Yonghe Road

Chapter 42 Finals
The finals were held in the city gymnasium.

On the day of the finals, several huge high-hanging fluorescent lamps above the gymnasium were like scorching suns. The lights intertwined to form a huge bright halo, illuminating every corner of the gymnasium.

The auditorium was packed with basketball fans from all over the city, as well as people who loved to join in the fun, who came to watch the game. There were four people sitting on the rostrum, and the conspicuous white-haired cadre in the middle was Director Mei Wending.

On his left, there was an official in his fifties, with an oval face, a straight nose, a serious expression, and wearing a black suit, a white shirt, and a gray striped tie. He was He Bing, the city's executive in charge of cultural and sports affairs.

On his right was a young woman in her thirties or forties, with short hair, a full-moon face, fair skin, and a gentle expression. She was Director Hong Fangfei of the Culture and Sports Bureau.

In addition to the three leaders, the other person on the rostrum was President Ji Tong. Although she was sitting at the very edge of the rostrum, her superior height, straight back and gorgeous clothes made her exude an aura of looking down on everything. The calm look in her eyes told people that the grand scenes she had seen in her life were not comparable to this small county-level city gymnasium.

Looking down from the rostrum, the entire gymnasium was crowded and bustling.

In the audience seats, colorful cheering flags were waving in every corner, and the audience's faces were filled with excitement and anticipation.

On both sides of the field, players from both teams, wearing black and red uniforms, were doing simple warm-up exercises. Some were stretching their muscles and moving their joints, while others were closing their eyes and silently adjusting their breathing and mentality. They were all in high spirits and ready to go.

In the center of the field, the referee stood in the most conspicuous position. He was tall and straight, with a handsome face, a serious and fair expression, a whistle tightly in his hand, his eyes focused and sharp, ready to blow the whistle to start the game at any time.

He is Wei Shuran, the head of the city’s youth sports school.

At this moment, Wei Shuran was explaining something to the coaches of the two teams. The two coaches, one tall and one short, listened to Wei Shuran's instructions attentively and nodded from time to time.

In a moment, the two coaches turned around, walked off the field, and headed towards their respective teams.

Tall, walked towards the players in red jerseys, on which were printed the snow-white words "White Tea Town".

The shorter one walked towards the player in the black uniform. It was none other than Luo Chuxiu, and the words "Bai Le Village" were clearly printed on the black uniform.

"The first players to play are Zi'an, Ziqi, Captain Ye, and Shao Feng..."

Luo Chuxiu had already started to deploy his troops. When he called out the last name "Lei Sheng", Lei Sheng excitedly shouted "Yeah".

Director Mei Wending was sitting on the stage. He said that everyone should perform well, but until a quarter of an hour before the performance, Luo Chuxiu did not nod to let him go on stage.

"Your skills have improved a lot during this period. Perform well on the court." Luo Chuxiu smiled at Lei Sheng.

Lei Sheng was a little touched and thought that after the game, he must give two bottles of cliff bee honey to Luo Chuxiu to try.

After the five players lined up, Wang Zian led them onto the court. The players from the "White Tea Town" team also walked up from the other side of the court.

The two teams met on the field and waved to the crowd.

With Wei Shuran's whistle, the audience quickly quieted down and the game officially began. First, Wang Zian was like a nimble cheetah, quickly controlling the ball and breaking through, rushing towards the opponent's basket with the ball.

Shao Feng was eyeing the inside line and successfully secured his position with the help of his teammates' cover.

Wang Zian understood the hint and, with a clever fake move, dribbled past the defender and threw the ball towards Lei Sheng. Lei Sheng leaped high and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire stadium. The supporters of the "Bile Village" team cheered loudly, and Lei Sheng was extremely excited. Zhong Ziqi's teaching was not in vain, and his tuition fees were not in vain.

He excitedly high-fived Zhong Ziqi and then looked towards the podium.

Director Mei Wending has white hair and a clear target. From a distance, Lei Sheng was roughly sure that Director Mei Wending was looking at him with approval, which made him even more motivated. However, afterwards, there seemed to be no room for him to perform. The opposing players bravely scored several goals in a row, and the score had surpassed that of the Baile Village team. Fortunately, Wang Zian and Shao Feng quickly tied the score.

Ziqi then played tight defense, intercepting a pass and passing it to Shao Feng. Shao Feng quickly advanced and passed the ball to Ye Shensu on the perimeter. Ye Shensu fired a steady three-pointer, further extending their lead.

The two teams chased each other, and at the end of the first game, "Bai Le Village" temporarily took the lead with 38 to 35.

The people shouting the loudest in the audience were an old man and a young beauty.

Luo Youcai, who was sandwiched between the two, couldn't help but cover his ears. He really didn't expect that Secretary Wang Kai and the great writer Xie Anmin would get so excited and disregard their image.

"Our Baile Village won the game, you shout, cheer us on." Secretary Wang Kai pulled Luo Youcai's hands off his ears.

Luo Youcai gave him an awkward smile. He was a businessman, and generally speaking, the way to cheer someone on was to sponsor them financially.

Secretary Wang Kai couldn't hear Luo Youcai's true feelings and simply took off his baseball cap, which scared Luo Youcai so much that he screamed and quickly grabbed the cap and put it on himself. There were so many people in the stadium tonight, he had to take his image into consideration. He looked much worse with a hat on or without.

"Boss, you have a voice. If you don't know me, you might think I'm mute."

He has a voice, but he has no hair.

When Secretary Wang Kai and Luo Youcai were performing the Rashomon, Xie Anmin had already left his seat to bring water to Zhong Ziqi.

The first game had just ended and the second game had not yet started. It was the players' break time. The surrounding noise had faded from Xie Anmin's ears, and her heart was filled with the eagerness to walk towards Zhong Ziqi.

"Ziqi!"

Zhong Ziqi was breathing slightly, with fine beads of sweat hanging on his forehead, which sparkled with a unique luster under the light of the rest area.

He was surprised and delighted to see Xie Anmin suddenly standing in front of him.

They hadn't seen each other for a long time. She was busy collecting materials, conducting research and writing, and he was busy practicing ball.

"How did you come?"

"I told you I'd come to watch you at the finals."

“But what if I don’t make it to the finals?”

"You will, I believe in you, you are the best."

As Xie Anmin spoke, he stood on tiptoe and gave Zhong Ziqi a light kiss on the cheek, then ran away quickly. When Zhong Ziqi came to his senses, he only had a bottle of mineral water that Xie Anmin had given him in his hand, which made him sure that Xie Anmin had indeed appeared just now.

He looked up and around, trying to find Xie Anmin's whereabouts, but he was met with the gazes of the crowd. Luo Chuxiu and a group of players were staring at him, and some people were even whistling.

This made Zhong Ziqi's cheeks hot, so everyone must have seen Xie Anmin kissing him just now, right?
Xie Anmin is really something. She is so bold. How can she have the nerve to do that in front of so many people?

In particular, when Zhong Ziqi and Wang Zian's eyes met, they felt so ashamed that they wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

In Wang Zian's eyes, Zhong Ziqi's face was flushed, and he was holding a bottle of water, at a loss.

"Prepare for the next game and don't affect your condition." Wang Zian reminded Zhong Ziqi in a low voice, then raised his head and drank a sip of the water in his hand.

Zhong Ziqi also instinctively drank the water. Sure enough, the icy cold mineral water went down his esophagus into his stomach and quickly calmed him down.

The venue is changed and the second game begins.

Secretary Wang Kai, Xie Anmin, Luo Youcai and others were still expecting Baile Village to press on and win the second game, but the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

With the scores tied, Lei Sheng, a bit too eager to win, rashly took the ball from Wang Zian to Ye Shensu, but was intercepted by the opponent. After a quick attack, the opponent scored a few points, but gradually regained their form, strengthened their defense, and played a small climax to achieve a comeback and win the second game.

In the crucial third game, coach Luo Chuxiu replaced Lei Sheng. Lei Sheng did not dare to complain and just sat dejectedly in the rest area, hoping that Wang Zian, Zhong Ziqi and others could win the game. However, luck did not seem to favor the Baile Village basketball team tonight, and several players from the "White Tea Town" seemed to be on a roll, making three three-pointers in a row, which widened the score. Then Wang Zian twisted his foot. Although new players were replaced, the team's morale was frustrated and the players' cooperation was a little messy.

Finally, with Wei Shuran's whistle to end the game, the "White Tea Town" team won two out of three games and won the city championship.

In the audience, the villagers who had rushed into the city from Baile Village to support the event were all very disappointed. Secretary Wang Kai's proud smile turned solemn, and he muttered, "How did this guy twist his ankle? He failed at the critical moment..."

It was Luo Youcai who comforted him: "Brother, don't be like this. They have been training hard recently. Although they didn't win the championship, they are still the runner-up in the city. At least they have a place to compete in the prefecture-level city."

Secretary Lao Wang then nodded in disappointment and stood up to take care of his injured son.

On the court, Luo Chuxiu was comforting the players. The coach of the "White Tea Town" basketball team led the players to come over and build relationships with the Baile Village basketball team.

"Your village of Baile is truly strong. It's truly remarkable that you, a village like yours, have so many basketball players, and they all play so well. It's truly remarkable," Coach Gao Xing said to Luo Chuxiu. "Our Baicha Town won a narrow victory tonight."

I wish you all a happy New Year and good luck in the Year of the Snake.