Chapter 120

"Do you still feel comfortable over there?"

"Where?"

"At school..."

As he spoke, he turned his face slightly.

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Well..."

Jocelyn York leaned against the railing of the park's lookout platform, thinking for a moment.

"It's not too bad, except that it's a bit far from home..."

"Is that so?"

After graduating from elementary school, William Wei attended a nearby middle school, while Jocelyn York was sent to a private high school farther away from home.

Time flies.

The amount of time they spent together like this has gradually become less and less without them even realizing it.

"Hairpin."

He said, pointing with his finger to the top of his head.

"When did you start wearing it?"

"Well..."

She glanced upwards with her eyes, looking at the leaf-shaped hairpin on her hair.

"You wouldn't believe it, but it really bothered me for a while..."

"What happened?"

"Oh..."

She sighed lightly, turned her head, and pouted.

"Many people in the class mistook me for a boy just because of my short hair... The PE teacher even put me in the boys' group during the last sports class..."

"Haha."

"Is it funny?"

She turned her head, drooping her eyelids, looking at him.

"Cough, no, it's just a bit unusual to see..."

"I can't think of any other solution except wearing this."

"..."

He looked at her.

"Why don't you just grow your hair longer?"

"..."

She was momentarily stunned, looked up and watched the crowd gathering below the slope.

After a while, she squinted her eyes, smiled faintly, and said softly.

"Never mind, I'm used to it now."

"..."

He remained silent and didn't say anything.

Just silently watching the direction she was looking at.

"What about your side? Any problems?"

"What..."

"Haven't you been involved in any fights?"

"No, I'm not a child anymore..."

"Really?"

She turned to the side, staring at his eyes suspiciously.

"Uh..."

"Don't lie to me..."

"Why would I lie to you..."

After confirming that he wasn't lying, she shifted her gaze away.

"I'll trust you this time."

"You're really acting like my mom, huh?"

"Hmpf!"

She picked up her backpack unceremoniously and threw it at him.

"Haha."

He laughed, catching her backpack.

"Wait a minute..."

She suddenly seemed to notice something and walked up to him.

Standing on tiptoe, she measured the top of her head.

"Did you grow taller again?"

"Did I...?"

He hesitated, took a half-step back.

"By the way, I made it onto the school basketball team's training list last week..."

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

He was certainly going to be the first one to tell her about these things.

"That's great! When I have some free time, I'll come watch you play!"

"You're free every day, aren't you? You can come tomorrow."

"What are you talking about... I'm busy now."

She sighed and said.

"Oh? What are you busy with?"

"..."

She hesitated for a moment and then gestured with her fingers as if plucking something.

"Are you learning the piano?"

"Yeah."

"Did your dad convince you?"

"I couldn't resist him. He kept persuading me every day. Who can stand that..."

"Don't you want to learn the piano? You have such a good opportunity."

"Don't want to..."

She didn't hesitate for even half a second.

Saying that, she turned her head and looked at him.

"No interest."

"But in the end, you still agreed, right?"

"This is called a tactic of delay. I will eventually persuade my dad..."

"Is that so..."

He smiled bitterly.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

The Jocelyn York he knew always held her head high and never compromised...

It seems like it's the same this time...

...

"I'm going back first~"

Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

He looked up.

"Ah, bye..."

"Bye~"

She said

After taking a few steps forward, she stopped again.

"By the way..."

She turned back and looked at him from a distance.

"You seem to talk more now~"

"Is that so..."

He scratched his cheek.

If compared to before...

"And you've grown taller, becoming a handsome guy~heehee"

"..."

He fell silent for a while before speaking softly.

Who do you think all this is because of...

"What?"

"Nothing~ bye!"

He intentionally raised his voice and waved at her.

"Bye~"

Without thinking too much, she smiled and turned around to walk ahead.

...

He stood still

For a moment, he also turned and left.

...

...

Middle school life

Is far from the youthful and colorful image people imagine.

Especially for someone like him...

After school every day, he had to go to the basketball court for team training.

After two hours of training, he would finally go home with his bag.

Turning on the living room light, the dishes on the table were covered with plastic wrap, but there was no one in sight.

The empty living room was quiet, he could hear his own breathing,

After quickly finishing his meal, he walked to the balcony and threw his dirty basketball jersey into the washing machine.

Then he walked into his room, closed the door, put on his headphones, and listened to music while doing his homework.

When he felt tired, he lay down on the bed, and that's how the day ended.

...

Every day, he repeated this routine.

Compared to his past days of wandering in the streets and fighting with people on a whim.

This kind of life is definitely monotonous and difficult to bear...

Fortunately, Jocelyn York would invite him to her house almost every weekend.

That was probably the time he looked forward to the most every week.

Even though they were no longer in the same school.

But the distance seemed to have not distanced their relationship. For him, it was an incredible but fortunate thing.

...

"William Wei"

...

Every time he heard her voice, he felt an inexplicable sense of security.

Tense nerves would immediately loosen.

The longer the time, the stronger this feeling became...

Dependency probably only makes people weak.

Sometimes, he would think like that too...

But...

It's fine like this now.

As long as he can stay by her side...

Anything is fine...

...

...

"Ouch!"

"Ah, sorry... What's wrong, William Wei?"

"Can you let me know in advance when you pass the ball?!"

"Well, I just thought that if it's you, you should be able to catch it~"

"I don't have eyes on my back!"

"~"

By the way,

If there's anything worth mentioning after entering middle school.

It's probably meeting the guy in front of him, Samson Nan, who always squints and smiles...

"I'll treat you to sausages later"

He said, patting his shoulder.

He glanced at him and held up five fingers.

"Okay, five of them."

"A discount, my friend."

"The discounted price, my brother."

...

As for how they met?

It's quite coincidental actually...

Both of them were selected for the basketball team in the first year of middle school.

They were similar in height and played the same position on the court.

...

In the first semester, the school basketball team had a friendly match against a neighboring school's basketball team.

Of course, the school didn't want to lose face because of a game, so they naturally wanted to send the best players to play.

So the selection process began.

When it came to finalizing the starting lineup for the team, there was a choice between William Wei and Samson Nan for the small forward position.

The coach ultimately chose William Wei, who had a stronger physical presence, while Samson Nan returned to the bench.

William Wei was naturally happy, as his basketball skills and technique were better than most others his age, thanks to years of training.

It seemed like the obvious outcome to him.

He turned around, expecting Samson Nan to be disappointed...

But... he didn't seem affected at all. He continued to chat and laugh with those around him.

...

Strange...

That was his first impression of him.

...

But two weeks after that game, William Wei discovered that this "strange guy" was more than just strange...

He still vividly remembered that game.

In the first half, they were evenly matched with the opposing team, and the score remained close. During halftime, he sat on the sideline, watching his sweat drip incessantly and experiencing some leg cramps from all the running.

The coach had no choice and decided to let Samson Nan replace him and finish the rest of the second half.

...

The sun was glaring, shining down on the basketball court.

Since it was the first game after the formation of the new school team, there were many spectators on the sidelines.

...

Samson Nan sat next to him, hunched over, tying his shoelaces.

"You..."

He looked at the underwhelming classmate beside him.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Samson Nan lowered his head, tied his shoelaces, and then stood up again.

"The opposing small forward is solid as a rock, physically strong. Are you up for it?"

"...I think so."

"..."

He swallowed his throat.

He couldn't ease his mind with such an ambiguous response.

In the first game, honestly, no one wanted to lose...

If possible, he really wanted to rush out and finish the second half.

"Don't mess it up."

He said softly.

"So afraid of losing?"

Samson Nan turned his head around, looking at him like that.

"Ah."

He lifted his head and immediately agreed, without any hesitation.

"..."

A moment of pause.

Samson Nan then turned his head back, looking straight ahead.

"Then we won't lose."

He said softly, without looking back at him.

Taking steps, he walked toward the center of the court.

...

The whistle blew.

The second half began.

...

William Wei remained on the sideline, witnessing the entire second half of the game.

The turn of events in the second half was probably unexpected by anyone.

William Wei widened his eyes, taking in everything that unfolded before him.

...

That guy named Samson Nan

Wasn't just all talk...

Although he wasn't physically strong, he was faster than others, more agile in his movements, and more accurate in his shooting...

His vision covered almost half of the court, always finding his open teammates and passing them the ball in the first instance.

This performance

Was completely different from their training sessions...

The guy he was matched up against had a hard time, being chased all over the court and eventually collapsing from exhaustion.

The team seemed to have transformed into a different one, playing more smoothly, quickly establishing a double-digit lead. The opponent couldn't find a way to respond, ultimately giving up on the game early.

...

...

He still remembered after the game ended that day.

He asked Samson Nan why he didn't object to the starting lineup decision.

Samson Nan's response also infuriated him, for no apparent reason.

"I have poor mental resilience and can't handle big moments. Being a substitute is fine for me."

He said, "Ah? What kind of reason is that?"

"For showboating like this, let William handle it in the future~"

"Ha..."

He paused for a moment and turned his head to look at him.

"What did you call me?"

"William, didn't you call yourself William Wei?"

"That's correct..."

"If you dislike it, then I won't call you that."

"Not really..."

He just felt uneasy; it was the first time someone had called him that in his whole life.

He turned slightly and glanced at Samson Nan from the corner of his eye.

This person seemed to be less silent than he had imagined...

"Ah..."

Samson Nan said, patting his forehead.

"There's a kind of aphrodisiac also called Viagra, right?"

"Please don't say that..."

"Viagra."

"Don't be like this..."

...

...

For someone like him,

"friendship" has always been something that can be encountered but not sought after.

But ironically, when this thing does come knocking one day...

Who would have the heart to refuse it?

...

This should have been the perfect ending to a strange friendship story.

But that perverse god, at this moment, stroking his beard and looking at the people on stage, pondered, feeling like something was still missing...

...

...

"Excuse me~"

A girl in a different school uniform patted a boy's shoulder.

He turned around.

"How do I get to the basketball court?"

He paused for a moment.

Standing in front of him was a girl with short, refreshing hair.

She smiled lightly and looked up at him.

"I'll take you there. I'm also on the basketball team."

"Really? Thank you~"

...

...