Chapter Thirty-Six: The Failed Guardian of the Grass

... Shu Ke Ju ...

Leng Haoyang’s face was flushed with anger. Hearing her words, he sat on the table and laughed, “So after all this shouting, you’re standing up for your deskmate? But it’s not my fault—it’s him who refused to cooperate with us.”

“You five! Lin Feng and Song Mingcheng share a dorm; you three share another. Five people, divided into two factions—aren’t you being ridiculous? Aren’t you all classmates of the same class? Aren’t you striving for the same goal? You’re being so petty!” Dong Yanyan sat on the table, legs crossed, pointing at his nose and laughing.

“You’re right, I’m partly to blame, too. Leng Haoyang, you guys come over here. Let’s talk this out properly for once. So we lost a game—next time, we’ll win it back.” Lin Feng’s spirits weren’t as low now; he called over the basketball team boys, ready to summarize their lessons.

“She’s always right, huh!” Leng Haoyang replied moodily. Yang Ruining quietly tugged at his arm.

“Ningning, don’t worry. Once he vents his anger, he’ll be fine!” Dong Yanyan gathered her books, speaking coolly.

Leng Haoyang, hearing this, jumped over the table and rushed toward her. She grabbed her book and threw it at him. Leng Haoyang dodged, and the thick book landed squarely on Liu Qiang, who was standing behind him.

“Well done! I was just thinking of teaching you a lesson, and someone’s done it for me!” Leng Haoyang knocked on Liu Qiang’s head and laughed.

Liu Qiang covered his head, looking like he wanted to lash out but didn’t dare. At that moment, Gu Xiaohan walked in, books in her arms, and instantly saw Leng Haoyang knocking Liu Qiang’s head as if testing a watermelon.

“Why are you all bullying Liu Qiang again? Such a good kid, and you hit him? Shame on you!” She pouted in dissatisfaction, fussing loudly at Leng Haoyang.

“Xiaohan, I hit him—sorry, it was purely an accident.” Dong Yanyan felt guilty and quickly apologized.

“Be more careful next time! Liu Qiang, let me see your head! That’s a big lump; you need a band-aid. Here, let me put one on for you!” Gu Xiaohan smiled with a motherly tenderness. She rummaged in her pocket for a band-aid, studied it for a while, and finally placed it carefully on his bump.

Dong Yanyan watched her jubilant manner, utterly speechless. This girl didn’t make it onto the basketball team, so she enthusiastically joined the medical support group. Ever since she received that huge pack of band-aids and disinfectant, she’d been looking for chances to practice. Now, she finally found a living specimen!

Leng Haoyang whistled nearby. Liu Qiang’s face turned as red as a tomato, stammering without forming a single coherent sentence.

Gu Xiaohan glared at Leng Haoyang with her big eyes, then nonchalantly sat at her desk, pretending to read a book. In truth, she had a little mirror tucked inside. Her greatest hobby was gazing at herself.

“Leng Haoyang, save the antics for later! Let’s discuss our strategy for the next game. Girls, come over too! Yanyan, you join us.” Lin Feng, sitting by the window, called out with a smile.

*

Three afternoons later, their class played its last basketball game, competing with the seniors from Class 96 for third place. In this school, where everything was measured by seniority, for freshmen to break into the top three was already a remarkable achievement.

Dong Yanyan wasn’t worried at all. In her memory, the boys had indeed taken third place in their first basketball tournament. So, while others were tense as the game began, she was happily enjoying herself! Watching the boys run and fight energetically on the court was a delightful sight.

A man’s true nature is often revealed most vividly on the basketball court. For example, Song Mingcheng’s steadiness and accuracy, Leng Haoyang's agility and cunning, Lin Feng’s graceful flair... As she watched Lin Feng running on the court, she suddenly remembered something: he was injured in this match! And not lightly—he limped for more than half a month afterward. The thought made her anxious. Lin Feng was the one closest to her heart; how could she just stand by and watch him get hurt?

So, after the first quarter ended, she ran over to Leng Haoyang, intent on persuading him to substitute Lin Feng.

“Stay out of it! No way I’m substituting him!” Leng Haoyang gulped mineral water, dismissive.

“But didn’t you see how they’re targeting him? Their defense is so tight—what if he gets hurt? There are plenty of boys in our class; why does it have to be just him?” Dong Yanyan pleaded anxiously.

“So, if he steps down, who’ll replace him? We’re counting on him for this game!” Leng Haoyang laughed, “If you’re so afraid he’ll get hurt, maybe you should play instead?”

Dong Yanyan was momentarily speechless. There were plenty of boys in class, but only five played basketball well. She glanced at Xu Cheng and Jiang Fan on the bench; they weren’t nearly as good.

Standing nearby, Teacher Chen cast her a silent, disapproving look. Her heart sank—she knew her mentor was unhappy. Feeling frustrated, she looked at Lin Feng.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” Lin Feng patted her shoulder and smiled.

“But I’m feeling so uneasy right now…” Dong Yanyan frowned and whispered, thinking hard for a way to convince him. The more anxious she got, the more muddled her thoughts became.

“Come on, time to play!” Leng Haoyang put down his water and called the team.

The referee was PE teacher Liu Qing. At the sound of the whistle, the second quarter began.

Dong Yanyan stared nervously at the court. Lin Feng was defending the class 96 sports committee member, Gao Jian, while two other boys marked him closely. Lin Feng’s lack of height put him at a disadvantage, and the defense was tight, so every time he got the ball, it was a struggle to pass it on. Leng Haoyang, the tallest, played center. Gao Jian defended him, so the two were practically entangled. The other three weren’t much help. Liu Qiang was indecisive—he’d get the ball but hesitated to shoot, often losing possession. Zhang Lei and Song Mingcheng were decent at stealing the ball, but their shots were inaccurate, so whenever they got the ball, they tried desperately to pass it to Leng Haoyang for the shot. Leng Haoyang, after having the ball stolen twice and missing two shots, let his volatile temper flare and started committing fouls repeatedly. The score gap widened, and Dong Yanyan was nearly jumping with anxiety. In a blur, she saw Gao Jian’s arm twitch and Lin Feng suddenly collapse. Leng Haoyang immediately signaled for a timeout; the referee rushed over, assessed the situation, and announced a one-minute pause before play resumed.

Lin Feng was helped back by two people. Dong Yanyan was the first to rush over, and saw his knee was scraped and bleeding. She frowned in distress. Gu Xiaohan ran over with the medical box, taking out iodine and gauze.

... Shu Ke Ju ...