Chapter Thirty-Two: Wake Up, You Little Madman

Even with the souls of two lifetimes combined, Lin Cheng’s old face was red enough to serve as a traffic light!

Finally, they reached the No. 1 High School station, and the bus began to empty out.

"Lin Cheng, give me a hand." Zhou Luoyao tugged at Lin Cheng’s school uniform again.

The way this girl struggled, even a real pregnant woman wouldn't be as dramatic!

Lin Cheng felt so awkward he wanted to jump off the bus... but he still cooperatively helped her get off.

As they watched the bus pull away, swaying down the road, Zhou Luoyao quickly pulled out her basketball.

"Oh my god! I was so embarrassed, I was dying of embarrassment..."

She was shivering all over, as if she could shake off the goosebumps.

The girl who had looked so calm on the bus was actually panicking inside after all...

"Your poker face is legendary," Lin Cheng said, throwing a look of disdain at Zhou Luoyao.

"Let’s go!" Zhou Luoyao recovered quickly.

To avoid further awkwardness, she started making small talk. "Hey, Lin Cheng, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'm an introvert."

"Oh, well you need to talk more and interact with people. If you bloom, the breeze will come naturally..."

"If you don't bloom, I’ll knock your head crooked, big sister style..."

The two arrived at the main gate, explained their purpose to the security guard, signed in, and entered.

Wuzhou City's four top-tier four-star high schools were secretly competing with each other. No. 1 High School and Wuzhou Middle School were both national key high schools, and the students often "looked down" on one another.

Seeing some boys playing on the basketball court, Zhou Luoyao acted very familiar and said to them, "Mind if we join you?"

The boys looked at Zhou Luoyao with surprise—this girl was stunningly pretty, and had an energetic, whirlwind-like charm!

"Sure, come on then!"

"Let’s show them the domineering spirit of No. 1 High School!"

(Many people on the court were, like Lin Cheng, students from other schools there for exchange training.)

The boys regrouped into teams. The blue-and-white uniforms of Wuzhou Middle School clashed with the green uniforms of No. 1 High School, immediately attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Encouraged by some anonymous girl, they even started chanting:

"No. 1 High, No. 1 High, go No. 1 High!"

"Go! Go! No. 1 High will win!"

Soon, half the court was surrounded!

With the home-field advantage of No. 1 High being so intense, they really didn't take this pair of "mixed doubles" in Zhou Luoyao and Lin Cheng seriously.

A boy with a buzz cut dribbled the ball, weaving left and right in front of Lin Cheng.

There’s always this type of guy on the court—excellent skills, but just as he’s about to break through, he pulls back. He doesn't drive; he’s just messing around! And he does it with a provocative look on his face!

As the saying goes: showboating invites disaster, and talking too much leads to an early grave!

In front of everyone, if he got tripped up, it wouldn't just be embarrassing for "Lin Junjie," it would be an insult to Jay Chou as well.

In middle school, Lin Cheng was a grade-two track athlete, specializing in the 400 meters. His footing was steady and his speed was lightning fast.

The other boy was tightly guarded by Zhou Luoyao, and the buzz-cut guy couldn't pass. In the end, he could only use a fake move, take three steps for a layup, and leap into the air.

Adhering to the "be fast, look cool" rule of basketball, he released the shot...

In that split second, Zhou Luoyao soared into the air and slapped the ball away—a beautiful block!

Lin Cheng rushed over to grab the ball; Zhou Luoyao immediately turned and ran toward the three-point line.

The basketball traced a slightly flat parabola as it was passed to her. Zhou Luoyao caught it steadily, dribbled, and crossed the line...

The boy guarding her was still sauntering forward, assuming she would drive to the basket.

Too bad he guessed wrong!

Zhou Luoyao rose up, leaned back, and flicked her ivory-white wrist. The ball left her fingertips in a perfect, high arc and swished through the net.

The two boys were stunned.

One shot decided the game.

The crowd around them sighed, mocking the boys for not even being able to beat a girl.

Little did they know: this "transfer student" Zhou Luoyao was a professional!

When it came to elite extracurricular education, if Beijing claimed second place, no one dared to claim first. Beijing looked down on the rest of the world in this regard!

Not to mention a girl like Ms. Zhou, even the "Beijing drifters" with some connections had coaches for things like table tennis, ice skating, or swimming who were retired national team athletes.

If a child was talented, they went straight to the international circuit; if they didn't quite make it, their level was still far above average.

It’s like how many people study sketching in art classes, while some children in Beijing might be copying masterworks at the National Museum.

It’s not that regular kids can’t take their easels to the museum; it’s about who comes over to give you pointers once you’re there.

By her second year of high school, Zhou Luoyao’s practice partners back in Beijing during the holidays were all just-retired WCBA players.

"Just play the game, why with all the flashy nonsense!" Zhou Luoyao said with a look of disdain.

Next, a new team came on...

Pair after pair, it turned into a gauntlet match, and Lin Cheng and Zhou Luoyao barely left the court. His stamina as a grade-two athlete was no joke!

Lin Cheng assisted, and Zhou Luoyao took the lead in scoring.

The students from No. 1 High who had wanted to see a joke were stunned; they realized, after watching for so long, that they were the ones being made a joke of...

By now, the crowd had grown even larger, and students from other schools attending the training session had joined in.

The four-person half-court pickup game evolved into a full-scale inter-school basketball tournament.

Zhou Luoyao and Lin Cheng remained heroic and undefeated.

Until the bell rang, the No. 1 High students went to their classrooms, and everyone else went to their training sessions.

During training, Lin Cheng and Zhou Luoyao slept without hesitation; the students from other schools didn't dare to sleep—because they all had teachers watching over them.

When they woke up, the training was over.

As the earth was bathed in the glow of the sunset and the evening breeze carried the faint scent of flowers, Lin Cheng and Zhou Luoyao waited lazily at the bus stop, watching bus after bus pull away carrying other students...

Damn!

It turned out that students from other schools had teachers picking them up!

Wang Lixin and Chen Yan were two real pieces of work...

Draggy and exhausted, the two finally made it back to school.

Zhou Luoyao had been in class for a while when Chen Yan approached.

"Zhou Luoyao, you and Lin Cheng really saved face for our school today. I heard you guys crushed everyone from the other schools?"

He wore such a smug look, as if he were the one who had won!

"It was alright, they just couldn't take the heat."

"Keep up the good work next time."

"That goes without saying."

Zhou Luoyao always accepted praise with ease; her thick skin was unrivaled.

This was just a normal day for her.

The next day, the sun was mild and the breeze was just right; it was another day full of energy.

When Lin Yueyue saw Lin Cheng, she suddenly walked over, looking hesitant. "You and Zhou Luoyao... um... are you two together?"

"What’s that got to do with you?"

"Oh, it's just that you two seem pretty close," He Yueyue muttered to herself, feeling awkward.

"You bet!" Lin Cheng replied dismissively, thinking: *Just making conversation? What an idiot!*

Lin Cheng entered the classroom to clean up, but he felt like people were stealing glances at him. He felt like he was a treasure map carrying some massive secret.

"Is my zipper down?"

Lin Cheng checked his pants, but school uniforms don't have zippers!

After class, when students met Lin Cheng in the hallway, they would intentionally look him over twice.

In fact, Zhou Luoyao felt it too, but no one dared to ask this "Beijing Princess" any strange questions...