Twenty minutes later, Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing returned from outside. They took their school jackets from Fei Cheng and headed to the canteen together for dinner.
Fei Cheng glanced toward the school gate and asked, "Is Liu Yucong okay? You guys came back pretty fast."
Yu Qing let out a breath. "Fortunately, there’s no bone damage, but the doctor said he can't do any strenuous exercise for a while. His friends are still there, so Yifei and I came back first."
Fei Cheng nodded. "The tournament is coming up, and he’s suddenly injured. That’s going to be a problem." Although they had substitutes, none of them were as accurate with three-pointers as Liu Yucong.
The crowd on the playground had long since dispersed. Cheng Yifei asked him, "Did the people from Class 3 apologize? How did you guys settle it?"
"Apologize? Not a chance. As soon as the bell rang, they just patted their butts and left, acting like nothing happened," Fei Cheng said with a shrug.
Liu Yiyang usually handled many things and was quite eloquent, but his silence this time was indeed strange. At the very least, he should have demanded an apology. Even Fei Cheng, who didn't like Liu Yucong, couldn't stand by and watch that.
Yu Qing was dissatisfied. "No way, you just let them leave like that? You didn't even get a 'sorry' out of them? That was a foul, a blatant foul! Isn't the monitor the referee? Why didn't he do anything?"
Fei Cheng indicated he didn't know.
***
In the dormitory during the noon break.
Liu Yucong, both elbows wrapped in gauze, was looking down and eating. He seemed to be struggling.
Liu Yiyang walked over to his bedside and stood still. He glanced back at Cheng Yifei on the opposite bed, pushed up his glasses, and asked, "Liu Yucong, can you still participate in the basketball tournament with your hands like that?"
Liu Yucong stopped eating. He looked up and asked irritably, "What do you mean?"
Liu Yiyang said, "The tournament starts next Monday. You definitely can't play like this. We need to swap in a substitute."
"Screw you! Who says I can't play? You want to strike my name from the roster? No way. I'll show you all ten out of ten three-pointers during practice this afternoon!" Liu Yucong stared at Liu Yiyang with fierce eyes, like a protective wolfdog, while Liu Yiyang was the person trying to steal his food.
He swept a warning gaze over the surrounding classmates, finally landing on Fei Cheng, who was already fast asleep on the opposite bunk. Fei Cheng was wrapped in his quilt, with only his head showing, while Cheng Yifei sat on the outer edge holding a book, looking unconcerned. His anger flared even more—what kind of people were these!
Liu Yiyang wasn't afraid of him and continued patiently, "Don't be impulsive. The doctor said you shouldn't do strenuous exercise. Aren't you afraid of something happening to your hands? It's better to wait until you're healed."
"I don't give a damn!" Liu Yucong spat. "I'm not withdrawing. I can play. Class 3 is so underhanded; if I don't play until they call me 'Daddy,' I won't be able to swallow this insult."
Liu Yiyang: "..."
He turned to Cheng Yifei, hoping to gain an ally. "Cheng Yifei, do you think we should swap him out?"
Without looking up, Cheng Yifei said, "If he can play, he plays. If not, there's the substitute."
Liu Yucong smiled triumphantly. After all, he and Cheng Yifei had gone to the same elementary school. Although they usually stayed out of each other's way and often had minor friction, Cheng Yifei wasn't too much of a dog at critical moments.
"Lord Monitor, did you hear that? Still want to drag others in to force me out?"
"I didn't mean to force you out; I'm worried about your injury, okay!" Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Yiyang noticed Fei Cheng frowning, and his voice grew even louder. "When something happens to your hands then, don't go crying that it was for the sake of the class basketball game."
"Me? Fuck!" Liu Yucong felt stifled. Wasn't this injury sustained precisely because of the class basketball game?!
Fei Cheng shifted. Cheng Yifei warned them, "It's noon break now. Be quiet. If there's anything else, talk about it after school."
Liu Yiyang frowned, glanced at Liu Yucong's elbows, and returned to his own bed.
***
Three days later, on Monday afternoon, the basketball tournament kicked off.
The monitors of each class went to draw lots. Out of the seven classes, one class would get a bye.
Class 1 vs. Class 7
Class 2 vs. Class 4
Class 5 vs. Class 6
Class 3 drew the bye and advanced directly.
Upon hearing this news, Liu Yucong felt as if he had swallowed something foul.
He repeatedly proved that his dribbling and shooting were fine. Under his strong insistence, Big Eyes and the sports representative reluctantly agreed to let him play.
There were no uniform jerseys for the tournament; the rule was for everyone to wear their school uniforms, with class numbers taped to their backs. No long fingernails or hard accessories were allowed.
After a brief inspection, the players from both sides entered the court. The referee blew the whistle, and the game began!
Liu Yucong was the definitive small forward on the court.
Cheng Yifei served as the point guard, the organizer of the offense. By controlling the ball, he decided the appropriate time to pass to the right player. Of course, he could also drive to the hoop himself.
The sports representative, Li Haoran, was the shooting guard, the jump shooter.
Yu Qing served as the power forward, responsible for aggressive play under the basket and fighting for offensive rebounds, focusing on interior defense and protecting defensive rebounds.
There was also the tallest one, Li Donghai, who served as the center.
Liu Yucong was indeed impressive, carrying the game alongside Cheng Yifei. As long as the ball reached his hands, regardless of the distance, there was a ninety-eight percent chance it would go in.
Of course, the players from Class 7 weren't pushovers either; they surpassed Class 1 in average height.
After forty minutes of hard fighting, Class 1 won the game against Class 7 with a score of 60:57.
When it ended, the watching classmates cheered. Fei Cheng went over to bring water and towels to Cheng Yifei and the others.
Yu Qing was grinning like an idiot, saying repeatedly, "See that? I told you we could beat Class 7! It was effortless, just swish, swish, basket after basket!"
Fei Cheng hummed in agreement and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water. Yu Qing thought it was for him and reached out to take it, only to see Fei Cheng lift it and take a drink himself.
Yu Qing: "..."
As the homeroom teacher, although Li Xiuxiu had emphasized that participation was what mattered before the game, he was naturally happy that they won.
He helped Fei Cheng distribute towels. Hearing Yu Qing's words, he put on a stern, serious face. "This is just the beginning. Don't get cocky just because you won one game. Don't forget there are two more rounds of playoffs. Your opponents will also be those who advanced; the difficulty will increase significantly."
The joy on the students' faces diminished quite a bit.
Li Xiuxiu called the sports representative aside and said something to him. A moment later, the sports representative ran back, while Li Xiuxiu walked back to the teachers' dormitory with his hands behind his back.
The game was over, and everyone dispersed happily.
Li Haoran called out to the other four players, "Let's go to the canteen and eat together. The teacher said everyone worked hard."
"What? Big Eyes said we worked hard?" Liu Yucong was the first to disbelieve. "All he does is shoot us down."
Fei Cheng noticed his hands; his fingertips were trembling. The situation didn't look good.
Li Haoran said somewhat sheepishly, "Let's go, let's go. At least we coordinated well just now. Shouldn't we celebrate first?"
"You guys eat if you want; I'm going back to the dorm." Once off the basketball court, Liu Yucong seemed out of place with everyone else. He turned to leave but was pulled back by Li Haoran, who hooked an arm forcefully around his neck.
"Hey, give us some face. You were really impressive today, playing while injured and even getting the MVP."
Liu Yucong's hands barely moved. He wanted to struggle but lacked the strength, saying irritably, "To hell with the MVP! Get lost."
Li Haoran half-coaxed and half-forced him to the canteen.
They found an empty long table, and he pushed Liu Yucong into a seat. "Do me a favor and guard this table. I'll go buy drinks. You guys help me get a meal for Liu Yucong!"
Li Donghai made an 'OK' sign.
Fei Cheng placed his unfinished water bottle on one of the seats and was glared at by Liu Yucong.
He was speechless for a second, then went with Yu Qing to get food.
Li Donghai certainly couldn't carry three people's meals alone, so Fei Cheng helped carry one. With the tasks divided, everyone was seated in no time.
Li Haoran brought over five bottles of Nutrition Express and distributed them, one for each person, looking very happy. "This is a special treat from the homeroom teacher for us heroes."
Fei Cheng looked at the drink in front of him, leaned over, and saw that Li Haoran's spot was indeed empty. He handed it back with a smile. "Rep, this is your portion, right? Don't give it to me. You guys were the ones sweating on the court; I was just standing there watching."
"What do you mean 'just standing there'? You were handing out water and watching our stuff the whole time. Just drink it. I'm not interested in these sweet and sour drinks. I'd rather have a Pepsi, but Big Eyes insisted on Nutrition Express," Li Haoran demurred.
A four-and-a-half yuan bottle of Nutrition Express was much more expensive than a one-yuan cola. Currently, among the drinks in the canteen and the snack shop, Nutrition Express was the most expensive, followed by things like iced black tea.
Fei Cheng insisted on handing the Nutrition Express back. "Regardless, it's a gesture from the homeroom teacher. You can't do this, Rep. Besides, great minds think alike—I also think cola tastes better."
Not really.
Li Haoran had no choice but to take the drink. He put down his chopsticks and said, "Then I'll go buy you a cola!" They couldn't all have drinks while Fei Cheng had nothing.
"No need!" Fei Cheng refused.
To be honest, he didn't have a liking for any of these drinks. The beverages he enjoyed probably hadn't even hit the market yet.
Cheng Yifei spoke up to resolve the situation. "Don't go buying anything. He prefers plain water over cola."
Fei Cheng cooperated by picking up his mineral water bottle and shaking it. "Exactly. Thanks anyway, Rep. Let's eat; everyone's starving."
Li Haoran had no other choice. He smiled at Fei Cheng and lowered his head to eat. The others didn't bother with the chatter; they were so hungry they had already started eating.
Liu Yucong ate very slowly. It was obvious he was having trouble using chopsticks, and his brow was furrowed tight, as if he were on the verge of losing his temper.
Fei Cheng took two bites, then went to the utensil area and brought back six spoons. "I forgot to get spoons for the soup."
Yu Qing asked curiously, "Since when do we use spoons for soup?" Didn't they usually just pick up the bowl and drink?
Fei Cheng asked back calmly, "Why can't we use spoons for soup?"
Yu Qing: "?"
Five or six minutes later, everyone else had cleared their plates, leaving only Fei Cheng and Liu Yucong still eating. Furthermore, Fei Cheng had more food left than Liu Yucong.
Yu Qing sipped his drink and glanced at Fei Cheng out of the corner of his eye. He felt Fei Cheng was acting strange this afternoon.
Using a spoon for soup and eating so slowly?
Cheng Yifei scanned the food on Fei Cheng's plate. He didn't rush him, but unscrewed his drink and asked, "Do you want a sip?"
Fei Cheng shook his head while chewing his rice. Too sweet and cloying; no thanks.
Liu Yucong had originally been in a foul mood because his hands hurt like hell, yet these people insisted on dragging him to eat. Eat what? They all ate so fast that in the end, they would either all leave or just sit there waiting for him.
He didn't need anyone to wait for him!
However, he hadn't expected someone to eat even slower than him. As expected, Fei-dog was just a dog.
Hmph.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 营养快线 | Nutrition Express | A popular Chinese yogurt-based fruit drink brand. |
| 大眼 | Big Eyes | Nickname for the homeroom teacher, Li Xiuxiu. |
| 控球后卫 | Point Guard | Basketball position. |
| 小前锋 | Small Forward | Basketball position. |
| 得分后卫 | Shooting Guard | Basketball position. |
| 大前锋 | Power Forward | Basketball position. |
| 中锋 | Center | Basketball position. |
| 非狗 | Fei-dog | A derogatory nickname Liu Yucong uses for Fei Cheng. |
| 凉白开 | Plain water / Boiled water | Specifically water that has been boiled and then cooled. |
