Chiyi’s heart also grew tense. He imagined Sheng Xingming’s situation—it was like falling into a crack in a rock wall, stuck tight, unable to live or die.

But a surprising scene occurred: Sheng Xingming feigned a foul-prone charge, driving directly into the opponent near the sideline. He generated power from the bottom up, his shoulders matching his stride to suddenly lock out the opponent. His elbows were tucked perfectly; the movement wasn’t large, but he used his core strength to instantly bounce the opponent away, and his path suddenly became clear!

He lightly pulled away and shot for the score.

Xia Chiyi’s eyes were wide. Sheng Xingming’s determined expression, the lines of his muscles, and the sudden burst of power at that moment gave Xia Chiyi a strong desire to keep him there—a longing to compete on the same court as him.

This guy really doesn’t have the word ‘surrender’ in his dictionary.

Xia Chiyi let out a breath. As expected, whenever he didn’t know what to do, he just had to look at Sheng Xingming.

Just then, Zhou Zhexiao finished his weight training and came down. He heard Xia Chiyi say, “I really want to see that again.”

Jiao Yingfeng nodded understandingly and played the clip once more.

“Compared to other massive NBA players, Sheng Xingming’s technique is easier for you to understand and more practical.”

“Mhm.” Xia Chiyi nodded.

He didn’t even notice when Zhou Zhexiao stood behind him, his eyes still wide and focused on Sheng Xingming on the screen.

Zhou Zhexiao looked down, catching sight of the boy’s short but thick eyelashes and the tip of his nose.

Every movement of Sheng Xingming on the screen seemed to carry light, and that light passed over Xia Chiyi’s clear eyes again and again.

Until Jiao Yingfeng clapped his hands. “Alright, now that Zhou Zhexiao is down, let’s simulate a double-team breakthrough!”

“Zhou Zhexiao?” Xia Chiyi turned his head and found Zhou Zhexiao right beside him. “When the hell did you get here! Sneaking around like a ghost again!”

The other threw the towel hanging on his shoulder onto the gym bag outside and said plainly, “Let’s go.”

Jiao Yingfeng actually stood outside the court to start warming up too.

Xia Chiyi looked at the two of them. “Master, are you and Zhou Zhexiao going to double-team me together?”

Jiao Yingfeng huffed. “Although I’m not a power-type player, I’m very stable, okay?”

Xia Chiyi’s mouth twitched: If you two go at it together, is there even a point in trying to break through?

I’m definitely going to be the filling in this dumpling.

Fan Qingliang held his coffee cup and raised it toward Xia Chiyi. “Believe me, if you can break through these two, then in college-level games, there shouldn’t be anyone who can trap you.”

Zhou Zhexiao came to Xia Chiyi’s left side, hitched up his shorts, lowered his center of gravity, and looked at Xia Chiyi with a gaze like a silent undercurrent—cold and emotionless, as if they really had become opponents on the court.

Jiao Yingfeng guarded the other side. He didn’t give Xia Chiyi any chance to adapt, immediately starting a harassing steal attempt.

To avoid Jiao Yingfeng, Xia Chiyi kept dribbling toward Zhou Zhexiao.

But Zhou Zhexiao remained unmoved, guarding the spot. Xia Chiyi crashed into him again and again. Even in those brief moments, he could clearly feel the strength of the other’s muscles—tightly wound with no weakness to exploit.

“Xia Chiyi! Did you see how Sheng Xingming did it? Shoulders! Use your shoulders! Don’t use your elbows to push—that’s a foul!”

When Jiao Yingfeng roared, it was as if an invisible gust of air hit him, and Xia Chiyi subconsciously leaned closer to Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao’s body was very solid. His arms were effectively blocking Xia Chiyi’s breakthrough path, as if he might… close them and pull him into a tight embrace.

Clearly, when facing He Zhan and Meng Ting, he only felt their muscles were annoying. Why did Zhou Zhexiao’s defense make Xia Chiyi feel so much more in danger?

It was like an airtight cocoon; once he crashed in, he would be wrapped up, and even air would become redundant.

“Xia Chiyi, do you know you look like you’re throwing yourself into Zhou Zhexiao’s arms right now?”

Jiao Yingfeng’s shout almost made Xia Chiyi’s soul leave his body.

Fan Qingliang, off-court, let out a rare laugh. “I was just thinking about how to describe it, Jiao Yingfeng’s vocabulary is much richer than mine!”

Xia Chiyi’s face turned red enough to smoke. Please don’t compare vocabularies at a time like this, okay?

Jiao Yingfeng asked again, “Zhou Zhexiao, can you feel Xia Chiyi’s contact strength?”

Zhou Zhexiao had already lowered his arms, looking down at Xia Chiyi’s already reddening nape. “He pulls away the moment he touches me. He’s probably playing hard to get.”

Xia Chiyi looked up and glared at him. “What the hell do you mean ‘hard to get’? If you don’t know how to use four-character idioms, don’t use them!”

“Heh heh heh.” Zhou Zhexiao gave a soulless chuckle in response.

“What about you? How are you going to lock him down next?” Jiao Yingfeng asked.

Zhou Zhexiao sighed. “I’ll just carry him back to be my bandit wife.”

This guy’s trash talk maintained a steady level of output.

Only this time, the target was Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi, somewhat annoyed, tried to nudge him with his elbow.

Before he could, his elbow was blocked by Zhou Zhexiao’s palm.

The man’s hand was too large, seemingly able to wrap around Xia Chiyi’s elbow joint.

“Foul.”

The cold voice came, and Xia Chiyi took a deep breath, dropped the ball, and slapped his own face twice.

“Again!”

But Zhou Zhexiao didn’t rush to start; instead, he said to Jiao Yingfeng, “Let’s switch. You two double-team me.”

Jiao Yingfeng nodded. “Mhm, that’s a good idea. Let Xia Chiyi feel it for himself.”

Xia Chiyi stood at Zhou Zhexiao’s side, getting into a defensive stance.

Zhou Zhexiao was taller than Xia Chiyi, but when he dribbled, he could actually drop his center of gravity lower than Xia Chiyi’s.

Jiao Yingfeng was constantly harassing for a steal. Zhou Zhexiao’s approach toward Xia Chiyi was decisive and swift. His elbow was tucked back, his arm acting like a barrier to hold Xia Chiyi off. At the moment of breakthrough, he used his shoulder to press against Xia Chiyi’s hip, making Xia Chiyi feel like a thin piece of wood.

Zhou Zhexiao broke through with the ball, took a step back without hesitation, and shot.

Xia Chiyi stood there stunned because Zhou Zhexiao’s speed, judgment, and even the posture of low-gravity dribbling were almost identical to Sheng Xingming in the video.

“Are you stupid?” Zhou Zhexiao frowned at him.

“Huh? What now?”

“You bit your lip.” Jiao Yingfeng frowned and patted Xia Chiyi’s back. “Zhou Zhexiao isn’t a demon. Why are you so nervous!”

Only then did Xia Chiyi taste iron in his mouth and feel a stinging pain in his lower lip.

It must have happened when Zhou Zhexiao broke through; he was so desperate to hold his position that he bit his lip.

In a basketball game, this hardly counted as an injury.

Xia Chiyi thought nothing of it and touched it with his finger. “Hiss…”

“You’re still touching it?” Jiao Yingfeng couldn’t take it anymore and pressed down on the top of his head. “Wait until you’re eating dinner and making faces from the pain!”

Zhou Zhexiao put down the ball and went to grab the first aid kit.

He picked up a cotton ball and told Xia Chiyi, “Open up.”

“Could you please say ‘open your mouth’? ‘Open up, open up,’ I don’t know what you want me to open…”

While Xia Chiyi was still talking, Zhou Zhexiao had already held Xia Chiyi’s chin. His thumb gently pulled down the lower lip, revealing the bleeding wound inside. The cotton ball was pressed against it.

“Ow—” Xia Chiyi cried out.

Jiao Yingfeng sighed, pressing his hand firmly against his forehead.

Fan Qingliang brought him a cup of coffee. “Calm down.”

Zhou Zhexiao used tweezers to pick up a small patch and stuck it on Xia Chiyi’s wound.

A cool sensation followed; there was medicine on the patch.

Xia Chiyi was about to lick it when Zhou Zhexiao’s voice came: “Don’t lick it.”

“If you lick it off, put the next one on yourself.” Jiao Yingfeng put down his coffee cup in the distance. “Did you understand Zhou Zhexiao’s demonstration just now?”

Xia Chiyi nodded obediently. “I did.”

Fan Qingliang clapped his hands. “Jiao Yingfeng, let me help you double-team Xia Chiyi. We have to take it step by step. Zhou Zhexiao’s core strength is too high. If you let him go against Zhou Zhexiao right away, isn’t that like an egg hitting a rock?”

Jiao Yingfeng nodded. “True. Zhou Zhexiao, you watch from the side.”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao walked to the sideline, crossing his arms.

Fan Qingliang had a long-standing fitness habit and had been a trainer for professional basketball players for over twenty years; his stability was also very high.

Xia Chiyi avoided Jiao Yingfeng’s steal attempts and suddenly lowered his center of gravity. Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang in his ears: “Watch your elbow position—keep it tucked back. It’s a fence between you and your opponent. It’s not a lever; don’t use it to push people.”

Xia Chiyi gritted his teeth, finding he couldn’t push Fan Qingliang. Just as he wanted to pull away and look for another chance, the thought was instantly seen through by Zhou Zhexiao.

“Contact is a continuous process! You have to give it your all and keep pressuring him! When you think you can’t hold him anymore, he’s actually close to losing his grip on you too.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was like a force, pulling Xia Chiyi out of the gap.

Xia Chiyi leaned into Fan Qingliang for a full two seconds while dribbling, all while dodging Jiao Yingfeng’s reach. His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.

“Center of gravity—shoulder down—pass his hip—fast, fast, fast!”

Following the rhythm set by Zhou Zhexiao, Xia Chiyi was like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, finally spreading his soft wings and breaking through the double-team.

Though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt as long as a lifetime.

“Not bad.” Fan Qingliang smiled.

Jiao Yingfeng tapped Xia Chiyi’s head. “You still need more courage. On the court, there won’t be anyone telling you not to give up, when to lower your center of gravity, or reminding you how to tuck your arms and lead with your shoulder.”

“Mhm.” Xia Chiyi nodded.

Zhou Zhexiao walked over. “But it’s like riding a bike. Once you find the feeling, you’ll know what to do next.”

Xia Chiyi decided to keep going and practice double-teams some more.

Zhou Zhexiao didn’t say another word, just stood on the sidelines watching Xia Chiyi.

Jiao Yingfeng and Fan Qingliang clearly started playing for real.

Facing Jiao Yingfeng’s various steals, Xia Chiyi had his hands full. He was often stripped the moment he started his breakthrough.

Sometimes, even if he managed to keep the ball, he would lose the chance to break through because he couldn’t maintain continuous contact with Fan Qingliang, and he’d remain trapped.

Until the 24-second shot clock ran out.

Xia Chiyi took a deep breath, finally understanding exactly where the difficulty lay—multitasking. Breakthrough and defense had to be done at the same time.

Was this riding a bike?

This was like a circus performance on a unicycle!

After a dozen consecutive failures to break through, Fan Qingliang joked: “You’re really going to be the bandit wife!”

“No way!” Xia Chiyi stubbornly lifted his chin.

“When you’re preventing the steal, don’t think about circling around Jiao Yingfeng. The more you try to avoid him, the more effective his steals will be,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Xia Chiyi looked at him. “Am I supposed to just let him steal it?”

“Keep your left arm tucked and maintain contact. It’s hard for Fan Qingliang to steal from you, but he will use his strength to push you toward Jiao Yingfeng. The more you try to avoid Jiao Yingfeng, the more you’ll stick to Fan Qingliang and be pushed back, which is when Jiao Yingfeng will strike.”

Hearing Zhou Zhexiao’s words, everything suddenly clicked for Xia Chiyi. “Oh, I see—”

Fan Qingliang shook his head helplessly. “Why did you remind the kid? I wanted to see when he’d figure it out for himself!”

“To save time, otherwise the dorm gate will be closed,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

Jiao Yingfeng rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, “Clearly he just can’t bear to see him struggle, yet he blames the dorm gate.”

Xia Chiyi dribbled, leaning into Fan Qingliang to find the feeling, then said energetically, “Let’s go—”

Fan Qingliang let out a breath. “Youth and their energy, I have to admit I’m getting old.”

“Then I’ll do it.” Zhou Zhexiao was about to step in.

Fan Qingliang waved his hand. “No, no, no. If you step in, he’ll never pass this. I’m the beginner level; once he passes me, he can go to your advanced level.”

The subtext was that if you stepped in, the confidence we just helped him build would vanish instantly.

Xia Chiyi understood perfectly. He made a throat-slitting gesture at Zhou Zhexiao. “Just you wait. Tomorrow it’s your turn.”

Zhou Zhexiao waved the back of his hand. This guy’s learning speed was fast, his confidence dropped quickly, but it returned just as fast.

“Who gave you that courage? Fish Leong?”

Jiao Yingfeng’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You know who Fish Leong is?”

“He doesn’t!”

With Zhou Zhexiao’s tip, Xia Chiyi held his breath and maintained contact with Fan Qingliang, his nerves highly strung. Suddenly, he accelerated his dribble, his shoulder almost pressing below Fan Qingliang’s hip, and squeezed through.

In that instant, everything opened up.

Xia Chiyi braked, turned while dribbling, took a step back to avoid Jiao Yingfeng, and jumped to shoot.

All in one motion.

Fan Qingliang was stunned; for a moment, he felt like he was seeing Sheng Xingming on an NBA court.

“Alright, let’s head back,” Zhou Zhexiao reminded.

Xia Chiyi clenched his fist and let out a dissatisfied “Ow—”, took the waterproof bag handed to him by Zhou Zhexiao, and went into the shower.

“What’s the kid howling for, scaring an old man like me.” Fan Qingliang patted his chest.

Zhou Zhexiao said calmly, “Because he wanted to drop his center of gravity even lower to throw Jiao Yingfeng off balance, but he didn’t succeed.”

Jiao Yingfeng was drinking water and almost choked when he heard Zhou Zhexiao’s analysis. He never expected his little apprentice was just trying to “surpass the master”!

“The sky is clear, the rain has stopped, and the kid thinks he’s the man again? Just learned to run and he wants to high jump? Trying to trip me while being double-teamed… You’d better get him back to the dorm to sleep. You can find anything in your dreams!”

Zhou Zhexiao had calculated the time perfectly. Although Xia Chiyi had received sponsorship from the Sheng Xingming Foundation, he still didn’t spend money recklessly. Without something urgent, buses and subways were his preferred modes of transport.

At this hour, there were only a few students on the bus, mostly from Ningchang University.

Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao sat in window seats. As the night breeze blew in, Xia Chiyi’s soft, fluffy hair fluttered. Two female students sitting in the front kept looking back at him.

Xia Chiyi noticed and smiled at the two girls.

Just then, the bus made a turn, and Zhou Zhexiao, sitting on the outside, leaned into Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi was about to brace himself against the other when Zhou Zhexiao’s voice came: “No fouling.”

“Holy cow!” Xia Chiyi complained that Zhou Zhexiao was actually practicing contact even now, but his elbow was still very disciplined, tucked back, using the strength of his arm to resist Zhou Zhexiao.

When the bus reached the peak of the turn, the force was strongest, not to mention Zhou Zhexiao was intentionally applying pressure.

Xia Chiyi braced himself. He could use his other hand to steady himself against the bus, but there was no place to borrow strength during a game. He could only rely on his own core strength to hold firm.

Finally, the bus finished the turn, and Zhou Zhexiao leaned back.

But not long after, they reached the next intersection and the bus turned again. Only this time, Zhou Zhexiao was the one closer to the turn’s center.

Xia Chiyi was thrilled. “What goes around comes around!”

He excitedly pressed all his weight toward Zhou Zhexiao.