As Fei Cheng drew closer, he could hear Li Xiuxiu lecturing Liu Yucong.
"It’s just a game! Once your hand is healed, you’ll have plenty of time to play," Li Xiuxiu scolded. "Do you even know how to prioritize? It’s just a basketball match. Didn't I say the most important thing is participating?"
Liu Yucong’s temper flared. He didn't care if the person carrying him was his homeroom teacher or not. "What do you know? All you do is criticize me! Didn't you see they did it on purpose? Last time, they shoved me so hard my elbow was seriously injured, and they did it again! Fuck, do you have any idea how Class 3 has been slandering us? The entire grade is waiting to see the results of this match!"
Li Xiuxiu replied bluntly, "I don't know about that. The referee will handle it. Just stay still. You’ll face plenty of situations like this in life. If you try to solve every single one by acting on impulse, you’ll end up driving yourself into a corner sooner or later."
Fei Cheng chuckled and ran up beside them. "The teacher is right."
"What are you doing here, kid?" Li Xiuxiu glanced sideways at Fei Cheng but didn't shoo him away.
Liu Yucong shot Fei Cheng a sidelong glare and huffed, making his displeasure clear.
Fei Cheng shrugged. "Too many people at the court. It was getting stuffy, so I came out with the teacher to get some fresh air."
"At least you're honest. Don't go wandering off once we're outside the school gates," Li Xiuxiu said.
Fei Cheng nodded in agreement.
Liu Yucong glared at him, his voice rising in anger. "You’re actually not watching our class's match? You're not cheering for us? You traitor! Fei-dog!"
Fei Cheng: "..." *He’s gone mad, snapping at anyone he sees.*
Li Xiuxiu seemed to have lost the energy to scold Liu Yucong further, especially since the boy was injured. He glanced at the unbothered Fei Cheng and decided to let it go. He’d let them settle it themselves; as long as they didn't start a physical fight, anything was fine.
Fei Cheng followed them out of the school gates. Liu Yucong looked back toward the basketball court and barked an order at Fei Cheng: "Go back! Don't follow us. You're useless anyway. If we lose the match, it's your fault!"
"What does this have to do with him?" Li Xiuxiu frowned. Students these days were truly difficult to teach; they wouldn't listen to reason.
Liu Yucong snapped, "How does it not have to do with him? As a member of the class, he actually complained about the crowd and ran out for 'fresh air' instead of cheering. He’s unenthusiastic and killing the morale. It's all his fault!"
Fei Cheng looked thoughtful. "Now that you put it that way, it does make some sense. Liu Yucong, you really want to win this match, don't you?"
Liu Yucong spat, "Who the fuck cares about winning some trashy match? I want to crush Class 3 into the dirt!"
Li Xiuxiu: "..." *And here I thought this troublemaker had suddenly developed a sense of class honor. So that was why.*
Fei Cheng paused in his tracks. "Fine."
He turned around and headed back into the school. Both Liu Yucong and Li Xiuxiu were left bewildered.
Li Xiuxiu asked Liu Yucong, "He said 'fine.' Fine what?"
Liu Yucong actually took a moment to think about it. "...Fuck, how should I know?"
When Fei Cheng returned to the basketball court, the substitute student was struggling to keep up with the team's rhythm. Fortunately, halftime was called less than five minutes later.
Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing—one expressionless, the other with a dark face—walked to the hoop to take a short break.
Fei Cheng handed them bottles of water. "No confidence?"
Yu Qing leaned against the basketball stand and cursed under his breath. "It feels impossible to play. They’re suppressing us too much."
Fei Cheng looked at Cheng Yifei. Cheng Yifei nodded, his brow furrowing slightly. "It’s a bit annoying."
Annoying?
Fei Cheng rotated his wrists. "Let me go on and try?"
"Huh? Cheng-cheng, you want to play?" Yu Qing’s eyes widened. "You... I’ve never even seen you touch a basketball. Don't mess around."
Fei Cheng: "I’ve been playing every weekend this month."
Cheng Yifei: "How have you been playing?"
Fei Cheng: "Teaming up with the kids in the village."
Yu Qing let out a startled 'wah' and patted his chest to calm himself. "No, no way. Stop joking, Cheng-cheng. This match is critical."
Fei Cheng looked at Li Haoran. "Sports Rep, let’s go one-on-one. There are still five minutes left. If I can steal the ball from you within two minutes, will you let me play?"
"Ah? This... I, what does Cheng Yifei think?" Li Haoran threw the decision to Cheng Yifei.
Cheng Yifei: "I’ll do it with you."
Fei Cheng didn't hesitate. He rolled up his sleeves. "Sure."
Li Donghai tossed the ball to Cheng Yifei.
They tested each other right there under their own hoop. Fei Cheng was on offense, Cheng Yifei on defense.
Fei Cheng smiled at Cheng Yifei, his expression relaxed. Ten seconds later, he blurred past Cheng Yifei. The ball was gone.
Cheng Yifei froze.
Li Haoran’s expression turned serious.
Yu Qing’s jaw dropped slightly before he manually pushed it shut.
Cheng Yifei looked directly at Fei Cheng. "You defend, I’ll attack."
Fei Cheng nodded while dribbling.
A minute later, Cheng Yifei stopped attacking. He watched Fei Cheng, who was still dribbling, and said to Li Haoran, "You can let him play."
Li Haoran hummed in agreement and asked the substitute nearby, "An Zi, let Cheng-cheng try?"
An Zi: "Sure. Class 3 is too aggressive, and I can't keep up with your rhythm anyway."
If Fei Cheng took his place, the blame for a loss wouldn't fall on him.
"Okay." Li Haoran called over the Arts and Entertainment Rep. "Yan Qing, come here quick and help Fei Cheng stick on a number!"
"Why did they swap in a shorty? Have they given up struggling?"
The Class 3 players were watching the commotion from their side of the court.
"That idiot has stared at me several times. He looks familiar. His name is Fei... Fei Cheng, right?"
"You guys have terrible memories. Did you forget the time back in the third year of middle school when Liu Yulang had to do a self-criticism in front of the whole school? It was because of him. I heard he was almost beaten to death by Liu Yulang’s group back then. His parents brought the police to school, and the guys who hit him had to pay a lot of compensation."
"That impressive? Damn, he doesn't look like someone easy to bully."
The Class 3 captain set down his drink. "They're all trash anyway. Liu Yucong is already out. We just need to take out that Cheng Yifei, and we're done."
His teammates voiced their agreement.
Halftime ended, and both sides returned to the court.
Fei Cheng, standing at less than 1.6 meters, looked somewhat petite and inconspicuous in the lineup.
He had only earned the team's recognition in terms of ball handling, so Li Haoran and Cheng Yifei didn't dare let him fully take over Liu Yucong’s Small Forward position. He was essentially filling a hybrid role.
Fei Cheng’s height and aura were far from intimidating. Class 3 only sent one of their less aggressive players to guard him.
As soon as the game started, Class 3 seized the ball again. Li Haoran lost the tip-off for the second time. Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing clapped their hands to boost morale and began organizing their defense.
Fei Cheng wasn't tall, but his movements were incredibly tricky. The person guarding him would lose sight of him in the blink of an eye.
Imagine the feeling: the person you were just blocking behind you suddenly appears in front of your teammate. Then, as you rush over to guard him seriously, he pops up in front of another teammate a moment later.
Class 3’s rhythm was thrown into chaos by Fei Cheng. In their confusion, they couldn't adjust.
In a short amount of time, Fei Cheng became an unguarded presence.
At the end of the first half, Liu Yucong had exploded with steals. At the start of the second half, Fei Cheng was not only intercepting Class 3’s passes mid-air but also loved snatching the ball directly from the hands of the dribbler.
Taking advantage of the gaps when the opponents couldn't react, Fei Cheng would pass to a teammate if possible. If not, he would drive the ball to the two-point line for a layup. He wasn't confident in three-pointers; to put it bluntly, he might not even be able to hit the backboard from that far.
Ten minutes later, the score between Class 1 and Class 3 was tied!
From 5:12 to 12:12.
Cheng Yifei had made two three-pointers from passes sent by Fei Cheng, and the remaining points came from Fei Cheng’s own shots under the basket.
Class 3 couldn't take the pressure and called for a timeout.
"What the hell is up with that Fei Cheng? Ye Zhilong, do you even know how to defend? Can you keep an eye on him or not!" The Class 3 captain was fuming, taking all his frustration out on the player guarding Fei Cheng.
Ye Zhilong felt like he was dying of exhaustion. He had been running back and forth after Fei Cheng without a single moment's rest. Being scolded by the captain while trying to catch his breath during the timeout made him snap back, "I don't know how to defend? Why don't you swap someone else in to try guarding him! He runs faster than a rabbit; my eyes are going blurry just trying to track him!"
"He snatched a ball right out of my hands. Dammit, I didn't even know when he got behind me. Can you guys give me a heads-up?" another player said, one hand on his hip and the other wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Exactly. When Cai Jinghui passed to me, I was just about to catch it when that shorty appeared out of nowhere and hijacked the ball right in front of my face. Fuck, how are we supposed to play against that?"
"Target him." The Class 3 captain looked around at his teammates, his gaze finally landing on the player who had pushed Liu Yucong earlier. "Chen Xin, you can do it, right?"
Chen Xin looked across the court at Fei Cheng. "No problem. If I could handle Liu Yucong, he’ll be easy. It’s just that if I have another 'accident,' the referee will kick me out."
"As long as we win the match, what does it matter?" Chen Xin’s teammates urged him. "You know what’s at stake in this match. If we lose, how are we going to show our faces? You want to be laughed at by everyone? I can't stand that. We have to win!"
Chen Xin thought about it and agreed. "Understood. Leave it to me. We’re going to win, no matter what."
On the other side of the court, Fei Cheng was surrounded by his teammates. Yu Qing hooked an arm around his shoulder, his face full of wonder and delight. "Cheng-cheng, you're amazing! A real hidden talent. That was some high-level showing off. Totally badass!"
Li Haoran chimed in, "Exactly! We’ve known you for so long and had no idea you could play basketball. Tell us, have you been practicing behind our backs?"
Fei Cheng rested one hand on Cheng Yifei’s shoulder while holding a bottle of mineral water in the other. He kept an eye on the Class 3 players and answered honestly, "I told you, I play on the weekends. Plus, I watch you guys play all the time. After watching so much, I just figured things out on my own."
Li Haoran said regretfully, "If you knew how to play, why didn't you sign up back then?"
Fei Cheng smiled. "Wasn't the roster full? If Liu Yucong hadn't hurt his hand, there wouldn't be a spot for me anyway. Let's not talk about that. We only tied the score because they were caught off guard and couldn't adjust their rhythm in time. It won't be that easy from here on. They’ll probably be watching my every move. Keep an eye on Number 3. He’s already committed two fouls; one more and he’s out. His first two attempts were aimed at Brother Cheng but failed. This last time, he’ll likely be targeting me."
Yu Qing said with disgust, "His name is Chen Xin. All he knows is how to play dirty. To hell with him!"
***
