During P.E. class, everyone changed into their sportswear and headed out to the sports field. Qi Shun and Fei Qinan ended up standing one behind the other in line. The teacher first had everyone loosen up their joints and muscles before jogging two laps around the field. Once everyone was warmed up, they were free to choose whichever sport they liked.
Qi Shun, usually so listless, transformed into a fierce tiger descending a mountain the moment P.E. started. He joined Lin Hao and a group of other tall guys in a game of basketball, where his exquisite skills and handsome shooting form caused several girls standing nearby to shriek with continuous excitement.
Fei Qinan walked over to the corner of the field alone and sat down, completely shrouding himself in the shade of a large tree. The lively atmosphere of the sports ground had nothing to do with him, and his eyes retained their usual calm and indifferent look.
Yet some people simply couldn’t stand seeing others at peace. A basketball suddenly came flying out of nowhere, smashing squarely into his left shoulder with a heavy thud that forced a muffled groan from his lips.
“Yo, is our top student heartthrob really that weak? You look just like a sissy,” Lin Hao jeered maliciously as he swaggered over to pick up the ball, drawing a roar of laughter from the sweaty male classmates around him.
Fei Qinan ignored him entirely. He stood up, intending to leave this right-and-wrong place, but was blocked by two of Lin Hao’s flunkies.
“What’s the matter? How about we have a real man’s showdown?” Lin Hao seemed utterly unable to stand the sight of Fei Qinan.
“I don’t like basketball.”
“Oh, holy crap!! You don’t even like basketball?! Hahaha!! Listen up, kid, don’t get too cocky. Let me tell you, I just can’t stand your pretty-boy scholar look! Damn it, neither fish nor fowl! You look just like a eunuch, for fuck’s sake! Haha…” Lin Hao mocked him with increasingly unbridled ridicule.
“Whatever you say.” Fei Qinan didn’t want to argue with him at all. He tried to walk away, but naturally, these guys weren’t going to let him leave easily.
“Want to make a bet?” Lin Hao seemed to have thought of a good idea.
“No.”
“Then don’t even think about leaving today.”
Looking at Lin Hao’s rogue-like expression, Fei Qinan knew he was deliberately picking a fight.
“What are we betting on?”
“Within ten minutes, if you can steal this ball from my hands and score a single basket, I’ll call you daddy right here. But if you lose… you have to kneel in front of me and bark like a dog three times. How about it?” Although Lin Hao was completely unacademic, his athletic coordination was reasonably well-developed. Moreover, his tall, broad, and sturdy build made the slender Fei Qinan look completely outmatched no matter how you looked at it. Everyone around was instantly hooked by the unfair wager.
“Fine, I bet.”
These two words even piqued the interest of Qi Shun, who was resting and watching the commotion from the side. While he despised Lin Hao’s overbearing bullying, he was even more curious to see whether his front-seat neighbor—who only knew how to study and was as quiet as a corpse, would actually drop to the ground and bark like a dog.
Pouring the remaining water from his bottle over his head to cool down his post-workout heat, Qi Shun rested a towel over his head and leaned against the basketball standard to watch every move unfolding before him.
Everyone spontaneously formed a circle, leaving only Lin Hao and Fei Qinan standing face-to-face in the middle, one tall and imposing, the other calm and collected, with Lin Hao’s face radiating disdain and absolute confidence, while Fei Qinan remained entirely unfazed.
The P.E. monitor raised his stopwatch. With the blow of a whistle, Fei Qinan instantly swiped the ball right out of the other’s hands. Before Lin Hao could even react, Fei Qinan was already dribbling, executing crisp, clean movements with textbook precision before sinking a gorgeous swish right through the net.
Seeing this, the female students nearby gasped as if watching a basketball protagonist stepping straight out of a manga, their eyes sparkling with adoration as they cheered frantically for Fei Qinan.
Enraged by the turn of events, Lin Hao cursed a blue streak and lunged forward to reclaim the ball. But robust and athletic though he was, he looked exceptionally clumsy compared to the agile Fei Qinan.
What they didn’t know was that Fei Qinan had spent all three years of middle school on the school basketball team. Initially, his parents had adamantly forbidden him from playing basketball, but after the coach personally intervened and vouched that he was a rare and exceptional talent, his parents reluctantly gave their consent—on the strict condition that it must not affect his academics by even a fraction, and that the moment he failed to maintain the top rank in his grade, he would be kicked off the team immediately.
It was only upon entering high school that his parents ruthlessly stripped away his sole outlet for release.
Today, Lin Hao’s provocation temporarily ignited the repressed emotions buried deep inside him. Although it violated the vow he made to his parents never to touch a basketball again, he could no longer bring himself to care. Just this once, let him properly say goodbye to basketball just one last time.
Ten minutes passed in a flash. Fei Qinan effortlessly racked up over a dozen baskets, while Lin Hao stood staring at him with a face the color of green paste.
Prompted by someone in the crowd who loudly took the lead, the surrounding students all joined in, chanting together in unison:
“Call him daddy! Call him daddy!!”
“FUCK!! Are you all tired of living or what?! Get lost!! Get the fuck out of my sight!!” Lin Hao barked, shamelessly acting like a sore loser.
Although everyone knew Lin Hao wasn’t as coldblooded and explosive as Qi Shun, he was no pushover either, so nobody dared to keep egging him on and instead scattered like startled birds.
Without a word, Fei Qinan tossed the basketball back into Lin Hao’s hands and walked away. Just then, the P.E. teacher blew the whistle to gather the class for dismissal. Glaring angrily at Fei Qinan while tossing the ball aside, Lin Hao had no choice but to let it drop for now.
Qi Shun had taken in the entire spectacle, his curiosity toward his seemingly fragile front-seat neighbor deepening even further. Well, well. Who would’ve thought this kid had a few hidden tricks up his sleeve.
As P.E. class ended, Qi Shun deliberately fell into step beside Fei Qinan on the way back to the classroom.
“Hey, you played pretty well back there. Bet you’ve played quite a bit before, huh?”
“Middle school team,” Fei Qinan replied without looking at him, keeping his pace.
“Then why aren’t you playing anymore?”
“No time.”
“Hah, what a great excuse!” Qi Shun clapped his hands in mock applause. “How about we pick a day to go one-on-one?”
“No.”
“Why not? Relax, even if you lose, I won’t make you bark like a dog.” He wasn’t as hopelessly boring as Lin Hao.
“No time.” Fei Qinan refused once again.
“Lin Hao still hasn’t called you daddy yet. Want me to help you make that happen?” Qi Shun offered, seemingly eager to stir up trouble.
“No need.” As expected, another flat rejection.
“Tsk, what a boring guy. Hey…Do you always live your life this miserably dull?” Qi Shun thought his own life was already devoid of excitement, but it turned out Fei Qinan had him beat.
“Mn…”
“Will it kill you to use a few extra words?”
“No.”
“Then why do you always reply with a single syllable? I’ve never met anyone as lifeless as you—so young and yet acting like some holy sage.”
“Think whatever you want.” Fei Qinan returned to his seat and picked up his textbook to read.
Qi Shun forcibly swallowed back a stomach full of retorts. Irritated, he chugged half a bottle of water, glared viciously at the back of the head in front of him, and gave his own mineral water bottle a few aggressive “air-combat swings” over Fei Qinan’s head. Muttering a few curses under his breath, he returned to his “day job” as the class sleep god.
Damn it! One of these days I’m going to untie your tongue and make you speak properly! Just wait, you better just wait for me!!
Even in his dreams, Qi Shun continued muttering away stubbornly, nearly startling the sixty-something math teacher on the podium into dropping his plastic triangle, convinced he had somehow offended this supreme deity.