21. The wind blew up his black shirt
"I'm coming, I'm coming." A man walked out from the side of the court.
Xiao Cheng smiled when he saw it was "Brother with Slanted Eyes".
"How do you play this ball?" Xu Wenqiang asked.
"Since we have added more people, let's start again. You have consumed your physical strength before, so let's have five balls. The team that scores five goals first will win. Do you think this will work?" Xiao Cheng said.
"That's it." Chen Yang said, and without asking for other people's opinions, he took the ball away.
"Hey, senior brother, let's discuss some tactics." Brother Slant Eyes chased after Chen Yang and said.
"Just pass the ball to me," said Chen Yang.
"Do we need tactics?" Xu Wenqiang asked Xiao Cheng.
"It's not really necessary. Just find a place to stand under the basket. If you can get the ball, shoot. If you can't get the ball, just watch." Xiao Cheng said.
"What about defense? I can't defend anyone. All I have is my shooting percentage," said Xu Wenqiang.
"I'll be the one defending." Xiao Cheng said.
Xu Wenqiang understood that Xiao Cheng had no intention of fighting two against two; he was going to fight one against two.
The game started, Chen Yang got the ball. He ignored the signal from the slanted-eyed guy next to him to cooperate with him, and rushed towards the block with the ball.
Xu Wenqiang followed Xiao Cheng's instructions and found a suitable spot, intending to watch the fun and see what Xiao Cheng was capable of. She and Chen Yang had played eight ball earlier, and she was actually quite tired, but she hadn't paid much attention. Only when Xiao Cheng intervened and disrupted the situation did she remember to take a break.
Chen Yang rushed to the basket, but Xiao Cheng blocked him tightly. Chen Yang couldn't break through with the ball, so the slant-eyed brother shouted, "Brother, pass the ball, pass the ball!"
Chen Yang couldn't shoot and was annoyed by the shouting, so he threw the ball at the slant-eyed brother angrily.
Slant-Eyes got the ball, excited, and was about to shoot. But just as he threw the ball, Xiao Cheng, who had been keeping a close eye on Chen Yang, jumped up again and knocked the ball away.
The ball fell to the ground and was caught by Xu Wenqiang who was watching the fun on the side.
Chen Yang and Brother Slanted Eyes were both anxious when they saw this, but Chen Yang was being guarded by Xiao Cheng, and Brother Slanted Eyes was too late to run over to guard Xu Wenqiang, so he could only watch Xu Wenqiang easily score a goal.
For the second goal, Xiao Cheng took the ball and attacked.
Chen Yang lost the first goal because of Xiao Cheng's defense, and wanted to compete with Xiao Cheng, so he also used close defense, but he did not do it as well as Xiao Cheng, so the threat he posed was relatively small.
Seeing that Xiao Cheng was about to break through successfully, Chen Yang shouted, "Come over and defend together, hurry up!"
Brother Slant Eyes was afraid of Xu Wenqiang's pitching and didn't want to listen to Chen Yang, but he couldn't stand Chen Yang's scolding.
"Are you fucking deaf? I fucking asked you to come over and help defend!..."
Brother Slant Eyes no longer cared about Xu Wenqiang. After all, the ball was not played for him, so it would not be shameful for him to lose.
Then, as soon as Brother Slant Eyes left, Xiao Cheng smiled.
Chen Yang thought, this is bad. But it was too late.
Xiao Cheng passed the ball accurately to Xu Wenqiang who was standing under the basket watching the fun.
Xu Wenqiang got the ball, turned around and shot, and the second ball was successfully scored.
Xiao Cheng walked over and Xu Wenqiang went to meet him. The two looked at each other and stretched out their right hands at the same time. A crisp clapping sound reached their hearts amid the screams of ghosts and wolves in the stadium.
Xu Wenqiang knew that they were sure to win this game.
Xu Wenqiang's hunch was correct. She and Xiao Cheng ultimately defeated Chen Yang and his team 5-0. Four of those five goals were scored by Xu Wenqiang. Xiao Cheng had already passed the ball to Xu Wenqiang for the final shot, but she didn't shoot immediately. Instead, she waited until Xiao Cheng reached the basket before passing it back to him.
Xiao Cheng didn't hesitate any longer. After a fake move to shake off Chen Yang, he made a clean layup and scored.
Xu Wenqiang couldn't help but shout "good shot" for him.
The game was over and it was getting dark.
Chen Yang looked at Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng in the distance with a gloomy face. This was originally a matter between him and Xu Wenqiang, but now someone else had gotten involved.
He threw the ball hard to the ground and left the court without saying a word.
Brother Slant Eyes walked up to Xu Wenqiang and gave her a thumbs-up: "Senior Sister, you are still as charming as ever."
"You make me sound so old, even though it's only been a short while since I graduated from this school," said Xu Wenqiang.
"I thought you wouldn't be able to see this kind of ball after you graduated, but I didn't expect to have the pleasure of seeing it today." Brother Slant Eyes said with a chuckle.
Xu Wenqiang thought to herself, who would want to play this kind of ball? But she said very straightforwardly: "Don't worry, you will definitely see me play again." After saying that, she glanced at Xiao Cheng and said, "But you probably won't be able to see this guy's ball."
"That's not necessarily true." Xiao Cheng took over the conversation and said to Xu Wenqiang, "Remember to call me next time."
Xu Wenqiang thought Xiao Cheng was just being polite, so she gave a dry laugh and said, "Sure, sure."
Xiao Cheng added: "I'm serious."
Xu Wenqiang waved her hand and said, "I know, I know."
Xiao Cheng knew that Xu Wenqiang didn't take his words seriously, but he didn't say anything more.
Slant-Eye Brother and the people on the court left one after another. Xiao Cheng asked Xu Wenqiang, "Are you going home?"
"No." Xu Wenqiang sat down on the ground, "You go back first, I'll rest for a while."
Xiao Cheng didn't leave, he sat down next to Xu Wenqiang.
Xu Wenqiang glanced at him and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
"I want to talk to you." Xiao Cheng said.
Xu Wenqiang's hair stood on end when she heard this, and she looked at Xiao Cheng warily, "Don't try to play the part of me being bitter and resentful, even though I know I do look like I have a miserable life."
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in your fate," Xiao Cheng said. "I just want to ask, did you really learn this shooting skill by joining the basketball team?"
"It's half true." Xu Wenqiang still felt a little guilty. "Chen Yang is on the Qingshi Junior High School basketball team. Playing basketball with him is like receiving basketball team training."
Xiao Cheng actually guessed it. Just like her mental arithmetic was "beaten out" by Xu Yanmei with a stick, her basketball skills were "beaten out" by Chen Yang with a basketball.
He had no idea how Xu Wenqiang mastered mental arithmetic, but when it came to basketball, Xiao Cheng knew without even asking how much she put into it, judging by her standard shooting form and extremely high shooting percentage.
But he still asked, "Are you tired?"
Xu Wenqiang was stunned. The images of a person pitching, picking up the ball, pitching, picking up the ball... rushed through her mind like a tornado.
"Are you tired?" She didn't expect anyone to ask her this question.
Xu Wenqiang raised her head, sighed and said, "I'm tired!"
How could she not be tired? Every time she collapsed to the ground, exhausted beyond her wits' length, she considered giving up and letting Chen Yang beat her up. But as soon as she could stand up, she changed her mind. She might as well have practiced a few more balls instead of just sitting there waiting for Chen Yang to beat her up.
"But no matter how tired you are, there will be a time to rest, as long as you are still alive." Xu Wenqiang said, looking at the sky.
These words slid into his heart like a piece of icy ice, and when warmed by his blood, they melted and seeped into his internal organs.
Xiao Cheng didn't say anything else and looked up at the sky with Xu Wenqiang.
The campus is already empty on weekends. Now the huge campus is silent with only the sounds of wind and insects, and the boys and girls sitting on the ground on the basketball court.
If I didn't say anything, it would seem a little too quiet. Xu Wenqiang thought of the "long story" question from earlier.
"Xiao Cheng, how did you find this place?" The evening breeze blew, Xu Wenqiang closed her eyes, and was about to feel the comfort of the wind, but unexpectedly she smelled a fishy smell.
Xiao Cheng also smelled it and sighed. He had forgotten the bag of fish and shrimp, as well as grandma's dumplings.
Xu Wenqiang opened her eyes, looked around, and saw a bicycle not far away and a bag of fish and shrimp on the bicycle.
"Xiao Cheng, did you go to the farmers' market?" Xu Wenqiang seemed to have guessed it.
"Well, I happened to meet Su Xiaoshan. He said you came here to play basketball. I was free anyway, so I asked around and came here." Xiao Cheng said.
Xu Wenqiang looked at Xiao Cheng, a "thank you" almost on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back. Su Xiaoshan must have said something to Xiao Cheng, otherwise Xiao Cheng wouldn't have been so bored as to come and meddle in her affairs. But since Xiao Cheng had said he was there to watch the game, not to meddle in other people's affairs, it was clear he didn't expect her to thank him. So she could only assume he was there to watch the game, otherwise it would ruin the atmosphere.
"I have to go back." Xiao Cheng said as he stood up from the ground.
Xu Wenqiang also stood up: "Then I'll go too."
"I'll take you back on my bike."
"That's a good feeling."
Xiao Cheng held the bicycle and asked Xu Wenqiang to sit on it first. Xu Wenqiang then stretched out her legs and sat on it.
Xiao Cheng looked at her with disgust: "You are a girl, how can you behave like Gao Zhe?" Shouldn't girls sit with their bodies tilted to one side?
"What's wrong with this behavior?" The girl Xu Wenqiang was confused.
"Forget it, just do whatever makes you feel comfortable." Xiao Cheng shook his head and got into the car.
"Wait a minute, I remembered something." Xu Wenqiang suddenly grabbed Xiao Cheng's clothes.
"What's the matter?" Xiao Cheng turned around and asked.
Xu Wenqiang said seriously, "Did you buy that seafood from my house?"
Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang, tried to hold back, but couldn't help it, so he reached out and flicked her forehead: "I bought it from your house."
"That's fine." Xu Wenqiang rubbed his forehead and said, "We've done business before. You can only buy seafood from my family."
"Sit tight, let's go." Xiao Cheng said.
Xu Wenqiang grabbed the back seat tightly: "Let's go."
The two men rode to the gate, and the security guard waved at them: "Anyone else? I'm about to close the gate."
Xu Wenqiang also waved his hand: "Uncle, there is no one here, close the door!"
"Okay!"
Behind me came the sound of gates closing with a loud bang.
Xu Wenqiang sat in the back seat, watching the familiar shops and scenery on the street slowly pass by, feeling lazy and soft in her heart. Turning back, Xiao Cheng's shirt was blown up by the wind, rubbing against her face from time to time.
Xu Wenqiang poked Xiao Cheng's shirt with her finger and said with regret: "Xiao Cheng, why aren't you wearing a white shirt?"
"Why should I wear a white shirt?" Xiao Cheng's voice came from the front. He was wearing a black shirt today.
"That's how it's written in novels: 'The wind blew up his white shirt' and so on. But in your version, it became 'The wind blew up his black shirt', which doesn't feel right," said Xu Wenqiang.
Xiao Cheng chuckled softly: "Next time then."
The street lights on the roadside suddenly lit up, and the streets, trees, pedestrians... everything was dyed into a warm existence.
Xu Wenqiang muttered to herself, there won’t be a next time.
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