Since an unpleasant conversation in the car ended that day, Yang Xiao has never seen Meng Yufan again.
Meng Yufan's reason for taking leave was to "concentrate on preparing for the game", but Yang Xiao always felt that he had other reasons.
Could it be that... Meng Yufan secretly took other orders besides her and Liu Yueyue
Yang Xiao couldn't help it, and asked Tang Shuge to check Meng Yufan's transaction records using his employee authority.
"Smile, I can check it right, but do you think it's really good?" Tang Shuge rejected her with a bottom line, "If you really want to know, why don't you ask him directly? Anyway, the relationship between the two of you ..." she dragged her voice, "...isn't it nice?"
"Where is it?" Yang Xiao said helplessly, "He was still angry with me that day. Really, a little brat, he learned to fight with me if he didn't learn anything else."
Tang Shuge immediately sat up straight and picked up the peanut seeds: "I'm not sleepy if you want to talk about this! Hurry up and talk, how did the two of you quarrel, and how did you get into the cold war?"
Yang Xiao couldn't make trouble with her, so he could only embarrassedly recount everything that happened that day.
Tang Shuge's jaw dropped to the ground after hearing this.
The more Yang Xiao said, the more angry he asked his best friend to judge: "What do you think the little boy is thinking now? He is not without a mouth, but he has to wait for me to reject Xiao Liu; when I gave him a gift, he was unhappy all over his body, He even said he liked it against his heart; here, and this ticket, what did he do for me, invite me to see him and Xiao Liuxiu in love?"
"..." Tang Shuge put his chin back with difficulty and tentatively said, "Xiaoxiao, why don't you like watching Meng Yufan and your colleague show their affection?"
Yang Xiao was at a loss for words.
"Look, you are his employer, and your colleague is also his employer. If you only treat it as a shared bicycle and don't want to lock him privately, why don't you allow others to ride him?"
"I..." Yang Xiaoqiang was arrogant, "although I didn't lock him privately, but when he was in my hands, I cherished him more than anyone else. Have you ever seen anyone riding a shared bicycle before giving it back? Maintenance?"
Seeing that she was so stubborn, Tang Shuge could only remind her politely: "Do you remember the cat cafe I used to go to?"
"remember."
"I remember I told you that most of the cats in that cafe are lazy and ignore the customers. There is only one ragdoll cat, which is very beautiful and has smooth and smooth fur. Go, it will run over meowing all the way, lie down in my arms, and stare at me with those dazzling blue eyes." Tang Shuge said, "The cat cafe is more than 60 yuan at a time. I spent a lot of money for those blue eyes. What happened? Once I was late, and I saw it acting like a spoiled child in someone else's arms, kissing my face and licking my hands. I was just an ordinary two-legged beast to it. During that time, I was as sad as a broken love, and you laughed at me and said I was—"
"- Monopoly wants to make trouble." Yang Xiao recalled this passage, "A cat that is good at business will fascinate you, and it will be close to other customers, and you will be jealous."
"Yes, yes!" Tang Shuge clapped his hands, "Do you think my situation at that time was like you now?"
Yang Xiao: "…"
Don Sugar looked at her with gleaming eyes.
Yang Xiao suddenly realized: "I understand. Are you saying that I have a monopoly on Meng Yufan, the domineering financial master? He is too good at business, so when I see him doing business with others, I'm not happy?"
Tang Shuge: "..." Damn, what the hell do you know!
…
Soon it was Saturday.
Early in the morning, the members of the Hwaseong University basketball team warmed up, put on their equipment, and set foot on the bus to Hwaseong Media University.
Hwaseong Media University is a very eye-catching seeded team in CUBA. In the past, they would only meet in the last few games of the group stage. I didn’t expect that this year’s lottery was not good, and they actually faced off in the second game. .
Coach Wu stood in front of the bus, holding a loudspeaker in his hand, and started pre-war mobilization.
"You guys cheer me up!" Coach Wu shouted, "It's just Hua Chuan, we will meet sooner or later! If anyone is cowardly, hurry up and report it, I still have time to transfer people from the women's team!!"
There was a burst of laughter in the car.
Today's game was taken very seriously by the whole team. The five starters and seven substitutes were all in place. Even the other players who were not selected had to ride to the scene to observe.
Because Xu Dong was suspended, he has been alone recently. He sat in the back row alone, with no classmates around.
Meng Yufan glanced back at him with some worry, and the two of them happened to meet each other's eyes, but Xu Dong turned his head away first.
"Fanzi, what are you looking at?" Huang Xiaoke, who was sitting by the window, nudged him with his elbow.
"I didn't watch anything." Meng Yufan turned around and replied casually, "I was thinking about the game for a while."
"Hey... I'm thinking about it too." Huang Xiaoke said worriedly, "We're too unlucky. We ran into the media in the second game, and it was an away game!"
The gap between home and away games is too great, no matter which team hopes to play in its own stadium, after all, on its own territory, the environment is familiar and there are many fans. Playing in this environment will be better.
If you go to the away game, this advantage will be turned into a disadvantage. The entire venue is filled with students from Communication University, and they will be reduced to lonely and helpless cabbage.
Huang Xiaoke said: "Our school is in the North Fourth Ring Road, and the media is in the East Fifth Ring Road. I don't know how many students in our school will travel all the way to the media to watch our games." He sighed, "I gave my parents the tickets, At least two of our fans can be guaranteed in the audience."
The center in the front row turned his head: "Me too, all the tickets are given to my relatives!"
Another person said: "I gave the tickets to the high school students in our community. I said that I would invite them to watch a basketball game, but they asked me if I had James... Damn, if I had James' tickets, why didn't I go by myself? Look?"
After all, everyone is worried about the audience.
"By the way, Fanzi, who did you give the ticket to?" Huang Xiaoke asked casually.
"Give it to me..." Meng Yufan hesitated, he didn't know how to describe his relationship with Yang Xiao. friend? lovers? Or employer and employee? "… a sister."
In the end, he could only answer with an ambiguous answer.
Everyone just regarded him as the sister of his relatives, and they all shouted to see the true face of her sister.
Meng Yufan shook his head: "My sister is very busy with work, so she may not be able to come."
When he delivered the ticket that day, Yang Xiao did not promise to come, and the two of them had not been in touch for several days. Yesterday, Meng Yufan wanted to send a message to remind her not to forget to watch the game, but after hesitating for a long time, she did not press the send button.
I hope my sister can come.
…
Is my sister here
Of course my sister is here!
As soon as Yang Xiao stepped into the gate of Communication University, he was shocked by the sea of people he looked around.
"Isn't today a weekend? Don't you have a holiday?" She asked Liu Yueyue next to her in surprise, "When I was in school, when the weekend came, I wanted to rush out of school to go outside."
"Today is not ordinary!" Liu Yueyue clenched her fists tightly, "Today is a big day for our media! BGI has always been our school's formidable rival. In the annual regional qualifiers, our two schools are in the top three, and every year In order to fight for the first place, they all smashed their heads and blood."
As she said, Hwaseong Media University attaches great importance to this game. On the way from the school gate to the gymnasium, almost every lamppost is tied with small flags, and banners and posters can be seen everywhere.
Liu Yueyue wore a cultural shirt with the school name, a blue and green ribbon on her head, and the school emblem on her face.
On campus, there are many students who dress like her. Both men and women, everyone was full of enthusiasm. The school anthem was played on the school's radio speakers, and everyone sang in unison, as if the championship of this game was already in their pockets.
Strictly speaking, this is Yang Xiao's first time watching a regular game. Among her colleagues were football fans, whom she had heard recount the frenzy on the football field, and she never understood how tens of thousands of people gathered together to scream for a ball. But now, when she looked at the energetic students on campus and the high fighting spirit on their faces, she suddenly understood.
Hua Chuan's indoor basketball court is newly built and is big enough to seat 2,000 spectators. There is no seat number written on the admission ticket, and it is on a first-come, first-served basis. Whoever comes early will be able to sit in the front row.
Yang Xiao didn't expect this game to attract so much attention. She arrived a little late, and the seats were four-fifths full, leaving only the top spot.
She was just about to find an empty seat to sit down, when Liu Yueyue, who was beside her, had already enthusiastically pulled her.
"Sister Yang, sit with me!" Liu Yueyue said, "My classmates came to line up at 6 this morning, and I asked them to take a seat for me! It's in the third row, right in the middle, the seat is very good!"
Yang Xiao was very surprised, and hurriedly followed her to the seat.
In the end, when she sat down, she realized that this position... It seemed a bit not good.
Looking left, it's blue-green. Looking to the right, it's blue-green. Looking back and forth, it's still blue-green! !
How could she forget that Liu Yueyue is a media student, and of course her position will be among the supporters of the media university basketball team! !
"Sister Yang, give you a cheer!" Liu Yueyue handed over a paper bag with the same blue-green scarf and two inflatable sticks inside. The slogan "Media Media, Basketball is the Strongest" is printed on the inflatable stick, which makes a loud bang.
On the opposite side of the stand, there is a sporadic red and white area with a small number of people who are almost negligible. The number of people is about... 100 people? Only one twentieth of the blue-green ocean.
Needless to say, there is the auditorium of Hwaseong University.
Some people hung red and white school chess in front of their seats. The cheerleading girls dressed in cool clothes were jumping and jumping to warm up. The tall ponytails stood behind their heads. .
"The cheerleaders of Huacheng University are very famous." Liu Yueyue was well-informed and began to spread the gossip again. "The previous cheerleaders are all school girls, and they will always be with the most handsome boy in the basketball team."
Yang Xiao didn't believe it: "This is not a series. Who said the cheerleader was destined to fall in love with a basketball boy?"
"Everyone said that anyway." Liu Yueyue snorted, "Watch when the BGI basketball team is on the court. The most handsome one is definitely her boyfriend."
…
In the away lounge, Coach Wu was making the final deployment.
"I've said everything that needs to be said, and you've also finished practicing what you need to do. What is the essence of basketball? It's to get the ball and throw it into the basket! In the game, timing is very important. Cooperation is very important, personal ability is very important, but the most important thing is always to hit the basket!" Coach Wu's eyes were sharp, and his eyes swept across the faces of these big boys who were half a head taller than him, "Playing away is very important to us. Unfavorable, prepare yourself mentally, it is very likely that you will be greeted with boos as soon as you come on stage! To borrow a fashionable phrase from your young people - hold on, don't panic, we can win!"
"Pfft..." Everyone was amused, and the tense atmosphere was swept away.
Twelve people lined up in a column, and the captain Liu Fangzhou was at the back of the team. He was a center and the core of the entire team. He was like the captain, firmly controlling the direction of the ship. The person standing at the front of the team is Meng Yufan. He is a small forward and the main scorer in the team. In five minutes, he will be on the court and gank with the MVP of Communication University!
"come on!"
"come on!"
"come on!"
"Huada will win!"
"Huada will win!"
"Huada will win!"
Twelve cheers and twelve must-wins are superimposed together, and a raging fire ignited in the eyes of the twelve boys. In this game, they will definitely win the final victory!
The door to the locker room slammed open, and the bright and dazzling lights came on.
Meng Yufan took a deep breath, sorted out his expectations, his self-confidence, and his composure, and then took a step toward the endless future on the field.
…
In the auditorium, Liu Yueyue excitedly waved the inflatable stick in her hand, and formed a sea of undulating crowds with her classmates to cheer her basketball team on.
Under their voices, the shouting of the relatives and friends of Hwaseong University opposite was completely drowned out.
Yang Xiao was in a sea of blue-green people, and he was holding two inflatable sticks in his hands.
On the field, the situation was stalemate.
Hwaseong Media University is really a strong team. With the blessing of the full buff, it is even more full of firepower. Not long after the first quarter, they scored five goals in one fell swoop.
Their small forward is worthy of last year's MVP, the ability is extremely strong. Even if Yang Xiao doesn't understand basketball at all, he can see that the man's offensive is fierce, and his feet are like stepping on an accelerator. With one turn and one wrong step, he dribbles the ball smoothly and goes straight to the basket.
He made a decisive shot and immediately took a jump shot—if he made it this time, Communication University would be ahead of Hwaseong University by a full six points!
Yang Xiao's heart hangs high in the air, his fingers grasp the hem of his clothes unconsciously.
And just at this critical moment, a red and white figure suddenly emerged from the basket and took off from an extremely tricky angle to intercept—
- Cap success!
The enemy's dunk failed, the basketball hit the palm of the defender and bounced back immediately!
The offensive rhythm of Communication University was directly interrupted, the basketball returned to the palm of Hwaseong University, and everyone quickly ran to another basket.
And it was none other than Meng Yufan who successfully blocked that dunk!
"Meng Yufan, you are amazing!!"
Yang Xiao was ecstatic, and immediately raised his arms, cheering excitedly.
But she forgot that she was still holding a blue-green inflatable stick in her hand. All the media students around were mourning the failure of the goal. Between them, Yang Xiao's cheers seemed so abrupt.
Everyone glared at her, completely ignoring how such a traitor was mixed into their own camp!
Liu Yueyue reminded her in a low voice: "Sister Yang, even if you cheer for Da Meng, keep a low profile."
Yang Xiao slowly withdrew his hand and closed his mouth in embarrassment.
Inside the arena, Meng Yufan paused: ... Strange, why did he seem to hear Sister Xiaoxiao's voice
His eyes quickly turned to the red and white group of relatives and friends, but just like every time before, his search was unsuccessful again.
The girl he was thinking of, did not appear on the seat.
Yang Xiao didn't come to see his game - a fact that made him extremely sad.
He can withstand the boos of the audience, he can withstand the opponent's attack, but he can't face Yang Xiao's missed appointment.
He thought, is Sister Xiaoxiao temporarily working overtime? Is it because he has neglected her recently, and she is not happy? Or did the way he spoke that day annoyed her? Or should he not accept Liu Yueyue's order at all? …
After the first quarter, Coach Wu adjusted his deployment and replaced Meng Yufan and another defender. Meng Yufan cheered up and threw those messy thoughts out of his mind. No matter what the reason for Sister Xiaoxiao's absence, he must not be distracted now! He loves basketball, and basketball is the career he chose in this life. If he can't even win the championship of the group stage, what face will he have to see Sister Xiaoxiao!
After a short break, the second quarter begins.
The score on the field is very tight, and the two teams are chasing after each other. Often, one side has a small advantage and the other side quickly catches up.
But overall, the media university team is slightly better.
Their team's small forwards are too powerful. Under the continuous sprint attack, they still maintain an excellent state. Each time they are substituted for less than three minutes, they will play again.
Less than two minutes before the end of the first half, the coach of the opposing team stopped again - and the power forward who was replaced this time was over 2.1 meters tall, with rumbling muscles all over his body, weighing at least 120 kilograms! !
"Fuck, this tm is a power forward, is this tm a heavy tank?" Liu Fangzhou, the captain of Huacheng University, cursed in a low voice, causing everyone to agree.
"Yu Fan, let's replace you here." Seeing this, Coach Wu immediately ordered, "Be careful when you are on the court, don't try to rebound with him, be careful not to get hurt by him."
"Okay." Meng Yufan couldn't hold back. He threw the water bottle and ran towards the field immediately.
Seeing him on the field, the heavy tank raised the corner of his mouth contemptuously, turned his head sideways and didn't know what to say to the small forward. The two suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Meng Yufan with ironic eyes.
Meng Yufan didn't bother to pay attention to them at all. Anyway, it was all those rubbish words that were repeated over and over again. If he ignored them now, it would only disturb his mood.
But he doesn't care, doesn't mean others don't care.
In the audience, Yang Xiao glared at the big tank, if her eyes could shoot flying knives, he wouldn't know how many times he would die.
"What is that dead bear talking about?" Yang Xiao murmured inwardly, "How dare you laugh at Meng Yufan? Don't even look at what kind of bear he looks like."
The game soon started again, the referee whistle sounded, and the two sides chased the rolling brown-orange ball, the smell of gunpowder filling their breaths.
CUC scored a goal - CUC scored another goal - Hwaseong University caught up - Hwaseong University made a 3-pointer - CUC small forward dunked - Hwaseong University center held the ball -
With only five seconds left until the end of the first half, there was a sudden exclamation, and the game came to an abrupt end!
Liu Fangzhou, the captain of Hwaseong University, was accidentally injured by the "big tank" technical foul of Communication University!
Among the crowd, Liu Fangzhou knelt on the ground clutching his knees, and a muffled gasp came from his throat.
"Captain..." "Captain?" "Captain, are you alright??"
All the team members gathered around, and the team doctor, coach, and referee also rushed close. After a simple palpation, the team doctor judged that Liu Fangzhou was not injured, but his muscles were strained and he needed to rest immediately.
Meng Yufan frowned: "Captain, you have a good rest, and then teach us."
Because it is an enemy technical foul, according to the rules, Hwaseong University has a free throw opportunity. If the ball is made, it can tie the score!
Generally speaking, there will be a kicker in a basketball team, who is the person with the most stable mentality and the most accurate shooting in the team. In the Hwaseong University basketball team, the oldest Liu Fangzhou is the kicker!
But now he is injured and can't stand still, how can he make free throws
"Fanzi." Liu Fangzhou's eyes were serious, and he solemnly handed the basketball to Meng Yufan, "This time, you will take free throws for me."
Meng Yufan was taken aback: "Me?"
"Yes, it's you." Liu Fangzhou said firmly, "Believe in yourself, you can definitely score this goal."
…
With the help of the team doctor, Liu Fangzhou limped off the field.
Meng Yufan looked at the back of his departure, clenched the basketball in his arms, and slowly walked to the free throw line.
At the age of eight, he decided to take basketball as his lifelong pursuit, and he can't count how many goals he has scored in the past ten years. Whether it's free throws, three-pointers, or dunks, he has gone through tens of thousands of practice sessions.
But only this time, he stood outside the line as the kicker.
In these short dozen seconds, everyone's eyes were focused on him.
The expectations of teammates, the covetousness of the enemy, the worries of the cheerleaders, and...
And - full of boos.
This is the biggest drawback of away games.
When making free throws, the most important thing is that the shooter has a stable mind, but every time he plays away, he can always hear the overwhelming applause from the audience.
Sports are the most real and cruel. There is no such thing as friendship first and competition second. This is a naked battle. There is a difference between winners and losers, and no one will pay attention to the losers.
In the audience of 2,000 people, there were only about 100 relatives and friends of Hwaseong University, and their shouts were so insignificant that they were all covered up.
Meng Yufan stood behind the free throw line, the basketball bounced under his palm, one, two, three...
The boos in his ears were getting louder and louder. Meng Yufan told himself not to listen to those boos, but his slightly accelerated heartbeat revealed his nervousness.
However, at this moment, amidst the shouts of "The media must win!", a voice suddenly sounded—
- "Meng Yufan!!!"
The voice was so familiar.
It was his unforgettable voice.
- "Meng Yufan!!!"
He heard her laughter, heard her anger, heard her gasp.
- "Meng Yufan!!! Come on!!!!!!"
The voice was actually very small, so small that it couldn't compete with the remaining 1,900 voices, but Meng Yufan really heard it.
Time seemed to stretch very slowly, he took off, pitched, and landed.
The basketball shot steadily and crossed a stunning parabola in the air.
Then, make an unmistakable shot into the rim.
- Ball, in! ! !
But Meng Yufan didn't have time to watch the ball, he quickly turned his head to look in the direction of the voice.
In a blue-green sea, his girl rushed to the first row of railings, waving a red scarf and a white handkerchief in her hands.
This was the only thing she could look over her body to make a cheer.
Yang Xiao stood in the high auditorium, bowing his head and smiling at him.
His smile was like a flower, and his figure was reflected in the girl's eyes.
Because of her short stature, every time she talked to Meng Yufan, she always looked up at him. Only this time, she lowered her head and looked at him with her neck down.
"Congratulations." Yang Xiao mouthed, "The ball is in."
…
The coach once said that on the court, the most important thing is to get the ball and hit the basket.
But Meng Yufan wanted to hit Yang Xiao's heart more than hitting the basket.