Lin Shu and Su Nuan waited at their usual bus stop, sitting side by side in the window seats.

Lin Shu started dozing off almost immediately after boarding.

Well-rested Su Nuan stayed wide awake, watching with anticipation as the bus jostled Lin Shu’s sleepy head.

*Lean closer… just a little more…*

Every time his shoulder nearly brushed hers, he’d jerk upright, straightening against the seatback.

"Pig," she muttered under her breath.

*He’s doing this on purpose. Definitely.*

As their stop approached, Su Nuan reached to shake his shoulder—but Lin Shu’s eyes snapped open. He glanced out the window. Almost at school. Then he turned to find Su Nuan glaring at him, teeth lightly biting her lower lip.

"What’s wrong?"

Lin Shu was baffled. He’d been careful not to touch her all ride.

"Nothing!"

She turned sharply toward the window.

*Girls are impossible to understand.*

After changing into jerseys at school, they gathered on the court. Someone dragged out a crate of basketballs from the equipment shed.

The high school team lined up separately from the middle schoolers, though both trained under the same coach. The high schoolers were all athletes; the middle schoolers joined voluntarily—including an unexpected face: Liu Benyu, a towering third-year nicknamed "Dash." He shouldn’t even be here with exams looming, but Lin Shu understood the itch to play. Back in his own third year, Lin Shu had cycled between studying and training like a perpetual motion machine.

Standing at attention, Yang Chao nudged Lin Shu, nodding toward Su Nuan resting near a pavilion. "Hey, you two together all weekend too? Seriously lovey-dovey."

"Eh, something like that," Lin Shu shrugged.

*Can’t spill details. Only my sister knows this fake dating thing.*

"Tch. So jealous," Yang Chao grumbled.

Hou Fei, to Lin Shu’s left, leaned in. "If you had to choose between gaming and your girlfriend, which would you pick?"

"Gaming, obviously. That’s why I’m *just* jealous. You’ve ghosted us for days—gaming tonight?"

"Probably not…"

Lin Shu glanced back. Su Nuan waved sweetly. Instantly, dozens of prickling stares pinned him—especially Dash’s murderous glare. *Another admirer of hers?*

They began with laps around the court, then ankle rolls, knee circles, lunges, and side stretches. Just as they finished warming up, the coach announced the scheduled scrimmage was canceled—their opponents had bailed.

*He knew this morning,* Lin Shu realized. *Made us warm up properly first.*

But they still needed practice. The high school starters (plus subs Lin Shu and Yang Chao) would scrimmage against the middle schoolers. Dash’s team had six players, including himself.

Lin Shu and Yang Chao joined the middle schoolers. Usually, the juniors were polite—"senior" this, "senior" that—eagerly discussing plays to offset their skill gap. Today felt different. Dash, their de facto leader, refused to pass to Lin Shu. When double-teamed, he’d either force shots or pass only within his clique. Steals and blocks piled up. Only when Yang Chao subbed in did Lin Shu stop fighting alone.

But Yang Chao wasn’t as forgiving. Every time he got the ball, he either shot or passed directly to Lin Shu.

The court split into two factions.

By halftime, the score was lopsided. Lin Shu’s rare three-pointers were their only points.

The coach tore into the middle schoolers during break. "Team sports don’t work with petty tricks! Think we’re blind?"

Drenched in sweat, Yang Chao gulped water beside Lin Shu. "What’d you do to piss them off? Steal someone’s girlfriend?"

"Probably Dash. I think he’s one of Su Nuan’s admirers. Jealous she’s with me now."

"Seriously? You’re public enemy number one now. Rough luck."

Lin Shu sighed. *This fake dating deal feels less worth it. I only have Gu Chu-chu chasing me. Su Nuan’s got an army.*

After the scolding, even Lin Shu and Yang Chao got lectured for not fixing the tension. Yang Chao’s passes to Lin Shu had still reached others—barely excusable.

The second half improved slightly, but trust was broken.

*BZZZT!*

The buzzer blared as Lin Shu’s final shot clanged hard off the rim.

They lost worse than ever.

Lin Shu trudged toward his bag. Su Nuan was already waiting, handing him a water bottle. "Ugly game."

"Internal conflicts," he muttered.

She dabbed his forehead with a towel. "Fighting over who gets to show off scoring?"

"Not that shallow. It’s… partly your fault."

"Mine?"

"Their captain’s a third-year. Shouldn’t even be here. Came just to mess with me. I think he likes you."

"No one by that name confessed to me. Maybe a secret admirer? I toss those letters unread…" She frowned. "He barely looked at me. Just glared at *you*. Could he be…"

"My water’s empty."

"I’ve got some. Only took a few sips from the cap—don’t worry."

"Pour it in my bottle."

"Take it all."

She upended her thermos over his cup, droplets splashing his hand.

"Need a foot-stomp today?"

"Not today."

"Eh…" Her face fell. *Addicted to stepping on me now?*

"Dinner together? Or with your ‘new sister’? Bonding time."

"Pass. Eating with her ends badly. I’ll make an excuse tonight."

"Then let’s go! We haven’t tried half the stalls on that street yet."

She grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the gate.

Lin Shu followed, mind already tangled with how to tell his sister about their dad’s remarriage.