Chapter 0092: You couldn’t possibly have been kissing me, right?

Zhuo Zheng originally intended to get up and leave. Everything that needed to be said had been said, and he wasn’t here to beg for food. Walking into this room was baffling enough; actually eating in the same space as Zhou Zhexiao was taking it too far…

But what was with Xia Chiyi’s face full of anticipation?

“You don’t naively think that treating me to food will turn swords into plowshares and make me bury the hatchet with that guy, do you?”

Xia Chiyi laughed out loud. “The Zhou Zhexiao you described has committed misdeeds as a basketball player that are too numerous to count. During our match, you sat in the audience staring at us, and your expression was never exactly friendly. It’s only natural that I was worried, right? You’ve given me your reasons, and I feel your dislike is very justified, so now I can put my mind at ease. As long as you beat Zhou Zhexiao fair and square on the court, I don’t care if you knock him out of bounds during a confrontation or dunk the ball right in his face—that’s just your skill.”

“So… it’s still because I look like a debt collector?” Zhuo Zheng’s expression twisted fiercely.

“That was just a casual metaphor I threw out! How long are you going to hold onto that?”

Zhou Zhexiao lazily spoke up: “If he had a face like Yang Huaiyu or Liu Suchen, and stared at us for over ten minutes today, the metaphor he would have used would be ‘a man falling in love’.”

He really was a professional at throwing people under the bus.

Xia Chiyi glared over. “You’re just never going to let this go, are you?”

“Very well. You’d better firmly remember me as this debt collector.”

After saying that, right in front of them, Zhuo Zheng picked up a slice of pizza, rolled it sideways, and then rolled three whole slices of pizza together. Staring dead into Xia Chiyi’s face, he shoved it into his mouth and took a vicious, massive bite.

It looked as though he was biting into Xia Chiyi’s own flesh.

“You… you can slow down a bit… What if you become the first basketball player hospitalized for choking on pizza…”

“What did you say?” Zhuo Zheng’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

“N-nothing. Carbs make people happy, eat as much as you want.”

Just how big is this guy’s mouth?!
Three slices of pizza rolled together were thicker than a mega-burger…

Xia Chiyi turned around, holding the box out to Zhou Zhexiao: “What about… you? Hawaiian flavor…”

He didn’t realize that behind him, Zhuo Zheng was shooting Zhou Zhexiao a provocative glare.

Zhou Zhexiao reached out, grabbed the edge of one slice of pizza, and with a single wrap, rolled up the remaining three slices just like Zhuo Zheng had.

“Hey, I haven’t even tried this flavor yet…”

Before Xia Chiyi could finish speaking, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly shoved the pointed tip of the pizza roll into Xia Chiyi’s mouth.

“Then the first bite is yours.”

Xia Chiyi’s mouth was stuffed so full he couldn’t speak. Seeing this scene, Zhuo Zheng clearly had some highly unusual imaginations run through his head, and he completely choked, coughing violently.

With a massive mouthful of pizza, Xia Chiyi couldn’t articulate a single word.

Only Zhou Zhexiao spoke, his tone unhurried: “Forcing yourself to eat when you can’t swallow it is just a waste.”

With that, he took a bite right from the spot Xia Chiyi had just bitten.

Zhuo Zheng forcefully thumped his chest. “Who says I can’t swallow it?! Bring it on!”

Originally, they ordered pizza to celebrate Shuai Bei and Du He gaining the attention of professional teams. But why was this developing in such a bizarre direction?

In the blink of an eye, Zhuo Zheng choked down those three slices of pizza, then tilted his head to look at Xia Chiyi. “Where’s the rest?”

Xia Chiyi hurriedly opened the second box, and Zhuo Zheng inhaled half of it in a flash.

Zhou Zhexiao, on the other hand, ate leisurely at his own pace.

Just like this, by the time they opened the fifth box of pizza, Zhuo Zheng visibly swallowed hard, looking like he was gagging.

“Can’t eat anymore already?” Zhou Zhexiao asked faintly.

“Who said that?” Zhuo Zheng reached his hand toward Xia Chiyi again.

Holding the box, Xia Chiyi took a half-step back. “Stop eating. I’m afraid Southwest Aviation is going to come after me for murder…”

“They won’t!”

Xia Chiyi sighed. He was now beginning to suspect that Zhou Zhexiao was intentionally messing with Zhuo Zheng.
But… Zhou Zhexiao shouldn’t be this childish, right?

Right at that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

Xia Chiyi set down the pizza box and walked over. “Who is it?”

“Me, Ling Huanzhen. I sent you a WeChat, what are you doing?”

Xia Chiyi froze completely. Talk about speaking of the devil!

He looked back. The room was littered with pizza boxes, and the smell inside wouldn’t dissipate even with the window open.
They had to do planks just for eating regular takeout. If they ate pizza… and five boxes of it at that, what would happen to them?!

“Alright, stop hiding. I can smell it from out here in the hallway.” Ling Huanzhen’s voice carried the amused tone of an adult catching a kid with junk food crumbs on the corners of their mouth.

Zhou Zhexiao crooked a finger at Xia Chiyi, signaling him to step back, then walked over and opened the door.

Ling Huanzhen walked in. At his first glance, he saw the five empty pizza boxes and frowned. “Are your stomachs… doing okay?”

Then, when his eyes landed on Zhuo Zheng, Ling Huanzhen froze, because Zhuo Zheng’s mouth was still stuffed with a thick wad of pizza.

“You’re from Southwest Aviation… Zhuo Zheng, right?”

Probably not expecting Ling Huanzhen to know his name, Zhuo Zheng stood up, anxious to speak, but the food in his mouth hadn’t been swallowed yet.

Xia Chiyi quickly poured him another cup of cola.

“Zhuo Zheng is my alumni from Oak Hill, and we were teammates on the basketball team. I had some friction and bad experiences with him in the past, but we cleared the air today,” Zhou Zhexiao stated with a calm face.

Zhuo Zheng: Did we clear the air?
More importantly, what was up with this tone that sounded like he was speaking to the coach as an equal?

“And then? What does this have to do with five boxes of pizza?” Ling Huanzhen glanced at Xia Chiyi, his eyebrow ticking up slightly.

“So Zhuo Zheng ordered five pizzas to celebrate,” Zhou Zhexiao looked at Ling Huanzhen, lying without his face reddening or his heart skipping a beat.

Zhuo Zheng expended a massive amount of effort to practically claw the pizza out of his mouth. “What the hell are you…”

“Moreover, out of these five boxes of pizza, Zhuo Zheng ate at least half of them, right?” Zhou Zhexiao looked over at him.

“That is true, but…”
But I didn’t order the pizza!

Ling Huanzhen patted Zhuo Zheng’s shoulder and asked rather amiably, “Are you full?”

Zhuo Zheng nodded.
More than full. This guy is probably stuffed to the point of bursting.

“Then you should head back first. You are welcome to come watch our semifinal against Southeast Mining University tomorrow.”

For some unknown reason, the tough-looking Zhuo Zheng acted like a harmless large dog in front of Ling Huanzhen. He nodded and obediently left.

Zhou Zhexiao added, “Take the empty pizza boxes with you on your way out.”

“Do you have a death wish?!”
Anger shot straight up to the top of Zhuo Zheng’s head. This guy actually dared to order him around?

But when he met Ling Huanzhen’s gaze, his previously somewhat arrogant aura inexplicably extinguished. He quickly packed the takeout boxes into the plastic bags and took the remaining half-bottle of cola with him.

Once he stepped out the door, he suddenly felt a profound sense of being used.
Xia Chiyi made it sound so nice—talking about Zhou Zhexiao’s black history together and treating him to pizza—but in reality, they had completely prepared to use him, a player from an opposing team, as a scapegoat if Ling Huanzhen found out, didn’t they?!

Truly sinister and despicable. As expected of Zhou Zhexiao’s partner!

He had eaten nearly two whole boxes of pizza and chugged cola. He didn’t know if it had expanded in his stomach, but he was painfully bloated right now.
The rich cheese and heavy carbs began to churn upwards relentlessly. Zhuo Zheng had barely thrown the takeout bags away when he couldn’t help but hug the trash can and puke his guts out.

Players from other teams passing by couldn’t help but take a few extra glances when they saw him wearing the Southwest Aviation uniform.

After throwing up for almost five minutes, that panic-inducing feeling of choking finally passed.
Pizza was now thoroughly blacklisted by him; the kind of blacklist it would probably never be released from.

Zhuo Zheng wiped his mouth. He now suspected that those two guys’ actual goal in treating him to pizza was to stuff him to death.
He was still too impulsive, actually competing with Zhou Zhexiao in a pizza-eating contest! He thought his chuunibyou phase had passed, but unexpectedly… no matter how much time went by, he could still be provoked by a single look from Zhou Zhexiao.
Fuck, this is so infuriating.

As for inside the room, Xia Chiyi sat in his chair, pinching his fingers nervously.

Ling Huanzhen said, “Did you two figure that I would definitely let you play in tomorrow’s match, which is why you dared to eat pizza so unscrupulously?”

Although it was the truth, Xia Chiyi didn’t dare nod.

“Zhou Zhexiao, how many slices of pizza did you eat?” Ling Huanzhen asked.

“Three slices.”

“Xia Chiyi, what about you?”

Xia Chiyi held up two fingers. “Two slices.”

“You two are so useless, your combined total didn’t even out-eat the guy from Southwest Aviation?” Ling Huanzhen raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Zhexiao actually nodded.

“Fine. One slice of pizza is worth 15 points. If you two combined don’t score 75 points in tomorrow’s match, I’ll put it on your tab. After all the matches in the Southeast Division are over, you will both do three thousand frog jumps around the hotel.”

Xia Chiyi’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets.
“Score seventy-five points against Southeast Mining?! Did I hear that right?”

It was unknown if their entire team’s total score would even reach 75 points!
If Ling Huanzhen wanted to punish them, couldn’t he just be straightforward about it? Why set an absolutely impossible target?

“You brat, if you two don’t even have the resolve to score 75 points together, you might as well pack your bags and go home right now,” Ling Huanzhen said, looking at Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi’s throat bobbed. He lowered his eyes, his fingers slowly clenching into fists. “I understand.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“I said—we will get 75 points!” Xia Chiyi looked him dead in the eye.

“Good. Meeting in my room at 7:30 tonight. Don’t be late.”
After saying that, Ling Huanzhen flicked his finger against Xia Chiyi’s forehead, turned around, and left.

Zhou Zhexiao looked at Xia Chiyi. “So much courage. You actually agreed to score 75 points?”

“Not me, us!” Xia Chiyi pointed at Zhou Zhexiao, then pointed at himself.

“I didn’t agree.”
With that, Zhou Zhexiao kicked off his shoes and dove under the covers.
He hadn’t slept enough earlier; he was entering sleep-recovery mode.

“You really are a god of sleep.” Xia Chiyi grabbed his own phone, finally understanding why Ling Huanzhen had suddenly come to their room.
It turned out a meeting notice had been sent in the group chat. The teammates had tagged him one by one, and even Shuai Bei had private-messaged him saying that if they didn’t reply in the group, Ling Huanzhen was going to personally inspect their room to see what the hell they were doing.

But the phone had been in Zhou Zhexiao’s hands, and this guy completely ignored WeChat. Even if he saw it, he pretended he didn’t.

Xia Chiyi glared at Zhou Zhexiao with gritted teeth. “You guy—couldn’t you have just replied to a single WeChat message?! We wouldn’t have been caught by Old Ling today!”

Lying under the covers with his back to Xia Chiyi, Zhou Zhexiao said, “I’m allowed to reply to your WeChat messages?”

“Nonsense, of course you can! I walk a straight line and sit upright; I have absolutely nothing to hide!”

“Okay.”
Although it was only one word and he couldn’t see his expression, Xia Chiyi faintly sensed that the other party was in a pretty good mood.

After eating the pizza, Xia Chiyi didn’t really feel like having dinner anymore, so he simply leaned against the headboard and studied the footage of Southeast Mining University’s afternoon match.

“Actually, you didn’t need to say so much to Zhuo Zheng. The person he dislikes is the Zhou Zhexiao of the past, not me,” Zhou Zhexiao said at an unhurried pace.

Even with his earphones in, Xia Chiyi still heard him.

“I can accept hostility on the court, but I cannot accept malice on the court. So I had to confirm and ensure that Zhuo Zheng bore no malice toward you.”
Because a single intentional foul could potentially damage Zhou Zhexiao’s athletic career.

“Moreover…” Xia Chiyi thought for a moment, deciding there was no need to say the rest, so he fell silent.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhexiao rolled over. One arm was folded up, revealing the beautiful, clean lines of his elbow. His hair was scattered across the pillow in winding curves, and those eyes, cast in shadows, held a certain hidden emotion. His gaze was quieter and gentler than usual, carrying a kind of alluring, heart-racing power.

Xia Chiyi swallowed his saliva, trying his best to speak in a calm tone. “Moreover, Zhuo Zheng’s skills must be very strong. Earning a spot in a fiercely competitive environment like Oak Hill Academy is actually worthy of admiration. If he lost to you just because he harbored arrogance in his heart, that would be pretty meaningless. But looking at it now, what both of you want is an evenly matched contest.”

Watching Xia Chiyi, the line of Zhou Zhexiao’s lips slowly stretched, curving into a smooth arc.
This was the first time Xia Chiyi had ever seen him reveal such a gentle expression.

“I like the way you talk just now,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Xia Chiyi froze, his hand subconsciously tightening its grip on his phone.

For the first time, he felt that a person’s smile could possess such terrifyingly lethal power—like the ripple sent through the net by a buzzer-beating shot.

Zhou Zhexiao fell asleep very quickly. Xia Chiyi hadn’t even watched two minutes of the match before the other boy’s breathing grew steady and long.

But Xia Chiyi couldn’t focus on the game anymore. From the corner of his eye, he kept glancing at Zhou Zhexiao.
This guy’s lips and chin were hidden beneath the blanket. Only the tip of his nose peeked out, and his eyelashes were so, so long.

Without realizing it, Xia Chiyi leaned backward, the back of his head sinking into the pillow. Being guarded by Liu Ge in today’s match had actually been quite grueling. The exhaustion finally crept into his heart, and his eyelids gradually grew heavy.

His body felt like it was constantly sinking into weightlessness.

When he opened his eyes, he found that it was surprisingly already night.
There were no lights on in the room; only the glow of the streetlamps outside filtered through the window.

And standing at the foot of his bed was a silhouette, giving off a feeling that was both familiar and strange.

Zhou Zhexiao?
Weren’t you sleeping? Are you standing there cosplaying a ghost?

Opening his mouth, Xia Chiyi realized he couldn’t utter a single syllable. He lay spread-eagle on the bed in an arrogant posture.
Move… move… Eh? Why can’t I move?
Is this sleep paralysis (a ghost pressing on the bed)?
No, no, no, feudal superstition cannot be trusted!

Zhou Zhexiao pressed one knee onto the foot of the bed. He lifted one of Xia Chiyi’s feet, took off his shoe, and peeled off his sock.
When the cotton sock left his instep and brushed past his toes, Xia Chiyi’s back trembled uncontrollably.

Usually, when Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes and bowed his head, he always looked very gentle. But right now, Xia Chiyi felt a bit afraid—and beneath the fear, an overwhelming amount of anticipation.

He subconsciously struggled a bit, but Zhou Zhexiao’s fingers clamped down on his wrist like a vise, completely unmovable.

Xia Chiyi didn’t know where his courage came from. He felt this scene was incredibly familiar, as if it had happened before but he couldn’t clearly remember.

Zhou Zhexiao patiently took off the sock and shoe from his other foot. Feeling the supporting strength from the other’s palm, Xia Chiyi, as if possessed, kicked out hard, stomping viciously right over the other boy’s heart.

I can finally move?
Xia Chiyi gasped. Propping his upper body up on his elbows, he kept scooting backward until his back hit the headboard. He had nowhere left to retreat.

Zhou Zhexiao walked along the edge of the bed to his side. His gaze was like a black tide, silently submerging Xia Chiyi, as if intending to seep into every inch of his skin and gently stir his blood.

Xia Chiyi tilted his head back, looking at him. It was a completely different kind of charm from his decisive lethality on the basketball court; it was a magnetic pull generated solely for Xia Chiyi.

Zhou Zhexiao bent down, lowered his head, and slipped his hands under Xia Chiyi’s back and legs, lifting him horizontally. He moved smoothly and placed him under the covers.

When the swaying hair on the other boy’s forehead brushed past Xia Chiyi’s eyes, instinct overrode all his capacity for rational thought.

Xia Chiyi grabbed Zhou Zhexiao by the collar. This sudden impulse shocked even Xia Chiyi himself.
What am I doing?

When Zhou Zhexiao swayed and propped his hands beside Xia Chiyi to maintain his balance, an unprecedented sense of accomplishment surged in Xia Chiyi’s heart. Especially when meeting Zhou Zhexiao’s surprised gaze, Xia Chiyi suddenly realized that he could actually make Zhou Zhexiao show an expression of losing control.

Rivers and seas churned in his heart. Although it was clearly the first time, it felt as though he had done this thousands of times in his mind. He crashed against Zhou Zhexiao’s slightly parted lips, as if attempting to destroy him through that narrow gap. He tirelessly kissed him from every possible angle, frantically conquering Zhou Zhexiao’s territory.

It felt as though he had grabbed hold of Zhou Zhexiao’s wings—and along with his destiny, ground them between his lips.

Zhou Zhexiao, who had always lacked desires or demands for anything other than basketball, began to kiss back. It grew fiercer, deeper. The way he forcefully gripped the back of Xia Chiyi’s head betrayed his rationality. The hands that were originally propped beside Xia Chiyi shifted to cup his cheeks, not allowing him even a sliver of escape. In this battle, Xia Chiyi might have been the one to pull back the curtain, but Zhou Zhexiao was the one deciding its direction.

Xia Chiyi was left entirely breathless by his powerful, demanding kisses. His cheeks were pinched until they hurt. He unwittingly recalled the tension and intense pressure of their one-on-one practices. His brain grew too sluggish to analyze his opponent’s every move; he could only passively endure.

He instinctively pushed against Zhou Zhexiao’s chest, letting out a whimpering sound begging for mercy.

As long as it didn’t violate the principles of basketball, Zhou Zhexiao had always been utterly compliant to Xia Chiyi. But this time, he was so domineering that it left Xia Chiyi entirely at a loss, right up until Xia Chiyi grabbed his hair and yanked backward.

“You’re the one who started this. But when you wake up, you’ll forget everything, won’t you?”
He asked him this.

His expression carried the absolute finality of burning one’s boats. It was as if Xia Chiyi’s kiss was a cup of poisoned wine, and even knowing the end result, he couldn’t resist the temptation to drink it down in one gulp.

But seeing Zhou Zhexiao like this only made Xia Chiyi more certain that he could do whatever he pleased.

He lightly touched the tip of his nose against Zhou Zhexiao’s tall nose bridge, rubbed along his jawline, and placed a soft kiss on his throat.

Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulders trembled violently. His kisses crashed down even more fiercely, suffocating Xia Chiyi’s lips until they were completely sealed. Whenever Xia Chiyi tried to evade, Zhou Zhexiao captured him in a single swoop. The suctioning force of his kisses was immense, like an explosive mid-air dunk over a defender. Every sweeping assault made Xia Chiyi shudder completely.

Every tiny cell between Xia Chiyi’s lips and tongue was invaded by the other party with absolute dominance. His senses seemed stretched into unimaginably thin, long threads, flexibly entangled by Zhou Zhexiao between his teeth and lips.

This kiss broke entirely free from the restraints of reason and self-control. It was as if Zhou Zhexiao wanted to use this kiss to offer up his own fiercely burning, scalding heart.

Xia Chiyi gave a violent jolt. A loud “smack” came from the side of the bed—having accidentally fallen asleep, his phone had dropped to the floor.

His heart felt as if it had been clamped tightly by an invisible force, his blood nearly bursting from his veins.
He whipped his head to the side. The first thing he saw across from him was Zhou Zhexiao sleeping on his side, half his face buried in the covers.

…Was I just dreaming?
Such a realistic dream… it felt just like it actually happened before.

Xia Chiyi’s throat bobbed. He finally realized his back was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and beneath the covers, he was radiating heat. When he leaned over the edge of the bed to pick up his phone, he suddenly realized something and reached a hand under his blanket. In that instant, he truly wished he could drop dead right on the spot.

He checked the time—it was already 7:00 PM! Hurry!

Xia Chiyi grabbed a change of clothes and bolted into the bathroom.

Didn’t they say wet dreams leave no trace?!
Su Shi, you liar!

As the water cascaded from above his head and his brain cleared up, he felt even more strongly that the dream was something that had actually happened.
He gently pressed his fingers against his own lips. The force of the other person squeezing between his parted lips was so vivid, the sensation of teasing and tangling… His heart trembled, and his previously quieted, hot blood began boiling once again.

Fuck.
Zhou Zhexiao, are you a demon?

Xia Chiyi lowered his head, using one hand to switch the hot water to cold.

His brain uncontrollably recalled every detail. Even contents he hadn’t dreamed of inexplicably floated to the surface.

In the past, he had once recklessly lingered at the corners of Zhou Zhexiao’s lips, pressing so hard that Zhou Zhexiao frowned and turned his head away. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum when denied, he had used his hands to pry Zhou Zhexiao’s lips open, insisting on getting inside.

—Are you being sincere right now, or just messing around?
Zhou Zhexiao had asked him this once, then moved his face away again, pressing a finger against the space between Xia Chiyi’s eyebrows to keep distance between them.

Unable to reach his lips, Xia Chiyi had simply taken the other boy’s chin into his mouth.
Zhou Zhexiao’s jawline was very beautiful—sharp, decisive, and somewhat cold. Xia Chiyi just held it in his mouth, as if by kissing him a bit more earnestly, he could warm him, soften him, and make him slightly less heartless.

“What exactly is going through your mind?! Has surviving up until now been too easy, so you’re looking for a death wish?!” Xia Chiyi forcefully hammered his own head.

But, wasn’t all of this too real? Real to the point where every minute tactile sensation, every subtle angle, was incredibly detailed.

The longer the cold water ran, the more Xia Chiyi’s brain gradually sobered up.
He slowly realized: without real-life material, where did he get this kind of imagination?

…But if it really happened, how could I still be alive right now?
Even if Zhou Zhexiao didn’t strangle him, he would definitely keep his distance.

A knock sounded on the bathroom door. Zhou Zhexiao’s deep voice carried through the barrier: “Are you done? Why are you showering again?”

“Almost, I’ll be done in a second!”

The match was coming up; letting his imagination run wild like this was pointless.
Gritting his teeth, Xia Chiyi activated his mind-clearing ‘basic attack’ method, emptying his brain of all the trashy thoughts.
He consoled himself: Once the Southeast Division matches were over, he would properly binge-watch the latest movies, so he’d stop constantly using Zhou Zhexiao as his imaginary target!

Xia Chiyi didn’t answer why he was showering. Standing at the door, Zhou Zhexiao furrowed his brows slightly. He raised a hand, eventually resting it gently flat against the door. He lowered his eyes, a shallow sigh suppressed in his throat.

Quickly washing what needed to be washed, Xia Chiyi walked out with a towel draped over his head. When he opened the door, he never expected Zhou Zhexiao to be standing right there.

His heart skipped a beat. Feeling guilty, he avoided Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze, merely assuming the other guy needed to use the toilet.

As they brushed past each other, the back of Zhou Zhexiao’s hand very lightly brushed against Xia Chiyi’s body, startling Xia Chiyi so much he nearly jumped out of his skin.

The sound of water echoed out. Xia Chiyi shrieked, “Don’t you close the door when you use the bathroom?!”

“Oh. Then close it for me,” Zhou Zhexiao said lazily.

Xia Chiyi sighed up at the ceiling. If Zhou Zhexiao knew what kind of dream he just had, he wondered if the guy could still be this open and unbothered.

When the two of them left the room together, Xia Chiyi tried to walk ahead of Zhou Zhexiao. Who knew that Zhou Zhexiao would pull the keycard out exactly at that moment, turning around and unexpectedly bumping right into Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi looked up to find Zhou Zhexiao looking down at him.

“What’s wrong?”
His voice was very soft.

“N-nothing,” Xia Chiyi flashed a smile and rubbed the back of his head. “Probably just didn’t get enough sleep earlier.”

“Are you nervous?” Zhou Zhexiao leaned in a bit closer.

Those eyes were so deep and intense that Xia Chiyi felt guilty, hating himself for being so useless… No, no, no, it’s just because the Zhou Zhexiao in my dream was too easy to bully.

Zhou Zhexiao turned his face slightly, his gaze shifting angles along with it, and Xia Chiyi’s heartstrings were inexplicably plucked.

“Is it because Southeast Mining Uni is too formidable in your mind, or because you feel Cong-ge is too hard to defeat?”

Xia Chiyi quietly exhaled. What the hell, so this guy just thought I was nervous because of the match.

“It’s the Final Four, after all. Whether Cong-ge is there or not, I’d still be nervous. Being nervous helps you focus your mind better.”

Zhou Zhexiao stared at Xia Chiyi in silence, giving Xia Chiyi the illusion that he had been completely seen through.

“Let’s go.”

Zhou Zhexiao turned around. Xia Chiyi followed behind him at a moderate distance, even entering the elevator half a beat slow.

They were the only two in the elevator car. Hands in his pockets, Xia Chiyi had his head half-tilted back, watching the floor display.

Without him noticing, Zhou Zhexiao moved closer. Xia Chiyi wanted to shuffle his feet to the side, but any further and his shoulder would hit the wall. When Zhou Zhexiao’s chin rested lightly on the top of his head, Xia Chiyi’s taut nerves suddenly went soft.

The instant the elevator doors opened, a hotel cleaning auntie was standing outside. Looking up, she saw Xia Chiyi in the elevator with Zhou Zhexiao standing behind him, and Zhou Zhexiao, eyes lowered, pressing a very light kiss to the hair whorl on the back of Xia Chiyi’s head.

The auntie rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.

But as if to make sure she understood clearly, Zhou Zhexiao placed another kiss there, then lifted his eyelids and made eye contact with the auntie.

“Which floor are you going to? This elevator is going down.” Completely oblivious, Xia Chiyi smiled at her.

The cleaning auntie immediately shook her head. “No, it’s fine! It’s fine!”

“Oh, alright.”

When the doors closed, Xia Chiyi felt the auntie’s expression was a bit strange. He leaned his head back, just about to say something to Zhou Zhexiao, when the top of his head seemed to brush against the tip of Zhou Zhexiao’s nose… Was this guy keeping his head lowered?

In that instant, a certain guess flooded into Xia Chiyi’s mind. Could it be that Zhou Zhexiao was kissing me just now?
Is that why the auntie made that face?

“What were you doing behind me just now? I’m so friendly and approachable; the one that auntie was scared of was definitely you.” Xia Chiyi turned his head, staring straight into Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes with a serious face.

In reality, his heart was pounding “thump, thump, thump” like a drum.

Back in middle school, Xia Chiyi had read the secret crush stories that the girls in his class passed around. At the time, he thought the back-and-forth was way too tedious. Why hide your feelings? Why not confess boldly? Why not just get an answer?
If you get rejected, well, this one didn’t work out, so just move on to the next, right? Why be such a coward!

But now, Xia Chiyi understood. A secret crush wasn’t just secretly liking someone; it was a state of mind where it absolutely had to be them. Because he couldn’t simply be suave and swap to the next person if this one didn’t work out, he didn’t dare to casually demand that final answer.

The elevator doors had opened, yet Xia Chiyi was still staring at Zhou Zhexiao.

“Take a guess.” Zhou Zhexiao walked past Xia Chiyi, pressing his palm down on the top of his head as he went.

Xia Chiyi froze. He hadn’t expected to get such an ambiguous answer from Zhou Zhexiao.

He quickly caught up, kicking the toe of his shoe against Zhou Zhexiao’s calf. “I won’t guess! Be quick about it and give me the answer!”

“Considering that my answer might affect your mindset for the match, I’ll tell you after we win.” Zhou Zhexiao continued walking forward without looking back.

Xia Chiyi stopped in his tracks and shouted out: “You couldn’t possibly have been kissing me, right? What’s so hard to say?!”

Zhou Zhexiao turned his head and looked at him: “If I really was kissing you, can you guarantee you won’t toss and turn in bed all night tonight?”

“Then I… then I definitely would toss and turn!”

“So I’ll tell you after we win.” The corner of Zhou Zhexiao’s mouth ticked upward in a very shallow smirk.

Xia Chiyi narrowed his eyes. “You’re playing me.”

“I’m not playing you. Win the match, and you’ll know the answer.”

Xia Chiyi ran over, hanging both arms over Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulders and shaking him vigorously. “Zhou Zhexiao, you’ve gone bad! Actually keeping me in suspense! If you don’t tell me, I’m going to toss and turn tonight anyway! I’ll go bounce like crazy on your bed so you can’t sleep either!”

Zhou Zhexiao just let Xia Chiyi hang off him as he continued walking.

“I haven’t seen you bounce like that before. Why don’t you bounce and show me?”

As expected of Zhou Zhexiao. Completely impervious to threats or persuasion.
And yet, Xia Chiyi just so happened to love this exact attitude of his.

When they arrived at Ling Huanzhen’s room, the atmosphere was clearly far more serious than before any of their previous matches, and Xia Chiyi’s heartstrings pulled taut.

“Southeast Mining University’s performance was absolutely brilliant. Their strength can rival Qincheng University. Except, tomorrow’s match isn’t a practice match; it’s an official match. In an official match, losing by even one point is a loss. Phrases like ‘evenly matched’ or ‘neck and neck’ are just polite platitudes,” Ling Huanzhen stated.

It was as if he was saying that their previous practice match against Qincheng University—even though they only lost by a tiny margin and could normally use it for bragging rights—would just mean they fell one move short and lacked the necessary strength if it happened in an official match.
In competitive sports, there is only winning and losing.

Hearing this, Chen Chuan, Fu Chenxue, and the others took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong with all of you? I’m still alive and kicking, why do your faces look like you’re attending my memorial service?”
Ling Huanzhen went down the line, knocking on the heads of the depressed players one by one.

Even though Ye Zhaoying had evaluated Xia Chiyi as having a “blunt brain,” at this moment, even he could clearly feel his teammates’ pressure—as if a massive boulder was pressing on their chests, forcing every breath to be restrained.

They hadn’t been heavily favored to win a single one of their matches. If expectations were the tide, Ningchang University had always been swimming against the current.

But every counterattack hits a bottleneck, and they vaguely knew that Southeast Mining University might just be that bottleneck.

“Chen Chuan, stop looking at the floor. What’s going through your mind? Might as well lay it out openly,” Ling Huanzhen crossed his arms and said.

Hands in his pockets, Chen Chuan gave a wry smile. “I was just thinking… so many teams have already experienced defeat. What’s meant to come will eventually come.”

“Is that your own thought, or the analytical reviews online?”

“A bit of both, I guess.” Chen Chuan let out a breath.

Ling Huanzhen put his hands on his hips, nodded, and smiled. “Although I said before not to pay attention to the messy news online, thinking about it now, taking a look might be a good thing. Coach Cheng, did you see any interesting reviews online?”

Coach Cheng nodded: “I summarized them. I made a list of the most representative ones, noting down both the content and the user IDs.”

Everyone looked at Coach Cheng in surprise.
So-called “interesting reviews” were either tearing them down or just watching the drama. Ningchang University had climbed too high, too fast. There were definitely many people waiting for them to fall from grace—the harder the crash, the better, preferably shattering into pieces that couldn’t be put back together.

“Then read them for everyone.” Ling Huanzhen shot Cheng Qing a look.

“Alright, let’s start with Du He.” Cheng Qing paused for a moment.

The honest and simple Du He looked at Cheng Qing with a bewildered gaze, having no idea what was about to happen.

“‘Du He must be the most invisible center in the entire Southeast Division, right? Other teams’ centers carry their teammates and make them fly. He should examine himself: is it because he’s too heavy, or is his brain too dull? Why hasn’t he been carried into the sky?'”

Hearing this, Shuai Bei was the first to get angry. “Who said that?! What a foul mouth! Are their tonsils inflamed or did they swallow shit?!”

Du He patted Shuai Bei’s shoulder. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Freedom of speech. Can’t stop people from telling the truth…”

“What kind of truth is that?! That person clearly knows nothing about basketball! Do they think a center’s only job is just violently smashing the ball into the hoop?!” Chen Chuan also grew annoyed upon hearing it.

Cheng Qing, uncharacteristically expressionless, said, “That sentence just now was actually the most polite one. I have a dozen more here; I can forward them to you if you need.”

Du He waved his hands frantically: “No, no, no, there’s no need…”

“Yeah, how suffocating would it be to read all that.”

“Maybe Coach Cheng shouldn’t read them…”

“We’re about to have a match. Listening to this is just sabotaging our own mentality.”

Sitting on the bed opposite Ling Huanzhen, Xia Chiyi knew that Ling Huanzhen wouldn’t use internet comments to tear down his players for no reason. But if it was just to motivate everyone, this was highly unnecessary.

Ling Huanzhen chuckled. “Is it that big of a deal that you don’t even want to read them? Knowing how the outside world views you makes it easier to flame them right back after this match!”

“Flame them back?” Du He stared blankly at Ling Huanzhen.

“Yeah! If someone flames you, you flame them right back. Courtesy demands reciprocity! Du He, don’t you want to tell this person: ‘I can fly just fine on my own. You noobs should eat less shit and eat more animal feed’?” Ling Huanzhen pressed his palm heavily onto Du He’s shoulder.

“Coach… I can do the first half of that sentence, but won’t I get reported for the second half?” Du He asked earnestly.

“So what if you get reported? Do you still care about martial ethics when you’re flaming someone?!” Ling Huanzhen’s eyes widened in return.

Cheng Qing continued expressionlessly. “Regarding Shuai Bei. ‘Throw a handful of rice on the basketball court, and even a chicken would run better routes than you.'”

Hands in his pockets, Shuai Bei tilted his chin up indifferently. “Not lethal enough.”

Cheng Qing continued: “‘This bro strolls back on defense like he’s window shopping. The opponents have already charged the paint, and he’s still trying to rack up steps on WeChat.'”

“What else?” Shuai Bei asked again.

“‘Every time an opponent blows past him, he stands completely still like an idiot with zero skills.'”

Shuai Bei’s brows visibly furrowed. It seemed this one had hit a sore spot.

“There are forty or fifty more like this below. I can forward them to you.” Cheng Qing looked at Shuai Bei.

“Yeah, send them to me. I’m going to spend tonight thinking of exactly how to reply to these dumbasses.”

Ling Huanzhen smiled. “I can help you brainstorm, but you still need to go to sleep early tonight.”

“Next up is Ye Zhaoying.” Cheng Qing looked at him, making sure he was ready.

“People are actually flaming me too? Is it because my speed isn’t fast enough, or my steals aren’t handsome enough?” Ye Zhaoying pointed to himself.

__

[Author’s Note]

Xia Chiyi: You couldn’t possibly have been kissing me, right?
Zhou Zhexiao: Guess.
Xia Chiyi: I won’t guess. You were kissing me.
Zhou Zhexiao: Oh.
Xia Chiyi: So you’re confessing your feelings?!
Zhou Zhexiao: Is “Forced Confession” your new skill?