No one expected that Duan Ye would come to play.
After a moment of silence, the onlookers outside the court showed excitement: Ah! This is going to be a duel, it must be!
For most people, their high school life can be described as boring. It’s either studying or studying. Some people may be into chasing stars, but even the gossip about those celebrities feels distant from their own lives. But now, they are about to witness a big duel. How can they not be excited? From the beginning of the school year until now, there have been posts on the school’s online forum discussing whether Duan Ye or Zhou Ji would be the top dog at Fifth High School.
Everyone thought they would fight each other, but over a month has passed, and the two of them have not clashed at all. They don’t even exchange glances on ordinary days. How could they fight? Just when everyone was disappointed, Duan Ye took the field!
When Duan Ye arrived at the basketball court, the second year students all made way for him.
Duan Ye is different from Zhou Ji.
Although Zhou Ji treats them as lackeys, at least there is some interaction. But Duan Ye is different. Duan Yedoesn’t play with the lower-grade students at all. In the eyes of the first and second year students, Duan Ye is a mysterious figure.
This sense of mystery makes them somewhat fearful from the bottom of their hearts.
One of the junior students mustered up the courage and said, “Br-Brother Duan, do you want to play together?”
Duan Ye, holding a basketball, glanced at Zhou Ji and asked in a low voice, “A match? Which side is he on?”
The junior student said awkwardly, “We weren’t playing a match.”
It’s more like they’re accompanying Zhou Ji to play.
Duan Ye nodded and looked at Zhou Ji.
Zhou Ji tugged at the corner of his lips, lifted the hem of his short sleeves and wiped his sweat casually, and spoke lazily, “A match?”
Duan Ye looked at him with an uncertain expression and replied, “Sure.”
Although Zhou Ji has never played against Duan Ye, he has sharp eyes and keen intuition. Those second-year students earlier were all weaklings who couldn’t put up a fight. It was just a warm-up. Now that Duan Ye has taken the field, Zhou Ji felt a long-lost sense of excitement.
He used to not understand the meaning of the phrase “meet one’s match.”
Now he vaguely understood it.
Thinking about playing against Duan Ye… Zhou Ji felt less bored.
The second year students present spontaneously divided themselves into two teams, one following Zhou Ji and the other following Duan Ye. Everyone became tense instinctively, feeling that this was more than just a basketball match. They were also worried that these two individuals would start fighting on the court… In that case, what would happen to them, the bystanders?!
They should warm up first.
Some busybodies have started live streaming the game on the online forum.
Everyone hurriedly spread the word that there’s an exciting show happening on the cafeteria’s basketball court. It would be a huge loss if you don’t watch it. If you miss this chance, who knows when you’ll get to witness the battleground between these two arrogant guys again!
Guo Shichao and Zhao Zheng, Duan Ye’s good buddies, were also clueless. They had the same confused expressions as the onlookers.
They still couldn’t wrap their heads around it. How did Brother Duan just jump into the game like that? Was there something they didn’t know?
The two of them whispered to each other on the sidelines.
Zhao Zheng nudged Guo Shichao with his elbow and whispered, “What’s going on here? What happened between Brother Duan and Zhou Ji?”
Guo Shichao stared at the person on the court and casually replied, “How would I know?” He was wondering himself and had no idea whom to ask. Discussing with Zhao Zheng, whose brain was like that of a pig, wouldn’t lead to any results.
“Aren’t you Brother Duan’s desk mate? Don’t you know?” Zhao Zheng was surprised. “Seriously, what’s up with Brother Duan? Why is he playing against Zhou Ji?”
Initially, they were the ones who didn’t like Zhou Ji.
They couldn’t stand this pretentious king who always put on airs, and he even tried to challenge Brother Duan’s leadership position. It’s hilarious how he thought he had any influence at all.
Even Guo Shichao had thoughts of beating this person.
However, Duan Ye never paid any attention to Zhou Ji from start to finish. Zhou Ji may have had some influence in their class and at school, but Duan Ye didn’t care.
But what’s happening now?
Guo Shichao rubbed his chin and said, “Could it be that Zhou Ji offended Brother Duan? It shouldn’t be the case. We’re with Duan Ye every day. It’s impossible for us not to know.”
Zhao Zheng pondered for a moment and came to a conclusion, “Zhou Ji definitely did something to provoke Duan Ye, and it must be something serious that Brother Duan couldn’t tolerate.”
Guo Shichao became even more curious, “Then what do you think it could be?”
Something that Brother Duan couldn’t tolerate.
They exchanged a glance and clicked their tongues, “No way.”
They had known each other for a long time and had a good understanding of Duan Ye. Duan Ye simply didn’t like to get involved in unnecessary conflicts. He wasn’t the type to retaliate with violence if someone provoked him. Very few things could make Duan Ye lose his temper, and almost all of them were related to Jiang Yumo.
Zhao Zheng gasped, “Could it be that Zhou Ji is trying to pry Brother Duan’s corner?”
Guo Shichao hesitated and shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything. It’s unlikely.”
Zhao Zheng said, “Oh, I suddenly feely feel a little scaredy scared.”
“Get lost, stop using repeating words.1“
Most of the students in this school were focused on their studies, but with the heavy and monotone homework, the sudden occurrence of such an event sparked interest among them, regardless of whether they knew Zhou Ji and Duan Ye or not. Many students heard the news and gathered at the cafeteria’s basketball court. The place was crowded, and even the school security guards and a few teachers came to watch the game.
Jiang Yumo, Yan Qing, and Sun Mengting finally managed to buy fried rice from the first-floor window of the teachers’ dormitory after waiting in line.
The rice was cooked grain by grain and had diced ham and minced meat. A big bowl only cost 3.5 yuan.
Jiang Yumo was moved by it. It was much better than the cafeteria food!
The three girls walked towards the school building while enjoying their fried rice, feeling content.
Before they reached the range of the school building, Yan Qing’s phone rang. She answered the call, and on the other end, there were consecutive screams. Yan Qing struggled to understand what her friend was trying to say. After hanging up the phone, she looked shocked and said to Jiang Yumo, who was enjoying the fried rice, “Yumo, just now Feng Wen called me. She said that Brother Duan is playing basketball on the cafeteria’s court, competing against that Zhou Ji in their class…”
They were surprised not because Duan Ye was playing against Zhou Ji, but because Duan Ye hadn’t played basketball at school for a long time.
Roughly calculating, it had probably been about a year.
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Yumo instantly lost her appetite for the fried rice in her hand. One sentence occupied her mind—Duan Ye was competing against Zhou Ji…
Did something happened that she didn’t know?
In the original story, these two had always kept their distance from each other, and since the beginning of the school year, Jiang Yumo hadn’t heard of any interaction between Duan Ye and Zhou Ji. Apart from being in the same class and being instigated by the people around them, they had no connection whatsoever. How did they suddenly end up competing?
The three girls couldn’t care less about going back to the classroom to eat their fried rice. They hurriedly ran towards the cafeteria.
On the way, they saw other students running in that direction as well, presumably having heard the news.
When they arrived outside the basketball court, Jiang Yumo was taken aback. There were so many people, layer upon layer, and cheers would erupt from time to time, indicating that one side had scored.
Zhou Ji was playing with full dedication. It’s been a while since he came to Ningcheng, but this was the first time that he felt such a sense of joy.
Zhou Ji and Duan Ye were evenly matched in basketball skills, making it difficult to determine who was better.
Both of them were giving their all, unwilling to lose. Although it seemed like two teams were playing, even those who didn’t understand basketball could tell that it was Duan Ye against Zhou Ji, and the others were just accompanying them, running around to fill the numbers.
Zhou Ji’s hair was damp with sweat.
Duan Ye had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing his lean arms.
The two of them were in opposing positions on the court, with Zhou Ji staring at the ball in Duan Ye’s hands, trying to prevent him from scoring.
But Duan Ye wouldn’t give him a chance to snatch the ball.
Yan Qing was impressive. She managed to squeeze through the crowd and found Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao in the best spot. In this short distance, all three girls were panting.
Upon seeing Jiang Yumo, Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao voluntarily gave up their prime viewing spot for her.
Zhao Zheng even twisted open the cap of a drink with a fawning smile. “Sister Mo, have a drink. I just bought it.”
Yan Qing snorted. “Bootlicker.”
Jiang Yumo didn’t have time to pay attention to their banter. She kept her eyes fixed on the court, not shifting her gaze at all. She casually replied, “No, I’m not thirsty.”
Zhao Zheng glanced at Yan Qing. “Then, Miss Yan, would you like to have a drink?”
Yang Qing quickly took it and said, “That’s more like it.” She asked again, “What’s going on? Why did Brother Duan play a match?”
Guo Shichao glanced at Jiang Yumo and said, “We don’t know either. Maybe he just felt like playing.”
Jiang Yumo still felt that something was off.
She racked her brains to recall the original plot, trying to find some clues. But whether it was her or Duan Ye, they were just minor background characters with very little emphasis in the novel. The novel used an episodic narrative style, and not everything about the high school period was written down… So she couldn’t be sure whether Duan Ye had played basketball against Zhou Ji in the original plot.
She actually didn’t understand the things that happened between boys.
Could it be… that Duan Ye just really wanted to play basketball, and Zhou Ji happened to be on the court? Although they appeared to be in opposition to each other in the eyes of others in the original work, they didn’t have any real conflicts.
“Is there anything going on in your class recently?” Jiang Yumo asked in a low voice. “I mean, they haven’t had any unpleasant quarrels, have they?”
Guo Shichao smirked, “Who knows. Sister Mo, are you familiar with Zhou Ji?”
Jiang Yumo widened her eyes, “How is that possible? I’ve barely seen him a few times, let alone spoken to him!”
Although, upon learning that Zhou Ji was the male lead and was set to inherit a billion-dollar family business, she did have some regrets in her heart. It would have been nice if she or Duan Ye had a good relationship with him. But thoughts were just thoughts, and she wouldn’t let Duan Ye go to flatter Zhou Ji. Even the idea made her blush, feeling too practical and superficial…
She felt embarrassed by her own materialistic thoughts, so how could she actually act on them?
Even though she had a good relationship with Ning Zhiyu, she never had such thoughts. The reason they became friends was simply because she thought Ning Zhiyu was a good person.
After hearing Jiang Yumo’s words, Guo Shichao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
They had been with Brother Duan for so long and had noticed many details. A boy truly in love would do anything for the girl he likes, but no one is a fool. If Jiang Yumo wasn’t good enough, how could Duan Ye be so deeply devoted to her?
When it comes to emotions, at this stage between Duan Ye and Jiang Yumo, it’s no longer about maintaining the relationship based on one person’s efforts.
It’s no longer unrequited love.
Guo Shichao comforted himself in his heart, but said, “Oh.”
Jiang Yumo stopped talking to him and focused on watching the match between the two on the field.
When Duan Ye is present, even if Zhou Ji is on the field, her gaze will only follow Duan Ye and she won’t see anyone else.
Now that Jiang Yumo has arrived, Duan Ye also noticed her and starting to become distracted.
Strangely, at this moment, whether he wins or loses against Zhou Ji is no longer important to him.
What he cares about more is who she is looking at.
Jiang Yumo, of course… looking at him and only him.
Duan Ye’s lips curled up, losing the previous ferocity. He just playfully evaded Zhou Ji’s defense in a rather childish manner, as if showing off his skills, and executed a beautiful slam dunk that aroused the audience’s excitement.
Zhou Ji was already sweating profusely. He turned his head and saw that it actually went in. The score has been neck and neck throughout this round of the game, occasionally Duan Ye would gain the upper hand, but Zhou Ji would always catch up and regain the score. This is the most crucial point.
There were waves of cheers from the crowd.
Jiang Yumo excitedly grabbed Yan Qing’s paw and exclaimed, “We won!!”
—I knew he was the best!!
- Zhao Zheng was pretending to be cute ↩︎