Ji Fei’er explained that some girls in the class were saying Liang Zhiyi had no shame, using her family’s wealth to be so flashy in pursuing someone. They claimed that Pei Chen wasn’t the type to be swayed by such things and that no matter how much Liang Zhiyi tried to throw herself at him, he wouldn’t be interested.
After hearing this, Liang Zhiyi twirled the bunny ears in her hand, a bright smile curling at her lips. “I couldn’t care less about what they say. After all, Pei Chen will only like me.”
“Oh? You’re that confident?”
“Of course, because girls as cute as me are pretty rare.”
“Look at you, so full of yourself…”
In reality, Liang Zhiyi was well aware that ever since she openly declared her feelings for Pei Chen, there had been a constant stream of gossip at school. She also knew that some classmates disliked her bold personality.
But she didn’t care at all.
Right now, what mattered most to her was, first, her studies, and second, doing a good job with the support team and being there to support Pei Chen through the final match.
Liang Zhiyi tugged on Ji Fei’er’s hand. “Come on, let’s get busy. It’s almost six o’clock.”
—
As the sun set, the sky gradually darkened.
Around 6 PM, the Provincial Sports Center’s exterior lit up with neon lights against the pitch-black night.
Inside the stadium, the stands were packed, and the crowd was buzzing with excitement.
There were even more spectators here today than at the first match, and the atmosphere was even more intense. Many students had prepared support signs and banners to cheer on their teams.
At that moment, No. 1 High was doing their final warm-up on the sidelines. Sun Jing reminded everyone, “Even though we’ve won one match, we still need to stay grounded and play carefully today. No. 3 High will definitely give it their all, so we need to do the same.”
“Yes!”
As they prepared to take the court, Pei Chen went to his seat to grab his water bottle. Liang Zhiyi, sitting just behind him at the support team’s station, looked up at him with her sparkling eyes, her smile warm and soft.
“Pei Chen, do your best!”
The boy met her gaze, full of confidence, and a gentle warmth surfaced in his usually cold eyes. He responded softly, “Mm.”
The players from both teams stepped onto the court.
As they exchanged glances, the tension in the air was palpable.
During the coin toss, Pei Chen stood on the court and lifted his eyelids, coincidentally locking eyes with Song Anchen’s meaningful stare.
Pei Chen, however, paid no further attention, looking away with an air of indifference.
Song Anchen watched him, remembering how he had always despised that look in Pei Chen’s eyes since middle school.
No matter how much Song Anchen looked down on him, Pei Chen never responded much, as if he didn’t even consider him worth acknowledging. That deep-seated aloofness only fueled Song Anchen’s jealousy.
Song Anchen’s fists clenched tighter as he stared at Pei Chen.
At 7 PM, the referee’s whistle blew, signaling the start of the game. The center players jumped for the ball, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Dribbling, passing, dunking, blocking.
The game was intense from the start, with both teams scoring back and forth.
Xuan Xia dribbled the ball, facing a tight defense. Unexpectedly, he leaped up and took a shot. Pei Chen, who was under the basket, jumped up and executed a perfect alley-oop, scoring a dunk.
“Cool!”
The No. 1 High players smiled and high-fived.
A moment later, the ball was in Pei Chen’s hands. After seeing Pei Chen’s prowess in the last game, No. 3 High had assigned two players to double-team him, closely guarding him.
However, with just a couple of feints, Pei Chen effortlessly threw off their defense, broke through, and dunked the ball cleanly and smoothly into the basket.
“Ahhh, Pei Chen is so handsome!!”
The crowd erupted in screams and cheers from Pei Chen’s fans.
On the sidelines, Liang Zhiyi also waved her cheer sticks enthusiastically, her heart fluttering with excitement.
He was already devastatingly handsome with his usual reserved and cold demeanor behind glasses, but watching him play basketball—he was even more captivating…
The game continued.
Today, No. 3 High was giving it their all, determined not to let No. 1 High take this game and walk away with the championship trophy. However, to everyone’s surprise, No. 1 High seemed to be in even better form, growing more energized as the game went on.
By the end of the second quarter, No. 1 High was leading No. 3 High by eight points.
As the music played, the cheerleaders took the stage, and the players headed to the sidelines to rest.
The coach of No. 3 High glared at his players, shouting, “What on earth are you doing out there? Sleepwalking?! Where did the strategies we discussed before the game go? Where’s the focus on key players? If we lose tonight, you can all pack up and go home! Wake up!”
The players were too ashamed to lift their heads, their faces dark with frustration.
Song Anchen, seething with rage, thought back to Pei Chen’s performance. It used to be that he couldn’t match Pei Chen, but after Pei Chen’s severe leg injury and with Song Anchen receiving two years of more professional training at No. 3 High, how could he still be outperformed by Pei Chen now?
As he walked over to drink some water during the break, he overheard someone from the stands saying, “Is No. 3 High really going to lose to No. 1 High…?”
Song Anchen’s expression turned icy as he let out a cold laugh.
He was determined to win.
No matter what it took.
The break ended, and the players returned to the court.
Song Anchen turned to look at Pei Chen, his gaze briefly flicking down to Pei Chen’s right knee, a dark glint in his eyes.
The game resumed.
The third quarter, a crucial period, saw both sides fighting even harder.
Pei Chen unleashed his full strength—pull-up jump shots, hook shots, and layups—dominating the game and making the court feel like it belonged to him.
With two minutes left in the third quarter, Pei Chen received a pass from Xuan Xia and quickly dribbled toward the basket.
Song Anchen blocked his path, guarding him closely.
Pei Chen made a feint and then jumped to take a shot. As he did, Song Anchen glanced down at Pei Chen’s right knee and jumped up as well.
In the next moment, Pei Chen felt a heavy impact as Song Anchen’s knee crashed into his right knee.
A sharp, excruciating pain exploded in Pei Chen’s knee.
The ball flew out of bounds as Pei Chen collapsed to the floor, the world spinning around him.
The crowd erupted in shock.
Xuan Xia, seeing what had happened, immediately pushed past the players in front of him and rushed over. “Pei Chen!”
The noise in the arena seemed to fade to silence.
Pei Chen was in so much pain that his vision blurred.
Xuan Xia, seeing Pei Chen unable to get up, turned to Song Anchen, grabbing his collar in a fit of rage. “What the fuck, Song Anchen, you did that on purpose!”
Song Anchen staggered back a step, raising his hands innocently and blinking, “I was just going for the ball. How could that be on purpose?”
“You damn well know Pei Chen has an injured knee!”
The other No. 3 High players immediately stepped in, shoving Xuan Xia back. “It was a legal collision, didn’t you see? Idiot!”
Three more No. 1 High players rushed in as well. Liang Tongzhou shoved one of the No. 3 High players. “Say that again, I dare you!”
“What, you gonna hit me?”
“Try me!”
Tensions erupted like a powder keg at that moment, and the referee blew the whistle, rushing forward to separate the players from both teams.
The game was paused. On the sidelines, Liang Zhiyi and the rest of the support team grabbed the medical kit and sprinted onto the court alongside the team doctor.
Pei Chen was curled up on the floor, his hands gripping his knee tightly, his brows furrowed in pain, eyes squeezed shut, and large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.
Liang Zhiyi knelt in front of Pei Chen, her voice trembling with panic, “Pei Chen, Pei Chen…”
The team doctor and staff quickly placed Pei Chen on a stretcher and carried him to the sidelines, where the coach and team captain immediately gathered around him.
“Get the ice packs over here!”
“Prepare for compression and bandaging!”
Liang Zhiyi and a few other support staff swiftly applied ice packs to Pei Chen’s knee to reduce the pain and swelling, then started stabilizing and compressing the injured area. The team doctor looked at Pei Chen and asked, “Pei Chen, how are you feeling right now?”
Pei Chen was in so much pain that he couldn’t speak. He gritted his teeth and after a few seconds, shook his head.
Seeing Pei Chen’s condition, the team doctor frowned. “Call 120. We need to get him to the hospital immediately!”
It was clear that Pei Chen wouldn’t be able to continue the game.
At that moment, many of the spectators stood up from their seats, looking toward the court with concern:
“Oh no, is Pei Chen going to be okay?”
“It looks really serious. He can’t even stand up.”
“I think he might have injured his knee again. It looked like a bad collision.”
“He had a car accident before, and they said he might never play basketball again…”
The No. 1 High players gathered around Pei Chen, while in the distance, Song Anchen watched Pei Chen on the stretcher, a fleeting look of mockery passing through his eyes.
The ambulance arrived quickly, and though the game needed to continue, Liang Zhiyi, Ji Fei’er, and another male support team member accompanied Pei Chen to the hospital. Principal Jiang, concerned, decided to go with them as well.
As Pei Chen was lifted into the ambulance, Liang Zhiyi held the ice pack against his knee. Seeing his pale face, her heart ached, and tears started to fall. She choked out:
“Pei Chen, hang in there, we’ll be at the hospital soon…”
The pain was nearly overwhelming, making his head feel like it was about to explode. Sweat rolled down Pei Chen’s face in beads. He looked up at the crying girl, enduring the pain as best he could, and lifted his hand to wipe away her tears, his voice hoarse to the extreme:
“Don’t cry.”