While they were still talking, a voice called out from inside the court.
“Old Jiang, there’s a spot over here.”
Jiang Qinghua looked closely.
There was only one team on that court, messing around and shooting hoops.
Beneath the basketball pole sat two girls.
Jiang Qinghua smiled slightly.
No need to wait for a match—and there were girls to watch.
Perfect.
“Let’s go.”
He led his teammates and fangirls over.
But after only a couple of steps, he stopped.
It was because of one of the girls.
She had been blocked by a pillar earlier, so he hadn’t seen clearly. Now that he could, he realized—she was terrifyingly built.
Short hair, a round pancake face, broad shoulders and thick waist, a tiger’s head and tiger’s body.
As unmoving as a mountain.
And when she moved—still like a mountain.
This was bad.
It was the Tiger Tank, Qiao Bixia.
“Change change change…”
Jiang Qinghua turned around grimly.
“The tank’s on this court… we can’t play here.”
Liu Xin looked at the burly girl and said,
“Forget it, let’s just play. There are fewer people here.”
“Bullshit, she’s not guarding you.”
Jiang Qinghua cursed.
“Why don’t you try getting steamrolled by a tank the whole game?”
“Next week’s the real match. Isn’t Class 2 full of people just as strong?”
“Not the same. This is spiritual contamination.”
Even the two girls glared and chimed in against Liu Xin.
“Exactly!”
“You go if you want!”
“……”
Liu Xin shriveled under the girls’ retorts, scratched his head, and awkwardly shuffled over to Li Zheng’s side with a sheepish grin.
Li Zheng could tell—he was pretending to be tough, but his heart was bleeding.
Just as they were about to back out, a figure in a white basketball uniform, with a ponytail, flashed past.
Slim, but not to be messed with.
Not only the three boys here, but even the others playing nearby seemed to slow down.
At that moment, Lin Yujing had already changed into a light short-sleeved outfit with shorts. Her white basketball shoes looked oversized, making it seem like she could jump even higher.
She hadn’t noticed Li Zheng and the others, nor did she look at anyone. She jogged straight under the basket and began stretching beside the Tiger Tank.
So it turned out they were part of the same three-girl team.
Li Zheng was stunned.
How was he running into her even on the court?
But his surprise quickly turned to delight.
He’d hit the right spot again!
Basketball!
Yes!
Next to him, Liu Xin muttered with pursed lips.
“Ah… looks like Lin Yujing’s in a bad mood today, here to abuse people again.”
“Abuse?”
Li Zheng asked.
“She’s that good?”
“Super strong.”
Liu Xin nodded.
“But she rarely comes. Usually only shows up when she doesn’t do well on tests… weird, she got first in the monthly exam though…”
Hearing that, Li Zheng felt both excited and regretful.
Excited that Lin Yujing was so strong—she must play often.
Clearly, basketball was a great way to relax and recharge. He hadn’t come for nothing.
Regretful because—why hadn’t he played earlier?
He’d skipped P.E. and morning exercises.
No wonder he always put in twice the effort for half the result compared to Lin Yujing.
And it wasn’t just Li Zheng who was surprised—so was Jiang Qinghua.
Originally retreating in defeat, he suddenly did a through-the-legs dribble and twisted back around.
“Forget it, let’s just play.”
Jiang Qinghua dribbled confidently behind his back as he strode toward the tank court.
“Liu Xin, I’m leaving the tank to you later.”
“Huh?”
“‘Ah’ what? Man up and mark your match-up.”
Jiang Qinghua barked while walking, already laying out tactics.
“I’ll take Lin Yujing at power forward, you’re center against the Tank—hold that paint like your life depends on it. Li Zheng starts at guard, cover that girl—whoever she is.”
“Well… bring it on…”
Liu Xin thumped his own head.
For next week’s basketball game, he didn’t care about facing the Tank. He was in.
Li Zheng also nodded in response and looked toward the unknown girl.
Short hair, round face, single eyelids—not fat, not skinny. Very average.
We’ll definitely coexist peacefully.
After all, I’m also the kind of guy nobody knows.
On the other side, by the baseline, Lin Yujing was in the middle of a deep stretch.
Suddenly, she froze.
Her head snapped up.
“Mm…”
Teeth clenched, eyes glaring, body trembling—she radiated pure hostility.
“What is it, Jingjing?”
Qiao Bixia crouched beside her.
“See an enemy?”
“Mm.”
Lin Yujing nodded fiercely and pointed at Li Zheng.
“Jiang the Hottie or the Oil Drum?”
Qiao Bixia sprang to her feet, stretching her 180cm tiger build, and squinted at the trio heading their way.
“Whatever. I’ll help flatten all of them.”
Behind her, the average-looking girl warming up looked a little worried.
“Weren’t we just gonna… casually exercise? No fighting, okay?”
“Hey, don’t worry. It’s all legal collisions.”
Qiao Bixia turned to reassure her.
“Just keep an eye on that guy no one knows. I haven’t seen him before, so he probably sucks. Good chance to practice.”
“Oh…”
The girl glanced toward Li Zheng.
Looking at that seemingly average face, which held a calm and steady maturity beneath the surface, she felt a little more at ease.
We’ll definitely coexist peacefully.
After all, I’m also the kind of girl nobody knows.
The trio strode onto the court like they owned it. The two fangirls quickly set up their phones to cheer and record.
With their arrival, the court now had three full teams—ready for play at any time.
After high-fiving his teammates, Jiang Qinghua walked up to Lin Yujing.
“You all go first—ladies first.”
“Okay.”
Lin Yujing replied flatly without looking at them, then stepped onto the court with her two teammates.
But as Qiao Bixia passed by, she slammed her shoulder hard into Jiang Qinghua.
Luckily, Jiang Qinghua was fairly sturdy and only staggered half a step.
“Heh, my bad, Jiang the Hottie.”
Qiao Bixia laughed dryly.
“All good, Sister Xia, all good…”
Jiang Qinghua smoothly dragged Liu Xin over.
“This guy here was saying just now that he is Yinghu’s number one center. Said you’re just a brute woman. No matter how I tried to stop him, he kept saying you’ve got no skill, all brawn.”
“Oh???”
Qiao Bixia’s tiger body shuddered. She narrowed her eyes at Liu Xin and her voice trembled ominously.
“Oi~ Drum~ Got guts now, huh?”
“Ah? No, I, uh…”
“Say no more—see you on the court.”
Qiao Bixia tugged her collar.
“This shirt—gone by the end of today.”
With that, she stomped onto the court.
Liu Xin grabbed Jiang Qinghua and cursed.
“Damn it! I already agreed to match up against her! Was this necessary?”
“Shh, shh, quit whining.”
Jiang Qinghua now had the air of a seasoned coach, gazing seriously at the court.
“Watch the match. I’ll set the plays later.”
Truth was, it wasn’t just Li Zheng’s trio watching closely.
Players from nearby courts who were playing pick-up games started crowding around the edge of the girls’ court.
“Is that Lin Yujing from Grade 11? She plays too?”
“Newbie. She plays like twice a semester.”
“Playing against boys? Isn’t that gonna be ugly?”
“Don’t underestimate her. Rumor is she’s got a hoop and coach at home. Doesn’t even bother with school games usually.”
“Damn, those shoes! AJ11 Galaxy Sparkles!”
“So wasted. Wouldn’t they look better just on display at home?”
The game was about to begin. The boys’ team prepped for the inbound.
First to 5 points wins. One point per basket, two for a three-pointer.
The boys’ team consisted of second-stringers from Class 7—average skills, but they were tough and unyielding.