Can You Hear Me

Chapter 26: Number

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Ban Sheng looked at Lin Weixia, but she didn't know what to say. That day when she went to buy breakfast at a convenience store, she suddenly saw his special brand of milk, so she sent him a message and asked him about it.

She just wanted to know where Ban Sheng was, and the milk was an excuse to talk to him.

I didn't expect that he actually remembered it.

"I didn't buy it." Lin Weixia averted her eyes and looked away embarrassedly.

Ban Sheng's fingers were still on her bow tie, his bent muscles were a little pale, and he looked very relaxed. He stared at her and smiled, his voice very soft:

"You don't keep your word."

Early in the morning, Ban Sheng's voice was like ice, with a hint of hoarseness from half awake, and coupled with his carefree attitude, his tone was extremely affectionate, which made Lin Weixia's ears itchy and numb.

"Don't you drink milk every day?" Lin Weixia lowered her head and pulled her tie back with difficulty.

Ban Sheng lowered his eyelashes and thought for a while: "There were two servings before. I drank them myself, and someone sent them to me every day. I don't know who sent them, so I gave them to Qiu Minghua."

"I wasn't waiting for you to bring it to me today, so I deliberately didn't take the milk with me when I went out." Ban Sheng looked at her.

Lin Weixia changed the subject, looking at the dark circles under his eyes and his obviously pale complexion, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Ban Sheng was stunned for a moment, a hint of unnaturalness flashed across his face, and then he smiled nonchalantly: "It's okay."

Students gradually arrived at the classroom and the noise started to rise. Qiu Minghua walked in with two steamed buns in his hand and a sleepy look on his face. When he saw Ban Sheng with his long legs on the horizontal bar, leaning back on the chair with his arms folded and closing his eyes to rest, he thought he was seeing things and raised his hand to rub it. When he confirmed that it was his master, he rushed over and shouted:

"elder brother!"

Ban Sheng opened his eyes at the right time and said slowly: "Come here if you want to die."

Qiu Minghua stopped halfway, scratched his head, and laughed: "Isn't it because I'm happy to see you?"

When the girls saw Ban Sheng when they walked in, they looked at each other with excitement in their eyes and hurried to the bathroom to reapply their lipstick.

Everything was normal, but Fang Mo looked depressed. She knew what happened in the elective course but she kept it from Lin Weixia. Xia Xia was so nice to her, so she felt guilty.

Lin Weixia saw her psychological pressure and comforted her: "It's okay, you can say it if you want to, and it's okay if you don't want to say it."

With Lin Weixia's words, Fang Mo was obviously much more relaxed. She also gave Fang Mo a plum candy, and the little girl's face bloomed with a carefree smile again.

We had two math classes in a row today. After going downstairs to do morning exercises, the students were drowsy from the sun and dragged their bodies upstairs slowly. Of course, there were also boys running and playing on the stairs.

Ban Sheng lazily leaned against the railing, playing with the drone with the remote control, and began his new round of patrols in the school. The sports committee member squeezed in with a group of boys and smiled and high-fived them.

Then the sports committee member came behind Ban Sheng, did some psychological preparation, and patted him on the back. Ban Sheng handed the remote control in his hand to Qiu Minghua, took off his goggles, turned around and looked at him without saying a word.

"Um... classmate Ban Sheng, there will be a school league between our school and the No. 3 Middle School next door this Friday. I heard that you have always been very strong. I wonder if you are interested..." The sports committee member was so nervous that he swallowed unconsciously.

He secretly despised himself for being useless. Why should he be nervous? He wasn't going to eat him.

"You've got the wrong person." Ban Sheng said lazily.

After saying this, Ban Sheng turned around and continued playing with his drone, as if the sports committee member lobbying behind him didn't exist.

The physical education teacher sighed and walked into the classroom. As he walked, he looked back at Ban Sheng with hope, thinking that if such a strong player like him didn't play, the chances of winning would be reduced by more than half.

So the Sports Committee member turned his attention to Lin Weixia who was reading quietly in her seat.

When the sports committee member excitedly explained the purpose of his visit, Lin Weixia was confused and asked, "Did you find the wrong person?"

"You're right, Lin Weixia. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda! There will definitely be hope if you go and persuade them." The physical education teacher clasped his hands together.

Lin Weixia closed the book, glanced at the boy outside the window, and said calmly: "He doesn't want to do something, do you think I have the ability to make him change?"

"Yes, based on my intuition!" The physical education teacher said with certainty. In school, apart from Qiu Minghua, Lin Weixia seemed to be the person Ban Sheng had talked to the most.

“…”Lin Weixia.

In the end, no matter how much the Sports Committee persuaded her, Lin Weixia refused to agree to this.

On Thursday night, Lin Weixia opened the window and the fragrance of the lychee tree in the yard filled her nose. The pink lychees bent the branches. Even in late April, the sound of insects could be heard.

The phone on the table vibrated, she picked it up and saw it was a message from Ban Sheng. She swiped the screen and saw his usual strong style.

Ban: [Remember to come and watch me play basketball after school tomorrow. ]

The screen lit up again, and another message appeared: Ban: [Don't hide.]

Lin Weixia raised her lips slightly and replied on the screen: [Why did you change your mind again?]

[I’ll tell you when you come.] Ban Sheng replied.

The next day, when the sky just turned a little pale, Lin Weixia opened her eyes and woke up. She was dazed for a while before getting up. The straps of her suspender skirt slipped down unconsciously, revealing a piece of white shoulder.

Lin Weixia walked out of the living room and found a stack of money left on the dining table. A batch of goods ordered by her aunt in the past two days was lost, and she was in a hurry to go out of town to check on the goods, so she left living expenses for the two siblings.

When she entered the kitchen, Lin Weixia glanced at the calendar casually, and her eyes stopped. April 25th - today is her birthday. In fact, her due date is May 1st. Her mother said that the first day of Xia's birth is a good omen, so she named her Lin Weixia.

It's a pity that she was a premature baby, born five days early. She couldn't wait to see the world, but what she saw was just average.

Lin Weixia hasn't celebrated her birthday for a long time. Her aunt and uncle sometimes remember it and sometimes don't. When they remember it, they will cook a table of delicious food to celebrate her birthday.

But remembering her birthday this way is up to fate.

When making breakfast, Lin Weixia made a bowl of longevity noodles and specially poached two eggs. The bowl of yellow longevity noodles was steaming.

She pretended to make a wish with a candle.

I silently said happy birthday to myself in my heart.

She arrived at school, attended classes as usual, and occasionally chatted with classmates. Lin Weixia did not mention her birthday to anyone. Firstly, there was no need, and secondly, she was good at not having expectations for anything.

Only by not expecting anything from anyone can you focus on your own path.

Friday afternoon was the time for the school league between Shenzhen High School and No. 1 Middle School. They only attended one class before being called by the class teacher to cheer for the school basketball team.

The weather was a bit stuffy in the afternoon. As soon as I entered the indoor basketball hall, I heard the sound of white sneakers rubbing against the floor. As I warmed up, the basketball was thrown into the basket with a "swoosh", and cheers broke out from the audience from time to time.

The cold air blowing in her face gave Lin Weixia goose bumps on her thin white arms. Fang Mo pulled her to find a place with a better view to sit down.

Because of Ban Sheng's joining, a group of A students led by Liu Sijia spontaneously formed a cheerleading team. They wore neat cheerleading uniforms and had the same high ponytails, looking young and beautiful.

As soon as Liu Sijia appeared on the stage, the boys on the basketball court looked at her, whispered nonsense, and laughed.

Ban Sheng was there too, looking down at his phone without even lifting his eyelids, let alone looking in the direction of Queen Liu.

Because there were four students from Class 1, Grade 2 in the school basketball team, Mr. Liu asked all the students in Class 1 to wear sports uniforms to show uniformity, and gave each of them a flip ball. The one given to Lin Weixia was a shiny red flip ball.

The students from the neighboring school were not to be outdone. They not only wore their class uniforms, but also brought handbells, as if they were ready to challenge them.

With the referee's whistle, the players on the field returned to their teams one after another, and after lining up, they came out one after another. The opposing team was the blue team, and our team was the red team. Almost every time a player from each team came out, the audience would applaud and cheer.

Lin Weixia sat there, watching the players enter the field. The one sitting in the back row couldn't help but get excited: "Here he comes, I see him!"

"Is this Ben Sheng from Shenzhen High School? He's so handsome, and the Black Lily tattoo on his body is so cool. I like this one." The girls in the back row were staring at the boys on the court.

The girl from the neighboring school continued with interest, "Hasn't someone been on guard against this kind of heavenly dish? Look, the real boss has even come out to watch him personally."

She pointed to the tall cheerleader Liu Sijia on the field.

"Tsk, you don't know, I heard that Ban Sheng has fallen in love with someone else, but he hasn't gotten her yet. He doesn't belong to anyone now, so there's still hope of prying him away." The expression on the girl's face seemed as if she was talking about gossip or secrets.

"Which one is Ban Sheng? Why can't I see him?"

"The third one on the left, taller than the others, with a pink bandana on his wrist. Damn, why is he so charming? Just looking at him makes my heart beat faster."

Lin Weixia looked over as the girls were talking. Ban Sheng had a nonchalant and bad face. He was wearing a white jersey with black sleeves and shoulders. The veins on the back of his hand, which was resting on the crotch of his pants, were obvious, like a flowing art model.

The girls in the class looked at Ban Sheng in the audience and shouted in shock: "No way, isn't Ban Sheng's jersey number 16? Hasn't his number plate always been 16? Oh my god, how did it become 25!"

"Then my cheering banner wasted," the girl grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Lin Weixia's heart skipped a beat. She looked over and saw Ban Sheng dribbling the ball on the court with the fiery red number 25 printed behind him. She had a guess in her heart that she dared not confirm.

Ever since these girls learned that Ban Sheng changed his mind and decided to join the school competition, they carefully prepared these cheering banners and slogans several days in advance.

Who could have expected that Ban Sheng would do something unconventional and change his jersey number at the last minute

But it was too late to change now, the game had already started, and they could only cheer for Ban Sheng at the top of their lungs.

There was always an empty seat next to Lin Weixia. Qiu Minghua came over at some point. He broke his foot this time and couldn't play, so he just watched from the sidelines.

Qiu Minghua sighed, "It's rare to see Mr. Ben play a game. Look at how these women are dressed up, each one more flamboyant than the other."

"What a pity, the fallen flowers are affectionate but the flowing water is indifferent." Qiu Minghua's words were quite suggestive.

Lin Weixia retracted her gaze towards the audience and asked Qiu Minghua, "Do you know why he changed his mind and joined the basketball game?"

"I don't know. It was just that Ben asked me what Friday was. I said it was April 25th, and he agreed."

Lin Weixia was about to say something when she heard deafening screams and cheers. She looked towards the court and Ning Chao touched their shoulders, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

At the referee's command, the players went for a halftime break. A group of girls swarmed over. Liu Sijia walked up with a bottle of mineral water to give to Ban Sheng.

Ban Sheng lifted up a corner of his jersey to wipe the sweat from his eyes, and his strong abdominal muscles flashed by. Liu Sijia stood in front of him, her face red to her ears.

Just when everyone thought that Ban Sheng would take Liu Sijia's water, he bent down slightly, walked straight past Liu Sijia, picked up a bottle of ice water on the ground, tilted his head back and drank it, his Adam's apple slowly sliding up and down, his posture nonchalant and cold.

Lin Weixia didn't read on and got up to go to the bathroom. After using the bathroom, she stood in front of the sink by the aisle to wash herself. When she was done washing herself and walking back, the wind from the vent rushed over.

Just as she turned the corner, she was suddenly pulled into the equipment room by an outstretched arm. The boy grabbed her arm, and Lin Weixia's heart was beating uncontrollably. She smelled the familiar scent of ebony.

When I looked up, it was indeed Ban Sheng.

Ban Sheng pressed her against the door. The boy was quick and raised his hand to pull over. With a click, the door was locked. The two of them breathed against each other, and their panting sounds were amplified in the quiet space. The ambiguous atmosphere slowly flowed in the air.

Today they were all wearing sportswear. Lin Weixia was wearing a white polo shirt with sky blue cuffs, which showed off her slender waistline. Her sailor blue PE pants wrapped around her hips, and her long legs were straight and white, like a piece of mutton-fat jade cut in half.

In addition, Lin Weixia is quite tall, with long black hair down to her waist, and she is dressed so youthfully, she is as pure as a peach that exudes a sweet scent.

Ban Sheng glanced at her too-short sports shorts and touched them with his hand, his eyes unclear:

"Who told you to wear something so short?"

As soon as the base of her palm touched the white and smooth crotch, Lin Weixia felt a chill in her heart. She felt as if that piece of skin was too hot, like a fire burning her face. A strange feeling came up, and it was so itchy that she couldn't suppress it no matter what she did.

She immediately slapped Ban Sheng's hand away and replied, "Lao Liu."

Ban Sheng chuckled, stopped teasing her, and asked, "Did you see me play?"

Lin Weixia looked at him and nodded: "I saw it."

"Okay, how many goals did he score just now?" Ban Sheng raised his eyebrows.

The air became quiet, and a pair of amber eyes rolled back and forth, obviously unable to answer. She looked at nothing, and Ban Sheng was so angry that he raised his hand to pinch her face, and his beautiful eyebrows twisted up, and his silent eyes were filled with water.

His heart seemed to be scratched, and Ban Sheng couldn't help but let go.

"Can you guess what my jersey number means?" Ban Sheng looked at her.

Lin Weixia met his gaze and replied softly, "I guessed it."

Ban Sheng stared at the cherry-red, moist lips in front of him, his throat itched instantly, and then he said seriously:

"Happy birthday, Lin Weixia."