“We Won’t Lose”
The leader of Class 10 was called Hu Kun. He was on the school basketball team and spent most of his time training with the squad. He didn’t even know all his classmates, let alone the students from Class 2.
When he led his group to take over the basketball court, he had no idea that Tang Jianrui was helping Chen Luobai claim the space.
Almost everyone at Second High knew Chen Luobai.
Hu Kun was no exception.
It wasn’t just because Chen Luobai was a prominent figure at school, but also because their coach often lamented in front of the team that Chen Luobai was an exceptional talent. The coach repeatedly expressed regret that the principal wouldn’t allow Chen Luobai to join the team, and Chen himself was unwilling to do so.
If Chen Luobai had wanted to fight them, Hu Kun might have hesitated, considering Chen’s academic achievements and family background. But he didn’t expect Chen Luobai to challenge him directly to a game.
Hu Kun had long wanted to see how good this star student was, the one their coach kept praising while criticizing them.
“One-on-one or a full-court 5v5?” he asked.
Chen Luobai glanced back at Tang Jianrui. “You’d probably prefer to get back at them yourself, right?”
Tang Jianrui nodded. “Of course.”
Zhu Ran raised his hand nearby. “Me, me! I want to play too!”
Chen Luobai turned back. “Then let’s play a full-court game. If you lose, all of you will have to recite self-criticisms in front of the whole school and apologize to Tang Jianrui.”
Hu Kun asked, “And what if you lose?”
“Us?” Chen Luobai’s eyebrow raised slightly, his tone extremely arrogant. “We won’t lose.”
Hu Kun was taken aback by his brazen attitude, realizing belatedly that the other side was controlling the rhythm of this confrontation. “If you do lose, I won’t make it hard on the others. Just you, admitting in front of the whole school that you’re terrible at basketball and nowhere near good enough to join the school team.”
Because the two sides were no longer fighting, Zhou Anran had long been pulled aside by Yan Xingxi to watch the excitement up close. She was now only a meter away from Chen Luobai.
She saw the young man smile again, but because the coldness hadn’t completely faded from his face, the smile seemed both wild and provocative.
His tone was even more audacious.
“Fine, if you have what it takes.”
Hu Kun seemed amused by his attitude. “When?”
Chen Luobai tilted his head slightly, thinking. “I’m busy this week. How about next Friday?”
*
When Zhou Anran and Yan Xingxi returned to the classroom, news of Chen Luobai’s basketball challenge against Class 10 had already spread rapidly.
Learning that they had witnessed the scene firsthand, Sheng Xiaowen, who had moved to the first group, ran to the second group and squeezed onto Zhou Anran’s chair, eager to hear the gossip.
“I heard the leader from Class 10 is on the school basketball team. Is that true?” Sheng Xiaowen asked.
Zhou Anran didn’t recognize any of the boys from Class 10.
The school team had its indoor training facility, and the outdoor courts were usually used by teachers and regular students. The team players rarely came to play there.
Moreover, the high school basketball league used a tournament system, and Second High wasn’t hosting this season. The league hadn’t gained much attention yet, with no major streaming platforms covering it. As new high school freshmen, they hadn’t even seen a single game of the school team.
Naturally, Zhou Anran couldn’t recognize the team members.
However, the leader was indeed quite tall. Chen Luobai was now 1.82 meters, and this guy was slightly taller and more robust. Yet during the confrontation, his presence was overshadowed by Chen Luobai.
“I think so. He was pretty tall,” she replied.
Zhang Shuxian, always eager for gossip, turned around in her chair. “I know about that guy from Class 10. I think his name is Hu Kun. He just joined the school team this year, probably not a starter. I heard the starters are usually second and third-year students. But being on our school team, he can’t be too bad. I can’t believe Chen Luobai dared to challenge him.”
Lou Yiqi also turned around. “Chen Luobai is good at basketball. Why wouldn’t he dare?”
“That’s true,” Zhang Shuxian said, then asked curiously, “I also heard Chen Luobai say if Class 10 loses, they have to apologize and criticize themselves in front of the whole school. Is that true?”
Zhou Anran, resting her head on the desk, recalled the young man’s confrontation earlier. Her heart secretly quickened.
She nodded slightly.
Sheng Xiaowen leaned on her shoulder, laughing. “Now I understand why our head teacher likes Chen Luobai so much. Even when he’s late or skips activities, the teacher usually turns a blind eye. If he hadn’t shown up today, this fight between the two classes might have been unavoidable. By coming, he did what the teachers should have done, saving them a lot of trouble. By the way, were they all called away by teachers?”
“Yes, they were called away by teachers, but since there wasn’t a fight, it should be fine,” Zhang Shuxian interjected. “I heard Chen Luobai often went to law firms with his mother since he was little. He probably grew up influenced by the legal environment. Before the fight even started, he might have already been thinking about compensation issues.”
She then put on a regretful expression. “Ah, why wasn’t I there to watch it all unfold?”
Lou Yiqi gently hit her, her tone reproachful. “You have the nerve to say that? I suggested we eat noodles outside the east gate today, but you insisted on eating in the cafeteria.”
“That’s because I didn’t have money—” Zhang Shuxian’s words were cut short by a male voice from outside.
“Hu Kun is pretty good. Luo-ge, are you sure we can beat them?”
Zhang Shuxian immediately changed her tune. “That’s Tang Jianrui speaking, right? Are they back?”
Tang Jianrui’s voice was loud, and quite a few classmates turned their heads. Some boys even stood up from their desks and walked towards the back.
Zhou Anran turned her head along with Sheng Xiaowen and Yan Xingxi. She saw Chen Luobai surrounded by a group of boys as he entered the classroom.
Whether he had washed his face somewhere or not, the young man’s forehead hair was slightly damp, and small water droplets slid down his prominent Adam’s apple. He exuded a vibrant youthful energy.
The coldness had long left his face, replaced by his usual casual smile. “Hu Kun isn’t close with his classmates, and there aren’t many good basketball players in Class 10.”
“If he dared to challenge us to a full-court game, he must be confident,” Zhu Ran casually added, then turned to ask Chen Luobai, “But what are you busy with this week? I haven’t heard you mention anything.”
Chen Luobai pulled out his chair and sat down, leaning back. “What could I be busy with? I’m just giving you guys some time to train.”
While pulling out his chair, Zhu Ran said to Tang Jianrui, “I told you not to worry. Your Luo-ge is cunning. Simple-minded jocks like Hu Kun are no match for him.”
Tang Jianrui retorted, “Don’t talk about my Luo-ge like that. He’s not cunning, he’s smart.”
Chen Luobai laughed and kicked Zhu Ran’s chair. “Listen to that.”
Zhu Ran nearly lost his balance from the kick. Hearing this, he simply jumped up and put Tang Jianrui in a headlock. “Rui-rui, that’s not fair. I was the one who rushed to the front just now.”
The two started horsing around in the back.
A boy from their class approached Chen Luobai. “Luo-ge, have you decided on the final lineup yet? If not, can I sign up? I’ve been wanting to teach those Class 10 guys a lesson for a while.”
“Me too, me too! I want to play as well.”
Chen Luobai pointed to the side. “For sign-ups, go to Tang Jianrui.”
Now it was Tang Jianrui and Zhu Ran who were surrounded by a group of boys.
Zong Kai walked up to Chen Luobai. “Do you want me to help you guys play?”
Zhou Anran, harboring her secret thoughts, blended in with her classmates, openly watching him along with everyone else.
The young man seemed to be balancing his chair on its back legs, rocking back and forth a few times with his foot against the desk’s crossbar.
Even though she knew he wouldn’t fall, Zhou Anran’s heart still skipped a beat until his chair legs touched the ground again.
Chen Luobai replied, “No need. This is between our two classes now.”
Zong Kai nodded. “Alright, but be careful when you play. Hu Kun tends to play dirty.”
He plays dirty?
Zhou Anran’s heart tightened a little again.
Chen Luobai, however, looked completely unfazed, merely nodding casually.
“We’ll head back to our classroom then,” Zong Kai said, tugging on Yin Yizhen’s arm.
Yin Yizhen followed him for a couple of steps, then turned back. “I’ll come cheer for you then.”
Chen Luobai’s eyebrow seemed to raise slightly.
Whether it was from chatting and joking with his friends earlier or because of her words, there was still a visible smile on the young man’s face.
It was so noticeable that Zhou Anran found it slightly dazzling.
In her heart, it felt as if half a lemon had been gently squeezed by an invisible hand, with sour juice seeping out.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Zhang Shuxian suddenly whispered a few “heys.”
Yan Xingxi and Sheng Xiaowen turned back to look at her.
Zhou Anran also turned back.
Zhang Shuxian spoke in a hushed tone, “Don’t you think Yin Yizhen seems to have a bit of a thing for Chen Luobai?”
Yan Xingxi, oblivious as ever, responded blankly, “Isn’t she childhood friends with Zong Kai?”
Zhang Shuxian lowered her eyes without saying anything.
Sheng Xiaowen, still leaning on Zhou Anran’s shoulder, laughed, “I don’t know if Yin Yizhen has feelings for Chen Luobai, but I do know that several boys in our class have a crush on Yin Yizhen. Every time she comes over, they can’t take their eyes off her.”
Yan Xingxi turned back to look again, just in time to see Dong Chen, who had moved to the fourth row of the first group, seemingly looking back at Yin Yizhen’s retreating figure.
She quickly turned back, excitedly looking at Sheng Xiaowen. “Is Dong Chen one of the guys you’re talking about?”
Sheng Xiaowen: “…”
Zhou Anran: “…”
Zhang Shuxian was more interested in the previous topic and brought it back on her own. “But if Yin Yizhen likes Chen Luobai, she’d have an advantage over other girls. We haven’t heard of Zhu Ran having any childhood sweethearts, and she’s the only one who can openly hang out with them all the time, using her status as Chen Luobai’s good friend and childhood playmate. You know what they say about ‘the one who’s closest has the best chance.’ Do you think she could win Chen Luobai over?”
The half lemon in Zhou Anran’s heart was gently squeezed again.
Lou Yiqi glanced back, then turned around with a neutral expression. “Old Gao is here. Evening self-study is about to start. Let’s stop talking.”
Zhang Shuxian quickly turned back around.
Sheng Xiaowen also returned to her seat.
For the next short while, Zhou Anran found it even harder to bump into Chen Luobai outside the classroom.
She heard that he had found an indoor basketball court near the school as a secret base for the boys in their class to practice. As soon as classes ended at noon and in the afternoon, the large group of boys would all disappear.
The only girl who could go with them was Yin Yizhen.
Zhou Anran wasn’t surprised by this.
What surprised her was that a few days later, another girl joined this small team.