She Feared She Couldn’t Hide It Either
After saying those words, Yan Xingxi quickly ran back to her original position while the game was still paused.
Dong Chen looked at her suspiciously. “Yan Xingxi, since when do you understand what a charging foul is? When did you start paying attention to basketball games?”
Yan Xingxi opened her mouth to speak.
Zhou Anran hurriedly pulled her over. “The game is about to start again. Don’t stand inside the sidelines.”
She knew Yan Xingxi’s carefree personality all too well and gave her wrist a subtle, meaningful squeeze.
Yan Xingxi caught on and stood properly in her spot, not even looking at Dong Chen. “It’s none of your business whether I understand or not.”
Dong Chen: “…”
On the court, Teacher Zhao slowly scanned the students before him, his gaze lingering on Hu Kun. “You all heard that, right? The other students are watching. Those of you with dirty tricks cut it out. Don’t even think about fighting or arguing. If there’s a second time, this game is over. Alright, continue.”
Teacher Zhao walked back to the sideline.
Zhu Ran put his hand on Chen Luobai’s shoulder and asked quietly, “What did you mean by ‘it’s fine’ just now? Are you planning to mess with Hu Kun later?”
Chen Luobai brushed his hand off. “Your hand is all sweaty. Stay away from me. Why would I mess with him? To win a game, we should win fair and square.”
“Your hand is sweaty too,” Zhu Ran rolled his eyes. “I believe you about wanting to win fair and square, but I don’t believe you won’t mess with him. When I disturb your sleep, you always get back at me. How can you be so generous today?”
Chen Luobai flexed his ankle again.
He was indeed lucky not to have been injured today.
Of course, he wasn’t being that generous.
“You know, you have to hit where it hurts.”
Zhu Ran was about to ask what he meant by hitting where it hurts, but Teacher Li was already calling Chen Luobai to receive the ball.
Earlier, Hu Kun had been called for a charging foul, giving Class 2 a free throw and a throw-in opportunity. Chen Luobai took the ball and went to the free-throw line.
So Zhu Ran didn’t ask further.
But it wasn’t long before he understood the answer.
Class 10 started having internal conflicts on the court, with the remaining players and Hu Kun each playing their own game. They were already trailing Class 2 by quite a bit.
Now that Hu Kun was being closely watched by the girls from his class and had been warned on the spot, he didn’t dare make any more dirty moves. Even his normal offense and defense became hesitant. With him, their key player, having issues, it was as if Class 10 had completely fallen apart.
Not long after entering the fourth quarter, Class 2’s lead exceeded thirty points, effectively ending the game early.
Chen Luobai made a substitution gesture to the referee and headed towards the sideline, nodding at his teammates.
“Zhu Ran, Rui-rui, you two come off too.”
Zhu Ran and Tang Jianrui followed him to the sideline, where they heard him ask, “Who wants to go play?”
Huang Shujie didn’t quite understand his words and stood up from the bench to ask, “If all three of you are coming off, doesn’t that mean the three of us have to go on?”
“I’m not asking you,” Chen Luobai smiled and nodded toward the people behind him. “I’m asking the other boys in our class. It’s garbage time anyway. How about it? Anyone interested in getting on the court and facing off against our school team player?”
Zhu Ran almost immediately understood what he meant by “hitting where it hurts.”
What was Hu Kun more afraid of, fighting them or losing the game?
The answer, of course, was the latter.
As a member of the school team, losing to them would be a huge embarrassment.
Moreover, the score difference was so large that Chen Luobai felt confident letting ordinary students who weren’t even substitutes go on the court.
This was completely trampling on Hu Kun’s pride.
It was like killing someone and then destroying their soul!
To be fair, Hu Kun himself hadn’t played badly in this game. At least 90% of Class 10’s points were scored by him.
But basketball wasn’t an individual sport.
Zhu Ran looked back.
Sure enough, Hu Kun’s face was so dark it could drip ink.
Zhu Ran was thrilled to see this. He turned back, eager to watch the show, and loudly encouraged, “This is a rare opportunity! Anyone who wants to play, hurry up and get in there. It doesn’t matter if they catch up a bit. Your Luo-ge can win it back again.”
A loud “bang” sounded from behind.
Murmurs also arose from Class 2’s side.
“Damn, Hu Kun slammed the ball.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, he had no shame when he was undercutting, but now he cares about his pride?”
Chen Luobai’s eyebrow raised slightly as he turned his head.
Zhu Ran also turned to watch the drama unfold.
The orange-red basketball bounced off the ground and rebounded towards them. Chen Luobai casually caught it, seeing Hu Kun walk towards the opposite sideline without looking back, pushing through the crowd as if he was about to leave.
Zhu Ran let out a long “Oh?” “Hu Kun, are you giving up? If you want to forfeit, that’s fine too. Just remember to apologize and self-criticize in front of the whole school next Monday.”
Even from a distance, Zhu Ran could see that retreating figure visibly stiffen.
Zhu Ran collapsed laughing on Chen Luobai’s shoulder.
Pushed away in disgust by Chen Luobai, he then fell laughing onto Tang Jianrui’s shoulder.
With Hu Kun walking away, the game was effectively over early.
Chen Luobai nudged Zhu Ran. “Stop laughing. Take a bottle of water to Teacher Li and ask if he wants to join us for dinner at Qingting.”
Having won the game so decisively, Zhu Ran was happy to run errands for him.
By the time he cheerfully delivered the water, most of the spectators had already dispersed. His gaze inadvertently swept across a profile not far away.
“Lady Yan.”
No response.
Zhu Ran wasn’t familiar with the group of girls in the front row, so he tried to recall her name. “Yan Xingxi.”
Yan Xingxi, who was walking arm-in-arm with Zhou Anran, paused slightly and turned her head. “Did you call me?”
“Yeah,” Zhu Ran, still holding an extra bottle of mineral water, smiled at her. “We’re going to Qingting for dinner tonight. Want to join us?”
Yan Xingxi: “I’ll pass. I have plans tonight.”
Zhu Ran watched as she turned back around after speaking, continuing to walk arm-in-arm with her friend without looking back. His eyebrows raised slightly.
He walked back to Chen Luobai, who had just finished giving water to Teacher Zhao and said with a smile, “I thought that Lady Yan might have had a thing for you. Otherwise, how would she notice such a small detail like Hu Kun undercutting you? But it turns out the girl not only isn’t interested in having dinner with you, she didn’t even give you a second glance.”
Chen Luobai looked exasperated. “You think I’m made of money or something?”
Zhu Ran: “In some girls’ eyes, you’re worth way more than money.”
Chen Luobai couldn’t be bothered to engage with him and changed the subject. “Teacher Li isn’t coming?”
“He just took the water and said he’d pass on dinner.” Mentioning dinner, Zhu Ran lost interest in discussing girls. “Teacher Zhao isn’t going either, right? Let’s hurry over then. I’m starving to death.”
*
Yan Xingxi had walked a short distance before she belatedly realized something.
“Was Zhu Ran inviting me to dinner just now because of the charging foul incident with Hu Kun?”
She wasn’t lying when she said she had plans. Her parents were out tonight, and she had already arranged to have dinner and stay over at Zhou Anran’s house.
At 8:30 tonight, her idol also had an event streaming. She had just been discussing this event with Zhou Anran, her mind full of excitement about seeing her fresh-faced idol soon. So when Zhu Ran asked, she declined without a second thought.
“They probably wanted to treat you to dinner then. I didn’t even realize at the time. Anran, do you want to go eat? Should we go back and let them know?”
Zhou Anran turned her head slightly.
As Zhou Anran saw Chen Luobai and the others seemingly finishing up at the basketball court, a large group of people were walking towards the school exit. Yin Yizhen and Lou Yiqi were among them.
Zhou Anran averted her gaze. “No need. My mom said she’s saved most of the dishes for us, including a big bowl of tiger skin chicken feet.”
Yan Xingqian immediately quickened her pace. “Then let’s hurry.”
Pulled along by her friend, Zhou Anran had no choice but to speed up as well, the distance between them and the large group behind growing larger.
“By the way, Ranran,” Yan Xingqian seemed to remember something, “how did you suddenly become so knowledgeable about basketball rules?”
Zhou Anran’s heartbeat seemed to quicken along with her steps. She spoke softly, “My dad likes to watch, doesn’t he? I watched a few games with him at home and found it quite interesting.”
“No wonder. But why didn’t you go over there yourself?” Yan Xingqian had wanted to ask this question earlier, but with so many people around the court, Zhou Anran clearly didn’t want her to ask too much, so she had held back.
Zhou Anran pursed her lips.
Why didn’t she go over herself?
In truth, she couldn’t remember what she had thought at the moment of making that decision. Maybe she hadn’t thought anything at all.
Or maybe it was because she had seen Yin Yizhen take that big step forward.
Some subconscious reactions too easily betray a person’s true emotions.
She was afraid she couldn’t hide hers well either.
He couldn’t even remember her name.
Once the secret buried in her heart was exposed, all that awaited her would be embarrassment.
She also didn’t want to cause him any trouble.
“You know I’m a bit afraid of dealing with teachers,” Zhou Anran said softly. “Besides, I’d be a bit embarrassed to speak loudly in front of so many people.”
Reminded by this, Yan Xingqian hurriedly asked, “Did I say those last few sentences you told me correctly?”
Zhou Anran replied, “You did.”
“That’s good. It would have been so embarrassing to state the rules wrong in front of all those people,” Yan Xingqian paused, then continued with more excitement, “But seeing Hu Kun’s face at that moment was really satisfying.”
Zhou Anran smiled faintly along with her. “It was, wasn’t it?”
She glanced back briefly, but the boys’ figures and features were completely blurred by distance and the quietly descending dusk.