Basketball was primarily about physical confrontation - even if your reactions were quick, it wouldn't matter if your physical condition couldn't keep up.
So when Lin Nan held the ball and stepped onto the court again, he felt quite nervous.
Surely people wouldn't laugh at him?
He looked around anxiously. Most people on the court were focused on their games, with some occasionally sitting on the benches at the edge watching. The problem was the large number of students passing by after class, each curiously peering inside.
Chen Yao followed behind him, and behind him was Tu Junhui, head down. Tu Junhui had wanted to go running, but since Lin Nan changed his mind in the afternoon, he could only come along to play basketball.
Most people on the court only occupied half-courts. The entire sports field consisted of eight courts, enough for sixteen groups to play.
They found an unoccupied half-court, and Chen Yao casually took the basketball Lin Nan handed him, one hand on his hip as he asked:
"The PE teacher taught standing shots before, you know how to do that, right?"
"....." Lin Nan awkwardly turned his head away. He actually didn't know - he'd spent that PE class playing on his phone in the crowd.
Lin Nan had heard before that playing basketball could help you grow taller, but having no one to play with, he'd never wanted to try. Now that Chen Yao had brought it up, he wanted to see if he really could grow taller.
He'd even specially measured his height in the bathroom before coming out.
165 cm with shoes on.
He used to be around 167 cm with shoes, which was why he usually claimed to be 170 cm. If there wasn't a measurement error, then the magic had indeed affected his height - his dormmates' comments about him becoming shorter weren't just teasing.
"Alright then, I'll teach you how to shoot first." Chen Yao casually took the ball, walked beyond the three-point line, jumped lightly, and threw the ball with both hands. He was planning to finish with a cool line, but was stunned when the ball got stuck between the rim and the backboard with a thud.
He felt quite embarrassed and turned to look at Lin Nan, only to find him distracted, staring at a girl outside the court and discussing with Tu Junhui beside him, completely ignoring Chen Yao's direction.
"That girl is probably taller than you, right? Weren't you 180cm?" Lin Nan was filled with envy and jealousy.
Tu Junhui nodded in deep agreement: "Such damn long legs! Why does this girl need to be so tall? Was she born just to mock you?"
The girl wore a short-sleeve top and denim shorts. Already tall, she showed off exceptionally long legs, attracting everyone's attention as she walked by.
Lin Nan felt nothing but envy, but after envying her height, he unconsciously began envying those long legs too, sighing: "Such long legs."
"What? Jealous?" Chen Yao walked over, glanced at the girl, then said with a smirk, "She may be tall with long legs, but isn't your face prettier than hers?"
"That's true... wait, no! Why am I comparing looks with a girl!" Lin Nan looked up glaring at him, only then realizing he'd been tricked.
It was fine if Chen Yao noticed his abnormality - they'd had almost no secrets from each other for many years, and Chen Yao wouldn't discriminate against him or anything. But Tu Junhui beside them was another matter.
He quickly looked at Tu Junhui, only to find that he had misunderstood their conversation, nodding continuously: "If I had a girlfriend with legs that long… Tsk tsk, really envious of her boyfriend."
Who knows where this guy's thoughts had wandered... Lin Nan suddenly wondered, if Chen Yao had meant the same thing as Tu Junhui, and he was the one who had overthought it, wasn't his reaction a bit excessive?
After the girl left their sight, Lin Nan finally looked at the ball stuck on the rim, then turned to see Chen Yao's helpless expression.
"I'll try to get it down." Chen Yao stretched lazily. Having played lots of basketball and often grabbed rebounds, jumping up to knock down the ball wasn't really difficult.
The problem was that he'd lost face in front of Lin Nan after being so confident.
While he was trying to retrieve the ball, Lin Nan discussed the second-hand computer matter with Tu Junhui: "About the money, how about I start paying you back at the start of next month? I bought too many things at the start of semester..."
His living allowance was only 1,000 yuan. At the start of semester, he'd bought living necessities like shampoo and shower gel, and a hundred or so yuan had vanished without a trace.
Recently he'd been ordering takeout every day, plus regular drinks and breakfast. His daily expenses exceeded 40 yuan. Now he only had enough money left to guarantee one meat and one vegetable dish from the cafeteria each day for the rest of the month.
"Have to wait till next month to start paying back?" Tu Junhui clearly hadn't expected Lin Nan to be this broke.
"Next month... I'll pay you back 300 first, and if we win the competition prize money and rewards, I'll give them all to you. For the rest, I'll try to find part-time work to pay back gradually..." Lin Nan mumbled, his face slightly red.
He had always disliked owing money - previously he wouldn't even use Huabei credit, but now he was actively asking to delay payment.
"Is that so... well, alright, it's not like I'm short on money right now." Tu Junhui scratched his head, "If worst comes to worst, I'll sell the computer on Xianyu after you use it for two months, two months won't make much difference anyway." (TN: Second hand market.)
"Mm..."
Originally Lin Nan had been thinking about part-time work to earn money, but without debt before, there hadn't been much urgency. Now that he owed money, finding part-time work immediately became a priority.
While learning to shoot from Chen Yao, Lin Nan was distracted, listlessly throwing the basketball. Most shots didn't even touch the rim, and after more than ten attempts, not one went in.
Chen Yao knew what was on his mind, but part-time work wasn't easy to arrange right now.
Delivering food was out since Lin Nan had stood up the cafeteria last time - he probably wouldn't have the face to go back. Being a waiter would mean too many hours, likely conflicting with school schedules. The only options left were weekend jobs, which usually meant tutoring, handing out flyers, or wearing mascot costumes.
One basketball fell without touching the rim. Chen Yao stepped forward to catch it, then said to Lin Nan: "How about I go with you to the pedestrian street on Friday night? We can look for part-time work together?"
"Really?" Lin Nan was overjoyed, quickly running forward and looking up with shining eyes: "Have you thought of what we could do?"
Chen Yao felt a bit uncomfortable facing those watery eyes and lowered his gaze, only to notice Lin Nan's exposed collarbone: "How about wearing a mascot costume? Acting cute on the street would suit you."
Pretending to be distracted by passersby, he turned his head and continued: "I'll work with you, at least you'll have someone watching out for you."
"It would be best if we could work together!"
Lin Nan casually stood on tiptoe and hooked his arm around Chen Yao's shoulders: "You're such a good bro! Remember to give me half the money you earn! I need money urgently, just consider it payback for all the meals I bought you before!"
"Get lost!"