In the bedroom.
Liang Zhiyi walked up to Pei Chen, rubbed her nose, and suppressed her tears as she asked, “How’s your knee? Does it still hurt a lot?”
Pei Chen met the girl’s gaze, his eyes slightly dazed, “It’s much better.”
She sat down on the chair by the bed, handed him a cup of water, and gently commanded, “Drink some water.”
He obediently took it, and Liang Zhiyi, not wanting to appear too restrained, casually began flipping through the extracurricular books on his desk.
Pei Chen watched the girl sitting in his small, simple room, his throat tightening.
On the way to his house earlier, he had been imagining how she would react once she arrived.
Would she feel uncomfortable? After all, she had grown up in a privileged and wealthy environment, a place like this was probably something she had never stepped foot in.
He could disregard other people’s opinions, but when it came to Liang Zhiyi, he couldn’t help but care.
She might see the reality of the situation, see the vast difference between their families, and realize how absurd it was for a rich girl like her to like him.
After a while, Liang Zhiyi turned her gaze to him and mischievously smiled, “I know I’m good-looking, but you don’t have to keep staring at me, you know.”
“…”
He lightly coughed and quickly looked away.
Liang Zhiyi’s earlier discomfort eased a bit. Glancing at the books on his desk, she casually said, “We haven’t even finished our classes, and you’re already working on college entrance exam practice papers. Do you have to be so smart…”
His gaze followed hers, and he softly replied, “I just do them casually after studying on my own.”
Suddenly, she smelled a faint scent of osmanthus and sniffed carefully. She looked up and noticed the window in front of his desk, then exclaimed in surprise, “Hey, Pei Chen, there’s an osmanthus tree outside your window!”
In Lincheng, it was December, yet the fragrance of osmanthus still lingered in the air.
Her eyes lit up, “When the osmanthus blooms, you can smell the fragrance just by sitting by the window. That’s wonderful.”
Pei Chen was momentarily stunned by the bright smile on her face.
After chatting for a bit, Xuan Xia and the other two also walked in. Pei Chen told them it was about time to head home.
Liang Zhiyi glanced at the time and realized it was indeed time to leave. She reminded him, “Make sure you keep applying the cold compress, okay?”
“Okay.”
Finally, she stood up and looked at him with a bright smile, “Pei Chen, if I have time next time, can I come over to your house again?”
Pei Chen didn’t expect her to say she wanted to come back, and he was suddenly taken aback, warmth surging in his heart.
After a moment, he quietly replied, “Okay.”
The group walked into the living room to say goodbye to Pei Yongxia. Liang Zhiyi didn’t forget to express her concern, telling him to take care of his health. Pei Yongxia felt warmed by her words and invited her to come over whenever she had the time.
After leaving Pei Chen’s house, the four of them felt a mix of emotions.
There was sadness, helplessness, a deeper understanding of Pei Chen, and a greater admiration for him.
“I never imagined our class monitor lived in such tough conditions,” Ji Fei’er sighed. “It’s even harder than I thought…”
Liang Tongzhou gave a self-deprecating smile, “Suddenly, I feel like I need to study harder. If Pei Chen can be so diligent in such an environment, what’s my excuse?”
Xuan Xia nodded in agreement, “It’s good that you have that realization.”
As they walked toward the entrance of the neighborhood, Liang Zhiyi approached Xuan Xia to learn more about Pei Chen’s past. Ji Fei’er turned to Liang Tongzhou and casually asked, “You guys have training again tomorrow, right?”
“There’s a meeting tomorrow, to do a post-game analysis.”
Ji Fei’er noticed the boy’s heavy mood. Then she saw a scrape on the back of his hand, where the blood had already dried into a scab. “What happened to your hand?”
He glanced at it nonchalantly, “It’s nothing, just got bumped while playing basketball.”
“Wait, let me give you a band-aid.”
He chuckled lightly, “Is that really necessary?”
Ji Fei’er pulled out a band-aid from her backpack, walked up to him, and said with a sense of duty:
“I’m on the logistics team; it’s my job.”
She tore open the packaging, gently took his hand, and placed the band-aid over his wound.
Liang Tongzhou stood before her, his tall figure almost engulfing her petite frame in shadow.
He felt her gentle touch, and a strange tingling sensation spread from the back of his hand to his chest. He lowered his eyes and stared straight at her fluttering eyelashes, his heart slightly stirred.
After she finished, she smiled and patted his shoulder, encouragingly saying, “It’s okay, it’s just one loss, right? I believe you guys will win the championship in the end. Keep going, little brother, don’t be sad.”
Liang Tongzhou heard this, licked his lips, and let out a low chuckle. Just as Ji Fei’er was about to turn and walk away, her bun was suddenly pulled back by him.
“Hey…”
The boy leaned down, his strong presence suddenly closing in on her, his eyes locking onto hers as he chuckled softly:
“Call me little brother again, and you’ll see what happens.”
Ji Fei’er’s heart skipped a beat involuntarily, but then he let go of her hair, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked ahead.
“……”
Afraid of his threat? No way!
Ji Fei’er hurried ahead, shot him a glare, and went to find Liang Zhiyi.
As the two girls walked together, Ji Fei’er noticed Liang Zhiyi was unusually quiet. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?” she asked.
The girl lowered her head and secretly told Ji Fei’er about Pei Chen’s leg injury. Upon hearing it, Ji Fei’er was shocked. “So, you agreed?”
Liang Zhiyi nodded and gave a bitter smile:
“You know, I really feel awful.”
In truth, she wanted nothing more than to see Pei Chen shine on the basketball court, but she was more concerned about his health. She couldn’t bear to see him get hurt.
Caught between these two conflicting desires, she felt like she was being torn apart.
Ji Fei’er understood that the pressure Liang Zhiyi was under to make such a difficult decision must be immense. “Then why did you agree in the end?”
Liang Zhiyi blinked back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes, and finally said something.
After hearing her words, Ji Fei’er was stunned:
“Zhizhi, you really like him.”
The girl lifted the corners of her lips and sighed softly, “I just hope Pei Chen recovers quickly in the next few days.”
She silently prayed that the heavens would be kind to Pei Chen, hoping that the boy she liked wouldn’t suffer any more injuries.
Ji Fei’er tried to comfort her, “It’s okay, the class monitor will definitely get better.”
When they reached the entrance of the neighborhood, everyone went their separate ways.
Half an hour later, Liang Zhiyi and Liang Tongzhou arrived home. As soon as Liang Zhiyi went upstairs, she received a call from Zhong Xinrou. “Zhiyi, are you home?”
“Yes, Tongzhou and I just got back.”
“Good, then go to bed early tonight.”
Liang Zhiyi obediently responded and reminded her mother to take care of herself, knowing how exhausting the night shift could be.
After the call ended, Zhong Xinrou put down her phone. The two nurses beside her smiled and asked, “Director Zhong, were you talking to your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Director, your daughter is so beautiful. We saw her tonight, and she looked stunning.”
Zhong Xinrou smiled, and the nurse continued, “Was the injured student tonight your daughter’s classmate? It seemed like she was especially concerned about that boy…”
Hearing this, Zhong Xinrou looked down at the medical records in silence, deep in thought.
—
After the second game of the finals, the incident of Pei Chen leaving the court due to his injury caused a huge stir on the school’s forum.
A large number of students supporting Pei Chen began to lash out at Song Anchen, accusing him of deliberately targeting Pei Chen’s knee. However, some people defended Song Anchen.
【Who doesn’t know that Song Anchen has hated Pei Chen since middle school? They were on the same school team back then, and since Pei Chen was his direct rival and played better, Song Anchen has always been secretly bitter about him.】
【Is Song Anchen really that petty? A guy being so small-minded must mean he’s insecure and afraid of being outshined by Pei Chen.】
【What’s wrong with you guys? Why are you cursing Song Anchen? He was just trying to do his best to take Pei Chen out of the game and give No. 3 High School a chance in the third match. So touching, isn’t it? [crying]】
【Whoa, hold the line, brother. Your sarcasm’s cutting too deep.】
【Basketball is a sport with intense physical contact. Some bumps and collisions are normal. If you’re afraid of getting hurt, why not try yoga? Why make up conspiracy theories? You all have such dark minds.】
【In the first match, you said we couldn’t handle losing, but now look who’s the sore loser? Sorry, but No. 3 High School is just stronger than you.】
【No. 3 High School people, don’t get too cocky. You only evened the score. I thought you’d already won the championship.】
【Pei Chen was in a car accident before. If his injury was really serious, could he still play in the third game?】
【Yeah, I’m really worried about Pei Chen…】
Will Pei Chen still be able to play?
That night, when Song Anchen returned home and saw this message on his phone, a mocking smile appeared on his face.
With the force he had used in that collision, it would be a miracle if Pei Chen’s knee wasn’t completely ruined. How could he possibly play in the third game?
It was a sneaky tactic, but so what? He absolutely wouldn’t allow Pei Chen any chance of winning the championship.
Song Anchen laughed to himself.
Pei Chen, Pei Chen, don’t blame me. You were just in the way, and it’s your misfortune.
For Song Anchen, this was the only interschool basketball tournament he had left.
After two years, he was determined not to lose to Pei Chen again.
—
The next week, Pei Chen took a day off and didn’t return to school until Tuesday.
When he arrived, many students came to check on his leg, not just from his own class but from other classes as well. They offered him warm encouragement.
Pei Chen had led the No. 1 High School basketball team to this point, and regardless of the outcome, the team was the pride of the school.
Seeing everyone’s concern warmed Pei Chen’s heart. He suddenly realized that he was no longer walking this path alone.
During that week, Pei Chen diligently worked on his recovery training and also joined the school team’s practices, though he didn’t push himself too hard.
Fortunately, his physical condition was quite good, and after a few days of rest, the pain had significantly subsided.
On Friday, Liang Zhiyi accompanied Pei Chen to the hospital for a follow-up. Zhong Xinrou informed them that his recovery was nearly complete. When Pei Chen expressed his desire to participate in the upcoming game, Zhong Xinrou, recognizing his determination, said that if he insisted on playing, he could only engage in short bursts of activity and absolutely no prolonged exertion.
Hearing this, Liang Zhiyi finally felt somewhat relieved and reluctantly agreed to let Pei Chen play in the match.
The next day, Saturday.
The final match of the Lincheng High School Inter-School Basketball Tournament had finally arrived.
In the afternoon, the No. 1 High School team arrived at the Provincial Sports Center, but they didn’t encounter the No. 3 High School team as they were training in different gyms.
Everyone was busy today, including Liang Zhiyi, who, as part of the logistics team, was preparing the necessary items for the match.
After 6 p.m., spectators began to trickle into the stadium. Since it was the final, those who came late would likely find no seats available.
The logistics team delivered the players’ dinners. Liang Zhiyi, carrying water and ice packs, didn’t have time to eat, so she bit down on a blueberry-flavored lollipop to stave off her hunger.
After finishing her tasks, she stepped out of the gym, walked through the corridor, and headed to the locker room to check on Pei Chen.
The surroundings were quiet, and as she looked down, replying to messages from the logistics team in the group chat, she didn’t notice a boy approaching her.
The boy’s gaze lingered on her, taking in her appearance. As he walked past her, she suddenly felt a bump on her shoulder.