Translator: Flying Lines
Something was clearly not right, the way they played…Were they playing a game of basketball, or fighting a war?
Wang Li was truly anxious that Chen Yang and Lu Feng might start throwing punches at each other. Chen An, on the other hand, lay on his stomach on the chair with his eyes half closed---he was enjoying the other’s massage like a large, relaxed feline.
“A little bit down from there, yes, right there! That’s right, keep it there.” Chen An made embarrassing noises as he gave orders, totally unware how inappropriately sexy he was being in a basketball hall.
It was true that much attention was directed towards Lu Feng and Chen Yang, who were locked in a battle in the field. Still, students did not fail to notice the man lounging on the chair.
Half an hour was really rushing it…Chen An muttered to himself.
Also, that young man seemed to have thrown caution to the wind and getting more and more reckless. He’d told him to take it easy, but the young man plunged straight ahead. And he had the nerve to find an excuse afterwards: time was limited.
Limited your ass. If time was limited, why didn’t you get it over with, instead of stretching it endlessly?
“Uncle Chen, is it really okay?” Wang Li asked in a small voice as she performed her role as a fill-in masseuse.
Chen Yang and Lu Feng were by now having a head-on clash in the court. One attack was launched after another. At first, Lu Feng was on the defensive, while Chen Yang took the offensive.
Wang Li had saw Chen Yang train for the past days and she knew clearly Chen Yang was very much capable of a long-range shot. Chen Yang, however, chose to go forward. He broke through Lu Feng’s defense and made a beautiful slam dunk.
This unmistakable challenge successfully provoked Lu Feng, and put him into a combative state. The next time Chen Yang cut throw Lu Feng’s defense and attempted to make a dunk, Lu Feng made his counterattack in a formidably fast speed, jumping up and effectively blocking Chen Yang’s shot.
Was this a game of basketball? No, it seemed more like two warriors fighting with every inch of their strength, till the last drop of their blood, to defend their position and honor, and to win the heart of their queen.
“Uncle Chen, look! They seem as if they want to tear each other to pieces!” Wang Li was grateful that they were on a basketball court. If there were weapons nearby, she couldn’t imagine how much collateral damage would be caused.
“Let them,” Chen An spared a glance at the two, one attacking and the other blocking. He smiled and went on, “young men have their heady moments. They can’t keep it down forever. If they have to pretend all the time, they will explode someday. It’s better they could let off a bit of steam in a game of basketball.”
Chen An was fond of Chen Yang, and he liked Lu Feng, too.
He was not going to leave the others because of Lu Feng, or give up anyone for Chen Yang.
In fact, there were many similarities between these two young men: the will to win, the desire to control everything, and above all, their complicated feelings for him.
These similarities could either result in a camaraderie, or enmity, which was the case at this stage, and did not seem likely to change in the foreseeable future.
Given their connections with him, Lu Feng and Chen Yang had chosen to ignore each other’s existence, and pretended they could not see the other.
But it couldn’t last like this forever. They could not go on like this for the rest of their lives, especially when they had to play as members of the same team. They would have to look to each other for support, and thus the rivalry they felt towards each other could not be swept under the rug any longer.
Chen An didn’t expect Chen Yang and Lu Feng to let go of their rivalry all of a sudden. He did, however, hope they could get some of it off their chest with a match. At least it would be better than holding onto their anger and grudge while pretending to get along with each other.
“Stop staring and take down their data.”
Chen An had got up from the chair, and called out to those staring with dazed expressions.
“Oh my god! Are they really human? Look at the force, the speed, and the accuracy of their shots!” As a basketball fan, the tall boy was mesmerized. His eyes were glued to the two figures playing in the court, following them wherever they went.
The two were not professional basketball players; yet the skills, strength and the momentum with which they played still had a huge impact on the observers.
There were other students in the hall, who had noticed Lu Feng and Chen Yang since they began to play. Now these students crowded around, and some of them took pictures of this magnificent showdown.
After some time, Chen An frowned; was that still not enough for the two?
The battle went on between the young men, like that between two archenemies. Now the ball bounced under Chen Yang’s hands; his eyes were fixed on Lu Feng, who stood right in front of him.
Their eyes met in the air, and in an instant, both read the unsaid emotions in the other’s eyes.
Neither was going to let go of Chen An; nor did they want the other to get close to him.
Chen Yang had not lost the battle, and he had not won, either. The basketball jersey, which belonged to Chen An and was now on Lu Feng, worked like a thorn to his eyes.
This cold man stood in his way to the hoop, like a towering mountain, between him and Chen An.
And it was no longer just a ball that he was holding in his hand. It was the key to his future with Chen An, a symbol of whether he could make it. It weighed like a boulder on Chen Yang’s chest.
The match had stopped being a game about basketball; it was a challenge to Lu Feng, from Chen Yang.
For a split second, everything seemed to have stopped. Chen Yang could hear those people around him breathe. He sprang forward, to Lu Feng’s right.
At the same time, Lu Feng jumped, and lifting his hand, tried to intercept the ball.
Yet it was a fake move. With the time he earned, Chen Yang made it across Lu Feng and under the basket. He jumped, and before he could make the dunk, Lu Feng again made his counter move in an astonishing speed. But this time, he failed to stop Chen Yang.
As if with all his force, Chen Yang growled and dunked the ball into the basket with all his determination to overcome every obstacle. No one could stop him from being with his love, no one!
“Oh my god——”Wang Li gaped, totally forgotten to record the stats.
A loud crash rang out in the now silent hall---not cheers, not applause: it was the sound of the backboard smashed to pieces.
Pieces of glass rained onto the floor. The basket was clenched in the hand of the perpetrator. As for the ball, it rolled towards a man standing on the edge.
Chen An bent down, picked up the ball, and walked towards the two young men who now stood glaring at each other in the wreck.
“Now you’ll have to pay a fine for damaging public property.” Bouncing the ball in his hand, Chen An stepped between Chen Yang and Lu Feng, blocking their view of each other.
In an instant, the evil stare that carried both challenge and hostility softened as it fell on Chen An. Both Lu Feng and Chen Yang quickly were jolted out of their previous confrontational state. If they kept at it, the question would not be who would get hurt. It would be who would be locked outside the door and sleep on the stairs tonight.
Chen An’s eyes swept across the faces of the two, and then he asked: “have you had enough?”
Neither replied, but they’d lost their former puffed-up state, with their heads down in ostensible remorse.
A face-to-face confrontation could give them the chance to let off some steam, but worse would follow if this was allowed to go on any longer. Chen An knew it was time for him to intervene.
“How old are you two? Are you grumpy kids? Anyone got hurt? Let me see.” Chen An tossed the ball away, pulled the basket out of Chen Yang’s hand, and stretched out his palm for examination.
It was a bit raw, but there were no visible cuts by glass pieces.
Lu Feng watched green-eyed as Chen An took care of Chen Yang, and turned back into Mr. Iceberg, from the south pole.
“I’m Okay, An.” Chen Yang beamed brightly under Chen An’s gaze; the sharp edges on him a minute ago were nowhere to be seen.
“Lu Feng?” Chen An then flicked to the young man standing by with a long face. The little bastard. He had taken him a moment ago, and was giving him the cold shoulder now?
“An, let’s go home.” Lu Feng also softened down. It didn’t feel good to be jealous, and yet it felt worse to see Chen An unhappy.
Chen An smiled. Leading Chen Yang with his left hand and Lu Feng with his right, he said in a good mood: “off we go. Shower first, and then we’ll go home for dinner.”
With that, Chen An led the two young men out of the hall, while the stunned crowd stared after them.
As for the clean-up, well, it was not his job, Chen An thought.