Chapter 59: Even Elite Schools Have to Queue Up for Practice Matches (Second Update)

Xia Chiyi instinctively wanted to hide his ankle under the chair, but Zhou Zhexiao firmly grabbed it. The other person took off his left basketball sneaker, cradled the center of his foot with his other hand, and rotated his joint slightly.

"Does it hurt?" Zhou Zhexiao looked up at him.

So Zhou Zhexiao was checking to see if he had been injured from that heavy fall earlier.

"Not at all! I've already gotten up and walked several laps, nothing is wrong at all!"

Xia Chiyi instinctively shrank back again, but his foot was still held securely by the other's grip.

"What are you dodging for?" Zhou Zhexiao tilted his head slightly. Even the shadows cast by his eyelashes shifted in angle, and the humid vapor seemed to give his brows and eyes a soft halo, as if they were about to melt.

"I... I'm not."

Xia Chiyi put on an impatient expression and kicked out forcefully. Zhou Zhexiao's strength was overwhelming, and Xia Chiyi almost tipped backward, yet he still couldn't dislodge the grip.

Who holds someone else's ankle like this and pulls and rotates it? It's... it's just weird, okay!

"You look like you're lying." Zhou Zhexiao's eyes locked onto Xia Chiyi.

This left Xia Chiyi with no way to look away. He leaned forward earnestly, meeting Zhou Zhexiao's gaze, "I'm not. If you don't believe me, check properly. I just don't hurt anywhere."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Zhexiao's fingers gently hooked open the cuff of his athletic sock. When his knuckles brushed against the skin of Xia Chiyi's Achilles tendon, it sent a sudden jolt of tension through Xia Chiyi's heart.

His fingers groped along Xia Chiyi's ankle bone, not applying too much pressure, but genuinely checking for any abnormalities in his ankle bone and the surrounding soft tissue. His technique was so professional that if Xia Chiyi closed his eyes, he would have thought the other person was an athletic trainer.

Zhou Zhexiao's palm slid upward along the Achilles tendon to Xia Chiyi's knee, and both hands gave the kneecap a gentle push. "Does it hurt?"

"No. It's still..."

"Still what?" Zhou Zhexiao looked up at him again.

That feeling of being treated as something precious by Xia Chiyi returned once more.

"It's actually quite comfortable."

Zhou Zhexiao remained silent. He then grabbed Xia Chiyi's hand, pressed palms together, slid his fingers between Xia Chiyi's, locked them tightly, and then exerted a firm pressure with his wrist.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." Xia Chiyi answered honestly.

Not only did it not hurt, but Xia Chiyi even secretly wished Zhou Zhexiao would just stay by his side like this.

Zhou Zhexiao rotated Xia Chiyi's wrist and gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. Xia Chiyi didn't feel any pain at all; instead, he stealthily brushed the tip of his nose against the other person's other arm.

It felt so strange, as if he were being embraced by Zhou Zhexiao.

"Is your shoulder okay too?" Zhou Zhexiao's voice sounded.

"It's fine." Xia Chiyi shook his head, the tip of his nose brushing lightly against the other's arm.

Zhou Zhexiao seemed to give a very soft laugh, and the rippling air made Xia Chiyi feel as though his heart was being cupped in the other's hands.

"So, does my massage feel good?"

The tone was level, like a tease, or perhaps just a reassuring joke after confirming Xia Chiyi wasn't injured. Yet it seemed to carry a current, racing all the way from his cranial nerves through his heart, sending a tingling sensation that threatened to rush right out of his fingertips.

Xia Chiyi's mind buzzed, and he instantly curled up into a ball.

Thinking Xia Chiyi was in pain somewhere, Zhou Zhexiao's expression grew tense as well. "Where did you hurt yourself? Your back? Or your lower back? Is it a dull ache, or a radiating pain?"

Xia Chiyi shook his head and gave Zhou Zhexiao a push. "Get out first."

"Tell me where it hurts first." Zhou Zhexiao pressed his palm against Xia Chiyi's back, and looking down, he saw Xia Chiyi's face flushed completely red.

Zhou Zhexiao paused for a moment, then uttered a sentence that made Xia Chiyi want to bury his head right into the ceramic tile floor.

"Surely my technique isn't *that* good, is it?"

Xia Chiyi's cheeks felt like they were about to drip blood, and he gritted his teeth. "Didn't you say... after a match, hormones and adrenaline surge... making accidents more likely?"

Unflinching, Zhou Zhexiao removed Xia Chiyi's right shoe.

"What are you doing!" The top of Xia Chiyi's foot tensed up.

"Finish the checks so you can rest easy and play hard."

This time, Zhou Zhexiao's movements weren't as cautious. He pulled Xia Chiyi's sock straight down to the arch of his foot and rotated his ankle.

Yet Xia Chiyi felt as though it wasn't just his sock that was being stripped away.

"It doesn't hurt!"

"What about your knee?"

"No pain, no pain, no pain! Nothing hurts anywhere!" Xia Chiyi was losing his mind and seriously wanted to headbutt Zhou Zhexiao.

"Fine. I'll wait for you outside. Hurry up, I'm hungry."

"Get lost." Xia Chiyi kicked at him, but he hadn't expected Zhou Zhexiao, who was squatting down, to have such a rock-solid core. He couldn't budge him at all.

"Twenty-eight seconds should be enough for you, right?"

With that, Zhou Zhexiao took the white towel off his shoulder and draped it over Xia Chiyi's waist. "Bro, please rest in peace as soon as possible."

Xia Chiyi seriously wanted to strangle him to death with that towel.

Zhou Zhexiao stood up and walked out.

From the doorway of the locker room, his elongated shadow could be seen.

That bastard... He must have been doing unspeakable things in the shower just now, and now he's deliberately retaliating against me for whistling!

Xia Chiyi gripped the towel tightly. Zhou Zhexiao had already washed it, and it was wrung out to about half-dry.

By the time he snapped back to reality, he realized he had made Zhou Zhexiao's towel dirty again.

"Whatever..." Xia Chiyi savagely rolled the towel up and stuffed it into his backpack.

Outside the door, Zhou Zhexiao stood with his hands in his pockets, looking toward the other side.

Just then, the cleaning lady in charge of the locker rooms and showers arrived and looked a bit surprised to see Zhou Zhexiao.

"Is someone still inside?"

"Yes, ma'am, please wait a little longer."

Hearing Zhou Zhexiao's voice—gentle and well-mannered—he seemed like a completely different person from the guy who had been squatting in front of Xia Chiyi moments ago.

"Out? Where's my towel?" Zhou Zhexiao held out his hand toward Xia Chiyi.

"Threw it away." Without another word, Xia Chiyi strode forward on his long legs.

Even if I gave it back to you, it would just end up in the trash anyway.

Zhou Zhexiao frowned, a rare sight. "Don't go throwing my things away randomly next time."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, the lavish feast treated by Ling Huanzhen had long since been swept clean.

The two of them had no choice but to order stir-fried dishes.

While eating, Xia Chiyi scrolled through the notifications in the basketball team's chat group.

"Yang Huaiyu and the others are leaving this afternoon. They need to rush back to make adjustments and hold a meeting to analyze today's match. Next week, they have a practice match against Qing University," Xia Chiyi wailed up at the ceiling. "I want to see this match with my own eyes so badly!"

Resting his chopsticks against the bowl, Zhou Zhexiao asked, "Do you actually want to see the match with your own eyes, or do you want to see Liu Shuchen with your own eyes?"

"Liu Shuchen—of course I want to see him! That guy pushed Yang Huaiyu to the point of losing his confidence. Don't you want to witness the moment Yang Huaiyu stands back up with your own eyes?" Xia Chiyi leaned forward, his knee bumping against the other's.

As if a tiny electrical current sparked in his heart, Xia Chiyi immediately moved his knee away and nonchalantly straightened his leg.

"Yang Huaiyu has already stood back up; there's no need to go witness it. Just wait for him to send over the recording of the practice match."

Just then, the WeChat group began to flash. Ling Huanzhen had posted a poll in the group, and the topic was unexpectedly about which university they would be willing to play a practice match against next week.

The options actually included Chujiang University, Xiangnan University of Technology, Capital University of Electric Power, Changcheng University of Technology...

Xia Chiyi read out the names one by one, sporting a bewildered expression reminiscent of an elderly commuter staring at a smartphone: "Aren't all of these teams that have made it into the national top sixteen? Is this something we get to choose? Shouldn't it be them choosing us?"

Biting down on his chopsticks, Xia Chiyi furrowed his brow.

It wasn't just Xia Chiyi; everyone else on the team expressed doubt as well.

Ye Zhaoying: [Am I hallucinating? Chujiang University is actually among the options? A high school classmate of mine is a benchwarmer at Chujiang University! He said Chujiang University looks down on all the university teams in Jin Province entirely!]

Shuai Bei: [If we try to schedule Chujiang University, they'll say, "I'm busy, please do not disturb."]

Chen Chuan: [Ah, I've already gotten used to the days of playing basketball on my two feet; I don't want to crawl on my knees begging for practice matches anymore...]

At that moment, looking at everyone's discussions, Ling Huanzhen desperately wanted to roar: Of course I know Chujiang University looks down their noses at everyone! The very first time I lowered my pride to schedule a practice match for you guys, it was with Chujiang University, and they rejected me! Who would have thought the tables would turn, and Chujiang University actually called us personally today to request a practice match!

Deep inside Ling Huanzhen's heart, a fierce desire for retaliation flared up. He wanted to smile and tell the other party, "Sorry, we just finished a grueling match against Qincheng University and we're too exhausted to travel so far for a game." But then he thought: how could his petty desire for revenge possibly be more important than the guys gaining experience?

So, he ultimately decided to consult everyone's opinions.

Du He: [Xiangnan University of Technology is also fiercely strong! They had an eye-catching run last year—top four in the Southwest Division and national top sixteen! Word is they've already played against every single team in the Southwest Division! If we throw ourselves at them, aren't we just acting as fodder to boost their stats and serve as cannon fodder?]

Fu Chenxue: [My childhood friend is at Xiangnan University of Technology. Two years running, and he's still a benchwarmer! Not a benchwarmer like me, but a benchwarmer who hasn't even played a single minute of a regular-season game! They are brimming with talent. If we play a practice match against them, our stamina bars will definitely be drained completely!]

Deng Qi: [I heard Xiangnan University of Technology practices a wolf-pack competitive philosophy; they only play practice matches against powerhouse schools. If we go and challenge them, the opponents probably won't even bother sending out their second string—they'll just use us to train their third string!]

Ye Zhaoying: [Stop! Stop right there, my brothers! What do you take yourselves for? We just played a match today against Qincheng University's starters and only lost by 2 points! We are strong!]

Seeing those few guys inflating others' morale while crushing their own, Ling Huanzhen had almost nearly passed out.

Fortunately, Ye Zhaoying's head wasn't broken.

However, Xiangnan University of Technology taking the initiative to call and schedule a practice match was also something Ling Huanzhen hadn't expected.

Their coach's attitude was quite decent, but the starting players didn't regard Ningchang University with any respect at all, and their arrogance was infuriating to hear.

Ling Huanzhen didn't mind letting his team members teach them a lesson.

Even though the opponents had taken the initiative to issue a challenge, they expected Ningchang University to accommodate their schedule, insisted on an away game, and refused to cover food and lodging. This left Ling Huanzhen feeling rather displeased—what, father goes over to discipline his son, and not only does the son refuse to kneel, but he doesn't even know enough to bring a chair for his father to sit on?

Capital University of Electric Power and Changcheng University of Technology were both extremely sincere, but those two schools were in the Northeast Division and genuinely far away from Ningchang; the fastest high-speed rail took a full eight hours. Ningchang University's current top priority was breaking into the Southeast Division's top eight to secure qualification for the national tournament, and there was no urgent need to prioritize matches against powerhouse schools from the Northeast Division...