Beijiao realized he had been used as cannon fodder, but he didn’t care—after all, it wasn’t his face that had been lost.
What confused him more was that Song Die seemed indifferent too—just momentarily stunned, but his smile never faltered.
“Oh, you already have breakfast, that’s good.”
As to what was good and where the goodness lay, probably only gods could tell.
He carried the expensive breakfast paper bag without any embarrassment, naturally turning to walk side by side with Jiang Ran, not asking where they were going, as if wherever Jiang Ran went, he would naturally follow.
Beijiao followed behind them, glancing up and down at Song Die’s back as he quietly tried to get closer to Jiang Ran. Suddenly, he let out a meaningless scoff and turned his head away.
As if suddenly becoming interested in the familiar campus scenery he had long grown tired of.
Beijiao could sense the different atmosphere, and naturally, Jiang Ran also felt Song Die’s persistent pursuit of her pace—
She was heading to the indoor gymnasium, and except for asking initially, he now followed her without any intention of leaving.
“Why are you here so early at school? Didn’t you move back home yesterday already?” Jiang Ran turned her head slightly, smiling as she asked, “Any other business?”
If there was, go do it quickly.
“Yeah, it’s the friendly basketball match with Xie Yu and the others,” Song Die turned his head, pointing at his brightly smiling face, “I’m the captain of A University’s basketball team.”
Upon hearing this, even Beijiao shifted his gaze from the fluffy squirrel on the tree to him.
Song Die was a sophomore at A University, one grade above Beijiao. When he entered as a freshman, he became a key player, participating in several national competitions. By his sophomore year, under the previous captain’s deliberate cultivation, he had become quite familiar with the team’s coordination and lineup…
When the previous captain prepared to intern during his senior year, Song Die naturally inherited the captain’s armband.
Beijiao’s matter was handled by the team manager for the transition. Song Die only learned about it this morning—
He had previously heard that the manager was approaching someone who was quite remarkable in high school, leading his team to win rankings in high school leagues. Unfortunately, the guy was a troublemaker, always refusing to join the team. Even when invited just to watch a training session, he wouldn’t show up.
This time, due to the school dormitory issue, apparently wanting to strive for a student dormitory, he finally agreed to try integrating.
Besides being impressed by the guy’s obvious self-interest, Song Die hadn’t taken the matter seriously at first…
This morning, when he picked up the documents, he realized that the person the manager had been chasing after for half a year was actually Jiang Ran’s so-called younger brother.
“Captain? Impressive, Song Die, the all-around champion. Didn’t expect you to be this good.”
Jiang Ran’s words carried some sincerity, after all, she barely understood any sports related to the word “ball.”
Receiving the compliment, Song Die’s tail behind his back was about to wag with visible trails, completely dispelling his previous gloom.
“It’s nothing really, just used to play around with friends in middle school, and somehow got some results.”
“He’s also going to the basketball gym,” Jiang Ran turned her head and nodded toward the one following behind with her chin, “Didn’t expect you two to have such a connection.”
She didn’t care whether the two teenagers needed this “connection” or not.
Beijiao was too lazy to respond.
“I know,” Song Die was sure to obediently reply, “This morning the team manager sent me the documents. I came early partly to meet him.”
He smiled especially nicely, as if genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about this…
Even though while saying this, he didn’t give Beijiao even a glance, only looking down at the young woman walking beside him.
Jiang Ran nodded and lightly said, “Then you must have worked hard.”
Song Die’s mood suddenly became visibly good—truly good, unlike the forced indifference after being rejected for breakfast earlier.
So much so that upon reaching the indoor sports arena, he even turned around and proactively told Beijiao where the locker room was, and that he could contact the manager to get him a new temporary team jersey.
Beijiao nodded, then slowly shifted his gaze sideways to look at Jiang Ran.
“Don’t follow.”
He hadn’t spoken before, but now finally opened his mouth, a low, magnetic voice… dog barking.
“?” Jiang Ran was puzzled by the warning, “Why would I follow you?”
Beijiao raised an eyebrow, curling his lips into a slightly sarcastic expression, “How should I know why you’re so clingy?”
Without waiting for the reactions of the other two on the scene or whether they misunderstood, he turned and headed toward the locker room.
…
Beijiao needed to change clothes; he was still wearing yesterday’s jeans, which weren’t suitable for exercise.
Knowing that Zhang Liang was still at school, slaving away for the student union, he sent him a message asking to bring his basketball shoes from the dorm.
Zhang Liang replied with unprecedented enthusiasm.
When he pushed the door open and entered, Beijiao had just lifted his shirt to start changing into his uniform—
The morning sun wasn’t too glaring. Under that gentle yet bright light, the teenager’s solid, flat abdomen revealed clear muscle lines.
Below the navel, there was some dense hair, spreading along the central muscle line all the way down to the edge of the waistband, disappearing into the pants.
Zhang Liang stood at the door, thinking about how this line of hair below the navel was said to be called the “Azure Dragon,” and men with an Azure Dragon…
Uh.
Hearing the noise, the teenager, half-undressed, turned his head indifferently. Zhang Liang snapped back to reality, instantly excited.
“It’s all over campus,” he approached, “You stole Young Master Song’s thunder.”
Young Master Song?
Who?
Song Die?
Beijiao thought these people were so ridiculous.
“I saw it with my own eyes too. This time you’re not being framed. This morning you indeed got off the same G-Wagon that Young Master Song used to ride, followed by that older sister!” Zhang Liang put down his basketball shoes, stepping closer, his voice nearly cracking with excitement when he mentioned “older sister,” “Ah, damn, bro, I never thought you’d be the most successful among us—”
Beijiao changed into a basketball jersey, picked up one of his shoes, couldn’t stand his noise, and didn’t know what nonsense he was spouting about being successful or not: “That girl is just the one from the bar before.”
Zhang Liang’s excited voice abruptly stopped, like a chick whose throat was pinched, making a choked “gag” sound: “Oh wow, truly fate comes and goes like water.”
Upon hearing this, Beijiao was amused and turned his head, half-smiling at him.
Zhang Liang felt his whole body crawl under that gaze.
Beijiao slowly turned his gaze back, his long fingers hooking the shoelace, giving it a flick, his voice slightly low: “Now it’s ‘fate comes and goes like water’? Weren’t you hysterically shouting ‘not encouraged’ before?”
“…Yeah, I did shout that,” Zhang Liang didn’t feel he was contradicting himself at all, “But isn’t it necessary to make slight adjustments based on objective facts? I saw the older sister get off the car with my own eyes today, wow, her legs, her waist, her chest—”
Beijiao turned his head, looking at him expressionlessly.
Zhang Liang abruptly stopped talking.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “So suddenly it’s okay to encourage it.”
Beijiao didn’t dwell on what Zhang Liang might have said that was inappropriate, nor did he question his double standards. He just asked about Song Die and what the “stealing thunder” business was.
“Some people saw Mr. Song getting off that G-Wagon the other day. You know, although Cantonese people are wealthy, it’s not like young women are returning in cars worth two or three million every day—”
That car costs two or three million?
So expensive?
Beijiao thought carelessly while tying his shoes.
After finishing tying his shoes and lifting his head, he interrupted Zhang Liang’s endless chatter: “Song Die and her don’t have a special relationship, they just know each other casually.”
This sudden and decisive judgment of their relationship left his roommate completely stunned in the melon field.
“How do you know?”
Beijiao thought of Jiang Ran later eating the vegetarian dumplings clean in front of Song Die, and the McDonald’s breakfast that Song Die had held onto but couldn’t give…
“I’m not blind, so I just know,” he said.
…
When Beijiao came out of the locker room, the person he accused of being clingy was already sitting nearby—
There were many seats in the indoor gym’s spectator stands, scattered with a few people. Jiang Ran sat on the frontmost step, while Song Die was already warming up on the court.
But Jiang Ran wasn’t idle either. Beside her stood a tall teenager wearing another team’s basketball uniform, about 1.9 meters tall, like a giant, casting a shadow over her.
Xie Yu was talking to Jiang Ran. During this time, their team’s assistant, a little girl, approached timidly, handing him an icy energy drink with a timid gaze… He didn’t even look at her, casually took it, twisted off the cap, then handed it to Jiang Ran.
Beijiao stood at the door watching, not approaching.
Zhang Liang, however, was not calm, pulling his shoulder and whispering in astonishment in his ear: “Oh my, what’s going on here? Who is that guy taller than Ryota Miyagi?!”
“…” Beijiao didn’t quite know how to introduce him, thinking for a while before saying, “The captain from the neighboring school. Today, she was invited to watch him.”
— A girl sent in the morning car, someone waiting at the school gate, and another one here at the basketball court who sent a formal invitation.
Zhang Liang was stunned.
…
The friendly match was held as a 3-on-3 streetball game, a format originating from street basketball, which is more free in style. Due to its origin, the gameplay is wild and unrestrained, making it more entertaining than formal basketball matches.
Unlike regular formal matches, street basketball usually only uses half the court. So when a group of tall teenagers gathered, even the spacious court seemed somewhat crowded.
On A University’s side were Song Die, Beijiao, and another cannon fodder.
Why is this poor guy called cannon fodder? Because as soon as he stood there, he felt something was off with the team atmosphere. When he looked up, he saw his own captain and the new junior each looking left and right, not wanting to acknowledge each other.
He felt something bad was going to happen today.
Sure enough, when they were guessing rock-paper-scissors for the ball possession, Song Die finally looked at Beijiao and said, “Stop looking. Xie Yu can stick to her until the referee blows the whistle to start the match.”
Jiang Ran was too far away for him to bother pretending; his smile was gone, his eyes showing an annoyingly arrogant look…
However, he was arrogant, but there was someone even more arrogant.
Facing his not-so-polite reminder, Beijiao slowly shifted his gaze from a corner of the court, glanced at him, and realized that the person in front of him seemed to consider him an equal competitor, which he found ridiculous.
Beijiao didn’t respond to him.
At this moment, the referee indeed blew the whistle to call for gathering. Amid the chaos, Song Die used a volume only the two of them could hear to ask, “They said you came here in her car this morning? How did you end up together? Did you meet at the school entrance? Where did you come from?”
Beijiao felt this person was annoying, with so many questions.
When preparing to take positions for the opening tip-off, he was asked the last question and finally responded impatiently, “Her house.”
This answer completely determined the style of the game that followed—
The style of A University’s team was non-existent. Except for the cannon fodder guy trying hard to pass, dribble, and carry the ball, the other two played without any coordination, each doing their own thing.
In the first five minutes of the game, they were crushed by Xie Yu’s team with an 8-point lead.
…
If it weren’t for Song Die and Beijiao’s actual individual skills, they would have been trailing by more than 8 points by now.
Beijiao started playing normally, passing the ball as usual. But when he once found himself in an ideal passing position on the court, and the defender from the opposing team hadn’t arrived yet, Song Die, who was controlling the ball, refused to pass. Slowly realizing, he understood that Song Die had some emotional issues—
When Song Die forced his way past the defender and tried a three-step layup, Xie Yu directly blocked it, a loud “plop” sound echoed as the basketball flew out, and Song Die fell backward after landing unstably!
Amid the crowd’s gasps around the court, Beijiao looked on calmly, thinking this guy might be mentally ill?
Then he held a grudge.
From then on, he also stopped passing the ball to Song Die.
And since Song Die didn’t pass him that one ball, he completely ignored Song Die’s existence from then on—regardless of whether he was the captain or not, whenever Beijiao had the ball, until it went into the basket again, Song Die basically had nothing to do with it.
Soon, Song Die also sensed this style.
Once again, when the ball reached Beijiao’s hands, after his solo efforts following his sudden realization, the score had caught up a bit.
They were still trailing by two points, the team’s tension was high, and this time Song Die took a quick step and directly confronted Beijiao: “This is a match, not a solo performance.”
He slightly frowned, looking fierce, showing the authority a captain should have.
Beijiao didn’t even bother to acknowledge him. Instead of passing the ball to him, he casually passed it sideways to another teammate—
The teammate was caught off guard receiving the pass, and Xie Yu’s team was also completely unprepared for Beijiao’s choice to pass to someone standing further away instead of Song Die, who was practically right next to him. They were all stunned.
In an instant, Beijiao had already rushed to that teammate’s side, gesturing with his hand.
The cannon fodder teammate instinctively passed the ball, and the ball returned to Beijiao’s hands!
With his previous consecutive scores, the audience on the spectator stands began to stir!
Song Die blocked Xie Yu’s position, staring at Beijiao: “Since you’re so good, why don’t you just play alone?”
Xie Yu heard it but didn’t understand: “What the hell?”
Beijiao didn’t acknowledge them at all. He controlled the ball, took a quick step to dodge the opponent tightly guarding him—
At this point, he had become Xie Yu’s team’s key defensive target.
Realizing he was about to go solo again, three players immediately abandoned their original defensive assignments and moved toward him!
Xie Yu, tall and strong, pressed down like a mountain!
Streetball doesn’t shy away from physical contact. Beijiao made a turn, using his elbow to shove the opponent clinging to him aside. As the opponent grunted and stepped back, Beijiao dribbled straight to the sideline—
Xie Yu’s pupils constricted, instantly realizing what the person intended!
Then, as Xie Yu jumped, Beijiao also leaped!
“Woah, who is this guy, how can he jump so high! Is he a god!”
Someone from the sidelines exclaimed in awe.
Jumping, leaning back, shooting.
The ball traced a perfect parabolic arc, brushing past Xie Yu’s fingertips, but due to its force and speed, it didn’t alter its original path!
Swish!
Three points!
The score instantly turned around!
The sideline erupted into cheers!
The teenager, whose jumping ability had been praised, landed steadily on both feet. He was already standing beyond the three-point line—
He shifted his gaze from the ball dropping into the basket, expressionlessly watching Song Die rushing over to defend Xie Yu. The latter was running fast and now was leaning forward, one hand on his knee, breathing a bit heavily.
Beijiao looked at him for a while, his expression indifferent. As the referee blew the whistle for halftime, he smiled at Song Die: “I am pretty good… If you’re tired, why don’t you rest? We can manage two against three.”
Author’s note:
Beijiao: It’s okay if you can’t, just rest.
Song Gongzi: What the f***.
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