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墨書 Inktalez
After returning to the classroom after the match, I saw Xia Ying listening to music. Shuai Dong and Pang Hao rushed over as soon as they saw me and asked, "How did it go? Did you win or lose?" "Winning is a must, right!" I replied with a smile. A Fei, however, expressionlessly returned to his seat. As we passed Zhang Yirong's desk, Zhang Yirong looked particularly gloomy at A Fei. A Fei walked straight past him, and I noticed the disappointment on Zhang Yirong's face. Once I sat down, Xia Ying was startled to see me: "Oh! You're back? You look like a ghost. How did it go? I don't know why Teacher Qiu closed the gym today, not letting anyone in, so I couldn't cheer for you." Xia Ying pulled out her earphones. Teacher Qiu closed the venue? I couldn't see any of our school's teachers and students there to support us during the whole match. "We won! Four consecutive victories, and we secured our spot in the group stage two rounds early," I said proudly. "Not bad! But Xiang Qingsheng, don't get too cocky; keep working hard," Xia Ying teased me again. Why does everything that comes out of her mouth sound so unpleasant? What a jinx!
"A Fei performed amazingly today! Definitely the MVP of this match," I told her. "Stop it! Don't mention him! Just thinking about him makes me angry. I haven't seen Rongrong smile in days; it's all that Yu Chengfei's fault." Xia Ying turned around and glared at A Fei; it seemed that although she held grudges, she was also loyal—too strong-willed. After school in the afternoon, A Fei stopped Lu Juan, who had just walked out of the school gate, to ask where Sha Xiaomei was hospitalized. Then he rode off on his bike like crazy. Worried about him getting into trouble, I followed closely behind. When we arrived at the hospital, A Fei wanted to leave his bike at the entrance but rushed in without stopping. The security guard stopped him: "Hey kid, park your bike over there; don't block the entrance." "Uncle, we have an emergency," A Fei said as he dashed inside. "Uncle, we'll park our bike on the right side of the entrance; please keep an eye on it for us," I said as I chased after A Fei. In the lobby, A Fei was anxiously asking where Sha Xiaomei was.
After receiving directions from a nurse, he quickly went upstairs. At the door of that patient room, A Fei peeked through the glass window on the door. "A Fei, you run really fast..." I gasped as I caught up with him. A Fei made a "shh" gesture with his hand to signal me to be quiet. Through the glass door, I saw Sha Xiaomei sitting on a single hospital bed holding a pillow; she had lost so much weight. Sha Xiaomei's mother was beside her feeding her; at that moment, Sha Xiaomei slowly shook her head. Her mother helplessly put down the bowl, tears shimmering in her eyes. A Fei stared blankly at her, his eyes never leaving Sha Xiaomei...
After a while, Sha Xiaomei's mother came out, and A Fei and I quickly hid around the corner by the door. Once Sha's mother left, A Fei returned to the door and gently pushed it open. Sha Xiaomei heard the door open but didn't look up; she softly said, "Mom, please don't persuade me anymore; I really can't eat." "Sha Xiaomei..." A Fei gently called her name. Sha Xiaomei's eyes widened for a moment before she slowly turned her head towards us; her dazed gaze lit up with surprise as tears welled up in her eyes: "A Fei... is it really you?" A Fei walked over slowly and said, "Yes, it's me; I'm Yu Chengfei!" When A Fei said "Yu Chengfei," he deliberately made his tone very firm, but Sha Xiaomei's joyful expression suddenly froze in mid-air.
She slowly lowered her head: "Cheng Fei, why are you here..." A Fei sat down next to Sha Xiaomei: "I came to see you; aren't you happy?" A Fei smiled awkwardly. "Happy..." Sha Xiaomei replied softly as I saw tears suddenly stream down A Fei's cheeks: "Sha Xiaomei, I already know everything..." Sha Xiaomei looked at A Fei sharply: "You... you know what?" A Fei didn't answer anything; I couldn't hold back anymore and stepped forward: "Sha Xiaomei, stop hiding it from us; Lu Juan spilled everything." Upon hearing this, Sha Xiaomei finally broke down in tears: "Cheng Fei, I'm sorry; I don't know how to face Zhao Bin. I'm afraid to go back to school; I know this is unfair to both you and Zhao Bin, but I don't want my dad..." "I understand, but why did you lie to me?" A Fei cried freely now and gently held Sha Xiaomei's hand. In my memory, this was the first time A Fei held Sha Xiaomei's hand; they had never even touched hands before.
When I turned my head casually outside the hospital room door, I saw someone watching everything unfold—it was Situ Jianfei! His hollow gaze carried a hint of desolation as he stood there. Stealthily walking outside after opening the door revealed fruits left by Situ Jianfei at the entrance; looking to my right showed his blurred silhouette gradually fading away...
"A Fei, Sha's mom is coming back soon; we should go now. Jianfei just came by and left these fruits." I placed the fruits on the bedside cabinet. "What! Jianfei came?" A Fei exclaimed in surprise. "Yeah, he didn't come in; he just left." Guilt filled A Fei's face regarding Situ Jianfei: "Sha Xiaomei, we're leaving now; don't be sad or cry anymore. I'll never leave you again; I'll talk to Zhao Bin and plead with him for you—wait for me!" A Fei locked eyes with Sha Xiaomei while I stood awkwardly beside them like a big light bulb.
After leaving the hospital and pushing our bikes homeward, I asked A Fei if he was ready for our upcoming match against Twenty-Four Middle School tomorrow. "Yes! Always ready!" After arriving home, my mom pulled me aside with questions about why I returned so late from school since I'd been attending basketball practice there. "Mom! My stomach is growling from hunger—can we eat now?" I rubbed my belly just as my dad walked in through the door. My mom exclaimed: “Perfect timing! Dinner is ready!” After dinner, lying on my bed thinking about A Fei and Sha Xiaomei’s situation made me sigh! These two have been through so many ups and downs yet still can't break apart—it must be some test from fate.
"Shuai Dong and Pang Hao—good morning!" The next day when we arrived at school after entering the classroom full of energy and excitement greeted Shuai Dong and Pang Hao after not seeing him so cheerful for a long time. Xia Ying and Gu Mei Jiao were sitting at Zhang Yirong’s desk chatting when they saw A Fei like this—Xia Ying disdainfully shot him a glance as if saying he was beneath her notice.
It seems these two have quite a history together! As A Fei approached them with a smile: “Good morning! Xia Ying! Mei Jiao! Zhang Yirong!” “Oh! Our big shot is acting strangely today! Usually doesn’t even acknowledge us commoners,” Xia Ying remarked sarcastically while Gu Mei Jiao tugged at her sleeve indicating “stop it.” It was pointless for A Fei to greet her since she already held prejudice against him.
Xia Ying continued being relentless until I couldn’t take it anymore—I walked over to her: “Xia Ying! Can you tone it down? We have a match soon—don’t add pressure on us.” With that said, I pulled A Fei toward the gymnasium while he expressed urgency about getting Sha Xiaomei back from the hospital.
After half an hour of trekking we arrived at Twenty-Four Middle School—their gymnasium was large and beautiful—one-third bigger than ours! Once there we began adjusting to their court while warming up when Lu Lei approached us first: “Xiang Jie!” “Do you know each other?” asked A Fei curiously.
“Yes! You must be Yu Chengfei—the future star athlete from Junior High School with unlimited potential,” Lu Lei said while extending his hand toward us after recognizing Xiang Jie from their previous night market encounter: “Hello! I'm Lu Lei.”
A Fei smiled back shaking Lu Lei’s hand: “Brother Lei! Nice meeting you.” We were all looking forward to having an exciting match against each other since this game meant so much—having won all four matches thus far gave us 1 point ahead while Twenty-Four Middle School followed closely behind with three wins and one loss totaling 9 points.
If they won this match by more than one point (since we had previously beaten them by one), they would surpass us for first place in our group standings.
The game began—Zhongqi Senior started alongside me, A Fei Bing Ge and Zhang Ruizhi as our starting lineup—Zhongqi Senior handled possession passing long-range to A Fei who missed mid-range shot—Bing Ge grabbed an offensive rebound but missed again—but during another scramble for possession Lu Lei snatched it away launching a fast break leading Song Huajing for an easy layup!
The Thunder Combo’s chemistry reached its peak as Zhongqi Senior organized another offensive play reaching zero-degree angle before passing back out top arc waiting for me—I faked then shot hitting nothing but net!
The opponent inbounded ball—Song Huajing controlled possession suddenly accelerating into lane taking three steps—Bing Ge quickly helped defense but got called for blocking foul—Song Huajing hit both free throws then we quickly inbounded—I maneuvered around perimeter before cutting sharply towards basket where A FeI leaped up for layup only to be blocked by Lu Lei who followed closely behind!
Lu Lei’s explosiveness truly amazed everyone as he ran back smiling at both me and A FeI—I increasingly felt admiration towards Lu Lei’s skills while noticing admiration reflected back from A Fie’s gaze too—the first quarter ended with us trailing Twenty-Four Middle School by 4 points at 7-11.
During break Teacher Qiu slapped palms with each of us as if we were leading instead: “Don’t get discouraged—it’s only first quarter—a four-point difference is normal regardless of who leads between us or Twenty-Four Middle School…” Indeed—we had Zhongqi Senior along with A Fie’s golden perimeter shooting while they had their city-renowned Thunder Combo—but our inside strength along with overall team capability surpassed theirs!
If only Thunderbolt could pair up even one or two better individual players alongside them—I’d bet Twenty-Four Middle School would definitely have what it takes reaching semifinals or even finals!
As referee blew whistle signaling start of second quarter—the Thunderbolt continued showcasing its power as league’s top combination whether three-pointers mid-range shots or layups—it was impossible not admire their sharp basketball instincts—but Zhongqi Senior along with my own outside trio wasn’t going down easily either—we still had our twin towers inside!
By end of second quarter we managed tie score 48-47 overtaking Twenty-Four Middle School by one point making halftime extremely competitive once again…
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