Chapter 45.1: I intend to pursue you.

When Shen Juan said those words, Wang Yiyang and Li Lin were right beside him. Perhaps it was because Shen Juan had agreed to play in the basketball game, or perhaps it was the heat of the moment, but either way everyone was excited and unrestrained and the legend of Shen Juan’s bloody [1] past was left behind. 

Song Zhiming and Li Lin stood side by side patting each other on the back, whistling and cheering wildly. Lao Gao and Lin Yujing didn’t really know each other, and he stood to the side and scratched his head. “I thought it happened a long time ago… it turns out it hasn’t yet…”

Wang Yiyang ran around them yelling like a madman. Finally he knelt on the smooth gym floor and slid over from a distance, hooking his arm around Shen Juan’s neck and looking at Lin Yujing. “Boss Lin, don’t you have a favorite NBA star?”

At the change of topic, Lin Yujing let out a sigh of relief and thought for a moment. “Allen Iverson, I guess…”

“What a coincidence!” Wang Yiyang slapped his palm, “Iverson was at his most awesome when he played shooting guard for the 76ers. Have you heard of our Master Juan, the Jordan of No. 8 High School? The Three-Point King never misses a shot, every shot is on target. He made more shots in one game than I’ve seen in the entire rest of my life combined.”

Lin Yujing: “…”

“This daddy has a nickname too, listen up.” As a filial son, Wang Yiyang was still frantically creating a mighty and imposing image of his father, counting off on his fingers. “He’s called… Shen-George-Girven-Ray-Allen-Iverson-Juan—”

Wang Yiyang spread his hands. “Isn’t he cool? I’m just asking, isn’t he cool?”

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The Class 7 cheerleaders were the first to get in the mood, starting to shout wildly. They stood in a row on the opposite side of the court, their silver-sequined uniforms making them sparkle like a group of mermaids.

The sports committee member for Class 7 was Xu Jie. From what Song Zhiming and the others had said, he was extremely arrogant and continuously clamored to have the award for Class 10 torn up and fed to the dogs.

It now seemed that Xu Jie had the qualifications to back up his arrogance. He was slightly shorter than Lao Gao, but his jumping ability was astonishing.

Class 7 got the ball first and quickly dribbled toward the basket. Song Zhiming’s improvised team was really good, and they were quick on defense. When Shen Juan turned and ran past, Lin Yujing noticed the large “04” printed on the back of his jersey.

It was as if, under everyone’s gaze, they were secretly wearing couples’ outfits.

Lin Yujing’s face felt inexplicably warm, and she shook her head to clear it. The ball had already passed between two players from Class 7, finally ending up in Xu Jie’s hands.

Everyone was pressed into the three-second zone. Song Zhiming and the others were tightly blocked by players from Class 7, shouting at the top of their lungs, “Lao Gao!”

Lao Gao stood under the basket, already prepared to jump.

The first points were crucial. If Class 7 scored first, their momentum would skyrocket instantly, and if not it would affect their rhythm and mentality.

As soon as Lao Gao jumped, Lin Yujing sensed it was over.

Maybe the pressure placed on him by the four other players was too much, but he got anxious and jumped a little too early.

Sure enough, Xu Jie paused for a moment before releasing the ball, and Lao Gao was already on his way down. The ball grazed his fingertips and smashed into the basket with a clang.

As Class 7 scored the first points, cheers erupted from their stands. The cheerleaders below seemed to have started their routine already. Lin Yujing overheard someone in the stands nearby say, “I thought Shen Juan was so awesome, but it’s already like this, huh.”

Another boy laughed, “If he were so awesome, he would already be on the school team.”

Lin Yujing turned her head to follow the sound of the voices, and looked at the two boys sitting in the front row of the stands with cold eyes.

As their eyes met Lin Yujing’s, the two boys panicked and quickly looked away.

Lin Yujing turned her head back. 

—

[1] 腥风血雨 – lit. “fishy (as in suspect) wind and blood rain” – It refers to a sinister atmosphere or environment where crazy killings happen.