Song Mufang’s gym class was pretty relaxed. As long as they passed the end-of-term assessment, they were good to go, so the regular classes were quite laid-back.
In this gym class, after the routine of having the students run three laps around the track, the gym teacher let the boys and girls practice basketball or volleyball freely and then left.
Once the gym teacher was out of sight, Li Buyan bounced the ball, caught it with his wrist, and called out, “Anyone up for some basketball?”
“I am!” came a quick response from the crowd.
Li Buyan, holding the ball, smiled at Song Mufang. “Song Mufang, are you joining us for basketball?”
Song Mufang had just attempted a three-pointer, but unfortunately, the ball missed the hoop, sliding off the rim.
He ran a couple of steps to retrieve the ball that had rolled away and turned to answer Li Buyan’s question. “I’m not good at basketball. I’d just hold you guys back, so I’ll pass.”
“No worries, I’m not that great at basketball either. No one’s going to mind.” Li Buyan continued to invite him enthusiastically.
Song Mufang glanced down at the basketball in his hands, thought about his skills, and shook his head. “I’ll pass for now. Once I get better, I’ll definitely join in next time.”
“Alright then.” Li Buyan knew not to push it. Seeing the others had already formed teams and were calling his name, he said to Song Mufang, “I’m off,” and ran to the open basketball court.
The game started quickly over there.
Song Mufang listened to the sound of the basketball bouncing and couldn’t help but turn his head to watch.
The boys on the court were running and scrambling for the ball with youthful energy.
Song Mufang felt a twinge of envy.
Before he came here, his previous body had a weak heart, and even a few extra steps would leave him breathless.
Mother Song was worried something might happen to him, so she never let him go out to play basketball with others. She had a basketball hoop installed in the small garden in front of their house so Song Mufang could shoot hoops when he was bored.
But practicing alone was vastly different from playing with others on a court.
Even now, Song Mufang wasn’t great at dribbling, which was why he didn’t dare join Li Buyan and the others.
Pressing his lips together, Song Mufang looked away.
He walked a bit farther away, holding the basketball, and found an unused hoop. He started practicing his shooting and dribbling again.
Song Mufang wasn’t great at dribbling, but his three-point shooting was decent. Out of ten shots, he could make five or six.
The sun was blazing, and after shooting twenty or thirty balls and retrieving them about ten times, he was sweating quite a bit, with a small patch of his shirt sticking to his back.
His porcelain-like face was tinged with red, and a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.
With a clang, the basketball rolled off the side of the hoop and hit the ground again.
This time, Song Mufang didn’t rush to pick it up. He stood there, casually wiping the sweat from his forehead with his shirt, revealing a small section of his pale, slender waist.
After letting his shirt fall back down, Song Mufang looked up, following the direction the ball had rolled, intending to retrieve it.
The brown basketball had rolled quite a distance, lying about ten meters away.
And there, not far from the ball, was Jing Zhao, who had approached without Song Mufang noticing.
Song Mufang was startled and hurriedly asked in his mind, [1111, don’t you think your proximity alert needs some improvement? Jing Zhao’s right there, and I didn’t hear a thing.]
[The male lead has been within twenty meters of you the whole time. He didn’t come within five meters, so the automatic alert didn’t trigger. What can I do? I can’t just keep my eyes on him all the time.] The System sounded a bit aggrieved.
Song Mufang was at a loss for words.
All morning, Song Mufang hadn’t found a good opportunity to earn life points from Jing Zhao.
But now, looking at the basketball lying near Jing Zhao, Song Mufang’s eyes darted as he came up with an idea to earn some points.
He cleared his throat and shouted to Jing Zhao, “Jing Zhao, pass me the basketball!”
His voice was loud, his expression fierce, and Song Mufang silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Of course, he didn’t expect Jing Zhao to respond. After all, his existence was just to annoy Jing Zhao.
Song Mufang thought Jing Zhao wouldn’t pay him any attention, and he was already annoyed with himself for being so rude.
He tried to maintain his villainous aura, holding Jing Zhao’s gaze for a second, two seconds…
Just as he was about to look away and step forward to retrieve the ball, Jing Zhao moved.
He bent down, picked up the basketball, and tossed it over with his right hand.
Song Mufang instinctively reached out and caught the ball Jing Zhao had thrown.
What just happened?
Song Mufang’s gaze flitted between Jing Zhao and the basketball.
He really hadn’t expected Jing Zhao to respond to him.
He asked in confusion, [1111, is this reaction normal for the male lead?]
The System was silent for so long that Song Mufang began to wonder if it had crashed. Finally, 1111 replied, [Normal, perfectly normal.]
Song Mufang was relieved. [Why did it take you so long to answer?]
[I was pondering other issues.]
Song Mufang asked with concern, [Did you figure it out?]
The System’s voice was a bit weak: [No.]
Song Mufang didn’t think much of it. [Keep at it then, good luck!]
After saying this, Song Mufang looked down at the basketball in his hands, feeling a bit flattered.
Jing Zhao was really aloof. In his memory, this was the first time he’d seen the cool male lead respond to someone.
Song Mufang then made two more three-point shots. Perhaps because Jing Zhao was nearby, Song Mufang wanted to show off a bit and performed exceptionally well, sinking both shots right through the center of the hoop.
He retrieved the basketball with a spring in his step and turned to find Jing Zhao sitting on a bench outside the court.
Maybe because Jing Zhao had just passed him the ball, Song Mufang felt a bit emboldened and wasn’t as afraid of Jing Zhao anymore.
Having shot hoops for half the class, Song Mufang was a bit tired and decided to take a break.
He sat cross-legged on a bench two meters away from Jing Zhao, idly poking the basketball with his fingers while pondering how to earn life points.
[Host, go for it! Provoke him! Insult him!]
System 1111 got particularly excited at the sight of Jing Zhao.
Song Mufang calmed the System and turned to Jing Zhao. “Jing Zhao, why aren’t you playing basketball?”
Jing Zhao was silent for a moment before answering Song Mufang’s question. “I don’t feel like it.”
Song Mufang placed the basketball on the bench, giving Jing Zhao a skeptical look, not quite believing him.
Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.
Could it be that Jing Zhao doesn’t know how to play basketball?
This semester, there had been three gym classes so far, and Song Mufang couldn’t recall seeing Jing Zhao touch a basketball.
How could someone who knows how to play basketball resist touching a ball during gym class?
As for the end-of-term sports exam…
Jing Zhao didn’t even bother writing his Chinese exam, so why would he worry about failing gym?
The more Song Mufang thought about it, the more convinced he was that this was the truth.
He poked the basketball with his finger and spoke up. “Jing Zhao, could it be that you don’t know how to play basketball?”
Questioning the male lead’s basketball skills was a classic villain move.
Sure enough, another life point was credited.
Song Mufang steadied himself and continued speaking. “Actually, basketball is really fun and quite simple. I’m sure you can learn it. Start with three-pointers. How about I show you by shooting ten balls first?”
Without waiting for Jing Zhao’s response, Song Mufang jumped off the bench, dribbling the basketball as he ran to the three-point line, shouting from a distance, “Watch my moves!”
With that, Song Mufang focused his attention on the basketball in his hands.
He took two steps outside the three-point line, found his usual spot, and jumped, releasing the ball.
The basketball traced a beautiful arc and, under Song Mufang’s eager gaze, landed squarely in the hoop.
Song Mufang didn’t let up, retrieving the ball and repeating the shooting motion.
In front of Jing Zhao, Song Mufang’s performance was unusually stable.
Out of ten three-point shots, he made eight!
A full eight!
How am I this amazing!
As he walked off the court, Song Mufang felt a bit light-headed, his mind spinning.
He jogged over to Jing Zhao, handing him the basketball. “See? Eight out of ten. It’s really simple. You should give it a try.”
Jing Zhao didn’t move.
He really doesn’t know how to play basketball.
Song Mufang was increasingly convinced of his theory, urging, “Go on, give it a try.”
The boy’s face was slightly flushed from playing basketball, his eyes sparkling in the light, his voice cheerful as he invited Jing Zhao to play.
Jing Zhao took the basketball from Song Mufang’s hands. “Alright.”
When Song Mufang saw Jing Zhao agree, his mood improved even more. He sat cross-legged on the bench again, eagerly watching Jing Zhao’s performance.
The first shot.
It went in.
Wow, Jing Zhao’s pretty lucky.
Song Mufang didn’t sense any danger yet.
The second shot.
It went in again.
Jing Zhao’s luck is really something.
Song Mufang felt a bit envious.
The third shot.
Still went in.
Song Mufang started to feel a bit sour.
The fourth shot.
The fifth shot.
…
Song Mufang’s expression gradually turned numb.
When Jing Zhao walked back, Song Mufang’s voice was tinged with the sourness of lemons. “You’re amazing, all ten shots went in.”
“Not bad.” Jing Zhao glanced at Song Mufang’s slightly pouting lips and looked away. “You were right. It’s really simple.”
Song Mufang: “…”
It felt like a knife had been driven into his heart.
Song Mufang glanced at Jing Zhao’s still calm expression and didn’t feel like talking to him anymore. He dashed off with the basketball.
Back in the classroom, his classmates had already returned. When Song Mufang arrived, he saw Li Buyan with his head buried in his desk, shoulders shaking with laughter, making rooster-like crowing sounds, pounding the desk with his hand.
Song Mufang sat at his desk, with Li Buyan behind him giggling incessantly.
Li Buyan’s deskmate, Meng Fan, couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking at? You’re laughing so hard I’m afraid you’ll run out of breath.”
Song Mufang was curious too and perked up his ears.
Li Buyan wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. “I’m reading a comic. There’s a scene in the latest chapter that’s killing me.”
Meng Fan asked again, “What scene is so funny?”
Song Mufang perked up even more.
He wasn’t in the best mood right now, and if it was really funny, he wanted to check it out too.
“There’s this really dumb villain in the comic who gets totally humiliated by the protagonist. His facial expressions are hilarious.”
Song Mufang’s expression slowly froze, and after a moment, he turned to ask, “What exactly happens? Is it really that dumb?”
“Yeah, in the latest chapter, this little villain jumps out to provoke the protagonist, challenging him to a fencing duel, only to get thoroughly humiliated. You wouldn’t believe how confident he was before the match. His inner monologue was something else.”
Song Mufang: “…”
Li Buyan’s deskmate found it interesting, peeked over, and after reading, burst into laughter too. “This little villain is so dumb, hahahaha, can anyone really be that dumb?”
Song Mufang couldn’t listen anymore. He turned back around, slumped over his desk, his ears twitching as he slowly curled into a withdrawn little mushroom.
Author’s Note:
Song Mufang: I feel a bit offended.