Liu Yucong had nothing to say, though he felt a faint sense of resistance in his heart. What was with everyone speaking up for Fei Cheng?
"Stop. Let's just eat first," Fei Cheng said, looking at Liu Yucong. "The finals are tomorrow. Whatever needs to be said can wait until after the game. Hate me all you want, but you still need to change the dressing on your elbow. Do it for tomorrow’s... revenge?"
Liu Yucong gave a scoff and looked away.
Yu Qing hooked an arm around each of their necks, acting as the peacemaker. "Right, right, right! I almost forgot we have a big battle tomorrow. After dinner, we’ll go with you to the school clinic. We’re all brothers, don't be so prickly."
Fei Cheng disdainfully brushed off Yu Qing’s hand and moved closer to Cheng Yifei. Suddenly, another hand landed on his shoulder. He turned his head, feeling a surge of internal frustration. "Brother Cheng, stop pressing down on my shoulders. I won’t grow tall. Are you afraid I’ll eventually sprout up higher than you, so you’re trying to nip me in the bud?"
The corners of Cheng Yifei’s mouth curled up. His large hand moved from Fei Cheng’s shoulder to his head, patting it as if he were a child. "Think whatever makes you happy. I won't call you short anymore."
Fei Cheng: "..."
The students from Class 3 were right behind them. As the distance closed, their conversation drifted into the ears of Fei Cheng and the others.
"Brother Jing, the basketball championship is definitely ours. Who would’ve thought that bunch of nerds from Class 1 could make it to the finals? We’ll crush them tomorrow afternoon without any pressure. We'll make sure they're scared the moment they see us from now on."
"But is that idiot’s hand okay? His shooting is damn accurate; it’s annoying just looking at him."
"Can't tell, but Class 5 was full of morons for sending two people to guard him."
"Hahahaha, exactly! Their brains must be full of water. If it were me, I’d target that Cheng Yifei. That kid walks around with a stiff face all day looking down on people, acting like having good grades is such a big deal."
"Exactly! I was just worried I wouldn't get a chance. We’ll show him what’s what during the game tomorrow. Ptooey!"
Fei Cheng turned his head, his gaze direct. The laughing players from Class 3 all looked over.
Their voices lowered for a moment before becoming loud and high-pitched again—on purpose.
Cheng Yifei grabbed Fei Cheng’s arm and led him into the cafeteria. He had heard plenty of big talk like this before. If someone had the ability—if they were better than him academically or could actually beat him—then he might listen to their boasting. Right now, everything they said was just hot air.
Yu Qing and the others looked quite upset. After getting their food, no one picked up their chopsticks until Cheng Yifei spoke.
Cheng Yifei looked up and scanned them. "Why aren't you eating?"
Yu Qing knew his temperament and sat there in silence, stifling his anger.
Li Haoran rubbed the back of his head and nudged Li Donghai with his elbow, signaling him to start eating first.
Li Donghai was the first to pick up his chopsticks, awkwardly leading the others. He felt as if a heavy burden had been placed on his shoulders.
Dinner was a silent affair. The more Yu Qing thought about it, the angrier he got. He finished his last bite of rice and slammed his chopsticks down. "They’re way too arrogant! They actually want to mess with you!"
Fei Cheng: "..." *Mess with him, huh...*
Cheng Yifei glanced at him. "If you can't even stay calm now, how are you going to perform beyond your limits tomorrow?"
Yu Qing’s eyes brightened slightly. Having been classmates for years, he knew as soon as he heard those words that Cheng Yifei was getting serious. His mood finally lifted. "Hehe~ You said it! We’ve got to get serious and play out of our minds!"
Fei Cheng shook his head, speechless. *Don't make it sound like you guys were taking it easy during the last two games, okay?*
Liu Yucong ate with his head down. He looked up at Cheng Yifei but said nothing. His grudge with Class 3 was deep; he wouldn't stop until they were crushed into the dirt. No matter how much his hand hurt, he would endure it.
"Just don't think about making me sit out," he reminded them. If Cheng Yifei wanted to win and tried to bench him because he thought he couldn't handle it, that wasn't going to happen!
Yu Qing shouted, "You're overthinking it! We'd be losing a huge asset without you. We’re going to work together and thrash them!"
"No, we're going to teach them how to be decent human beings," Fei Cheng added.
"Heh, well said! Teach them how to be human!" Yu Qing chuckled twice and gave Fei Cheng an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
Wednesday, 4:00 PM. The basketball finals.
Class 1 vs. Class 3.
Class 4 vs. Class 5.
The top three of the tournament would emerge from these four classes.
There were an exceptional number of students watching the showdown between Class 1 and Class 3. They packed the edges of the court so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through, huddled together for warmth.
Class 3 had been bragging everywhere about how great they were, while Class 1 remained low-key and hadn't refuted anything. This made everyone curious to see which class was actually superior.
Furthermore, Class 1 had Cheng Yifei. Even the students who hated studying the most had heard his name from teachers or seen him on the rankings board and the flag-raising platform.
Consequently, there were too many eye-catching elements in this game. As the players from both classes entered the court and stood face-to-face, the spectators whistled loudly, the excitement reaching a fever pitch.
The basketball game had unintentionally escalated into a matter of pride for both classes; neither side wanted to lose.
Fei Cheng scanned the Class 3 players one by one. He had observed their playstyle over the past two days and had some memory of their small tricks and dribbling habits.
To be honest, he was a bit worried about Liu Yucong. When Liu Yucong had his dressing changed yesterday, the doctor had criticized him; the wound showed no signs of improvement and had actually worsened.
God only knew what kind of pain he was enduring to play. To go to such lengths just to prove a point—one didn't know whether to praise him or call him a stubborn fool.
The final began. The jump ballers from both sides prepared. This would determine the first possession and the alternating possession for the rest of the game.
The referee blew the whistle—*Beep!* The basketball was tossed high between the two players. As it reached its peak and began to descend, Li Haoran jumped first. However, the Class 3 jumper exerted more power later and jumped higher, snatching the ball away first.
A flash of frustration appeared on Li Haoran’s face, but he quickly adjusted, coordinating with his teammates to start defending and try to intercept the ball.
Fei Cheng stood under his own basket, watching the ball handler use various feints and hand signals to confuse their vision. The ball traveled across the entire court before Class 3 finally scored a two-pointer.
The referee signaled to the scorekeeper. The current score was 0:2.
Liu Yucong cursed under his breath and wiped the sweat from near his ear with his shoulder.
The person guarding him glanced at his hand and gave a cunning smile. "Doesn't feel good, does it? You guys are definitely going to lose."
"Shut the hell up!" Liu Yucong was truly irritable. He shouldn't have gone to see his hand yesterday; changing the dressing felt worse than not changing it at all. It was messing with his performance!
Cheng Yifei ran past him quickly and reminded him, "Don't fall for it."
Liu Yucong secretly clenched his somewhat weak fist. Without time for more thought, he immediately spread out to continue defending.
Total concentration. Constant running.
Offense, defense, passing, shooting—missed, rebounded.
Ten minutes later, the score between Class 1 and Class 3 was 2:7.
Class 1 had only scored one basket, and that was a quick layup by Li Donghai when no one was paying attention to him. Both Cheng Yifei and Li Haoran were being heavily guarded, making it difficult for them to receive the ball under such interference.
Class 3 seemed to know about Liu Yucong’s condition; they only assigned one player to guard him closely and otherwise left him alone.
Just as they had said, their focus was entirely on Cheng Yifei.
After noticing the tall, taciturn Li Donghai, Class 3 started marking him tightly as well. Twice, Cheng Yifei got the ball but couldn't get a shot off, and once he did shoot, the rebound was snatched away.
As time passed, Liu Yucong’s anxiety grew. He stared fixedly at the ball. During a gap in the opponent's passing, ignoring his hand injury, he intercepted mid-way, landed, dribbled three times, and turned to protect the ball.
Outside the three-point line, Liu Yucong crouched and dribbled, secretly wary of the people around him. Suddenly, he feinted a pass to Cheng Yifei. As he jumped high with the ball in both hands, he abruptly changed direction! He shot toward the backboard.
A three-pointer! It went in!
As soon as the ball hit the net, the students from Class 1 erupted in cheers.
"Wow! A three!"
"Go Liu Yucong!"
"Go Class 1!"
Liu Yucong looked back at the Class 3 players with a provocative gaze. His anxiety finally eased a little.
The game restarted after the basket. Li Haoran and the others gave Liu Yucong a thumbs-up and quickly retreated to defend.
With five minutes left until halftime, it was as if a switch had been flipped in Liu Yucong. He was intercepting balls heroically and shaking off his defenders.
However, just as he got the ball again, an accident occurred. Class 3 used their old trick. When he jumped, they jumped as well. But this time, they didn't push him with their hands; they simply pressed their entire weight into him.
The referee’s whistle blew long and loud, but it couldn't stop it. Everyone watched helplessly as the two players crashed to the ground.
Fei Cheng’s pupils contracted as he saw Liu Yucong’s elbow hit the ground. He took a deep breath. As expected, a leopard doesn't change its spots. Even when they had the advantage, they still resorted to this. It was pure, intentional retaliation.
The referee and Li Xiuxiu rushed forward to push aside the surrounding students and check on the two players.
The teacher realized Liu Yucong’s situation was quite bad and said to Li Xiuxiu, "He needs to be sent to the hospital for an exam, just in case something happened."
Li Haoran and the others crouched in front of Liu Yucong. Hearing the referee’s words, they didn't argue. Compared to the game, their classmate’s hand was obviously more important.
Liu Yucong endured the pain and shouted, "Class 3 fouled! They did it on purpose! I can still play!"
Li Xiuxiu was annoyed by his stubbornness and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Play what? Let's go. To the hospital."
Li Haoran also tried to persuade him. "Yucong, go to the hospital first. We’ll play hard for your sake too!" The doctor had already said yesterday that his hand showed no signs of improvement. It would be disastrous if there were any permanent consequences.
Liu Yucong’s face was pale. He couldn't get up from the ground, clearly in extreme pain. But he was unwilling. He felt like he had endured for so many days—how could he give up at the most critical moment? During that bullshit "friendly" match last Thursday, the Class 3 people dared to play him dirty like that. If he didn't trample them under his feet on the basketball court, would it even be satisfying to settle it with his fists after he healed?
Time was limited; the game couldn't be delayed too long for one person. Without further discussion, the referee and the teacher helped Liu Yucong up and off the court. Class 1 brought on a substitute. The person who crashed into Liu Yucong was given a yellow card warning, and the game continued.
Fei Cheng watched as Li Xiuxiu carried Liu Yucong away on his back. He hesitated for three seconds before quickly pushing through the crowd to follow them.
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