MNL Chapter 21
by Volare“Damn, why are these guys defending so tightly?” Cha Fei’ang couldn’t help but mutter as he watched Xu Jing’s shot being intercepted again.
The guys from Class Eight who were playing were all quite tall. Although Class Four basically controlled the ball, after two rounds, the score was still tied.
Xu Jing’s clothes were soaked with sweat, outlining the slender curve of his waist, half-sticking to his skin. After coming off the court, the guys surrounded him, offering words of comfort and complaints one after another. He found it too noisy and quietly walked away.
He hadn’t been sitting for long when he heard unhurried footsteps behind him, steady and strong. He knew who it was immediately.
Shen Yan bent down and took the half-empty bottle of mineral water from Xu Jing’s hand, reminding him, “Don’t drink too much.”
Xu Jing’s palm felt empty. He curled his fingers a little uncomfortably but didn’t take it back.
“How do you feel?”
The person sitting down wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck with a paper towel, his tone very calm. “We won’t lose.”
His confidence was open and straightforward, making it hard to dislike him. Shen Yan smiled, stepping closer, and said, “Sometimes, the more perfectly you do something, the easier it is for people to find flaws.”
The words were full of profound meaning. Xu Jing thought about it for a full two minutes but still couldn’t grasp the key point. He impatiently raised his head, “Can you stop being so mys—”
“…”
At that moment, Shen Yan was standing with his arms crossed, his dark eyes staring straight at him, with a commanding expression. Xu Jing’s mind went blank from the stare, and he almost forgot what he was going to say.
Just then, the whistle blew again on the basketball court, and the people under the awning came out one after another. Even if there weren’t any classmates from their class on the court, they were still full of enthusiasm.
Shen Yan said “Go for it” at the end. Xu Jing tightened his shoelaces and gave a nod as he stood up.
The best ball blocker in Class Eight was a sports student named Tao Kai, who was 1.9 meters tall and had a burly build. Xu Jing’s failed shots in the first two games were mostly because of him.
Cha Fei’ang said that he had mentioned Tao Kai to him before, but Xu Jing didn’t have any recollection of it. However, after today, he shouldn’t be unfamiliar with him anymore.
Tao Kai played aggressively and had exceptional jumping ability. If someone else were on the court and was blocked like that, they might be pale-faced, red-eyed, and embarrassed into anger. But Xu Jing wasn’t like that. He ignored Tao Kai’s provocative gazes, remaining calm and collected. His delicate and clean features looked especially peaceful and bright.
The moment the basketball dropped, the atmosphere on the court was ignited again. Although there weren’t many girls in Class Four, they were all very supportive, and their cheering momentum was no less than the opposing team.
A large portion of the time had passed, and the scoreboard in front of the referee still read 1:1. At this moment, Class Four suddenly changed their strategy, abandoning the stalling tactics they had been using. Xu Jing’s speed was extremely fast, and he regained control of the ball. The basketball seemed like a fish in water, moving nimbly in his hands.
Xu Jing dribbled the ball, taking a stride and leaping. Tao Kai jumped up to snatch it as a habit, but unexpectedly, Xu Jing landed, suddenly turning around. The people watching on the side were stunned for a few seconds. The ball wasn’t thrown towards the basket but went directly to Zheng Tong’s hands.
The situation changed rapidly. Tao Kai barely had time to react. Xu Jing heard his curse, and the latter simply smiled contemptuously.
The focus shifted to Zheng Tong. His ball-playing style was strange, as if he had a unique secret recipe. Don’t be fooled by his usual taciturn demeanor. Once he was on the court, he became cunning.
A series of feints dazzled Tao Kai. Zheng Tong suddenly took two steps back to the right, passing the ball back to his left. In the next second, he jumped up, flicking his wrist as he did so, and Tao Kai was half a beat too slow to block it.
The ball finally went in.
With only five minutes left, the goal was perfectly timed. The cheers from Class Four rose and fell, a truly spectacular sight.
Some people are easily affected by the other team’s every move during a game. Obviously, Class Eight was hit hard by this. Their steps gradually became chaotic, and as expected, they didn’t manage to reverse the situation in the remaining time.
The countdown ended, and the referee’s whistle finally blew. The second deafening cheer spread throughout every corner of the playground. Xu Jing looked up. Some of the dazzling sunlight fell on his face. As if tethered by something, he suddenly turned around. At that moment, the jumping figures and the excited shouts seemed to lose their color instantly, dissolving completely into the pair of eyes not far away that were looking at him with a smile.
·
The holiday finally arrived. Class Four won the championship in the sports meet’s group standings. On top of that, the teachers of each subject were lenient this time, so the homework wasn’t as much as they had imagined. Cha Fei’ang’s smile stretched all the way to his temples. In his happiness, he treated everyone in the class to a cup of milk tea.
Xu Jing heard voices as soon as he reached the door. He thought it was Qin Xin and didn’t think much of it until he saw a car key on the table when he went inside.
Xu Jing was stunned.
He hadn’t seen the person yet, but he could already hear the familiar voice coming from the kitchen.
“Yo, who’s back?”
Xu Huaiyang was wearing a pink apron, holding a pair of chopsticks in his left hand and chewing on half a piece of braised pork, walking out with a grin.
Xu Jing’s temple throbbed. He called out, “Dad.”
No wonder his right eyelid had been twitching since morning. He always felt like something was going to happen. So this was what was waiting for him.
Xu Huaiyang put down his chopsticks and went forward to pat Xu Jing on the shoulder. “You’ve grown quite a bit. You’re almost as tall as me.”
After saying that, he sighed softly. He remembered that he had just seen Xu Jing not long ago. How did he grow so fast?
“Lao Xu, come bring out the dishes.”
Qin Xin’s voice was like a sacred decree to Xu Huaiyang. He responded reflexively and then whispered to Xu Jing, “Son, let me tell you, I spent a full half an hour convincing your mom to give up the idea of making braised eggplant for dinner tonight.”
Xu Jing hadn’t fully accepted the fact that Xu Huaiyang had suddenly appeared in front of him until he saw the man’s habitual little movements. He finally realized that his father, who was often away on business and hadn’t seen him for almost half a year, had finally found time to come back.
Xu Jing lowered his voice. “What about the fish?”
“Don’t worry, I’m personally in charge of this dish. I didn’t even let her add water.”
“Xu Huaiyang!”
Another shout came from the kitchen. The man who had just looked disgusted immediately became respectful, responding, “Coming, wife.”
With Xu Huaiyang’s personal guidance, the meal was indeed full of color, aroma, and flavor. The small white round table was filled with dishes: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cola chicken wings, braised mandarin fish… three meat dishes and four vegetarian dishes, all home-style, looked particularly warm.
“Why aren’t you eating? Is something wrong?” Qin Xin looked strangely at Xu Jing, who was holding his chopsticks but not picking up any food, his attention focused on his phone.
“Nothing,” Xu Jing said.
Qin Xin glanced at the open door. The thought in her mind seemed to be confirmed, so she opened her mouth again. “You came back with Xiao Yan, right? Go ask him if he wants to come to our house for dinner.”
As soon as she said that, the sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard. Xu Jing walked out without even changing his shoes. Xu Huaiyang was happily eating the fish he had cooked. He raised his eyes when he heard the sound. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Don’t eat yet. We might have a guest later.” Qin Xin glanced at the phone on the table, humming confidently. “I gave birth to my son. Who knows him better than I do?”
Xu Jing hesitated for a few seconds at the door of 602. Just as he raised his hand to ring the doorbell, the door opened at the same time.
Shen Yan was holding a bag in his left hand, and had changed into everyday clothes, looking as if he was about to go out.
“That.” Xu Jing’s voice paused. “My mom told me to ask you if you want to come to our house for dinner.”
At that moment, he didn’t know if Xu Huaiyang had told a joke, but after scolding him a couple of times, Qin Xin couldn’t help but laugh along. Without even needing to imagine it, one could already tell that the atmosphere inside was certainly warm and cozy.
Shen Yan looked away and replied, “Thank you for your aunt’s kindness, but not today. I have to go out.”
Xu Jing always observed people carefully, so how could he ignore Shen Yan’s actions just now? Thinking of this, he didn’t force it anymore and just asked, “Are you coming back tonight?”
Shen Yan joked, “If I don’t come back, I’ll sleep on the street.”
“…”
The bag clearly contained women’s clothing. Who would Shen Yan be delivering clothes to at this time? Xu Jing frowned, thinking that it must be the girl he had seen that morning.
“Hurry back and eat, I’m leaving first.”
So eager?
Xu Jing snorted coldly and turned back.
The two people in the house had been whispering to each other, but when they saw Xu Jing, they stopped tacitly.
Qin Xin asked, “Xiao Yan isn’t coming?”
“He has something to do.”
“This Xiao Yan you’re talking about, is he our son’s friend?” Xu Huaiyang asked in mock surprise. “I didn’t expect our little nerd to find friends.”
Xu Jing: “…”
Qin Xin was struggling to hold back her laughter. Afraid that Xu Jing would be unhappy, she could only help by saying, “You’re still talking about Xiao Jing. You weren’t any better than him when you were younger. I heard from your mom that you were especially timid when you were little, and you didn’t even dare to talk to people.”
This was the downside of knowing each other from a young age. The other person remembered all the embarrassing things clearly. Xu Huaiyang quickly denied it. “Who said that! I was just untainted by the filth of the world!”
“Is that so?” Xu Jing raised his head, coolly picking up the conversation. “Didn’t you say before that it was because you caught an infectious disease?”
“…”
Xu Huaiyang thought: I should just continue eating the fish.
While replying to WeChat messages, Qin Xin suggested, “I heard from your second aunt that the island of Santorini they went to before was quite interesting. Anyway, Xiao Jing has a holiday during National Day, and your company is also free, so why don’t we go and take a look?”
Xu Huaiyang usually didn’t have any objections to these things, but Xu Jing paused as he picked up food, then replied, “Mom, I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
“I’m going to stay home and review my English.” Xu Jing casually made up a reason, saying, “The college entrance exam is coming up soon.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Huaiyang immediately swallowed the food in his mouth and said bluntly, “Son, don’t worry. Our company has specialized translators.”
The implication was that even if you don’t study well, you will still inherit a vast fortune in the future. Qin Xin clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, as this was teaching Xu Jing not to study hard.