Chapter 56: Stand Tall with Strength, Shut Up Without It

“Exactly. So my goal isn’t to become Sheng Xingming, but to become an incredibly skilled dual-role guard—someone who can give Sheng Xingming the confidence to repeatedly charge into the opponent’s paint. I want others to see that he’s not just a playmaker equipped with a cannon; he can be a dagger, a missile.”

“Why? Sheng Xingming had already passed away when you were really young, right?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“He taught me how to play basketball,” Xia Chiyi said, lifting his chin as the face of that person appeared in his mind.

“Just because of that? Li Xiaoran is still teaching Liu Suochen to play, but I’ve never heard Liu Suochen say his goal is to become Li Xiaoran.”

“When I was a child, I attended a youth basketball camp in Seattle. My physique, reflexes, and speed were all inferior to the other kids there. During team drills, they wouldn’t pass the ball to me. Being among them, I felt like a dwarf in the land of giants.”

Yang Huaiyu fell silent.

“At that time, I didn’t understand what talent really was, but I vaguely sensed this colossal force called ‘genetics.’ They could jump higher; their dribbling rhythm was better. Some things couldn’t be overcome no matter how hard I cried and tried. That night, I skipped dinner and locked myself in a bathroom stall. I kept questioning myself over and over—Xia Chiyi, do you really want to take this path? Do you really want to face an unbridgeable gap?”

Yang Huaiyu’s fist clenched little by little. He had rarely faced setbacks in basketball, having led a smooth and fortunate journey. Winning games was natural for him. He learned quickly, so when he faced Liu Suochen, it was the first time he encountered a genuine chasm.

But Xia Chiyi… he already understood this when he was still young.

“I was so sad, Yang Huaiyu. The world of basketball seemed like it would never choose me,” Xia Chiyi said, his voice tinged with a smile as he recounted the shattered dreams of a child.

“Then someone pounded on the door so hard that I hiccupped several times inside the stall.”

“Ha ha ha, you were in there that long?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“That was Sheng Xingming. He said, ‘If the brat doesn’t come out soon, I’ll flush the Haagen-Dazs down the next stall’s toilet.’”

“Ha ha, so you came out?”

“Yeah, I did. After all, you can’t play basketball and lose the ice cream too, right?”

“And then? He comforted you while you ate ice cream?” Yang Huaiyu asked.

“What are you thinking? There was no ice cream. He was just teasing a kid,” Xia Chiyi replied.

“Sheng Xingming teasing kids? That’s surprising. Sheng Xingming was known for being strict and straightforward.”

“Then I might be the only kid he ever fooled. He took me to the court and showed me how to move without the ball, how to steal, how to fake a step. It was as if he was trying to pour everything he knew into my brain. Then he asked me—‘Will you touch the ball tomorrow?’”

“One night is never enough.”

“Yeah, it’s not enough, so I kept my head down and didn’t answer.”

Xia Chiyi stood up, faced Yang Huaiyu, and hung a towel over his shoulder. “Sheng Xingming lifted me up, put me on his shoulders, and said—Xia Chiyi, never lower your head. Because if you lower your head, even if I hold you over my head, you still won’t see the basket.”

For some reason, looking at Xia Chiyi like that, Yang Huaiyu suddenly felt as if he were the one being held high above.

Yang Huaiyu slowly smiled, “Then who is the one who lifts me up?”

“Many. Me, Zhou Zhexiao, also Ke Yan, Meng Ting, He Zhan, and Coach Ren… They’ll all lift you high, very high!”

Yang Huaiyu lowered his eyes and smiled, “I understand now. I really understand.”

Whoever befriends someone like Xia Chiyi must become softer and stronger at heart.

That night, they took the bus back to school. Yang Huaiyu sat by the window as usual, but Xia Chiyi leaned on Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder, sleeping soundly and even snoring softly.

When the bus passed a small supermarket, Yang Huaiyu suddenly said, “Zhou Zhexiao, you know—Sheng Xingming owes Xia Chiyi an ice cream.”

Zhou Zhexiao frowned, “When?”

“When he tricked Xia Chiyi out of the bathroom stall at the youth camp.”

After a stop, just as Yang Huaiyu was getting used to Zhou Zhexiao’s silence, he suddenly spoke.

“Sheng Xingming didn’t lie to him.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just that kid cried so long and refused to come out, the ice cream melted.”

Yang Huaiyu laughed, “Sounds like you were there.”

After getting off the bus, Zhou Zhexiao actually bought a Haagen-Dazs for Xia Chiyi.

This left Xia Chiyi utterly baffled, while Yang Huaiyu smiled to himself with his hands in his pockets.

For Yang Huaiyu, that day was one of complete exhaustion.

Yet before falling asleep, he sent the hour-and-a-half long one-on-one video with Zhou Zhexiao to the coach. Then, fighting the drowsiness, he sent a WeChat message: [Their advice is to be vigilant about help defense against Liu Suochen’s offense, suggesting we force Liu Suochen to expend all his energy in the first quarter instead of letting him accelerate in the final quarter. We need to improve stamina and endurance; otherwise, fatigue will dull our judgment and reaction in the last quarter, making Liu Suochen seem like a descending war god.]

After sending it, Yang Huaiyu’s energy was completely drained; he passed out.

Coach Ren on the other end thought Yang Huaiyu was so captivated at Ningchang University that he lost track of time, never expecting such a long video.

For a moment, Coach Ren even thought it was a travel video since Yang Huaiyu could be quite unpredictable at times.

But upon reading the message, his brow furrowed.

As a coach, he understood that the loss to Qincheng University wasn’t just about the duel of star players, but also about “help defense.”

After the game, Coach Ren had dissected the importance of help defense shot by shot, but that felt like hindsight and did little to help Yang Huaiyu recover from defeat.

Yet after a single day at Ningchang University, Yang Huaiyu seemed to have accepted the need for teammates’ help defense?

Unless the players at Ningchang University had shown him the true value of help defense.

Coach Ren had also spoken seriously with Yang Huaiyu about stamina and endurance, but this guy always chased “fun” in everything—stamina training was dull and boring, and he could barely play a full game purely because of his physical gifts.

But now he’d voluntarily brought up strengthening stamina training on WeChat…

“Who exactly put a spell on him?”

When the video finished loading, Coach Ren sat in silence.

He had raised a cup of tea to his lips, only to put it down again.

Who was Zhou Zhexiao, really, to mimic Liu Suochen’s fierce offense and pace so vividly?

More importantly, Coach Ren rarely saw Yang Huaiyu play with such joy and enthusiasm.

Yang Huaiyu had always been overly fixated on the outcome of his battles with Liu Suochen. Because he cared about the results, every lost point piled negative emotions on him.

But in this match with Zhou Zhexiao, both played at an exceptionally high level.

Coach Ren could feel Yang Huaiyu’s skills had sharpened—his foot placement during defense, timing to disrupt the dribble, and resilience in physical contests.

Coach Ren’s greatest fear was that Yang Huaiyu would stagnate all year.

Yet after just one day at Ningchang University, it seemed all problems had been solved.

At the video’s end was a prolonged under-the-basket tussle between Yang Huaiyu and Zhou Zhexiao. It lasted for dozens of minutes, much like his one-on-one with Liu Suochen—collisions of strength, speed, and skill. Suddenly, a figure dashed into the frame.

The shout of “Go!” reinvigorated Coach Ren. He saw Xia Chiyi leap up, his interception forcing Zhou Zhexiao to change direction mid-air, creating a chance for Yang Huaiyu to block the shot.

So sudden, so uplifting—Coach Ren could imagine that moment when Yang Huaiyu, burdened by exhaustion and numbness, felt as if he was trapped in a dark tunnel, resigned to keep walking. But Xia Chiyi pierced a small hole in that tunnel, a sliver of light that rekindled Yang Huaiyu’s fierce spirit and refusal to yield. When he jumped again, he finally blocked what seemed like an unstoppable layup from Zhou Zhexiao.

Even if the long night is endless, Yang Huaiyu had finally grasped his torch once more.

Coach Ren exhaled deeply, belatedly realizing his eyes were moist.

He glanced at the clock—it was already half past midnight. Calling now seemed impolite.

But unable to suppress his excitement, he dialed Ling Huanzhen’s number.

Seven or eight seconds passed with no answer; Coach Ren thought he had been impulsive.

What he didn’t know was that Ling Huanzhen was playing a game, cursing his teammates after a loss.

Seeing the incoming call, he grumbled “Hello?” and immediately silenced Coach Ren.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize the time. If…” Coach Ren quickly apologized.

Once Ling Huanzhen heard it was Coach Ren, he instantly became polite and attentive. “Coach Ren, what’s up? Is it about Yang Huaiyu? Don’t worry, we’re taking good care of him…”

“I know you are, really grateful. It’s just that I learned today that our players Meng Ting, He Zhan, Ke Yan… and even Li Shunchuan bought tickets to come to your place… for an exchange…”

Actually, Li Shunchuan hadn’t yet shaken off the shadow of a recent heartbreak and had been rather down, but Coach Ren decided to send him along with the group to Ningchang.

“You guys… that’s practically the full starting lineup… all coming? I thought you were about to have a scrimmage with Qingda University?” Ling Huanzhen said, sensing this was less about an exchange and more about testing confidence.

Coach Ren tapped his phone’s edge with his finger. “No choice. They think Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi are so strong, they want to see your whole team’s level.”

“You’re treating us like a whetstone,” Ling Huanzhen laughed.

For the first time, Coach Ren spoke seriously, “Yes. As a condition, after the scrimmage with Qingda, we’ll send you the game footage for study, on the condition that it’s not shared externally.”

Ling Huanzhen was momentarily stunned. Offering scrimmage footage was a significant gesture of trust.

“Alright, I understand. We’ve been studying Qingda for a while, and we’ll be a good whetstone,” Ling Huanzhen smiled.