Chapter 004: Basketball Game

Chen Xiao finally understood what was going on. It turned out that the government had introduced a new policy to improve the physical and mental qualities of current college students, so it decided to select freshmen from several key universities across the country for military-style training. As one of the first batch of key universities in the country, Jinghua University of Science was naturally included on the list. After Labor Day, the freshmen of Jinghua University of Science would join students from Jinghua University, Jinghua People’s University, and Jingbei University at a military base north of Jinghua City for a month-long military training program.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao was stunned. He wasn’t afraid of military training, but the problem was he didn’t have the time. The training was completely enclosed—during that period, he wouldn’t be able to leave the base at all, let alone do anything else. Right now, Chen Xiao earned his living expenses and even next year’s tuition by working part-time in his spare time. If he had to go through a month of military training after Labor Day, he would run out of money for living expenses.

“Damn it, this is too much!” Chen Xiao said with a gloomy face in the dormitory. “It seems I’ll have to cut back on expenses and save up for the next month.”

“Boss, how about this? I can lend you some money to use for now,” said Jiang Xianxiang, his roommate, smiling at Chen Xiao’s expression.

“No need,” Chen Xiao shook his head. “If there’s a first time, there’ll be a second. I don’t want to get into the habit of borrowing money. Don’t worry, I still have some assets—I’m not that poor.” He smiled at Jiang Xianxiang.

Jiang Xianxiang sighed. After living together for half a year, he had come to understand Chen Xiao’s personality.

“I’m mainly worried that if I skip a few weekends, the hotel where I work might fire me. After all, there are many college students looking for part-time jobs, but there aren’t enough positions,” Chen Xiao said helplessly.

“It’s okay, boss. Talk to them—they probably won’t be that harsh,” Liu Xu said, lifting his head and adjusting his glasses to comfort him.

“I hope so.”

Chen Xiao nodded.

In the following days, Chen Xiao’s life returned to its usual routine. The only difference was that whenever he had free time, he would focus his mind on communicating with the Water Heart in his chest, using its warm flow like water to strengthen his body and spirit. Over these days, his mental energy grew stronger.

However, in the eyes of his classmates, Chen Xiao seemed a bit strange these days. Ever since he skipped class for an entire morning, he became quiet and withdrawn. When idle, he would stare blankly, lost in thought. Even during classes, he often daydreamed.

But after being nourished by the Water Heart for a few days, Chen Xiao’s mental strength had improved significantly. Now, it no longer took any effort for him to create water balls the size of basketballs. More importantly, his physical condition—both in terms of strength, speed, and reaction time—was now much better than before, and his body had become extremely light.

“It’s Friday. I’m going to Liuyun Hotel tomorrow to ask the manager if I can take a few days off.” These past few days, Chen Xiao had also been worried about that fully enclosed, militarized training program—it meant losing a month’s worth of pay, including four weekends’ wages.
“What if I set up a small stall on the street and start a magic and trick show?”
While Chen Xiao was lost in his daydreams, Jiang Xianxiang entered the dormitory.
“Boss, I have something to discuss with you,” Jiang Xianxiang said.
“Hm?” Chen Xiao snapped out of his thoughts and asked, “What is it?”
“There’s a basketball game this afternoon against the e-commerce major. Wei Jie got injured and can’t play. A few guys in our class are thinking of having you play instead. What do you think?”
Jiang Xianxiang was tall and thin, and he was the main player on the school’s basketball team.
“Have me play? Are you kidding?” Chen Xiao looked into Jiang Xianxiang’s eyes, trying to spot any sign of humor.
“There’s no other choice. You’re the only one in the whole major with decent basketball skills. Please help us out—just playing to fill the roster will do. At least we shouldn’t lose too badly, right?”
Seeing Chen Xiao still hesitating, Jiang Xianxiang added, “It was Mengyao who suggested having you play. She’s the captain of the cheerleading team too. Don’t let her down.”
“Okay, I’ll go!”
At the mention of Qin Mengyao’s name, Chen Xiao immediately perked up.
“Yay! Boss, you really prefer girls over friends.” Jiang Xianxiang said with a sly smile.
“Shut up.” Chen Xiao realized he had overreacted and tried to cover up his embarrassment. His secret crush on Qin Mengyao was no longer a secret in the dormitory. The other three guys there often joked about it.
“Boss, since you like Mengyao, why don’t you pursue her? She’s still single. If someone else wins her over, I wonder what you’ll do.” Jiang Xianxiang spoke seriously.
“Sigh.” Chen Xiao sighed. “You all know what kind of person I am. I don’t have a car, a house, or money—I’m a complete pauper. How can I pursue her?”
“Boss, that’s not how it works.” Jiang Xianxiang said earnestly, “Love can’t be measured by money. If she really likes you, she won’t care about your financial situation.”
“The problem is I don’t even know if she likes me or not.” Chen Xiao smiled bitterly. “It’s nice to see her every day and see her smile. If she doesn’t like me and I blurt it out, it’ll be awkward next time we meet. Actually, it’s fine the way it is.”
Chen Xiao smiled.
“I don’t know what’s on your mind. If you like her, just go for it!” Jiang Xianxiang was completely defeated by Chen Xiao’s logic and rolled his eyes helplessly.
“By the way, Xiangzi, how many girlfriends have you had since you came to the university?” Chen Xiao asked in return.
“Not many, just five,” Jiang Xianxiang said proudly.
“Five in half a year? That’s not many…”
…
In the afternoon, after the last class, all the students from the three classes of business administration where Chen Xiao was enrolled gathered at the basketball court.
It was time for the game against the e-commerce major. Since the beginning of last semester, the business administration and e-commerce majors had become fierce rivals in basketball.

Over the past six months, the two majors have faced off in no fewer than ten matches. Yet in those dozen games, the Business Administration team only won three.
This time, since the department was holding a competition, the E-commerce major sought to practice against the Business Administration team to improve their teamwork.
“We must show them what we’re made of! Using us as practice targets? We’ll crush them!”
Some students from the Business Administration major shouted loudly. But among such a large group, there were hardly any who were good at basketball. Aside from Jiang Xianxiang from Class 1 and Li Weijie from Class 2, the rest were completely outmatched on the court.
Otherwise, if Li Weijie had been injured, it wouldn’t have been Chen Xiao, who could only dribble, shoot, and lay up, who would have had to play.
Chen Xiao’s skills were even worse than those of the players on the court.
With a few minutes left before the game started, Chen Xiao and the others were doing warm-up exercises on the sidelines.
“Chen Xiao, go for it! I’m rooting for you!”
Suddenly, a clear voice reached Chen Xiao’s ears. He looked up and saw Qin Mengyao waving a small fist at him. Her adorable appearance almost stole his heart.
Chen Xiao’s heart swelled violently, and his face turned slightly red. But the next moment, a cool stream of energy flowed from the Heart of Water in his chest, spreading throughout his body and instantly calming his emotions.
Chen Xiao took a deep breath and waved at Qin Mengyao, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll play my best!”
“Great! If we win this game, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight!” Qin Mengyao smiled.
Hearing this, Chen Xiao was stunned.
“Boss, this is your chance,” Jiang Xianxiang said cheerfully as he approached Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao turned around abruptly and shouted, “It’s a deal.”
“A deal, but only if you win the game,” Qin Mengyao said with a playful smile.
“That’s not fair! Not fair!” The other team members immediately complained, “Why should we only invite him if we win? What about us?”
“Go together! All of you!” Qin Mengyao smiled and said, “If you win, I’ll treat every member of our major to dinner at Renhe Xing Restaurant tonight!”
Hearing this, Chen Xiao’s head drooped.
“It seems I was overthinking it,” Chen Xiao said, shaking his head slightly. Though disappointed, he still smiled. “For you, I have to give it my all.”
“Boss, sorry about this,” Jiang Xianxiang said, patting Chen Xiao’s shoulder sympathetically.
After a while, when all the E-commerce team members arrived, the game began.