Chapter 112: First in the Senior Year, Advancing to the Semifinals

"Oh my god! Jiao Jiao?!"

Gao Qiang and Zhong Jincheng looked toward the Class 12 basketball team standing opposite them, their heads thrusting forward in shock.

Lu Yuanqiu scratched his ear and remarked, "I feel like I've heard that line from you two somewhere before."

He remembered: during the track and field meet, when Jiao Jiao appeared in the shot put area, Zhong Jincheng and Gao Qiang had expressed the same astonishment.

And now, Jiao Jiao, wearing a yellow jersey, had appeared in the Class 12 basketball lineup as well.

It was absurd, truly absurd.

Although Jiao Jiao was indeed a boy, his personality made it impossible for Lu Yuanqiu to associate him with basketball.

At that moment, the voice of the PE teacher, Wang Ping, came from the side.

"Jiao Jiao knows how to play basketball. Although his physique limits him and makes him a bit clumsy, on a basketball court, there are advantages to being clumsy."

After saying this, Wang Ping patted Lu Yuanqiu on the shoulder. "Good luck."

Though Jiao Jiao was a tough opponent, he favored his own student, Lu Yuanqiu.

Lu Yuanqiu patted Zheng Yifeng on the shoulder next to him. "Hey, wake up."

Zheng Yifeng opened his bleary eyes.

Lu Yuanqiu had figured it out—Su Miaomiao hadn't come to watch today, so Zheng Yifeng was feeling drowsy.

We're in the grade-level finals, and you're acting listless during the match just because Su Miaomiao isn't here?

Today's basketball tournament was also held in three sessions.

The first session was the freshman grade-level final.

The second was the sophomore grade-level final.

The sophomore side was a foregone conclusion; the team led by Zhang Yifei won again. Lu Yuanqiu had missed the freshman final, but he had watched the sophomore match. Zhang Yifei was indeed strong—leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. The entire court was practically his personal show.

The senior final was the third session, and the area around the basketball court was packed solid.

Lu Yuanqiu looked up at the wire mesh above the steps. A girl wearing her school uniform with a pink hairpin in her hair was squatting there, her small hands gripping the wire, looking down with a very tense expression.

A crowd was squeezed in behind her; if Bai Qingxia hadn't arrived early, she wouldn't have had a spot to watch.

The referee today wasn't Wang Ping, but his roommate, a dark-skinned man.

Lu Yuanqiu led his team forward, walking toward the Class 12 team.

The expression on Jiao Jiao's face was a mix of naive cuteness and a hint of seriousness; it was clear he was very nervous as well.

The speakers outside the court switched tracks.

"Hero Zhou."

The fast-paced intro began to play.

The dark-skinned PE teacher tossed the ball upward. Lu Yuanqiu leaped high, his sturdy frame casting a dark shadow in mid-air. Once again, he snatched the ball from the opponent's hands.

Although Jiao Jiao’s body was cumbersome, his reaction time was swift; he immediately began running alongside Gao Qiang, who had received the ball.

Gao Qiang turned his head, looked at the behemoth beside him, and his face instantly changed color.

From Lu Yuanqiu's perspective, the visual effect was even more pronounced.

Gao Qiang was already as thin as a monkey, while "Big Jiao" had a waistline nearly two and a half times his size. Running side by side, it seemed as if Big Jiao only needed to nudge him with his hip for Gao Qiang’s body to fall apart.

And as feared, it happened: Gao Qiang passed the ball to Wang Haoran. Jiao Jiao ran over to defend Wang Haoran, so Wang Haoran passed it back to Gao Qiang. Consequently, Gao Qiang collided with Jiao Jiao as he was going for the steal.

Gao Qiang flew out of bounds, rolled on the ground two and a half times, and sat there stunned, completely dazed.

The ball was snatched by Jiao Jiao. Just as he was preparing to throw it to a teammate, a figure as swift as the wind ghosted past him.

Zheng Yifeng stole the ball and jumped for a three-pointer.

After shooting, he turned around coolly, his eyelids drooping listlessly. He didn't even look to see if the ball went into the hoop—that was just how confident he was.

The moment the ball successfully dropped through the net, ear-piercing screams from the girls erupted across the court.

Zhong Jincheng: "Damn it, why is he acting just as pretentious as Lu Yuanqiu!"

"Let me take him on this time!"

Wang Haoran shouted, tossing his center-parted hair, and received the ball passed by Lu Yuanqiu at the start of the second wave.

Jiao Jiao was busy, seemingly defending everyone on the court. Seeing Wang Haoran get the ball, he rushed forward.

"Go Wang Haoran!" Hu Caiwei shouted loudly from the sidelines.

Wang Haoran sneered, dribbled the ball between his legs with an exaggerated flourish, and seeing Jiao Jiao coming to defend, he immediately sidestepped and slammed his shoulder into him, using the "Iron Mountain Lean" technique.

Lu Yuanqiu watched this scene with a look of astonishment, as if he saw the shadow of a certain old friend’s shoulder-shrugging move in Wang Haoran.

The expression on Wang Haoran's face gradually turned to shock, as he realized his Iron Mountain Lean had no effect on Jiao Jiao; the opponent hadn't budged an inch.

In his moment of distraction, the ball was stolen.

Class 12 scored a basket.

Two and a half minutes into the start, Class 28 vs. Class 12, 3:2.

Lu Yuanqiu hadn't even exerted his strength yet.

On the next play, after Zheng Yifeng crossed up a player from Class 12, he passed the ball between Jiao Jiao's legs to Lu Yuanqiu. Lu Yuanqiu charged toward his own hoop with the ball, and a heavy, thudding sound came from the side.

He turned his head to look and found it was Jiao Jiao. This hulking figure had a very serious expression and was slamming into Lu Yuanqiu.

Lu Yuanqiu furrowed his brows, showing no intention of dodging, and slammed into Jiao Jiao with the ball in one hand.

A dull thud echoed across the court. Jiao Jiao’s expression was one of shock as his body tilted to the side, stumbling until he sat down on the ground.

Lu Yuanqiu had actually knocked Jiao Jiao over!

The spectators on the court watched this scene, falling silent in unison, stunned and speechless. Even Zhang Yifei in the crowd widened his narrow eyes slightly in surprise.

What kind of strength was that?

Lu Yuanqiu chuckled, took three steps forward, and executed a violent slam dunk, making the rim hum with vibration.

...

The final result of the match was that Class 28 of the senior year became the grade champions, successfully advancing and waiting for the draw for the semi-finals.

Actually, the thing that shocked Lu Yuanqiu the most about this match was Jiao Jiao's performance.

For the longest time, Jiao Jiao had given Lu Yuanqiu a feeling similar to Bai Qingxia, because Jiao Jiao was an outcast—very introverted, friendless, and quiet.

But Lu Yuanqiu hadn't expected Jiao Jiao to be so ferocious on the basketball court. Even when his defense became illegal, he kept fighting for the ball; he seemed to value this championship deeply.

This changed Lu Yuanqiu's previous perception of him.

After eating with Bai Qingxia on the first floor, Lu Yuanqiu noticed that Bai Qingxia no longer had to pack a lunchbox for her father.

Bai Songzhe was currently working at the supermarket all day, and the supermarket provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so Bai Qingxia didn't have to worry about her father going hungry.

"You're actually willing to eat in the cafeteria with me today; I'm truly flattered," Lu Yuanqiu teased the girl beside him.

Bai Qingxia looked at him with flushed earlobes and whispered, "Because you won and made it to the semi-finals, I wanted to celebrate with you."

Lu Yuanqiu smiled and flicked the girl's pink hairpin, making her blink shyly.

Just then, the two suddenly heard a muffled crying sound coming from the corner where the cafeteria trash cans were.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Lu Yuanqiu took Bai Qingxia over to take a look, and both of them froze in shock.

Jiao Jiao was leaning against the wall, sitting next to the trash cans, crying. His body was covered in leftover food and scraps; rice and brown broth were scattered over his head and clothes.