Liang Zhiyi’s open admission of liking Pei Chen stirred up quite a commotion in the class, but as time passed, the excitement gradually died down.
Meanwhile, the school basketball team continued their intense training.
On Thursday afternoon, during the fourth period, which was a self-study session, Xuan Xia and Pei Chen requested permission from the class teacher to miss part of the class due to a team meeting.
After all the team members gathered in the coach’s office, Sun Jing asked them, “So, how are you all feeling after training non-stop these past few days? Are your hands itching for some action?”
“Yeah, training is so boring…”
The boys complained, eager to get started. “Coach, I can’t wait for the first match of the group stage tomorrow so we can knock our opponents down.”
Sun Jing chuckled, “Alright, you want a match, right? I’ll grant your wish. Tomorrow afternoon, during the fourth period, we’ll have another intra-squad scrimmage.”
The boys were disappointed when they heard this. “Ugh, another intra-squad match!”
“I’m so over playing against you guys, haha…”
“Coach, you can’t tease us like this…”
Sun Jing scolded them jokingly, “You bunch of brats, I wasn’t finished. This Friday, I’m planning to make it a public intra-squad match. Some students will be watching the game live.”
This public scrimmage was organized by the school to simulate a real game atmosphere. On the one hand, it would help the team fine-tune their tactical coordination, and on the other hand, it would serve as a warm-up for the upcoming inter-school basketball tournament.
“This scrimmage will be different from last week’s. The first team will execute our set strategies, while the second team will simulate the play style of the opponent we’ll face in our first group match, which is based on how No. 5 High School played in previous years. It’s like a mock battle to help the first team gain some experience.”
A player on the second team joked, “So we’re basically just practice dummies this time, huh?”
“Hey, not necessarily. We practice dummies might just end up taking down the first team, haha…”
The boys teased each other, “No worries, as long as Liang Tongzhou doesn’t come over to the second team to stir things up, I think we have a good chance of winning.”
Everyone laughed. Liang Tongzhou slung an arm over Pei Chen’s shoulder and grinned, “Pei Chen and I will make sure to crush the second team tomorrow. Remember that, you guys.”
“Hahaha, mainly because Pei Chen is strong; you don’t have much to do with it.”
“Get out of here…”
The boys continued to joke around, and Pei Chen’s lips curled into a faint smile.
After these training sessions, Liang Tongzhou and Pei Chen had become friends and were much closer.
Sun Jing went over some specific points to keep in mind, and finally reminded them, “Be sure to control your physical contact during this match. You absolutely cannot get injured, especially with the real competition coming up soon.”
“Got it.”
“There’s one more thing. The midterm exams are coming up soon, and I was just notified by the school today. If any of you, especially the first-team players, let your studies slip because of basketball and perform poorly on the midterms, I’ll have someone else take your spot on the team.”
“Ah…”
“While the games are important, you absolutely cannot neglect your studies. Make sure you’re not falling behind.”
After the meeting, everyone left the office. Lan Zhi patted Liang Tongzhou on the shoulder and joked, “Bro, you’re in danger! You better start improving your grades.”
Liang Tongzhou wasn’t fond of studying, and his grades were always mediocre, so this new directive gave him a headache.
He glared at Lan Zhi, “You think grades are something you can just improve overnight?”
“Hey, don’t worry. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve for you…”
The team members headed back to their respective classes.
In Class 9 of the second year, Liang Zhiyi was working on a math worksheet when she noticed Xuan Xia and Pei Chen returning. “Hey, weren’t you guys supposed to be at practice?”
Xuan Xia slumped into his seat and waved his hand dismissively. “We’re taking a break today. We just had a meeting about the public scrimmage on Friday.”
“What kind of match is this?”
“It’s like a warm-up game within the team. Didn’t you always want to watch someone play? If you come to the court tomorrow afternoon, you’ll get to see it.” Xuan Xia raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“Why wasn’t the logistics team informed about this?”
“It’s not a major game, just a practice match for fun, so there’s no need for the logistics team.”
“I see…”
Fan Gao turned around and patted Xuan Xia on the shoulder. “Good buddy, I’ll make sure our whole class comes to watch your match.”
“Of course, and invite the other classes too…”
Liang Zhiyi rested her chin on her hand, looking at the boy next to her with a dreamy expression. “Pei Chen, I’m already looking forward to your game tomorrow. I’ll definitely be there to watch, hehe.”
Pei Chen paused slightly as he held his pen, lowering his gaze.
It’s just a game, how could it be worth her anticipation?
The girl leaned toward him and asked sweetly, “Pei Chen, do you need me to prepare anything for you? Like water or a towel? I’ve been trained in logistics now, so I’m quite professional!”
Pei Chen’s eyes darkened slightly, and he restrained his emotions, responding coolly, “No need. I can take care of those things myself.”
“Oh…”
He noticed her disappointed expression and thought she might be discouraged, but to his surprise, the next moment, she smiled again, her eyes curving. “It’s okay, then I’ll just cheer you on during the game.”
He lowered his head and stared at his textbook, his fingers tightening around his pen.
Seeing that he seemed serious about doing his homework, Liang Zhiyi decided not to disturb him further.
She rested her head on the desk, turning to look out the window, feeling a bit uneasy.
Why did it feel like Pei Chen had been cold toward her these past couple of days?
They hadn’t argued, and she didn’t think she had said anything wrong. Was he in a bad mood, or was he starting to find her annoying?
After the autumn equinox, it got darker earlier in the south. Outside the window, the deep blue sky already had a crescent moon hanging in it.
The girl sighed softly to herself.
When would her moon come just a little closer to her?
The next day, Friday, Fan Gao took on the role of the school team’s little spokesperson, spreading the word in the class and telling many classmates about their public match in the afternoon, urging everyone to come and watch.
Besides that, he ran around informing the other classes as well.
The news spread quickly, and many students who loved basketball learned about it and eagerly decided to attend as spectators.
Word also spread that Pei Chen, the top student in their grade, was participating in the school basketball tournament. Many were surprised that such a brilliant student would join the basketball team, feeling both curious and excited.
After the third period of physical education on Friday afternoon, Liang Zhiyi, along with Ji Fei’er and some other girls, headed to the basketball court together.
Since it was the weekend the next day, they figured it wouldn’t hurt to watch a game before heading home.
As the evening approached, a soft glow of dusk appeared on the horizon. Walking under the osmanthus trees at school, the girls teased Liang Zhiyi, “Zhiyi, you seem so happy. Are you heading straight to see Pei Chen?”
The girl smiled gently, “Of course, I have to watch his game.”
“Oh wow, look at that lovesick face!”
Ji Fei’er sighed, “Now you all understand what I have to put up with when Liang Zhiyi swoons over Pei Chen in front of me?”
“Hahaha…”
Liang Zhiyi rolled her eyes at Ji Fei’er, ignoring their teasing, and focused all her attention on the game they were about to watch.
When they arrived at the court, they found that many students were already seated in the stands. They initially thought there wouldn’t be many people watching, but it turned out to be quite lively.
It seemed that once people heard Pei Chen was playing, a swarm of his admirers had rushed to the scene.
After finding a place to sit, Liang Zhiyi spotted the school team boys warming up by the court. They were all wearing their uniforms, tall and athletic, exuding the vibrant energy of youth.
Liang Zhiyi scanned the court, and soon enough, her eyes found Pei Chen.
Pei Chen stood among the boys, holding a bottle of mineral water, his features cold and composed as he listened to his teammates’ conversation.
Unlike the refined and scholarly aura he exuded when wearing his school uniform, this was the first time Liang Zhiyi saw him in his basketball uniform. The boy had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with a well-proportioned body and taut muscle lines that exuded a strong masculine energy, even more so than when he wore the military uniform during their training.
Just looking at him made Liang Zhiyi’s heart skip a beat, her mind filling with all sorts of embarrassing and chaotic thoughts.
Oh no, now she was even more curious if he had abs…
She overheard the excited murmurs around her, with everyone gushing over Pei Chen’s good looks.
Hearing this, she felt a pang of jealousy.
It was all his fault for being so handsome—she just wanted to hide him away somewhere.
After a while, Liang Zhiyi noticed Chen Sihang and a few other boys from their class arriving, and they happened to sit right in front of them.
They chatted casually, and someone asked, “Brother Chen, why didn’t you try out for the school team back then?”
Chen Sihang, not wanting to admit that his basketball skills weren’t good enough to make the team, said, “What’s so great about joining the school team anyway?”
“Hey, look, isn’t that Pei Chen? When did he join the school team?!”
“I heard he got a special recruitment just for this inter-school basketball tournament. They say he’s really good.”
Chen Sihang scoffed, letting out a derisive laugh, “Him? Can he even play basketball?”
“I heard from Xuan Xia that Pei Chen was really good at basketball in middle school.”
Chen Sihang scoffed again, “Anyone can make up stories about middle school. He doesn’t look like he can play at all…”
Before he could finish his sentence, half a bottle of mineral water was thrown at his back. He turned around, about to curse, when he saw Liang Zhiyi staring straight at him, her lips curled into a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Sorry about that. Could you give me back my water?”
“…”
Damn, Liang Zhiyi was really protective of Pei Chen.
Chen Sihang, jealous to the point of turning green, didn’t dare to argue back. He had no choice but to return the water bottle to her and drop the subject.
On the court, after the team finished discussing their tactics, Pei Chen took a sip of water. Xuan Xia patted him on the shoulder and pointed in a direction with a smile. “Look, Liang Zhiyi is over there.”
Hearing her name, Pei Chen initially didn’t want to pay attention, but before he could stop himself, he had already looked up.
He saw the girl sitting in the stands, her eyes bright and lively. When their eyes met, her lips curled into a smile, and she mouthed two words to him.
“Good luck.”
The girl’s smile was incredibly sweet.
Pei Chen had participated in many competitions and had won various championships under the spotlight of thousands. Today was just another ordinary warm-up match, which, for him, could barely be called anything more than a training session.
But at this moment, Liang Zhiyi was sitting in the stands.