Song Zhuoran quietly left after finishing the kid’s meal.
In his mind, the impression of Li Tongzhou as a cold and reserved genius, had undergone a transformation. He found that Li Tongzhou was not what he had imagined. Li Tongzhou was not indifferent to the things around him because he spent all his time studying. In fact, he was in a completely open state. He would go shopping on weekends and help his classmates with their homework. Although the classmate’s foundation was really poor.
Since middle school, Song Zhuoran had either been in experimental classes or in the key class. It had been quite a while since he encountered a real slacker.
As he observed Li Tongzhou patiently breaking down fundamental concepts for others, repeating explanations without a hint of impatience, Song Zhuoran couldn’t help but feel a deep admiration.
This time is enough for him to brush two sets of Mathematical Olympiad papers.
After Song Zhuoran left, Guo Jingyu leaned closer to Li Tongzhou, subtly asking, “That Song Zhuoran just now, are you close with him?”
Li Tongzhou replied, “Not really. We met a few times.”
Guo Jingyu pressed on, “Do you always go together whenever there’s a competition or contest?”
“There are others,” Li Tongzhou replied.
“Who are they?”
Li Tongzhou stopped his attempt at correcting a mistake in his problem-solving notebook, raising his gaze to meet Guo Jingyu’s eyes with a calm expression. “I can’t recall exactly. There are many people, and it is different each time. But Song Zhuoran is quite good. He participates in almost every one, so I’ve run into him frequently, making him memorable.”
Guo Jingyu was slightly curious and asked, “Why haven’t I heard you mention him before?”
Li Tongzhou responded, “You used to play basketball with He Xiangyang and the others. You never asked.”
“…”
Guo Jingyu thought for a moment. It seemed to be true. Back in the day, he didn’t pay much attention. They weren’t in the same class at that time, and later, when he went for art training, he was away for several months. Most of their communication was through text messages, and the peak of their interaction was when Li Tongzhou managed to visit during competitions. He would carve out half a day, grab a meal, and have a chat.
Li Tongzhou wasn’t one for words. Most of the time, he did the talking, while Li Tongzhou sat there quietly, listening. When pleased, he would offer a small smile, his line of sight has never left him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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His grip was a bit strong, and for a moment, Guo Jingyu couldn’t break free. He raised his hand, scratching his chin a bit sheepishly. “Didn’t you say last time that you wanted to join the school basketball team? Our captain is stepping down next week due to the heavy workload in senior year, and the coach asked me to take over temporarily. Do you want to join? I’ll save you a spot.”
Li Tongzhou nodded. “Sure.”
Satisfied, Guo Jingyu buried himself in his writing.
Meanwhile, Li Tongzhou sat across from him, meticulously organizing the notebook of incorrect answers. He sorted them into different categories, neatly arranging them according to the types of mistakes Guo Jingyu often made. The cover of the notebook read “Chinese Language (1).” Li Tongzhou wanted to compile a set of incorrect answers for each subject, making it convenient for Guo Jingyu’s studies.
Guo Jingyu felt a mixture of sweetness and pressure.
Having a partner with excellent grades left him with no choice. Any lack of effort would be easily noticeable, so he had to work hard in his studies.
When Monday’s morning came, Li Tongzhou seriously applied for the school basketball team.
Taking advantage of his new position, Guo Jingyu opened a back door for his little boyfriend, and without a second thought, let him in.
The basketball team at Chengnan Yizong had a long history, and the treatment was pretty good. After joining, Li Tongzhou was immediately given a sports uniform. Guo Jingyu took him to the locker room to change, leaning against the wall outside as he spoke, “Does the uniform fit? If it’s not, let me know. I’ll find you a new set to change into.”
“Fits well.”
The person inside replied and soon came out.
Guo Jingyu’s eyes lit up. The basketball uniform for the Nancheng school team was a vibrant red and white combination. He had never thought much of it when he wore it himself. But seeing Li Tongzhou who usually dressed in plain colors, suddenly wearing the clothes made it hard for him to look away.
Li Tongzhou wore a red basketball uniform with a white T-shirt underneath, elbow guards in place. Even though he changed his clothes, he still gives off an inherent aloofness. The whole person and the red Jersey had two different styles, which conflicted with each other had a kind of ascetic wind.
Guo Jingyu couldn’t help but think this guy was just too good and obedient. Watching the diligent student dressed in a basketball uniform stirred a strange urge in him to strip it off.
Li Tongzhou asked, “Should we warm up first?”
Guo Jingyu nodded, “Yeah, I’ll take you for a run around the basketball court. We’ll try out some positions later to see which one suits you.”
Li Tongzhou nodded in agreement. He was a pragmatic person. After running laps with Guo Jingyu for warm-up, he stretched his joints while keeping an eye on the others on the court. There weren’t many people today, maybe seven or eight, practicing shooting under the coach’s whistle.
Li Tongzhou asked, “How many players are on the school team?”
“About a dozen players. Some seniors from the senior year retired, so we’re recruiting new members,” Guo Jingyu said, refusing to leave and doing warm-up exercises with him once again.
The coach called him a few times, and Li Tongzhou heard it. He gave a faint smile, “You go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine on my own.”
Guo Jingyu reluctantly went over.
As the team captain now, he was responsible for leading regular training sessions. He had He Xiangyang and Sun Hua with him on the school team as well. Speaking of Guo Jingyu’s group of juniors, although their academic performance wasn’t impressive, they were quite strong, especially He Xiangyang. When facing the shameless players from the neighboring Fourth High School, known for their dirty plays, He Xiangyang’s strength was unmatched, and his retaliation was the fiercest. It was clear they are not vegetarians.
As Guo Jingyu led the training, his attention was divided as he kept an eye on Li Tongzhou. The coach took Li Tongzhou aside for a couple of questions and then called out, “He Xiangyang, bring someone over and practice offense and defense with the new team member!”
Guo Jingyu immediately signaled to his team, “Sun Hua, go with them. Be careful not to injure anyone!”
He Xiangyang and the others nodded in understanding and went over.
Just as Guo Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief, he soon heard a loud “thud” from the opposite side of the training ground. Startled, he quickly turned around to see He Xiangyang sitting on the ground, looking confused, while Li Tongzhou helped him up.
Sun Hua quickly came over from the backboard, puzzled, “He Xiangyang, what happened? How did you fall by yourself?”
He Xiangyang was confused, “How could I… I…” He hesitated for a moment, ultimately swallowing his words, casting a glance at Li Tongzhou.
The coach came over to find the reason for quite some time. He was also puzzled. Finally, he pointed to He Xiangyang’s sneakers and started scolding him, “You didn’t even tie your shoelaces! You look like a mess all the time! Go, re-tie them on the side, then come back!”
He Xiangyang went to tie his shoelaces, and Sun Hua tossed the ball to Li Tongzhou. Li Tongzhou smoothly caught it, jumped in place, and the basketball drew a long arc through the air. Almost the moment his feet touched the ground, there was a solid “swish,” and the ball went straight into the basket.
The coach exclaimed, “Good!” A rare smile broke the usual seriousness on his face. He walked over and patted Li Tongzhou on the shoulder and said, “Not bad. Have you played basketball before?”
Li Tongzhou replied, “I did some training a few days ago.”
He Xiangyang came back after retying his shoelaces and whispered to Li Tongzhou, “Yu Ge just told me to go easy on you earlier. You’re a bit ruthless, huh?”
Li Tongzhou calmly stated, “Fourth High School isn’t very courteous in their play.”
He Xiangyang’s mind spun for a moment before he understood. Right, Li Tongzhou was their teammate. They would face the troublemakers from Fourth High School together. Instantly, all his previous anger turned into joy. He couldn’t be more satisfied with Li Tongzhou no matter how he looked at him!
Last time, Brother Yu took several spins from the captain of the Fourth High School basketball team. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t show up for basketball practice all summer!
He must be feeling embarrassed.
As He Xiangyang contemplated, he rubbed his fists together, eager to challenge the Fourth High School team right now.
The author has something to say:
Small Theater:
Guo Jingyu: Li Tongzhou, have you been practicing basketball privately?
Li Tongzhou: Yeah.
Guo Jingyu: What have you been practicing? Come on, spill the details!
Li Tongzhou: Just some minor techniques.
K: LTZ learning some tricks >>
Updates will be on time every Sunday 19:15 ~~ And apologies for the delay this past few weeks (இ﹏இ`｡)
Thank you for the chapter! <3
Thank you! 🤗