When Guo Xin returned to the classroom, he was still in a strange state of excitement, waving his arms as he followed Cheng Che, his mouth never stopping.
"Did you see Zhao Lei's face? Holy shit, it was practically Sichuan opera face-changing! White one second, black the next, then overheating like Rumble! Warning! Warning! Warning!"
Guo Xin pitched his voice high to imitate the lines from the game, even swaying back and forth like Rumble.
Several boys nearby instantly got the reference and let out a burst of muffled laughter.
Cheng Che sat back down and smiled helplessly.
"Enough, keep it down. If he actually goes and complains to our homeroom teacher, we'll have to make a trip to the office. It's not worth delaying the important stuff over something this minor."
The "important stuff" was, of course, his growth quest.
He had no energy to waste on Zhao Lei, nor did he want to stay caught up for too long in petty squabbles like this just to "win face."
Hearing that, Guo Xin nodded and drew his right hand across his mouth in a zipping motion to indicate, "My lips are sealed."
The two had only just quieted down when Zhao Lei came in through the back door.
He went straight to his seat without looking at anyone, his steps stiff and rigid. Once seated, he began organizing his pencil case, making the zipper rasp back and forth.
The others in the classroom murmured among themselves for a moment, then dispersed.
Seniors weren't that idle. A little disturbance blew over in a few minutes.
Cheng Che lowered his head, about to go over the problems he had gotten wrong in the previous lesson, when someone suddenly rushed through the doorway.
It was Liang Chao, the sports representative.
His face was flushed red, and he was panting as though he had just run a thousand meters. With only one foot inside the classroom, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Everyone! Our PE teacher's come back to life! Old Xu said our third period this afternoon is going to be PE, as scheduled!"
The classroom fell silent for an instant, then exploded like a string of firecrackers set alight.
"Holy shit! Seriously?"
"PE? We still have something called PE?"
"We haven't had it since we became seniors, have we? I've forgotten what our PE teacher even looks like!"
Liang Chao stood beside the podium and puffed out his chest, looking like a victorious rooster. "Absolutely! Old Xu said it himself!"
He had waited far too long for this moment.
As sports representative, he hadn't had a single PE class since senior year began. The whole class had nearly forgotten the point of his existence.
Today, he could finally make his presence felt. He practically wanted to carve "sports representative" into his forehead.
Cheng Che smiled too.
He really did miss PE.
His last PE class had been at the end of his second year.
Still, he could barely remember the PE teacher's surname. He only remembered that the man was pretty humorous.
For the remaining morning classes, both physics and chemistry were spent reviewing exam papers.
Cheng Che had scored 173 on the combined science exam this time. It wasn't outstanding within the class, but compared with his previous score of a little over 140, the improvement made both teachers give him a few extra looks.
The physics teacher even specifically called on him to explain his approach to one of the long-answer questions.
Cheng Che stood up. His voice wasn't loud, but his reasoning was clear, moving in an orderly fashion from force analysis to the motion involved, then to energy conversion.
"Nicely explained." The physics teacher adjusted his glasses. "Keep working hard. You still have plenty of room to improve."
Cheng Che nodded and sat down. Beside him, Guo Xin nudged him with an elbow. "You're really enjoying getting singled out for praise by teachers now, aren't you?"
Cheng Che ignored him, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
Third period that afternoon.
The students of Class Five headed toward the sports field in twos and threes, like birds let out of a cage.
The March sun shone warmly over Spring City, and the field's rubber running track gleamed dazzlingly.
When they arrived, Senior Class Seven was already there.
Their PE teacher, Teacher Chen, stood beside the basketball court. He was a slightly plump middle-aged man with a whistle hanging around his neck.
Seeing Class Five approach, he spread his arms as though welcoming relatives from far away.
"Students! One day apart feels like three autumns!"
Guo Xin immediately chimed in, "Teacher Chen, forget three autumns-it's been six hundred!"
Laughter rose all around them.
They hadn't had PE in two hundred days. By the reckoning of "one day apart feels like three autumns," that really did make six hundred autumns.
Teacher Chen patted Guo Xin on the shoulder.
"Not bad. Those math lessons weren't wasted. All right, everyone over here! Warm up first! Wrists, ankles, waist, knees-loosen everything up. If anyone gets a cramp later, don't say I didn't warn you!"
They went through the warm-up exercises halfheartedly, but everyone was smiling, as though they were back in their first year.
"All right! The equipment's over there. Help yourselves to basketballs, soccer balls, and badminton equipment. Free time! Just stay on the sports field!"
The moment he finished speaking, everyone scattered.
Cheng Che was about to get a basketball and get some practice in. He hadn't played for a year, and he was rusty.
Just then, several tall boys came over from Class Seven. The one leading them bounced a basketball and looked at Liang Chao.
"Liang Chao, want to play? We're short on people. Put together a team from Class Five."
Liang Chao's eyes immediately lit up. "Absolutely! Why wouldn't we?"
Teacher Chen happened to be drinking water nearby, and Liang Chao turned and called out:
"Teacher Chen, could you referee for us?"
Teacher Chen screwed the cap onto his bottle and walked over cheerfully. "Sure. I was just worrying I had no presence here."
Guo Xin grabbed Cheng Che. "Come on, come on, let's make up the numbers. No shame if we lose. How long has it been since any of us touched a ball?"
Cheng Che thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
He happened to want to test the effects of [Ever-Full Power Reserves] on the basketball court.
The description of this passive talent read, "Repeated explosive movements will not cause your output to weaken; you can maintain peak power output at all times."
In other words.
His stamina would still be consumed, but the quality of the power behind every jump, sprint, and shot would never drop.
The teams were quickly sorted out on the court.
Class Five had Liang Chao, Cheng Che, Guo Xin, and two boys who didn't usually play much basketball.
All five on Class Seven's side were big and tall. Three were on the school basketball team, including Zhou Rui, a core player on the previous tournament's runner-up team.
The crowd of spectators gradually grew.
Several boys held water bottles, while the girls stood in small groups beneath the row of trees closest to the court.
Carrying an English textbook, Zhao Lei walked alone to the flower bed beside the court and sat down on its raised edge, looking down from above.
The game began.
Teacher Chen tossed the ball into the air for the opening tip.
Over the next few minutes, Class Five got pinned to the ground and ground into the dirt.
Class Seven's teamwork was far too polished.
Zhou Rui's shooting was absurdly accurate, and their center grabbed three offensive rebounds in a row beneath the basket.
Class Five had no organized approach when they got the ball, and their passes and cuts kept going wrong. After nearly ten minutes, the score was already 5-18.
On the flower bed, Zhao Lei leisurely turned a page of his English textbook, his lips curling mockingly. His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for those nearby to hear:
"Tsk, what did I tell you? Our class came second to last in the second-year league, and Class Seven were the runners-up last time. Why even play? What a waste of time."
After saying that, he made sure to glance toward Cheng Che and Guo Xin.
Several Class Five spectators nearby frowned. Someone muttered, "He won't play himself, but he's happy to stand there making snide remarks. What a jerk."
"Exactly. Does he have any class pride at all?"
As they spoke, they discreetly moved a few steps aside, putting distance between themselves and Zhao Lei.
Zhao Lei's expression darkened. His lips moved, and he muttered, "Wasn't I just telling the truth?"
On the court, Class Five called a timeout.
Liang Chao bent over, panting. "They're too good. We can't stop them at all."
Guo Xin was exhausted too, his hands braced on his knees. "That Zhou Rui's like a loach. I can't even touch his shadow."
Cheng Che said nothing. He was looking down at his hands.
His palms felt a little warm.
Those shuttle runs hadn't felt particularly tiring either. That was a sign of his improved stamina.
"Give me the ball. Let me try."
Cheng Che suddenly spoke.
Liang Chao and Guo Xin both looked up at him, then nodded.
The game resumed.
Class Five inbounded the ball. Guo Xin dribbled forward and passed to Cheng Che as soon as he crossed half-court.
Cheng Che caught the ball outside the three-point line, facing another double-team from Class Seven.
Before, he had always rushed to pass in situations like this.
But not this time.
He lowered his body slightly, feinted a drive to the right, then sharply pulled the ball left.
The ball struck the ground and bounced back into his palm.
The defender was thrown half a step off balance.
That half-step was all it took.
Cheng Che pushed off with his left foot, his body like a taut spring suddenly released, and burst inside the three-point line.
Before the help defender could get into position, he had already jumped.
A midrange jumper.
The basketball flew out, skimmed the inside edge of the rim, and dropped cleanly through the net with a swish.
"Nice shot!" Liang Chao roared.
The Class Five girls on the sidelines began applauding.
Cheng Che ran back on defense. As he passed Guo Xin, Guo Xin stared wide-eyed. "Holy shit, since when did you have a midrange jumper?"
Cheng Che said nothing, only panting.
Class Seven went on offense.
Cheng Che stayed well away from Zhou Rui. The guy had excellent physical ability, and Cheng Che had no desire to go up against him physically. He needed to stick to the kind of basketball he was good at.
Sure enough, Zhou Rui isolated against Liang Chao again, changed direction, then pulled up for a jump shot.
The shot missed.
Cheng Che charged in from the wing and jumped at the same time as Class Seven's center.
The center was half a head taller, but Cheng Che got off the ground faster. His fingertips reached the ball first and tipped it backward.
Liang Chao scooped up the ball and flung it to Guo Xin.
From there, Cheng Che really found his rhythm.
He caught Guo Xin's pass outside the three-point line and struck as cleanly as a blade falling.
Swish. The three-pointer dropped through.
On the next possession, he caught the ball in the same spot. The defender charged too hard, so he sent him flying with a pump fake, took one dribble forward, and sank another midrange shot.
Swish.
Class Seven panicked.
Zhou Rui began shouting, "Stay on him! Don't let him catch the ball!"
But Cheng Che stopped trying to receive it.
He began running, weaving back and forth along the baseline and dragging his defender all over the court. Guo Xin seized the opportunity to drive, dished to Liang Chao, and Liang Chao whipped it back out to Cheng Che on the perimeter.
Another swish.
Bit by bit, they closed the gap.
The sidelines erupted. Girls who had originally been watching basketball merely out of boredom raised their hands in excitement.
The cheers from the sidelines rose wave after wave.
Su Qingyue stood to one side, her gaze unconsciously following that running figure on the court, watching in something of a trance.
"Oh my God..."
Several girls huddled together in the crowd, their voices lowered, but every word brimmed with irrepressible excitement.
"That's Cheng Che? Cheng Che from Class Five? How did I never notice his body was so... so incredible?"
"He actually looks kind of sexy all sweaty..."
"Look how broad his back is, and how narrow his waist is. The way he puts power into his movements when he runs is completely different from those boys who just run around blindly."
"Qingyue, you're in Cheng Che's class. Is he usually like this too?"
Su Qingyue abruptly snapped out of it, her face reddening. "I... how would I know? It's not like I pay much attention to him."
The short-haired girl gave an "Oh," drawing out the sound meaningfully.
On the court, the score had narrowed to 46-47.
Only ten seconds remained.
Class Five trailed by one point.
Class Five had possession.
Zhou Rui stuck to Liang Chao like glue, leaving him no chance to receive a pass, while two players guarded Guo Xin. The seconds ticked away.
Cheng Che circled out from the baseline and raised his arm high. "Here!"
Guo Xin passed him the ball.
Cheng Che caught it without any wasted motion.
Zhou Rui lunged at him.
This was his only chance to shoot.
Total Concentration activated automatically.
The world fell silent.
He took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity, feinted a drive, then suddenly jumped... and faded away.
His body leaned back so far he nearly toppled over, his legs maintaining perfect balance in midair as his right hand steadily pushed the ball out.
With [Ever-Full Power Reserves] bolstering him, his wrist bent into an exceptionally gentle curve the instant the ball left his hand.
The basketball spun through the air, sailing past the fingertips Zhou Rui strained desperately to extend.
It traced a beautiful arc.
"Swish."
Nothing but net.
The shot went in.
The whistle blew.
48-47.
Class Five had beaten last year's runner-up.
The entire court fell silent for half a second, then erupted with a roar.
"Holy shit!!!"
"A buzzer-beater!! A buzzer-beater!!!"
"Cheng Che!!!"
Guo Xin rushed over first and latched his whole body onto Cheng Che, his screams loud enough to carry two streets away.
Liang Chao dropped to his knees, both arms raised to the sky, as if he had won the world championship.
All the boys and girls from Class Five swarmed over.
Guo Xin's grip left Cheng Che struggling to breathe. He lost his footing and was knocked straight down by the crowd surging up behind him.
Several people piled on top of him, all reeking of sweat.
He lay at the very bottom, gazing at Spring City's March sky.
The sky was very blue, the clouds very faint.
Cheng Che couldn't help laughing.
He used to hate all that collective pride stuff more than anything, finding it pretentious.
Now, pinned beneath a whole crowd, the stink of sweat so strong he could barely open his eyes, he actually thought it felt... pretty good.
On the flower bed, the English textbook in Zhao Lei's hands had closed at some point.
He hadn't stood up or looked toward the court. He simply kept his head lowered, staring at the vocabulary list on the cover.
No one looked at him.