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墨書 Inktalez
It was Saturday, and also the first match of the semifinals. That evening, I lay on my bed and opened my phone. Cookie was online. I said to her, "Cookie, tomorrow is the first match of the semifinals. Cheer for me!" Cookie replied, "Mm-hmm, go for it! I'm waiting to kiss you." Chatting with Cookie was always so easygoing. Suddenly, I remembered Xia Ying, so I complained to Cookie, "Cookie, is it true that a girl's heart is as deep as the ocean? It's really hard to figure out." "Why do you say that?" Cookie responded. "Because I like a girl, but I ended up scolding her when I was in a bad mood, so..." I didn't know what to do. Cookie replied, "So she got mad at you and is ignoring you, right? You guys are always so childish. The girl you like is much more mature than you; she already knows you like her but is upset that you never admit it. She just wants to make you anxious." I asked Cookie in confusion, "How do you know? Is your personality also that wild? How could she possibly know I like her? She always sees me as just a buddy." After a moment of silence, Cookie said, "I'm just thinking from our perspective as girls because we tend to be more sensitive about these things. And I'm not wild; be careful or I'll sue you for defamation!" Is that not wild? She's almost catching up with the character played by Jeon Ji-hyun in that Korean drama.
Today marks the time for our Yulin High School to continue fighting for honor. In the semifinals, as long as we get through this round, we can go to the city's highest-level venue, the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, for the city finals. At that time, it will definitely be glorious. The first match of the semifinals is our home game; we must defend it! As A Fei and I walked along the way discussing how the NBA Finals were leading by a large margin against Hot Fire, almost everyone had gathered when we arrived at school. Teacher Qiu said, "The outcome of this match will directly affect whether we can go to the Olympic Sports Center. The Olympic Sports Center is our city's highest-level indoor competition venue and can accommodate 8,000 spectators. The leaders from the Sports Bureau will be present to observe. Besides winning the championship and directly advancing to the provincial finals, even the runner-up will qualify for the playoffs. So let's work hard to reach the finals!" Teacher Qiu's shout of encouragement was particularly loud and inspired us all; we all picked up our balls and trained hard, especially Ji Fang, who seemed particularly excited since it was his first time in three years of high school making it to the team for the semifinals. Ji Fang may not have exceptional basketball skills, but he is truly diligent; he embodies the saying "hard work beats talent." Finally entering the team in his last year of high school.
After a while, Twenty-Four Middle School arrived with familiar faces appearing one by one. Song Huajing and Lu Lei were at the front of the line with calm expressions as they began warming up. Lu Lei ran over to greet us while A Fei and I went up to catch up with this old friend. Song Huajing politely nodded and smiled at us from a distance; the Thunderbolt duo's basketball skills were still outstanding.
Students gradually entered the gymnasium; although it was Saturday, about 150 students came to watch. However, I didn't see Shuai Dong, Pang Hao, or Xia Ying. After warming up, the match began. Our lineup consisted of Zhongqi Senior, me, A Fei, Zhang Ruizhi, and Bing Ge; their lineup included Song Huajing, Lu Zhendong, Lu Lei, Li Wei, and Mu Yu (I always felt Mu Yu should have a younger brother named Locker Room). A Fei and Lu Lei jumped for possession at center court; after Lu Lei won it and quickly passed to Song Huajing, he swiftly returned it to Lu Lei who hit a mid-range jumper. Their teamwork was still sharp as ever. After we inbounded the ball, Zhongqi Senior organized an attack while Song Huajing opened his arms in front of Zhongqi Senior and bent down into a defensive stance with his eyes fixed on Zhongqi Senior's ball. Zhongqi Senior quickly glanced sideways before dribbling twice and suddenly made a behind-the-back pass to me on his left side. After receiving the ball, I quickly cut towards A Fei who was running towards the basket; A Fei received it and scored. I smiled at Thunderbolt.
While their attacking combination Thunderbolt was indeed formidable, we had our own outside shooting trio and inside twin towers—everyone was an offensive threat. After Twenty-Four Middle School inbounded the ball again, Song Huajing held it before passing it outside the three-point line to their shooting guard Lu Zhendong who hesitated for a moment before I rushed up but was a step late; Lu Zhendong had already taken his shot—three points! Looking back at their coach's satisfied smile made us feel that today's Twenty-Four Middle School was quite different from ten years ago; last time they were criticized for their role players not contributing but now they seemed much improved—definitely inspired by Thunderbolt which turned their previously lax attitudes into something positive. This version of Twenty-Four Middle School was frightening because it meant we could no longer just limit Song Huajing and Thunderbolt but had to contend with all their players on court.
In fact, all role players from Twenty-Four Middle School scored in the first quarter! I began to understand why they could turn around Domain Sea at home and advance to the semifinals; at quarter's end we were trailing by five points with a score of 7-12 on our home court. As we walked off court I noticed Teacher Qiu's serious expression; as soon as we sat down he took out his tactical board and actively discussed strategies: "Jie, A Fei—you need to improve your off-ball movement in this area during our 2-3 zone defense; pay attention to supporting on the right wing..." Two minutes later when Second Quarter began their offensive firepower remained strong despite our intense defense but their point guard's outside shooting was fully unleashed—when there were eight minutes left in Second Quarter we trailed by ten points at 0-40. Teacher Qiu helplessly called a timeout and substituted Ji Fang for me while Zhang Jun replaced A Fei and Zhou Litong took Zhongqi Senior out—three starters were swapped out at once indicating Teacher Qiu wanted to increase height and focus on defensive battles against them.
After Ji Fang entered he faced off against Lu Zhendong who stood at 1.83 meters—his height advantage wasn't obvious—but Ji Fang's stability on outside shooting was still good; this time Song Huajing held possession driving into the paint before attempting a layup but unfortunately couldn't score due to interference from Zhou Litong and Bing Ge—Zhang Jun grabbed the rebound quickly passing back out to Ji Fang waiting beyond three-point range; Ji Fang rushed forward then leaped high for a dunk—it went in! After they inbounded again Song Huajing passed it to Lu Lei who controlled pace before releasing his shot like a snake striking—score! Lu Lei pumped his fist celebrating before quickly retreating back while high-fiving Song Huajing showcasing their chemistry.
Seeing us keep our deficit around ten points made me anxious—not only because of Team honor but also due to my personal desires... In those last three minutes of Second Quarter we engaged in an offensive battle where scores barely changed until three seconds left when Zhou Litong hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer leaving us trailing Twenty-Four Middle School 45-50—we lost another three points this quarter too. During halftime in Locker Room Teacher Qiu earnestly said: "It seems Twenty-Four Middle School came prepared this time—they're no longer pushovers at any position so we need to close that gap during crucial third quarter." "Coach let me defend against their Lu Zhendong!" I volunteered standing up confidently—"Xiang Jie although you're aggressive you also have height disadvantages so..." Teacher Qiu looked worriedly—"Coach even though Lu Zhendong has height advantages he lacks agility compared with me—I can effectively contain him." My confidence surged—it was my first time volunteering myself like this feeling an urge within me wanting desperately to showcase my abilities.
As halftime ended we walked out from Locker Room where Teacher Qiu indeed let me replace Ji Fang while Zhongqi Senior also entered—the trust placed in me couldn't be let down! Lu Zhendong wasn't an exceptional player anyway—let’s see how I'll humiliate you! When Third Quarter began after we inbounded Zhongqi Senior controlled ball over half-court passing it over to me facing off against Lu Zhendong’s defense—I suddenly accelerated shoulder-checking him in chest causing him to fall down—the referee blew his whistle calling me for charging foul—I felt frustrated about my mistake right after stepping onto court running back defensively while Bing Ge patted my shoulder saying: “Don’t rush—play steady.” Nodding in acknowledgment after they inbounded Song Huajing brought ball past half-court—I noticed his gaze slightly shifted left predicting he'd pass towards Lu Lei so Zhongqi Senior and I prepared for help defense—sure enough he dribbled twice then unexpectedly passed behind him—I anticipated this rushing towards left intercepting ball then sprinted forward towards basket feeling Lu Lei trailing behind—I glanced back noticing Zhang Jun catching up too when reaching under basket tossed ball behind my head perfectly landing into Zhang Jun’s hands who dunked effortlessly—“Great job! Jie your behind-the-back pass was amazing!” someone shouted—I turned seeing Shuai Dong and Pang Hao cheering from stands looking breathless having just arrived while Yin Long stood beside them—but Xia Ying along with Three Sisters still hadn’t shown up making me feel slightly disappointed...
The game continued after that exciting moment as my excitement grew stronger—I received pass from Song Huajing who sent it over to Lu Lei then he passed inside waiting Li Wei who attempted a hook shot bouncing off rim but Bing Ge grabbed offensive rebound quickly passing out again giving us another fast-break opportunity—Zhongqi Senior received long pass from me but fast break fell through since both Lu Zhendong and Lu Lei had returned defensively—I passed back out beyond arc waiting for Zhongqi Senior who caught ball leaping for three-pointer hitting rim—I dashed jumping improbably snatching rebound amidst Mu Yu’s and Li Wei’s defense bringing ball back beyond three-point line controlling tempo then spun around passing zero-degree angle shot back out again where Zhongqi Senior stepped back hitting another three-pointer! Running over celebrating chest bumping with Zhongqi Senior noticing Sha Xiaomei exchanging glances with A Fei made me think suddenly about Xia Ying—I secretly scanned around gym hoping still finding familiar figure among crowd.
With only one minute thirty seconds left in Third Quarter we had surged ahead scoring eleven points against Twenty-Four Middle School forcing their coach into calling timeout—we walked off court exchanging high-fives feeling elated knowing today revealed something new about myself: I could lead this team playing basketball becoming its leader! For so long I'd seen myself merely as an inconspicuous role within squad never considering myself core member—but today I've achieved that! Gratefulness filled my heart towards three individuals: first my mother—for giving birth to me; second Cookie—for providing motivation; lastly... Xia Ying—for her indifference igniting my fighting spirit potential... In conclusion I'm confident Xia Ying will come!
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