Chapter 25: A Plea for the School Team

“Big brother, big sister, I’m begging you. Please, join our school team…” Huang Li implored Old Han, his voice laced with desperation.

I sat idly in a chair in the club room, watching the sunlight brighten outside the window. Taking a sip of tea, I noted the truly pleasant weather. Old Han, holding his own cup, offered a wry smile. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I’ve told you many times, the school team’s training is too much trouble, and I truly don’t have the time…”

The tall, thin boy sitting next to Old Han also seemed quite helpless. He took a sip from his teacup and, in passing, smiled at the young cross-dresser named Xueli.

Xueli, who was brewing tea for the others, returned his smile. The young cross-dresser certainly possessed striking features, appearing delicate and fragile in a loose tracksuit, with a refined, clean face and soft hair that fell to their ears.

Had I not noticed their flat chest and the slight hint of an Adam’s apple just moments earlier, I truly would never have realized they were male.

The two continued to dither.

I sat in the furthest corner of the club room. Although the room wasn’t particularly bright, the sunlight streamed in diagonally through the window, illuminating the entire space.

Dragon Brother was also seated, idly glancing around. Our eyes met by chance, and she pursed her lips at me before shifting her gaze away with a bored expression. Watching her listlessness, I felt an inexplicable urge to pinch her cheeks.

Old Chu, too, was growing drowsy, staring vaguely at the table. Her head nodded intermittently, on the verge of falling asleep.

Huang Li had been earnestly trying to persuade Old Han, but after a long while, seeing Old Han remain unmoved, a sense of despair washed over him.

He turned, sweeping his gaze across our group, pointedly skipping over me. Instantly, he adopted a genial smile and addressed Dragon Brother, “Little sister, that dunk you just did was truly magnificent!”

Dragon Brother cast a glance his way. “It was alright,” she replied, “just ordinarily cool.”

Huang Li nodded repeatedly. “That dunk of yours reminded me of someone from a manga, a character named Hanamichi Sakuragi. I truly believe you have incredible potential! If you put in the effort, you could definitely become just like him! Imagine, if you dunked in a game, and a crowd erupted in cheers for you—how incredibly cool would that be? I was wondering if you might be interested in joining our school team as an external player?”

Dragon Brother glanced at me, then shook her head slightly. “No interest,” she stated.

Huang Li edged closer to Dragon Brother, rubbing his hands together with a chuckle. “Could you possibly reconsider? Our school team is genuinely short-staffed. It’s currently high school vacation, not yet the start of the semester, so we can’t recruit any new members. And the competition is in just a few days…”

Dragon Brother impatiently dug at her ear. “I told you, I’m not going, damn it! Why are you so annoying?”

I saw Huang Li choke on his words, letting out a sigh. The boy sitting nearby couldn’t help but chuckle. Huang Li shot him a glare, and the boy immediately straightened his face, primly lifting his teacup for a sip.

I couldn’t help but smile as well; the people on this school team were quite amusing.

After Dragon Brother’s unprovoked scolding, the young man realized that pressing her further would be fruitless. He then turned his attention to Ming Hai, only to find her already asleep, lying on her side with one arm outstretched, her sleeping face serene.

He stared at Ming Hai for a long moment, utterly at a loss for how to strike up a conversation. Finally, with a deep sigh, he slumped onto a chair.

I glanced at my watch. I had only intended to exercise for a short while, but it was already past ten.

There was no point in sitting around any longer, especially with Ming Hai asleep. I stood up, patted Dragon Brother, and offered Huang Li a smile. “We all have other plans soon,” I said, “If you still want to play basketball, let’s do it another time. We’ll definitely join you then.”

Huang Li paused for a moment, then sighed as well. I patted Ming Hai’s back, rousing her. She clearly hadn’t gotten enough sleep; her eyes were a little dark. I sighed, wondering what exactly she did all night. “Let’s go quickly,” I urged, “You can sleep more when we get home. Sleeping here, you’ll catch a cold easily.”

Ming Hai sat blankly in her chair for a moment before standing up. The young cross-dresser, Xueli, paused, holding the teapot. “Are you leaving already?” they said, “The tea has just been brewed…”

I smiled at them. “Perhaps another time,” I replied.

Xueli gave me a shy smile, then began clearing the teacups in front of them.

Old Han drained her tea in one gulp, placed the cup on the table, and, after a word of thanks, started towards the door. Dragon Brother also rose, scratching her hair before heading out. Ming Hai, still appearing half-asleep and somewhat dazed, prompted another helpless pat from me before she slowly and sluggishly got to her feet.

“Hey, buddy!”

Just as I was about to step out the door, Huang Li suddenly called out to me. I turned back, quite puzzled. He offered a wry smile. “Buddy,” he began, “I’ve been standing here for a while and I’ve noticed something: these girls seem to listen to you more…”

“Our school team hasn’t had an easy time. To be honest, compared to other schools, we’ve always been at the bottom of the rankings. I’ve been with this team since the beginning of my first year of high school, and now I’m close to graduating. Truly, I desperately want to achieve a good ranking with this team, at least to leave without any regrets…”

“Buddy, if it’s possible, could you please help me persuade that young girl? Besides me, none of us really practice much. The training room is more like a tea room; it’s quite relaxed…”

I watched the young person named Xueli. The moment they heard him describe the training room as a tea room, their hand holding the teapot trembled, and their face flushed as they lowered their head. A tea room, indeed! I observed the young man; they were quite skilled at brewing tea and other tasks, so they must have made plenty of it.

But even if he pleaded with me, I was powerless.

Old Han might seem easygoing, but if she said she didn’t want to participate, then she genuinely didn’t. Pestering her would be useless; she detested feeling constrained. In fact, if he bothered her too persistently, she might even turn hostile.

As for Dragon Brother, there was even less to say. Despite her usual carefree demeanor, if she didn’t want to do something, she simply wouldn’t. She was incredibly stubborn, to the point where not even an ox could drag her.

And Ming Hai was out of the question. All day long, she only knew how to sleep at home. Setting aside whether her physique was even suitable for basketball, her personality didn’t suggest a love for sports either. I figured that with all her sleeping, she should at least take a walk every day; otherwise, her health would surely suffer. It was only because the weather was exceptionally good this morning that I had finally managed to convince her to come out.

I pondered for a moment. “Talking to me won’t do much good,” I said, “I can’t persuade them. That young girl named Han Changfeng, the one with the hood—doesn’t she always come around when she has nothing to do? Next time, find an opportunity and try to convince her yourself.”

Huang Li offered a bitter smile. “I suppose that’s the only way,” he pleaded, “But if you can, could you at least try to persuade her a little for me, buddy? I’m really begging you…”

I readily agreed verbally, smiled at everyone in the club room, and then turned to walk out the door.

****

Ever since Dragon Brother started staying at my place, I had given both her and Ming Hai a house key. Otherwise, running downstairs for groceries or anything else would be quite troublesome. Dragon Brother and the others were likely tired, so they had gone home first.

At that moment, only Old Han remained by the door, a basketball slung over her arm. The sunlight outside the window struck her face, turning one of her eyes an amber hue. She gazed out with an unreadable expression, then, seeing me emerge from the club room, smiled and said, “What were you doing in there, dawdling for so long?”

I looked at her and returned her smile. “That Huang Li,” I explained, “told me he’s about to graduate and hopes to get a good ranking in the final sports meet. He insisted I try to persuade one of you to be an external player.”

Old Han nodded, stood up, and started walking out of the building. “We’ll see,” she said, “If there’s time, we can talk about it later.”

The school was neither particularly large nor small. Old Han and I traversed a teaching building, then returned to the basketball court where we had played earlier.

The basketball court was now more crowded. As Old Han and I walked towards the school exit, the group of boys who had been watching from the sidelines all turned to look. Many of them smiled and greeted Old Han, and she returned their greetings one by one with a pleasant smile.

Some other boys approached, wanting Old Han to play a game with them, but she politely declined. The boys thought for a moment, then surprisingly pulled out their wallets, offering to pay Old Han to play. For a moment, we both found ourselves between laughter and tears, but Old Han shook her head and refused again.

As a result of this delay, more and more boys gathered, and soon they had formed a circle around us. Feeling helpless, and seeing Old Han looking a bit bewildered, I simply grabbed her arm and pulled her away. The group of boys glared at my retreating back, gritting their teeth for a moment. However, likely assuming Old Han and I were a couple, and knowing it was improper to harass someone else’s girlfriend, they thought better of it and didn’t pursue us.

Old Han and I were both the type who, despite being somewhat homebodies, couldn’t stand staying indoors all the time and genuinely enjoyed taking walks. With this chance to be out and about, neither of us felt much like going home. Near the school’s basketball court was a large sports field. It was early spring, so the ground was covered in dry, yellow grass, though some tender shoots were already emerging. At either end stood soccer goals, and a red rubber track encircled the entire field.

Feeling rather bored, we decided to stroll for a while. I went to the convenience store to buy two cans of cola, and then we walked together on the rubber track.

The high school was still on winter break. Although it was called winter break, winter was nearly over, and the weather remained quite cool. Especially today, with the pleasant sunshine, the wind carried a hint of warmth. Occasionally, couples sat together on the grass, chatting and laughing, while elderly gentlemen, clearly full of vigor, ran energetically around the track.

Carrying our colas, we walked silently along the rubber track, neither of us speaking.

It must have been nearing noon, yet the thin morning mist hadn’t fully dissipated. The air still held a faint chill characteristic of late winter.

It seemed we hadn’t taken a walk together in a long time—

In the faint chill of the February spring breeze, sunlight warmed our faces. In the distance, couples paused to converse, their heads bowed, murmuring unknown words. The elderly gentleman, indeed full of spirit, continued to run lap after lap. As we walked side-by-side, I couldn’t help but recall memories from the past—

Truth be told, the fact that Old Han and I knew each other to this day was nothing short of a miracle.

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