Chapter 21
As the knockout stage entered the quarterfinals, the good news was that Mu Zhengxi's little finger splint was finally removed the day before the match after continuous rehabilitation treatment. The bad news was that Yan Yuheng, their main defender, was involved in a collision at the same time while riding his bicycle with an electric scooter that was turning left against traffic at an intersection. He was not seriously injured, but his sprained ankle meant he would definitely not be able to play.
The coach and Mu Zhengxi arrived at the hospital immediately.
Before Mu Zhengxi entered the ward, Yan Yuheng's mother pulled him aside, her eyes red and swollen, as if she had just been crying. "Zhengxi, comfort him. He just wouldn't listen and asked the doctor if the swelling would go down by tomorrow. He feels so guilty."
Mu Zhengxi patted her hand.
"Auntie, don't worry."
“He doesn’t listen to me, but he listens to you good friends.”
"Yes, don't worry about Auntie."
The person sitting on the hospital bed had one leg propped up and the other leg stretched out and unable to move, with the ankle visibly swollen.
The coach stood in front of the hospital bed with his hands in his pockets and quietly shook his head at Mu Zhengxi.
These two, who are usually the best at creating laughs, are now so quiet in this scene, it seems this blow was really big.
Mu Zhengxi raised his hand and patted Yan Yuheng's shoulder. "What are you doing? It's just a swollen foot, it's not like you've had an amputation." As he spoke, he couldn't resist pressing on it.
"Tsk, stop messing around."
Mu Zhengxi plopped down on the edge of the bed, looking at Yan Yuheng who was leaning against the bed with his head turned to one side. "No way, brother, I'm the one who should be comforted, and you want me to comfort you? What am I going to do? We're missing a key point guard, and we're playing against No. 8 Middle School tomorrow. No. 8 Middle School, buddy, the No. 8 Middle School that held on until overtime in last year's finals before being defeated by a last-second shot."
Yan Yuheng raised his hand to cover his forehead. "Damn it, it's all my fault. I should have ridden slower."
"Now you'll know how fast you usually ride your bike, and it'll be too late to regret it. Let me tell you, if you don't win the race tomorrow, they can put up a banner against you."
Although the coach knew Mu Zhengxi was using poison to fight poison, he felt the poison was a bit too much, and he was afraid Yan Yuheng would die from it. "Hey, actually—"
"Damn it, do you have any conscience? I'm lying here feeling terrible!"
Mu Zhengxi chuckled and caught the pillow that Yan Yuheng pulled out from behind and threw at him.
"Is this all the conscience you have for us? What, the team won't function without you?" Mu Zhengxi raised his chin. "Right, Coach?"
The coach chimed in, "Yes, yes, you guys can still function without me, you're awesome."
"Can't you guys be a little more serious?"
Yan Yuheng held back the tears that were about to fall.
"You can still swear, so it seems like you're not seriously injured." Mu Zhengxi threw the pillow back at him. "Alright, get well soon and try to get on the field with us in the finals. Otherwise, you'll feel guilty even if you win the championship."
The ward door was violently and abruptly kicked open.
Everyone was startled.
"Damn! I thought you were broken, but it's just like that."
Xu Zizhao, panting heavily, walked in, leaning against the door frame.
The pillow landed on Xu Zizhao again. "Damn it, are you even human? Can't you see how swollen your foot is???"
Xu Zizhao tucked it under his elbow and said dismissively, "You little thing, you'll be fine in a few days, there's still a while until the finals." He seemed to think Yan Yuheng was being pretentious by making a fuss.
Mu Zhengxi raised his hand and gave Xu Zizhao a high five.
Xu Zizhao: "Right, Coach?"
The coach laughed, "Yes, yes, that can't possibly delay the finals."
Xu Zizhao added, "I'll talk to Yuting tomorrow and ask her to bring you a fruit basket. Maybe you'll be better the day after tomorrow." He picked up an apple from the bedside table, didn't wash it, and started eating it raw. His throat was dry and burning from running all the way here.
"Hey, that's a good idea."
The coach pointed at Xu Zizhao, his eyes showing approval of the suggestion.
Yan Yuheng raised his hand and covered his eyes again. "Get out of here, I'm afraid you'll worsen my condition."
Mu Zhengxi pried his hands open, "Tears shed in front of everyone are also a form of encouragement for us."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Xu Zizhao took a bite of his apple and pulled out his phone from his pocket. "I'll record this and bring it to the locker room tomorrow to motivate the brothers."
Xu Ziheng began his speech in a broadcasting voice, "Let's exchange sincerity for sincerity. Please listen to the tears of a vice-captain who missed the game due to a sprained ankle."
"???!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Outside the ward.
Nurse: "Mrs. Yan, is everything really alright inside?"
"Oh, it's nothing, they've been used to it since they were little."
"But Yuheng's foot..."
"It's alright, they know what they're doing."
"Okay, I'll come over later."
"Thanks a lot."
They left the ward.
Xu Zizhao finally revealed the worry he hadn't dared to show earlier. He subconsciously looked at Mu Zhengxi and asked, just like the three of them did every time they did something foolish, "What should we do?" His voice was weak and uncertain.
Mu Zhengxi scanned the man's face from head to toe, then raised his hand and slapped him on the back to straighten him out. "What do you mean, 'what to do'? You said you could do it yourself inside, so do it this way."
"No, I really, sigh."
Some things are really cowardly to say. If it were Yan Yuheng, it would be fine, but with Mu Zhengxi, he really wouldn't dare to say such cowardly things in front of Mu Zhengxi. When he was in elementary school, some older kids in the neighborhood fought over the court they had occupied first. When the fight broke out, he got scared and ran away first. Although he ran to call the security guards, Mu Zhengxi still ignored him for several months because of it.
"coach?"
"Look at your captain, what are you afraid of?"
Xu Zizhao looked up at the person walking ahead with his hands in his pockets, seemingly unaffected by the unexpected turn of events, still acting arrogantly.
Saying he's not afraid at all is just a lie to intimidate others. If someone has a huge fist in front of him and isn't afraid, they must have a brainstem deficiency. But he's got a temper bigger than the sky. Besides, if even the team leader is afraid, what about the team members?
Mu Zhengxi lay on the bed, throwing tennis balls against the wall.
He sat up and lay down again, like doing sit-ups.
The small iron pot on the gas stove was bubbling away. I tore open the instant noodle bag, put in the noodles first, then the seasoning, stirred it with chopsticks, and then added two vegetable leaves as garnish.
Oh, eggs.
There are also eggs.
Open the refrigerator and take out an egg.
Plop! The shell shattered, like a cracked skull, and the egg white, along with the yolk, tumbled into the boiling soup.
The telephone in the living room rang between the sound of the television and the boiling water. "Jia Yi, Jia Yi."
Jiang Jiawei peeked out of the kitchen and called out.
"Jiang Jiayi??"
"Where did they go?"
I turned off the stove and ran out to answer the phone.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
"I was looking for you. What were you doing? Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"
The tone indicated dissatisfaction.
Jiang Jiawei glanced at the number and tentatively asked, "Is this Zhengxi?"
"Otherwise what? It's only been a few days, Jiang Jiawei, and you can't even recognize my voice anymore?"
"Why did you change your number? Wait a minute."
Jiang Jiawei put the microphone aside, ran back to the kitchen, brought out a small pot, placed a mat on it, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and picked up the phone again, saying, "Okay, go ahead and talk."
What are you doing?
"Oh, I was just cooking instant noodles, and I'm eating them now."
Mu Zhengxi remained silent for a few seconds.
"...Is the noodle you cooked edible?"
"Why not?"
Just then, the sound of eating noodles could be heard.
Mu Zhengxi sat up straight on the bed, condemning her immoral behavior late at night, "Jiang Jiawei, don't you have any manners? I'm calling you, and you're eating while I listen??"
The person on the other end of the phone laughed.
"I'm not eating now, it'll get too messy. How about I call you back after I finish eating?"
Mu Zhengxi refused in a muffled voice, "No."
What's wrong with you?
He said, "Yan Yuheng broke his leg and he won't be able to play in tomorrow's match."
Jiang Jiawei was shocked. "Ah?? You broke it? How could it be so serious??"
Mu Zhengxi touched his nose, regretting the overly exaggerated rhetoric.
"It's not broken, it's just sprained and swollen."
"How did you do that?"
"I collided with someone while riding my bicycle."
"Are you injured anywhere else?"
“No.” Mu Zhengxi emphasized the second half of the sentence that Jiang Jiawei had overlooked, and explained it in more detail, “But he can’t play in tomorrow’s game. We have the semi-final tomorrow, and he is our starting defender.”
“I see…” Jiang Jiawei put down her chopsticks, remained silent for a while, bit her lower lip in thought, “Wait a moment.”
"Wait again? What are you doing, Jiang Jiawei? Are you really making me wait until you finish your noodles???"
"Hey, Jiang Jiawei."
"Damn, I'm hanging up."
"Hey, why are you like this? Are we even friends? I'm really a little... never mind."
"Okay, actually I'm just a little worried, nothing else. I'm just worried that the other team members will have a bad attitude if they find out."
"Jiang Jiawei?"
Strangely, there was no sound of eating on the other end of the phone, only the faint sound of a television.
"You really went to eat noodles?"
"I'm really hanging up."
"Jiang Jiawei".
About five minutes later.
"Hello."
"..."
"Did you hang up?" Jiang Jiawei glanced at the phone display. "No."
"Is the signal bad?"
Finally, a faint, ghostly sound came from the other end, making Jiang Jiawei laugh.
"If I had been a second later, I would have been killed."
"Luckily, I was a second early!"
"Have you finished eating?"
"Hmm? Not yet." Jiang Jiawei said cheerfully, "I just went to light incense and cast the divination blocks for you to ask the local earth god. He said you will win tomorrow, so don't worry. Oh, I also told my mom to bless you."
I haven't heard a reply in a long time.
"Hello."
"strangeness."
"Jung-hee?"
Then came a muffled laugh that couldn't be suppressed. Mu Zhengxi was lying on the edge of the bed, his face buried in the pillow, laughing so hard he was shaking.
"What are you laughing at? I'm always right when I toss the Holy Grail, really."
Jiang Jiawei heard him laugh and laughed along with him.
"I'm serious, don't laugh."
"Jiang Jiawei, are you a fairy?"
Jiang Jiawei said earnestly, "No, I'm always very sincere. Sincerity brings results, that's what my grandpa said~" Her rising intonation at the end sounded quite proud.
Mu Zhengxi coughed a few times, his smile fading slightly. "Really?"
As Jiang Jiawei stuffed noodles into her mouth, she said, "Of course."
So you really want me to win?
"Isn't this what you wanted to win?"
Mu Zhengxi thought about it for a moment, and it seemed so.
"What if you lose?"
"If you lost, it's probably because they were worried you'd get hurt, so they made you lose, just like when you broke your finger last time. Losing was to shield you from the disaster."
"Oh, I see."
Jiang Jiawei nodded: "Yes, yes."
"Jiang Jiawei, is your dough soggy?"
"There's a little bit I plan to give to my brother."
Speak of the devil and he appears.
"Sis, there's no shampoo left in the bathroom."
"You went to take a shower. I thought you went somewhere else."
"Who are you talking to on the phone?"
"Jung-hee".
What does he want from you?
"Let's just chat."
What are they talking about so late at night? That's really suspicious. But then Jiang Jiayi suddenly remembered the comic they were both following, and her attention was instantly diverted. "Hey, I'll say a few words to him,"
Jiang Jiawei handed him the phone.
"I gave you the noodles too."
The phone call ended at the very end.
Mu Zhengxi said, "Remember to finish the noodles your sister cooked."
In his memory, Jiang Jiayi and Jiang Jiawei were only completely on the same page when it came to Jiang Jiawei's cooking. Mu Zhengxi also remembered Jiang Jiayi describing Jiang Jiawei's cooking skills, and to avoid offending his sister, he described it in a humorous way, like a comedy.
As expected, Jiang Jiayi also fell silent.
It's hard to believe, but someone can actually make instant noodles, which require absolutely no skill, taste terrible with a complex and layered flavor.
Mu Zhengxi, lying in bed, covered himself with the blanket, happily accepted the prophecy's guidance, and peacefully closed his eyes.
"Sis, I don't think I'm that hungry."
Didn't you just say you were hungry?
"I don't seem very hungry anymore, let's save it for Dad." Jiang Jiayi quickly got up. "I'm going to dry my hair."
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