Chapter 41
The match resumed . It’s rhythm was still so fast that it made people unable to breathe easily . Nie Chuan’s nerves were like strings pulled taut .
Thomas had snatched the ball from Montenegro and passed it to Wright . Meanwhile, Nie Chuan followed Wright like a shadow and was constantly interfering with his dribbles .
When Wright did a behind the back dribble and turned in an attempt to throw Nie Chuan off, Nie Chuan pivoted and blocked in front of Wright once more . He had already adapted to Wright’s style of play, but Wright was no longer as bothered by Nie Chuan as before .
In that instant when he changed direction again, Nie Chuan suddenly took the ball away and rushed toward CBU’s basket .
But before he could bring the ball into the opponent’s area, the ball disappeared . Nie Chuan turned around only to see that Owen was already dribbling away from him .
There wasn’t any gorgeous technique whatsoever, nothing could describe it except for the word “fast,” so fast that Nie Chuan couldn’t even react .
Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, Nie Chuan was already fast enough . However, when compared to Owen, the disparity was very obvious .
DK returned to defence again . Nie Chuan followed closely behind Owen while Reece had already arrived in front of Owen .
When Owen confronted Reece, the corner of his lips pulled into a smile . All of a sudden, he stopped and fiercely threw the ball behind him .
That pass was extremely fast as it hurtled in Nie Chuan’s direction .
In Nie Chuan’s eyes, it was like a burning meteor . There was no doubt that it would smash his head open .
Subconsciously, as was the body’s natural response, Nie Chuan leaned his head to the side and even raised his hands to protect himself . The ball barely missed his cheek as it flew by before it was steadily caught by Thomas who ran past .
As Thomas dribbled up for a lay up, Carlo shouted, “Allen——”
Nie Chuan wanted to go forward but Owen turned around and blocked in front of him . Reece went to intercept Thomas but was a step too late, Thomas had already shot the ball smoothly into the basket .
“How do you feel? Kid?”
Owen tilted his head and smiled at him but Nie Chuan saw a strong killing intent in his eyes .
A burning pain in his cheeks made Nie Chuan lift a hand to cover it .
“Actually, I had wanted to smash your head open . ”
Nie Chuan’s fingers trembled . Sure enough, that feeling had been real……
Suddenly, Nie Chuan hiccuped again .
Just when he hiccuped, Owen received the ball again and bypassed Nie Chuan . His movements were like walking on the moon, incomparably natural and unrestrained .
“Don’t give up!” Ewing shouted .
Nie Chuan sobered up and chased after him .
As if waiting for Nie Chuan to overtake him, Owen took a step back and stood outside the three point line .
Nie Chuan observed, Carlo was defending Thomas while Ewing was occupying Wright’s favorable position . Owen couldn’t pass the ball, he really wanted to get this three pointer!
Disregarding everything, Nie Chuan jumped to block the ball, behind Owen was the figure of Reece who was rapidly closing in .
I can block it!
I can block it!
The height of Nie Chuan’s jump made Owen slightly absentminded but he still smiled .
It was a backhanded jump shot . Owen’s posture in midair gave off a harmonious and aesthetic feeling . The ball went over Nie Chuan’s fingertips .
“Djcu——”
Ykfc’r olcufgr wjvf j rtbbalcu wbalbc, qblcalcu yfakffc Rlf Jtejc’r ygbkr .
Ktf rbecv bo atf yjii fcafglcu atf yjrxfa mjwf ogbw yftlcv Rlf Jtejc .
Ykfc vlvc’a ibrf tlr yjijcmf jr tlr gluta obba wbnfv yjmxkjgvr ab qgbq eq tlr ybvs ktfc tf ofii .
Rlf Jtejc rkjiibkfv . Lf mifjgis aglfv tlr yfra, tf mifjgis pewqfv tlutfg atjc ereji rb kts kjr tf ralii ecjyif ab yibmx la?
“You did well, you were just a bit short,” Reece stood behind him and said .
Nie Chuan hiccuped again .
In the next round of offense, Reece wanted to cut between Owen and Nie Chuan but was restrained by Thomas . It was as if CBU was intent on making Nie Chuan face Owen .
Owen broke through Montenegro and dunked fiercely . The ball ricocheted off the ground and shot at Nie Chuan like a rocket . Nie Chuan didn’t even have the time to step back .
“Ah!” Nie Chuan held the side of his waist . It was so painful that he sat down on the ground .
His stomach *churned and he almost threw up .
(tn: 翻江倒海 – literally “overturning seas and rivers” )
“Allen!” Ewing hurried over to take a look .
Carlo grabbed Owen’s shirt collar and said angrily, “You did that on purpose didn’t you! Are you done yet?”
Owen indifferently brushed off Carlo’s hand and smiled in a very gentlemanly manner . “You’re blaming me because I can’t help the ball hitting the ground?”
“You……”
“Carlo, let go of him . ” Reece came over and glanced at Owen .
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As soon as Nie Chuan got pulled up by Ewing, he hiccuped again .
“You’re still hiccuping?” Ewing patted him on the back .
Nie Chuan gave an ugly smile .
“Does it hurt? If it hurts then take a break?”
This time it was Reece who spoke, “Peter, substitute Nie Chuan . ”
Peter, who finally got a chance to play, nodded very seriously .
Nie Chuan returned to the bench while holding his stomach . There, Zack handed him a towel and water .
“Thanks . ”
“You’re welcome . But Allen, you’re really very good . Not many people can do what you did when facing Owen . ”
“En . ”
Is everyone comforting him?
Nie Chuan’s fingers which were clutching his water bottle were shaking . Only he knew the pressure that Owen brought upon him . It felt as if he could never surpass him no matter what .
If this wasn’t a practice match but an official one, Nie Chuan had no doubt that he would have been taken off the court . Owen wouldn’t have let him stay until the end .
Nie Chuan knew that even if he went back onto the court he would keep getting targeted by Owen and the only result would be getting butchered .
He wasn’t in the mood to continue watching the game because from beginning to end, his mind was replaying Owen’s every movement when bypassing opponents, his every pass, and his every dunk . It was as if all of this had just been to make him feel so defeated that he was too ashamed to show his face .
The first half was finally over .
Carlo and the others walked over .
“Allen, you good?” Carlo pressed Nie Chuan’s shoulder .
“He keeps hiccuping! It’s that Owen who’s no good! He scared Allen in the beginning then took advantage of Allen when he was hiccuping to break through his defense! Really despicable,” Ewing said indignantly .
Nie Chuan really wanted to say “thank you” to Ewing for finding so many reasons for his failure .
Regardless of whether he was hiccuping or not, his skill just wasn’t as good as the other’s .
That was a guy who was on the same level as Reece ah . In front of him, he was just like a cockroach that can be flattened under the soles of his shoe at any time .
“It’s said that scaring someone can cure hiccups! I’ll scare you!”
As soon as Carlo finished his words, he abruptly yanked Nie Chuan’s collar and threw another punch at Nie Chuan’s face .
“Carlo——” Ewing got so scared that his heart almost jumped out .
Nie Chuan closed his eyes and turned away and, like before, Carlo’s fist stopped at the tip of his nose .
“What are you doing! You idiot!” Ewing came forward and pushed Carlo away .
Nie Chuan hiccuped again .
“Eh? No use? Didn’t they say that scaring someone will stop hiccups?” Carlo had a puzzled expression .
“How can it be useful? If it was, then Allen wouldn’t be hiccuping after getting hit by the ball . ” Toward Carlo, Montenegro was also helpless .
At this time, Nie Chuan felt a force pull him up . As soon as he looked up, he met Reece’s eyes .
“Reece……”
“Follow me,” Reece’s voice was pressed very low .
“Hey, Reece! Where are you taking Allen?” Ewing called out worriedly .
“Bathroom . ”
“Reece…… wouldn’t do anything to Allen, right?” Ewing asked worriedly .
“He won’t . Allen has always been looked after by Reece so Reece would know his technical characteristics and his mental state the best . Wait for them to come back, Allen will definitely be back to normal,” Montenegro patted Ewing on the shoulder .
Owen was looking up from his water at this time .
Wright sighed, “Ah…… getting hit by that ball must have hurt, right? Does he need to go to the hospital?”
Owen raised his brow and asked jokingly, “What? You’re sympathizing with him?”
Wright closed his eyes and said, “If I say so myself, I think you’re letting him off easy?”
“How much harder do I need to be? You want me to make him suffer a broken bone?” Owen said in a half joking manner .
“His self-esteem should have already been crushed by you right?” Wright shrugged . “When he jumped at that time, I really thought he would block your backhand shot . ”
“How is that possible?” Owen laughed .
“Maybe next time . ”
Nie Chuan, who was being dragged along by Reece, was completely unable to keep up with his pace . As Reece strode forward with large steps, Nie Chuan was practically jogging to keep up with him .
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“Reece! What’s the matter with you?”
Nie Chuan felt apprehension from the bottom of his heart . He knew that the numerous times he let Owen break through his defense can really make people irritated but…… his ability is limited ah! He had just learned how to walk, they can’t just immediately ask him to jump!
When they arrived in the bathroom, Reece opened a cubicle and pushed him in .
Nie Chuan fell onto the toilet bowl and looked up at Reece in alarm .
This was the first time he saw Reece like this . He was like a mountain peak on the verge of collapsing that could crush him at any time .
“That…… that……”
Reece leaned down and both of his hands brushed past Nie Chuan’s ears to prop himself up against the wall behind him . His gaze fell down on him from above, making Nie Chuan almost unable to bear it .
“I ask you, are you afraid of me?”
Huh? What kind of strange question was this?
But Reece’s eyes were incomparably serious .
“Answer me, are you afraid of me?”
Nie Chuan swallowed and was about to lower his head when Reece used a commanding tone to say, “Don’t bow your head, look at me and tell me the truth . ”
“…… I used to be very scared…… Now……”
“How about now?”
Reece’s face was very close and Nie Chuan felt his own thoughts seemed to enter through the other’s eyes and began to fidget .
“Now I’m not scared . ”
“Then who do you think is better, Owen or me?”
“Ah?” Nie Chuan couldn’t understand why Reece was asking this .
“Tell the truth . If I’m better then I’m better . If he’s better then he’s better . ”
Nie Chuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and closed his eyes and considered it very seriously .
The first time Reece dunked in front of him appeared in his mind .
Then there was his figure agilely dribbling past him every time he accompanied him for practice .
As well as his double clutch layup when he faced Raven .
“I think you’re better,” Nie Chuan answered .
He had no doubt whatsoever about this answer .
“If you’re not even afraid of me then why should you be afraid of Owen?”
Reece’s words stunned Nie Chuan .
Yeah, why should he be afraid of Owen?
Because of self-esteem? He would face and lose to Reece everyday . Even if it was Owen, if he passed him then he passed him . In any case, he won’t be the first person that he’s passed . His self-esteem could have long been thrown to the back of his head .
Scared of getting injured by his skill with the ball? What’s the big deal? He already got a nosebleed from getting hit by Carlo’s slam dunk!
To be able to play against a strong opponent other than Reece, this is a really rare opportunity!
Thinking about how naturally his Euro step integrated his speed and changes in direction, the combination between man and ball had already reached another level ah!
As well as his backhand shot, that angle was simply incredible .
These brilliant plays that he was previously only able to see in an NBA match but was able to experience for himself…… why should he be afraid?
Nie Chuan opened his mouth and was about to say something when he hiccuped again .
Ah! So humiliating ah!
Suddenly, Reece leaned over and pressed his lips on Nie Chuan’s .
Nie Chuan leaned back in shock and almost lost his balance . Fortunately, Reece’s right hand supported the back of his neck otherwise he really would have fallen onto the water tank!
Before Nie Chuan could register what just happened, the tip of Reece’s tongue imposingly squeezed in .
It was an extremely wanton and frantic kiss that turned Nie Chuan’s thoughts upside down .
Reece’s warmth and strength all poured into Nie Chuan’s body .
He had no choice but to raise his head in order to bear Reece’s bone-crushing kiss .
He tilted his head slightly and changed the angle of the kiss, Nie Chuan’s shoulders tensed . He only slightly turned his face to change to another angle and Nie Chuan’s shoulders trembled .
This kind of Reece was just like a tyrant, as if he wanted to sentence Nie Chuan to death by a thousand kisses .
Nie Chuan raised a hand and forcefully tried to push Reece away by the shoulder .
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However, the other only sucked even harder and grabbed the back of his head to bring him out of his sitting position .
Nie Chuan’s legs had gone so soft that he couldn’t stand up straight but Reece easily lifted him up and pressed him into his arms .
He didn’t even know how long this kiss lasted . Just when Nie Chuan was feeling as if he was almost unable to breathe, the other suddenly withdrew from his lips . As soon as he let go, Nie Chuan stumbled back .
He looked at Reece dazedly with wide eyes .
This is…… what is he doing?
The entire stall was deathly quiet .
Reece just stood there while looking at Nie Chuan .
“Still hiccuping?”
After a long time, Reece finally asked .
“Ah? What?”
“I asked you, are you still hiccuping?” Reece raised his chin .
Nie Chuan suddenly reacted as his entire face flushed . “Hey! Did you get it wrong? You kissed me just to stop me from hiccuping?”
“Yes,” Reece answered as if it was a matter of course .
“You put your tongue in again! You put it in again!” Nie Chuan tightly clenched his fists .
He was just about to swing his fist when his wrist was steadily detained by Reece .
Reece raised an eyebrow, “It seems like you’re getting more and more confident in yourself, to actually swing your fist at me?”
Nie Chuan’s anger, which had surged to his head, instantly died down .
But he was really angry ah! Really super angry ah!
That was his…… alright, it already wasn’t his first kiss……
Last time in the library, Reece had claimed that he was returning Celine’s kiss to him and this time in the bathroom, he once again did…… that…… that something!
“You…… wouldn’t be……"
A ridiculous idea suddenly crossed Nie Chuan’s mind .
“Wouldn’t be what?” Reece asked coldly .
Nie Chuan extended his hand in front of Reece and bent his finger, “You wouldn’t be bent would you?”
Reece looked at Nie Chuan, the depths of his eyes frigid and Nie Chuan’s hair immediately stood on end .
Then, Nie Chuan regretted it .
What nonsense are you saying!
Even if others haven’t experienced it for themselves, does that mean the things he’s experienced are little? He knew that hidden beneath Reece’s serious demeanor was a rotten nature .
Sure enough, Reece’s eyebrow slowly rose, the smile on his lips was enough to captivate all the women in the world who weren’t blind .
The tip of his nose was less than a centimeter away from Nie Chuan’s . When he inclined his face, it was as if he was going to kiss him again .
Nie Chuan’s heart jumped .
“What do you say, idiot?”
When he finished, Reece straightened up, opened the door and walked out with his hands in his pockets .
Nie Chuan remained sitting in place and almost pulled at his own hair .
My god! What did you say just now, Nie Chuan?
This was more humiliating than getting a nosebleed from getting hit by a basketball ah!
“Hey, what are you doing still sitting there? Constipation?” Reece tilted his head and his sharp gaze swept over .
Nie Chuan hurriedly got up and followed behind him in leaving the restroom .
As soon as Ewing saw Nie Chuan, he ran over . “Allen! Allen, are you okay?”
“I’m fine . Haha……”
Seeing Nie Chuan’s silly smile, Ewing breathed a sigh of relief .
“That’s good . We’ll get those points back in the second half . ”
“En, I’ll try my best . ”
As soon as Nie Chuan looked up, he saw Owen opposite him on the basketball court .
Owen was swirling the bottle of mineral water in his hand like it was a glass of wine . He gave Nie Chuan a very graceful smile, as if he had no firepower and the one who had forced Nie Chuan into despair on the court just now wasn’t him .
At the thought of the ball that had hit him in the stomach, Nie Chuan was a little angry all of a sudden . What if he had thrown up all the chocolate that he ate this morning? What a huge waste!
Nie Chuan mouthed at Owen: “Go to hell . ”
Owen only understood what Nie Chuan had mouthed a couple seconds later . He froze for a moment before immediately revealing a playful smile .
“Owen, what are you smiling about?” Thomas asked .
“En, I just suddenly thought that that little guy is pretty cute . ”
“Ah…… then he’s finished . The more you feel something is cute, the more you want to destroy it . ” Inwardly, Wright lit a candle for Nie Chuan .
The second half began .
Wright launched a quick attack and rushed in front of Nie Chuan . The two people confronted each other once again . When Wright couldn’t fool Nie Chuan after two consecutive probes, he simply passed the ball to Owen . However, he didn’t expect Nie Chuan to suddenly jump and intercept the ball from right in front of Owen .
“Oh——”
The spectators let out a sigh . None of them expected Nie Chuan to unexpectedly have such a quick reaction .
Nie Chuan madly ran with the ball, intent on bringing the ball past half the court this time no matter what .
He knew that ahead of him were Carlo and Montenegro while Ewing was behind him and Reece was on the left . He still had a lot of options .
However, Owen already caught up and was back at the three point line .
Nie Chuan was about to pass the ball when he heard Reece’s shout, “Pass him! Nie Chuan!”
Nie Chuan’s heart jolted, he didn’t even have time to think more .
Owen smiled .
He didn’t know whether Reece overestimated Nie Chuan or underestimated himself .
Nie Chuan didn’t show the slightest sign of slowing down .
Owen had watched Nie Cuan play for ten or so minutes so he knew how good Nie Chuan was at suddenly stopping as well as his control of space for break through . He was already preparing to act the moment Nie Chuan stopped . However, Nie Chuan didn’t slow down even when he was about to run into him . His arm lifted the ball upwards in front of Owen and then, with the elbow as the axis, he pivoted . As he evaded Owen’s hand, his body launched forward and made an extremely exaggerated change of direction . If it had been an ordinary person, they would have already fallen but Nie Chuan had passed Owen with ease .
His figure was very fast, like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings as he suddenly took off and made a layup .
It was the Euro step that Owen had used to bypass Nie Chuan in the first half!
But this wasn’t the end .
Owen quickly turned and leaped up explosively .
Montenegro and Carlo rushed forward to provide support because Nie Chuan’s layup was 100% going to be blocked by Owen .
However, Nie Chuan retracted the ball in midair and passed it to Reece from under Owen’s armpit .
Reece jumped in place and scored .
Everyone was stunned .
Nie Chuan let out a long breath .
He almost felt as if he was dreaming .
He and Reece had practiced so many times but it had never been like that just now……
My god! What did he just do ah!
“Allen…… you’re so awesome……” Ewing said foolishly .
Nie Chuan looked in Reece’s direction, Reece was speaking to Owen, “Yǐ bǐ zhī dào huán shī bǐ shēn, this is what the Chinese often say . ”
[tn: 以彼之道還施彼身 means to use an opponent’s method against them]
“…… How interesting……”
Owen looked at Nie Chuan’s profile .
“Owen…… I didn’t expect this guy to be this good at Euro steps . How annoying, why didn’t I see him use it against me in the first half? Is he looking down on me?” Wright said with a bit of anger .
“He just learned it . ” Owen replied with a smile .
“What do you mean he just learned it?”
“He learned it from me . ”
“Is that so……” Looking at Nie Chuan’s back, Wright suddenly felt that this guy’s ability to imitate was a bit too terrible ba .
Owen walked past Nie Chuan and said with a smile, “You need to pay a price for stealing from me . ”
Nie Chuan glanced at Owen but he completely didn’t pay him any mind as he ran away .
In the following rounds of offense, Nie Chuan broke through the defence of several CBU players with the ball but as soon as he faced Owen, the ball would get intercepted by the other . Owen’s jump shot would then get blocked by Reece . Like this, the two teams alternated between offense and defense . On this side, Owen would have just scored through a slam dunk but in less than five seconds Reece would recover the lost points .
The spectators watching outside the court were overwhelmed .
This was the first time Nie Chuan experienced such a high intensity game . If it wasn’t for the training that Reece had put him through during this period of time, it would have already been game over for him .
Nie Chuan once again intercepted the ball from the other team’s power forward . As soon as he turned around, he faced Owen who looked at him with a light smile . When Nie Chuan was attacked this time, Owen was in front while the opposing team’s power forward was behind .
Kid, let’s see what you do this time .