Nie Chuan took the ball, closed his eyes and exhaled.
He can do it. Hasn’t it always been faster and better every time?
Think of Reece, he’s always accompanied you through practice. He’s expended so much effort on you, you can’t not get a single ball in!
The image of Reece taking off and adjusting his body in midair, his figure brimming with strength, instantly made Nie Chuan’s nerves stretch taut.
He opened his eyes. In front of Irvin, Nie Chuan was no longer as apprehensive.
This was an expert in the league. Whenever he feels as if he has improved, someone will always remind him that there is still a long way to go.
Nie Chuan dribbled to break past Irvin. His speed at changing directions became even faster while the range of his swivels was so big that it made people feel as if they were about to fall, but he was able to control himself.
Irvin clenched his jaw. He found that Nie Chuan’s breakthroughs had countless combinations. Once one of them was obstructed, another round will come head on. This kind of experience made him irritated and want to beat Nie Chuan, but it also inexplicably made him thrilled! Apart from those old faces, an interesting person has finally appeared!
Nie Chuan made a quick turn of his head then passed Irvin but just when he was about to shoot the basket, Zhou Bin shouted, “Careful ah——”
He knew that Irvin was right behind him and quickly took the ball back.
Irvin also changed his posture to snatch the ball from Nie Chuan’s arms, but who would have thought that Nie Chuan would actually change hands in midair and rush towards the basket again the moment he landed.
“My god……” The reporter held the camera up but completely forgot to press the shutter.
Nie Chuan took off again with all his strength, the height of his feet from the ground made the reporter’s eyes widen.
Irvin rushed forward and also jumped again. “In your dreams!”
Mao Xian’s eyes also widened as he prayed in his heart: Don’t get blocked! Don’t get blocked!
But at this height, it was obvious that he would get obstructed.
The sports reporter made a regretful expression.
But in that instant when there was no time to think, Nie Chuan turned his body to the side in midair then, with a turn of his wrist, he evaded Irvin’s block and used his fingers to push the ball into the basket.
With a “pa——” sound, it seemed to fall on their nerves and the whole world shook with it.
“Skyhook……” The reporter was stunned.
In that instant Nie Chuan landed, he was hit in the face by Irvin’s elbow and fell backwards.
“Ah——” Nie Chuan covered his face and felt as if his head was about to get knocked off.
“Hey, are you ok!” Irvin hurried forward and reached his hand out to Nie Chuan.
Nie Chuan, who had fallen on the ground, had already gotten up. “You hit me on purpose!”
“Hey! Why would I hit you on purpose? Aren’t you just not shock-resistant? You can adjust your posture in midair but did you also think you’ll be able to dodge?” Irvin smiled but compared to his initial expression of arrogance when facing Nie Chuan, it seemed different now.
“Ah Chuan, are you okay!” Zhou Bin rushed over and took a look. “It’s swollen ah!”
“It hurts!” Nie Chuan pointed to the sports reporter and called, “Did you see that? He hit me! This is a foul! Did you get a picture? It’s evidence!”
At that moment, the sports reporter suddenly didn’t know what to say. He had still been immersed in Nie Chuan’s skyhook.
He would probably never forget such a beautiful posture in his lifetime.
However, he hadn’t gotten a photo of Nie Chuan getting hit by Irvin.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t……”
“Oh! So you’re in cahoots with this narcissist!” Nie Chuan was dizzy from the hit and his anger had already gone to his head.
“This…… I understand why you’re angry but……”
“But it was a reasonable collision,” Irvin answered for him.
Nie Chuan was so angry that smoke almost came out but he didn’t forget the reason why he had competed against Irvin.
“So did I score?”
“Yes,” Irvin replied.
“Then shouldn’t you apologize to Reece!”
“Alright, but before I apologize, tell me your name and which position you play on the DK basketball team.” Irvin crossed his arms as his smile deepened.
“What? He’s not a high schooler and is on the DK basketball team?” Mr. Reporter asked.
“Of course he couldn’t possibly be a high schooler. Is this the level a high school student can be at? So he’s definitely on a college basketball team. He cares so much about what I think of Reece which means he’s on DK.”
“What position I play and you apologizing to Reece are two completely different things! You apologize first.”
“Reece isn’t even here, what’s the point of apologizing?” Irvin quipped.
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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“Ah, Reece, sorry to have said something quite arrogant just now but your fan has already vented on your behalf,” Irvin hung his arm on Nie Chuan’s shoulder as he answered with a smile.
Reece walked up to Nie Chuan, moved Irvin’s arm away, and grabbed Nie Chuan’s face with his fingers. “Let me see.”
“I…… I’m fine…… hahaha……”
Nie Chuan suddenly felt incomparably humiliated ah! He competed against someone in basketball only to get knocked into a pig by the other’s elbow.
“To go to this extent isn’t necessary.” Reece’s fingers loosened.
Nie Chuan’s heart was desolate.
Hey! I competed against others just to defend whose reputation ah!
“This kid is pretty good, what’s his name?”
“You’ll find out when you meet each other on the court,” Reece replied.
Irvin shrugged helplessly, “You’re as unlikeable as ever.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Then, see you.” Irvin turned to leave but Reece stopped him.
“Irvin.”
“Hm?” Irvin turned his head.
“I’ll remember to settle today’s account with you. In the league, I will definitely crush you.”
Reece’s voice wasn’t very high but it had a stifling strength that could raze mountains.
Irvin was stunned before he immediately smiled, “I’ll be waiting.”
Just when the reporter was about to say something, Reece spoke first, “Mr. Lyndon, please do not make any reports on my teammate before we enter the league. Please leave the wonderful content for the end, would you?”
Even though Reece had asked “would you,” it was a commanding tone.
Lyndon went blank. He lowered his head and glanced at the picture on the camera screen. After pondering for a few seconds, he nodded.
“Thank you.”
Reece turned and clasped Nie Chuan’s shoulder, then took him away.
“Why are you here, hahaha……” Nie Chuan laughed nervously.
Reece’s face was cold and he didn’t speak.
Mao Xian and Zhou Bin walked behind them, not daring to go forward.
Nie Chuan knew that Reece was angry and walked silently with his head down.
Mao Xian whispered to Zhou Bin, “Why do I find Ah Chuan a little pitiful.”
“Ai……” Zhou Bin sighed then raised his voice and said, “Ah Chuan, you’re not full yet right!”
“Yeah, I haven’t had my fill yet……”
“Then you go with Reece to eat some more ba, Mao Xian and I will continue with the packing!”
Zhou Bin grabbed Mao Xian and was about to leave when Mao Xian said speechlessly, “But I’m not full yet either ah?”
“Shut up! I’ll take you to eat Mongolian hot pot!”
“Eh, okay!”
Nie Chuan heard this and quickly turned around, “I also want to eat Mongolian hot pot!”
“You’re all swollen, what hot pot are you eating!”
“It doesn’t matter if I’m swollen!” Just don’t make him and Reece walk together! He simply couldn’t withstand the low pressure around Reece ah!
Nie Chuan just took a step when his back collar was grabbed and he was practically hauled back by Reece.
“You come back for me!”
In his heart, Nie Chuan was full of tears. I don’t want to go…… I want to leave……
Reece dragged him into the original Italian restaurant called Odella, asked the waiter for ice and towels, then threw them to Nie Chuan.
As Nie Chuan pressed it by himself, Reece propped up his chin and looked at him coolly.
“Why single out Irvin?”
“Because he said…… that you’re sharp but if a blade is too thin then it’ll break.” Nie Chuan couldn’t remember if the original words were like this but the meaning was roughly the same. “He also said that if he was Owen Wishaw then he wouldn’t have let you turn the tide last year in the last five minutes.”
“So you went and singled him out?” Reece quirked his eyebrow and Nie Chuan’s heart pounded.
“He was the one who wanted to show off in front of that reporter, he took the initiative to single me out!” Quickly whitewash him! It was Irvin’s fault, not his!
“Then what if you had lost?”
“If I lose then I lose. Isn’t it normal for me to lose.” Nie Chuan continued pressing the ice to his face using the towel.
“Then if you won?”
“If I won then I can say ‘You couldn’t even defend against me, where did you get the confidence to think you’re better than Reece?’”
The corners of Reece’s lip slowly curved upward and the lighting in the restaurant seemed to have also turned gentle and bright.
“Is my reputation very important to you?”
“Of course it’s important!” Nie Chuan said without a second thought.
Because you acknowledged me and honed me. Without you, there wouldn’t be the me right now.
But Nie Chuan always kept these kinds of words in his heart. He wouldn’t say them to Reece but he believed that Reece understood.
“So singling out Irvin was to fight for me?”
“…… I guess.” Nie Chuan turned away, embarrassed to admit this.
He knew that being able to complete that skyhook in front of Irvin was purely the result of an adrenaline rush. It was coincidence, not a certainty.
“Xiao Chuan, you need to believe in yourself.”
“Ah?”
“A thousand hours of hard work may only be for the success of one tenth of a second. So no matter if they’re coincidental, they are all the fruits of your efforts.”
Nie Chuan looked up at Reece. Why does he always seem to know what he was thinking in his head?
For Nie Chuan, Reece ordered the Florentine steak that he had always wanted to order but never did. It was incomparably tender, so much so that even Nie Chuan with his swollen face could eat it without much effort.
Beside him, Reece was pressing the ice wrapped in a towel on his face.
“Is it good?”
“It’s good,” Nie Chuan nodded.
It’s so expensive! Of course it’s delicious! Reece definitely has a guilty conscience la! Maybe it was worth getting hit like this?
“Eh? You’re not eating? ” Nie Chuan asked.
Because from beginning to end, Reece had been supporting his chin with one hand while pressing the towel for Nie Chuan with the other.
“I already ate.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t know why but Nie Chuan felt that the Reece who was holding the towel for him was particularly gentle. It would be great if he could always be like this!
After he finished eating, Reece drove Nie Chuan back.
When going up the stairs, Reece suddenly stopped Nie Chuan.
“Xiao Chuan.”
“What?” Don’t just randomly Xiao Chuan Xiao Chuan me!
It feels like I really am a middle school student!
“I don’t need you to stand up for me when other people criticize me.”
“Oh, sorry ah.”
“Because what I want is for you to accompany me in an open and upright place, overcoming all obstacles.”
Those words ruthlessly stabbed into Nie Chuan’s heart and seemed to instantly reshape his world.
Reece drove away, but Nie Chuan was immersed in those words and couldn’t recover for a long time.
In the evening, Zhou Bin called Nie Chuan to ask if the injury on his face was okay. “Hey, Ah Chuan…… you have to get along well with your new roommate oh!”
“New roommate? So fast? Do you know who it is? ” Nie Chuan instantly recalled that there was still this important thing.
Zhou Bin smiled without answering.
“Hurry up and tell me ah! Is this person easy to get along with? ” Nie Chuan practically wanted to shake Zhou Bin.
“They’re pretty easy to get along with ah, they’ve always been very good to you.”
“Always very good to me? Other than you, who else is good to me?” In his head, Nie Chuan searched through the names of all the Chinese foreign exchange students he knew.
Several of them had expressed that they really wanted to rent an apartment on campus but although they went to school together, the feelings weren’t deep.
“Why not, you’re really a little white-eyed wolf.” Zhou Bin said jokingly. (tn: he’s calling him ungrateful)
“Does he have stinky feet?” Nie Chuan asked a key question.
“No.”
Nie Chuan sighed in relief before he immediately had a thought, “Then does he have a habit of being a germaphobe?”
“Probably not to the extent of a germaphobe, but at least he likes being neat more than you.”
“Oh……” Nie Chuan felt that he needed to pay careful attention. “Can’t you tell me who it is?”
“No.” Zhou Bin looked unfathomable.
Nie Chuan felt that unless he saw the guy, he definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep well!
Saturday morning, Nie Chuan got up to look at himself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised to find that the swelling on his face had almost gone away. He immediately smiled happily.
Haha, the heavens didn’t have the heart to harm his handsome face and let him recover quickly ah.
But…… it seems to be because Reece had held it for him for a long time ba……
On Sunday night, Nie Chuan took the bus back to school. He had to clean the room before his new roommate arrived.
But to his surprise, his new roommate seemed to have already dropped by.
Because the bed that Zhou Bin had emptied had already been set up with a mattress, and the quilt was neatly folded. The bedsheet had light brown stripes and appeared simple.
Nie Chuan’s hands were on the bed and the soft feeling made him envious. “Ah, it feels so comfortable!”
Across from the bed was the other person’s bookcase. Several books were already arranged on the shelves. Nie Chuan opened one for a look then made a puzzled sound, “Eh, it’s all mathematics!”
It seems like this guy is from the mathematics department like Reece?
Aiya, those who study mathematics are all logical and clear, as well as a bit serious……
This was Nie Chuan’s impression of a certain person in Principles of Communication.
Wait…… it can’t really be him ba!
Zhou Bin said something about getting along well? How could they possibly get along well ah!
The other’s shoes were also neatly arranged in the shoe cabinet. Nie Chuan took a look and found casual shoes, custom-made leather shoes that looked high-quality, as well as two pairs of basketball shoes.
“Eh…… they play basketball too?”
Studies mathematics and has two pairs of basketball shoes instead of ordinary running shoes, Nie Chuan instantly thought of Reece!
Nie Chuan was immediately scared by his own thoughts.
How can it be Reece! When comparing that guy’s student apartment to here, one was an imperial palace while the other was the slums!
What’s more, Reece is used to being alone. How can he be roommates with someone!
Nie Chuan he he’d.
But when he walked into the bathroom, he felt as if his eyes were almost blinded.
This is the restroom that he and Zhou Bin had neglected until the floor had yellowed!
There was even a faint fragrance in the air.
Nie Chuan noticed that the other person’s toiletries were already placed on the sink.
Why does that simple cup look so familiar!
Nie Chuan picked up the other’s aftershave and sniffed it. That familiar fresh smell shocked him so much that he almost fell on his butt.
___________________
Drea: why is NC always getting hurt… someone get him some insurance
MadMadamMims: ohohohoh it begins!
A-Chuan… Reece doesn’t need to be guilty to spoil you, when will you realise that? xD Also, yassss!! Finally, they’re roommates!!
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
thank you for the chapter!
it’s his superpower: “if someone doesn’t break my bones, I’ll do it!”
Haha! The translators’ comments are always great. It’s so cute that Nie Chuan stood up for Reese. And even though Nie Chuan got hurt, I’m sure he doesn’t regret it. Reese of course, is happy about them growing closer. And Zhou Bin is so sly! Good luck with your new roommate, Nie Chuan!
My ♥ fluttered when he said this… “for you to accompany me in an open and upright place, overcoming all obstacles.”
(✿ ͡` ͜ʖ ͡´)
Roommate achievement unlocked!! Oh boy, NC you’ve got it bad if you can recognize him by the smell of his aftershave so easily… Thanks for the chapter!