Su Huaiming blinked, glints of light dancing on his thick, curly eyelashes. His lips parted, his expression seemingly gentle.
"Isn't that obvious? There's no one else here but us, so of course I'm the only one watching you!" Su Huaiming retorted mercilessly. "If anyone else is watching you, they must be a ghost!"
Su Huaiming's words were unintentional, but a gust of cold wind made him suddenly feel a chill down his spine, and he couldn't help but rub the back of his exposed hands.
Sure enough, loose lips sink ships; some things are better left unsaid.
Su Huaiming coughed, trying to pretend nothing was wrong, but his attempt to cover up his suspicions only made him look around more warily.
By the time he came to his senses, Fu Jingfan had already picked up the basketball again and said, "You give it a try."
Su Huaiming naturally forgot about the previous topic, casually picked up the basketball, recalled Fu Jingfan's movements, and wanted to shoot again.
But as soon as he raised his arm, a heat source pressed against his back, and he was enveloped by a chilling aura.
Fu Jingfan had a commanding presence and upright posture; standing behind Su Huaiming, he could completely block him out.
Fu Jingfan's hand gripped Su Huaiming's wrist and slid it down a few inches, his thumb lightly pressing against the muscles on Su's forearm.
With her other hand, she held Su Huaiming's waist with an irresistible force. The heat penetrated the thin fabric and reached his skin, making him feel slightly hot.
Fu Jingfan's presence and aura were too strong, making Su Huaiming feel uncomfortable, and he subconsciously wanted to hide.
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, Fu Jingfan noticed it, tightened his grip, and easily took control of Su Huaiming.
"Don't move." Fu Jingfan spoke in Su Huaiming's ear, his voice low and deep, making one's chest vibrate.
"I'll teach you how to use your muscles properly," Fu Jingfan continued, like a competent coach. "If you don't apply your strength correctly, the chances of the basketball going in will decrease, and you'll end up with sore muscles after training, which is counterproductive."
Su Huaiming couldn't dodge, and didn't want to make a dramatic break free for fear of making the atmosphere awkward, so he could only swallow hard and endure Fu Jingfan's increasingly intense breath.
Fu Jingfan circled his thumb on Su Huaiming's arm and said, "Tense your muscles, generate power from here, not just your wrist."
Fu Jingfan must have pressed some acupoint; Su Huaiming couldn't even tense his muscles, and when Fu Jingfan exerted force, his arm and fingertips went numb, almost causing him to throw the basketball away.
Fu Jingfan keenly noticed this, and continued to tighten his grip, his voice stern. "Hold on."
Su Huaiming had no choice but to comply with Fu Jingfan's request, gripping the basketball even tighter until his fingertips were tinged with pink.
After finding the right way to generate power with his arms, Fu Jingfan's fingers, which were supporting Su Huaiming's waist, slowly slid upwards along the concave curve, pulling Su Huaiming's body upwards. "Lift your toes, and using the upward momentum, throw the ball high."
"The height is only to ensure the ball lands accurately on the basketball hoop without being intercepted, not to make it as high as possible. If you apply force upwards, the ball's spin speed will decrease, resulting in the situation where the ball fell in mid-air as just now."
Fu Jingfan explained things in great detail, making him a good coach... but something's not right here!
Su Huaiming maintained his throwing posture, following the force of Fu Jingfan's hand. Fu Jingfan seemed to think he was too close, and kept raising his hand on his waist. Su Huaiming could only continue to stand on tiptoe, suppressing the urge to tremble.
Fu Jingfan finally finished speaking, but instead of letting go, he took Su Huaiming with him to throw the ball.
The basketball traced a beautiful arc in the air and landed perfectly in the hoop—a beautiful shooting motion.
But Su Huaiming knew very well that he had long forgotten the key points Fu Jingfan had mentioned, and he used almost no force in his hand. Although the ball was in his hand, it was Fu Jingfan who put it in.
Fu Jingfan, like a stern coach, took a step back, crossed his arms, and looked at Su Huaiming, saying succinctly, "Try it yourself."
After Fu Jingfan left, Su Huaiming felt a refreshing breeze that cleared his head, but the feeling from earlier lingered.
To distract himself, he immediately bent down, picked up the basketball, pondered what Fu Jingfan had just said, and tried to shoot the ball into the hoop as well.
But this time things didn't go as planned; the basketball only hit the rim.
Fu Jingfan nodded slightly, affirming, "There's been improvement. Let's try again."
Su Huaiming tried several more times, his mind completely focused on basketball, but his shooting didn't improve at all.
Su Huaiming's arm was aching. Holding the basketball, he looked at Fu Jingfan, his tone lacking confidence, "Did I shoot any better?"
Fu Jingfan: "..."
To be honest, Su Huaiming's improvement in pitching technique is negligible.
Su Huaiming did use his brain and came up with many ideas, but his motor skills were almost nonexistent, and his body couldn't perform the tasks he envisioned, resulting in repeated failures.
In real life, most people are simple-minded but physically strong, but Su Huaiming is the exact opposite.
Fu Jingfan suddenly understood why Su Huaiming didn't like sports; to him, it was indeed a bit boring.
Not wanting to dampen Su Huaiming's enthusiasm, Fu Jingfan reluctantly said, "Not bad, you're suited to playing basketball."
Upon hearing this, Su Huaiming looked quite bewildered. "Really? Even someone like me can get in?"
Is basketball some kind of low-level sport?!
Fu Jingfan didn't say much, he just nodded.
Fu Jingfan was mysterious and powerful, capable of controlling everything. His aura was too deceptive. Su Huaiming had no doubts and was still living in the dream that he was also suited for basketball, so he continued to try shooting.
His mind worked quickly, but his body couldn't keep up. Moreover, with each attempt, his strength dwindled, and the height and distance of his throws became increasingly unsatisfactory.
Seeing Fu Jingfan's stern coach-like demeanor, Su Huaiming felt a chill run down his spine. He secretly moved closer to the backboard with small, stealthy steps, attempting to cheat.
Fu Jingfan noticed this but didn't point it out, wanting Su Huaiming to feel a sense of accomplishment.
Su Huaiming grew increasingly greedy, getting closer and closer until he was almost standing under the backboard.
Fu Jingfan noticed the problem, but before he could speak, Su Huaiming, a complete novice who knew nothing about sports, boldly threw the basketball.
The distance was too close, Su Huaiming didn't control his strength well. The basketball hit the backboard directly with a "bang" and bounced back, just grazing Su Huaiming's scalp.
After the accident, Fu Jingfan frowned deeply and strode over to check if Su Huaiming was injured.
Su Huaiming, the person involved, didn't react at all; he only felt a gust of wind pass by and didn't even see the ball.
Before he could even speak, he felt Fu Jingfan place his hand on his forehead, his fingers gently rubbing between his hair, his fingertips lightly pressing against his scalp.
Su Huaiming was bewildered by his actions, staring blankly at Fu Jingfan for a good three or four seconds before finally managing to ask, "Wh-what's wrong?"
"Are you injured?" Fu Jingfan frowned, looking quite fierce.
"No." Su Huaiming originally wanted to ask, "Should he be injured?", but seeing Fu Jingfan's expression, he swallowed his words in time.
Fu Jingfan nodded slightly, then reprimanded like a coach, "If you don't have enough strength, you can move closer, but you can't shoot from this position."
Fu Jingfan took a few steps back and gestured to Su Huaiming with his eyes, "Come here, I'll teach you how to throw again."
Hearing this, Su Huaiming felt a chill run down his spine and hinted, "You don't need to teach me personally; it's too much trouble."
"No trouble at all." Fu Jingfan seemed to have completely misunderstood Su Huaiming's meaning. "Basketball requires brainpower, but it relies more on muscle memory. You have to coordinate your limbs and adjust your power generation method."
"..."
Seeing Fu Jingfan's open and honest demeanor, Su Huaiming felt embarrassed and reluctantly took small steps to walk over and stand in front of Fu Jingfan.
Fu Jingfan, just like before, demonstrated to Su Huaiming how to use his forearms to generate power and how to use his waist to drive his body.
After the instruction, Su Huaiming threw the ball a few more times in a daze. Fu Jingfan was worried that Su Huaiming was overexerting himself, so he stopped the training session, helped Su Huaiming pack his things, and the two went home together.
Su Huaiming's head was still spinning. He touched his burning ear tips and belatedly realized the problem. "You... do you teach other people to play basketball like this too?"
Fu Jingfan looked down at him, his expression unreadable, and said succinctly, "Yes, many issues cannot be explained clearly with words; demonstration is necessary."
Su Huaiming felt the problem wasn't with the demonstration, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His thoughts wandered into a dead end, and he was completely misled by Fu Jingfan.
If Fu Jingfan doesn't personally help him adjust the way his muscles exert force, it seems he really won't be able to understand.
Fu Jingfan is indeed a serious and responsible coach.
Chapter 58
Su Huaiming played basketball for three days in a row.
He could tell that Fu Jingfan genuinely cared about his health, and the consultant he hired was also working very hard. In order to keep him motivated and able to exercise independently for a long time, they came up with all sorts of methods and even introduced reward measures... They were all treating him like a child!
Su Huaiming felt helpless about this.
He knew he had no athletic ability and didn't like deliberate exercise, making it harder than climbing to heaven for him to exercise on his own.
Just then, Su Huaiming received an invitation to participate in a talent show, asking him to be a guest for four days.
Su Huaiming's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.
Recording talent shows allows me to maintain my daily exercise routine, and most importantly, I get paid! What a great deal!
He wasn't trying to avoid his daily workout, cough cough.
No one blamed him, but Su Huaiming felt inexplicably guilty and didn't tell Fu Jingfan about it, planning to sneak away when the time came.
Fu Jingfan was unaware of all this and was discussing Su Huaiming's exercise plan with the consultant he had hired.
Maintaining a moderate amount of exercise is indeed good for the body, but it shouldn't become a burden for Su Huaiming, otherwise it goes against the original intention. The consultant he hired also realized this problem and proposed an improvement plan—this is a long-term plan and should not be limited to exercising at fixed times and places every day; other methods can be adopted.
Fu Jingfan recalled how Su Huaiming had been very proactive in sneaking a barbecue that day, even leaving early and taking a detour to find a secluded spot. Although his intention wasn't exercise, he had indeed met his exercise goals that day.
This is a very good idea.
Running at night isn't the only way; walking to get a late-night snack is also a form of exercise. This is the kind of motivation that Su Huaiming can accept and that will get him motivated.
The consultant immediately began to modify the exercise plan, making it less deliberate and reducing the frequency per week, hoping to gradually form a habit for Su Huaiming by extending the duration and maintaining a basic level of exercise.
The exercise plan was revised as quickly as possible. When Fu Jingfan got home, he wanted to discuss it with Su Huaiming, but he was met with an empty bedroom.
The butler hurried over, his face wrinkled, observing Fu Jingfan's expression as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Fu Jingfan frowned and asked, "Where is Su Huaiming?"
"Mr. Su. Su..." The butler sighed deeply before saying, "He went to record a talent show."
"A talent show?" Fu Jingfan had never heard Su Huaiming mention it before, and instinctively expressed his doubts.
The butler felt the same way. He only found out about it when he saw Su Huaiming standing at the door with his suitcase, not much earlier than Fu Jingfan.
"He's going to be recording for a few days?" Fu Jingfan didn't press the housekeeper and continued to ask.
"It'll be four days in total; we'll be back on the afternoon of the last day."
Fu Jingfan nodded and said nothing more. Looking at the bedroom where Su Huaiming's presence was growing fainter, his eyes grew increasingly dark.
Even for urgent invitations, Su Huaiming would give a day or two's notice. He had plenty of time to tell him, but he chose to slip away without a word. Perhaps he simply forgot about it, but more likely it was because he didn't want to tell him.
Fu Jingfan pondered for only three seconds, then couldn't help but chuckle softly.
In order to avoid the movement, Su Huaiming actually chose to sneak away without telling him.
He stared at the traces left by Su Huaiming, his dark eyes as deep as the sea, filled with intense emotions. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.
The butler, standing to the side and slightly behind, didn't see Fu Jingfan's expression. He wondered why Fu Jingfan wasn't speaking and asked, "Mr. Fu, Mr. Fu?"