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墨書 Inktalez
After arriving at Shinan High School, I headed straight to the gym. Pushing open the door, I found the athletes of Shinan High School training rigorously. However, looking at these skinny figures, it was really hard to feel any sense of awe towards them. Sigh! Kids, you really need to add some nutrition! We entered the locker room to unload our bags and prepare for the game. "Let's finish our group matches perfectly!" Teacher Qiu said, and we all replied in unison, "Okay!" Then we began our training session. During the training, Ouyang kept looking at me with a strange expression, making me feel particularly uncomfortable. I could only avoid his gaze as much as possible. The match was about to start, and Teacher Qiu began to assign the starting lineup. This time, the starting lineup mainly focused on training newcomers, so Qiu Junze, myself, A Fei, Zhang Yingjie, and Li Junhai were named as starters. Once on the court, I was designated to jump ball against the opposing team's number two player. To my surprise, that Skinny Monkey had pretty good jumping ability and touched the ball before I did. The opposing point guard took possession and brought the ball up court; Qiu Junze attempted a steal but failed. The opponent cut inside for a layup that was blocked by Zhang Yingjie. Qiu Junze made a long pass to A Fei, who had already sprinted down court for a successful layup. It seemed our teamwork was becoming more and more refined. The opposing players were really too thin; their offense was quite disjointed. By the end of the first quarter, we were leading Yulin 19-0 despite mostly using our bench players.
As the second quarter began, Teacher Qiu gradually substituted in our core players. First, Zhongqi Senior came onto the court, followed by Zhang Jun. We played even better after that. Near the end of the second quarter, Zhongqi Senior drove into the paint for a layup and surprisingly knocked down an opposing forward who came to help defend him—Zhongqi Senior is only 177 cm tall! The Shinan forward is 186 cm tall; with nearly a ten-centimeter difference, he was easily knocked down! One can imagine how weak the opposing team must be physically. The referee called a foul on Zhongqi Senior for charging, and he walked back to defense with a smile and a shake of his head. The opponents made both free throws. With just over forty seconds left in the first half and a score of 48-40 in our favor, we regained possession. Zhongqi Senior dribbled at a 45-degree angle and faked a shot to get his defender off balance before passing to Zhang Yingjie waiting on the right wing. Zhang Yingjie caught the ball and jumped for a successful shot. The opponents quickly inbounded the ball; however, their point guard slipped while turning around to receive it, causing the ball to roll on the floor. I quickly seized it and took three steps before scoring again—this time catching them off guard for four points in just thirty seconds! In the final nine seconds of play, their inbound pass resulted in a missed three-pointer as time expired; thus, we ended the half with a score of 54-40.
We sat down in the locker room afterward. "Did you guys at Shinan High School starve your Team players to train their willpower? Why does everyone look like they’re starving?" I joked about Shinan High School, causing everyone to laugh. Teacher Qiu said, "Alright, Xiang Jie, stop joking around. Everyone focus on playing well. I just received news that Twenty-Four Middle School has finished their match against Qingzhu High School; Twenty-Four Middle School won 108-100 against their opponent. Also, Sangyue defeated Xinqu Experimental School 78-74 yesterday afternoon. So regardless of how this match ends up, we will meet Sangyue High School in the quarterfinals." After hearing this news, our spirits dropped slightly; however, no matter what happened next, we had made it into the top eight! Let's work hard to go as far as we can in this league! In the third quarter of play, we actually played even more earnestly; Zhou Litong and Ji Fang also performed well after being substituted in. We started enjoying this game more and more; by the end of the third quarter, we led 66-50.
The fourth quarter had already turned into garbage time; we were starting to think about how to play against Sangyue High School when an unexpected incident occurred: Zhongqi Senior made a high pass to Ji Fang. Ji Fang faked a shot at the three-point line successfully getting his defender off balance before jumping for a shot but landed on an opponent's foot upon coming down. "Ah!" Ji Fang sat on the floor with an expression of great pain as the referee quickly blew his whistle for a timeout. We rushed over while medical staff ran onto the court to help Ji Fang off with a limp. Teacher Qiu looked particularly anxious as he asked about Ji Fang's condition while A Fei replaced him on court as play resumed. We gathered around Ji Fang on the bench: "Ji Fang! How are you? Is it serious?" The medical staff sprayed something on Ji Fang's foot while confirming: "It's preliminarily confirmed that he injured his ankle; he will need at least five to seven days of rest." What?! And we're about to face powerhouse Sangyue High School next? Our outside game will be lacking one key player now! After hearing this news, Teacher Qiu furrowed his brow tightly while Ji Fang wore a worried expression; after all, this was Ji Fang's first City High League journey as a senior—and also his last—he didn't want to leave Yulin High School with regrets marking his high school career.
After a while, the referee blew his whistle signaling the end of the game; we won against Shinan again with a score of 88-70 and advanced into this season's City High League top eight with an impressive record of five wins and one loss—though our only regret was not being able to secure first place in our group at Twenty-Four Middle School's home ground. After finishing up with post-game activities, all eyes turned towards Ji Fang; medical staff confirmed clearly that he indeed had an ankle injury and would need at least five to seven days before returning to play again. After returning to school around one in the afternoon after getting off the bus, I stretched widely when Ouyang approached me quietly: "Xiang Jie, can I talk to you?" His tone was filled with hostility which made me shiver involuntarily as I followed him behind some bushes next to the gymnasium. "Xiang Jie," Ouyang looked into my eyes seriously and asked directly: "Do you like Xia Ying?" "What? No way! You're being ridiculous!" I replied evasively while avoiding his persistent gaze. "Then does Xia Ying like you?" Ouyang seemed completely blinded by jealousy asking whatever came to mind; I wasn't sure whether I should wait for him to calm down or argue back fiercely instead. "Ouyang," I said cautiously: "Are you upset because Xia Ying cheered for me this morning? If that's why then there's no need for explanation since it's perfectly normal! We're desk mates and good friends just like Shuai Dong and Pang Hao—doesn't mean they have any other intentions when they cheer me on!" I patiently explained but felt slightly guilty inside for some reason; my improvised reasoning seemed to leave Ouyang speechless for once so I pressed on: "Ouyang bro! If I really liked Xia Ying then you'd have nothing left to worry about—it’s not that I'm charming but rather I'm just closer than you are!" After thinking it over for a moment Ouyang nodded: "That makes sense... Sorry Xiang Jie! I misunderstood you." He looked at me apologetically.
"No worries! It's fine; young people can be easily agitated and unstable—it's understandable," I pretended to comfort him when suddenly A Fei rushed over: "Jie! So there you are! Class is over; Xia Ying is looking for you!" At that moment I felt an impulse to smack A Fei dead; slowly turning my head revealed Ouyang’s face turning green with envy: "O-Ouyang bro! Don't get worked up—calm down—deep breaths..." I looked at him fearfully as he took a deep breath forcing out a stiff smile: "I'm not worked up—what if Xia Ying needs something else from you? Good friends sitting together right? Go ahead—I’ll head out first." With that Ouyang walked towards the gymnasium while A Fei stood there confused by everything happening: "What’s going on between you two?" “Nothing much—let’s go back to class.”
Once we got back into class Xia Ying was listening to music; upon seeing me enter she took off her headphones asking: “Hey Casanova! How did today’s game go? Why did A Fei come back earlier than you?” “Oh? What’s wrong with that Xia classmate? Why did you rush me back?” I vented my frustration onto Xia Ying instead: “Oh! What’s with that tone? Did I owe you money? I'm just worried Ouyang might cause trouble for you so I hurriedly called you back! Good intentions treated like donkey liver and lung!” Xia Ying wouldn’t let me off easy either venting her grievances right back: “How did you know Ouyang would cause trouble for me?” Surprised by her question I raised my eyebrows as she rolled her eyes at me before clearing her throat continuing: “Because when I cheered for you this morning Ouyang glared at you.” Completely stunned by her observation skills I exclaimed: “You noticed that?! You’d make an excellent detective!” “Of course! Do you think everyone else is as clueless as you are?” she laughed but… from that moment on I slowly realized this stubborn girl actually cared about others too—even though things were awkward between her and Ouyang it warmed my heart.
In basketball class that afternoon without Ji Fang present Teacher Qiu allowed us some free time since everyone was tired from today’s match; Zhongqi Senior approached me saying: “Jie! What happened with Ouyang today? He seemed gloomy after talking with you earlier—when training started he went straight for shooting practice throwing fifty shots without making any!” He sounded worried: “This isn’t good—we’re heading into quarterfinals soon without Ji Fang—Ouyang can’t afford another emotional breakdown or we won’t stand a chance!” “Don’t worry about it Zhongqi Senior—I’ll handle him.” Ouyang is someone who can't keep things bottled up anyway—a bit youthful prideful too so after school ended I waited outside for him when he came out stopping him: “Ouyang bro! Let’s walk home together.” With that A Fei joined us pushing bicycles back home together: “A Fei! You know what Xia Ying discussed with me today?” My voice rose deliberately loud causing A Fei’s confusion: “Oh? What did she discuss?” “She mentioned she likes guys with double-barreled surnames like Dongfang or Ouyang…” Stealing glances at Ouyang revealed his head lowered suddenly brightening up: “So what? Then what?” A Fei asked puzzledly while I shot him an eye roll saying: “Then I went off to use restroom!” Giving A Fei another glare added: “Ouyang bro—we're turning soon—see ya!” Pulling A Fei along swiftly left everything else up for Ouyang's wild imagination.
The next morning A Fei and I arrived early at school only to hear someone calling from behind us as soon as we entered through gates: “Cheng Fei!” Upon hearing it A Fei turned around excitedly—it was Sha Xiaomei! He dashed over joyfully exclaiming: “Sha Xiaomei! Great news—you’re finally back at school!” Sha Xiaomei flashed her signature sweet smile saying: “Yes! Finally leaving hospital behind returning back here feels amazing…” They immediately struck up conversation while trying not be third wheel myself headed upstairs only lifting my head noticing Zhang Yirong watching from balcony above…
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