Chapter 96

When Cheng Xiaoyu turned around, he had anticipated being mocked. One of the advantages of being an older man is having a thick skin. After walking back to his team’s side of the court as if nothing had happened, Cheng Xiaoyu could feel the waves of malice coming his way.

Huang Liang now had a weapon to use against Cheng Xiaoyu. While dribbling the ball, he smiled and said to Cheng Xiaoyu, "I give your act a perfect score. You actually dared to flirt with the goddess Su Yuxi, whom even our captain Chen Jiajun couldn't win over. You should take a look at yourself in the mirror and see what you look like."

Then, the onlookers around them started to laugh.

To Fudan High School, Su Yuxi was a top-tier existence to be admired from a distance, a timeless topic for all students who had been her classmates. No matter how many years passed, you might forget the name of your homeroom teacher, or who the class president was, but you would never forget a girl like her, who had once existed in the dreams of all the boys.

You would gossip about whether she had married and become a mother, you would be curious about the life she was living, and you would secretly wonder if you were now worthy of her unparalleled beauty.

She was such a unique presence, so special that she left a bright and indelible mark in the eyes of everyone who had seen her.

As for Cheng Xiaoyu, even if his appearance wasn't bad, his academic performance, though improved, still had the image of his former clumsiness deeply rooted in everyone's mind. Most importantly, the various PS images of him as a pervert on the internet made him a laughingstock, a target for ridicule, and a clown-like figure. This alone made him an irreversibly negative image.

Comparing such a Su Yuxi to the current Cheng Xiaoyu, the gap was not just a matter of ten thousand miles. Even the mere thought of it was laughable and unbelievable.

Before Cheng Xiaoyu could respond with his usual mouthy retorts, he saw a graceful figure in Wang Ou's wide eyes.

Cheng Xiaoyu turned around and looked at Su Yuxi in surprise. Su Yuxi's clear eyes, like a tranquil lake, exuded a gentle warmth, and the curve of her lips was as perfect as a crescent moon. Perhaps this was the smile of an angel, which dispelled all of Cheng Xiaoyu's gloom.

Su Yuxi smiled gently and said, "I just wanted to ask why you did such a childish thing. I didn't say I wouldn't accompany you. I don't know why you're angry." Her tone wasn't coquettish, but her words were filled with affection.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt the gentle warmth from Su Yuxi and smiled, his eyes sparkling. He shook his head and said, "I'm not angry. I just didn't want to cause you trouble. I don't want you to get even more annoyed with me."

Su Yuxi took out a neatly folded handkerchief from her pocket and reached out to wipe the sweat from Cheng Xiaoyu's forehead.

Everyone was instantly petrified, staring in disbelief at this scene that seemed like a comet colliding with the earth.

The entire gymnasium fell silent, with only the sound of the basketball bouncing weakly on the wooden floor and the heavy breathing of the players.

The large glass windows on both sides of the gymnasium cast a quiet sunlight, stirring the fine dust in the air. The neatly lined basketball hoops on both sides looked like ancient stone warriors, guarding the fallen goddess, Su Yuxi.

The wide-open eyes and gaping mouths of the onlookers painted a picture of the incredible and the unacceptable.

Su Yuxi naturally put the Hermes silk handkerchief back in her pocket, turned around, and stared at Huang Liang with a sharp gaze. "Who will start the game?"

Huang Liang's brain had already frozen, completely forgetting about the jump ball. He stammered, "You go first... you go first." He still held the ball, with no intention of passing it to Su Yuxi.

Su Yuxi walked forward and, without hesitation, knocked the ball out of Huang Liang's hand. Huang Liang finally reacted, his face as red as Guan Yu's, as if he were drunk. The only thought in his mind was, "I can actually play basketball with Su Goddess!"

He completely ignored the burning jealousy in his girlfriend Fan Wenjuan's eyes, who was looking at him with a green face. Fan Wenjuan had been proudly boasting to her friends about how Huang Liang obeyed her every command, how he had stood up to Cheng Xiaoyu for her, and how he had fearlessly challenged Cheng Xiaoyu. Now, her boyfriend was looking at Su Yuxi with a shameless face, like a toad lusting after a swan.

Fan Wenjuan didn't dare to be jealous of Su Yuxi; she simply didn't have the right. So, at this moment, she only hated Huang Liang's lack of backbone, which had made her lose face.

Su Yuxi took the ball, dribbled it a couple of times, and passed it to Cheng Xiaoyu, who called out to Wang Ou. Wang Ou finally snapped out of his daze, muttering, "This must be an illusion, this must be an illusion," and started to move into position.

Cheng Xiaoyu passed the ball to him, but Wang Ou failed to catch it. He turned to Su Yuxi, who was following behind, and said, "Haha, I must be dreaming. Otherwise, how could I have missed that pass?"

Su Yuxi, who had occasionally heard Cheng Xiaoyu on the phone, could guess that this was Wang Ou. With her exceptional memory, she immediately said, "Brother Wang Ou, play well. We can't lose!"

Wang Ou, looking at the charming Su Goddess, couldn't help but slap himself. Only when his face stung did he realize that this was reality.

The ball changed hands to Wang Liang's side, which was even more disadvantageous for Cheng Xiaoyu's team. Du Hai quickly passed the ball to Huang Liang, who easily shook off the slow-turning Cheng Xiaoyu and scored a layup.

Cheng Xiaoyu patted Wang Ou and said, "You have good stamina. You cover the whole court and grab rebounds. I'll be the playmaker, and I'll leave the shooting to my sister."

Wang Ou widened his eyes and said, "Su Yuxi is your sister? Damn, why didn't you tell me?"

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't have time to explain, pushing Wang Ou and saying, "Go and press." Then he went to defend the key, as his stamina was poor, and he could only cover a smaller area. Fortunately, the game was half-court, which was a favorable factor for him.

Su Yuxi seemed to want to keep a distance from the boys, so she stayed a bit further back, waiting for an opportunity to steal the ball. Wang Ou's defense was fierce, but with Su Yuxi on the court, the opponents suddenly burst with 200% fighting spirit, showing off their dribbling skills. The score quickly became 4-0.

Cheng Xiaoyu stayed in the key, waiting for an opportunity to grab a rebound or force a turnover.

Although Su Yuxi didn't press closely, her movement was very active, and she usually stood in the passing lanes.

The three opponents were clearly very individualistic, all wanting to show off in front of Su Goddess. They rarely cooperated and relied on their own skills to score.

This time, Huang Liang received the ball, dribbled between his legs, and turned to dodge Wang Ou. Relying on his speed, he broke through Cheng Xiaoyu and scored another layup.

The three of them high-fived, but because Su Goddess was on the court, they didn't use any harsh words to taunt Cheng Xiaoyu to show their gentlemanly demeanor.

Cheng Xiaoyu wasn't very nervous, encouraging Wang Ou, "Keep it up. Play like this. Wait for them to make a mistake, and get closer to the key. Form a double team with me, and they'll make mistakes if they keep playing individually."

Su Yuxi didn't need his encouragement. He felt that they didn't need to speak to understand each other, a kind of unspoken telepathy.

Sure enough, this time Huang Liang tried the same trick, trying to get past Wang Ou. When Wang Ou turned, Cheng Xiaoyu suddenly rushed out of the key and slapped the ball out of Huang Liang's hands. Unfortunately, the ball went out of bounds.

Cheng Xiaoyu shook his head, thinking his luck was a bit bad, and retreated to the key.

Du Hai stood at the sideline and passed the ball to Huang Liang again. This time, Huang Liang chose to pass to He Tao, but Cheng Xiaoyu had been paying attention to He Tao's movement and had already come out of the key, standing in the passing lane.

Cheng Xiaoyu easily intercepted the ball and quickly passed it to Su Yuxi. Su Yuxi caught the ball and immediately shot a three-pointer, the orange ball drawing a beautiful arc and swishing through the net. The two of them seemed to have the kind of默契 (chemistry) that comes from playing together for years.

Applause filled the gymnasium, as if it were Cheng Xiaoyu's home court.

The group of people who didn't get along with Cheng Xiaoyu all had gloomy faces, feeling that even if Huang Liang's team won, the game would be meaningless.

It was now Cheng Xiaoyu's team's turn to inbound the ball. Cheng Xiaoyu told Wang Ou to quickly pass the ball to him at the mid-court line. Huang Liang's team thought the ball would definitely go to Su Yuxi and didn't pay attention to Cheng Xiaoyu.

When Cheng Xiaoyu received the ball and quickly dribbled into the key, they rushed to intercept him. Cheng Xiaoyu faked a shot, tricking Huang Liang into raising his hand to block. Huang Liang was smart and didn't jump, but Cheng Xiaoyu had a trick up his sleeve. He passed the ball between Huang Liang's legs to Su Yuxi, who had broken into the key and scored a layup.

Cheng Xiaoyu's team then took advantage of the momentum, scoring three consecutive baskets and tying the score, with all five points coming from Su Yuxi.

Huang Liang's team then changed their strategy, assigning He Tao to closely guard Su Yuxi, never letting her out of his sight.

This time, when Cheng Xiaoyu received the ball, he had no choice but to pass it to Wang Ou. Wang Ou wasn't a bad player. He dribbled into the key, relying on his jumping ability to score a difficult shot, putting his team in the lead.

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