Win

Xiao Xiao's forehead was beaded with sweat. His eyes stayed fixed on the new player on the court, yet he could clearly "see" the monster slowly opening its half-lidded eyes, even without looking directly at it. A faint, blood-red glow flickered within them. The instant its eyes opened fully, a streak of blood-red light shot toward him like a sword.

Golden light blazed in Xiao Xiao's eyes. The golden radiance swirling through the air instantly solidified, its sharp, piercing aura even warping the space around it.

The golden light and the blood-red streak collided with a thunderous impact. There was no earth-shattering explosion as he had expected; the air seemed to freeze in an instant.

The two sides gnawed at and devoured each other.

Space warped, and black fissures occasionally appeared, leaking a trace of terrifying energy.

Xiao Xiao felt the headache that had only just begun to ease flare up again.

His eyes were also unbearably sore and hot.

He felt as though he were about to melt.

But he knew he couldn't let his guard down for even an instant.

Nor could he retreat by so much as a step.

Xiao Xiao clenched his hands tightly. The railing groaned beneath his grip.

He forced his eyes open, and golden radiance kept appearing in the air, solidifying from nothing before howling toward the monster with a fierce, cutting edge.

At last, after what seemed like an entire century, the blood-red light finally vanished. The golden radiance then scattered into countless points of light and disappeared.

Yet Xiao Xiao didn't relax in the slightest. He remained on high alert, but was surprised to find that the monster had stopped fighting?!

Yes, the monster seemed to glance at him, though perhaps he'd only imagined it. When he blinked and looked again, it had returned to its earlier half-lidded gaze, sitting as still as a mountain with the air of an old lord.

Though puzzled, Xiao Xiao couldn't help feeling relieved.

Staggering, he backed away a few steps and collapsed into his chair.

His body tipped forward of its own accord. He gripped his right elbow with his left hand, propped his right elbow on his knee, and pressed his fist to his forehead.

His sweat-soaked hair stuck to the back of his neck and his forehead. The sticky feeling made him inexplicably irritated and stifled.

Xiao Xiao's face was pale. His head throbbed as if needles were stabbing into it, and he gasped silently, mouth wide open.

Suddenly remembering something, he looked up toward the court. His vision swam for a moment, and it took a while for the blur to clear.

His unfocused gaze turned cold. It still wasn't giving up?!

Xiao Xiao narrowed his eyes, their curved corners taking on a razor-sharp edge.

Golden radiance flowed through them. There was no pain, only a cold indifference.

Once again, he forcefully suppressed the other side's blood-red glare.

But this time, he didn't stop there. Xiao Xiao kept his gaze fixed on the other side and held it down until terror and shock appeared in its eyes—the same look he'd seen in the eyes of several Yan University players.

If it didn't know when to stop, why should he go out of his way to spare its feelings?

"Thump~" The basketball spun around the rim before dropping through with a "swish."

The ball's "thud, thud" as it bounced across the floor rang out almost at the same time as the final whistle.

"Tweet~" The game was over.

"Yeah~" After a brief silence, the entire stadium erupted into thunderous cheers, surging like a mountain torrent and instantly drowning out everything else.

The scoreboard showed 117:114. Yan University had scored 117 points, Polytechnic University 114. That final three-pointer had brought victory to Yan University.

"Phew~" Xiao Xiao breathed carefully and slowly bent over. He was afraid that if he relaxed too quickly, he'd collapse.

He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together to support his heavy head.

It was like hurting the enemy by a thousand and losing eight hundred himself.

No—he'd hurt the enemy by eight hundred and lost a thousand himself.

His old injuries hadn't even healed, and now he'd added new ones on top. Pain piled upon pain.

"Drip, drip!" Beads of sweat ran down Xiao Xiao's forehead. Some slid along his hair, some seeped through his fingers, and some clung to his eyelashes. After wobbling on the verge of falling several times, they finally gathered enough weight to drop to the floor.

Before long, a small wet patch had formed on the ground in front of his feet.

"Third Brother... what's wrong?" Yan University had won the game, and all the Yan University students in the stands were going wild. The basketball stadium was filled with their deafening cries.

"Third Brother?"

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng were no exception. They'd been shouting and cheering with abandon.

After letting off steam, the two realized Xiao Xiao wasn't there. They turned around and called out to him without thinking, their voices still brimming with excitement.

But something was obviously wrong with Xiao Xiao. Everyone around him was cheering and yelling at the top of their lungs, while he was the only one hunched over with a hand against his forehead, his expression hidden from view.

His presence stood out starkly against the celebratory atmosphere.

It was as if they were in the same place, yet somehow living in two separate worlds.

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng froze for a moment. Even without seeing Xiao Xiao's face—or perhaps because they couldn't see it—they sensed a distance and coldness from him that they'd never felt before.

Even the usually boisterous Zhuge Yun hesitated. His lips moved several times, but the words that came out were too indistinct to make out.

Zhao Luzheng also felt a little uneasy. Xiao Xiao seemed inexplicably dangerous just then.

But the usually observant Zhao Luzheng suddenly spotted the puddle on the ground. His gaze shifted upward, and he saw beads of sweat continuously falling through Xiao Xiao's fingers. Forgetting all his concerns, he blurted out, "Third Brother, you're sweating so much!"

"Third Brother, are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you hot?" Zhao Luzheng's words seemed to break some kind of spell. Zhuge Yun immediately sprang back to life, ignoring the odd feeling he'd had about Xiao Xiao and once again wearing his usual lecherous expression.

"I'm fine." Xiao Xiao's voice was so dry it sounded like a file scraping against sandpaper. He frowned hard.

Who would believe he was fine after hearing that voice?

Xiao Xiao licked his pale, cracked lips and slowly raised a hand to touch his throat, coughing a few times.

"Third Brother, water."

"Thanks."

Xiao Xiao tipped his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls. The cool water washed over his sore throat, and even his taut nerves seemed to ease a little.

"Third Brother, why are you so pale? Are you really okay?" When Zhuge Yun saw Xiao Xiao's face as he tilted his head back, it was so bloodless that he was startled.

"Third Brother, come on. Let's go to the campus clinic." Zhao Luzheng grabbed him and started pulling.

"I really am fine. Maybe I haven't fully recovered from being sick. I'll be all right after I go back and rest."

"No, Third Brother. You've been sick for so many days—how are you still not better? You should go to the hospital."

"Eldest Brother..."

"The basketball team will definitely have a victory party later. They won't have time for us."

In the end, the minority had to go along with the majority. Despite his protests, Xiao Xiao was escorted to the hospital by Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng.