Chapter 54 Do Not Waste Time Negating Yourself

"Which cafeteria should we go to? The South Cafeteria? Or the North Cafeteria?" Xia Chiayi looked toward Zhou Zhexiao.

"The South Cafeteria," Zhou Zhexiao replied.

"But the food in the South Cafeteria is much spicier," Xia Chiayi looked over at Yang Huaiyu.

"The South Cafeteria is more authentic," Zhou Zhexiao answered.

"Oh, true enough. Let's go!"

Xia Chiayi and Pang Shuai were remarkably generous hosts, leading Yang Huaiyu on a full tour of the South Cafeteria.

Looking at the sea of fiery red chili peppers everywhere, Yang Huaiyu developed a rather ominous premonition.

He suddenly understood why Zhou Zhexiao insisted on eating at the South Cafeteria: it was purely to mercilessly torment his taste buds and stomach.

"By the way, how long are you staying here, Yang Huaiyu?" Xia Chiayi asked.

"Didn't you say that if I came to Ningchang, you'd let me see how you train? Naturally, I'm here to do some field research before heading back."

So he was staying for more than a single day.

"Oh, wonderful! Then you can come with me to training tomorrow." Xia Chiayi showed not the slightest bit of reservation, using his spoon to push aside the chili peppers and picking out a few pieces of braised mixed offal for Yang Huaiyu.

Yang Huaiyu found it unbelievable. How could this guy be so generous?

Zhou Zhexiao's face remained ice-cold, resembling a midnight temperature drop at the end of December.

Xia Chiayi scooped a few slices of pickled cabbage fish into Zhou Zhexiao's bowl, carefully picking out every single fish bone with his chopsticks before scooping a portion for himself and eating slowly. The temperature around Zhou Zhexiao gradually warmed up.

Yang Huaiyu raised his chin and asked with an amused smile, "Is bone-picking service included when you're his roommate and teammate?"

Zhou Zhexiao replied calmly, "If you need it, I can provide bone-picking service for you as well."

That guy's "bone-picking" service would undoubtedly be piercing to the heart.

Yang Huaiyu waved his hand. "There's really no need for that."

"So where are you staying tonight?" Xia Chiayi pushed a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers toward Yang Huaiyu, implying that since this was a Ningchang specialty, he should try more of it.

In truth, Yang Huaiyu's ears were already burning from the spice, and a flush of red had spread across his face.

"I haven't decided yet. Where do the players from Shenghai University stay during training matches?"

"The last few rooms in our building block. I could ask the student union for a clean set of quilt covers for you, but it's rather dreary for one person to stay in a quad room. Why don't you sleep in our dorm tonight?" Xia Chiayi suggested.

"How would that work? Are you sharing a bed with me?" Yang Huaiyu asked with a smile.

"Make him sleep in the back row," Zhou Zhexiao stated.

"No need. I'll sleep with you, and he can just take my bed," Xia Chiayi said.

"Let him sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep with you," Zhou Zhexiao countered.

"That works too. But you're being awfully generous, giving up your bed for Yang Huaiyu?"

Xia Chiayi always felt that Zhou Zhexiao had a very strong sense of territory, though of course, once you became someone he accepted, he could be remarkably magnanimous.

"Your bed is cluttered with either Bluetooth earphones, wristbands, or a small tin box of mints. Do you want a guest to help you tidy it up?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Chiayi immediately turned to Yang Huaiyu with a smile and said, "You should definitely sleep in Zhou Zhexiao's bed. His bedsheets don't have a single wrinkle—they're comparable to a hotel's. The quilt core is silk, soft and breathable. Plus, this guy changes his pillowcase every single week, and he just changed it this morning... Ouch..."

Xia Chiayi's head was given a light press.

"Spit it out. You suddenly showed up here without bringing anyone else from Qincheng University, and you're not here for a practice match. What is going on?"

Zhou Zhexiao looked straight into Yang Huaiyu's eyes and asked directly.

Yang Huaiyu was momentarily taken aback, not expecting Zhou Zhexiao to be so sharp.

"Two weeks from now, we're playing a few practice matches against Qingda."

Hearing this, Xia Chiayi's eyes lit up. "Qingda? Last season's Division One champions! You're playing practice matches against Qingda? Can we go watch?"

Zhou Zhexiao flicked his finger against Xia Chiayi's crown. "Idiot, practice matches like that are generally completely closed-door."

"Liu Sucheng will be participating as well. His strength should be even more formidable than last year. In the final quarter of last year's match, I guarded him one-on-one, yet I still let him score 18 points."

At these words, everyone fell silent.

Xia Chiayi still remembered Liu Sucheng from that match... It wasn't that Yang Huaiyu wasn't strong enough; it was simply that Liu Sucheng played like a deity descending from the heavens.

"I don't want the practice match to end with the same result. Even though... over the past year, I haven't seemed to push myself hard enough, while he has been tempered by the brutal training of the youth team, making him even stronger."

Zhou Zhexiao leaned back against his chair and said indifferently, "You don't want to hear your teammates' comfort anymore, nor do you want to listen to the coach's analysis, because they only want to make you feel better. You want to hear some genuine, harsh truth. Is Liu Sucheng truly your ceiling?"

For some reason, Yang Huaiyu felt a very special stir in his chest, as if Zhou Zhexiao had once experienced this exact kind of loss and wandering hesitation.

Perhaps even under a pressure a thousand times heavier than his own.

Yang Huaiyu remembered that Zhou Zhexiao was an Oak Hill Academy graduate. Without a doubt, in such a powerhouse basketball school, the competition might be even more brutal than in the collegiate Division One league.

"Let's eat. We can analyze it when we get back," Zhou Zhexiao said.

Just at that moment, Ye Zhaoying received a text message and managed to track down the South Cafeteria as well.

"What dishes did you guys order today? Is this a convention for chili peppers?"

Hearing Ye Zhaoying's words, Yang Huaiyu felt as though he had found a savior.

"Just wait, I'll teach these two fellows what hospitality means," Ye Zhaoying patted Yang Huaiyu's shoulder.

Just as Yang Huaiyu thought this lively, handsome guy was going to pick out some non-spicy food for him, Ye Zhaoying arrived carrying an entire iron basin.

"Come on, try this—Ningchang Great Stew! It's all meat, now that's a hearty dish!"

In a pool of fiery red spicy soup, braised chicken feet stood upright in utter helplessness. Yang Huaiyu felt that fainting might be the better option.

Fortunately, Little Fatty had the habit of ordering takeout and saved Yang Huaiyu's stomach by ordering him a portion of egg-fried rice and thick broth.

While eating the egg-fried rice, Yang Huaiyu noticed Xia Chiayi setting up a couple of stools.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Naturally, we're all going to watch the match between Qincheng University and Qingda together, focusing our research on your disastrous ten-minute collapse," Xia Chiayi said.

Yang Huaiyu almost spat out his soup. "Are you planning to set up a projector?"

"Yep."

"And you're going to project the most humiliating ten minutes of my life in massive scale for everyone to watch?" Yang Huaiyu seriously had to wonder whether Xia Chiayi understood the meaning of hospitality at all!

"It's fine, life is long, and there will definitely be moments even more humiliating than those ten minutes in the future," Xia Chiayi said with a completely matter-of-fact expression.

Yang Huaiyu closed his eyes. He needed to seriously consider whether he had come here seeking validation or to take an arrow to the knee.

Not stopping there, Ye Zhaoying pulled out a plastic bag.

"Here, here, here. Zhou Zhexiao, your milk tea, double pearls. Per the coach's strict instructions, no sugar allowed."

"Mm, thanks."

"Xia Chiayi, jasmine green milk tea, skim milk, zero sugar."

Xia Chiayi wore a aggrieved expression. "Would it kill you to add just a tiny bit of sugar?!"

"You wouldn't die, but the coach would kill me. Don't you know he checks the order history on delivery apps?" Ye Zhaoying turned around and handed a cup to Pang Shuai. "Little Fatty has been working hard on photo editing lately, so here's the full family-size combo."

Yang Huaiyu suddenly felt his egg-fried rice lost its appeal, and he helplessly emphasized, "That was a match where I got completely crushed by Liu Sucheng..."

Could you guys please stop treating this like a comedy film?

"Come on, the ace of a certain team who got defeated by Liu Sucheng, this is yours—family-size, whole milk, seventy percent sweetness, zero-calorie sweetener." Ye Zhaoying added, "Zero-calorie sweetener costs two yuan extra."

"—Thanks, you're quite a nice guy."

Xia Chiayi couldn't help laughing. "This is our Ningchang steal king we're talking about—wait until you get your ball intercepted by this guy during the match and see if you still think he's 'quite a nice guy'!"

Yang Huaiyu immediately shook hands with Ye Zhaoying again, looking very earnest. "My apologies, my apologies."

Ye Zhaoying gave Xia Chiayi a kick. "Did you do that on purpose? Making Yang Huaiyu guard against me before the match even starts—how am I supposed to get any steals now?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Since Yang Huaiyu came from afar as a guest and was also the protagonist of the match footage, he naturally sat in the center.

Xia Chiayi and Zhou Zhexiao flanked him on either side, leaving Yang Huaiyu with a slightly complex mood. "It feels like I've stepped onto the court and am being relentlessly double-teamed by the two of you."

"Just consider it advance adaptation," Xia Chiayi replied heartlessly.

Little Fatty dragged his table to the back row, claiming the highest seat in the house. Ye Zhaoying leaned against the corner of his desk.

The match was exceptionally fierce. From the very first quarter, both sides engaged in an intense back-and-forth battle.

Yang Huaiyu executed a smooth crossover past Liu Sucheng and scored a layup.

Xia Chiayi whistled and cheered enthusiastically, as the rhythm of that play was brilliantly executed, and even Zhou Zhexiao gave a rare "Mhm" in approval.

On the next possession, Liu Sucheng dribbled his way into the paint, used his body to fend off Yang Huaiyu, and scored with a floater.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What zodiac sign is Liu Sucheng?" Xia Chiayi asked.

"Pisces, probably," Yang Huaiyu answered.

"A sentimental and soft-hearted Pisces... Where on earth does that guy fit the description?" Xia Chiayi expressed doubt. "Look at me, look at me, I'm the real Pisces!"

"He plays the drums well, so he still has some of that Piscean artistic flair..." Yang Huaiyu found himself laughing even as he spoke.

Liu Sucheng's drum playing couldn't be described as just good; it was frantic.

"Fine, let's analyze Geng Lu, the guy hovering neither too close nor too far from Liu Sucheng," Xia Chiayi brought up.

At the mention of this name, Yang Huaiyu felt a tightening sensation in his throat.

Xia Chiayi bumped his shoulder lightly against Yang Huaiyu's, pointing his finger toward Geng Lu, who was almost ignored by everyone else in the upper part of the screen. "Look, on this play, Geng Lu was on your left side, blocking your attacking path and forcing you right into Liu Sucheng's defensive zone. Tsk, if not for him, you would have driven straight through for a score!"

Yang Huaiyu took a deep breath and murmured, "Yeah, it felt like losing two hundred million."

Not long after, Xia Chiayi bumped him again. "Right here! Here! Here! Geng Lu is standing in your passing lane again, disrupting the connection between you and Meng Ting. Ah, and as a result, you ran into Liu Sucheng and his teammate for a double-team breakout, wasting your stamina."

In the back row, Ye Zhaoying lowered his head and spoke from behind Yang Huaiyu, "But your double-team breakout was incredible. Xia Chiayi had me and Zhou Zhexiao simulate it with him over and over again, running me ragged like a dog. Buddy, you shouldn't call yourself the 'King of Layups,' you should be called..."

"The King of Double-Team Breakouts! Hahaha!" Xia Chiayi laughed, causing the air around them to vibrate gently.

Mentioning Yang Huaiyu's double-team breakout seemed to excite Xia Chiayi immensely, and he draped his arm over Yang Huaiyu's shoulder, shaking him playfully.