The basketball match between Class One and Class Two indeed attracted quite a bit of attention from off-court spectators, thanks to the participation of Yuan Tingshen and Yuan Miao.
Li Qing was seated in the front row by Yuan Miao, who eagerly declared that he was going to show off his skills and told Li Qing to watch closely.
Li Qing had no choice but to agree.
Not long after she sat down, she overheard discussions from a few rows behind.
“Isn’t that the top student in our grade? Class One actually managed to get him to join.”
“Who’s the handsome guy next to the top student? He’s a new face!”
“So handsome… and he’s the sunny, cheerful, puppy-like type.”
“Are you switching sides again?”
“Well, I still prefer older guys… I’m really curious about who could ever win over the top student.”
“Forget about the top student. Someone like him, a ‘flower on a high peak,’ is practically impossible to reach.”
Li Qing was utterly confused.
A bunch of unfamiliar terms floated through her mind.
Li Qing rarely spent time surfing the internet, as most of her free time was devoted to studying and part-time work.
Besides, it was already impressive that her five-year-old phone was still functional.
The girls behind her grew more and more excited, and Li Qing’s attention was gradually drawn to their conversation. Subconsciously, she turned her gaze to the court.
The two figures standing side by side did look somewhat similar at first glance, though their personalities were clearly different.
Yuan Tingshen always wore a cold and steady expression, truly fitting the description of a “flower on a high peak”—difficult to pluck.
In contrast, Yuan Miao was boisterous and constantly fidgeting, clearly full of energy and lively.
“Beep!”
The whistle blew, and the match began.
The students from both classes immediately clashed head-on, filled with tension.
Ji Minglang seized the first ball, dodged two blocking students from Class Two, and was then stopped by others.
Seeing this, he immediately passed the ball to Yuan Miao beside him.
“Good buddy, I’ll let you have the spotlight.”
“Got it!”
Yuan Miao caught the ball and directly performed a three-pointer from where he stood.
“Thud!”
The basketball landed perfectly in the hoop. He simply turned around and gave a cool salute to the spectators outside the court.
“Ah!!”
“He’s so good at this!”
“Go, Class One! Go, Class One!”
Amidst the screams and cheers, Yuan Miao proudly flashed a bright smile at his mom.
Li Qing couldn’t help but chuckle.
Ji Minglang hadn’t expected Yuan Miao to be even more of a show-off than him.
Glancing at the reactions of the Class Two students, he walked over and patted Yuan Miao’s shoulder, gleefully saying, “Buddy, you’ve won in attracting hatred.”
“This is called skill.”
Yuan Miao snorted lightly.
Ji Minglang shrugged. “Just wait and see. The Class Two guys are definitely going to keep a close eye on you from now on.”
Sure enough, Yuan Miao soon felt the targeting from Class Two. He was constantly surrounded and blocked, unable to even pass the ball.
By the end of the first half, Yuan Miao was panting heavily from exhaustion.
Seeing this, Li Qing opened a bottle of water and handed it to him.
“Hehe, thanks, Mom.”
Yuan Miao’s eyes lit up, instantly rejuvenated.
He glanced at Yuan Tingshen, who was standing alone not far away watching the scene, and suddenly seemed to have an idea. He ran over.
Pretending to show off casually, he said, “Dad, I know you have a thing about cleanliness. What a shame.”
Yuan Tingshen: “…”
He gave Yuan Miao a speechless look but didn’t respond.
When the second half began, Yuan Miao was surprised to see his dad reveal his true skills.
Yuan Tingshen kept scoring frequently, his shooting accuracy was unbelievably high, and even the double-teaming from Class Two couldn’t stop him.
Ji Minglang was beyond excited.
“The class monitor is hiding his skills!”
With the support of two formidable players, Class One quickly surpassed Class Two in score, and both sides were exhausted.
Yuan Miao only snapped out of it later, guessing the truth behind his dad’s sudden burst of energy.
He walked over to Yuan Tingshen and muttered, “Dad, I never knew you still had such a youthful side.”
Yuan Tingshen shot him a sidelong glance.
The next moment, Yuan Miao suddenly dropped a bombshell: “I thought you only knew how to act like a green tea.”
He then added sarcastically, “You often show off your ‘tea art’ in front of Mom to get her attention. Your tactics are impressive.”
It could be said that Yuan Miao’s knack for acting cute largely came from his father’s “leading by example.”
“Ahem.”
Yuan Tingshen was startled and choked on his own saliva.
He instinctively retorted, “Impossible.”
His frown deepened.
“Hmph, suit yourself.”
Yuan Miao couldn’t be bothered to explain. His dad would come around eventually anyway.
The basketball game was nearing its end.
With the score gap too wide, Class Two gave up struggling, and the atmosphere on the court relaxed considerably.
Yuan Miao, however, suffered from his own overexcitement.
He sprained his ankle.
“Ouch—”
When Yuan Miao fell to the ground, he was completely dazed.
But Li Qing and Yuan Tingshen reacted immediately.
Li Qing rushed forward, wanting to pick up Yuan Miao and take him to the infirmary, but Yuan Tingshen swiftly stopped her.
“I’ll do it.”
He picked up Yuan Miao, informed the PE teacher, and then carried him off the court.
Li Qing chose to follow them.
“Teacher, I’ll go check on him too.”
“Alright.”
The PE teacher nodded.
He glanced at Ji Minglang beside him and asked in confusion, “Is this new transfer student so close with these two top students?”
“…Teacher, I wish I knew the answer too.”
Ji Minglang forced a smile.
He had wanted to follow them, but the atmosphere among the three of them was something he just couldn’t break into!
Everyone on the court saw the three of them leaving together, and the spectators immediately started gossiping.
“What’s their relationship?!”
“Can someone from Class One explain?!”
…
Yuan Tingshen placed Yuan Miao on the infirmary bed and then stepped outside to let the school doctor in for an examination.
He glanced at Li Qing outside the infirmary, whose eyes were filled with worry, and the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.
Why was Li Qing so worried about Yuan Miao?
It didn’t seem like concern for a friend, more like…
Yuan Tingshen couldn’t think of a word to describe this feeling.
Inside the infirmary.
The school doctor was also very curious.
When Yuan Miao was brought in, the anxiety and worry on the faces of those two were almost overflowing, as if it were their own child who was injured.
So, while telling Yuan Miao to bear with it, she asked him, “What’s your relationship with those two outside?”
Yuan Miao thought for a moment, then answered proudly, “We have the closest relationship in the world!”
Crack.
“Ow!”
As the school doctor realigned Yuan Miao’s dislocated bone, she asked in shock, “They accept that kind of relationship?!”
“They have to accept it.”
Yuan Miao endured the pain, his face full of confusion.
It wasn’t like he could have popped out of a rock!
The school doctor: “Hiss.”
Has the world progressed to a point she no longer understands?
So when Yuan Miao leisurely walked out, before Li Qing could even ask about the situation, she met the school doctor’s complicated gaze.
The school doctor ultimately chose to respect the young people’s preferences.
She sighed and patiently advised, “His foot is fine now, just try to avoid too much movement these next couple of days.”
“And you two… you should still focus on your studies first.”
Li Qing, Yuan Tingshen: “”
Both couldn’t help but look at Yuan Miao—what on earth had he told the school doctor?!
Yuan Miao blinked innocently, quite skillfully playing dumb.