Chapter 0072 You are becoming more and more like Sheng Xingming

Xia Chiyi angrily grabbed a tissue and wiped his face hard twice.

Just as he adjusted his breathing and prepared to leave, he turned around and saw that guy named Dai Qun with his hands in his pockets, smiling like a greasy villain.

This sequel to the American high school life still hadn’t finished playing out?

“What a coincidence, Zhou Zhexiao’s new favorite.”

Dai Qun’s gaze lingered on Xia Chiyi’s face, then fell on his shoulders, his waist and abdomen, and his long legs. The feeling was like a snake’s flicking tongue, making one’s blood run cold. The envy in the depths of Dai Qun’s eyes flashed by; Xia Chiyi’s figure and appearance could be called a heavenly dish.

Jealousy and hatred gradually surfaced.

Xia Chiyi turned sideways, just about to pass by him, but didn’t expect Dai Qun to stretch out a hand and prop it against the tiled wall, blocking Xia Chiyi’s path.

“Zhou Zhexiao has been capricious since he was a child. Those who submit to him prosper, and those who oppose him perish. What he can’t get, he will use various childish, straightforward methods to snatch. What he can’t snatch, he destroys, including perishing together. Your wrist was hurt by him, wasn’t it? He has many more ways to make you hurt, from body to spirit.” Dai Qun’s smile was full of callousness.

Xia Chiyi replied calmly: “I know.”

“You know what?”

“I know that the Zhou Zhexiao before the car accident was very capricious.” Xia Chiyi leaned toward the other party and lifted his bangs. “Look, this is where he bit me when we were kids. I even got a tetanus shot.”

After saying that, Xia Chiyi grabbed Dai Qun’s arm and, without changing his expression, lifted it up.

“Buddy, I advise you not to choose the high-speed rail toilet for a kabedon (wall pound), it’s not aesthetic. Besides, you are shorter than me; kabedon-ing me has absolutely no imposing aura.”

Having said that, Xia Chiyi strode forward with a swaggering pace that recognized no one.

Zhou Zhexiao was his teammate, one of the most important people to him.

Xia Chiyi would choose to support him unconditionally and protect him, just as that person had protected him when he was young.

He wouldn’t let Zhou Zhexiao be entangled by the thorns of the past anymore. If there were any, even if his own hands bled from the pricks, he would pull them all out.

Before he could even step out the restroom door, Dai Qun circled around in front of Xia Chiyi again, revealing a cynical smile.

At that moment, Xia Chiyi suspected he was the flower-selling girl targeted by a playboy young master in a TV drama.

“Then, since you are with him, did he invite you to drop pills (take drugs)?”

Since the little pills were mentioned, Xia Chiyi stopped in his tracks, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at Dai Qun: Alright, please begin your performance.

“He will issue commands from on high when he needs you, and cast you away like worn-out shoes when you slip from his control.”

“He will tell everyone that you are a dog he raised. If he wants to… he will destroy your self-esteem in public.”

“He will act like a self-important emperor, ordering everyone to ostracize you and loathe you!”

“He makes the rules of the game. Based on what? Just because he has a pretty face? Classmate, do you really know how terrifying he is?”

Dai Qun widened his eyes, questioning Xia Chiyi.

He didn’t care whether Xia Chiyi believed it or cared. He just wanted to plant a seed, so that in every moment they spent together, Zhou Zhexiao’s flaws—his capriciousness, selfishness, and egocentrism—would all be maximized.

Soon, Zhou Zhexiao would be rebelled against by the puppy he kept in captivity, would be bitten, and would then taste the flavor of pain.

But Xia Chiyi just watched him impassively. Those eyes were as calm as an abyss, gradually causing the destructive desire in Dai Qun’s heart to be replaced by panic.

Xia Chiyi’s emotions were not provoked by the other party. He spoke unhurriedly: “Zhou Zhexiao and I have only ever dropped popping candy together. As for dropping pills… our health is very good, we haven’t even taken cold medicine.”

“The Zhou Zhexiao I know doesn’t talk much, so he has never issued commands to the people around him. The things he wants, he will only look at silently, observing carefully. His way of attracting attention is nothing more than playing basketball. Basketball has always been his most straightforward language—whether he appreciates or dislikes, approves or anticipates, you just have to watch him play ball to know.”

“He has never treated anyone as a dog. If a roommate often orders milk tea with double boba for him, he will let that roommate freely use his three-ply toilet paper. His goodwill toward others, though silent, is always giving back. Now his roommates, teammates, and classmates are very accepting of him, even if he walks around with a stinky face every day.”

Dai Qun widened his eyes looking at Xia Chiyi, as if the person he was talking about wasn’t the person he knew at all.

“He could use basketball to be an emperor in the team, to make his own rules like the person you described, and ostracize anyone he wants to ostracize. But he hasn’t. He will accompany teammates to practice grabbing rebounds, teach people how to fill out forms to apply for financial aid, and even help teammates run through CET-4 English exam questions. He is a very reliable person.”

“He really wants to be an athlete now. You probably don’t know, but if it weren’t for that car accident, he would have been selected for the provincial team, the national youth team, and gone on to play in the CBA or even the NBA. But because of that car accident, he has to start over from a very low starting point. He hasn’t complained, hasn’t hated. He thinks starting over is very good. Today we went to Qingda (Qinghua University), and two retired CBA coaches felt his potential was limitless. He is born material for playing basketball.”

Dai Qun shook his head looking at Xia Chiyi, “What joke are you telling? That isn’t Zhou Zhexiao at all!”

“Right, I also want to ask if the one you’re talking about is Zhou Zhexiao?” Xia Chiyi smiled a little, remaining calm and peaceful from beginning to end.

“What he controls has never been a certain person, but the basketball court. He is the core of the team, the target countless opponents want to defeat and surpass. Probably many people can’t help but revolve around him. Even if he doesn’t want this attention, he has to bear it. Anyway, he doesn’t care about others’ evaluations either; if the sky falls, he’ll just use it as a blanket.”

Dai Qun’s shoulders trembled slightly, “You’re lying… you’re lying… Zhou Zhexiao isn’t such a good person at all…”

“Sorry, the Zhou Zhexiao I know is exactly such a good person.”

Xia Chiyi smiled slightly and looked into Dai Qun’s eyes. His gaze was deep and restrained, heavy as a thousand catties.

“On the contrary, I am very curious. Since you know so many of Zhou Zhexiao’s flaws, you can leave his game rules and be yourself. After all, if you don’t curry favor with him and don’t play with him, you won’t die. You put the small bag of pills in his bag—is that your way of rebelling against a tyrant’s rule?”

Dai Qun was suddenly stung. Just as he was about to defend himself, Xia Chiyi placed a finger to his lips, signaling him to quietly shut up.

“That wasn’t fabricated by Zhou Zhexiao, it was said by the police.”

Xia Chiyi took another step forward, and Dai Qun subconsciously stepped back.

Previously, Dai Qun only felt that Xia Chiyi had an innocent face and looked easy to control, thinking he was just another one of Zhou Zhexiao’s toys. He hadn’t expected his aura to be so powerful.

Dai Qun pressed his hand against his chest. His gnashing expression seemed to be a continuation of hatred. “You simply don’t know how terrible he is… He knows the reason I unconditionally tolerate him and indulge him, yet he treats me like his dog and proclaims it everywhere, treating my privacy as conversation fodder to show off in our circle. Everything about me was thrown on the ground and trampled upon. I just wanted him to feel what I felt.”

Xia Chiyi took a step forward, and Dai Qun subconsciously stepped back.

“When you put that small bag of pills into his bag, were you trembling with fear yet extremely excited to drag him from high up down into the mud, preferably making him as hopeless as you?”

Dai Qun swallowed his saliva. At that moment, as Dai Qun’s heart turned icy cold, his legs also felt as heavy as lead.

“When he told you he didn’t want to be an athlete, did you ever ask him whether he hated basketball, or if he hated the path forcibly planned by his father? Have you ever seriously watched the way he plays basketball? If you had… you would definitely feel it’s a great pity, because the Zhou Zhexiao who plays basketball would truly make you even more fascinated by him.”

Xia Chiyi continued forward. Dai Qun took another step back, his spine pressing against the restroom door.

“You have already exacted an excessive price from Zhou Zhexiao. After all, that person is already gone.”

After saying that, Xia Chiyi gripped Dai Qun’s shoulder and pushed him aside.

“I’m going out, you should go out soon too.”

Dai Qun froze there, perhaps for only a few seconds, perhaps half a minute. When he realized something, his face was already covered in tears.

That Zhou Zhexiao was hit until he was covered in blood, his heart stopped beating, and he was even pronounced dead by the doctors.

Everything in the past had been brought to a full stop.

Just as Xia Chiyi walked out, he saw Zhou Zhexiao standing opposite him.

“You were gone for a long time,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

“Do you know you have a lot of bad habits?” Xia Chiyi frowned and said, “Managing the sky and the earth, and even managing the duration of going to the toilet.”

“What bad habits?”

“Capriciousness, super strong desire for control, that you must be the center of the world, and the like.” Xia Chiyi summarized those flaws Dai Qun mentioned in his own way.

Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes. Xia Chiyi waited for almost a minute, and he unexpectedly didn’t say a word.

Xia Chiyi nudged the other party with his elbow, “No way? You admit to all of them?”

“I am very capricious, because I always hope you will be by my side every moment, from the Division I League to the NCAA, from the CBA to the NBA. Just like a kindergartener who, having chosen a companion, insists on being together through elementary school, middle school, and university.”

Xia Chiyi’s fingertips trembled a bit.

“I have a super strong desire for control. When you are attracted by someone else’s basketball skills and begin to yearn, admire, and imitate, I will want to snatch your attention back.”

Xia Chiyi hadn’t expected Zhou Zhexiao to actually admit to this.

“As for being the center of the world and the like… There are many outstanding people in this world. There is nothing wrong with you yearning for them and learning from them; it’s also your right. Therefore, I will use your standards to become the center of your world. After all, you are the partner I chose.”

Xia Chiyi pursed his lips. So the reason Zhou Zhexiao and Liu Suchen fought to the death was to snatch his attention.

That sense of powerlessness of being unable to step into the world of two great masters didn’t seem so severe anymore.

“You’re really so childish.” After Xia Chiyi said that, he walked forward.

Zhou Zhexiao silently followed behind him and suddenly asked, “What is popping candy?”

Xia Chiyi paused, put his hands in his pockets, and turned around. “So you heard everything I said to Dai Qun?”

“En, I heard it.” Zhou Zhexiao admitted it very straightforwardly as well.

Xia Chiyi sighed. He saw a snack shop nearby and surprisingly really found some popping candy.

He paid for a packet, walked out, tore it open, and said to Zhou Zhexiao: “Open your mouth.”

“En.”

“Open wider.”

“Ah—”

Xia Chiyi flicked his finger on the small bag and shot half the packet of popping candy inside.

Crackling sounds rang out on the tip of Zhou Zhexiao’s tongue. Zhou Zhexiao, who had had a serious face just a moment ago, revealed a dumbfounded expression. His mouth was still slightly open, not knowing whether he should close it or not.

Xia Chiyi thought to himself, if this guy really grew up in America since childhood, he probably hasn’t eaten this stuff.

Smiling, he supported Zhou Zhexiao’s chin and pushed it up. “You want the popping candy to bounce out!”

He tossed the other half of the bag into his own mouth.

The two of them listened to the sound of firecrackers going off in their mouths together.

“You dare to eat whatever I give you. Aren’t you afraid I’d really give you drugs?” Xia Chiyi whispered.

“I chose to trust you, so I should bear the consequences of trusting you.”

“En.” Xia Chiyi revealed a smile and leaned back a bit.

His mood was much better. Although telling Dai Qun earlier that he and Zhou Zhexiao had dropped popping candy together was casual nonsense, it was a fact now.

Dai Qun, walking out from the restroom, saw Zhou Zhexiao standing in front of the small shop. He was carrying two sports backpacks and submissively opening his mouth.

He was doing things he wouldn’t do in the past, showing expressions he never had in the past, and eating small snacks he would have scoffed at in the past.

Dai Qun suddenly profoundly realized that the collision had caused the Zhou Zhexiao who deeply fascinated him to completely disappear.

And what destroyed Zhou Zhexiao, besides the oppression from Zhou Rong, was also him, this “friend” who thirsted to drag him down from his high perch.

Xia Chiyi and the others boarded the high-speed rail.

Normally, Xia Chiyi would watch videos together with Zhou Zhexiao, but right now his mind was full of that PK (player kill/one-on-one match), and Xia Chiyi couldn’t take anything in.

Xia Chiyi gave his phone to Zhou Zhexiao, but Zhou Zhexiao didn’t scroll through videos or browse shopping websites. He just put it back into the pocket of Xia Chiyi’s jacket. After an unknown amount of time, Xia Chiyi’s shoulder sank slightly.

Turning his face sideways, he discovered that Zhou Zhexiao had fallen asleep at some point, his forehead resting against Xia Chiyi’s shoulder.

Xia Chiyi’s breathing paused slightly. His heart felt as if it were wrapped by something and skipped a beat.

Zhou Zhexiao had never cried, never shown weakness or acted spoiled in any way. Falling asleep leaning against him was already his greatest trust in another person, right?

Xia Chiyi closed his eyes, turned his face, and gradually fell asleep leaning against Zhou Zhexiao.

Ling Huanzhen, sitting opposite, was messaging Jiao Yingfeng: [Things are weird between your precious disciple and the Great Demon King. What should I do?]

Jiao Yingfeng: [The Great Demon King has his own special way of resolving things. There’s no need for you to rush up and act as cannon fodder.]

When Ling Huanzhen looked up, he saw these two actually fell asleep leaning against each other. He suddenly felt his worries were completely superfluous.

He picked up his phone, took a picture, and sent it to Jiao Yingfeng: [En, right now there is indeed absolutely nothing to worry about.]

When Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao returned to the dorm, sure enough, they received a bombardment from Ye Zhaoying and Pang Shuai.

“Holy shit, you actually went to Qingda behind our backs! And Liu Suchen personally led you in to tour the school team! You had it way too good!” Ye Zhaoying was incredibly envious.

Pang Shuai also leaned over and asked: “Did you take any pictures? Show me, show me!”

“No. It’s already nice enough of them to let me visit, taking pictures on top of that?” Xia Chiyi looked at Ye Zhaoying. “Before I went, I asked if you wanted to come together. You were the one who wanted to go see where the emperor lived.”

“Sigh, the place where the emperor lived doesn’t even have a dragon bed left now. Had I known, it really would have been better to go to Qingda with you.” Ye Zhaoying made a posture of throwing his head back and howling at the sky. “I feel like I missed out on a hundred million!”

Xia Chiyi took out a plastic bag from his backpack. Inside were various snacks given by Li Xiaoran, and he tossed it onto the desk.

“Eat up. This is the hundred million I brought back for you.”

“Ah… just these things? Small fried dough twists? What kind of pastry is this? Feels very sweet and cloying… Mini candied hawthorns? How old are we? Why are there even pistachio shells?” Ye Zhaoying and Pang Shuai rummaged through it.

Xia Chiyi smiled and said: “First of all, these things were shoved to me by Qingda’s coach Li Xiaoran for me to eat on the train. I saved them for you guys.”

“Holy crap? Li Xiaoran? Isn’t he at odds with our coach? He even bought you snacks?”

“Secondly, that pistachio shell was probably peeled by Liu Suchen and accidentally fell in. If any of you are fans of Liu Suchen, you can collect it. Who knows, in a year or two, he might be a hot rising star in the CBA.”

Fatty Shuai really took out a small ziplock bag. “I’ll collect it! I’ll collect it! Liu Suchen’s shell!”

Xia Chiyi: “…I was just saying. Besides, our Zhou Zhexiao went one-on-one with Liu Suchen, and they were neck and neck. Even Li Xiaoran was dumbfounded watching. Instead of collecting Liu Suchen’s shell, you might as well collect Zhou Zhexiao’s.”

Pang Shuai and Ye Zhaoying simultaneously looked over.

“Ahhh, why did I go see the imperial palace! Why didn’t I go to Qingda!” Ye Zhaoying went through another round of crying to the heavens and pounding the earth.

Pang Shuai looked eagerly at the T-shirt Zhou Zhexiao hung on the back of his chair. “In the future, if Zhou Zhexiao doesn’t want his T-shirt anymore, can you give it to me?”

“You might not even fit in it.”

“No, I want to keep it. Maybe Zhou Zhexiao will become a CBA legend in the next few years.”

Zhou Zhexiao had no reaction to this. He took his change of clothes and entered the bathroom.

Xia Chiyi smiled at his roommates. “I’m going out for a stroll to get some fresh air.”

“Get some fresh air?” Ye Zhaoying narrowed his eyes. “Could it be that you really had some long-distance relationship, a one-day lover, and now it’s time to talk about breaking up?”

“Right, I’m going to break up with you right now.” Xia Chiyi made a gesture of contempt.

With his hands in his pockets, Xia Chiyi slowly walked out the dorm door, strolled past the sports field, passed the running track, and unknowingly arrived at the school’s public basketball court.

He sat cross-legged by the edge of the basketball court. His mind was a tangle of a thousand threads of information, every single one about Zhou Zhexiao.

When Zhou Zhexiao saw him at the airport, he clearly said he hadn’t changed much since he was a kid, yet he had no reaction to the scar on his forehead.

Xia Chiyi lowered his head and touched his thumb. Zhou Zhexiao knew he had pricked his hand with a bamboo splinter from a chopstick when he was young.

He also knew he had specially practiced dropping the ball in the past.

When shooting, just like Xia Chiyi, he aimed at the knot on the basketball net.

He knew many old stories about Ling Huanzhen and Jiao Yingfeng, and every single one was accurate.

He knew how to apply for sponsorship from the Sheng Xingming Basketball Development Fund, and for such a huge amount too.

Two days before Sheng Mo’s death anniversary, he would take a car alone to Chengjiang County, which he was unfamiliar with, to sweep the tomb of Sheng Xingming’s father…

His self-discipline, restraint, and direct yet calm way of handling things—all of this made him seem like a completely different person from the Zhou Zhexiao before the car accident.

When he PK’ed Liu Suchen, those high-level performances far exceeded an eighteen-year-old college student. To others, every second was hanging by a thread, but Xia Chiyi saw his dominant composure.

Xia Chiyi’s eye sockets grew hotter bit by bit. He was so happy. Every time he thought of his guess—that the person he had been thinking about constantly for ten years might be right beside him—this joy made his emotions surge more than getting the winning lottery numbers in advance.

Yet he was also so weak. Because he saw the ten minutes where Zhou Zhexiao and Liu Suchen displayed skills approaching the pinnacle… He realized he was still halfway up the mountain, while those two had already reached the summit.

How was he going to catch up?

He suddenly felt his dream was somewhat overestimating his own capabilities, yet he had pledged it so solemnly to the other party.

Xia Chiyi lightly rested his forehead against his knees, curling himself up.

Anyway, he wouldn’t give up.

The Division I League was just a small mountain. That person stepped down from the altar and was waiting for him on this small mountain. He absolutely wasn’t willing to stay halfway up the mountain forever.

“Hey, do you know that it’s not fair between you and me?”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice rang out in front of Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi looked up and saw the other party’s cold, stern eyebrows and eyes, and the basketball held against his waist.

Wasn’t this guy taking a shower? Why did he come here?

“What… what’s not fair?”

Zhou Zhexiao raised his wrist, which still wore that sports watch. “You know where I am, but it’s not that easy for me to find you.”

Xia Chiyi tilted his head back, and that familiar feeling came back again.

Just like when he was young, hiding in the basketball training camp restroom crying, and Sheng Xingming tricked him out with Häagen-Dazs. When he looked up at him, it was exactly like this.

“You said you were going to get some fresh air, but you refused to come back after two hours. So I could only go to every place where you could get fresh air to look for you.”

Xia Chiyi’s heartbeat seemed to be infinitely prolonged. The first beat sounded, but he didn’t know when the second beat would come.

“You… you came looking for me, why did you bring a basketball?”

“Because if there’s something you can’t figure out, then let’s play ball together. If one game isn’t enough, then two.” Zhou Zhexiao said.

If two games aren’t enough, then a lifetime.

“Are you crazy? What time is it now? The campus security guards will start their patrols in a bit!”

“Then let’s go to a place where we can play.”

Zhou Zhexiao reached out his hand to him.

Xia Chiyi firmly grasped the other party’s hand and was pulled up by Zhou Zhexiao.

“I know where we can play ball!”

Xia Chiyi pulled Zhou Zhexiao and started running. They ran out before the school gates closed, called a car, and went to the street basketball court where Xia Chiyi often taught Shuai Bei to play.

This court was a certain distance from the residential area, so playing late at night wouldn’t disturb others. It was just that the court lights would turn off at 11 PM.

“How’s this place?” Xia Chiyi turned his head and asked Zhou Zhexiao.

“Not bad, this place is fine.”

The weather was very good today. There were no clouds in the night sky, and the moonlight shone down brightly. On the spacious, empty court, there were only Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao.

They could play ball here to their hearts’ content.

“Hey, don’t go easy on me. Bring out the posture you had when you were doing flying slam dunks at the Olympics.” Xia Chiyi smiled and said.

Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze stagnated very slightly. He wanted to say something, but what was left was only the vibration of his heart beating over and over again.

The other party’s silence was a tacit admission to Xia Chiyi, making the smile on Xia Chiyi’s face even brighter.

“Even if you completely blow me up, it’s a matter of course. I’m not that fragile. You’ve always been holding back, afraid of hurting me. But when we enter the Division I League, I will directly face Yang Huaiyu or Liu Suchen. Being blown up by you is better than being blown up by them. Right?”

In past one-on-one practices, Zhou Zhexiao mostly took on a defensive role. Like a ferocious beast teaching a young lion hunting skills, he would always retract his sharp claws. That was near-doting restraint.

But at this moment, Xia Chiyi finally faced the beast’s fangs. This was hunting; it was the lethality of drawing blood on the competitive arena.

Zhou Zhexiao scored in front of him over and over again. Xia Chiyi’s utmost efforts to defend under the basket were like a paper-pasted wall to Zhou Zhexiao, easily punctured. But Xia Chiyi jumped up again and again, figuring out the patterns and timing.

In his mind was the way Liu Suchen defended Zhou Zhexiao.

When they both launched into the air together, Zhou Zhexiao was about to switch hands to shoot. Xia Chiyi counted silently in his heart and reached out his hand attempting to knock the ball away, but he didn’t expect Zhou Zhexiao to float the ball into the basket.

Xia Chiyi could think of the first step, but Zhou Zhexiao had already anticipated the fifth or even the tenth step.

“Ha… ha… ha…” Xia Chiyi propped himself on his knees, panting.

Sweat poured down his forehead and chin.

If he didn’t call stop, Zhou Zhexiao wouldn’t stop.

Every ball made Xia Chiyi realize the distance between himself and Zhou Zhexiao.

Clearly, their bodies were both eighteen years old; they had equal stamina and age. Even if the other party possessed more refined competitive experience, the gap in explosive power and judgment felt insurmountable.

Xia Chiyi forcefully wiped away the moisture soaking his eyelashes. He couldn’t even distinguish whether it was sweat or tears of unwillingness. When language couldn’t describe the thoughts in his heart, his eyes let Zhou Zhexiao know everything inside him.

Zhou Zhexiao put the ball down.

“I can still go.” Xia Chiyi said.

Or do you feel it’s meaningless to play with me?

Zhou Zhexiao’s hand gripped the back of Xia Chiyi’s head and pressed him into his embrace.

His nasal bone suddenly bumped against the other party’s chest, and the sensation of pain transmitted to his brain. Immediately following, the scent belonging to Zhou Zhexiao spread out, as his arms completely encircled Xia Chiyi.

With every breath, Xia Chiyi could hear the sound from the other’s chest cavity, like wind blowing through mountains and wilderness.

“Learning and imitating are inherently part of growing up. But everything you’ve learned from me, or from Liu Suchen, or Yang Huaiyu, should be used in your own way, because you are Xia Chiyi.”

Xia Chiyi breathed forcefully, knowing his sweat was rubbing onto Zhou Zhexiao’s sports tank top.

But that sentence “you are Xia Chiyi” was like a key opening a door. He subconsciously raised his hands, slowly, somewhat hesitantly, not knowing if he could hug him tightly.

It wasn’t until Zhou Zhexiao grabbed his wrists and placed them on his own back that Xia Chiyi hugged him tightly with reckless abandon.

“No matter what you saw in my one-on-one with Liu Suchen, they are already in your brain. True experience isn’t about searching for the correct answer in your mind when you are attacking or defending, but your instinct… that split-second answer is the one most suitable for you.”

“Is it like Zhang Sanfeng teaching Zhang Wuji Tai Chi? The more you forget, the more you master?” Xia Chiyi asked with a muffled voice.

“What is that?”

“The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.” Xia Chiyi complained helplessly. “There was The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber ten years ago too!”

“Oh.” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Once again, Zhou Zhexiao didn’t deny the phrasing “ten years ago”, bringing Xia Chiyi’s probe closer to that answer.

Xia Chiyi patted his back. “Come on, let’s go again!”

Zhou Zhexiao bent down and picked up the basketball from the ground.

Xia Chiyi cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind. Whether it was Zhou Zhexiao changing direction in mid-air or Liu Suchen’s hand-switching double pump, they were actually ultimate displays of speed and power.

Xia Chiyi dribbled the ball and charged toward Zhou Zhexiao.

He constantly pulled left and faked right, rushed under the basket, made various breakthroughs, was intercepted countless times, and started over countless times again.

His gaze was incomparably focused. Sweat slid down his neck. Along with his high-speed dribbling, it hung from the very tip of his chin, and then, before dropping, flowed back to his neck due to momentum, pooling in the hollow of his collarbone…

With every step he took closer to Zhou Zhexiao, the flame radiating from those eyes burned into Zhou Zhexiao’s heart along his line of sight. A boiling soul seemed to surface through the skin.

Zhou Zhexiao saw Xia Chiyi’s fluid and beautiful movements. His muscles extended into supple lines. Even though he had several times Xia Chiyi’s competitive experience, this boy was stepping outside of his expectations step by step.

He shook off Zhou Zhexiao, leaped high, and took a shooting posture!

Zhou Zhexiao fiercely extended his hand, about to deliver a sharp block.

In that fleeting moment, Xia Chiyi changed from shooting to a small double-pump. He sent the ball out from Zhou Zhexiao’s side, nimbly banking it off the backboard and into the basket.

It was like a brief miracle, a small deer darting through the gaps in drifting clouds.

Xia Chiyi forcefully swallowed his saliva. He seemed to suddenly understand what Zhou Zhexiao meant by handing everything over to instinct.

“Haha…” Xia Chiyi pulled at his jersey to release heat while revealing a smug smile.

Zhou Zhexiao’s hands dropped to his sides as the basketball rolled between them.

“Still playing?”

“Play. Don’t tell me… you’re too tired to play?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Bring it on.”

It wasn’t until the fish-belly white of dawn appeared on the horizon that Xia Chiyi finally exhausted all his battery power and lay directly on the court.

Zhou Zhexiao’s breathing was also very heavy. He kicked the sole of Xia Chiyi’s shoe. “Get up. Lying like this, you’ll catch a cold.”

But Xia Chiyi closed his eyes: “Can’t get up… Let it be…”

Zhou Zhexiao bent down and grabbed Xia Chiyi’s hand to pull him up. Who knew this guy was like he had no bones, and even yanked Zhou Zhexiao down with him.

Zhou Zhexiao stumbled. To avoid crushing Xia Chiyi, he fell sideways beside him.

“Wow… Before, no matter how I resisted you it was useless, now I finally managed to pry you over…”

Xia Chiyi turned his face. The moment he opened his eyes, he met Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes—deep, and brimming with silent anticipation.

He listened to his own heartbeat, sounding like the thump-thump of high-speed dribbling. A silent tide rolled, searching for an exit within the chambers of his heart. “Do you know… you are becoming more and more like Sheng Xingming. Your demeanor, your tone, even your eyes, nose, and chin are becoming more and more alike.”

Zhou Zhexiao was silent, neither denying nor confirming.

Xia Chiyi turned his face away and blocked his eyes with his arm. “I miss him.”

“Then miss him.” Zhou Zhexiao replied.

Perhaps one day, when even you no longer miss him, that will be the time he completely disappears.

“…Who exactly are you?”

After asking this question, Xia Chiyi’s heart was like a basketball hoop that had just been fiercely slam-dunked on, vibrating endlessly.

He felt that some things didn’t need to be asked. If he did ask, what kind of answer could he get?

“Whoever you want me to be, that is who I am.” Zhou Zhexiao answered.

This answer pierced through all uncertainty, making Xia Chiyi’s heart roar endlessly, just like the first time he saw Sheng Xingming on TV, his figure emerging from beneath the basket surrounded by four people.

“When I was little, Sheng Xingming taught me how to play basketball.”

“You’ve mentioned it.”

“Once, I learned basketball for a whole afternoon, and I was lying on the court unable to get up. Sheng Xingming carried me back on his back. His shoulders were very broad, extraordinarily gentle.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s brow furrowed slightly. “That’s not right, is it? He should have pulled you up from the ground and made you walk twenty laps around the court to recover your heart rate.”

Xia Chiyi turned his face away. His shoulders trembled as he kept laughing.

When the tears fell this time, they were hot, scalding hot.

From eight years old to eighteen, every time he shot the ball he silently recited Sheng Xingming’s name. He didn’t know if there were gods in this world, but his constant remembrance had received an echo.

He was just a person climbing up from halfway up the mountain, but at this moment he felt he saw the sky torn open by the morning glow, the vast mountains and oceans. He saw everything he wanted most.

Zhou Zhexiao had already climbed up, yanked Xia Chiyi up, and hoisted him onto his back.

Xia Chiyi hugged Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulders tightly, burying his head in his neck.

Tears kept sliding down, pooling in the hollow of Zhou Zhexiao’s neck.

The morning streets grew increasingly lively. The bustling street scenes, pedestrians riding electric scooters and walking, all lost their color. All that was left were the tense back muscles of Zhou Zhexiao with every step, and the sound of his breathing.

He remained silent, carrying Xia Chiyi on his back all the way back to the dorm.

Monday’s “Principles of Accounting” could not be skipped. Fortunately, Ye Zhaoying and Pang Shuai occupied seats in the back row. After roll call, the exhaustion and sleepiness from playing ball all night surged over them, and both of them collapsed on the desk and fell asleep.

“What exactly did you two do last night? Move bricks? Or did Zhou Zhexiao suddenly get obsessed with gaming at an internet cafe?” Ye Zhaoying asked curiously.

Xia Chiyi had just sent a message saying “Busy tonight, not coming back,” and the two of them disappeared for the entire night.

Not long after, Xia Chiyi, sprawled on the desk, even let out little snores.

Ye Zhaoying worriedly covered his face with a book, terrified he would anger the professor on the podium.

The karma of staying up all night playing ball arrived. During lunch, Xia Chiyi sneezed several times. Ye Zhaoying casually touched his forehead and patted his cheek in surprise.

“Bro, don’t you feel anything at all? You’re running a fever!”

“Ah? A fever?” As soon as Xia Chiyi spoke, he realized his voice was also hoarse.

After taking two steps, he felt top-heavy.

“No way, I haven’t had a fever since I started middle school.” Xia Chiyi said gloomily.

Ye Zhaoying said grumpily: “Yesterday you said you were going out to get some fresh air. Looks like this wind was pretty strong! Did you go up the Chengjiang Bridge to catch the river breeze?”

Xia Chiyi originally said taking some cold medicine would be fine, but his roommates still escorted him to the school infirmary. Especially Zhou Zhexiao’s look; it made Xia Chiyi feel the death stare from his homeroom teacher when he failed exams as a kid.

He had his temperature taken at the infirmary: 38.6°C (101.5°F). The school doctor wrote a sick leave slip, telling him to remember to take his temperature morning and night, and if the fever didn’t break by the next day, he had to go to the hospital.

Xia Chiyi’s legs grew increasingly weak. As he walked out of the infirmary, he almost fell down the steps, and was scooped back up by Zhou Zhexiao.

The result was that Zhou Zhexiao once again carried Xia Chiyi on his back to return to the dorm.

It was just that there were too many students coming and going in the school. Xia Chiyi felt that he was a grown adult now, and even if it was because he was sick, being carried on someone’s back made him lose a lot of face.

“Ye Zhaoying, how about you cover my head?”

“Isn’t that just a guilty conscience protesting innocence (a dead giveaway)? Me, Pang Shuai, and Zhou Zhexiao are all here. Even if it’s covered, who else do you think the person on Zhou Zhexiao’s back could be?”

Okay, what Ye Zhaoying said made a lot of sense. He completely lost the point of struggling.

Under his roommates’ watchful eyes, Xia Chiyi climbed into his bed and burrowed under the covers. Before long, he started shivering.

Zhou Zhexiao pulled his own blanket down and draped it over Xia Chiyi.

But this kind of cold seemed to emanate from the bones. Xia Chiyi was still shivering under the covers.

Pang Shuai rummaged through his locker for half a day and finally found a palm-sized hot water bag. He filled it with hot water and told Xia Chiyi to hold it to his chest.

In the afternoon, Ye Zhaoying had to go to team training. Although Pang Shuai was still in the dorm, Ye Zhaoying still said to Zhou Zhexiao: “How about you stay and keep him company. Plus, you two went crazy and played ball all night; you should get a good sleep too.”

“En.”

Under Xia Chiyi’s covers, it was as hot as a fired kang (heated brick bed), but he still felt miserable.

Pang Shuai ordered porridge, but Xia Chiyi refused to come out from under the covers. So it was still Zhou Zhexiao, relying on his height advantage, standing by the bed and stuffing it into his mouth bite by bite.

After finishing the porridge, they fed Xia Chiyi the medicine prescribed by the school doctor, and he finally fell into a deep sleep.

[Author’s Note]

Some readers might not have understood why Xia Chiyi suddenly realized that Zhou Zhexiao is very likely really Sheng Xingming.

Because for Xia Chiyi, he grew up watching Sheng Xingming play ball and understands Sheng Xingming’s playing style very well.

The opponents Zhou Zhexiao encountered before weren’t strong enough, so Xia Chiyi only felt Zhou Zhexiao was very impressive.

When Zhou Zhexiao brought out his true skills to PK Liu Suchen, whether it was aura or technique, it made Zhou Zhexiao truly overlap with the Sheng Xingming in Xia Chiyi’s memory.

Immediately following that, Zhou Zhexiao’s “friend” from the past arrived, making Xia Chiyi realize that the current Zhou Zhexiao and the one from the past seem like two entirely different people.

Then Xia Chiyi tested Zhou Zhexiao with a few questions, and Zhou Zhexiao tacitly admitted to them.

In short, thank you Liu Suchen for stimulating Sheng Xingming’s strength.