School ends on Friday afternoon.

Pei Xi and Shen Miaoyi were sitting at the entrance of the dessert shop.

The two of them held a cup of hot coffee while waiting for Pei Zhi and Shi Chen to arrive.

They've both been busy these past few days. Pei Xi comes to the dessert shop after school to wait for Pei Zhi to finish his work and come find her, and then the two of them go home together.

As the weather turns colder, dessert shops have gradually started offering hot drinks, such as coffee, milk tea, and corn syrup. Many students buy a cup to drink when they pass by.

Shen Miaoyi helped the old lady through the rush hour after school before sitting down to keep Pei Xi company.

"Speaking of which, it's been several days now, have they found someone they're satisfied with yet?" Shen Miaoyi asked Pei Xi while sipping her coffee.

It's no secret that the team is short of players; Pei Zhi has been holding open auditions these past few days, and many people have signed up.

It caused quite a stir at the school.

Pei Xi blew on his coffee, and a wisp of white steam rose from the paper cup. He shook his head and said, "I don't know, my brother didn't tell me."

She frowned again and said, "But it should be quite hard to find."

Pei Zhi was aware of how serious he was about playing basketball; an average player wouldn't stand a chance against him.

But finding truly skilled ones is really difficult, since there are only a handful of truly skilled ones to begin with.

As soon as he finished speaking, two familiar figures walked over from the front.

The two walked towards us from a distance, their faces obscured by the setting sun.

Just by looking at their figures, you can tell that they are Pei Zhi and Shi Chen.

Pei Zhi seemed to have gotten hot from playing basketball, so he took off his school uniform jacket and draped it over his shoulders, leaving him only wearing a gray floral print sweatshirt.

He carried his schoolbag on one shoulder, looking rather nonchalant.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the legs encased in black school uniform trousers appeared exceptionally long, making even a slow, leisurely gait look like a fashion show.

The two walked closer and closer, finally stopping in front of Pei Xi and Shen Miaoyi.

Pei Xi chuckled when she saw Pei Zhi's face clearly.

It's unclear who offended him, but Pei Zhi had a huffy expression, and a large, unsightly red bump had appeared on his chin, making him look particularly funny.

There was nothing on his chin when they left home that morning.

I don't know who made him so angry.

Pei Xi asked Shi Chen with a smile, "Is he angry? Who upset him again?"

Shi Chen shook his head, a hint of helplessness appearing in his usually smiling peach blossom eyes. He sighed softly, "It's not that anyone offended him, it's just that there's no one else in the court who can help him."

He reached out and turned Pei Zhi's face to show the big red bump. "See? So many people, but not one of them is of any use. It's making our captain very anxious."

Pei Zhi turned his head away impatiently, frowned and glared at him, then plopped down in the chair next to Pei Xi.

Just as Pei Xi was about to offer some words of comfort, Pei Zhi, who had been holding back his anger for most of the day, could no longer contain himself and blurted out, "That guy from Class 6, standing at the free-throw line, only made one out of eight attempts! He took a full eight shots before making one! And it was a lucky shot after hitting the backboard!"

"And that guy in the second year of high school, he can't even dribble properly! His hands are like they were just attached, they haven't been trained yet! Let him dribble the ball a couple of times, and he can dribble it right between his legs all the way to Spain! In the end, he doesn't even know where the ball went!"

"And that tall, strong fat guy, his defensive footwork makes him look like a teenager, but if you didn't know him, you'd think he was a centenarian!"

"Even Granny Chen can change shifts faster than him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a weathered voice came from the side: "Oh dear, why do I feel like someone is calling me?"

Pei Xi turned to look at Granny Chen, couldn't help but smile, and called out to her, "No, Granny, you go about your business."

Grandma Shen nodded and agreed, "Okay, sure."

She looked at Pei Zhi again; his chest heaved deeply, clearly indicating he was quite angry, making the large bump on his chin appear even redder and more vibrant.

It's both heartbreaking and funny to watch.

"I'm really impressed." Pei Zhi chuckled, utterly amused by these monsters and demons.

He never imagined that finding someone who was good at playing ball would be harder than climbing to heaven.

He looked at the group of people and asked with a puzzled expression, "I'm not kidding, but in such a big school like No. 1 High School, do you think I can't find a single person who can play basketball?"

Pei Xi pursed her lips, exchanged a glance with Shen Miaoyi, and didn't know how to comfort him.

Based on how outrageous what he just said, all words of comfort seem utterly inadequate, far too inadequate.

There was a moment of silence at the table, but Shi Chen suddenly spoke softly: "Actually, there are people who can play ball."

Pei Zhi glanced at him coldly and sneered, "Where are the people who can play ball?"

Shi Chen raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't there someone who's been playing quite well?"

"Who?" Pei Zhi was taken aback.

Shi Chen opened his mouth, about to speak, when Pei Zhi suddenly thought of something and interrupted him with a stern face: "Stop, don't speak."

His face was ashen, and his eyes darkened. "I'm telling you, there's absolutely no way I'm going to see him."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chen shrugged, his face showing an expression of "I knew it would happen this way".

Pei Xi listened from the side and roughly guessed who they were talking about.

There's only one person whose playing skills are so good that Pei Zhi is so resistant to even mentioning it.

Pei Xi pictured those deep, dark eyes in his mind.

However, given Pei Zhi's personality, it is indeed completely impossible for him to soften his attitude and go to Jiang Cheng.

No wonder Shi Chen was too lazy to even try to persuade him anymore.

"If we really can't find someone satisfactory in the end, we still have two substitutes, right?" Pei Zhi looked at Shi Chen and took a deep breath.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!