Yun Mi asked Zhou Shihui coldly, "Is that enough?"
Zhou Shihui stood there dumbfounded, utterly shocked.
But Chen Yiyang laughed.
On the bright blue basketball court, the red jersey made the boy's skin look fair. He stood out among the crowd. His jet-black hair was tied back with a headband. As he turned his head slightly, a thin smile curled on his clean, sharp jawline, fleeting.
Boys from Class 1 called for him from a distance. Chen Yiyang casually draped an arm over Zhou Shihui's shoulder. "Let's go, on the court."
Whether intentionally or not, those sharp, dark eyes glanced at her again.
He moved his lips, silent, mouthing something.
Yun Mi's cheeks instantly flushed. She silently buried the lower half of her face in her arms crossed over her knees.
She hadn't misread—he said "little fool."
Mocking her?!
Yun Mi lowered her eyes and muttered angrily under her breath, "Did he do that on purpose?"
Jerk.
...
They played a fast game, finishing in twenty minutes.
In the first half, Class 1 was short-handed and fell behind.
In the second half, they adjusted their strategy. Despite having fewer players, they still won.
When the final whistle blew, Class 8 erupted in groans.
Chen Yiyang walked to the corner to grab two bottles of water. Zhou Shihui thought one was for him and was about to say thanks, but the boy raised a hand and said flatly, "Get it yourself."
"???"
Chen Yiyang crossed the court and called straight over, "Yun Mi."
Yun Mi had just seen the score, 41-20, when she heard someone call her name from behind.
She turned around dazedly and instinctively raised her hand.
A sealed bottle of water flew steadily into her arms.
In the clamorous summer, she looked up and saw Chen Yiyang in his No. 17 jersey.
Chen Yiyang strode over to walk beside her, raised an eyebrow, and with a light smile tinged with the joy of victory, asked, "Satisfied now?"
Yun Mi was stunned for a moment before realizing that "this" meant her not hating him.
She hadn't expected her threat to work and couldn't help but smile. "Mm."
On the spacious small sports ground, the sky was clear.
The boy stood beside her, his thin eyelids slightly lowered. He held his own bottle of water and paused briefly before saying, "Then help me with something?"
The good mood that had just risen instantly dissipated.
Yun Mi's steps faltered. It dawned on her belatedly that he had played so hard earlier—including following her near the honor roll—because he needed a favor.
"...Go ahead."
Yun Mi unconsciously lowered her eyes and heard Chen Yiyang's voice in her ear: "Wen Liangyu is getting engaged on July 2nd. I have to go to a competition that day. I'll prepare the gift and give it to you later. Could you take it to her for me?"
This request was so unexpected that Yun Mi froze. "Auntie is getting engaged?"
Chen Yiyang's forehead was slightly damp with sweat. He let out a self-deprecating laugh, as if asking himself, "Isn't that a good thing?"
A teammate called him from a distance. He turned back and replied, "Alright," then walked away with his bottle of water after a brief explanation.
Ding Yuan was confused. She stood there, turned to look back, and curiously poked Yun Mi. "Yun Mi, who's Wen Liangyu? Chen Yiyang's aunt?"
"No..."
Yun Mi frowned, watching Chen Yiyang's retreating back. That flash of fiery red jersey stood out in the crowd.
For some reason, she was inexplicably certain that he was actually feeling terrible inside.
Her mood sank as well. She said softly, "It's his mom."
-
Yun Mi studied in the classroom until ten before leaving. Before she left, her classmates were still enthusiastically discussing today's spectacular basketball game.
The topic "Class 8 lost the bet and everyone has to clean the restrooms" had everyone talking. Chen Yiyang was the star of the moment.
Yun Mi heard someone in the class remark, "That's what you call low damage but maximum humiliation."
Plus, Class 8 had always liked to challenge Class 1 to games, so there was some old grudge. A few boys from Class 8, unconvinced, photoshopped an ugly picture of Chen Yiyang and posted it on the Shanfu Confession Wall.
But the comments were still full of, "Even so, he's still so handsome."
Just as they left the school gate, Ding Yuan was shocked as she tapped the screen. "Talking nonsense with their eyes open. He's been Photoshopped into a pig, and they still think he's handsome?!"
Yun Mi leaned over to glance at it. Under the black graffiti, the boy's tall and broad figure was still visible.
Only his mouth was left in the face.
But those thin lips were slightly curved, still exuding youthful spirit.
Yun Mi handed the phone back and said truthfully, "He is handsome."
"...?"
Ding Yuan said, "You're hopeless too."
Candid shots of Chen Yiyang in his red jersey had gone viral in the grade. The group chat had 999+ messages.
Yun Mi scrolled through them casually, not very interested. But every time she remembered that last smile on the basketball court, she felt stifled.
Wen Liangyu was remarrying. He was definitely unhappy.
Her finger suddenly stopped.
She saw a girl with a kitten avatar send a message:
[Is Yun Mi, who was rumored to be with Chen Yiyang last time, his sister?]
A bunch of people replied "don't know," and the message was quickly buried by new discussions.
But Yun Mi frowned slightly.
Not many people should know about that.
The next second, a new friend request popped up on WeChat.
The kitten avatar.
ID: Mimi.
Reason:
[Hello, are you Chen Yiyang's sister?]
The note looked like it was from someone in Class 13, no name given.
Yun Mi clicked into the history and found that this person had already added her three times.
The first request was from a long time ago:
[Hello, classmate Yun Mi, I heard from others that Chen Yiyang seems to be your brother. I like him. Could you please help me deliver a love letter?]
Author's Note:
None