DP Chapter 36

Before the game officially began, Xiang Yiye glanced at the sidelines. Xu Chuo looked up from behind the viewfinder, met his gaze, and indicated that he would be watching him the whole time.

The referee tossed the ball high at the center line for the jump ball. The School of Materials Science was the red team and gained possession of the ball first. Within the first few minutes, the opposing team’s number 7 made a long pass for a fast break, followed by a two-handed dunk, scoring two points twice in a row.

Throughout the first quarter, the score was 12:20, with the School of Materials Science taking an early lead of 8 points. When they went off the court for a break, a chorus of boos came from the opposing viewing area.

Xiang Yiye twisted open a bottle of water. He exchanged glances with Xu Chuo during his sips, and then dove into the team, focusing on listening to the coach’s strategy for the next quarter.

“Next quarter, pay attention to getting back on defense. Move around and play freely, don’t be like eggplants. They’ll probably continue with their two-three zone defense…”

In the second quarter, possession went to the engineering school, the blue team. At the start, the School of Materials Science played a tight defense. Xiang Yiye and Wu Yiyue worked together inside and out, seizing several openings from the opposing team, and at one point narrowed the score difference to just 1 point.

A girl on the sidelines couldn’t be discerned as supporting either side. She wasn’t particularly excited when goals were scored, possibly dragged along by a friend, or maybe just passing by and watching casually. Seeing a handsome guy next to her taking photos with an SLR camera, she was a bit curious and asked him if he was from the school’s photography club.

Xu Chuo shook his head: “Just a hobby, taking pictures of things I like.”

After chatting briefly about photography, the girl said she was graduating next year and wanted to take a set of graduation photos with her roommate, asking him if he took on individual clients.

“I’m very expensive,” Xu Chuo said with a smile, “But if you need it, I know someone…”

A burst of screams erupted on the court, interrupting his words. Xu Chuo and the girl both turned their heads to look at the court. The ball hit the blue team’s basket and bounced back out. Wu Yiyue jumped up and grabbed the rebound, instantly shifting the momentum from defense to offense.

After dribbling past two players into the red team’s territory, seeing that he couldn’t get inside, Wu Yiyue faked a move and passed the ball to Xiang Yiye, who was outside the three-point line. Xiang Yiye caught the ball and immediately shot, sinking a three-pointer steadily from the center.

Xu Chuo quickly captured this moment, hearing the crowd erupt in cheers as the blue team took the lead.

The blue team’s morale was boosted, their touch got better and better, and their teamwork became more and more seamless. Soon after, Xu Chuo was interrupted again before he could say much more to the girl. The blue team scored repeatedly, until the first half ended with a score of 45:41.

In the third quarter, Xiang Yiye was subbed out by the coach for a break. Xu Chuo saw him walking over, smiled at the girl and said, “Sorry, I may not be able to take on the job. I’m a fan and part-time photographer, here specifically to take pictures of number 24 on the blue team… there he is.”

Xiang Yiye smiled at the girl, picked up the half-full bottle of mineral water by Xu Chuo’s feet, and naturally separated the two, drinking the water in a nonchalant manner.

This was the water he had drunk from. Xu Chuo glanced at the stack of brand-new mineral water bottles not far away, knowing that Xiang Yiye was silently reprimanding him, and immediately moved closer to show him the photos.

As Xiang Yiye looked at the photos, he used his elbow to keep him at bay: “Stay away, I’m sweaty.”

Xu Chuo immediately started rummaging through his things, asking him if he wanted a tissue or a handkerchief.

The girl stared at Xiang Yiye’s profile for a long time, and said, “You’re the… handsome guy who was posted on the school’s wall, right?” She saw the initials of Xiang Yiye’s name on his jersey and confirmed this.

Xiang Yiye: “?”

The school wall had long become the front line for online gossip and identifying potential bad partners. He hadn’t done anything heinous, so how could he have been posted?

The girl picked up her phone and swiped through it, handing it to him to look at: “This, someone was ‘fishing’ for you on the wall last month.”

Xiang Yiye looked at it and understood. It was the girl from his elective course. She was too embarrassed to strike up a conversation directly, so she first posted on the school wall to ‘fish’ for him, attaching a candid photo taken in the classroom.

After the post was published, the comments underneath were full of remarks:

“A fairy, already liked, don’t let her down.”

“Why not go for it? You even have class together today, you might as well get married tomorrow! Just go for it, sister, don’t be a coward, even a match made in heaven takes effort…”

“Agree with the person above, 37 Teaching Building, right? If the poster doesn’t go for it, I’ll go for it first. By then, we can only fight for him.”

“Looking for a picture-type npy in the South District… can check my homepage, add me directly if you meet the requirements.”

“The person above is suspected of being from South Copper, but there’s no evidence, it’s recommended to check yourself in time.”

Perhaps encouraged by the vast number of netizens, the girl mustered up the courage to write a note, leaving her contact information.

Afterwards, she added a follow-up to the original post, saying that she had already been rejected, but it was okay, she wasn’t too discouraged, and even posted Xiang Yiye’s handwritten reply.

First of all, Xiang Yiye politely but clearly expressed his refusal. He said that his current plans were all focused on his studies, and he didn’t have the time or energy to make friends. Later, he encouraged her, saying that she was really brave to have this initiative, hoping that his response wouldn’t discourage her, and wishing her that she could meet someone who responded to her bravery in the future.

More comments followed, some with praise:

“Sob sob sob, so patient, writing so much.”

“It’s said that you can see a person’s character after a breakup, and you can also see it in rejecting someone.”

“It’s recommended that male compatriots collect and learn from this.”

Some were deliberately provocative:

“Women don’t need to learn? Women reject people more often and more harshly.”

“What’s wrong with being harsh, look at yourself and see if you deserve it.”

“It’s true that you can see people arguing anywhere.”

“It’s true that you can see male babies anywhere.”

Some went off-topic and got sidetracked:

“This handwriting has a strong Hengshui flavor, dead memories are suddenly attacking me…”

There were also those who dug up some of Xiang Yiye’s personal information:

“From our engineering school, seems to be a sophomore, the real person is much more handsome than the photos, and he’s still a genius.”

“Oh my god, how is he also an actor…”

“Whatever, I’ll become a fan out of respect first, stay tuned.”

Some people questioned whether it was a publicity stunt, but the overall number was small, drowning in a sea of ​​positive reviews.

After reading the post and the comments, the girl in the stadium said, “Um… junior, can I take a photo with you?”

Before Xiang Yiye could say anything, Xu Chuo raised his SLR camera and entered business mode: “Here it comes, Xiao Yiye, stand over there a little.”

After taking the photo, the three stood next to each other to watch the game. The red team’s score had caught up again, and Xiang Yiye was closely monitoring the state of the enemy and his teammates on the court.

In the fourth quarter of the game, Xiang Yiye re-entered the game. Until the last few minutes, the scores of the two teams were still very close, with the red team only leading by 1 point, adopting a man-to-man strategy to defend strictly.

By this time, both teams had consumed a lot of energy. Xiang Yiye usually exercised and had rested for a round, so he could use his physical advantage at this time.

The red team was a little struggling to defend him, and later became anxious, the elbows can’t wait to directly hit his eyes.

The referee blew a foul, but still could not restrain the opponent from playing dirty.

Xiang Yiye was not vegetarian either, facing the block, his eyes sank and were fierce, and he said something to the nearest enemy defense. Looking at the expression and lip shape, it should be provocative words like “Go back to your hometown if you can’t defend”.

He was usually harmless, even mild, occasionally revealing ferocity and aggression, especially in front of so many people, which made Xu Chuo feel excited.

Back on the court, the enemy defense froze for a second, and when it was about to connect again, Xiang Yiye had already jumped up. He leaned back, jumped up and threw a basket, the ball exceeded the opponent’s defensive fingertips, and flew rapidly towards the red team’s basket.

Xu Chuo seemed to be able to hear all the eyes and breaths on the field synchronized at this moment, and everyone took a breath.

When the scene in front of him was too captivating, his eyes could not do anything but watch. The camera in Xu Chuo’s hand became an ornament, and he recorded this moment with his eyes.

A ball into the basket, the score stopped at 93:92, and there were two seconds left on the timer, the blue team won the final victory.

The viewing area erupted with shouts, Xiang Yiye and Wu Yiyue punched each other, with bright and wanton smiles on their faces, their eyes crossed the crowd and looked down the court.

The noise of people was noisy, and the voice could not reach the place. Xu Chuo raised his left hand, thumb up, and gave him a big appreciation.

At the basketball team’s celebration dinner at night, Xu Chuo was ready to leave first. Xiang Yiye knew that he had nothing to do at night, and was not sure if he was tired or did not want to participate. Wu Yiyue said “Brother Xu” and asked Xu Chuo to eat together.

At the dinner table for self-introduction, Xiang Yiye only said that Xu Chuo was his brother.

Xu Chuo squinted his eyes: “I’m his assistant.”

Someone sighed, “People in the entertainment industry are all handsome men and beautiful women,” and then everyone chatted. Xu Chuo could chat about any topic, and by the way, he made jokes and made burdens, and the atmosphere on the table was relaxed and harmonious.

Xu Chuo was busy talking, Xiang Yiye clipped vegetables for him. Wu Yiyue turned his eyes, and his eyes jumped back and forth on his and Xu Chuo’s faces, but he was a little silent.

As the dinner party drew to a close, Xu Chuo went to the bathroom, and the conversation on the table gradually subsided, turning into small talk.

Wu Yiyue glanced at Xu Chuo’s empty seat and quietly asked Xiang Yiye: “What’s going on, you two, it’s not what I think, is it.”

Xiang Yiye: “What’s going on…”

Wu Yiyue: “Don’t pretend, just what you two did on the court, flirting with each other.”

Xiang Yiye: “I’m looking for the camera.”

Wu Yiyue: “Don’t treat me as a friend, I’m not blind, who’s looking for the camera with such eyes.”

Xiang Yiye hesitated for a moment and admitted, “Well, it’s what you think.”

Among the college classmates, Wu Yiyue was his best friend. In peacetime, Wu Yiyue did not shy away from topics of homosexuality, and the jokes were flying. But Xiang Yiye knew that the more this kind of person was, the straighter he was in his bones. So he never revealed his sexuality.

Wu Yiyue digested in place for a while, and popped out four words: “Only blessings.”

Xiang Yiye: “You…” This is the only blessing he has received so far.

Wu Yiyue: “I have no opinion, just don’t like me.”

Xiang Yiye immediately: “That won’t.”

Wu Yiyue: “…” You should hesitate for a second, which makes him very unattractive.

After being quiet for a while, Wu Yiyue asked again: “Then what will I call your friend in the future… call Sister-in-law Brother?”

Xiang Yiye choked: “No, just call Director Xu.”

Director Xu who came back after paying the bill: “Hmm?”

Before breaking up and going home, Wu Yiyue said to Xiang Yiye: “Don’t worry, Xiang Shen, no third person knows about this. You two hide well, and let me know if you need someone to cover you up.”

He looked like a love bodyguard, and Xiang Yiye was very touched, and hammered his shoulder.

In the middle of the night, Xu Chuo’s apartment. Xiang Yiye felt empty between half-awake and half-asleep, stretched out his arm, and touched an empty space.

He got out of bed, walked out of the bedroom, and saw that the door of the study was ajar, revealing a faint light.