Chapter 97: Favor
Lu Yuanqiu hitched up his trousers, spread his arms once more, and assumed a horse stance, following her like a crab, guarding her every move.
Bai Qingxia stood quietly, hugging the basketball for a moment. As if afraid Lu Yuanqiu would snatch it, she turned her body sideways, her eyes stealing a glance in a certain direction, thinking he hadn’t noticed. Suddenly, the girl smiled and dashed toward that direction, attempting a breakout.
“Ah-ha! Trying to be clever? I saw through you ages ago!”
Lu Yuanqiu spread his arms again, blocking Bai Qingxia’s path.
Bai Qingxia halted, her face displeased as she stared at him. Lu Yuanqiu, undeterred, opened his mouth wide and mimicked a tiger’s roar at her, laughing wickedly, “No one can break through my defense!”
It was a perfectly ordinary sentence, but with his tone, expression, and gestures, it sounded more like, “Where are you running, little beauty?” or “Hey, girl, don’t move!”—the sort of rogue swagger one might find in old films.
Having been guarded so tightly, Bai Qingxia grew annoyed. She pressed the basketball gently against the boy’s forehead in protest.
That touch had an effect akin to Nangong Wenya’s slap.
Lu Yuanqiu’s roguish gaze cleared instantly.
His expression turned serious: “Invincible! You’ve used the long-lost immobilization technique of the basketball world! You have five seconds left to shoot. Five!”
Bai Qingxia heard this and panicked, clutching the ball as she ran toward the hoop.
But Lu Yuanqiu, ignoring fairness, skipped directly from “five” to “two.”
Lu Yuanqiu called out, “Two! One! Here I come!”
Hearing the sound of pursuit behind her, Bai Qingxia glanced over her shoulder, let out a shriek of laughter, and dashed beneath the basket, hurriedly tossing the ball up.
It struck the lower rim, threatening to fall onto her head. The girl quickly ducked aside, but a large hand caught the ball just in time.
Lu Yuanqiu jumped on the spot and slammed the basketball violently into the hoop!
As Bai Qingxia turned, she saw the boy leap, then land. Lu Yuanqiu stood with his back to the orange sunset, grinned mischievously, and raised an eyebrow at her: “Congratulations, Bai Qingxia, you’ve succeeded in your attack.”
Bai Qingxia straightened: “You made the shot!”
Lu Yuanqiu shrugged, “Doesn’t matter. We don’t make distinctions between us anyway.”
Hearing these words, the girl froze, then blushed and lowered her gaze.
Lu Yuanqiu burst out laughing.
At that moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and as its echo faded, a song suddenly played through the school's PA system.
The familiar introduction made everyone on the sports field freeze, then erupt into joyous shouts.
“Whoa! ‘Preference’!”
“‘Chinese Paladin 3’!”
“‘Preference’!”
Lu Yuanqiu and Bai Qingxia turned together, listening to the song that drifted across the campus.
“Let’s wipe away yesterday, now you’re right before my eyes~”
‘Chinese Paladin 3’ aired in 2009 and was immensely popular this year, turning countless male fans into devotees of Lao Hu. The show’s setup, with each couple having their own song, was irresistible.
Lu Yuanqiu couldn’t help but comment, “The school’s finally wised up, playing a song from ‘Chinese Paladin 3’ for dismissal instead of that awful saxophone tune.”
“What is ‘Chinese Paladin 3’?” Bai Qingxia asked curiously.
Lu Yuanqiu turned to her, slightly surprised, then remembered that Bai Qingxia’s family didn’t own a television.
She’d even listened to Jay Chou’s songs only at Zhang Li’s house.
Lu Yuanqiu explained, “It’s a TV drama, really good. Come to my house on the weekend and watch it!”
The girl hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, “No, I don’t want to.”
The two walked toward the steps where their schoolbags lay. Lu Yuanqiu continued, “You could bring your uncle along. We could all have lunch together—it’s no trouble, no one will be home at my place anyway.”
Bai Qingxia said, “Forget it, my dad would mess up your place, and I… I don’t like watching TV dramas.”
Lu Yuanqiu said nothing more.
There were plenty of ways to get her to come over when the time came…
Evening self-study.
After retrieving a package from the security office, Wang Haoran hurried to the classroom of Senior Three, Class 28.
He placed the package on Bai Qingxia’s desk in the back row and reminded her, “The jerseys are here. Sizes from biggest to smallest are for Lu Yuanqiu, Zheng Yifeng, me, Gao Qiang, and Zhong Jincheng. Don’t mix them up.”
Bai Qingxia nodded.
After Wang Haoran left, Lu Yuanqiu opened the package and his eyes widened instantly.
All five jerseys were pink!
Lu Yuanqiu glanced at Wang Haoran’s retreating figure and complained, “How flashy can he get, picking pink jerseys?”
“Pink looks nice,” the girl beside him commented softly.
Lu Yuanqiu looked at her, nearly forgetting—Bai Qingxia did like pink. He took out a jersey and examined it, then said to her, “Can you embroider the class and names? Is that too much work for you?”
Bai Qingxia shook her head, “Just use thicker thread, and we have a whole week.”
Lu Yuanqiu leaned closer and said, “We’re such good friends, my jersey should be extra special, right?”
The girl’s earlobes turned red and she lowered her head, asking quietly, “How should it be special?”
“Use your imagination. I just want mine to stand out.”
The girl nodded gently, gathering up the five jerseys and quietly packing them into her bag.
Lu Yuanqiu turned and noticed Zheng Yifeng’s seat was empty.
He wasn’t napping in the classroom at this hour?
As if struck by a thought, Lu Yuanqiu turned to Bai Qingxia, “You should go to the supermarket by yourself tonight. I have to stay behind for physical training.”
Before she could reply, the boy had already left his seat.
Out on the track.
The moon was bright, stars sparse.
A handsome youth ran breathlessly along the track, sweat streaming down his face, damp hair plastered to his forehead. He had no idea how many laps he’d done.
Suddenly, a figure ran alongside him.
Zheng Yifeng glanced at him without a word.
Lu Yuanqiu said, “So you’re training secretly, huh?”
Zheng Yifeng replied, “I’m just in a bad mood, not training.”
Lu Yuanqiu said, “Teacher Wang told me today not to pay attention to what he said. He said you’re actually really talented.”
Zheng Yifeng scoffed, “I’m not upset because of him.”
“Then what is it?” Lu Yuanqiu asked.
He’d always been curious about Zheng Yifeng’s family background.
After graduating high school in his previous life, the two lost touch, only meeting again more than ten years later at a family business banquet, both dressed in suits. They chatted then, and it was only at that time that Lu Yuanqiu learned Zheng Yifeng had married Su Miaomiao.
But after that evening, Lu Yuanqiu and Zheng Yifeng never met again. Back then, Lu Yuanqiu hadn’t cared about Zheng Yifeng’s identity, but now, his curiosity was piqued.
Zheng Yifeng said, “Lu Yuanqiu, I can tell you’re different. Not just from others, but from your old self. Maybe now you’re a friend worth confiding in, maybe I could share some things… but I can’t be bothered.”
Lu Yuanqiu grinned wryly, “Listening to you is like… listening to you.”
(End of chapter)