Chapter 288: Yan Zhusheng Seizes the Chance to Slip Away

April 25th, Saturday morning.

The thrilling basketball semifinals are about to begin.

At 8:30 a. m., it's Class One versus Class Twelve.

However, students from other classes who are interested may come downstairs to watch.

Class Eight's game is at 10 a. m., but Li Luo and the others came down early to observe Class One and Class Twelve's strength and scout their final opponents.

At the semifinal stage, all four classes' basketball teams are quite strong, and the matchups are more intense and entertaining.

Class One has Liu Shaowen and Xie Shuchen as primary attackers, with excellent offensive rhythm and strong coordination.

Paired with Jian Zhenyuan in the paint, they form a solid triangle, excelling in both offense and defense.

When offense stalls, guard Liao Hailin always appears unexpectedly in key spots, launching sudden attacks that are impossible to defend against.

On Class Twelve's side, all five players are relatively evenly matched, and their teamwork is quite cohesive, allowing them to hold their ground and keep the score tight.

Unfortunately, they ultimately lost to Class One, 58–52 by six points.

This time, many Class One students came downstairs to watch; after seeing their team win, cheers and applause erupted outside the court.

Seeing Ying Chanxi clapping, Liu Shaowen and Xie Shuchen wiped the sweat from their faces and felt their hour of effort was worthwhile, smiling with satisfaction.

"Class One seems pretty fierce," Zhu Yufei muttered, rubbing his head. "They're well-rounded, no real weaknesses—hard to target."

"No problem—you won't even face Class One," Lu Wei's voice came from behind, smirking arrogantly at them. "You're overanalyzing Class One's strength—I almost thought you'd already played. But you haven't even started yet."

"I suggest you watch your mouth," Zhu Yufei shot him a glare. "Just don't cry too hard when you lose badly."

"Hmph." Lu Wei chuckled, pointing at Li Luo. "Just don't let your class president cry when he gets beaten."

"This guy's got issues," Zhang Guohuang muttered, watching Lu Wei walk away.

"Ignore him," Li Luo shook his head with a smile. "Same as always—you two play the first two quarters, just don't let the score get too far ahead. I'll play the last two."

"Got it," Zhu Yufei nodded, understanding.

After Class One and Class Twelve's game ended, Class Twelve, having lost, had no appetite to stay—they gradually returned to their classrooms.

Class One's top students also headed back to class; the midterm exam was next week, and they didn't want to waste more time here.

Only Liu Shaowen and a few others stayed behind to observe their final opponents' strength.

At this moment, Ying Chanxi strolled over to Li Luo and raised her tiny fist: "Go get 'em! Take down Class Seven."

"If you take down Class Seven, won't you have to face Class One in the finals?" Li Luo teased with a smile. "Which side will you support then?"

"Obviously my own class," Ying Chanxi replied without hesitation, seeing her own team members approaching behind her.

But secretly, she thought: supporting Class One doesn't conflict with supporting Li Luo.

Supporting Li Luo isn't the same as supporting Class Eight.

Thinking this, Ying Chanxi felt even more justified—Liu Shaowen and Xie Shuchen, listening from behind, were deeply moved, feeling their hard-fought victory was entirely worth it.

Their anticipation for the finals grew even stronger.

"Go get 'em, Li Luo!" Xie Shuchen stepped forward and bumped fists with Li Luo. As fellow members of the rock club, they had a good rapport; he enthusiastically offered his encouragement: "Take down Lu Wei."

"I'll do my best," Li Luo smiled, then greeted Liu Shaowen and Jian Zhenyuan.

He wasn't just an excellent basketball player—he could play guitar and sing, was class president of the parallel Class Eight, and ranked in the school's top 40.

Even Class One's top students didn't dare underestimate him.

Moreover, in Class One's eyes, Li Luo was their class president's cousin.

With all these buffs stacked together, even Liao Hailin and the others felt slightly inferior when they saw him.

A guy as excessively outstanding as Li Luo made others feel utterly out of reach, just by thinking of him.

Even walking around campus, Li Luo occasionally drew glances from passing girls.

Some close-knit girls chatting together would whisper and tease each other when they spotted him passing by: "My husband," "No, mine," "You're so shameless—it's clearly my husband."

Though these were just private jokes and no one took them seriously, they revealed just how popular Li Luo was on campus.

For today's Class Seven versus Class Eight game, many girls from other classes, with nothing better to do, came downstairs specifically to watch Li Luo's performance—and incidentally, to admire the other boys playing basketball.

Zhu Yufei from Class Eight was a classic athletic hunk, though a bit of a clown in daily life.

Fang Chen was also quite handsome, though more delicate-looking than Zhu Yufei.

Lin Yuan wasn't ugly either, just a bit short.

In comparison, Zhang Guohuang was a bit less attractive; his features resembled a monkey's, so classmates sometimes jokingly called him "Monkey Brother."

Hmm… this kid was also the gossip hub of Class Eight.

Almost any campus gossip could be traced back to him first.

Li Luo often learned school rumors from him: which teacher was pregnant, which boy in which class got into a fight, who was dating whom, who had sneaked a kiss on the playground and got caught… basically, he knew everything.

"Class Seven and Class Eight, come sign in," the PE teacher walked to the sideline, holding a roster, calling out to both teams.

Zhu Yufei and Lu Wei walked over; the rest of the team members followed, the atmosphere thick with tension.

Xu Youyu, as student council president, arrived with his team to maintain order, then casually strolled over to Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng to watch the game with them.

The three girls formed a striking scene by the sideline, instantly drawing many male glances.

They'd only come downstairs out of boredom, not wanting to study in the classroom.

I never expected to witness such breathtaking scenery; instantly, I felt this trip was totally worth it.

"Aren't you playing?"

At exactly 10 a. m., with the PE teacher's whistle, Zhu Yufei and his four teammates stepped onto the court.

Xu Youyu glanced at Li Luo, calmly seated on the bench, and asked curiously.

"The star always makes a grand entrance last," Li Luo said with a grin.

"Pfft," Xu Youyu scoffed. "I came here specifically to watch you play—so when am I going to see it?"

"Don't rush," Li Luo said lazily. "You'll get your fill in the third and fourth quarters."

Li Luo spoke lightly, but the situation on the court was extremely tense.

Zhu Yufei and Zhang Guohuang's coordination was also quite good, but they couldn't hold up against Lu Wei, who relied on brute force and a fierce posture.

The other members of Class Seven were no amateurs either; coordinating with Lu Wei to launch an offensive, they fought Class Eight fiercely.

When the first quarter ended, the score between Class Seven and Class Eight was 14-10, with Class Seven leading by two points.

During the brief break off the court, Lu Wei walked over to Li Luo's side, smiled at him, and asked, "What? Are you too scared to get on the court?"

Ying Chanxi and the others frowned upon hearing this, but Li Luo just yawned, too lazy to even pay attention.

Xu Youyu, standing nearby, covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Truly childish enough to make one laugh, like a stray dog in heat by the roadside."

Hearing Xu Youyu's words, Lu Wei immediately widened his eyes and furrowed his brows, "Who are you? Can't you speak properly?"

"Spewing filth from your mouth is one thing, but if you dare to provoke trouble, I'll have the PE teacher bench you," Xu Youyu said coldly, narrowing her eyes in warning.

At that moment, Gao Yuqin hurriedly walked to Lu Wei's side, whispered something in his ear, and Lu Wei's expression changed; he then left resentfully, not daring to argue with Xu Youyu again.

"Wow~" Li Luo teased with a smile, "Senior sister is awesome."

Xu Youyu rolled her eyes at him, crossed her arms, and said, "Sometimes you're just too good-tempered; do you really indulge people like this?"

Li Luo shrugged, "I just don't want to waste emotions."

Don't let Xu Youyu's usual open, cheerful, and enthusiastic demeanor fool you; she is actually very domineering on some matters, otherwise she couldn't hold the position of Student Council President.

Especially towards people like Lu Wei, she wouldn't be polite in the slightest.

But Li Luo was a bit different.

If it were his past life, encountering someone like Lu Wei, once his temper flared, his fists might already have been swinging.

But since returning through rebirth, Li Luo felt that when dealing with such people and things, he could no longer muster much anger.

It was as if he stood from a higher position, looking down on the other barking wildly underground, finding it only amusing, watching it like a play.

His mindset had become much more peaceful.

Of course, if someone else encountered this situation, Xu Youyu might not have stepped forward either.

It was only because she saw the other targeting Li Luo that Xu Youyu couldn't hold back, scolding him coldly a couple of times.

Otherwise, she always felt that her own junior brother was being bullied, which made her feel quite displeased.

Usually, if she bullied him herself, that was one thing, but where did it give the right to such stray dogs and cats to clamor?

After Lu Wei returned to Class Seven's rest area, the second quarter began very quickly.

Seeing that Li Luo still hadn't entered the game, Lu Wei snorted coldly and attacked even more fiercely.

Although Zhu Yufei and the others held up against the opponent's offensive, by the end of the second quarter, the score had been pulled apart to 30-24.

When the halftime whistle blew, Class Seven immediately cheered, having already opened champagne early, feeling their class was about to win.

Meanwhile, Class Eight was full of worry.

On the contrary, Zhu Yufei and the others didn't seem very anxious; after coming off the court, they smiled at Li Luo and said, "Captain, we'll leave it to you in a moment?"

"Leave it to me." Li Luo bumped fists with Zhang Guohuang, confirmed he would be substituted out in a moment, and then, just as halftime was about to end, he finally took off his jacket and warmed up on the sidelines.

Yan Zhusheng blinked as she watched Li Luo take off his jacket, silently walked over, took his jacket, and held it in her arms.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi was momentarily stunned, then secretly chided herself, making a mental note of it again.

"Go for it," Xu Youyu said as she saw he was about to enter the game, patting Li Luo's shoulder, then secretly leaning close to his ear to tease softly, "If you win, big sister will reward you tonight~"

Feeling the warm breath on his ear, Li Luo shivered all over; when he turned to look at Xu Youyu, she had already retreated with a mischievous smile back to Ying Chanxi's side, winking seductively at him.

Finally, the PE teacher blew the whistle.

Li Luo substituted for Zhang Guohuang and stepped onto the basketball court with Zhu Yufei and the others.

Lu Wei and the others on the side also entered the court; seeing Li Luo appear, they immediately sneered, "Do you think changing you in will make us win?"

"Don't talk so much," Li Luo sighed, "Save your energy; it's better to cry harder later."

"You!"

"Take your positions." The PE teacher gave them no time for trash talk; after handing the ball possession to Class Eight, he blew the whistle, announcing the start of the third quarter.

"Li Luo! Go for it!" Ying Chanxi stood on the sidelines, hands cupped before her mouth, shouting encouragement loudly.

The students of Class Eight immediately joined in the shouting.

Seeing this, the people from the neighboring Class Seven immediately shouted encouragement just as loudly, not to be outdone.

However, Liu Shaowen and the others watching the match immediately exchanged glances.

"When we played, why didn't we see the captain shouting encouragement for us?"

"It's already good that he clapped for you; Li Luo is at least their cousin."

Xie Shuchen could only comfort himself and his teammates this way; watching Li Luo's spirited appearance on the court, he added, "Besides, let's see Li Luo's skill level; we didn't pay much attention before."

Just as he was saying this.

Li Luo had already received Zhu Yufei's pass, jumped directly at a fixed spot, and easily shot the ball into the net.

"Ho!" Liu Shaowen raised an eyebrow, "That accurate? A direct jump shot?"

"Let's see more."

Lu Wei on the court saw Li Luo score, immediately made a clicking sound, received the ball from a teammate, and immediately launched a counterattack.

But from then on, the situation began to look wrong.

For most ball games, both sides attack each other, and mistakes are inevitable; therefore, it is impossible to score on every offensive possession.

But since Li Luo entered the game, Class Eight's offense never lost the ball again.

In just five minutes, seven offensive possessions, Class Eight took them all!

And every single one was scored by Li Luo!

Class Seven only scored five points, and the score was suddenly narrowed to 40-38, with only a two-point difference.

Lu Wei's temper flared; he immediately swapped defensive targets with a teammate, choosing to guard Li Luo personally.

It had to be said that Lu Wei was not only fierce in offense but also very tight in defense.

Since he started defending, he had indeed caused some interference for Li Luo.

After all, even at the same spot, to replicate the success every time, the jump angle and force had to be controlled perfectly, without the opponent blocking the line of sight.

So in the following few minutes, although Li Luo's scoring rate remained high, he still failed to hit every shot, losing the ball twice.

On Lu Wei's side, his offense was fierce; he barely managed to halt Class Eight's momentum, keeping the score tightly controlled at a two-point difference.

But just as the third quarter was about to end, Li Luo gained possession again and immediately jumped for a set shot.

Lu Wei, panicked, immediately jumped up to defend.

But the next second, Li Luo just smiled at him, hooked his raised hand downward, and smoothly completed a pass mid-air.

Lin Yuan, who had suddenly darted out and temporarily shaken off his defender, appeared behind Lu Wei, lightly caught Li Luo's pass, and then, under Xu Guangtao's screen, smoothly executed a three-step layup to score two points.

The PE teacher's whistle blew.

The third quarter ended.

The score officially reached 48-48!

Cheers immediately erupted from Class Eight's side, while Class Seven's side began to feel nervous instead.

And when the fourth quarter arrived, Li Luo gave the opponent no further chances.

Whenever Lu Wei came to defend him, he was ready to pass at any moment during his jump shot.

The other players of Class Seven were not as fierce as Lu Wei, occasionally showing openings.

Especially since Li Luo's jump shot accuracy was so high, it always made the opponent subconsciously focus on his ball.

This allowed Lin Yuan and Fang Chen at the baseline to find opportunities to break through.

Thus, under the increasingly perfect coordination of Class Eight in the fourth quarter, when the PE teacher's whistle blew again, the score stood fixed at 62-66.

Class Eight advanced smoothly to the finals with a four-point advantage!

"Damn!"

Lu Wei glanced at the scoreboard on the sidelines, then looked at Class Eight over there already cheering and celebrating; his face immediately turned ugly as he cursed.

His gaze turned toward Class Seven's direction, where he saw Gao Yuqin leaving with furrowed brows; his heart immediately sank, and he hurriedly ran after her, not even bothering to scold Li Luo anymore.

On Class Eight's side, it was already a scene of jubilation.

Li Luo and Zhu Yufei and the others happily high-fived to celebrate winning the match, paying no attention to Lu Wei at all, and walked straight toward Class Eight's side.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi quickly ran to Li Luo's front, took out a tissue from her pants pocket that she had prepared long ago, raised her hand to wipe his sweat, and said, "Don't move, let me wipe it for you."

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yufei and the others immediately looked speechless, then exchanged glances with each other, secretly looked toward Yan Zhusheng's side, and then quietly started laughing, watching the show with unspoken understanding.

Yan Zhusheng just watched silently, a bit unhappy, and put away the tissue she had just taken out.

And Liu Shaowen, Xie Shuchen, and others from Class One, after watching this match, immediately exchanged glances with each other, then said:

"Li Luo is fierce; why is his jump shot so accurate?"

"Didn't you notice? It seems he always shoots from the same spot."

"I guess the probability of making a shot from that position is higher? It counts as his most familiar angle?"

"But isn't his stamina not that good? I saw that after playing just two quarters, his face looked very exhausted."

"Regardless, once Li Luo takes the court later, we must mark him tightly."

"Then let me do it." Liu Shaowen coughed once, then said, "Xie Shuchen will mark Zhu Yufei; their center isn't that strong, so Jian Zhenyuan should have no problem."

"Their short guard is also quite spirited; Liao Hailin must mark him tightly. Don't be like the people from Class Seven, letting people go whenever they want."

They were discussing tactics over here.

Over there, Ying Chanxi had already wiped the sweat off Li Luo's face clean.

Fortunately, Xie Shuchen and the others were discussing very seriously and did not notice this scene; otherwise, they would have been somewhat shaken.

After returning to the classroom, Class Eight returned to self-study mode.

Just before noon dismissal, Kong Junxiang came to the classroom again to speak about the college entrance exam reform and the parent-teacher meeting; after the bell rang, he announced the end of class.

Li Luo and the others went together to the cafeteria for lunch.

Ying Chanxi went to the competition class.

Only Yan Zhusheng and Xu Yinghuan remained, following Li Luo to the vegetable market to buy groceries in advance, then returning to Bihai Lanting.

"I'm going to the bathroom~" Xu Yinghuan, upon entering the door, walked toward the restroom.

And Li Luo, after putting the bought groceries in the kitchen, just as he turned around, saw Yan Zhusheng standing behind him, opening her arms toward him.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me a hug."

"Huh?"

While Li Luo was stunned, Yan Zhusheng had already gently pressed close to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and whispered, "Congratulations on making it to the finals."

"Why didn't you hug me when we won just now?"

"There were too many people just now; I was shy." Yan Zhusheng wasn't too greedy; after hugging once, she let go, blinked, and said to him.

She really didn't look shy at all.

"This is also a hug between good friends."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng nodded, "Li Luo, you are so smart."

Li Luo: "... Being praised as smart by you always feels weird."

"What are you guys doing?" Xu Yinghuan, having finished in the bathroom, passed by the kitchen, poked her head in curiously, and asked.

"Preparing ingredients." Li Luo said, "You two go play in the living room; I'll prepare the dishes to stir-fry for dinner first."

"I can help." Yan Zhusheng said softly, glanced twice at the apron hanging on the wall, quietly moved to the wall, reached out, and took the apron down.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "I'll be careful and won't hold you back."

"Then you two go for it." Seeing this, Xu Yinghuan chuckled twice, very consciously closing the door for them.

So Yan Zhusheng took the apron off the wall, put it on, turned her back to Li Luo, and said over her shoulder, "Tie it for me."

Li Luo walked behind Yan Zhusheng, tightened the apron straps, then pointed to the vegetables in the plastic bag: "Wash these clean; I don't expect anything else from you."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng obediently nodded.

After prepping the ingredients until around two in the afternoon, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng came out of the kitchen.

But as soon as Li Luo pulled open the kitchen's sliding door, he saw Xu Yinghuan walking toward the sofa with a guilty look, which immediately made him squint: "Xu Yinghuan, what were you doing just now?"

"Huh?" Xu Yinghuan sat back on the sofa, then blinked innocently. "Went to the bathroom; just happened to pass by."

Li Luo rolled his eyes speechlessly at her, then was pulled by Yan Zhusheng into the piano room.

After walking into the piano room, Yan Zhusheng poked her head out before closing the door, her small face stern as she said to Xu Yinghuan, "Huanhuan, no eavesdropping."

Having said that, she closed the door.

The next second, Xu Yinghuan jumped off the sofa with a whoosh, paying no heed at all to Yan Zhusheng's warning, and tiptoed to the piano room door with a face full of excited expectation, ready to press her ear and listen.

But the next second, the door opened again.

Yan Zhusheng looked at Xu Yinghuan expressionlessly, instantly freezing her in place.

"Ahaha... I was just passing by... passing by."

"Huanhuan is bad." Yan Zhusheng said softly. "Stop eavesdropping; I'm shy."

Hearing this, Xu Yinghuan couldn't help but roll her eyes.

But she didn't dare to eavesdrop again, so she went back to the sofa and continued watching TV.

It wasn't until around four in the evening that Ying Chanxi and the other three returned from school after finishing their tasks.

As soon as they entered the house, Ying Chanxi glanced around, then asked, "Where are Zhusheng and Li Luo?"

"Playing the piano." Xu Yinghuan said, pointing with her chin.

Hearing this, Ying Chanxi immediately raised an eyebrow; she didn't even have time to toss her schoolbag and went straight to the piano room door, knocked, then pushed it open and entered.

Inside the piano room, Yan Zhusheng sat upright and proper on the side, while Li Luo was also seriously playing the piano.

Seeing this serious scene, Ying Chanxi was momentarily stunned and actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

"What's wrong, Xixi?" Yan Zhusheng looked at her in confusion. "Is something the matter?"

"Um... sorry to disturb; you two continue."

Ying Chanxi took a deep breath, silently exited the piano room, and closed the door for them.

But if she had pressed her ear to the door at that moment, she would probably have heard...

"So what does hugging again just now count as?"

"It counts as what you owed me before."

"... When did I owe you?"

"I made the badminton finals, and you didn't congratulate me."

"Then now... how do you... repay..."

"Xixi interrupted just now, so we only hugged halfway; it needs to be made up." Yan Zhusheng said seriously. "Student Li, don't move; listen to the teacher."