Chapter Ninety-Five: Bullfighting

God opens a door for you, but correspondingly closes another; for Cheng Xiaoyu, his physique is truly a tragedy when it comes to sports. Not only is his stamina a problem, but he is hopeless with any equipment or ball games. In his previous life, Cheng Xiaoyu rarely exercised—he played a bit of badminton, knew only the rules of basketball, loved watching soccer and kicked a ball occasionally, but hardly played once he entered university.

In this life, all his talents are concentrated at the piano, and beyond that, he is utterly unremarkable. Today’s lesson is basketball—a game of five on five, boys and girls each with their own court.

The class sports monitor, Huang Liang, sits next to Cheng Xiaoyu at lunch; the ordinary girl who treated everyone today, Fan Wenjuan, is his girlfriend.

Huang Liang had long disliked Cheng Xiaoyu. When Cheng Xiaoyu came on the court, Huang Liang switched positions with another classmate, marking him closely. Unfortunately, Cheng Xiaoyu rarely even received the ball—no one wanted to pass to him.

Huang Liang could only signal his teammates to pass the ball to Cheng Xiaoyu more often. Though Cheng Xiaoyu’s basketball skills were poor, his sense of the game and intelligence far surpassed his peers. He used his body to block Huang Liang’s position as best he could. Lacking stamina and agility, he relied on anticipation to intercept passes. As a result, not only did Huang Liang fail to shine, but Cheng Xiaoyu managed to steal the ball from him several times and deliver some impressive assists.

The more Huang Liang played, the angrier he became, feeling as if everyone was looking down on him. His movements grew rougher.

Cheng Xiaoyu’s teammates gradually began to trust him and dared to pass him the ball. Cheng Xiaoyu’s greatest strength was his selflessness—he would often pass the ball to a teammate at an incredible angle as soon as he received it.

This made Huang Liang anxious and irritable. As a sports monitor and former substitute small forward on the school team, he was being completely shut down by the class’s worst-performing overweight boy. He was furious, forgetting his forte was offense, while Cheng Xiaoyu played with his mind.

At last, Cheng Xiaoyu blocked out Huang Liang, received a pass from a teammate, and was about to pass again when Huang Liang darted over to steal the ball. Unexpectedly, Cheng Xiaoyu, who had never dribbled before, faked him out completely; Huang Liang was thrown off balance. As Cheng Xiaoyu prepared to dribble a few steps, the enraged Huang Liang grabbed the collar of his shirt in a backward motion. The force was so great that Cheng Xiaoyu couldn’t steady himself and fell hard onto the wooden floor.

Though the fall wasn’t serious, it echoed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention in the gym. Seeing it was just an unremarkable fat boy, people turned away and went back to their business.

Huang Liang stood aside as if nothing had happened—not even offering an apology.

Cheng Xiaoyu patted his backside and stood up, turning calmly to Huang Liang. “Shouldn’t you say something?”

At that moment, their PE teacher had gone to the infirmary with a girl who had twisted her ankle and was not present.

Some classmates gathered around. Huang Liang knew he was in the wrong, but, unwilling to apologize, stiffened his neck and said, “If you want an apology, beat me first.”

Cheng Xiaoyu smiled. He couldn’t be bothered to argue with such a childish person. Picking up the ball, he asked, “Out-of-bounds, or free throw?”

Huang Liang, seeing Cheng Xiaoyu avoid his challenge, felt his confidence return and thought Cheng Xiaoyu was easy to bully. He sneered, “Coward.”

Standing nearby, Wang Ou, who hadn’t gone on court yet, couldn’t stand it anymore. He pushed Huang Liang and said, “You play like trash, and you still act tough? Why pretend?”

Huang Liang brushed Wang Ou’s hand off his chest angrily and challenged, “Not convinced? One-on-one, or three-on-three, five-on-five, whatever. If you’re brave, face me head-on, okay?”

Wang Ou shot back, “Afraid of you?”

Cheng Xiaoyu actually didn’t want things to escalate. He grabbed Wang Ou and said, “Forget it, don’t bother with him. The more attention you give, the more he shows off.”

Seeing that Cheng Xiaoyu wanted to make peace, Wang Ou could only turn away in frustration.

But Huang Liang mocked, “You can’t even gather three people, can you? Wang Ou, aren’t you admitted to the Shanghai Sports University? You can substitute for him and challenge me one-on-one! Loser calls winner ‘Dad’.”

Wang Ou specialized in sprinting, and his basketball skills were average—not necessarily a match for Huang Liang, who was on the school team. Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at Wang Ou’s flushed face; he couldn’t bear it. Bullying him was one thing, but his best friend was off-limits.

For his friend, Cheng Xiaoyu turned and said, “Three-on-three it is. Your basketball skills are no better than a gorilla’s—pure brute force, no brains. No wonder you’re just a substitute on the school team. I don’t even play basketball, but I’ll wipe the floor with you.”

Knowing he couldn’t match Cheng Xiaoyu’s wit, Huang Liang retorted, “Don’t just talk tough. Don’t chicken out and refuse to call me ‘Dad’ if you lose.”

Cheng Xiaoyu laughed scornfully. “Dream on. I wouldn’t want a son like you. Let’s do something real—loser buys everyone in the gym a Coke. How about that?” He didn’t dare make a bold promise; he wasn’t sure he’d win, so he set the stakes within his comfort zone.

Huang Liang was enraged by Cheng Xiaoyu’s words, unable to refute, and could only say fiercely, “Watch how Daddy teaches you a lesson.”

Cheng Xiaoyu chuckled, “I told you to read more books. Now you can’t even insult properly—just calling me ‘Dad.’ If your real father heard, he’d die from anger at such an unfilial son.”

Huang Liang, slow to process, didn’t realize Cheng Xiaoyu was insulting him; he ignored his verbal attacks, asking, “Where’s your team?”

A crowd of classmates gathered, amused as Cheng Xiaoyu subtly gained the upper hand. Huang Liang was determined to teach Cheng Xiaoyu a lesson in his area of strength.

Huang Liang called over two regular basketball buddies, forming the strongest lineup from Class 2, Grade 12.

Cheng Xiaoyu looked around—aside from Wang Ou, he had no one. Cheng Haoran hadn’t even come to PE class, so they really couldn’t make up three.

Cheng Xiaoyu joked to Wang Ou, “Do you have anyone you can call to lose with us?”

Wang Ou saw the evasive looks of those around and replied with a bitter smile, “Looks like not. Just us two infamous partners, shoulder to shoulder.”

Cheng Xiaoyu laughed, “At least I’ve gotten all the verbal advantage. Losing at basketball isn’t that embarrassing—just buying Coke. I’ve got plenty of money.”

Wang Ou shrugged, “Summer Sha Mo is tall, but I don’t know if she plays basketball. If she’s as good as Goddess Su, that’d be nice.”

Cheng Xiaoyu’s mind sparked. “Then I’ll go ask Su Yuxi. It’s three-on-three—no rule about gender or class.”

Wang Ou looked at Cheng Xiaoyu as if he were a lunatic, reaching out to feel his forehead. “Are you crazy? You think you can just call Goddess Su over?”

Cheng Xiaoyu grinned, “How do you know if you don’t try? Maybe she thinks I’m cute and comes over!”

Wang Ou covered his mouth as if he’d gag, saying, “Little Fatty, maybe we should just surrender. You haven’t taken your meds today; I don’t think anyone can save you! My beloved!”

Huang Liang had cleared the court, holding the ball at midline, shouting, “If you really can’t find a third, I’ll help you call one.” His friends and those Cheng Xiaoyu had offended in class let out exaggerated jeers. Many stopped playing and came to watch the spectacle.

Even students from neighboring classes heard about the upcoming match and gathered to watch.

Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at Huang Liang, said, “Wait a moment,” and walked toward the right side of the gym. Su Yuxi was resting against the wall, unaware of the commotion. She had never been interested in joining crowds.

Only when Cheng Xiaoyu approached did she notice it was his class having the dispute. Seeing him walk over, she showed no expression; Cheng Xiaoyu felt a bit uneasy. Even if she refused, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“Hi, Xiaoxi.” Cheng Xiaoyu smiled awkwardly. Facing Su Yuxi always made him inexplicably nervous—never as calm as usual.

Su Yuxi managed a rare smile. “Hi, what a coincidence.” For her, that was already a rare greeting.

Seeing she didn’t avoid him, Cheng Xiaoyu steadied himself and asked, “I’m betting on a basketball match with a classmate, but we’re one short. Can you help?”

Su Yuxi frowned, “You’re not that childish, are you?”

Cheng Xiaoyu forced a smile, realizing things weren’t as simple as he’d hoped. He thought their relationship had grown closer after some experiences, and Su Yuxi would be more agreeable. But he’d been presumptuous. “Sorry for troubling you.” He turned to leave.

Everyone in Class 2, Grade 12 watched what Cheng Xiaoyu was doing. When they realized he was asking Su Yuxi for help, the commotion grew. They all waited for him to overreach and be humiliated.

As they saw him turn around, confirming the expected outcome, they erupted in loud laughter.

To them, this spectacle was a hundred times more entertaining than the basketball match between Cheng Xiaoyu and Huang Liang.