Yonghe Road

Chapter 31 Training
Zhong Ziqi straightened his back and looked forward. Beside him, Xie Anmin was clutching his arm tightly. The light in the haunted house was dim. Zhong Ziqi couldn't see Xie Anmin's nervous expression, but he could hear her rapid breathing and feel the slight trembling of her fingertips.

I didn’t expect that the arrogant Xie Anmin would also be afraid sometimes.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Zhong Ziqi was stunned when he spoke.

Xie Anmin was also stunned.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Ziqi, who seemed to be quite arrogant, would also care about others. He even reached out and held her hand that was tightly holding his arm, and used a strong force to suppress the trembling of her fingers. Then he held her hand tightly and walked forward.

At this moment, Xie Anmin was a little dazed.

She looked up at Zhong Ziqi. His tall figure stood beside her like a stabilizing force.

The feeling was familiar, even his profile seemed familiar. Xie Anmin let him lead her hand as they stepped deeper into the haunted house. In that instant, the heavy, eerie atmosphere of the haunted house was replaced by a familiar feeling from another world...

Xie Anmin's heart was struck hard by something, and she suddenly understood why she had a liking for him at first sight. Her gaze was drawn to him, as if he had hooks on his body, entwining and entangling her thoughts. It turned out that this person was somewhat similar to the image that had long been buried in her heart.

Suddenly, a shrill scream broke the silence, followed by a low laugh, as if coming from the depths of hell, pulling Xie Anmin's thoughts back from her vague sense of fate. She was so scared that she let out a scream, and Zhong Ziqi reached out and took her in his arms.

She huddled in his arms, feeling tiny. For the first time in her life, she felt so dependent on someone. She had never found such a solid sense of security in another person. And he held her tightly in his arms, looking around cautiously while stepping into the depths of the haunted house without the slightest fear. He had never been so manly in his life.

On this day, when Xie Anmin and Zhong Ziqi walked out of the haunted house together, the magnetic field between the two people changed.

Wang Zian realized it later. He was busy with the tea factory business and preparing for the basketball game.

The first training session of the Baile Village basketball team has finally been completed. A team leader, a coach, and twelve players all gathered on the playground of Baile Village Primary School.

In order not to disturb the players' training, Lao Xie closed the school's electric gate. Occasionally, villagers passing by would stop outside the school gate and look over the electric gate at the performance of a dozen young men on the playground.

Old Xie had already closed the electric gates, and the playground of Baile Village Primary School seemed like a separate, private world. On the basketball court, the players were warming up according to Luo Chuxiu's instructions. Some were jogging, others were stretching, and a few young people were practicing passing in a circle. The air was filled with the scent of sweat and youth, radiating energy and passion.

"Okay, everyone gather!" Luo Chuxiu's voice resounded throughout the playground. The team members responded quickly and stood together in an orderly manner.

"You, start with the basics and go to the side to practice dribbling." Luo Chuxiu pointed her index finger first at Lei Sheng, then at the side of the playground.

Before Lei Sheng could react, Luo Chuxiu had already arranged for the others to compete in groups.

"Based on the principle of balanced strength, we divided the team into two teams, each with five players. The game adopts a best-of-three format, with each game lasting ten minutes."

As Luo Chuxiu finished speaking, Lei Sheng saw that Zhong Ziqi, Wang Zian and others formed a group, while the other group had more unfamiliar faces. He only knew Ye Shensu from the patrol team.

With the whistle, the intense competition officially began. The attackers moved quickly, looking for opportunities to shoot, while the defenders kept a tight watch, leaving no gaps for the other team. Every time a player scored, the villagers at the school gate cheered.

At some point, a group of villagers had gathered outside the electric gate, craning their necks to watch the players running on the playground.

Lei Sheng also stretched his neck and stood at the edge of the playground.

Luo Chuxiu blew the whistle at him: "Lei Sheng, what are you doing standing there? Why don't you practice?"

Why was he the only one who had to practice his fundamentals alone, while everyone else could participate in the competition? Wasn't it because his foundation was weaker than everyone else's? Lei Sheng was sullen. Luo Chuxiu had already arranged for another young man, who was also standing on the sidelines, to come and practice with him.

"Boss Lei from 'Sweet Honey'?" the man asked with a clean smile on his face.

"You are..." Lei Sheng looked at the unfamiliar face.

"Shao Feng."

"Oh, you're the dentist."

They had already added each other as friends in the WeChat group, but had never met in person. This training camp was the first time for many of them to meet in person.

"I heard from Coach Luo that you are very good at playing basketball." Lei Sheng showed his smooth side as a businessman in social situations and shook hands with Shao Feng.

Shao Feng did not waste time talking to him, but took him to practice basketball directly.

"Let's hurry and get started."

Shao Feng said, first demonstrating a few basic movements, and then asked Lei Sheng to follow.

This dentist had even become his teacher. Lei Sheng was a little embarrassed and impatient, and his movements were always off-target, either too much force or off-center. Shao Feng saw it all, but didn't show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he patiently guided him again and again.

"Relax," Shao Feng said gently, "The most important thing in playing basketball is to relax your mind, so that your movements will flow naturally."

When Lei Sheng tried to dribble again, he still looked clumsy and stiff.

"Look, like this." Shao Feng took the basketball and demonstrated a standard dribbling action. "Keep your wrist flexible and your fingers open to keep the ball under your control."

Lei Sheng carefully observed Shao Feng's movements, imitated them, and became even more impatient.

"There's something wrong with your movements, and the root cause is your mentality." Shao Feng actually spoke bluntly, which made Lei Sheng even more embarrassed.

"What's wrong with my mentality?" Lei Sheng raised his voice.

"thunder!"

Zhong Ziqi ran down from the court, patted Shao Feng on the shoulder, asked him to take over his position and participate in the competition, and he took over from Shao Feng and led Lei Sheng to practice basic skills.

"Chunshui called." Zhong Ziqi held the basketball, tossed it back and forth between his hands, and suddenly muttered something.

"Chun Shui called?" Lei Sheng perked up. "What did Chun Shui say on the phone? Where is Chun Shui now?"

Seeing Lei Sheng's impatient expression, Zhong Ziqi smiled, threw the basketball in his hand to him, and said, "Practice first, and tell you after the training camp."

Like a puppy with a bone hanging from its head, Lei Sheng finished the first day of training with full energy. By the time the on-field competition was over, Lei Sheng was already sweating profusely from practicing basic movements.

(End of this chapter)