Chapter 19: The Worst Ending The boy's clothes rustled like the sea...
Three-on-three basketball doesn't have a three-point line, only a two-point line. Xu Sirui's every shot is a two-pointer, and that alone is enough to impress. Basketball is a team sport that requires coordination, but to the uninitiated, dribbling, passing, defending... none of these things can quite match the adrenaline rush of a single shot. Add to that Xu Sirui's handsome appearance, and the fact that his athleticism adds a layer of allure to him. Even someone like Zhu Yingning, who knows his volatile nature, has to admit his charm on the court, let alone everyone else.
The screams gradually drowned out the boos, like a tidal wave and magnificent.
The sweat beads are like breaking waves, the black hair is like surging tides, and the rustling hem of the boy's clothes is like seagulls bobbing in the wind on the sea.
The digital representation on the scoreboard was of two fighting fish, each biting the other's tail.
When the score increased to 19:20, Lin Kaisheng suddenly raised his hand and called a timeout.
Zhu Yingning had a bad feeling. She knew her classmates, and Lin Kaisheng and Wei He seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
The referee granted his request, but the three-way match only lasted 30 seconds, and the atmosphere remained tense. Xu Sirui walked over with his hands in his pockets and scoffed, "Why a pause? Why not just finish the match in one go?"
Lin Kaisheng wiped the sweat from his chin and glared at him fiercely, veins bulging on his face. "Guess why I called a timeout? Xu Sirui, can you please play properly? You gave away the other team's four points from 16 to 20. If you give us another one, we're done!"
Xu Sirui spread his hands and smiled at him nonchalantly: "But I was the one who scored those four points from 15 to 19, right?"
"...What do you mean?" Lin Kaisheng exploded instantly, suspecting Xu Sirui was being sarcastic. His face flushed with rage, and he reached out to grab him by the collar. "You mean we're all burdens, right? You're the only one who's awesome? You're the only one who can score?"
Although he was the one being dragged, Xu Sirui remained calm and composed, appearing to be even more oppressed than Lin Kaisheng. He said meaninglessly, "Did I say that? If you insist on understanding it that way, I can't help it."
Wei He watched anxiously from the side and raised his hand to try to stop the fight: "Hey, stop arguing, the timeout is almost over, let's discuss a countermeasure..."
Then, as if to echo his words, he had just finished speaking when the referee blew the whistle.
The timeout is over and the game continues.
Wei He had a bitter face and just wanted to find a piece of frozen tofu and kill himself.
Unlike the tense atmosphere on their side, Zhou Yueshan used the timeout to discuss countermeasures, and when they returned to the court, everyone seemed confident.
Wei He's mental state was not good. His legs went weak when he saw this situation. Then he looked at the almost different scores on the scoreboard and the expectant eyes of his classmates, and his legs trembled even more like sieves.
"Remember to pass the ball to me as soon as you get it." Lin Kaisheng reminded him in a low voice as he passed by him.
"Oh... okay." Wei Heying was distracted.
Unlike the attention-seeking Lin Kaisheng and Zhou Yueshan, Wei He didn't want the ball passed to him. He feared being the key to victory, afraid of carrying the hopes of the entire class only to disappoint them. Rather than botching a crucial shot under the spotlight, it was better to be invisible, unnoticed, unblamed, and unremembered—that was Wei He's philosophy.
So when the race resumed, he kept running around aimlessly in the outer circle, trying to look busy while avoiding the heart of the fray.
But his slacking attitude was soon noticed, and the boys in his class collectively shouted at him, "Wei He, what are you doing running around there?! Hurry up and grab the ball!"
"I……"
"Hurry up! Didn't you see Xu Sirui has already gone up!"
Wei He took a closer look. Damn, it really was! Xu Sirui, who had been leisurely throughout the entire match, seemed determined to exert his strength at the final moment. Uncharacteristically, he rushed forward and confronted Zhou Yueshan.
On Xu Sirui's side, in addition to Zhou Yueshan himself, there was another opponent player assisting in defense around him. Lin Kaisheng was also trapped by a player. At the moment, only Wei He was left unguarded.
"Hurry up!" Everyone started urging him again.
Wei He had no choice but to rush forward.
He had no idea what he was doing, he just knew that after a dizzying spin, he actually managed to grab the ball.
What's even more terrifying is that even though the ball was in his hands, no one came to defend him.
Zhou Yueshan and another player blocked Xu Sirui tightly, and Lin Kaisheng was also unable to split his attention. Only in front of him was there no one, the door was wide open. The opponent obviously expected that he could not shoot, only pass, and planned to block his only two passing targets.
He subconsciously looked at Lin Kaisheng, but saw that the opponent next to Lin Kaisheng was staring at him fiercely, with an expression that seemed to say, "Pass it if you have the guts, and see if I can stop it."
What should I do? What should I do?!
The classmates booed him loudly: "Why don't you shoot it yourself! Wei He, shoot! You're going to time out with the ball, hurry up!"
Shoot it yourself? How could it be possible! Wei He knew his shooting percentage was accurate. He knew he only made one shot out of ten, and that was a stroke of luck. Furthermore, in this situation with so much pressure, it was impossible for him to make a shot. He didn't want to be the guilty party, and just wanted to pass this hot potato on his hands. He looked at Lin Kaisheng, who was so anxious that his face flushed red, sweat dripping down his forehead. He almost shouted, "Stop wasting time, pass it to me!"
Yes, yes, pass it to Lin Kaisheng... Just pass it to him according to his instructions.
However, for some reason, his body seemed to have its own thoughts. In the second before passing the ball, he couldn't help but look at Xu Sirui on the right.
Compared to the agitated people around him, Xu Sirui's reaction was extremely calm.
He was in no hurry at all.
Even though she was surrounded by Zhou Yueshan and others, there was no trace of tension or anxiety on her face. Her pair of peach blossom eyes, which were naturally smiling, looked at him lazily.
Wei He felt that Xu Sirui had a temperament that was very different from everyone else, just like the blue sky above his head, boundless and out of reach, arrogant, yet inexplicably reassuring.
Yes, peace of mind.
Perhaps it was Xu Sirui's perfect performance today that reassured him, or perhaps it was his nonchalant attitude that could be subjectively misinterpreted as confidence. Wei He inexplicably felt that as long as they passed the ball to Xu Sirui, they would definitely win the game.
But, Lin Kaisheng...
In just a second, countless considerations flashed through his mind, so fast that he couldn't even catch his own thoughts. In the end, his body made the decision for him. He rushed towards Lin Kaisheng, pretending to pass the ball to him. As all his opponents leaned towards him, he quickly turned and passed the ball to Xu Sirui.
"Wei He!!"
Lin Kaisheng roared in disbelief behind him.
Everything that followed happened in a flash. The moment the ball was airborne, Zhou Yueshan squatted and leaped without hesitation, like a mountain bearing down on him. Just as he was about to touch the edge of the basketball, a white hand suddenly appeared from behind him. Amidst a chaotic chorus of screams, its owner successfully intercepted the ball. A split second before landing, he quickly adjusted himself to a single-footed stance beyond the two-point line. With a flick of his wrist and a powerful arm, he released the shot with a smooth, flowing motion.
The basketball took off again, flew upward along a perfect parabola, and landed accurately into the basket.
——That’s how it should have been.
But to everyone's surprise, at the moment Xu Sirui shot, someone rushed out from the side and immediately blocked his ball.
The person who covered him was none other than Lin Kaisheng.
Everyone on and off the court was stunned, and the screams and boos stopped abruptly.
At the critical moment, Zhou Yueshan was the first to come to his senses, took the basketball, made a three-step layup, and started with a slam dunk.
There was a loud bang.
It was like being blown up by a cannon, and the already broken basketball hoop was almost blown down by him.
The basketball went into the basket accurately, the referee blew the whistle, and his class immediately burst into cheers of victory.
On the other side, everyone was still in a daze. Whether it was Wei He on the field or the classmates off the field, it was hard for them to believe what had just happened.
It was not until Xu Sirui laughed silently, turned around and raised his middle finger towards Lin Kaisheng that everyone came back to their senses.
"stupid*."
Xu Sirui not only raised his middle finger, but also cursed calmly.
Lin Kai was so angry that his face was twisted and his mouth was crooked. He raised his fist and rushed towards him.
Just as his fist was about to strike Xu Sirui's face, a thin arm suddenly stretched out from below and firmly grasped his wrist. Lin Kaisheng lowered his head and saw Zhu Yingning's sullen face.
"stop."
She spoke softly, her voice not loud, but full of unquestionable majesty.
Lin Kaisheng was still furious and wanted to fight with Xu Sirui on the spot, but he didn't rush forward because he thought of Zhu Yingning standing in front of him.
"...Just wait for me."
He shook off Zhu Yingning's hand, said something harsh to Xu Sirui, then turned and left, intending to settle the score with Wei He.
Wei He and Lin Kaisheng were friends. Zhu Yingning was not worried about what he would do to Wei He. At most, he would punch him in the chest twice or curse at him a few times to vent his anger. What really worried her was the conflict between him and Xu Sirui.
This is simply the worst possible ending.
**
Having lost the game, and for such a subtle reason, the atmosphere in the class was indescribable, and Zhu Yingning was in a very heavy mood.
On the other hand, Xu Sirui, one of the parties involved, acted more open-minded. After his initial anger subsided, he instantly acted like nothing had happened. He even asked her why she was so gloomy: "It looks so ugly."
"I really regret letting you participate in the competition now," she said.
"It's not too late to know now. Just don't bother me next time if something similar happens." He chuckled.
She said with a sad face: "I think how to deal with this matter is more serious than the so-called next time."
According to Zhu Yingning's simple values, both Xu Sirui and Lin Kaisheng had faults in this match. Xu Sirui's problem lay in his poor playing style, his complete lack of communication and coordination with his teammates. He conceded the most points, and also scored the most, but overall, his contributions outweighed his faults. Lin Kaisheng's fault lay in his impulsive behavior, allowing his personal imbalance to affect the collective honor. If she were to be fair, she felt Lin Kaisheng had the greater fault.
But this matter couldn't be simply determined based on her personal opinion, as Lin Kaisheng was very popular in the class. While objectively speaking, it was Lin Kaisheng's collision with Xu Sirui that led to the current situation, the class might be more inclined to judge right and wrong based on the cause rather than the outcome. And the cause of Lin Kaisheng's outburst was undoubtedly Xu Sirui's nonchalant attitude towards playing basketball.
She didn't dare to think about what Xu Sirui's future life in class would be like.
Even when he lay down on the kang to sleep at night, Zhu Yingning was still worried.
She thought about it, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was the culprit. It was all her fault for forcing Xu Sirui to participate in the competition. If she had respected his wishes, wouldn't all this have happened?
Finally, she could no longer bear the torment of her conscience, so she got up and planned to discuss with Xu Sirui what he should do in the future. However, when she looked closely, she found that he had fallen asleep, and she was left alone sighing at the spider webs on the ceiling.
**
Zhu Yingning was worried for several days, fearing that Xu Sirui would be bullied.
Unexpectedly, before this, another thing happened that gave her even more headaches.
Two days after the basketball game, on the way home, Xu Sirui suddenly handed her a stack of papers.
"What is this?" She took it.
Xu Sirui smiled with an ambiguous smile: "Just take a look for yourself."
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