Chapter 55: Yang Huaiyu, You Didn’t Lose

That stable feeling that made people linger came back again.

Xia Chiyi remained motionless, carefully exhaling a breath.

Little did he know, from the moment he turned around, Zhou Zhexiao had been watching him the whole time.

Watching his hair whorl, watching the back of his neck exposed outside the collar of his pajamas, watching him carefully approach himself.

Zhou Zhexiao moved a little closer, the tip of his nose just touching Xia Chiyi’s hair.

During this period, Xia Chiyi had spent most of his time on training, and hadn’t gone for a haircut even though his hair had grown long.

With Xia Chiyi’s breathing, his soft hair would brush past Zhou Zhexiao’s nose tip and bridge, very itchy and very soft.

Zhou Zhexiao knew Xia Chiyi’s hand was still drawing on the wall, something he did when he couldn’t sleep. Zhou Zhexiao sighed imperceptibly, gently placing his arm on Xia Chiyi, the weight serving as a warning to go to sleep quickly.

Sure enough, Xia Chiyi’s shoulder froze. He was very nervous. If he continued to poke around on the wall, Zhou Zhexiao’s arm resting on him would definitely feel it. Would he wake up?

Feeling Xia Chiyi stiffened all the time, like a child who did something wrong, secretly eating candy under the covers and getting caught by parents, Zhou Zhexiao smiled silently. He deliberately tightened his embrace, waiting for Xia Chiyi to feel uncomfortable and push him away.

But Xia Chiyi still didn’t move.

Xia Chiyi’s body temperature and touch were transmitted through the pajamas. At that moment, possessiveness multiplied. Zhou Zhexiao really wanted to continue tightening his embrace, constricting his bones tightly, using maximum strength to stuff him into his embrace, press him into his chest, letting him feel his increasingly frantic heartbeat directly.

Zhou Zhexiao suddenly didn’t know who exactly was being tortured by his whimsical prank.

Until his finger was gently held by Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi’s thumb carefully stroked Zhou Zhexiao’s index fingernail, his exhaled breath touching the web between Zhou Zhexiao’s thumb and index finger.

Zhou Zhexiao’s heart seemed to fall from an altitude of ten thousand meters into the sea, submerged by Xia Chiyi’s breath and touch.

Xia Chiyi, who was originally a bit excited, felt sleepy instead while being wrapped up like this.

He gave a small yawn. His brain finally stopped humming songs, and he didn’t need to poke and draw randomly on the wall anymore. He fell asleep after a while.

His breathing sound finally became Zhou Zhexiao’s lullaby, and the two fell asleep together.

The next morning, the phone alarm on the bedside vibrated.

With just the first ring, it was pressed off by Zhou Zhexiao’s hand.

He sat up slowly. His other hand was still gently held by Xia Chiyi, his fingers not far from Xia Chiyi’s slightly parted lips.

“Get up, morning exercise.” Zhou Zhexiao shook the hand held by Xia Chiyi.

“Mn…” Xia Chiyi frowned as expected, looking like he wanted to laze for another thirty seconds.

Zhou Zhexiao leaned close to Xia Chiyi’s ear and said, “Counting to ten. If you don’t get up, I’ll pinch your nose.”

When Zhou Zhexiao counted to “one,” Xia Chiyi released Zhou Zhexiao’s hand, covered his nose, and sat up.

When Zhou Zhexiao climbed down, Xia Chiyi suddenly realized he seemed to have been holding Zhou Zhexiao’s hand just now?

But Zhou Zhexiao wasn’t angry… nor did he laugh at him. So that meant—it was okay to hold?

After they finished washing up, Xia Chiyi suddenly thought of something and shook Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder.

“Yang Huaiyu, get up! Morning exercise!”

“No way…” Yang Huaiyu rarely showed a frowning expression. Touching his phone to check, “Brother Chiyi, it’s only… 5:30… I usually get up at 6 for morning exercise…”

“Get up, you said you wanted to experience my training plan.” Xia Chiyi continuously shook Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder.

Yang Huaiyu patted Xia Chiyi’s head. “The morning exercise part… I’ll skip experiencing it. Everyone does pretty much the same…”

“But I couldn’t keep up with Zhou Zhexiao’s speed at the beginning. Are you sure you can keep up?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“I can… I should be able to…”

Xia Chiyi leaned close to Yang Huaiyu’s ear and suddenly shouted very loudly: “Down with Liu Shuochen!”

Yang Huaiyu took a deep breath and pushed Xia Chiyi’s head away. “I’m up… I’m really up…”

So, before the dawn glow had time to envelop the campus of Ningchang University, Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi started their morning run with Yang Huaiyu, whose head was drooping and yawning constantly.

Yang Huaiyu originally thought their morning run route was limited to the Ningchang University campus, but unexpectedly they ran further and further, along the Chengjiang Bridge, all the way to the Chengjiang Wetland Park without stopping.

The key point was that Xia Chiyi was right; Zhou Zhexiao, who was leading, maintained a constant speed. Having run so far, there was no obvious deceleration.

Xia Chiyi turned around, looking at Yang Huaiyu while running backward. “Can you maintain this speed?”

Yang Huaiyu couldn’t help laughing: “This is also my normal morning exercise speed.”

Just not this far distance.

When they arrived at the Wetland Park, Yang Huaiyu was still attracted by the birds skimming over the water surface.

The one in Qincheng University was an artificial lake, still different from the natural scenery of the Wetland Park.

The water surface of the Wetland Park was vast, making Yang Huaiyu’s mood cheerful too.

When Yang Huaiyu followed them to the Dawn Redwood plank road, the Dawn Redwood trees growing out of the water formed a patch, simply like a movie scene.

Yang Huaiyu admitted that getting up half an hour early for morning exercise today was truly worth it.

He couldn’t help taking out his phone to take pictures, and Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao running in front also became scenery in the picture.

When the morning run ended, Yang Huaiyu looked at the data record on his phone. His exercise volume was actually twice the usual.

Yang Huaiyu was a bit tired, supporting his knees to regulate breathing.

But obviously, Xia Chiyi adapted well and could still discuss with Zhou Zhexiao who was the most powerful active center in the NBA.

Yang Huaiyu posted screenshots of the scenery seen during the morning run and his running kilometers to his Moments.

The first one to like it was actually his physical coach.

The other party commented: [I was so worried I was actually dreaming, waking up to find you still sleeping in bed.]

Ke Yan: [This screenshot definitely wasn’t run by you; it’s Brother Chiyi’s kilometers, right?]

Yang Huaiyu replied with a smile: [See the people running in front on the Dawn Redwood plank road? I’ve been filming their backs. I concluded that to run far in morning exercise, one still needs a companion. Ah Yan, join together?]

Ke Yan: [zzzzz…]

Coach Ren also saw this Moment. Although she didn’t like it, she gave a very faint smile.

The assistant coach sat opposite Coach Ren with a tray, asking with a smile, “What to do? This guy seems to be staying there for several days. Provoking Meng Ting and He Zhan to also clamor about wanting to go.”

Coach Ren smiled. “Some opponents make people feel pressed at every step, like a rift valley or abyss, not knowing how to pass.”

“Then what about some other opponents?” the assistant coach asked.

“Like water. Water can capsize a boat, but also carry it. Being with such an opponent, even if you feel lazy, the other party will carry you for a distance.”

“Then if Meng Ting and the others want to go, let them go?”

“Just punish them to run when they come back.”

The assistant coach laughed along.

Xia Chiyi’s breakfast followed the menu given by the nutritionist. After he selected at the cafeteria window, Zhou Zhexiao would check it again for him, seemingly to supervise each other.

Yang Huaiyu also ate a meal with them, feeling pretty good—because finally, there were no chili peppers.

Xia Chiyi giggled seeing Yang Huaiyu eating a red bean bun very cherishingly.

Yang Huaiyu pressed Xia Chiyi’s head. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, this cafeteria for breakfast today is different from last night’s.”

Xia Chiyi ate a cornmeal wowotou (steamed bun) and whispered, “Don’t worry, I talked to my trainer about lunch and dinner, adding an extra portion for you. Guaranteed delicious and not spicy.”

“Hehe. If you eat the oyster pancake, I’ll believe you.”

“Ningchang doesn’t have oyster pancakes.” Xia Chiyi spread his hands smugly.

“Ke Yan and the others are coming on Friday night. They said they’d bring you the most authentic ones.”

After Yang Huaiyu finished speaking, Xia Chiyi suddenly felt his cornmeal wowotou wasn’t fragrant anymore.

At this time, Zhou Zhexiao brought over another egg wrap, with shrimp and diced beef added inside.

Xia Chiyi’s nose followed that plate. He thought Zhou Zhexiao would give the wrap to him, but unexpectedly it was for Yang Huaiyu.

“For me?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“Mn.”

Now even Xia Chiyi was stunned. Zhou Zhexiao never understood “hospitality” before.

Xia Chiyi showed an expression of “You’ll definitely be miserable today.”

Making Yang Huaiyu nervous for a while.

But… this egg wrap from Ningchang University was indeed delicious.

After breakfast, neither Zhou Zhexiao nor Xia Chiyi seemed to have classes today. They took Yang Huaiyu onto a bus.

Usually, Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao would sit in the double seats in the middle, but this time they sat in the last row of the bus.

Yang Huaiyu sat by the window, listening to Xia Chiyi introduce the shops along the street, which were actually Xia Chiyi’s life tracks.

“This barber shop has high skills and is cheap. A buzz cut costs only ten yuan, a textured crop like mine can be done for twenty-five yuan! The week before last, a teammate of mine suddenly got alopecia areata and wanted to shave his head bald. The boss saw he was sad and gave it to him for free. Hahaha!”

“And that small shop selling Malatang,” Xia Chiyi glanced at Yang Huaiyu with regret, “Pity you can’t eat spicy food, otherwise I’d take you to taste it. When school just started, we took Zhou Zhexiao to eat there. This guy was so picky. Didn’t eat chicken feet, didn’t eat offal, didn’t eat duck blood, what else didn’t he eat again?”

“Didn’t eat sour bamboo shoots either,” Zhou Zhexiao beside him answered.

“What about now?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“Now he eats everything. Heart, lungs, tripe, omasum, chicken gizzards, duck intestines, no taboos. Just for chicken feet, he only eats those with nails cut. For this, we specifically gave suggestions to the boss, hahaha.”

“I still don’t eat sour bamboo shoots,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

Xia Chiyi leaned close to Yang Huaiyu’s ear and whispered, “It’s said about twenty years ago, our Coach Ling poisoned Li Xiaoran, who went to the US for exchange study, with a pack of sour bamboo shoots, forming a grudge.”

Yang Huaiyu suddenly realized: “No wonder you are so actively studying Liu Shuochen. Turns out you are also arch-enemies with Qing University?”

Although it was only five or six stops, Yang Huaiyu didn’t feel bored. On the contrary, Xia Chiyi was a very talkative person, able to render tiny details in life with flavor.

When getting off, Yang Huaiyu discovered Zhou Zhexiao had actually fallen asleep beside them with arms crossed.

Xia Chiyi shook Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder: “Your Majesty, we’ve arrived at the station! Get off the carriage!”

Zhou Zhexiao mumbled, stood up slowly, eyes not fully open, and followed Xia Chiyi off the bus.

Arriving at the fitness center, Yang Huaiyu was surprised by the volume of Xia Chiyi’s equipment exercise.

“Doing so much, can you really persist?”

“Couldn’t stand it at first, but now I can.”

Xia Chiyi introduced his trainer to Yang Huaiyu very warmly.

“This is my trainer, Mr. Fan Qingliang. If you have any questions, you can also ask him.”

After speaking, Xia Chiyi leaned in front of Yang Huaiyu and said with a smile, “Uncle Fan also studied Liu Shuochen. Uncle Fan watched the match between Qincheng University and Qing University countless times.”

Fan Qingliang showed a mature smile and shook hands with Yang Huaiyu: “Student Yang Huaiyu, I’ve seen you many times in the video. You are very impressive.”

Yang Huaiyu took the other’s praise as polite remarks and smiled faintly: “If I were really that impressive, I wouldn’t have solo guarded Liu Shuochen but let him score 18 points.”

“I thought this sentence should be ‘I am very impressive because when solo guarding Liu Shuochen, I only let him take 18 points.’ After all, he used three whole quarters to let you adapt to his tempo one, and suddenly rose to tempo two in the fourth quarter. You adapted quickly, only your teammates couldn’t adapt.”

Rhythm, this was something Zhou Zhexiao also told him last night.

Teammates couldn’t adapt, so they couldn’t give him enough help defense; this was also something Xia Chiyi said last night.

“Does Uncle Fan have any suggestions?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“An ace like you habitually distributes your physical energy evenly during the game. When you hold back in the first to third quarters, Liu Shuochen is also holding back. My opinion is, why not force Liu Shuochen to tempo two in one breath at the beginning, consuming energy together. This way, when it comes to the final decisive moment, Liu Shuochen’s rhythm change won’t deal such a big blow to you guys anymore.”

Hearing this, Yang Huaiyu felt some respect. It was natural for his own trainer to watch that game, but Mr. Fan studied Liu Shuochen without knowing if Ningchang University had a chance to play against Qing University.

Was this the responsibility of “always being prepared,” or was this Uncle Fan very confident that Xia Chiyi and the others would make it to the national finals?

Yang Huaiyu originally wanted to follow Xia Chiyi’s training plan, but felt strenuous just swinging ropes. Considering he had to save stamina for one-on-one with Zhou Zhexiao, he chose to act according to his ability and rested on the sidelines.

Watching Xia Chiyi swinging kettlebells, Yang Huaiyu faintly felt that the efforts he put in before didn’t seem to deserve to be called efforts.

When Xia Chiyi was still doing equipment exercises, Zhou Zhexiao waved to Yang Huaiyu.

Yang Huaiyu came to the basketball court downstairs. Although he also rented a dedicated basketball court with a trainer, that was because Qincheng University was a strong school, and making it to the national finals was routine.

But Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi seemed to be cultivating themselves for a professional path.

A voice in Yang Huaiyu’s heart said: Is their goal not just the University First-Class League?

They want to climb higher and go further.

This thought made Yang Huaiyu’s weary blood faintly boil.

Zhou Zhexiao said to him: “21-point shooting training, you should have heard of it, so I won’t repeat the rules. Xia Chiyi and I complete at least 60 sets every day. You come help pass the ball.”

“You guys are impressive, using NBA professional players’ training methods.”

Yang Huaiyu became more convinced that these two had long-term development plans; their goal was in a higher and farther place.

At first, Yang Huaiyu didn’t think this training method was anything special, until he saw Zhou Zhexiao sprinting with all his might every time, every shot efficient and stable. Suddenly he realized this guy was truly powerful.

When Zhou Zhexiao completed with an average speed of 60 seconds, Yang Huaiyu found it unbelievable.

“Liu Shuochen is also using this training method. But the problem… is Liu Shuochen’s result is also 60 seconds.”

Zhou Zhexiao grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat on his neck. “If Liu Shuochen is also 60 seconds, then my speed is not enough.”

“Do you plan to increase the difficulty?” Yang Huaiyu asked with a smile.

“Mn, increase the confrontation during layups. You can use that exercise ball to hit me, simulating a block.” Zhou Zhexiao’s tone was calm.

Zhou Zhexiao wasn’t surprised that Liu Shuochen could reach 60 seconds, as if it were a matter of course.

Yang Huaiyu originally thought this person was like a madman, but when he pushed out the cart with exercise balls, Yang Huaiyu knew this person was serious.

For Zhou Zhexiao, having someone with better stamina or higher skills than himself wasn’t worth shock or discouragement.

He had no internal friction, only moving forward.

After Yang Huaiyu accompanied Zhou Zhexiao to finish this set of training, Zhou Zhexiao drank water slowly while saying, “Do you want to try once, to see if the gap between you and Liu Shuochen is really that big?”

“Me?”

“Mn, I’ll pass the ball for you.”

Zhou Zhexiao picked up all the basketballs on the sideline and threw them into the basket. “When Xia Chiyi first started, he only required himself to complete within 90 seconds. Later he did it in 85 seconds. Not long after, the time was compressed to 70 seconds. His current average time is 63 seconds. If our estimation is correct, before the end of the term, he will definitely break into 60 seconds.”

Hearing this, ripples slowly rose in the depths of Yang Huaiyu’s stagnant spirit.

So Xia Chiyi had always been working this hard?

An obscure university student eliminated by the provincial team was actually constantly chasing Liu Shuochen’s footsteps?

Yang Huaiyu suddenly realized that maybe before he had time to defeat Liu Shuochen, Xia Chiyi might stand opposite Liu Shuochen first, releasing the explosive power he had been accumulating, letting everyone see this supernova.

“Coming or not?” Zhou Zhexiao lifted a basketball.

“Coming.” Yang Huaiyu’s expression became cool and solemn.

When Yang Huaiyu arrived at the baseline ready to run, Zhou Zhexiao said to him: “Yang Huaiyu, you have your own rhythm.”

Yang Huaiyu suddenly smiled, raising his hand. “I know who I am, start!”

He had to sprint to the other end of the court to receive Zhou Zhexiao’s pass, then shoot.

Once the shot failed, he must take a second one at the original position.

After the first round, Zhou Zhexiao glanced at the stopwatch. “72 seconds.”

Yang Huaiyu took a deep breath, clasping the back of his head, looking at the bright lights on the ceiling and said, “Quite far off.”

Putting it this way, losing to Liu Shuochen was a matter of course.

After all, there was a 12-second gap between him and Liu Shuochen.

At this time, the door of the basketball hall suddenly opened a slit. Xia Chiyi’s head poked in, looking left and right.

“Finished your equipment exercises? Slacking off to come down?” Zhou Zhexiao asked sideways, holding a basketball under his arm.

“I was worried, afraid you guys weren’t playing basketball but fighting in the basketball hall.”

“We are just doing 21-point shooting practice.”

“Mn, let Yang Huaiyu try too, I’m very curious! How much time can you complete it in?”

Xia Chiyi squeezed through the door, finally no longer like a mouse ready to steal food, but more like a little lion ready to jump, eyes full of excitement.

“Tried, 72 seconds. Completely defeated by all of you.” Yang Huaiyu said.

“72 seconds… have you done this shooting test before?” Xia Chiyi asked.

Yang Huaiyu shook his head. “No. My trainer showed me before, but this kind of training is usually done in a fatigued state, right? More suitable for shooting guards, not quite suitable for a forward player like me.”

Fatigue… didn’t fit Yang Huaiyu’s life philosophy.

“Then you are amazing!” Xia Chiyi gave a thumbs up to Yang Huaiyu.

“Here we go again, Xia Chiyi, here you go again. Your eyes can deceive people, right? Always looking so sincere, making me mistakenly think I might really be amazing.”

Yang Huaiyu put hands on hips and shook his head.

“My eyes can deceive people, but data won’t lie.” Xia Chiyi raised his chin. “Do you know what Liu Shuochen’s result was the first time he took the 21-point shooting training?”

“How many seconds?”

Yang Huaiyu felt on one hand that Xia Chiyi couldn’t know this data and was mostly feeding him chicken soup.

But on the other hand, Yang Huaiyu was looking forward to it deep down.

He didn’t even know what he was looking forward to.

“—73.42 seconds!” Xia Chiyi opened his arms, looking like “Are you surprised, was it unexpected?”

Yang Huaiyu froze there.

And Xia Chiyi had already come over to clamp his shoulders and shake him. “Brother, your starting point is higher than his ahhhhh!”

“How do you guys know?”

“Did you forget who our coach is? possessing great magical power. As long as he wants to inquire, in a few days he can tell you if Liu Shuochen is constipated this month!”

“Haha… hahaha… I’m very interested, ask Coach Ling to help me ask…” Yang Huaiyu laughed out loud.

After laughing for a while, Yang Huaiyu recognized reality again. “Even so, 73.42 seconds was his result last year.”

“But from 75 seconds to 65 seconds, it only takes a month.” Xia Chiyi bumped Yang Huaiyu with his shoulder again.

“So fast?”

Xia Chiyi showed a confident expression. “But I’m different from you. My shooting foundation was better than yours to begin with. So I think you’ll probably take three months to catch up to his record. But even three months… that’s before the regional competition.”

“Go upstairs.” Zhou Zhexiao’s icy voice rang out.

“Huh?” Yang Huaiyu thought, What “go upstairs”?

Oh, Xia Chiyi ran down before finishing his equipment training.

“I won’t. Are you two going one-on-one? Are you going to imitate Liu Shuochen? Let me watch…”

“Go up. Old Fan said you haven’t done your hexagonal barbell deadlifts, and you disappeared.”

“Can’t I watch for ten minutes?”

Zhou Zhexiao pointed to the camera. “You can watch the replay.”

Yang Huaiyu looked at the four corners of the court, realizing the camera system here was comparable to professional courts.

“Where did you get the money?”

“Sheng Xingming Basketball Talent Training Fund. If you need it, I can send you the form.”

After speaking, Zhou Zhexiao pinched the back of Xia Chiyi’s neck and shut him outside the door. “Don’t come down again until you finish equipment training.”

When only the two of them were left on the court, no audience, no referee, not even a timer, just Zhou Zhexiao standing on the centerline holding the ball, a strong sense of oppression came head-on.

Yang Huaiyu’s calm heart tightened bit by bit.

Zhou Zhexiao pulled up his sleeves, staring at Yang Huaiyu with icy eyes, and suddenly launched an attack, constantly switching between fast and slow rhythms, overwhelming Yang Huaiyu.

Couldn’t believe this guy had already done 60 sets of shooting training, as if that was just a warm-up for him.

Full of energy, accurate judgment, and the key was that ability to control the court. Could Liu Shuochen reach this level?

Yang Huaiyu didn’t know how to describe it. If Liu Shuochen was unstoppable, then Zhou Zhexiao was immovable like a mountain. Just playing a game with each of them would clarify the difference in their personalities.

But today’s Zhou Zhexiao was extremely sharp, vividly interpreting “offense is the best defense.”

The two constantly contended, the basket rattling loudly.

It was Yang Huaiyu’s first time contending with someone to this extent in a non-match setting.

He didn’t know how long he had competed with Zhou Zhexiao, didn’t even know how many shots he made or the other made.

“Hey, don’t care so much about the result.” Sweat flowed down from Zhou Zhexiao’s forehead. He lifted his wristband to wipe it. ” however much strength you have, use it all.”

At that moment, Yang Huaiyu discovered that as long as he could still run, it didn’t count as losing.

Even if his legs felt filled with lead.

Even if he panted like bellows.

Fatigue surged continuously, just like the last minute of the Qincheng University vs. Qing University match…

Yang Huaiyu was dragged by Zhou Zhexiao’s rhythm to run all over the court again. Yang Huaiyu told himself not to be anxious, calm down, take back the initiative, even if only for a second, drag the opponent into his own rhythm!

As if a replay of last year’s final, Zhou Zhexiao rushed to the basket with the ball, like a cannonball, like a meteorite, about to destroy everything of Qincheng University.

His powerful layup, that deterrence dominating the basketball court gave Yang Huaiyu a feeling that “this person can only be looked up to.”

“Go—” A loud roar came.

Like a bullet loaded.

Xia Chiyi had arrived at some point. He rushed from the sideline at extreme speed. His handsome face showed a resolute expression due to exertion. His hands raised high, body tense, actually catching up with Zhou Zhexiao’s layup!

“Block him—”

In Xia Chiyi’s roar, Yang Huaiyu jumped with all his might.

To avoid Xia Chiyi, Zhou Zhexiao was about to perform the hand-switching double clutch Liu Shuochen was best at. When he switched the ball to his left hand, about to throw it, it was hit right by Yang Huaiyu’s palm!

Yang Huaiyu’s heart was pushed to the highest point, as if about to explode from his chest.

That ball made a huge noise, as if something pierced through Yang Huaiyu’s heart.

He actually successfully blocked Zhou Zhexiao’s hand-switching layup?

No, Zhou Zhexiao imitated Liu Shuochen’s last ball!

In last year’s match, he didn’t stop this ball, but here, Yang Huaiyu did it.

“Foul.” After landing, Zhou Zhexiao looked at Xia Chiyi coldly.

“No!”

“We were one-on-one. You made it two-on-one.” Zhou Zhexiao said coldly.

Xia Chiyi shrugged, walked to Yang Huaiyu’s side, and put an arm around his shoulder. “When Qincheng University played against Qing University, was it also Yang Huaiyu one-on-one with Liu Shuochen? I’m teaching you a lesson too!”

“You are retaliating.” Zhou Zhexiao turned around.

“Retaliating for what? You didn’t pinch my nose this morning.”

“Retaliating because I didn’t let you watch live,” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

Xia Chiyi didn’t refute anymore; seemed Zhou Zhexiao got it right.

Looking back, he was suddenly hugged tightly by someone.

Xia Chiyi was confused for a moment, then realized it was Yang Huaiyu.

Yang Huaiyu didn’t speak, but Xia Chiyi knew the other party wanted to say “thank you.”

Because Xia Chiyi used this help defense under the basket to prove to Yang Huaiyu the importance of teammates.

So, although Qincheng University lost to Qing University, it didn’t mean Yang Huaiyu lost to Liu Shuochen.

“Aiya, you’re welcome. We agreed you’d help me practice confrontational layups!” Xia Chiyi patted Yang Huaiyu’s back.

“How long are you two going to hug?” Zhou Zhexiao watched them, holding both ends of a towel. “Acting in an idol drama? The recorder filmed it all.”

Only then did Yang Huaiyu release Xia Chiyi, suddenly saying: “Xia Chiyi, turns out you are also orange-flavored!”

“Cough cough cough cough… cough cough…”

“Yesterday I slept in Zhou Zhexiao’s bed and smelled oranges. Such a sweet smell, I thought he got a girlfriend! Turns out it’s your scent.” Yang Huaiyu looked thoughtful.

“That’s the smell of sports shower gel—Orange Soda! Three bottles for fifty yuan! More cost-effective than Ocean scent!”

“Oh… really?” Yang Huaiyu continued to stroke his chin.

“Exactly!”

“Can’t keep this recording private, have to send it to me too.” Yang Huaiyu pointed to the camera.

“Of course. We’ll send you everything: whether you prefer left or right for jab steps, at what angle your fadeaway jump shot has the highest success rate, what your average time for double-clutch layups is.”

Yang Huaiyu’s face gradually changed. “No way? Your data analysis can reach this level?”

Zhou Zhexiao sighed: “He’s lying to you.”

Xia Chiyi: “I didn’t expect him to be so easily fooled either.”

Yang Huaiyu: “Because you have a very sincere face.”

Next was Xia Chiyi’s 21-second shooting practice.

It was Zhou Zhexiao’s turn to do equipment training, and Yang Huaiyu became the person passing the ball for Xia Chiyi today.

Fan Qingliang smiled and patted Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder. “Hard work, handsome guy. But today’s harvest won’t be small either, right?”

“That’s for sure.” Yang Huaiyu lifted his collar to wipe sweat. Apart from facing Qing University’s Liu Shuochen, Yang Huaiyu hadn’t sweated this much for a long time.

With a whistle from Xia Chiyi, the sprint began. He was like a little leopard, springing to midfield, braking quickly. Yang Huaiyu passed, and he shot beautifully.

Back and forth like this, when Xia Chiyi went for a layup, Mr. Fan on the sideline would suddenly throw an exercise ball at him, imitating layup interference.

“Xiao Yang, your passing angle and method can vary, no need to cater to him.” Fan Qingliang reminded.

Xia Chiyi didn’t slow down but gave a thumbs up to Yang Huaiyu, meaning “Give me some interesting passes.”

Yang Huaiyu smiled, as if this wasn’t just training for Xia Chiyi. He started fancy passing, like a silent contest, to see when Xia Chiyi would tire, lose focus, or miss his pass.

Although on the sideline, Yang Huaiyu discovered Xia Chiyi had a very wide field of vision. From the moment Yang Huaiyu prepared to pass, Xia Chiyi was predicting his passing point.

Sprint, sudden stop, catch, shoot or layup, all in one go. For a full sixty rounds, Xia Chiyi didn’t miss a single pass from Yang Huaiyu.

Yang Huaiyu didn’t even need to look at the data for Xia Chiyi’s round of 21-point shooting to know it must be fast.

“Xia Chiyi, average completion time 63.3 seconds, fastest 61 seconds, slowest 67 seconds. I’m waiting for when you break into the 60-second mark so I can add a chicken leg for myself.” Fan Qingliang spoke up.

“I’m trying hard!” Xia Chiyi adjusted his breathing while walking in circles with hands on hips.

Yang Huaiyu saw Fan Qingliang open the laptop on the sideline, went over to look, and found it was the heart rate graph transmitted from the monitoring device worn by Xia Chiyi.

“His heart rate adjusts very quickly.” Yang Huaiyu knew Xia Chiyi had good stamina but didn’t expect him to adjust so fast.

“Using the correct method, you can do it too.” Fan Qingliang patted Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder. “Provided that you want to.”

Then, Fan Qingliang brought up another set of data.

“What is this?”

“His ankle usage rate. We took him for scans. The tendons in his ankles are very healthy; we didn’t need to worry too much originally. But if an athlete wants a longer career, they must use the whole body’s strength scientifically, not over-rely on ankles just because they are developed.” Fan Qingliang said calmly.

Yang Huaiyu smiled and asked, “Are you guys being too open with me?”

Fan Qingliang patted his shoulder. “Is this some secret? If you had the intention, you could discover it by observing yourself. Besides, matches are only exciting when evenly matched.”

Yang Huaiyu was silent for a while, his expression becoming serious: “You plan to exchange data. Get Qing University’s data from me.”

“Aren’t you friends with Xia Chiyi?” Fan Qingliang asked.

“Should be now,” Yang Huaiyu said.

” Isn’t it right for friends to help each other?” Fan Qingliang smiled.

At this time, Xia Chiyi came under the basket hugging the ball, saying to Yang Huaiyu: “Come on! Agreed to help me practice confrontational layups!”

Yang Huaiyu sighed helplessly. “I think ‘even biological brothers keep clear accounts’.”

The experience he gained here must be repaid by emptying his stamina bar.

“Brat, don’t you get tired?”

“Tired. But during a match, do you stop doing confrontational layups when tired?” Xia Chiyi asked back.

Yang Huaiyu took a deep breath. Xia Chiyi made so much sense. Yang Huaiyu finally understood why Zhou Zhexiao gave him an extra egg wrap in the morning.

Another hour later, Yang Huaiyu lay on the floor, motionless.

Instead, Xia Chiyi kept pulling Yang Huaiyu’s arm. “Buddy, can’t lie down, get up quickly.”

Yang Huaiyu made up his mind not to get up. “Just treat me as dead… dead people can lie down…”

“No way, you haven’t defeated Liu Shuochen yet.”

“No need, I give Liu Shuochen to you.” Yang Huaiyu’s hair scattered on the floor, his handsome face revealing exhaustion and fragility.

This was probably the legendary “broken beauty.”

Xia Chiyi couldn’t pull him, standing aside with hands on hips panting. “I already have my goal. You keep Liu Shuochen.”

Hearing this, Yang Huaiyu rarely opened his eyes. “Your goal? Who is your goal?”

“Get up, walk ten laps around the court and I’ll tell you.” Xia Chiyi said.

Yang Huaiyu actually rolled sideways, got up, and started strolling around the court.

Xia Chiyi had a face full of black lines. “I’ll remember this, this guy is a drama queen. Saying he has no stamina and dying of exhaustion, all lies.”

Yang Huaiyu shrugged.

Xia Chiyi followed behind Yang Huaiyu, unhappily kicking the back of his knees. “You guy, go deceive Liu Shuochen if you want to deceive! What skill is deceiving your own people!”

Yang Huaiyu didn’t speak, looking up and laughing.

Until both obediently finished stretching, they leaned on the edge of the basketball court, drinking water and chatting.

“Now you can say it, who is your goal?”

“Sheng Xingming,” Xia Chiyi said.

Yang Huaiyu paused for a while. Looking at Xia Chiyi’s profile at that moment, he didn’t feel this boy was joking, or aiming too high, or just engaging in idol worship.

“Sheng Xingming is indeed very special.” Yang Huaiyu propped his chin. “Watching games as a kid, always hearing about ‘the league’s strongest combo guard’… Do you also want to become that kind of combo guard? It will be very hard.”

“Then do you think if Sheng Xingming didn’t stop at twenty-eight, what would his future be like?” Xia Chiyi rested his face on his knees, asking Yang Huaiyu seriously.

“Don’t know… Watching his games after growing up, I think he is more suitable as a swingman… or small forward? But labeled as a ‘combo guard’, the team probably wouldn’t easily let him play small forward.”