We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Bang!

"oh--!"

Xing Yi gradually regained some confidence.

"Fourteen to twelve!" the PE teacher announced the score loudly.

Class 3 is currently in the lead, but the score is very close, and they could be overtaken if they are not careful.

"Hang in there, guys! The other team is clearly different from last semester, but their substitute doesn't seem to know how to play. The second half should be easier," a boy from Class 1 shouted encouragingly.

Xing Yi forced a smile.

The match on the field continued. Li Mubai, sitting off the field, glanced at Xie Shu beside him and found that she was also looking at him. Rather than saying she was watching the match, it would be more accurate to say that she was not interested in the excitement on the field.

She was wearing a short-sleeved school uniform and sat quietly with her hands folded on her lap, looking well-behaved and obedient.

"Aren't you hot?" Xie Shuxian broke the silence.

"fine."

Actually, he did have some idea, but he wanted to hide his true feelings about not wanting to take off his coat so that Xie Shu wouldn't think he was a weirdo.

"You'll be even hotter wearing your jacket on stage later." Xie Shu looked at him quietly. "Take off your jacket, I'll hold it for you."

"Uh... no need."

He instinctively refused, feeling awkward about letting Xie Shu hold his school uniform jacket.

Besides, if you want to take it off, you can just leave it on the seat. Although it's an open-air basketball court and there's some dust on the ground, it's not visible to the naked eye, so just consider it clean.

"Give it to me." Xie Shu stretched out his hand to him.

"Um--"

"Just take it off! Why are guys so awkward!" Chen Qiuhe said disapprovingly from the side.

The whistle blows, halftime break.

"Lao Bai, come here immediately!"

"All right."

Li Mubai didn't refuse again. He quickly took off his coat, straightened it briefly, and gently handed it to Xie Shu's outstretched hand.

"Be careful," Xie Shu whispered.

"……good."

Li Mubai walked over to the panting boy.

"Li Mubai, I'll leave the second half to you. I need to rest for a bit," Feng Wanli said, breathless.

"It's alright, you can go sit down and rest."

"Brothers, it's 16 to 16 now, a temporary tie, but we need to step up our game if we want to win," Jiao Yong encouraged everyone.

"I can't go on, Brother Yong, I'm almost out of fuel!" Yang Kun wailed.

"You can't last ten minutes? You think you can have a relationship like that? I'll kick you out right now!"

"I was just teasing you; actually, I could take on ten of them."

"Haha." Jiao Yong chuckled, then turned to Li Mubai, "Li Mubai, you'll be picking up Feng Wanli later. Just have someone keep an eye on him."

"it is good."

On the other side of the line, Xing Yi glanced at Li Mubai, then awkwardly turned his head away and asked:

"Can you find a substitute to take me off?"

"No, Lao Guo has already been replaced, there's no substitute."

"We still have plenty of boys, can't we secretly find another substitute?" Xing Yi persisted.

"This isn't a good idea." The person looked in the teacher's direction, somewhat hesitantly. "No, Xing Yi, are you not up to it? If you really can't, I can tell the teacher, that should be fine."

Xing Yi cursed the PE teacher in his heart. Why did he have to organize a basketball game? And why did he have to play against Class 3? Didn't he know that he and Class 3 were incompatible?

"Fine, fine, I'll just keep going." He finally resigned himself to his fate.

"That's right." The boy suddenly asked in a low voice, "Xing Yi, do you have a conflict with that substitute from Class 3?"

Xing Yi hesitated for a moment, then nodded with difficulty.

"Then just wait and see how I elbow him and that's it," the man chuckled.

"Holy crap, don't..."

Before Xing Yi could finish speaking, the teacher's whistle blew again, ending the intermission.

He nervously stepped onto the stage, glancing at Li Mubai, who was standing opposite him in a short-sleeved shirt, and then at Xie Shu, who had a school uniform jacket neatly placed on his lap.

In his memory, Li Mubai always seemed to be wearing a long-sleeved jacket... Thinking of this, he felt a tightness in his chest.

"Class 3 will serve first in the second half!"

The PE teacher's command interrupted his thoughts, and he forced himself to overcome his discomfort and went forward to defend.

The basketball was passed to Jiao Yong, and Class 3 began their attack. Li Mubai found someone about his height to keep an eye on.

Seeing that he couldn't break through, Jiao Yong quickly scanned the entire area. Wang Rui was being closely watched, and Zhao Feng and Yang Kun had no chance either.

He immediately threw the ball to Li Mubai, and the players from the surrounding class rushed to grab it. Li Mubai jumped up and caught it steadily.

Standing at the edge of the two-point line, you can shoot directly.

Bang!

It didn't go in.

"Sorry, the shot didn't go in."

"It's okay to complain. Next time, if you're confident, then take the shot. If you're not confident, just pass it to someone who's not being watched."

"it is good."

One team grabbed the rebound and quickly pushed the ball across the midcourt.

"Xing Yi, catch the ball!" The person passing the ball immediately called out to remind him, seeing that he was distracted.

Xing Yi caught the ball and prepared to make a layup as usual, but when he saw Li Mubai coming towards him to defend, he immediately passed the ball to his teammate.

The person acted hastily, and the same pop-up appeared.

"Holy crap, Xing Yi, why don't you break through?"

"I'm not in good shape."

"Then you should adjust it quickly."

……

"There's one minute left in the game. The score is currently 25 to 24, with Class 1 in the lead!"

The ball flew rapidly towards Li Mubai. He caught the ball, stood at the two-point line, and prepared to jump and shoot. A boy from Class One smirked and suddenly rushed over.

Snapped!

call out!

The referee's whistle rang out sharply.

"Shot blocked, Class 3 gets two free throws!"

Another free throw... Li Mubai looked at his reddened hand and felt a strange sense of absurdity, similar to Li Hongzhang being shot or the Qing Dynasty saving silver.

"No, Lin Yuhang, what are you doing?!" The boys in Class 1 immediately questioned.

"It's okay, he doesn't know how to play, he won't be able to make the shot," Lin Yuhang said confidently.

"Damn it, you're just hoping you didn't score, otherwise I'll elbow you when we get back!"

"Keep going, Lao Bai! You're the hope of our whole village!"

Li Mubai is under increasing pressure; if he scores just one more goal, the score will be tied.

He gently patted the ball, gripped it tightly with both hands, adjusted his breathing, and everyone held their breath.

Bang!

The basketball bounced off the inside of the rim and fell with gravity—it went in!

"oh--!"

The boys in Class 3 burst into cheers instantly.

"A tie is fine, just take the next shot however you like."

The player under the basket passed the ball back to Li Mubai.

He held his breath again, recalled the power and angle of the shot, made a slight adjustment, and shot again.

……

call out!

"Match over! 25 to 26, Class 3 wins!"

We finally won...

"Damn it, Lin Yuhang, prepare to die!"

"This has nothing to do with me! I was just helping Xing Yi get revenge!" Lin Yuhang hurriedly shifted the blame.

"Xing Yi was out of sorts throughout the second half."

"Forget it, it's just a game. If you lose, you lose," someone said, trying to smooth things over.

Xing Yi glanced in the direction of Class 3...

"Boys, come and have some water! It was bought with class funds!" Deng Yi waved and called out as she and a few other girls went to buy water and came back.

"Thank you!" Yang Kun took the bottle and gulped it down.

Li Mubai was at the end of the line. Just as he reached out his hand, Deng Yi took the bag back.

"Your water isn't here."

Hmm? Li Mubai turned his head to look at Xie Shu, who was holding his coat with her left hand and handing him a bottle of water with her right.

"Drink this. Drink some electrolyte water after exercise to help you recover faster."

"Thanks."

"It's alright, you were pretty amazing today." Xie Shu smiled faintly.

"Uh... no, it just happened to go in." Li Mubai was embarrassed by the praise.

Yang Kun, who was not far away, glanced at the alien electrolyte water in Li Mubai's hand, and then at the Nongfu Spring water in his own hand.

"I'm so touched! I want to drink electrolyte water too!"

"I have some special iced tea, would you like some?"

"Get out of here! Who wants your special iced tea!"