Understanding

There weren't many people at the basketball court yet.

Because they had been released from class early, the boys from class 2-4 occupied two of the courts.

Jiang Qinghua, Liu Xin, and Li Zheng naturally gathered around the same half-court.

Liu Xin was still blaming himself for Hu Chunmei's illness. He used less elbow grease than usual while shooting layups.

Jiang Qinghua and Li Zheng stood side by side as they warmed up.

"Let's do one-on-one," Jiang Qinghua said indifferently. "While there aren't many people here."

"Let's not do that. I won't be able to beat you." Li Zheng shook his head as he did his exercises.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

"I know even without trying."

"You can't know." Jiang Qinghua grabbed the ball that was rolling toward him and tried his best to brush away the feelings of coldness and bleakness he felt. "There's no way that you would know."

"I know." Li Zheng spread his feet apart and started to do jumping exercises. "Actually... I was just lucky. All I wanted to do was… relax while keeping a low profile. It's best… that I don't affect… the other students."

"Can you not speak while you jump?"

"..."

Jiang Qinghua was about to continue when he felt the cold feeling beside his ears turn into a gust of wind. The gust of wind attacked his side.

He quickly raised his hand to defend himself.

Boom!

It was a basketball.

Fortunately, he had reacted fast enough to catch the ball.

But his hand still felt extremely painful.

That force…

"Not bad, Handsome Jiang." Qiao Bixia massaged her finger joints as she strutted over.

"Hiii!" Xu Mengxi waved and greeted them from Qiao Bixia's side.

There seemed to be someone else hiding behind them. Judging from her shiny shoes, it should have been Lin Yujing.

Jiang Qinghua swallowed bitterly, tears in his eyes. "You third-years… Don't you guys have supplementary lessons…?"

"The judging for model schools is underway. The school wouldn't dare give us extra classes." Qiao Bixia roughly ran over and slammed into Liu Xin. "Yoooo!"

Bam!

Liu Xin staggered from the hit. He turned and shot a look toward Qiao Bixia, then silently picked up the ball. He didn't say anything.

"Wow, Oil Barrel's form is off today."

"I can't be bothered with you." Liu Xin silently shot the ball. He missed.

"It's alright. I'll drag the form out of you." Qiao Bixia rubbed her hands together and turned to look at Jiang Qinghua. "Stop dawdling. Three on three. Let's go."

Jiang Qinghua glanced at Lin Yujing, who seemed to be looking down on the ground as she walked.

"Why? Is she avoiding my gaze?" Jiang Qinghua thought.

"There might be a chance for me."

Jiang Qinghua's expression changed. "Alright, but pitting guys against girls is too unfair to you. Let's spin the ball to decide."

"Alright." Qiao Bixia snatched the ball from Liu Xin's hands. "Come, come, come. Gather around."

Spinning the ball was a way to randomly decide teams on the basketball court.

The captain of the team would be grouped up with whoever the "eye" of the ball faced.

The six of them quickly gathered in a circle.

Qiao Bixia spun the ball and tossed it up into the air, then caught the ball.

The eye of the ball was aimed directly toward Lin Yujing.

Qiao Bixia immediately pulled her over and hugged her tightly.

Then, Jiang Qinghua got Xu Mengxi.

In the final round, Qiao Bixia got Li Zheng.

The results were out.

Qiao Bixia, Lin Yujing, and Li Zheng made one team.

Jiang Qinghua, Liu Xin, and Xu Mengxi made the other team.

This outcome made everyone very disappointed.

However, at the very least, Jiang Qinghua could finally face Li Zheng head-on.

"Let's do ten points. Three-pointers count as two points." Qiao Bixia forcefully tossed the basketball toward Li Zheng.

Li Zheng raised his hand and gently caught the ball, then dribbled it toward the starting point at the center of the court.

"It's alright." Qiao Bixia moved toward Lin Yujing and said into her ear, "Pass the ball over to him more and exhaust him as quickly as possible. We'll beat him after we finish these ten points and change teams."

"Mm!" Lin Yujing nodded her head expectantly.

On the other side, there was no communication between the members of Jiang Qinghua's team.

Xu Mengxi had wanted to discuss strategy, but all she saw were two indifferent men.

Liu Xin stood under the hoop and seemed as though he had no regard for life.

Jiang Qinghua was the opposite. He clenched his fists tightly and had fire in his eyes.

Xu Mengxi felt as though she had seen that determined look before. It was the same look Brother Shuo had worn yesterday.

Indeed, Jiang Qinghua had not been this serious in a long time.

This time, he wouldn't lose.

He had to clarify some things with Li Zheng!

On the basketball court, his surname was Jiang!

Li Zheng, who was standing at the starting point, also felt an unusual fighting spirit.

It felt as though this match had become more than just a competition.

"Forget it. I'll avoid him for the time being," he thought.

He passed the ball to Lin Yujing.

"Hm." Lin Yujing caught the ball, then expertly gestured as she organized an attack. "Hm, hm hm."

On the other side, Jiang Qinghua raised his arm and shouted. "I'll spot Li Zheng. You take on Yujing, whatever your name is."

"Alright…" Xu Mengxi faced Lin Yujing head-on.

"Hm." Lin Yujing turned her head and glared, then immediately passed the ball back to Li Zheng.

Li Zheng had just caught the ball when he saw Jiang Qinghua charge toward him like a raging bull.

In his shock, he quickly passed the ball to Lin Yujing.

Lin Yujing dribbled the ball twice, then passed it back. "Hm!"

Li Zheng dribbled the ball a few times, then passed it back again.

The two of them ran forward as they passed the ball between them.

They shot looks at each other. In the blink of an eye, they had done this six or seven times.

Jiang Qinghua chased after them. However, for some reason, his legs felt weak.

The competition had just started.

However, he felt as though he had already heard the whistle at the end of the game.

Each time Lin Yujing fiercely passed the ball, he felt as if his heart had been stabbed, and he felt as if he had grown shorter every time Li Zheng passed the ball back.

As time went on, he could no longer run any further.

When he came to his senses again...

He had been tossed aside by the two of them.

"Ah…" Jiang Qinghua turned his head around blankly.

He was dazed.

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing seemed to be moving in slow motion.

They were in sync and gentle.

They were exchanging looks.

He seemed to have understood something.

"Pain," he thought.

"So painful."

Thump, whoosh.

Li Zheng easily laid the ball up and scored a point.

The attack this time felt quite comfortable.

The high-paced passing between Li Zheng and Lin Yujng had left Jiang Qinghua in the dust.

This kind of basketball was addictive.

"Great shot," Li Zheng said to Lin Yujing.

"Tch." Lin Yujing turned her head. All she was waiting for was for Li Zheng to run out of stamina.

Qiao Bixia overpowered Liu Xin and snatched the ball, then tossed it to Jiang Qinghua. "That's no good, Handsome Jiang."

Boom.

The ball hit Jiang Qinghua straight in the chest.

Jiang Qinghua didn't struggle. He fell onto the ground.

"What?!"

A few people hurriedly surrounded him.

However, Jiang Qinghua was staring up at the sky with a blank expression on his face. It seemed as though he didn't feel the pain in his body.

He understood now.

He had also felt the pain.

He seemed to be humming something.

"Oh, what a painful epiphany.

"You were once my everything.

"When I looked back at the road I took.

"Every step I took.

"I had taken it alone."

Suddenly, an angry roar came from beside the court.

"Get over here, Liu Xin!"

It was not only Liu Xin. Even Li Zheng squirmed in shock.

It was Qiao Sheng. He and Hu Chunmei were about to leave the school.

"Retribution… It's here…" Liu Xin sighed. He lowered his head and walked over.

The match was paused. Lin Yujing grabbed the ball and started practicing her layups. She was filled with fighting spirit.

Qiao Bixia was extremely concerned about Jiang Qinghua. She grabbed him and shook him wildly.

"Handsome Jiang, what happened? Say something." Qiao Bixia clenched her teeth. Her thick, quivering lips gave off a certain tenderness. "Li Zheng, help me give him chest compressions. I'll give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

"Just do the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Li Zheng thought.

"Why do I have to give him chest compressions?"