Joy is contagious. The students on the sidelines could no longer contain their excitement and swarmed onto the court, surrounding the players with beaming smiles.
Fei Cheng was shielded in Cheng Yifei’s arms. In his ears, the boisterous shouting of Yu Qing and the others mingled with the steady thumping of Cheng Yifei’s heart. Gradually, the sound of that heartbeat drowned out everything else. A strange atmosphere brewed a sort of chemical reaction, sending a peculiar, tingling ache through Fei Cheng’s chest. Unconsciously, he tightened his arms, pressing himself closer to Cheng Yifei.
With one hand around Fei Cheng’s waist and the other protecting the back of his head, Cheng Yifei worried the rowdy students might cause an accident in their frenzy. He quickly called out, “Alright, calm down, calm down! The referee hasn’t even made the official announcement yet. If you don’t disperse, you’re going to smother Fei Cheng.”
As the crowd pulled back, Cheng Yifei let go of Fei Cheng.
Fei Cheng rubbed his nose, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He let out a breath and turned to look at Chen Xin, whose mouth was covered in blood. It looked like he had chipped a tooth.
The members of Class 3 were supporting Chen Xin, glaring at them with suppressed fury. They looked utterly humiliated.
Fei Cheng wasn't afraid of them individually, let alone now with so many classmates standing behind him for support. Looking at the bleeding Chen Xin, he shrugged. “I told you that you wouldn't score another basket, and you didn't. I wasn't just talking smack, was I?”
This remark drew the ire of everyone in Class 3. Fei Cheng simply smiled. “It’s no use looking at me like that. Did I foul? He tripped and fell on his own, didn't he? So careless. My heart bleeds for him.”
The captain of Class 3 was fuming. He pointed a finger at him and barked, “You! Fei Cheng, don't take it too far!”
Fei Cheng turned his head to ask Cheng Yifei, “Hiss, Brother Cheng, where did I go too far?”
Cheng Yifei shook his head helplessly. “Who told you to go around telling the blunt truth?”
“Pfft...” Yu Qing, leaning on Li Haoran’s shoulder, burst out laughing. The laughter was infectious, and the students of Class 1 grew even more jubilant.
The referee watched them for a while, ensuring a fight wouldn't break out before notifying the Class 3 homeroom teacher to take his students away.
Li Xiuxiu returned just in time. As he entered the school gates, he heard the principal announcing over the megaphone that the champion of the Grade 8 New Year’s Basketball Tournament was Class 1.
“Not bad, these kids.” Li Xiuxiu tried to look stern, but a wide smile spread across his chubby face.
Liu Yucong followed behind him. He looked up excitedly at first, but when he realized the championship wasn't won by him, his expression instantly darkened.
Li Xiuxiu didn't notice. He turned back and called out to Liu Yucong, “Come on, let’s go over to the court and take a look?”
“I’m not going. I’m going back to the dorm.” After saying that, Liu Yucong walked toward the dormitory building on his own, not giving Li Xiuxiu a chance to say another word.
Normally, Li Xiuxiu would have lectured him, but considering his hand injury, the teacher simply sighed and let it go.
Most of the spectators had already dispersed. The players from Class 1 and Class 3 were packing up to leave. When Li Xiuxiu arrived, Cheng Yifei and the others were still there.
“Teacher.”
Cheng Yifei was the first to notice Li Xiuxiu’s arrival. Alerted by him, the others looked up and greeted him one after another.
Yu Qing was still riding a high and rushed to report to Li Xiuxiu. “Teacher, we won! Class 1 is the champion, fair and square. We made you proud, didn't we? Hehehe~”
Li Xiuxiu nodded. Without much of a smile, he said quite seriously, “Good work. Don't get conceited; keep up the effort.”
If Fei Cheng hadn't seen Li Xiuxiu’s other side, he would have definitely thought he was just a rigid, stubborn fat man. Fortunately, he knew better—'Big Eyes' was actually quite alright.
He peered behind Li Xiuxiu and asked curiously, “Teacher, where’s Liu Yucong?”
Li Xiuxiu looked at Fei Cheng with some satisfaction. “He’s probably tired and went back to the dorm. His hand is injured, so look after him more. Don't start any more conflicts.”
The boys from the dormitory all nodded in agreement.
They went to the cafeteria for a quick dinner and packed a meal to bring back to Liu Yucong.
In the dorm, Liu Yucong sat leaning against his bed with a wooden expression. Three of his friends were gathered around him, all of them excitedly telling him how amazing Fei Cheng had been on the court. Their enthusiastic tone only made him more irritable.
Distracted, he heard a string of footsteps coming from the hallway. He looked up instinctively and immediately saw Fei Cheng walking beside Cheng Yifei.
Unlike his usual habit of walking on the periphery, this time Fei Cheng was surrounded in the center.
*Heh.*
Li Haoran, carrying the food, saw Liu Yucong and immediately walked over. “Hey brother, we won! Hungry? We brought you dinner.”
Fei Cheng stood by the bed. Feeling dirty from the game, he didn't sit down. He observed Liu Yucong’s expression and wondered why this guy still had such a sour face even though they won. Was his hand hurting that much?
Liu Yucong didn't take the food from Li Haoran. Instead, he stared at Fei Cheng and asked, “How do you know how to play basketball?”
Fei Cheng scratched his cheek. How was he supposed to answer that?
“Is it that strange that I can play basketball?” he asked back.
Liu Yucong was angry, but he knew he shouldn't be. Yet, he was incredibly frustrated!
Li Haoran didn't know why the two of them were suddenly at odds again. He quickly interjected, “Eat before it gets cold. Just eat first.”
Liu Yucong took the food, and Fei Cheng looked away, rummaging through his clothes to get ready for a shower.
During evening self-study, the joyful atmosphere in the classroom hadn't faded. Both boys and girls were intensely curious about Fei Cheng, proactively striking up conversations and asking endless questions.
If Li Xiuxiu hadn't come to the classroom to keep order, Fei Cheng feared he would have been pestered to death.
Although his relationships with his classmates had indeed become much more harmonious, he didn't necessarily see this as a good thing. He preferred being an invisible wallflower—neither bullied nor clung to.
In the back of the classroom, Liu Yucong lay on his desk listlessly. The people around him were still whispering about the basketball game. He didn't understand. He had played from the preliminaries all the way to the finals; why did a "dog" like Fei Cheng, who only played the second half, get all the glory?!
Why, exactly?
The people who used to praise his basketball skills were now all praising that "Fei-dog." It was infuriating. Trash. Was their vision clouded by filth?
Yang Kaikai turned around and whispered his concern to Liu Yucong. “Brother Cong, are you okay? Does your hand hurt? Don't listen to their nonsense. Without your carry in the first half, it’s hard to say if we could have even won this game! Fei Cheng just reaped the benefits of your hard work.”
Liu Yucong felt like he had finally found someone who wasn't blind. He looked up at Yang Kaikai, who seemed genuinely indignant on his behalf. Remembering that Yang Kaikai had covered for his meal tickets last time, he struggled for a long time but still couldn't bring himself to say a simple "thank you." He could only give a grunt of agreement.
Having received a response, Yang Kaikai opened the floodgates. “Look at him now, beaming with success, followed by people wherever he goes. Did anyone hang out with him before? No, right? The number of people willing to even speak to him could be counted on one hand. If it weren't for this game this afternoon... Anyway, if you ask me, those people who think Fei Cheng is amazing must have had their heads caught in a door! How long was Fei Cheng even on the court? Twenty minutes at most. Was the win because of him? It was because of the month of hard work you guys put in, Brother Cong! He’s just a latecomer who usually doesn't even touch a basketball, yet he somehow bypassed the substitutes to get on the court? Brother Cong, I’m not just saying this, but he’s been following you guys around for a month; he must have gotten pretty close with Li Haoran and the others, right?”
Liu Yucong froze. Following Yang Kaikai’s logic, he nodded. “He gets along well with everyone on the team. Li Haoran and the others are always trying to get me to make peace with him. Last time, when I brought up how he soaked my quilt, the whole lot of them were speaking up for him.”
At the mention of the quilt, a flicker of unease crossed Yang Kaikai’s face, but no one noticed. He immediately recovered and said, “Brother Cong, don't worry about that old quilt business; it’s not nearly as important as what happened this time. I really underestimated Fei Cheng. He was clearly hiding his light under a bushel on purpose, waiting for something to happen to you so he could steal the spotlight! Because I’ve seriously never seen him touch a basketball before! And with Cheng Yifei and the others protecting him... anyway, Brother Cong, I really feel this is unfair to you!”
Yang Kaikai spoke with such righteous indignation that he almost believed himself. His voice rose unconsciously, drawing a strange look from his seatmate.
He reined himself in and turned back, leaving Liu Yucong alone to savor the meaning of his words.
Liu Yucong didn't like using his brain for such messy things, but after hearing Yang Kaikai’s analysis, the more he thought about it, the more he felt Yang Kaikai was right. That "Fei-dog" had followed them for a month without ever showing he could play. Why hide it if he could play?
And then there was his mysterious concern yesterday, telling him to go change his dressing. And the result? After changing the dressing, his wound hurt like hell, severely affecting his performance!
Every sign pointed to the fact that "Fei-dog" had malicious intentions!!!
Once he "figured it out," his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Fei Cheng’s back. *Just you wait, you dead dog!*
Fei Cheng had no idea he was being framed again. After finishing his homework, he went to the cafeteria for a late-night snack with Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing as usual.
Among the three, Fei Cheng and Cheng Yifei were the type to get excited for a moment when the results came out and then quickly cool down. Only Yu Qing’s excitement refused to fade; his mood remained sky-high.
“Hehehe...”
As they passed the tree-lined path next to the playground, Yu Qing suddenly let out that laugh, startling Fei Cheng out of his thoughts about a school assignment.
“Crap, can you not laugh like that? You scared me.”
This hundred-meter path had no lights. It was cold and dark. If it weren't for the warmth of the people beside him, he would have bolted long ago instead of walking so slowly and thinking about other things.
Fei Cheng glanced at Yu Qing on his right. It was so dark that his features were indistinguishable, but those teeth... *Holy crap.* Without a word, he circled around to the other side of Cheng Yifei. “Brother Cheng, Fish Head has gone crazy. Fix him.”
Yu Qing let out an "Eh?" “Chengcheng, why are you running?”
Cheng Yifei reached out and draped an arm over Fei Cheng’s shoulder, saying to Yu Qing, “He’s scared of you. Are you on drugs? A whole evening wasn't enough for you to calm down?”
Yu Qing laughed again. “Why aren't you two happy? Just thinking about how they used dirty tricks and still couldn't beat us makes me so happy. They mocked us so much before the game, and now their faces are being slapped. Smack, smack, smack~”
Fei Cheng shoved his hands into his pockets. The night wind was bone-chilling. He leaned a bit closer to Cheng Yifei and said perfunctorily, “And then?”
Yu Qing: “...Chengcheng, do you even know how to hold a conversation?”
Fei Cheng: “I do, I just don't want to talk to you.”
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
瞎bb | Talking smack / Bullshitting | Slang for talking nonsense or boasting.
大眼 | Big Eyes | A nickname for the teacher, Li Xiuxiu.
鱼头 | Fish Head | A nickname for Yu Qing (Yu sounds like 'fish').
小透明 | Invisible wallflower / Nobody | Literally "little transparent," refers to someone who lacks presence or is ignored.
Carry | Carry | Gaming slang used here to mean leading the team to victory.
藏拙 | Hiding one's light under a bushel | To hide one's talents or skills to avoid notice.
半路出家 | Latecomer / Switching mid-way | Literally "becoming a monk halfway," meaning to start a new path or skill later than others.
非狗 | Fei-dog | A derogatory nickname Liu Yucong uses for Fei Cheng.
