Under the boos, Bai Sheshan couldn’t concentrate on the game. He kept making mistakes and had to rest off the court for five minutes before he could calm down again.
After the game, he came back to Xia Yu’s front, hanging around for a while. Just as he was about to speak, he was rebuffed by a group of girls.
“Got the guts? Come down here and let’s fight!” Bai Sheshan was so angry that his face turned red.
Originally, he had only wanted to provoke Xia Yu a little and see his displeased expression, but Xia Yu remained cheerful the entire time and even looked at him as if watching a monkey.
Especially the girls around Xia Yu, who kept defending him.
As a class heartthrob, Bai was usually favored by girls. Today, however, because of Xia Yu, he had been mocked by a group of girls, which made him unable to swallow his anger.
Xia Yu didn’t speak, so the surrounding girls answered for him: “Why don’t you compete in guzheng, violin, or piano? Do you have any shame at all?”
“Men talking, why do women butt in!” Bai was already so angry that he was somewhat losing his head.
His words enraged the girls.
“What’s it got to do with you whether we butt in or not!”
“Who do you think you are!”
Seeing the girls were getting somewhat out of control, the PE teacher hurried over to restore order, pushing Bai out of the gym.
His departure didn’t affect others. His team and Gui Zixiao’s team shook hands amicably, then started playing together again.
It was rare for everyone to gather like this, so they didn’t want to waste this opportunity.
The two teams from the previous match also didn’t leave but played together as a group.
“Brother, why is that guy always glaring at you?” You Xue asked Xia Yu. She wasn’t worried about Xia Yu’s safety at all; compared to those old hooligans from the past, Bai Sheshan was nothing.
Besides, Bai was just one person without any backup.
“Maybe he’s jealous of my looks,” Xia Yu said, patting his own face. The only good thing left to him by Xia Dongyang was this face.
“Such a thick skin,” You Xue pretended to be disgusted.
“Let’s go, let’s go shopping,” Xia Yu stood up and was about to take You Xue to leave.
At this moment, the basketball flew out from the court, heading toward the stands in front of him.
The stands were filled with girls, who could only scream in alarm at the incoming basketball.
Xia Yu took a few quick steps forward and caught the basketball in his hand.
The basketball had considerable force. Even though Xia Yu instinctively reduced the impact, his hand still felt a little painful.
“Are you okay!” The boys on the court rushed over in fright.
The boy who threw the ball turned pale. He had shot from the edge of the court outside the three-point line. Due to excitement, he used a bit too much strength.
“I’m fine,” Xia Yu said, tossing the basketball back to them, feeling normal.
When playing basketball, who hasn’t been hit by the ball a few times?
Getting hit in the face by a flying ball was also common.
“Is your hand okay?” The girls were more delicate than the boys. The girl next to Xia Yu grabbed his hand directly to check, while the girls behind also crowded over, as if looking at some rare treasure.
After the girls confirmed that everything was fine, the boys resumed their activities.
Taking the chance, Gui Zixiao invited Xia Yu: “Come down and shoot a couple of hoops!”
You Xue’s eyes also lit up, urging Xia Yu: “I’ll take photos for you to send to Lili and make her jealous!”
So Xia Yu agreed. He jumped down from the stands, grabbing the railing.
The boys passed the ball to him, watching him shoot.
These spectators were practically all brought by Xia Yu, especially the girls who made up half of them. Showing off in front of so many girls was no ordinary opportunity; one might not get such a chance even in a lifetime.
Therefore, the boys had a good impression of Xia Yu.
Since Xia Yu had previously said he couldn’t play basketball, Gui Zixiao specially led him to the free-throw circle.
A group of people surrounded, waiting for Xia Yu to shoot.
Indeed, in this life, Xia Yu had never played basketball. In this life, physical education classes included running, long jump, and swimming, but not basketball. However, in his previous life, basketball had been a sport throughout elementary, middle, and high school.
Among basketball skills, he had even taken tests on shooting during college.
Standing at the free-throw line, he could make six out of ten shots.
But that was in his previous life. As for how much skill remained in this life, Xia Yu himself wasn’t sure.
He recalled the techniques, spun the ball a few times to find the feel, then threw it toward the hoop.
The ball hit the rim and flew out.
A nearby boy caught the ball and passed it back to Xia Yu.
The boys comforted Xia Yu: “Bad luck, bad luck. Just a little short.”
However, they were thinking: “Lucky! Almost made it!”
They were grateful that Xia Yu had brought the girls, so they didn’t say such harsh truths. They had already planned that if Xia Yu missed every shot, they would also hold back a bit when it was their turn, giving Xia Yu some face.
Indeed, they planned to take turns shooting after Xia Yu finished.
This way, when they bragged in the future, they could say they were people who beat Xia Yu.
When they grew old and watched TV with their granddaughters, they could point at the elderly artist Xia Yu on the screen and say: “Although Xia Yu was great at piano, violin, and guzheng, he wasn’t good at basketball. Your grandpa beat him by this much back then!”
Then, their granddaughters would look at them with admiration, urging them to tell more.
Thinking about this, their eyes toward Xia Yu became more enthusiastic.
Xia Yu didn’t notice this. He held the ball, recalling the previous feel.
He raised his hand, his muscles moving. His level 4 agility skill directed the muscle army, coordinating the force from upper arm to forearm, from fingers to the basketball.
The basketball flew out, not even grazing the rim.
Because it accurately dropped into the basket.
The girls cheered for Xia Yu, while the boys were somewhat stunned.
He actually made it?
They handed the ball to Xia Yu, thinking his luck was unusually good. For a beginner to make one out of two shots—wasn’t that just luck?
On the third shot, Xia Yu had already fully grasped the right force, and the ball went in without any suspense, cleanly through the net. The swish sound of the ball brushing the net was very pleasant.
The boys looked at each other, then passed the ball to Xia Yu again.
After Xia Yu made four more clean shots from the free-throw line, they started to feel uneasy.
Gui Zixiao pulled Xia Yu to beyond the three-point line: “Try it here.”
Xia Yu threw the ball, which hit the backboard but still went into the basket.
A collective gasp rose from the surroundings.
On the sixth shot, Xia Yu returned to his form, making another clean shot.
By the seventh, eighth, and tenth shots, the boys were already numb.
At this point, Xia Yu had also had enough fun. He passed the ball to the surrounding boys: “You guys want to play?”
“No, no.” The boys hurriedly declined.
Who would want to play knowing they would definitely lose?
The atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
Gui Zixiao cautiously suggested: “How about we try 1v1?”
The boys immediately agreed:
“Great idea!”
“Good, good!”
“Yeah, shooting is boring. It’s more fun to play directly.”
“Xia Yu, you go first. Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”
In their opinion, Xia Yu was just a guzheng player, skilled with his hands, but in a real game requiring full-body movement, he would definitely fail.
They imagined beautifully, but reality often turned out cruelly.
…
Fuming, Bai Sheshan returned home, took out his phone, and was surprised to see a group of crying emojis in the basketball team’s chat.
What was going on?
He asked a close friend, who sent him a video.
The video showed Xia Yu.
It started with Xia Yu shaking his head and saying: “I can’t play basketball.”
Then the scene switched to Xia Yu standing at the free-throw line, shooting four hoops in a row.
The footage was continuous, but the ball-picking parts were sped up, so it clearly looked like consecutive makes.
Bai Sheshan straightened his posture: “This Xia Yu actually has some skill.”
Then the video sped up further. Xia Yu was guided to the three-point line, making five consecutive shots.
Bai unzipped his jacket; he felt hot.
Later, they started playing 1v1. At first, Xia Yu was a bit rusty, letting the opponent score two times. But after that, the opponent could only stand there bewildered, only touching the ball during the opening attack.
Bai went to the window, blowing in the wind. He was burning up.
On his phone, after the 1v1, the group played a simulated match. Xia Yu didn’t shoot much, but skillfully maneuvered with the ball, continuously making layups.
Even with five people defending, they could only make his layup time slightly longer.
Finally, the opening scene reappeared. Xia Yu shook his head helplessly again:
“I can’t play basketball.”
If that’s what you call not playing basketball, what the hell am I?
Bai turned off his phone, took out a cigarette, and sighed.
He knew that facing Xia Yu, he had no chance of winning at all. Yet, Xia Yu had shown no intention of responding to his provocation.
No wonder Yan Wei chose him. Could it be that, apart from the disparities in talent and looks, Xia Yu had attained a higher realm of life than he had?
Lighting the cigarette, Bai took a deep drag.
The irritating smoke burned his insides, twisting his face into a grimace.
He furrowed his brows, looking at the setting sun outside the window.
The sun slowly sank, lights flickered on, and the entire city was bathed in a soft glow.
Holding You Xue’s hand, playing on the street until ten o’clock, Xia Yu returned home and felt very satisfied watching the girl rush to finish her homework.
Telling You Xue he was going to sleep, asking her to keep going and remember to check her homework after finishing, Xia Yu washed up and lay in bed.
He soon fell asleep.
But on the other side, Yin Ling, lying beside Yin Shulan, tossed and turned restlessly.
She had brought some candy to school to eat today, and it had been discovered—not by a teacher, but by a school bully, who demanded she bring five tomorrow.
The candy was given to her by her grandmother in a strange state. She still had thirty-two pieces left; five wasn’t a big number.
But still.
How could she give her food to others!
Yin Ling furrowed her brows tightly.
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