“Hey, friend, let’s keep it fair, alright? That was just a normal play, I slipped up, but I already apologized. But aren’t you crossing the line by mocking us, saying we can’t win?”
The man waved his hand, his tone still stubborn, even when faced with Gou Yu’s furious glare.
Gou Yu had already heard a bit about Xiao Yi’an from Zhu Niao—he was, according to the rumors, a notorious virtual pet.
The way Zhu Niao had described Xiao Yi’an before, it was almost as if she was standing up for Ye Qingchang, making Xiao Yi’an sound like a villain beyond redemption.
But Gou Yu knew how to act in different situations. Xiao Yi’an contributed a lot on the basketball court, and as his teammate, there was nothing wrong with standing up for him.
“It’s fine.”
Xiao Yi’an covered his right eye, taking a moment to adjust. At least his eye wasn’t injured.
But to others, seeing Xiao Yi’an with bloodshot eyes looked a little frightening.
“It’s fine,” he repeated, pressing Gou Yu’s hand down.
He couldn’t actually start a fight here, but he wouldn’t back down, either.
He wasn’t that proper.
Gou Yu seemed to get the message and let go of the guy’s collar, turning instead to look at Xiao Yi’an’s rather scary-looking eyes. “You okay?”
“I guess it’s lucky I wasn’t wearing glasses, or I’d be ordering a new pair right about now,” Xiao Yi’an shook his head.
There was no way he’d step off the court.
If he did, that would be giving the other side exactly what they wanted, and the substitute coming on would basically mean handing the game over.
Xiao Yi’an knew exactly how skilled their subs were—good for nothing but dribbling for show, only in it for the course credits.
Now, seeing that Xiao Yi’an hadn’t left the court, the player with the dirty hands, who’d just been called for a foul, looked much more serious.
Since Xiao Yi’an hadn’t left the game, they couldn’t pull any more cheap shots without making it way too obvious.
And it seemed like, after being hurt, Xiao Yi’an was even more fired up—running harder, passing better, not looking tired even after covering the entire court.
But their opponents weren’t the type of pushovers you could beat even with one man short—they’d won the first half for a reason, so the score was locked in a tense stalemate.
There was just one last play.
But it wasn’t down to a nail-biter; Xiao Yi’an’s side was up by a solid four points.
Of course, Xiao Yi’an’s team was in the lead.
The last possession belonged to Xiao Yi’an’s team—he held the ball.
They only needed to stall for time to win.
But Xiao Yi’an didn’t.
Cowardice was the last thing he’d allow. It didn’t bring anything good, didn’t help anyone, just tortured himself and the people who cared about him.
He dribbled with his right hand, standing still, raising his left to point directly at the player who’d started with those dirty hands.
The meaning was clear: everyone else clear out, it’s just him, one-on-one.
Xiao Yi’an had played the entire forty minutes, while that guy—despite his cheap shot—had spent half the game resting on the bench.
And now, this guy, practically fresh, was being called out for a solo match by Xiao Yi’an, who’d barely had a break.
When Gou Yu saw this, he grinned and immediately slung his arms around two enemy players. “There’s hardly any time left—let’s not spoil the fun, alright?”
Xu Nian played along, grabbing two more of the opposing team’s strongest players, and those two just stood there quietly.
Xiao Yi’an, clearly exhausted, walked into the three-point line. The player facing him swallowed, instinctively taking two steps back.
How should Xiao Yi’an attack now?
From the left, or from the right?
He knew he wasn’t fully confident with either side.
The only thing he was sure of—
In the final seconds, Xiao Yi’an let the ball slip from his hands, “accidentally” smashing it right into his opponent’s face.
“Oops, my shot went wide, you alright, bro? Just normal play, just normal play.”
“You son of a—”
The curse was only half out before the guy noticed Gou Yu and Xu Nian crowding in beside Xiao Yi’an.
He swallowed the rest.
The buzzer sounded—the end. The cheers from the sidelines were deafening.
Most of them came from Zhu Niao and her close friends.
Ye Qingchang hadn’t planned on screaming like a madwoman, but when Zhu Niao caught her faking it, the remaining three roommates threatened her with a “mom’s coming,” so she had to join in.
Gou Yu, like a wolf who’d spotted a lamb, pounced at Zhu Niao, pinning her down beneath him.
Zhu Niao must have been hurt, because she countered with two kidney punches.
Gou Yu thought Zhu Niao had gone overboard and raised his hand for a karate chop.
Zhu Niao insisted she was right, and struck back again.
The two of them started brawling on the side.
Liu Xie looked on, expressionless: “Honestly, I should be used to this by now.”
Xu Nian came over, still panting, and Yang Shuli, just like before, used a little towel to dab the sweat from his face and neck.
Her actions were full of care, but her words were, “Old Xu, I was going to give you some post-game snacks, but I ate them all myself. You’re not mad, right?”
“Eat if you want. I’m not hungry right now,” Xu Nian grabbed a lock of Yang Shuli’s hair and played with it.
It was soft and light, like willow catkins.
Liu Xie was still expressionless: “I’ve long since gotten used to it.”
Xiao Yi’an found a relatively empty spot to sit down alone, gulping in air.
He looked at his side.
He’d brought a water bottle when he didn’t need it, and now that he actually needed one, he’d forgotten to bring it.
Just then, something icy-cold touched the side of his face—the very side that had been struck by those dirty hands.
“So it really can get swollen from a slap, huh,” Ye Qingchang said with curiosity.
“Can I take this as proof that a little suffering can earn me some care?”
“Most likely, that’s just moral blackmail and self-consolation. Like what you used to do—there’s only one kind of suffering that earns true care, and that’s when you become a victim in someone else’s place. Besides, self-inflicted suffering is just nauseating.”
Ye Qingchang said all this calmly, watching as Xiao Yi’an took the iced water from her.
“This bottle is from your cold medicine this morning.”
“But didn’t you already send me the money for that?”
“That was for the thermos. The cold medicine inside is just being settled now. We’re even.”
“Seems a bit too serious with the accounting,” Xiao Yi’an took a sip of cold water and commented.
“Most messy relationships are one-sided and shameless, the other side ambiguous. That kind just festers and rots, turning into feelings that shouldn’t exist and aren’t necessary.”
The girl pushed up her glasses. “I don’t want feelings like that in my life again.”
After speaking, Ye Qingchang turned and left without looking back.
Awww.