Chapter 95

God opens a door for you, but He also closes another one. Cheng Xiaoyu's current body was a tragedy in sports.

Not only was his physical condition a problem, but he was also terrible at any equipment or ball games. In his previous life, Cheng Xiaoyu didn't exercise much either. He only played badminton occasionally, and his knowledge of basketball was limited to understanding the rules. He enjoyed watching football and occasionally played it, but after starting university, he hardly played anymore.

In this life, his talents were entirely focused on the piano, and he had no other strengths. This class was a basketball class, with separate courts for boys and girls, five versus five.

The PE monitor, Huang Liang, was also one of the people who had lunch next to Cheng Xiaoyu at noon. The ordinary girl who treated them, Fan Wenjuan, was his girlfriend.

Huang Liang had long been annoyed with Cheng Xiaoyu. When Cheng Xiaoyu was on the court, he switched positions with another classmate to guard him. Unfortunately, Cheng Xiaoyu rarely got the ball, as no one passed it to him.

Huang Liang could only signal his teammates to pass the ball to Cheng Xiaoyu more often. Although Cheng Xiaoyu was terrible at playing, his strategic thinking and intelligence were far superior to his peers. He used his body to block Huang Liang's position as much as possible.

Lacking in physical strength and agility, he relied on his judgment to intercept passes early. As a result, Huang Liang not only failed to get any opportunities to show off, but Cheng Xiaoyu also intercepted the ball several times and made some excellent assists.

Huang Liang's temper grew worse the more he played, feeling as if he was being looked down upon by everyone. His movements became more aggressive.

Cheng Xiaoyu's teammates gradually began to trust him and started passing the ball to him. Cheng Xiaoyu's greatest strength was that he didn't play selfishly. He often received the ball and then passed it to a teammate at an incredible angle.

This made Huang Liang increasingly anxious and frustrated. As a PE monitor and former substitute small forward for the school team, he was being thoroughly restricted by a fat guy who was at the bottom of the class in sports. This made him extremely angry, and he completely forgot that his strength was in offense, while Cheng Xiaoyu played with his intelligence.

Finally, when Cheng Xiaoyu blocked Huang Liang's position and received a pass from his teammate, he was about to pass the ball again. Huang Liang tried to steal the ball, but Cheng Xiaoyu, who had never dribbled before, used a fake move to completely fool Huang Liang. Just as Cheng Xiaoyu was about to take a few steps, the enraged Huang Liang grabbed the collar of his T-shirt from behind. Due to the momentum, Cheng Xiaoyu lost his balance and fell on his butt on the wooden floor.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't get hurt badly, but the loud thud attracted everyone's attention in the gym. Seeing that it was just a fat, unremarkable guy, everyone went back to what they were doing.

Huang Liang stood there as if nothing had happened, not even apologizing.

Cheng Xiaoyu patted his butt and stood up, turning to look at Huang Liang calmly. "Shouldn't you say something?"

At this moment, their PE teacher was taking a girl who had sprained her ankle to the infirmary and was not around.

Some classmates gathered around. Huang Liang knew he was in the wrong but was too proud to apologize. He said stubbornly, "I can apologize, but you have to win first."

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled. He didn't want to argue with such a childish person. He picked up the ball and asked, "Out-of-bounds throw or free throw?"

Seeing that Cheng Xiaoyu didn't answer his challenge, Huang Liang felt he had regained his momentum and thought Cheng Xiaoyu was easy to bully. He sneered, "Coward."

Wang Ou, who had been standing on the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed Huang Liang and said, "You're a loser. You play like crap and still act tough. What gives you the right to act like that?"

Huang Liang pushed Wang Ou's hand off his chest and said angrily, "If you're not satisfied, let's have a one-on-one. If you're scared, we can do three-on-three or five-on-five. If you have the guts, let's go head-to-head, OK?"

Wang Ou, naturally, didn't back down. "I'm scared of you?"

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't want to make things worse. He held Wang Ou back and said, "Forget it, don't pay attention to him. The more you pay attention to him, the more he'll act up."

Wang Ou, seeing that Cheng Xiaoyu wanted to avoid trouble, turned away angrily.

Huang Liang mocked, "Can't you even find three people? Wang Ou, aren't you going to the Physical Education University? You can replace him and have a one-on-one with me. The loser calls the winner 'dad.'"

Wang Ou practiced sprinting and was only average at basketball. He wasn't necessarily a match for Huang Liang, who was on the school team. Seeing Wang Ou's red face, Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't stand it. He could be bullied, but his friend couldn't.

Cheng Xiaoyu, enraged for his friend, turned and said, "Three-on-three, then. Your basketball skills are about as good as a gorilla's. You rely on brute force and don't use your brain. No wonder you're just a substitute on the school team. I don't know why you're acting so tough here. I don't play basketball, but I can easily beat you."

Huang Liang knew he couldn't match Cheng Xiaoyu in words. He could only say, "Don't just talk big. If you lose, you won't dare call me 'dad.'"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled contemptuously. "Want me to be your dad? You must be dreaming. I don't want a disobedient son. If you have the guts, let's make it practical. The loser buys everyone in the gym a soda. How about that?" Cheng Xiaoyu didn't want to make a full commitment, as he wasn't confident of winning. He just wanted to make the stakes acceptable.

Huang Liang was so angry he could barely speak, but he didn't know how to respond. He could only say aggressively, "Watch me teach you a lesson."

Cheng Xiaoyu chuckled. "I always tell you to read more. Now you can't even insult me properly. All you can do is call me 'dad.' Your real dad would be furious if he heard you."

Huang Liang, not quick enough to understand that Cheng Xiaoyu was insulting him, ignored the verbal attack and said, "Where are your teammates?"

The surrounding classmates, who had gathered to watch, laughed at Cheng Xiaoyu's subtle victory. Huang Liang was even more annoyed and determined to humiliate Cheng Xiaoyu in his area of strength.

Huang Liang called two of his usual basketball buddies, and the lineup was already the strongest of their class.

Cheng Xiaoyu looked around. Besides Wang Ou, no one was with him. Chen Haoran didn't even come to PE class. They really couldn't find three people.

Cheng Xiaoyu asked Wang Ou sarcastically, "Do you have anyone you can call to join us and share the embarrassment?"

Wang Ou looked at the avoiding gazes around and smiled bitterly. "Looks like no one. It's just us two troublemakers now."

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled. "We've already won the verbal battle. Losing the basketball game isn't that embarrassing. It's just buying everyone a soda, and I have enough money."

Wang Ou nodded indifferently. "Xia Shamo is tall, but I don't know if she plays basketball. If she plays as well as Su Goddess, that would be great."

Cheng Xiaoyu had an idea. "I'll go get Su Yuxi. It's three-on-three, and there are no rules about gender or class."

Wang Ou looked at Cheng Xiaoyu as if he were a monster and touched his forehead. "Are you crazy? Can you just call Su Goddess and she'll come?"

Cheng Xiaoyu chuckled. "How do you know if you don't try? Maybe she'll come if she finds me cute."

Wang Ou covered his mouth, pretending to vomit. "Fatso, I think we should just admit defeat. You haven't taken your medicine today. I can't save you! My love."

Huang Liang had already cleared the court and was standing at the center line with the ball. He shouted, "If you can't find three people, I can help you call one." His friends and those who had been targeted by Cheng Xiaoyu's jokes in class started to mock him exaggeratedly. Many people stopped playing to watch.

Even the neighboring class knew about the challenge and gathered to watch.

Cheng Xiaoyu looked at Huang Liang and said, "Wait a moment," then walked to the right side of the gym. Su Yuxi was resting against the wall, unaware of the commotion. She usually had no interest in such things.

Only when Cheng Xiaoyu approached did she notice it was his class. She showed no expression as Cheng Xiaoyu walked over. Cheng Xiaoyu was a bit nervous, even though he wouldn't be surprised if she refused.

"Hi, Yuxi," Cheng Xiaoyu said awkwardly. He always felt inexplicably nervous around Su Yuxi, losing his usual calm.

Su Yuxi smiled, which was rare for her. "Hi, what a coincidence."

Seeing that Su Yuxi didn't avoid him, Cheng Xiaoyu felt more at ease. He said, "I made a bet with a classmate to play basketball, and we're one person short. Can you help?"

Su Yuxi frowned. "You're not that childish, are you?"

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled bitterly. He realized things weren't as simple as he thought. He had hoped that after some events, their relationship had become closer, and she would be more willing to help. But it turned out he was just being overly optimistic. He said, "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He turned to leave.

The entire class of Class 2, Grade 3 watched Cheng Xiaoyu go. When they saw him approaching Su Yuxi, there was a stir. They were waiting for him to be humiliated.

When everyone saw Cheng Xiaoyu turn away, they burst into laughter, finding the outcome exactly as expected.

Everyone thought this was a hundred times more entertaining than watching Cheng Xiaoyu and Huang Liang play basketball.