A basketball game consists of four quarters, each lasting twelve minutes, with a fifteen-minute halftime break and a 130-second break between quarters. Each game is officiated by two referees and two scorekeepers assigned by the Referees Association.
Lin Xi Chi wore contact lenses and turned her head to see where He Rugang and Ye Shaowen were sitting. From this angle, she could see that they had already found seats.
The game was about to begin, and the guys around Xu Fang seemed to be very familiar with him. The one closest to him playfully tapped his chest, creating a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.
Xu Fang playfully swatted his hand away.
Lin Xi Chi hesitated but ultimately didn’t go back. She turned her head, and she could still hear some of the guys making a ruckus. Xu Fang stopped them with a shout, “Quit making a fuss.”
Lin Xi Chi had encountered this kind of situation quite a few times before. When she first started high school, whenever she was seen with Xu Fang, the guys around him would tease them. She had felt awkward at first, but after getting to know them, it was no longer a problem.
It was all in good fun.
Later, when girls from other classes came to find the guys in her class, they would also make similar weird noises.
Lin Xi Chi considered it one of their quirks, so she wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, she was curious and asked, “Are you always this tough on them?”
Xu Fang took a bottle of water from a box at his feet and tossed it into her lap. His other hand rested on the back of her chair, and he seemed nonchalant. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” This time, Lin Xi Chi didn’t want to make a fool of herself and just replied, taking off the bottle cap and handing it to him. “I’m just curious why someone like you has friends.”
Xu Fang took the bottle cap but didn’t drink. He didn’t bother to respond to her remark.
Lin Xi Chi lowered her head, thinking for a moment, and then guessed, “Did you buy them with money?”
“…,” Xu Fang suddenly felt that he was worthless in her eyes. He remained silent for a few seconds and then emphasized, “I have a lot of friends.”
“Oh, so you did buy them,” Lin Xi Chi teased, clearly not taking his words seriously.
Seeing her reaction, Xu Fang found it amusing and decided to tease her in return. “So, are you one of the friends I bought with money?”
“Of course not,” Lin Xi Chi immediately denied, with a look of heroic sacrifice. “That’s why I’ve always thought of myself as exceptional.”
“…,” Xu Fang was at a loss for words.
As they watched the two teams take their positions on the court, five in red and five in blue, with the center jumping for the ball at the center circle, Lin Xi Chi suddenly asked, “Are you a substitute?”
Xu Fang twisted the bottle cap back in place and replied casually, “Yeah.”
“Why are you a substitute?” Lin Xi Chi frowned. “Aren’t you part of the school team?”
Xu Fang threw the water bottle into her lap again and pointed at the players running on the court, looking lazy. “Those five are substitutes too.”
Lin Xi Chi was taken aback. “Why?”
“Whoever wants to play, plays. Nobody arranges it,” Xu Fang explained.
Lin Xi Chi looked at him, her eyes filled with curiosity. “If it were you, you could definitely win the jump ball, right?”
Just as she said that, a player from the red team made a dunk, and the crowd erupted in cheers, almost overturning the entire basketball arena. Xu Fang didn’t catch her words clearly, but he leaned closer.
“Hmm?”
Xu Fang’s body still emitted the familiar scent of mint, mixed with a hint of masculine pheromones. His broad shoulders and the overwhelming presence he exuded made Lin Xi Chi feel slightly uncomfortable, for some inexplicable reason.
Xu Fang had a lazy smile as he asked, “What?”
Lin Xi Chi noticed that he was looking at her intently, and her heart started to beat faster. She looked away and raised her voice slightly, “Aren’t you on the school team?”
Xu Fang confirmed with a nod, “Yeah.”
“Why are you a substitute, then?” Lin Xi Chi questioned further. “Isn’t the school team supposed to have the best players?”
Xu Fang sighed and explained, “The school team has a lot of good players, but the starting lineup is chosen by the coach based on performance. I haven’t been in the starting lineup recently.”
Lin Xi Chi felt a little disappointed and muttered, “If it were you, you could definitely win the jump ball.”
Just then, a player from the red team scored a dunk, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Xu Fang didn’t catch her words clearly, but he leaned closer to hear her.
“Hmm?”
“I was about to—” his words came to a halt, as if he was contemplating something, and he remained silent for a moment. Soon, he seemed to chuckle softly, and at that moment, the faint itching sensation reached its peak, making it unbearable for Lin Xi Chi.
Unable to resist, Lin Xi Chi raised her hand and lightly touched the side of his face, making a soft smacking sound as she pushed his head away.
Unfazed, Xu Fang didn’t react immediately but muttered under his breath, “Damn.”
Then, he looked at her with an expression of disbelief, which quickly turned serious. “Are you getting addicted to this?”
Lin Xi Chi awkwardly touched the spot on her neck and muttered, “I wouldn’t exactly call it addiction…” She could feel Xu Fang’s intense gaze on her and added, somewhat sheepishly, “You got too close…”
Xu Fang didn’t respond to her explanation.
This time, he seemed genuinely unhappy.
Compared to his previous posture when he leaned close to her, Xu Fang now sat more upright. He leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze fixed on his teammates on the court.
Lin Xi Chi didn’t immediately try to appease him, as she usually did.
She lowered her head once more and touched the spot on her neck, looking somewhat lost.
Perhaps because she hadn’t tried to please him this time, Xu Fang’s surrounding atmosphere became even more oppressive. During this time, the referees blew their whistles, and there were substitutions of several players one after another.
She could hear the big guys panting and talking excitedly, saying things like, “Damn, I’m going back in a bit. My three-pointer just now… I swear, it felt like all the girls in the world were screaming for me.”
Another guy chimed in, “You’re going back in again? I haven’t even played yet!”
Time continued to pass, and it wasn’t until the end of the first half that Xu Fang still hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to play.
During halftime, the guys who had just played were surrounded by a group of girls from the architecture department, and some of the guys, no longer as confident as before, scratched their heads and accepted water bottles from the girls.
A few guys who hadn’t broken a sweat sat in their original spots, looking jealous, and one of them grumbled, “Man, Ah Gou played like crap just now. I thought he was about to collapse on the court.”
“Exactly,” another guy snorted, “He’s not even ten percent as good as me.”
Listening to their banter, Lin Xi Chi couldn’t help but chuckle. With time, the initial discomfort had faded, and she had returned to her usual self. She turned her head and called out in a low voice, “A-Pi.”
Xu Fang was still engrossed in his phone and didn’t respond.
Lin Xi Chi didn’t mind and continued, “When are you going to play?”
Xu Fang still didn’t say anything.
Just then, a sweaty player approached and draped his arm around Xu Fang’s neck, interrupting Lin Xi Chi’s question. He said in a loud, casual manner, “Xu Fang, are you going in the third quarter?”
“…”
“Hurry up and answer. We need to make arrangements,” the player continued. Suddenly, he noticed Lin Xi Chi’s presence and exclaimed, “Oh, you’re here too? Maybe you shouldn’t play, you’re trash anyway.”
At the same time, Xu Fang removed the player’s arm from his neck, not too gently, and with an impatient expression, he said, “Fourth quarter.”
The player, realizing the somewhat tense atmosphere between Lin Xi Chi and Xu Fang, wisely walked away.
Lin Xi Chi touched her face and couldn’t help but feel that the situation was getting serious. She decided to sincerely try to please him this time. “A-Pi, why did you go in so late?”
“…,” Xu Fang remained silent.
Lin Xi Chi reluctantly replied, “I feel like the people who played didn’t have your charisma, didn’t play as well as you, and weren’t as handsome as you. I was about to fall asleep.”
This time, Xu Fang had a reaction. He had been staring at his phone, but his gaze shifted toward her, a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
Seeing his response, Lin Xi Chi emphasized the most important thing to him, making it clear, “You should get on the court now. I believe you can win this for me.”
Although he turned his gaze and appeared to have listened to her words, Xu Fang remained silent, as if he were mute.
The second half was about to begin. The girls who had been delivering water to the guys had returned to their seats, and the players who were going in were doing warm-up exercises on the side.
As soon as the game started, the atmosphere in the gymnasium became lively once again.
Lin Xi Chi looked at the empty water bottles on the chairs and then at the open bottle in her hand. She wondered, “Are you going to ask me to bring you water later?”
Xu Fang lazily leaned against the back of the chair, looking a bit tired from sitting for so long. He yawned and half-closed his eyes, not answering her question. But his expression seemed to convey, “Isn’t that an obvious question?”
Since he didn’t respond, Lin Xi Chi had to think of another solution. She asked, “Should I just drink it myself?”
“…”
Xu Fang was on the verge of losing his mind because of her.
When it was time, Xu Fang got up and started doing some simple warm-up exercises on the sidelines. He looked even more irritated than before, and he didn’t even spare a glance for Lin Xi Chi.
Lin Xi Chi suddenly felt that because of a single slap, their relationship had turned from friends into enemies.
Xu Fang was a substitute for the forward position.
In the fourth quarter, the opposing team had the ball, and the score was still very close, with only a few points difference.
It had been half a month since military training, and Xu Fang’s complexion had returned to being fairer. Standing on the court, he appeared clean and neat, contrasting with the other sweaty players.
However, he was the tallest among them, with sharp and distinctive features that seemed to have been carved with a knife. His short hair fell loosely on his forehead, and his arched eyebrows gave him a noble and heroic look.
The only player from the architecture department who hadn’t played yet, he looked refreshed as if he were just visiting.
At the beginning of the game, his previously lazy expression instantly changed.
Lin Xi Chi nervously watched him run on the court, effortlessly stealing the ball from the opponents and making the red team come alive. Xu Fang seemed to particularly enjoy slam dunks; out of five attempts, he succeeded three times, effortlessly hanging from the rim with one hand and gently placing the ball in the hoop before gracefully returning to the floor.
Lin Xi Chi felt like she was going deaf from all the screaming.
The architecture department won.
She bit her lip, watching as a group of guys rushed toward Xu Fang and high-fived their teammates on the court. The casual comment she had made earlier had suddenly become a reality.
Lin Xi Chi felt that her thoughts were really strange.
She genuinely believed that Xu Fang was the best and the most handsome among them.
Afterward, a large group of girls descended from the stands, holding water bottles and approaching the sweaty players who had just come off the court.
Lin Xi Chi had initially thought about joining them, but when she remembered how embarrassed and happy the other guys had looked when the girls brought them water, and saw Xu Fang’s expression, she decided to stay put.
She stared at the water bottle in her hand, feeling suddenly unhappy.
With her head down, a bitter and indescribable feeling welled up in her heart. Laughter from the guys in the distance reached her ears, and she twisted open the water bottle.
Why did only he have water to drink?
And why the hell did a bunch of girls bring him water?
Lin Xi Chi was about to gulp down the water when suddenly her foot was kicked, and she heard a boy’s panting voice.
She looked up.
Xu Fang was covered in sweat, his eyes moistened by the sweat, and he looked somewhat damp. His expression was far from the victorious look he should have had after winning the game; instead, he seemed a bit resentful.
He stared at Lin Xi Chi with an incredulous look.
“Did you really just drink it yourself?”
The author has something to say:
A-Pi: I showed off for half a day and still couldn’t do a damn thing.
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