When she returned from the backstage area, Gao Yabin noticed something was off. She asked what was wrong and why her eyes were red.
Cheng Buxi didn't answer. She just lowered her head and said the game was about to start, let's sit down quickly.
Though Gao Yabin found it strange, she didn't ask further.
As soon as they sat down, Guan Qianru squeezed over from the back row. "Scoot over, scoot over, scoot over." Sister Guan was rough and thick-skinned, with no shame. She just blatantly squeezed between the two of them.
Gao Yabin was pushed to the edge. She couldn't even be bothered to roll her eyes. Just then, a fleece blanket was handed from the front row. It was from the guy who saved their seats from the sports college.
She paused for half a second, then accepted it politely.
...
"I tell you, Fifth, you scared me to death just now. That Fang Xinyi sure has nerve, just dropping the job like that with so many people around. Good thing you pulled through. I was so nervous down there, afraid you'd mess up," Sister Guan said, both shocked and relieved.
As for the 'Fifth,' it was based on their dorm bed numbers. Back then, Cheng Buxi and Xiao Yingying were the last to arrive at the dorm. Only beds 3 and 5 were left. Cheng Buxi had chosen bed 3, but Xiao Yingying insisted on taking it, saying the feng shui was better. Cheng Buxi didn't insist and let her have it. Xiao was the third, but they privately called her 'Little Three,' who knows what kind of bad taste that was. If she knew the 'Three' nickname came from the bed number, she would never have fought Cheng Buxi for it.
Cheng Buxi didn't think it was as dramatic as she said, nor was she that nervous. After all, she had learned dance as a child. Though she danced averagely without much talent, her teachers were some of the best dancers and dance performers in the industry. If she didn't have even that much skill, it would be a waste.
"Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda," she said.
At such a young age, her tone already carried the sorrow of a monk.
"What the hell?" Gao Yabin frowned.
Cheng Buxi explained that Fang Xinyi's boyfriend had come all the way to see her, so she had to help.
"That's it? You're too easy on her, you know?" Sister Guan scoffed. "Fang Xinyi is a piece of work. Why doesn't her boyfriend want her to be a cheerleader? Because the skirt is short and the top is revealing!"
Sister Guan, as an outsider, was shrewd and saw it more clearly than she did. "And she hangs around men all day. If your boyfriend were here, do you think he'd be okay with other guys staring at your long legs?"
"..."
Sigh. She hadn't thought about it that way at first. But when she realized her brother had seen her dancing the whole time... she finally understood what 'wanting to die' meant. It really had put her in a tough spot.
"Luckily, your face is more striking than your figure. Cheng Buxi, my Hangyu really isn't good enough for you." Sister Guan blinked and let out a long sigh, completely losing the intention to set them up.
Gao Yabin: "..." Speechless.
"Are you done with your rambling? If you're done, get lost! It's too cramped."
...
After pulling herself together, Cheng Buxi looked up at the court. The game was about to start.
Just as she was about to seriously watch the game, she suddenly met a particularly intense gaze. The person made no effort to hide it, his pitch-black, sharp pupils boldly met hers. Jersey number 7, purple and gold team.
It was him... Cheng Buxi was startled and immediately averted her eyes.
Like a rabbit seeing an eagle, Ning Ci couldn't help but chuckle.
-
The game began.
On the court, he was unmatched, averaging over 60 points per game individually—a terrifying statistic.
Cheng Buxi listened as Gao Yabin analyzed his KDA. He was nearly a perfect hexagon, commonly known as a 'hexagon warrior.' He was definitely the MVP. Moreover, he wasn't even a sports student; he studied software engineering. Playing basketball was just a personal hobby, as the audience behind them said.
"Can you believe this guy is an IT guy who writes code? I thought he was a sports student..."
"Really?!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Man, don't you guys look at the college heartthrob rankings? Here, Ning Ci, number one!"
On the phone screen was his ID photo with a white background. He was at the top by a huge margin.
The photo was probably an old one, not very clear, and the pixels were a bit distorted. It wasn't as stunning as his real face, but it still showed his handsome features and good proportions. Even with a blurry phone camera, it was enough to dominate. The corner tag read No. 1.
"Being handsome is probably his least noteworthy trait," an S University student chimed in. "This guy is a legend at our school. In four years of college, he's won all kinds of top IT awards—Turing Cup, ACM, Blue Bridge Cup... he's won them all."
"Just a while ago, he turned down offers from top Ivy League schools. Even Stanford couldn't get him, haha... Playing ball? That's nothing."
"Oh my god, what window did God close for him?"
"He has tons of girls chasing him. He once set a record at S University that stood for years."
A girl from their own school didn't want to be outdone. "But Professor Shen graduated early. Back then, there weren't these messy voting posts. Otherwise, it's hard to say."
...
Cheng Buxi understood deeply. Back when her brother was in college, love letters were the lowest and most tacky. Those enchantresses were bewitched by him, openly following him, harassing him on the streets, demanding his contact info. Later, he got annoyed and pinned it all on Shen Xiushi. Even later, he rarely showed his face. Basically, he'd finish class and leave campus by car.
He had a heavy burden on his shoulders—the honor of the entire family pressed down on him. If Lu Siyu could share some of it, it wouldn't be like this. But Second Sister's ambition was not in business but in the entertainment industry, a money pit. Otherwise, maybe he could have played his beloved basketball like the boys on the court, until he was old and couldn't run anymore. Instead, he was now buried in endless tedious work, unable to extricate himself.
As she was lost in random thoughts, amidst the roaring cheers in the arena, Number 7 hit an ultra-long three-pointer. The ball smoothly passed through the net, hit the floor—the whistle sounded, and everyone stood up!
Cheng Buxi was also stunned. It was like many years ago, when she was extremely timid and her brother took her to the court. Back then, her brother was just as agile, controlling the ball, leaping up, and landing a crisp three-pointer, drawing applause from the whole audience.
But the next second, as the young man who took the shot intercepted the opponent's retaliatory dunk, he seemed to slip and rushed straight out of bounds—right next to the scoreboard.
"!!!" The audience around screamed in shock.
"What's up? Holy crap—he went out of bounds!" a teammate yelled.
"You brat!" the coach shouted from the sidelines. "Get up! What do you think you're doing!"
Ning Ci didn't catch the ball, fell hard, and simply lay there, refusing to get up. The seat where Cheng Buxi sat was barely a meter away from him.