SSD 7. Let’s Play Basketball Together

The evening weather was mild. Not too hot, not too cold. As usual, Fang Ruihan had put on his running shoes for a night jog. When he passed by the bookstore just outside campus, he happened to spot He Jiang browsing through the shelves.

He stopped, a little surprised, and waved. “Hey. What a coincidence.”

He Jiang paused. He looked at Fang Ruihan, and for a moment, another face flashed through his mind. But he said nothing. He just gave a slight nod. “Yeah.”

“I run past here on my night jog,” Fang Ruihan glanced at the book in He Jiang’s hand. It looked like a philosophical analysis. “If you’re heading back soon, want to walk together?”

He Jiang put the book down and gave a faint smile. “No need. I’ve got plans later.”

Fang Ruihan thought about it, then nodded with some regret. He stepped out of the bookstore. “Alright. I’ll go run first then. See you next time.”

In truth, he had hoped to find a chance to chat a little longer. But He Jiang clearly wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

There was nothing he could do. Fang Ruihan gave He Jiang one last look as he turned away, then continued jogging into the night.

Fang Ruihan’s sudden appearance had left He Jiang a little unsettled. That sharp and stubborn figure kept circling through his mind, impossible to shake.

“Who cares if you live or die? I just want a one-on-one.” The person speaking looked both embarrassed and angry, clearly trying to provoke him. “What, you don’t have the guts to take the challenge?”

The more He Jiang thought about it, the more the corners of his mouth began to lift on their own. When he realized he was smiling like an idiot, he paused in surprise.

Then he gave a soft laugh and let out a quiet sigh.

He put away the books he probably wasn’t going to read and walked to the counter to check out. Just as he approached, something near the bookshelf caught his eye.

He stopped. A man was bending over, holding a book in one hand, while glancing around with a suspicious look on his face. His movements were nervous, almost jittery. He Jiang realized what was happening. The man grabbed several books in a hurry, tore the covers to damage the tracking tags, then slipped them into the oversized pocket of his coat. After that, he looked up and glanced toward the ceiling where the cameras were mounted.

He Jiang noticed that too. The man had positioned himself carefully. The angle of the surveillance camera could only catch his back. From a distance, it looked like he was just quietly browsing.

He Jiang paused. The man zipped up his pocket and started walking toward the exit, pretending nothing had happened. He Jiang couldn’t help but smile. Some people didn’t see small wrongs as wrong at all. They thought a few ordinary books didn’t matter.

Right as the man was about to step calmly through the front door, He Jiang turned to the clerk and said, “You might want to check that guy’s bag. If I’m not mistaken, there should be three hardback poetry books missing from the shelf.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough to be heard by the clerk and everyone near the entrance. The room fell still. The clerk froze. The man stiffened on the spot, then slowly turned, his face drained of color.

He Jiang stood with both hands in his pockets, staring at him. His eyes held a quiet pressure, something that could not be challenged. They said it all. You know what you did.

People nearby had started whispering. The man’s face flushed red with rage. He stormed over to He Jiang, only to realize he was noticeably shorter. The difference rattled him. He bit down on his lip but still barked out, “You think you can say that to me? You’re insulting me!”

He Jiang didn’t even get angry. He smiled, turned around with his books in hand, and walked away.

The man tried to follow and argue, but the clerk came up quickly and blocked his path. “Excuse me, sir. Our staff just checked the shelves. Three books are indeed missing from Section 10. Please open your coat pocket.”

The bookstore immediately erupted into laughter. The man’s face turned a blotchy mix of red and purple. His bloodshot eyes followed He Jiang as he walked off.

After leaving the store, He Jiang headed back to his rental place with the books in hand. He put on his headphones for the walk. Music filled his ears as his mind slowly emptied out. It was a rare moment of peace.

On the way back to campus from the bookstore, part of the road had been blocked off for construction. He Jiang rarely went out, so he wasn’t very familiar with the streets around the school. He pulled out his phone and followed the navigation.

But the farther he walked, the more it felt like he was moving away from the main road. He didn’t think much of it and kept following the route as the app directed.

This path was quiet and rarely used. Only a few streetlights stood scattered along the way, casting a faint glow. The people who came here were usually students out jogging at night or office workers walking their dogs after work.

As that thought crossed his mind, He Jiang seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure up ahead, jogging in circles along the road.

It might have been that basketball team captain, Fang Ruihan. If he had come looking for him, He Jiang could more or less guess the reason.

Just then, the music in his earphones came to an end, the sound fading out slowly. He reached out to switch tracks, but before he could, footsteps sounded beside him.

He hadn’t even turned his head when something struck the back of his neck with full force.

“Ugh—”

A sharp, burning pain exploded across his nape. He Jiang sucked in a breath and instinctively turned his body, dodging the second swing.

His breathing grew uneven. He steadied himself, then looked closely and saw that the person in front of him was the same man from the bookstore, the one he had exposed for stealing. He had followed him all this way?

“You little bastard…” The man’s eyes were bloodshot. He was gripping a stick or something like it, though it was hard to see clearly in the dark.

He Jiang pressed his palm to the back of his neck, quickly assessing the damage. Thankfully, there was no open wound and no serious injury. But for the next few days, he’d definitely be dealing with swelling and bruises.

The man lunged again. He Jiang’s eyes sharpened. He twisted his body to evade, then drove his elbow hard into the back of the man’s head. A muffled grunt escaped the man’s throat as his vision went white. He was close to passing out.

“Fuck!”

The failed ambush and sudden blow sent him over the edge. He raised the stick with both hands and swung it at He Jiang’s waist with wild force. He Jiang dodged just in time. The man followed up with another strike, nearly jabbing him in the stomach.

If it were a straight-up fight, this shorter man would never be a match. But the weapon in his hands changed the dynamic. The situation was turning dangerous.

He Jiang’s brow tightened, and his expression turned cold.

Just as the standoff dragged on, a deep voice suddenly rang out from the road nearby.

“He Jiang!”

He Jiang instinctively turned his head toward the sound. The man took that moment to swing the stick again, this time aiming directly for his skull.

Before He Jiang could turn back, a scream tore through the air.

“Aaah!”

Fang Ruihan had arrived just in time. He rushed forward and yanked the crying man up from the ground. He slammed him face-first against a nearby car and pinned his arms, locking him in place.

“Don’t move. I already called the police. You’re not going anywhere before they get here.”

He Jiang stared blankly at Fang Ruihan, who had dropped in out of nowhere, then looked down at the green stone that had fallen to the ground, along with the stick lying to the side. He immediately understood what had happened.

The word “police” set the thief off. He thrashed violently and kicked hard at Fang Ruihan’s leg. Fang Ruihan lost his footing for a second, and the man broke free.

“Stop!”

The thief reached down to grab the stick, but He Jiang stomped on his hand.

The man looked up and met He Jiang’s fierce gaze, like a dagger flashing with cold light. He Jiang twisted his shoe slightly. The thief let out a cry and writhed on the ground in pain. He reached out with his other hand to grab He Jiang’s leg, but Fang Ruihan came from behind and landed a heavy kick that sent him sprawling.

In the end, the thief was pinned to the ground by Fang Ruihan, face red and battered, still cursing and spitting filth through his teeth.

Once the adrenaline wore off, the pain crept slowly back up the back of his neck. He Jiang held his hand to it, then looked at Fang Ruihan and said sincerely, “Thanks.”

In the distance, the sound of police sirens had already begun to echo through the street. The thief gave up struggling, completely defeated. Fang Ruihan kept a knee pressed to the man’s back and turned to He Jiang with a quick smile.

“You’re my junior. And you’re also a teammate on our university basketball team. Of course I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

He Jiang gave a faint smile. “So you’re saying I don’t get to say no?”

“Are you asking the captain?” Fang Ruihan pretended to think. “The captain’s answer is yes.”

He Jiang smiled again. His expression gradually softened. After the laughter faded, silence settled in. He looked as though he was hesitating.

Fang Ruihan let out a quiet sigh and spoke more seriously. “You owe me one now. And a favor isn’t so easy to return. But even if we put that aside, it’s harder to lie to your own heart, isn’t it?”

When the police arrived, Fang Ruihan handed the thief over. Just before being taken aside to give a statement, he stood in front of He Jiang, looked him in the eye, and said earnestly:

“He Jiang, I don’t care what you’ve been through. The past is already written and can’t be changed. But from this moment on, as long as you want to, there are still endless possibilities. So now, as captain, and on behalf of the entire campus team, I’m officially inviting you—”

“He Jiang. Come play basketball with us.”

He Jiang froze for a moment.

Something in those words stirred a flood of memories. Scenes from the past flickered like a fast-forward reel, sharp and fleeting. A trace of bitterness rose in his chest.

Fang Ruihan had said the past was fixed. It couldn’t be changed. But from this moment forward, anything was still possible.

Had the muddled days of the past month really been what he wanted? Curtains always drawn, locked inside a rental room, playing video games, watching DVDs, day after day until he forgot the color of sunlight, the taste of sweat.

He thought of that one-on-one game with Xu Fanming. And he had to admit, it stirred something in him. Something he had pushed down for a long time.

It was desire. For basketball.

Xu Fanming on the court was full of life. Sharp, reckless, and bright. It was impossible not to be pulled in. And maybe it was that pull that had kept drawing He Jiang forward. The challenge, the teasing, the way he couldn’t help but get closer.

Join the campus team?

He already knew the answer. Didn’t he?