The basketball team’s training is not everyday. They usually go twice a week and often choose a casual match on weekend afternoons to keep everyone sharp.
In particular, Li Tongzhou has adapted well to the routine. His physical strength, long endurance and stamina, and exceptional ball control skills have earned him heaps of praise. Even the coach showered him with compliments.
In the team, there are only a few senior high school students left, and only a few of them are coming to train. As a sophomore student, Guo Jingyu is the king. Especially, he himself is the captain. When the coach praised Li Tongzhou over there, he also praised him, not to mention how proud he was.
After just a month on the team, Li Tongzhou was elected vice-captain through a unanimous vote. Now, standing shoulder to shoulder with Guo Jingyu, the dynamic duo took charge. One charging ahead as the vanguard, the other orchestrating plays as the point guard. Their coordination on the court was very good.
As the point guard, Li Tongzhou holds a position equivalent to the brain on the basketball court.
Trust, coordination, and tacit understanding are indispensable.
Guo Jingyu has accomplished all these points. With him, the rest of the team started to undergo a transformation. Previously, they rushed forward aggressively, scoring quickly but struggling with endurance in the later stages while relying heavily on defense. But with the presence of Li Tongzho, they shifted towards strategic play.
He Xiangyang and the others are now completely convinced by Li Tongzhou. Previously, they only knew Li Tongzhou was good academically, but they never knew that he was so good at playing basketball.
During the break, He Xiangyang handed out bottled water to everyone. When he reached Li Tongzhou, he sat down beside him. While drinking the water, he casually said, “Li Tongzhou, you’ve got quite the scheming mind on the court.”
Li Tongzhou corrected him and said, “This is tactics.”
He Xiangyang replied, “Alright, tactics. Have you ever played street basketball before?”
Li Tongzhou was puzzled and asked, “What’s that?”
He Xiangyang’s eyes widened, “No way, I thought with your aggressive playing style, you must have had some experience playing dirty…”
Guo Jingyu happened to walk by. After hearing this, he kicked He Xiangyang and said disapprovingly, “Who’s being dirty here? Watch your words.”
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Guo Jingyu sat in the vacant spot, lifting his shirt to fan himself. Li Tongzhou handed him his water, and he brazenly took it, gulping down nearly half the bottle. “It’s too hot. Coach pushed us hard today. My legs feel like they’re about to give up.”
Hearing this, Li Tongzhou reached out to check, but Guo Jingyu quickly jumped up, taking two steps back. “I’m just exaggerating a bit. It’s not that tiring. I’ll be fine after a short break.”
Li Tongzhou disagreed, “You need to relax your muscles.”
At this age, Guo Jingyu’s temper was at its peak, and after exercising, he was especially prone to getting worked up. With Li Tongzhou always on his mind, he didn’t dare to let him help with relaxation. Glancing around, he called over to Sun Hua, “Hey, Sun Hua, come over here. Let’s help each other with muscle relaxation!”
Sun Hua immediately agreed with a nod, grabbed a mat, and approached. Guo Jingyu lay down, letting him massage his calves. The first couple of presses were a bit strong, but afterwards, it was just right, with a consistent and gradually increasing pressure that was just enough to eased the muscles.
Lying there, Guo Jingyu couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, I’m asking you… have you washed your feet?”
The one doing the work remained silent.
But obviously, his words were heard, as the person working on him refrained from using their foot to press on his calf. Instead, they switched to their hands, strongly massaging the area. Guo Jingyu almost instantly jumped up, feeling both ticklish and itchy. Turning around, he saw Li Tongzhou crouched there, trying to help him relax.
Guo Jingyu held back for a while before whispering, “Don’t use your hands. I’m ticklish.”
Sun Hua stood to the side, scratching his head. “How about I do it? We usually pair up with Yu Ge, so I’m more familiar with it.”
Li Tongzhou replied, “You don’t understand.”
Sun Hua asked, “Huh?”
Li Tongzhou didn’t budge. With his gaze lowered, he continued massaging Guo Jingyu’s legs. “I’ll handle it from now on. I’ve learned this.”
Guo Jingyu was unwilling to give up and attempted to find help from someone else. Li Tongzhou applied a bit more pressure, now massaging up to the knees. Guo Jingyu clenched his lips, laying there not daring to speak. His fair skin immediately turned red under Li Tongzhou’s skilled hands, particularly obvious at the joints. The kneecaps that had been massaged and the untouched elbows both took on a powdery sheen, even the tips of his ears turning a shade of red.
After Li Tongzhou finished helping him relax, Guo Jingyu was already lying there softly, resembling a salted fish with no aspirations.
When it was Li Tongzhou’s turn to relax, Guo Jingyu didn’t have the nerve to wear socks and step on Li Tongzhou. So, he stepped on his calf barefoot. Li Tongzhou looked thin and tall, but when Guo Jingyu stepped on it was unexpectedly strong. Guo Jingyu mischievously wiggled his toes. Then he saw the muscles in Li Tongzhou’s shoulder area tighten slightly—clearly, there was a response.
Guo Jingyu is a mouth flower When it is a real knife and spears he blushed easily. After playfully pressing down on Li Tongzhou’s calves for a moment, he withdrew, saying, “Alright.”
They went home together by bus in the evening. Li Tongzhou carried their school bags on his back. There were many people on the weekend, so they stood closer than usual. While Li Tongzhou changed to his school uniform, Guo Jingyu was too lazy and was still wearing the Jersey. As the bus swayed, Guo Jingyu’s back pressed against Li Tongzhou’s chest. Even through their clothes, he could feel his body warmth. After a long pause, Guo JIngu felt the small piece of skin was burning. The heat spread to his face and sweat broke out on his forehead.
Guo Jingyu got off the bus ahead of time, watching it drive away. The wind blew against him, bringing him back to his senses.
As he walked home, his mind wandered. He couldn’t help but feel that he might not be able to wait until it snows for Li Tongzhou to confess.
He liked this person too much, so much that he couldn’t resist the urge to give him a kiss.
Guo Jingyu had an unserious dream that night, one where he kissed his favorite person. He woke up still grinning, gazing at the dawn sky. The thought of seeing the other person again in a few hours kept a smile on his lips.
Getting up early, Guo Jingyu decided to visit Li Tongzhou’s house first. With Li Tongzhou’s parents currently away on a business trip, Guo Jingyu was concerned that he might not be eating well.
Perhaps the good luck from his dream extended into the day. He hopped onto the early bus and headed straight to Li Tongzhou’s house. A few knocks, and the door swung open.
Li Tongzhou was dressed neatly and also got up early. After seeing Guo Jingyu, he paused for a moment before laughing, “Jingyu, you’re quite early today. Not running late, are you?”
Guo Jingyu was puzzled, “Late for what?”
“At the beginning of the month, there’s a school-wide assembly. Did you forget?”
Guo Jingyu really forgot. He had come with a single-minded purpose to see Li Tongzhou, completely oblivious to the school activities.
Having breakfast seemed impractical at this point, so they hastily bought some bread and milk at a roadside breakfast stall. Guo Jingyu was a bit unhappy, munching on his bread while waiting for the bus. Li Tongzhou misunderstood and placed his own bread near Guo JIngyu’s mouth, saying, “Want to try mine?”
Guo Jingyu took a bite and pushed it away, saying, “I have enough to eat. Eat it yourself.”
Li Tongzhou ate gently but not slowly. In three or four bites, he finished his bread, not showing the slightest trace of aversion even to the area where Guo Jingyu had taken a bite.
Every month, Chengnan Yizong holds a school-wide assembly. Although there are electronic teaching methods in every classroom, the principal insisted that the entire school be on the field for a face-to-face encouragement session.
The assembly focuses on reviewing the academic performance of each class from the previous month. They highlighted a few classes and commended students who had shown significant improvement. Several students who excelled in the monthly exams were also awarded scholarships.
Li Tongzhou and a few other students went on stage to receive their awards. While he received the highest monetary prize, he chose not to speak and quickly stepped down. The one who went to the stage and addressed the audience was Song Zhuoran, the class monitor of Class 1. It was obvious he carefully prepared a speech and delivered it with heartfelt sincerity, all the while adding a few anecdotes that captured the students’ attention.
Guo Jingyu and Li Tongzhou stood side by side. He leaned in, whispering, “How much is the prize money?”
Li Tongzhou remained silent, simply handing the red envelope over to Guo Jingyu.
Guo Jingyu felt its thickness. He opened it, and took a glance. It was just two hundred bucks, quite stingy indeed.
K: I always have a soft spot for people (IN NOVELS) who are pure talk no bite (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
Also I finished reading Transmigrated As The Cannon Fodder Abandoned By The Movie Star I was literally bawling my eyes at 2am in the morning (,,>﹏<,,) I wasn’t expecting that it would deviate from your usual Transmigration-Entertainment-Modern Novel. 4.5/5 Would recommend to everyone (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
Thank you for the chapter! At this point, Guo Jingyu will probably be the one to confess 🤗 But I am still slightly worried about his choices…did he abandon the art exam completely in order to stay with Li Tongzhou in the class…? That’s a bit…dunno. Going against himself?
You will know soon (∩˃ω˂∩)