SSD 18. A History of Crushing Defeats

At seven in the evening, He Jiang returned to his rented apartment. He opened a kitchen cabinet, pulled out a pack of instant noodles, and dumped it into a pot to boil. Ten minutes later, he sat down at the table with a steaming bowl of vegetable and egg noodles.

Just as he picked up his chopsticks to take a bite, he noticed something sitting in the corner of the table. A black wallet and a blue cafeteria card. He paused for a moment, then remembered. It was the wallet and meal card Xu Fanming had left behind after he and Wen Qin got caught up in a heated match. He had gone back to the dorms so fast, he’d forgotten to grab them.

He Jiang curved his lips into a smile.

The scene from earlier was still fresh in his mind. Xu Fanming and Wen Qin going head-to-head on the court, playing for over two hours straight. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, and the air was starting to cool. Xu Fanming had gotten so thirsty by the end of it, he asked He Jiang to go buy him a bottle of water.

He Jiang couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. He had been standing there for hours, hauling their stuff around without a word of complaint, and now the guy was treating him like a delivery boy. Did he even have a shred of dignity left?

But of course, he had gone anyway. When he came back with two bottles of Baishui Mountain, he hooked his arm around the little raptor’s neck from behind and blew a breath right next to his ear. “Fan-daddy, why don’t you teach me how to play too?”

Xu Fanming reacted like a lit firecracker, instantly exploding. The moment He Jiang wrapped an arm around his neck, he broke free and shot him a glare full of disgust. “Where’d this dumb mutt come from? My personal coaching doesn’t come that easy, you know.”

He Jiang gave it serious thought. “The dense cheesecake from Starbucks is pretty good. Would that buy me a session with Coach Fan?”

Xu Fanming gave it equal consideration. “Your brain’s messed up.”

He lost all interest in talking to He Jiang. He went right back to playing with Wen Qin for another half hour.

Now that he looked at the wallet and card sitting there, He Jiang figured it was probably too late to bring them over. Xu Fanming had been dragged around the gym all morning, then ran around the court all afternoon. He was definitely passed out by now.

So he decided to hold onto the little raptor’s wallet for now and give it back another day.

He Jiang cleaned up his dishes and was just about to turn on the TV and watch a DVD when his phone suddenly started buzzing on the coffee table. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

“Hello?” He answered the call. “Mom?”

“I’m going on a business trip to your city next week. Thought I’d stop by and see you while I’m there.” His mother’s voice came through flat and measured, more like a formal notice. “I brought some gifts. You can share them with your classmates.”

She had mentioned this during their last phone call, and He Jiang vaguely remembered it. He made a small sound of acknowledgment.

“Alright. Do you want me to pick you up at the airport?”

“No need. I’ll be arriving a few days early to attend a few meetings. Once those are over, I’ll come find you.”

Work first, son second. He Jiang nodded to himself without much thought. His mother had always put her job above everything else. He was used to it by now.

She was probably bringing some kind of regional snacks this time. He Jiang didn’t care much for sweets, but he figured he could give them to Xu Fanming to snack on. He had just agreed when it hit him. That was the same day as their first match against Shuanglan.

“Mom…” He Jiang hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’ve got a game that day.”

“A game? What kind of game?”

“A basketball game,” He Jiang cleared his throat. “It’s a campus match.”

“I see.”

Her response was calm. After thinking for a moment, she added, “I have a few free hours that afternoon. I’ll come and watch your game.”

He Jiang froze. He hadn’t expected that at all.

He hadn’t expected his mother to suddenly say she wanted to watch his game. Wasn’t she always indifferent when it came to him playing basketball? Why was she suddenly so interested now?

“But—” He Jiang found himself struggling for words. “The game’s being held at another school. It’s kind of out of the way.”

“That’s fine. I rented a car. I’ll just drive there.”

He Jiang blinked. The words swirled in his throat, but in the end, he swallowed them back down. “…Alright.”

Whatever her reason was for insisting on coming, just the thought of her standing on the sidelines watching him dribble and shoot made He Jiang’s whole body tense up. His mind started to feel scrambled.

When was the last time his mom came to see him play? A year ago? Two? He had played in plenty of official matches during high school, but the only one who ever showed up to cheer for him had been the housekeeper. His mother knew he liked basketball, but she had only ever seen him play by chance, usually when she happened to be at school for something else.

So for her to suddenly say she wanted to come to his game now, He Jiang was genuinely caught off guard. He sat there holding his phone for a long time before his thoughts slowly returned to him.

---

The tournament was getting closer, and everyone was pushing harder than ever. Training sessions on the court were becoming more frequent and intense.

That day, they were back at the campus gym for routine team practice. Around a dozen starters and bench players were running drills in groups. Everyone was fully focused. The official match was coming next week, and today might be the last full team practice.

Xu Fanming felt like his shooting form had been sharp lately. He figured it probably had something to do with a certain someone.

For the past few days, He Jiang had been dragging Xu Fanming to the gym at every opportunity, calling it “special training.” After working up a sweat lifting weights, the two of them would shower and head straight to a dessert shop. Of course, that part was always He Jiang’s idea. Xu Fanming couldn’t figure out why He Jiang was so obsessed with desserts. Every time he ordered, he tapped away on the tablet like he was picking out half the menu, only to end up asking for a single cup of black tea. In truth, He Jiang just wanted more chances to hang out with him. Getting Xu Fanming, a guy who barely left the building unless it was for basketball, to go anywhere else was a mission in itself.

Still, looking at it now, the exercise and sweating these past few days had really paid off.

During practice, Xu Fanming’s condition had been solid. Every now and then, when he was in a good mood, he’d even pull He Jiang into one-on-one drills.

After the two of them played for a bit, Captain Fang Ruihan came over, clapped his hands, and motioned for everyone to gather around.

The players of Qinghuo slowly sat down in a circle. The captain stood in the center, holding a basketball under one arm and a printed game schedule in the other. His expression was serious.

“Today is our last team meeting before the tournament. Starting next week, the provincial championship officially begins. If we can, we have to seize this chance. Because beyond that lies the national tournament, and the CUBA league. The provincial tournament is just the beginning.”

The speech fired everyone up. Applause broke out all around.

Fang Ruihan smiled slightly as he looked at the team, then continued in a steady voice. “I’m already a third-year. I joined the campus team in my freshman year, became captain of our faculty team in second year, and now I’m captain of the university team. Over the past two years, I’ve seen how far we’ve come. Among you here, some are first-year students, and some are second-years. But for anyone who was on the team last year, I believe you haven’t forgotten… what happened then.”

Xu Fanming and He Jiang were both first-year students. Wen Qin, though a sophomore, had only recently joined the campus team. So when Fang Ruihan said that, the three of them glanced at one another, all equally confused. In the end, it was Xu Fanming who suddenly remembered. Zhu Xuyao was a second-year and had joined the team back in his freshman year. He must have been there.

Xu Fanming nudged Zhu Xuyao’s elbow and asked quietly, “What’s the captain talking about?”

Zhu Xuyao glanced at Fang Ruihan. For a moment, something complicated flickered across his face, but he still lowered his voice and answered, “We signed up for the provincial tournament last year too. But halfway through, we ran into a powerhouse team and got knocked out.”

Xu Fanming froze. “Who?”

“Tech University’s Kongxin Team,” Zhu Xuyao said with a sigh. His face darkened as if the memory itself left a bad taste. “We got crushed. Probably the worst loss the campus team has ever had. That’s why the captain wanted to change the team name. To start fresh. Most people don’t even want to talk about it anymore.”

His voice was soft, and his face had gone a bit heavy, like some awful scene had just replayed in his head. Zhu Xuyao was usually all smiles and jokes, the kind of person who took everything lightly. For him to look this downcast, Xu Fanming couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Why?” he asked. “Was it that bad?”

Zhu Xuyao paused, then answered quietly, “The final score was 32 to 85.”

Xu Fanming went silent.

“But I believe this year will be different.” Fang Ruihan’s firm voice cut through everyone’s thoughts. He looked toward Xu Fanming and He Jiang, his tone gentle yet resolute. “This year we’ve gained some strong new players, and we’re more experienced. We can’t walk away from this year’s provincial tournament with any regrets.”

Fang Ruihan wasn’t just saying that for show.

Everyone here had seen He Jiang’s terrifying three-pointers. This MVP from his high school days needed no introduction. And Xu Fanming, the freshman from the streetball courts, the youngest of the bunch, had taken just one month to sweep through the veterans of the campus team and rise to become their ace small forward. One of the team’s core players. The nickname “Daddy Fan” wasn’t just for laughs.

The dark cloud that had just loomed over the Qinghuo team seemed to lift. Everyone exchanged glances, then looked down at the ball on the floor and gave a silent nod.

Fang Ruihan raised the printed match schedule in his hand. “Everyone should already be clear on how the tournament is structured, right?”

Next week was the start of the preliminary ranking round. After the ranking round, the top six teams from both the east and west divisions would enter the playoffs, fighting their way up to claim the provincial championship.

Although the ranking round was purely point-based and didn’t involve eliminations, the final standings would directly affect the playoff matchups. First place would face sixth, second would face fifth, and so on. The order of matchups could very well determine how far a team advanced. So Qinghuo had to treat every match as if it were life or death.

The players all nodded. “Got it!”

“Good.” Fang Ruihan’s expression turned serious again. “Because for this next match, we’ve really got to be ready.”

The players fell silent, their tense gazes turning toward the captain. Two tall, hazy silhouettes seemed to rise before Fang Ruihan’s eyes. After a moment, he looked up and said, “Our next match is against Shuanglan.”

He smiled and explained, “Every team has its own defining traits. Like Yangsheng, which revolves around Tian Ye as the core of their formation. As for Shuanglan… their entire team is built around a pair of twin brothers.”

“Twin brothers?”

“Oh, I know them!” Zhu Xuyao exclaimed, his mouth agape. “Their names are Gao Dong and Gao Nan, right? I heard they’re pretty tall? Even someone like me, who doesn’t follow this stuff much, has heard about them from other campuses.”

Fang Ruihan nodded. “Yeah. They look exactly the same, and their builds are nearly identical. They play as the small and power forward, and are the main force behind Shuanglan.”

“They don’t just look alike,” He Jiang added with a laugh. “Do they even share the same hobbies?”

Fang Ruihan turned, looked up again, and said, “Exactly. Which is why, for this match, the two of them are our key targets. Shuanglan’s front line is formidable, but if we can break through it, winning won’t be that hard. It’ll all come down to how we perform on the court.”

“The first game,” Fang Ruihan said with emphasis, “we have to win.”

Everyone began pumping each other up with cheers and encouragement. He Jiang glanced at Xu Fanming and caught the gleam of anticipation in his eyes.

A spark, no, a wildfire of confidence, ready to ignite.

He Jiang was momentarily surprised. Then, just as quickly, his expression softened, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

After the training session ended, Fang Ruihan took the chance to pull He Jiang aside for a talk. He spotted He Jiang’s figure in the distance and called out from behind, “Hey!”

He Jiang let out a quiet “mm” and gradually slowed his pace. Fang Ruihan quickly caught up. “Heading back?”

“Yeah.”

“Mind if we talk for a bit?”

He Jiang glanced at him and nodded. “Sure.”

They walked side by side for a while. Fang Ruihan organized his thoughts, then smiled and said, “Fanming’s got a foul mouth, but he’s not a bad kid. Out of all of us, he’s the youngest, but he plays the fiercest. Everyone really respects him, actually.”

“Yeah,” He Jiang said mildly. “I’m getting used to it.”

Fang Ruihan chuckled at He Jiang’s calm expression. After the mood softened for a few seconds, he turned to look at He Jiang and fell quiet for a moment. Then he slowly voiced the concern on his mind.

“Back during that scrimmage against Yangsheng… when you suddenly said you were ‘tired’ and wanted to come off the court,” Fang Ruihan hesitated, “does that have anything to do with what happened after your high school championship, when you suddenly dropped off the radar?”

The upcoming preliminary round-robin next month meant everything to Fang Ruihan and the entire team. As captain, he naturally worried about his players’ mental state. What he feared most was He Jiang repeating what had happened during the scrimmage, pulling out of the game last minute. That kind of move didn’t just weaken the team’s power, it also dealt a blow to their morale. But this was personal territory, and Fang Ruihan wasn’t sure if He Jiang would be willing to talk about it.

He Jiang only gave a vague reply. “Maybe.”

But then he turned to look at Fang Ruihan and said earnestly, “I’ll be well rested for the next match.”

Fang Ruihan let out a helpless laugh. But honestly, He Jiang’s words were already a form of reassurance. Fang Ruihan nodded and played along, “Yeah. Get plenty of rest. It’s good for your health.”

He Jiang smiled.

Then Fang Ruihan turned again and looked at He Jiang seriously. “It makes me really happy to see you and Fanming getting along. After all… the first game is important for us. Even if it’s just a point-based match, even if losing one round won’t eliminate us, winning the opener would give Qinghuo a huge morale boost. It’s a key first step, and we have to take it right. Getting started is always the hardest part.”

He Jiang stared up at the streetlamp for a moment, then answered calmly, “Yeah.”

“Get ready,” Fang Ruihan said with a smile as he gazed at the sky. “This is just the beginning.”