Chapter 100: Does It Still Hurt?

On the basketball court.

Li Luo stood inside the free-throw line.

Zhao Rongjun stood outside the three-point line.

Li Luo could only defend; Zhao Rongjun could only shoot three-pointers.

The two girls, however, could attack and defend without rules.

"Zhusheng, step back a bit before shooting—I'll block him for you," Xu Youyu grinned, grabbing Li Luo and pinning him down, then calling out to Yan Zhusheng.

Yan Zhusheng stood over one meter seventy tall, and with excellent athletic reflexes, she caught the ball, cradled it against her chest to gather power, then shot toward the basket.

But Li Luo had already executed a smooth spin, leapt lightly, and swatted the ball mid-air—Zhao Rongjun outside the three-point line caught it.

"Ah!" Xu Youyu hurriedly grabbed Li Luo's arm, "You jerk! You're harder to catch than a fish in water."

Yan Zhusheng narrowed her eyes, annoyed after being blocked, then sprinted to Zhao Rongjun's side and raised her hands in defense.

Whether intentionally letting up or simply growing weak at the sight of a pretty girl approaching, Zhao Rongjun took a three-pointer.

The shot missed everything—air, rim, backboard.

Xu Youyu grabbed the ball, and to prevent another block, she passed it to Yan Zhusheng before grabbing Li Luo's arm to stop him from darting around.

This time, Yan Zhusheng faced no obstruction and smoothly scored.

When Ying Chanxi and Qiao Xinyan arrived at the basketball court carrying a large bag of drinks, this was the scene they saw.

"This looks so fun," Qiao Xinyan watched the lively game and couldn't help but feel excited. "Chanxi, I've never played basketball before—have you?"

Ying Chanxi shook her head: "Back in middle school, I asked Li Luo if I could play, and he said girls were too weak and wouldn't let me join."

"Ah?" Qiao Xinyan blinked. "Your cousin was such a jerk back then… what kind of thing is that to say?"

"He's slowly getting better," Ying Chanxi said, watching the four laughing on the court, her eyes narrowing. "He seems much more mature now."

As she spoke, Ying Chanxi walked to the court's edge, set the plastic bag on the bench, and called out to the players: "Drinks are here—help yourselves."

"Alright, let's take a break," Li Luo clapped his hands. "Score's 0–6. Zhao Rongjun's useless—when did shooting a three become this hard?"

"Then why don't you go shoot the threes yourself and let Zhao Rongjun guard inside?" Xu Youyu asked with a grin.

"Let Zhao Rongjun guard?" Li Luo laughed. "What's the difference from having no defense?"

If Zhao Rongjun guarded inside the free-throw line, he probably wouldn't even dare look directly at Xu Youyu or Yan Zhusheng.

"Just don't put me on your team," Zhao Rongjun muttered. "I'll guard you specifically."

"Fine," Li Luo pulled a bottle of Fruit Orange from the plastic bag on the bench, gulped down a few swallows, then said, "Let's split into two teams—each guy pairs with two girls. Guys can't shoot. How's that?"

"That's good," Xu Youyu agreed.

"Then I'll team up with Zhao Rongjun," Ying Chanxi walked over to him, glancing at Li Luo. "You pick one, then let Zhao Rongjun pick the next."

"Then Yan Zhusheng," Li Luo pointed to his desk partner.

After all, Yan Zhusheng had better athletic reflexes—her shooting power was solid, unlike some girls who struggled even to shoot from under the basket.

Next came Zhao Rongjun's turn—he fidgeted, glancing left and right, then finally chose Qiao Xinyan.

"Isn't this a guaranteed win?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, gesturing at the height difference between the two teams' girls.

Yan Zhusheng, of course, stood over one meter seventy—rare among girls.

Xu Youyu wasn't short either, standing around 168 centimeters.

Ying Chanxi and Qiao Xinyan were both about one meter sixty—petite and cute.

"Let me remind you again—guys can't shoot," Li Luo bounced the ball in his hand, stepping slowly to the three-point line to inbound.

"Why do you get to inbound first?" Ying Chanxi asked.

Li Luo paused, thinking it was just a casual game.

But seeing Ying Chanxi's serious expression, he chuckled, then walked to the free-throw line: "Alright— if I make the free throw, we inbound; if I miss, you do."

"Fine, shoot."

Li Luo took his free throw.

His form was stylish and textbook-perfect—but he missed.

Ying Chanxi snorted, took the ball, and handed it to Zhao Rongjun: "We inbound."

Zhao Rongjun obediently took it, feeling somehow that Ying Chanxi had gotten crankier after her afternoon nap.

He stood outside the three-point line, glancing left and right, then finally passed the ball to Qiao Xinyan.

Qiao Xinyan fumbled the catch, trying to mimic Li Luo's dribbling—but the ball turned into a bouncing rubber ball, and before long, it rolled into Yan Zhusheng's hands.

"You can just hold the ball and run—treat it like a rugby ball, as long as you get it in the hoop," Li Luo laughed.

He never expected the girls to master dribbling—this was just about having fun, letting loose, and enjoying themselves.

"Aren't you going to defend?" Li Luo glanced at Zhao Rongjun. "My teammate's about to shoot."

Zhao Rongjun shook his head frantically, staring at the four girls clustered under the basket—too afraid to approach.

Xu Youyu and the others, however, were having a blast—fighting over the ball, shooting wildly, even if they barely scored, it was still entertaining.

Li Luo wasn't as polite as Zhao Rongjun—he kept his eyes locked on Ying Chanxi, serving her a steady diet of blocks.

Ying Chanxi was tiny beside him; every shot she launched, Li Luo simply reached out and snatched it out of the air.

Then he passed it to Xu Youyu or Yan Zhusheng, who easily sank the basket.

Ying Chanxi watched helplessly as he passed the ball to other girls, huffed angrily, and pouted in silence.

Too eager to score, she misjudged the rebound and got smacked on the head by the falling ball.

"Ah!" Ying Chanxi dazed, clutching her head and crouching on the ground. "Ugh…"

Xu Youyu rushed over, crouched beside her, and checked her condition.

"I'm fine," Ying Chanxi shook her head, rubbed her head, then walked toward the bench. "I'll rest for a bit."

"You guys keep playing," Li Luo tossed the ball to Zhao Rongjun. "Teach them how to play turtle."

"Oh oh." Zhao Rongjun took the ball and agreed.

Li Luo walked to the bench, squatted in front of Ying Chanxi, gently brushed aside her hair that had fallen over her face, and asked softly, "Where did you hit?"

"I'm fine." Ying Chanxi turned her head away, "Don't bother with me. Go play with them."

"I saw you napping with Qiao Xinyan, so I didn't wake you." Li Luo reached out, pinched Ying Chanxi's soft cheek, turned her head back, and with his other hand felt her skull, "Let me see—did you hit here?"

"Mmm..." Ying Chanxi couldn't speak as he squeezed her; she puffed out her lips and pushed his hand away, then lowered her head again and pointed to the front-left side of her head, "Here."

"Still hurt?" Li Luo gently rubbed the spot.

"... A little."

Li Luo let go, but Ying Chanxi immediately grabbed his hand and pressed it back onto her head.

"I just said it still hurts—why did you let go?"

"... This hand's tired. Can't I switch to the other one, sis?"

"... Oh."

After a while, both of Li Luo's hands ached, so he let go and sat beside Ying Chanxi: "Feeling better now?"

"A little better," Ying Chanxi whispered.

In truth, the pain had only been sharp right after the impact; by the time she sat on the bench, it had mostly faded.

After resting on the bench a while, the two returned to the court.

The six of them played all afternoon, exhausted when they returned to Bihai Lanting. Li Luo told the four girls to rest in the living room, then dragged the boys into the kitchen, making Zhao Rongjun his assistant as he began cooking.

In the living room, Ying Chanxi glanced at Yan Zhusheng, then at Xu Youyu: "Senior, won't we be divided into classes in Gao Er?"

"Yes," Xu Youyu nodded. "But at Fuyi High, the class assignments come out after National Day, based on combined scores from last semester's final exam and this semester's entrance exam."

"What did you choose, Senior? Science or Humanities?"

"Humanities," Xu Youyu said cheerfully. "Humanities are easier—just memorizing and reciting. No need to strain your brain."

That way she'd have more time to write novels.

"So how exactly are the classes divided?" Ying Chanxi asked the question she cared about most.

"Hmm," Xu Youyu thought back. "I think it's just by score?"

"Like, four hundred-some science students, two hundred-some humanities—so maybe classes one through ten are science, eleven through sixteen are humanities."

"Then you rank by score: class one is the top science class, but for humanities, class sixteen is the best."

"I see," Ying Chanxi nodded, a flicker of anticipation rising in her heart.

"So, Xi Xi, which will you choose in Gao Er—science or humanities?" Xu Youyu asked curiously.

"Either's fine," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "They feel about the same. I might lean toward science, but humanities aren't bad either."

"What about you, Zhusheng?" Xu Youyu turned to ask.

"Me?" Yan Zhusheng blinked. "Do we have to pick only science or humanities? My history and politics are bad, physics is bad too—can't I just pick chemistry, biology, and geography?"

Xu Youyu: "... There's no such option."

"Then I guess I'll have to pick science," Yan Zhusheng thought a moment and replied.

"What about Xinyan?"

"Me? I'll probably pick humanities."

"What about Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun?" Xu Youyu called toward the kitchen.

"Huh?"

"Class division in Gao Er—science or humanities?"

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"We'll decide later," Li Luo said calmly.

In his memory, their cohort had no science-humanities split anymore.

The college entrance exam reform had come down like a thunderclap—they were the first batch of guinea pigs.

When Jiangsu Province rolled out its "3+3" and "7 choose 3" policy, it threw every high school's previous plans into chaos.

Competition for the college entrance exam suddenly descended into utter mayhem.