SSD 34. Can’t Escape

It was a kiss that began as a gentle probe and quickly turned into something burning hot.

Unlike their first brief and innocent touch, this time, with Xu Fanming fully awake, He Jiang went all in and tasted everything he could get his hands on.

He sucked on Xu Fanming’s lips and gently pried his teeth open, tasting the warmth and wet salt between them. The flavor lingered on his tongue and slowly sank into his chest, setting his whole body ablaze.

He Jiang’s kissing skills were more than enough to overwhelm someone like Xu Fanming, who was a complete blank slate. Xu Fanming stood frozen like a stunned rabbit, absolutely still and completely dumbfounded. He Jiang wrapped him in his arms, teasing, licking, kissing, biting. He kept going until Xu Fanming’s waist began to give out and his breathing turned ragged.

A thick wave of sweetness wrapped around his chest. Hearing Xu Fanming’s breath grow unsteady only fueled He Jiang’s excitement. He slid his hand to his waist, pulled him in, and pressed him up against the wall.

Xu Fanming punched him.

It happened so fast He Jiang couldn’t even remember how he had been shoved away. Xu Fanming’s face was flushed with fury and shock. His lips were still shining, slick with lingering wetness, giving his stunned expression a hazy kind of intimacy.

He Jiang nearly lost his footing, staggering back and sucking in a sharp breath from the blow. As he managed to steady himself, he looked up and saw Xu Fanming’s face flickering between red and pale, his hands scrubbing hard at his mouth, eyes wide with disbelief.

“You—? You, you—”

Xu Fanming kept saying “you” over and over but couldn’t seem to finish a single sentence, looking like a small animal caught off guard and terrified.

He Jiang took a breath and forced a smile, one hand still pressed to his stomach. Just as he was about to say something, Xu Fanming suddenly stumbled back. His retreat was so abrupt he nearly lost his footing.

He Jiang froze, instinctively reaching out to steady him. But Xu Fanming jerked upright like he had been shocked, then turned and bolted out of the gym without looking back.

For the next few days, He Jiang didn’t see a trace of him. Xu Fanming stopped going to class. When He Jiang went to the dorm to look for him, only the roommate came to the door.

Even during routine basketball practice, the moment Xu Fanming caught sight of him, he would go pale and hurry away like he was running for his life.

The avoidance didn’t stop there. During team scrimmages, Xu Fanming would suddenly walk over and join Zhu Xuyao’s group, prompting Zhu to shout in delight, “Fan Dad is spoiling me today!” In reality, Xu Fanming just wanted to stay as far away from He Jiang as possible. Not even a single step closer if he could help it.

When everyone was planning to go out for a meal, Xu Fanming would suddenly excuse himself to use the bathroom, and then disappear entirely.

Another time, just as He Jiang was about to walk over and try talking to him, Zhu Xuyao suddenly jumped in with an awkward smile and said, “Sorry, God He. Fanfan’s got a visitor today. Let’s prioritize peace, yeah?” It was obvious Xu Fanming had put him up to it, using Zhu Xuyao as a human shield.

After seeing him dodge again and again, He Jiang’s patience finally wore thin.

He watched as Xu Fanming grew more distant from him, yet kept getting closer to Zhu Xuyao, and he could not explain the annoyance building inside.

Xu Fanming, on the other hand, was equally frustrated.

He Jiang’s move that day had really startled him. He turned it over in his head for ages but still could not come up with a reasonable explanation. He had no idea how to deal with it, so he chose the easiest route: avoidance. If he saw He Jiang, he would walk the other way. He refused to look at him even once.

But the more he avoided it, the more the issue snowballed.

Today, Captain Fang Ruihan called for a routine team meeting to review the last match and lay the groundwork for the next one. Because of how important the meeting was, everyone had to attend. No exceptions.

That meant Xu Fanming and He Jiang both had to show up and sit quietly with the rest of the team. Zhu Xuyao sat between them.

Unfortunately, that meant everyone nearby had to suffer along with them. If the cold air coming off the two of them wasn’t enough, the low-pressure front they created was practically a tornado. The rest of the team looked on in silent despair. Gods were impossible to understand. If they weren’t playing basketball, they were fighting.

One by one, all the sympathetic glances shifted to Zhu Xuyao, who sat squarely in the middle. Getting caught in the crossfire clearly wasn’t easy. Yao ge you have our respect.

Zhu Xuyao: ?

Captain Fang Ruihan had no time to worry about the silent tension simmering below the surface. Once the meeting began, he immediately laid out each player’s data from the last game, including assists, rebounds, three-pointers, free throws, points scored, and turnovers. This was a standard procedure after every official match. The stat rankings not only highlighted each player’s strengths and weaknesses but also offered a clear picture of their role and standing within the team.

“Overall, everyone did pretty well last game,” Fang Ruihan said in summary. “He Jiang had the highest average points and the strongest rebound numbers. Wen Qin’s three-pointers and Zhu Xuyao’s assists were solid. Keep that up. Xu Fanming’s turnover rate was a bit high, so that needs work.”

Looking at the data, Qinghuo’s lineup had already started to show the early outlines of a cohesive formation.

At the top of the chart, He Jiang was the undisputed all-around player. Next was Fang Ruihan himself. As the team’s point guard, he had the lowest turnover rate and well-rounded performance in rebounds, assists, and offense. Following him was Zhu Xuyao, who had played a steady game and proved to be a balanced contributor. After that came Xu Fanming. His performance had been tight and constrained throughout the match. He was blocked, then counter-blocked. His turnover rate was the highest, and his total score was second to last. At the bottom of the list was Wen Qin, the team’s newest player. While he had strong long-range shooting, he was lacking in most other areas.

“In short, this match showed us our strengths, but also what we need to improve.” Fang Ruihan led a round of applause. “But we still won our first official match, and that’s something worth celebrating.”

After everyone clapped, Fang Ruihan’s expression turned serious again.

“I think you all know what’s coming. That’s right. Our next game… we’ll be facing an old rival.”

From the back of the group, Wen Qin murmured, “Yangsheng.”

Fang Ruihan glanced at him, then turned to the rest of the team and gave a faint smile.

“That’s right.” Fang Ruihan lifted his head and looked toward the game schedule written on the board. “The next match is tentatively set for two weeks from now. This time, we’ll be playing on our home court.”

A home game meant the team would have the mental comfort of familiar surroundings. The players exchanged glances, and in that moment, their confidence to win became even more resolute.

They had already lost to Yangsheng once. This time, they would not let luck favor their opponents again.

They would grow stronger with every match.

Fang Ruihan observed his teammates’ reactions and smiled with satisfaction. It was true that the outcome of the first game had a major impact on morale. In this year’s provincial championship, they had already taken the first step by defeating Shuanglan. The second step needed to be even steadier.

In his mind, the face of the white-clad number 9 resurfaced once again. Yangsheng’s devil of a shooting guard, a near-all-rounder with genius-level talent.

No one could say what kind of sparks would fly this time between Qinghuo and Yangsheng.

“We’ve already seen what Yangsheng is capable of during our practice match,” Fang Ruihan said, raising his voice with a serious tone. “Back then, we lost by a narrow margin. But let me remind everyone, a practice match is just a practice match. Once we step onto the court for a real game, it becomes an entirely different battle. No one can afford to be careless. We need to give it everything we’ve got.”

Perhaps their opponents had only shown half their strength in the previous match. Or perhaps they had grown even stronger since then. No one could predict what the real game would look like until the day arrived.

The teammates began mentally preparing themselves, cheering each other on in low voices. It was then that Pan Yuan walked over with the game schedule in hand.

“I took a look at the bracket,” she said. “Next week, Yangsheng has a game against Liren High. The match after that… will be ours.”

A match between Yangsheng and another campus? That instantly drew everyone’s attention.

“If you’re curious,” Pan Yuan added with a smile, “you can go watch it yourselves. The game will be held at Yangsheng’s gym, the same place where we played our practice match.”

Same venue, same opponent. The only difference was that this time, another team would be standing where they once stood. No one could say who would come out on top now.

Before the meeting ended, Zhu Xuyao eagerly made his way over to Pan Yuan. His eyes sparkled as if he had something to say.

Pan Yuan, of course, knew exactly what he was up to. She let out a soft laugh. “You played pretty well this game.”

“Feels like I’m getting my touch back,” Zhu Xuyao said, cheeks flushing as he scratched his head. “But I’ve only shown about fifty percent of my real strength so far.”

“Is that so?” Pan Yuan smiled and took a couple of steps forward. Zhu Xuyao immediately followed. He opened his mouth several times but could not seem to get the words out. After hesitating for a while, he finally blurted, “Yuan Yuan, do you want something to drink? I can go buy it for you.”

If Xu Fanming had been there to see this, he probably would have called him a bootlicker again. But Zhu Xuyao could not help it. In the face of love, who wasn’t just a humble simp?

No, absolutely not. He wasn’t some pitiful lapdog. Pan Yuan was a wonderful girl, and if liking her made him one, then he was willing to be a happy fool for her.

Pan Yuan looked at him, then shook her head with a smile and said, “No need. If you have something to say, just say it.”

And he really did.

The truth was, Zhu Xuyao had wanted to ask Pan Yuan out to a movie for weeks. A new French film had just been released. It was supposed to be a romance, and the reviews were great. He imagined them watching it together, then heading to a cozy little restaurant for dinner, and finally walking her back to her dorm under the evening sky. What a perfect day that would be.

But he had never managed to bring it up. Day after day, he kept putting it off, as if there was a walnut stuck in his throat. And just like that, the movie was nearly at the end of its run.

Zhu Xuyao had never said anything out loud, but his feelings for Pan Yuan were probably obvious to everyone on the team by now. What he didn’t know was what Pan Yuan thought of him. How did she see him? Would she say yes if he asked? Deep down, he wasn’t confident at all.

But now that he had come this far, backing down would be embarrassing. He gritted his teeth, his face flushing red from nerves, and blinked anxiously at Pan Yuan before asking, “Yuan Yuan, there’s this new French film out. Do you want to maybe…”

Pan Yuan thought for a moment. “Hasn’t that film been out for almost a month already?”

“Ahem.” Zhu Xuyao quickly looked away. No way he could admit he had been thinking about asking her since the day it released.

Pan Yuan smiled at him, then stuffed the schedule sheet into his arms.

“After the next game, if you manage to show at least eighty percent of your real ability, I’ll go watch it with you. As long as it’s still playing.”

Zhu Xuyao’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Yes!”

After chatting for a while, the two of them left together.

By then, most of the team had already packed up and gone. Xu Fanming and Wen Qin remained behind to clean the court, since it was their turn. As Xu Fanming collected the balls and mopped the floor, He Jiang stood in the corner, watching him with laser focus.

Xu Fanming felt a chill crawl down his spine and silently quickened his pace.

Just then, a calm voice echoed through the gym. “Wen Qin, I’ll take over from here. You go on and get some rest.”

Wen Qin paused, gripping the broom tightly as he glanced uncertainly at Xu Fanming. But He Jiang was firm, leaving him no room to argue. “It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Xu Fanming’s face turned pale on the spot. He cursed He Jiang silently for being shameless. Meanwhile, He Jiang had already walked Wen Qin to the door, personally seeing him off as the other turned back every few steps with clear reluctance.

Now, the gym was silent again.

Only the two of them remained.