Cloudy skies, with little sunlight, but not the kind of weather that suggests rain.
Accompanied by the brisk autumn wind, it couldn’t be a better cheerleader for the match.
On the edge of the court stood Xu Nian and Yang Shuli—clearly, they were the first to arrive, or perhaps they were simply the only reliable ones who knew to come early and check out the venue.
Not far from the basketball court, a small table had already been moved over, with a simple scoreboard sitting atop it.
Xu Nian had already changed into his basketball uniform, in ** colors, with the team name printed on it.
“Ah Dui Dui Team… Who came up with this name?” Yang Shuli grabbed at the fabric on Xu Nian’s back, staring at the somewhat unserious team name.
“Your dad named it. What, you got a problem?” Zhu Niao swaggered onto the basketball court.
Naturally, trailing behind was Gou Yu, also dressed in the team uniform.
Wherever Zhu Niao walked, the crowd scattered—though, of course, most of that was thanks to the burly Gou Yu at her back.
This was the first time Yang Shuli had seen such a vivid example of the phrase “the fox borrows the tiger’s might” in real life.
It was afternoon, just the right time for college students to wake up on a day without classes, so it seemed like quite a few people had come to watch the game.
Unfortunately, while Zhu Niao was thin-skinned, she wasn’t the one to be embarrassed today, so even facing such a large audience, she didn’t show the slightest sign of nerves.
“Don’t worry, buddy, I’ll definitely cheer for you later. I’ll shout as loud as I can,” Zhu Niao said, rising on tiptoe to pat Gou Yu’s shoulder, putting on an encouraging face.
“Yeah? Can you really shout that loud, bro?” Ye Qingchang suddenly popped up from who-knows-where, her tone a little odd as she twisted Zhu Niao’s earlier words.
Without hesitation, Zhu Niao turned and gave Ye Qingchang a jab to the waist.
“When does the game start?” Zhu Niao turned back to ask Gou Yu.
“Ten minutes or so,” Gou Yu replied.
Xiao Niao glanced around the basketball court; it seemed two people were still missing.
One was Xiao Yi’an, the other was Liu Anran.
Zhu Niao stood on tiptoe to look toward the entrance, where Xiao Yi’an, glasses perched on his nose, was just walking in, followed by a grinning Liu Xie and Liu Anran, who was lugging a big bag of drinks.
Today, as usual, Liu Xie had woken up on the same bed as Liu Anran after another night of living together, only now finally being sent off to school.
In truth, today was an important day for Liu Xie.
Not only was it the day her dear little brother played in his basketball game, but it was also the end of her period.
In other words, she could finally escape her brother’s little den and return to the dorm to go crazy with those two “left-behind children.”
At this thought, Liu Xie’s steps grew unconsciously lighter.
Although, although every time she got out of bed, it was always her clinging tightly to Liu Anran, and Liu Anran had never tried anything improper with her.
But she felt that if things kept going this way, the wild imaginings in her mind might really get out of control.
Even if, to outsiders, it looked like this older sister harbored improper intentions toward her little brother.
Right, didn’t it?
Anyway, she couldn’t stay in Liu Anran’s little den any longer, or if something embarrassing ever actually happened, it’d be hard to explain.
But then, as long as her conscience was clear, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Was her conscience clear?
She believed it was.
She just worried that her staying there would disturb Liu Anran’s rest—after all, work was already tiring enough, and now he had to look after her when he got home.
Yes, that’s it, couldn’t be more right.
Once everyone had gathered, Liu Xie placed the bag, full of drinks, beside the court.
Squatting down, Zhu Niao reached through the plastic bag and touched the drinks inside.
“Tsk—” She sucked in a cold breath. “This stuff is ice-cold.”
Now she had a psychological shadow toward anything cold.
Just three nights ago, she’d forgotten she was on her period, got up at midnight, and ran into Gou Yu sneaking a late-night snack from the fridge.
Afterward, the not-so-observant Gou Yu realized Zhu Niao had eaten the spicy sticks they’d left in the fridge that day but hadn’t finished.
So Gou Yu hurriedly put down her popsicle, hefted Xiao Niao over her shoulder, and rushed to the bathroom.
Then, she forced Xiao Niao to stick her finger down her throat.
Only heaven knew how miserable that night had been for Zhu Niao.
“It’s fine, bro already checked—our period ended today,” Liu Xie announced loudly, not caring how many people were around.
“So that means we can finally eat whatever we want?” Yang Shuli looked up in surprise.
These past days, whenever Xu Nian took her out to eat, he always avoided flavorful stuff. Now it seemed the bitter days were finally over.
“As long as you don’t go too crazy, you can gradually get back to normal life,” Xu Nian, warming up on the side, chimed in, answering Yang Shuli’s question.
Ye Qingchang, also standing nearby, blinked and then threw both hands up. “That’s great, that’s great! We can finally eat something good!”
Zhu Niao, tears in her eyes, threw up her hands as well. “You came from Dandong~”
A whistle blew, drawing all eyes on the sidelines to the basketball court.
“Players, please take your positions.”
Xu Nian and Xiao Yi’an, who were warming up on the court, and Liu Anran and Gou Yu, who’d been hanging out on the side, along with an extra non-team member, all moved onto the court.
Their opponents looked a bit too professional—wrist guards, long sports socks, even goggles.
They looked less like ball players and more like they’d come for a brawl.
It seemed like they were whispering among themselves.
“The school said we should go easy on them; there’s a boss on the other team,” said a guy with a perm, “I think it’s that tall one. The whole school says he delivers food for a living, struggling to get by, but outside school, he’s got his own apartment and lives with our school’s most beautiful campus belle—probably just here to experience life.”
The goggle-wearing team captain crossed his arms. “A boss? I’ll show the boss what I’ve got. Not only will I play, I’ll step on the boss and win the beauty, show him what real strength is!”
His eyes seemed to burn with flames, as if he could already see the scene of the campus belle praising him after his victory.
The guy with the perm looked the goggle-wearer up and down. “Are you an idiot?”
But the guy seemed oblivious, fully immersed in his own fantasy.
On the other side, Gou Yu had no idea the other team was talking trash, busy flashing the finger and smacking her butt at Xiao Niao on the sidelines.
Another whistle sounded.
“Get ready for the tip-off.”
The basketball soared into the air before Gou Yu.
“The game begins!”