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Screee—
Basketball shoes screamed against the wooden floor, sparks of friction flaring like dry thunder.
A long ponytail whipped through the air. Her loose white jersey rose and fell, flashing a sunlit hint of skin at her navel.
She burst upward, leaving everyone beneath like shadows under a cliff. Her waist unfurled; her arm lifted like a flower opening to dawn.
The ball spun in her palm, then slipped free. Whoosh—it flew toward the rim, a perfect arc like a swan’s neck.
“Three-pointer!”
“It’s in!”
“Great shot!”
“Suzhiaoyao’s amazing!”
She landed light as a cat. She wiped her brow, then smiled, pale ice melting into a warm blossom.
Breath flushed her cheeks, twin roses blooming on that usually cool face. The girls in the stands screamed.
Her chest rose and fell, generous and rhythmic, drawing the boys’ stares like moths to a lamp.
On the second-floor bleachers, a boy pushed his black frames up with his middle finger, precise as a metronome.
He scribbled in a notebook, jaw lean, expression grave. “Definitely bigger. C? Or C+?”
Pfft—
Yexiaobai almost sprayed water all over the seats.
The stranger turned, looked at Yexiaobai, and wore a curious, pinched smile. “Yexiaobai?”
“Uh, that’s me. And you are?” Confusion pricked first; then caution tightened his shoulders.
“I’m Li Hang, Senior Year Class Two. People call me Captain.” He introduced himself like a drill.
“You might not know me. I know you well.”
“I don’t remember being famous.”
“Of course. You aren’t famous.” He nodded, face flat as winter stone. “The famous ones sit beside you.”
“Mu Xiaowei and Zhaomingming. Two school beauties, ranked No. 6 and No. 9.”
There were too many things to roast. Yexiaobai didn’t know where to start, irritation buzzing like summer cicadas.
“Forget famous or not. What ranking are you even talking about?”
“Tsk.” Li Hang clicked his tongue, a spark of impatience. “Heresy. Burn it.”
He paused, then leaned close, eyes shining with a collector’s hunger. “Wanna trade intel?”
“What… intel?”
“You want Suzhiaoyao’s info, right?” He pinned Yexiaobai with a laser stare.
“Uh?”
“Don’t play dumb. You squat here every P.E. class. Closest bleachers to Class One.”
“Unless you’re spying on No. 2 Suzhiaoyao, I can’t think of another reason.”
Li Hang pushed his glasses again, excitement flaring like a match. “Swap me Mu Xiaowei and Zhaomingming intel.”
“Then I’ll have two-thirds of the Top Ten covered. My VIP status in the Organization will be unshakeable!”
Yexiaobai blinked, mind drifting like a leaf in a crosswind. He felt he’d stepped into a very shady forest.
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