Duan Ye is easy to be coaxed.
Moreover, what Jiang Yumo said is the truth.
She genuinely believed that there was no suspense in the afternoon’s game, and Duan Ye would definitely win.
Duan Ye happily returned to the classroom. The teacher of Class 10 had a hoarse voice problem recently and couldn’t find a suitable substitute teacher for the time being. As a result, he decided to combine two classes for a class test. In plain terms, this kind of test was just a quiz during class, and the teacher wouldn’t be as strict as in monthly exams; they just let the students do the questions. Guo Shichao was listless and didn’t even bother to do the test paper; he simply leaned on his desk and fell asleep.
When it comes to third year of high school, as long as those students who have been “given up” by the teachers don’t go too far, they are generally turned a blind eye to.
The students know their own grades, the teachers know, and the parents are equally aware.
Guo Shichao for example, his parents also know that his grades are not good. Their only requirement is for him to behave properly and not have any disciplinary records in his school files, so that he can smoothly obtain a high school graduation certificate. As for whether he should attend a vocational college or technical school after the college entrance examination, they’ll decide after that.
Zhou Ji also didn’t bother to do the test paper.
With a big stroke on the paper, after writing his name “Zhou Ji,” he threw the paper to his desk mate.
There was also a little follower sitting beside Zhou Ji, playing with his phone behind the teacher’s back. He came across a post on the school forum and whispered, “Brother Zhou, take a look at the post I shared with you. They’re discussing the basketball match between you and Duan Ye on the forum.”
Zhou Ji was in a state of listlessness, openly wearing Bluetooth headphones and listening to music. Upon hearing the words, he didn’t even open his eyelids, lazily responded with a sound, considering it as a reply.
He had no interest whatsoever in the nonsense forum of this useless school.
Opening those forum links would only waste his data. Although he didn’t lack those few pennies, it was really a waste of time to see a bunch of nonsense people saying things that normal people couldn’t understand.
“Someone anonymously commented in the forum saying you’re a defeated general of Duan Ye!” his little follower continued to instigate, “Surely it’s Zhao Zheng and his gang posting. Brother Zhou, can you bear this? They’re too much, too arrogant!”
Implicitly and explicitly, they all hoped Zhou Ji would give Duan Ye a taste of his own medicine.
But those few shrimp soldiers and crab generals didn’t dare to say it outright. If Duan Ye found out… they were still a little afraid. So, on ordinary days, they could only secretly provoke the situation.
They’re helpless because Duan Ye adopted a passive approach, while Zhou Ji completely ignored it.
Zhou Ji wasn’t afraid of Duan Ye as others had thought. He wasn’t someone who would light a fire at the slightest provocation. He had no grudges or grievances. He wasn’t foolish either. He knew exactly what was on the minds of these little followers. If he were a local person in Ningcheng, it would be a different story, but he wasn’t from there. Maybe tomorrow he would return to Yanjing. Was it worth getting into trouble for himself?
“Oh,” Zhou Ji still responded uninterestedly.
His little follower persisted, “He humiliated you on the court, so don’t you need to regain your face in other aspects, Brother Zhou?”
Zhou Ji finally opened his eyes, feeling quite displeased. He pointed at his own nose and said, “What? Do you think I’m definitely going to lose? Can’t I reclaim my reputation on the court?”
Follower : “…”
Ah, how should he respond?
Should he mention that Duan Ye is basically invincible in basketball at Fifth High? Should he say that Duan Ye won against the First High School team his first year?
He may not know much about basketball, but he can tell that Brother Zhou is no match for Duan Ye unless all of Duan Ye’s teammates are a bunch of incompetents.
“Yes, yes,” the underling awkwardly nodded and forced a smile. “Brother Zhou is like Sakuragi Hanamichi1.”
Zhou Ji was in a good mood, thinking about his basketball match with Duan Ye. “Stop talking nonsense, I’ll take a rest. I still have a match in the afternoon.”
He slept until the third period in the afternoon when he was awakened by the vibration of his phone.
He lit up the screen and saw a message from a friend in Yanjing.
Hou Yang: [I got the limited edition sneakers for you, should I arrange it to be delivered to you or should I bring them to Jade Garden?]
Jade Garden is one of the properties owned by the Zhou family.
When Zhou Ji was still in Yanjing, he mostly lived in the Jade Garden. Several close friends knew that Zhou Ji loved basketball and everything related to it. Therefore, whenever it was Zhou Ji’s birthday, giving him a pair of limited edition basketball shoes would never go wrong. This time, Zhou Ji was “exiled” to Ningcheng, and his friends tried various ways to comfort him.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ji replied : [Get me two pairs.]
Hou Yang : [? Two pairs?]
Zhou Ji : [For my basketball buddy.]
Zhou Ji felt that perhaps only people who truly loved playing basketball could understand his feelings. It was so difficult to find an opponent who matched his play pace! Back in Yanjing, he had a dedicated basketball coach and training partner, but he always felt that the games were not exhilarating enough. His close friends also had their own interests and hobbies—some liked playing bowling, some liked cars—and even those who played basketball couldn’t meet his standards.
In short, since coming to Ningcheng, he had been feeling extremely unhappy.
He felt like nothing made him happy until now when he finally found someone to play basketball with, someone he could call a basketball buddy.
Giving a pair of basketball shoes to Duan Ye was just a normal thing to do.
When his mood was good, everything was good.
Hou Yang : [Okay…]
Hou Yang : [I suddenly have a bad premonition.]
Zhou Ji: [Let it be.]
Hou Yang : [I always feel like you’ll have a great time in Ningcheng and forget your worries.]
Zhou Ji : […]
In the afternoon, the bell rang after class, and the students in the classroom rushed out hungrily.
Jiang Yumo didn’t have much interest in the basketball match.
As long as it’s confirmed that Duan Ye and Zhou Ji’s match was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, a game between guys, that would be enough. Jiang Yumo went to the cafeteria with Yan Qing and Sun Mengting. Although the fried rice at the teachers’ dormitory building smelled good, it was a bit far away, and because it was cooked to order, the waiting time was a bit long, so they reluctantly gave up on that option.
The school’s mini-supermarket also stocked new instant noodles.
If you talk about the best-selling item in the mini-supermarket, apart from bottled water, it must be instant noodles. Jiang Yumo quite liked eating instant noodles. She remembered when she was very young, her dad used to commute to the provincial capital every day, and if he brought instant noodles for her one day, she would be ecstatic… So sometimes when she watches TV dramas depicting how hard the protagonist’s life is, they often highlight the fact that they eat instant noodles every day, as if it’s pitiful. She doesn’t understand because instant noodles are actually delicious!
Of course, her mom never lets her eat instant noodles.
The baked potatoes and knife-cut noodles in the school cafeteria are even tastier than instant noodles, but occasionally you have to change your taste, right? When there are new flavors of instant noodles available, you definitely have to give them a try.
The three girls stood in line, waiting to get hot water.
Jiang Yumo didn’t expect to run into Ning Zhiyu, and even more surprisingly, Ning Zhiyu took the initiative to greet her.
Ning Zhiyu stood behind her and patted her shoulder.
Jiang Yumo turned around and met Ning Zhiyu’s smiling face. She exclaimed with joy, “Ning Zhiyu, what brings you here?”
Ning Zhiyu shook the instant noodles in her hand and replied, “To get some hot water.”
Yan Qing leaned over and glanced, speaking in an exaggerated tone, “We’re eating the same instant noodles as the top scorer. It will surely help us in the exam!”
Ning Zhiyu pursed her lips and smiled.
The girls quickly prepared the instant noodles. They initially planned to eat in the cafeteria, but the cheers and applause from the sports field were too tempting. In the end, they couldn’t resist and headed towards the direction of the court, with Ning Zhiyu being pulled along by them. After finally finding a relatively good spot to sit, Jiang Yumo eagerly leaned towards Ning Zhiyu’s ear and excitedly said with a gossipy tone, “The one wearing the number 7 jersey is Zhou Ji!”
Ning Zhiyu scanned the field.
In fact, Zhou Ji was quite eye-catching. There were two teams playing on the field, but even outsiders could tell that Zhou Ji and Duan Ye were the ones controlling the game, competing against each other. Similarly, they were the only two individuals who stood out the most, catching attention with just a glance.
Zhou Ji.
So, it was him.
Ning Zhiyu thought of that rainy day when the boy with impatience gave her a few banknotes.
That boy was Zhou Ji.
Jiang Yumo continued to whisper in her ear, “They all say he’s handsome and cool. What do you think?”
Actually, at this moment, Jiang Yumo didn’t think about the original plot, or rather, the original plot had little influence on her. She didn’t become a different person just because she dreamt about the original plot… At this moment, she was simply gossiping with her good friend about whether a boy was handsome or not, just like they often argued passionately to defend their idols.
Ning Zhiyu : “…”
She didn’t know how to evaluate him.
But between friends, one has to be honest! She thought about it seriously and replied earnestly, “His facial features are fine, his height is good too. You can say he’s handsome, but boys at this age trying to be cool give me a very childish feeling.”
To be precise, it was like intentional pretentious behavior.
But that comment was too harsh.
Ning Zhiyu was afraid of scaring Jiang Yumo with her words.
Jiang Yumo was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, her eyes shining brightly with sweet dimples. “I suddenly don’t think he’s cool anymore. You are even cooler~”
Ning Zhiyu lightly bumped her with his elbow and said, “Stop talking nonsense.”
Duan Ye naturally also noticed Jiang Yumo.
Perhaps it was really strange. No matter how many people were around, as long as she appeared, it was as if he had a telepathic connection with her. He would quickly find her in the crowd.
Although Duan Ye was more mature than people of his age, after all, he was only eighteen years old. He was no different from other boys. He would show off in front of the girl he liked, just like a peacock, displaying all his strengths, hoping to be seen as capable and knowledgeable in her eyes, hoping… that she would only look at him.
Jiang Yumo’s arrival was undoubtedly a strong stimulus for Duan Ye.
What followed was a comprehensive display of skills, which continued to overwhelm Zhou Ji.
Zhou Ji : “?”
Even if he was dense, he noticed it now. Duan Ye had been somewhat indifferent while playing basketball just now, occasionally getting distracted and looking outside the court. But just a moment ago, he played with an extraordinary fierceness, as if he had been injected with chicken blood… During halftime, Zhou Ji walked to the side, and immediately a follower attentively handed him water.
Zhou Ji kept an eye on Duan Ye’s side.
He saw Duan Ye go to the sidelines, where several girls surrounded him.
Duan Ye accepted the drink Zhao Zheng handed to him, but instead of drinking it himself after opening the bottle cap, he passed it to another girl.
Zhou Ji squinted his eyes.
During this period, even though he didn’t want to listen to gossip at all, there were still some things he listened to, such as the fact that Duan Ye really liked a girl.
It seems that this is the girl he likes.
Tsk. No wonder he acted strange just now.
Zhou Ji is not interested at all in this kind of “you like me, I like you” pretentiousness. His ears feel uncomfortable from hearing too much of it.
Just when he was about to withdraw his gaze, he accidentally caught a glimpse of one of those girls.
He furrowed his brows, feeling that this girl looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere.
The guy next to him followed his gaze and smirked, “Is Brother Zhou looking at sister-in-law?”
Zhou Ji was stunned for a second, “?”
- the main protagonist of Slam Dunk, a Japanese manga about basketball ↩︎
LMFAO THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER’S FACES 😭