After leaving the Western restaurant, they hailed a taxi and headed to the indoor stadium mentioned by Zhou Ji.
The indoor stadium is located in Ningcheng Sports Center. Zhou Ji fully demonstrated his ability by reserving the entire court. Since it was late November, Ningcheng had already entered deep autumn. They were all going to play basketball, and after warming up, they wouldn’t feel cold. However, considering the presence of two girls, they had to take everything into account, so the indoor stadium was the best choice.
The other three teammates had also arrived.
They all admired Zhou Ji’s generosity, saying, “I was a little worried before, although the outdoor court is good, it can’t compare to this.”
After settling Jiang Yumo, Duan Ye went to the changing room to put on his basketball jersey.
Jiang Yumo covered her eyes dramatically and shyly whispered to Ning Zhiyu, “Are boys not afraid of the cold?”
Although she had seen Duan Ye wearing summer clothes before, now that he suddenly changed into a basketball jersey, she couldn’t help but take a glance and then another.
Ning Zhiyu also lowered her voice and said, “Probably. There was a boy in my class before who would only wear a short-sleeved shirt and a jacket even on snowy days. We were shivering from the cold, but he still felt hot.”
Jiang Yumo nodded in agreement, “That’s true. I hardly ever see Duan Ye wearing those thick down jackets.”
Ning Zhiyu chuckled.
In Jiang Yumo’s eyes, Ning Zhiyu truly witnessed what it looks like when a girl likes a boy.
He is in her heart and mind. Even when she chats with friends, she thinks of him and mentions him.
Fortunately, Duan Ye has stronger feelings for Jiang Yumo. Otherwise, as Ning Zhiyu has a pessimistic nature, she would worry about Jiang Yumo uncontrollably.
The five boys started practicing basketball.
Ning Zhiyu, who knows nothing about basketball, got bored after watching for a while and took out a few miscellaneous books from her backpack.
Jiang Yumo leaned over and read aloud, word by word, “Ordinary World1… Do you like reading this?”
Ning Zhiyu replied, “Can’t say whether I like it or not. It’s a book recommended by our teacher. I occasionally read it to relax my mind.”
Relax the mind?
Jiang Yumo exclaimed, “Indeed, there is a gap between us. What I understand as relaxing the mind is reading comics or novels, while your way of relaxing the mind is reading literary works like this.”
Ning Zhiyu laughed, “Actually, I also like reading comics.”
“Really?”
Ning Zhiyu winked, “But I just read them secretly.”
Jiang Yumo : “!”
She asked excitedly, “What kind of comics do you like to read?”
Ning Zhiyu thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t have any particular favorites. Sometimes when I go to the bookstore, I’ll flip through some, but I don’t really remember the names.”
Jiang Yumo instantly felt like she had found a common topic with Ning Zhiyu. “Then next time—”
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “After the college entrance exam. I’ll lend you a set of comic books. It’s titled ‘Crest of the Royal Family’ and it was a gift from Yan Qing. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but I quite like it.”
Ning Zhiyu smiled and said, “Sure.”
Jiang Yumo also leaned over to take a look at the book and instantly felt overwhelmed. She probably didn’t have much literary knowledge, and it was difficult for her to concentrate on reading this kind of book, especially in this kind of setting. Soon, she became distracted and looked up at Duan Ye on the field.
Zhou Ji was truly speechless.
He had noticed that whenever Jiang Yumo was around, Duan Ye played exceptionally well, showcasing his full potential.
This person is really childish.
During halftime, Jiang Yumo happily ran over to Duan Ye like a busy bee and brought him some water. She joyfully approached him, and there were steps leading from the seats to the field. Duan Ye was afraid she might fall, so he walked quickly to catch her. She landed steadily and handed him the bottled water, saying, “You’re playing so well!”
Duan Ye took the water from her hand, unscrewed the bottle cap, but didn’t drink it. Instead, he handed it to her, gesturing for her to drink.
Jiang Yumo waved her hand, saying, “I’m not thirsty at all.”
Only then did Duan Ye tilt his head back and drink the water.
He drank a bit eagerly.
Jiang Yumo stared at his rolling Adam’s apple.
Suddenly, she had the urge to touch it, and unconsciously raised her hand to touch her own throat.
Duan Ye casually closed the bottle cap and looked at her, noticing her contemplative expression as she touched her throat. He quickly asked, “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Jiang Yumo snapped back to reality, her gaze somewhat flustered. “No, no.”
Duan Ye continued, “The temperature difference has been quite large recently. Pay more attention and try not to catch a cold.”
“Okay, okay,” Jiang Yumo responded absentmindedly.
In the next half of the game, Jiang Yumo’s thoughts were all focused on Duan Ye. She was either taking photos of him with her phone or handing him a towel. The other three teammates were immersed in their own world, but Zhou Ji felt a bit uncomfortable. Occasionally, he looked towards the audience area and noticed a stark contrast with Jiang Yumo—Ning Zhiyu. She quietly sat on the side, reading a book, never once glancing in their direction.
For the first time, Zhou Ji felt envious of Duan Ye…
Actually, having a love-struck mind isn’t a bad thing.
Look at Duan Ye, he played the entire game as if he had been injected with chicken blood, showing off with fancy moves, hitting three-pointers, and dunking.
By nine o’clock, they were ready to disperse.
The other three didn’t have any other thoughts and left after the game. Zhou Ji and Duan Ye, on the other hand, headed straight to the showers and came out refreshed.
Standing at the entrance of the sports center, Zhou Ji glanced at the time on his phone and casually suggested, “It’s not late yet. Shall we go for a late-night snack together?”
Jiang Yumo shook her head without hesitation, “I won’t eat.”
She was about to take her art exam, and her dance teacher had reminded her several times that her physique was currently perfect, so she couldn’t relax at this crucial moment.
Duan Ye replied calmly, “I’ll take her home.”
Zhou Ji looked at Ning Zhiyu again.
Ning Zhiyu didn’t even look at him and said, “I’m going back too.”
Zhou Ji : “…”
—Fine!
He spoke again, “I’ve decided, I’ll have the driver take you back.”
After saying that, he acted as if he were plugging his ears, “Actually, it just happened to be on the way.”
Ning Zhiyu nodded indifferently.
- a novel by Lu Yao that reflects the drastic political and economic changes happening in China during 1975-1985 ↩︎