SSD 9. A Bet

By the time He Jiang got back to his apartment, he was drenched in sweat.

It had been a long time since he’d played a game that satisfying. He closed the door behind him, walking toward the bathroom as he unbuttoned his shirt, tossing his dirty clothes to the floor along the way.

After showering, still wrapped in a faint mist of steam, He Jiang came out of the bathroom. He carefully smoothed out his No. 10 jersey and hung it on the rack by the wardrobe. Then, he sat down on the sofa and stared at it in silence.

His gaze was unfocused and distant, lost in thought.

After a while, he dialed a number he knew by heart. Unusually, this time, the call connected right away.

“Son.” A calm female voice came through. “Why are you calling at this hour?”

He Jiang’s fingers tightened slightly around the phone. His eyes flickered.

After a short pause, he finally lowered his gaze. Even his movements carried a hint of quiet frustration.

“…Mom, it’s nothing important.”

“Out of money again?” she asked offhandedly. “I’ll transfer some into your card. If there’s anything you want, just buy it.”

He Jiang paused. “I bought a pair of sneakers recently. Twelve thousand.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Then, his mother spoke again. “You’ve started playing basketball again?”

He held his breath for a beat. “Yeah.”

“That’s good. A little hobby helps relieve stress.” She resumed her work while replying to him casually. “But be careful not to get hurt.”

“…Okay.”

He Jiang closed his eyes lightly. He couldn’t quite name the feeling in his chest. Maybe it was a mix of relief and disappointment.

Then his mother added, “I have a business trip next month. I’ll stop by and see you.”

Next month?

If he counted the days, the provincial tournament would run from early December to mid-January. And next month, they would be starting the preliminaries for the ranking matches.

“Alright. Got it,” He Jiang said. “Good night, Mom.”

After hanging up, he looked toward the black jersey hanging from the wardrobe and the pair of gray sneakers casually set nearby. His gaze lingered, and something inside him settled with new resolve.

That weekend, the campus team held its regular practice at the gym. But this time, after training, the entire team had plans to go out for dinner together and hold a small team meeting.

They were going to finalize the team’s new name.

Fang Ruihan, newly appointed captain this year, had set his sights on giving the campus team a complete overhaul. New energy, new name. He had full confidence in the team’s potential to win the provincial tournament and push all the way to the nationals. With He Jiang and Xu Fanming, their two star players, joining this year, that confidence had become ironclad.

“We’re really changing our name?” Zhu Xuyao looked from the captain to Pan Yuan behind him, excitement written all over his face. “Then let’s name it after our beautiful team manager. How about the Meiyuan Basketball Team?”

Xu Fanming’s face darkened. “God, that was disgusting.”

Pan Yuan had come to watch their practice today, which meant Zhu Xuyao had switched to full simp mode. Everyone was used to his antics by now, but obviously, a name like Meiyuan Basketball Team wasn’t going to pass.

Fang Ruihan smiled and turned to Xu Fanming. “What do you think, Fanfan?”

Coming up with names was something Xu Fanming could do in his sleep. “How about Wild Dragons, Soaring Eagles, Blaze Panthers, or Wolfpack…”

“Stop right there!” Zhu Xuyao cut in. “What are you, a middle schooler with a hero complex?”

The two of them were about to start bickering again. Fang Ruihan just shrugged, while Pan Yuan stood to the side covering her mouth as she laughed. “Alright, alright, settle down. Let’s get through training first. We can talk about the team name over dinner.”

Training started. He Jiang showed up five minutes late, slipping on his jersey as he walked onto the court. Pan Yuan’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him. “Captain, you really pulled it off. You actually got He Jiang to join.”

Fang Ruihan smiled faintly. Xu Fanming, on the other hand, felt a chill ripple down his spine.

A shadow looming behind him, and a low, eerie voice whispered in his ear, “Faaaan”

Xu Fanming yelled, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

He Jiang didn’t respond. He just dribbled the ball with a crooked smile and jerked his chin at him, like he was teasing a puppy. Xu Fanming grabbed a ball, and stomped off to a corner to practice by himself. He wasn’t about to waste words on that lunatic.

He Jiang left him alone and focused on his own drills, running through a few clean layup moves. Pan Yuan stood to the side, watching with admiration in her eyes. “Nice Euro step!”

After a few back-and-forth plays, Zhu Xuyao started sensing something was off.

Why did it feel like ever since He Jiang showed up, the spotlight had shifted entirely to him? Even the goddess’s attention was slipping away.

Zhu Xuyao’s eyes widened. Had he just brought a love rival into the team with his own two hands?

Unacceptable.

Fueled by this realization, he walked over to Xu Fanming and gave him a hard slap on the ass. “Hey!”

The little raptor nearly exploded on the spot.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Xu Fanming clutched his ass, his expression a mix of shame and fury.

“Fanfan,” Zhu Xuyao leaned in with a conspiratorial grin and lowered his voice. “Do you know if He Jiang has a girlfriend?”

Xu Fanming immediately pulled a face. “How would I know?”

“Come on, you know him best out of all of us.”

“Know your ass,” Xu Fanming snapped. “I don’t even know the guy.”

“Please,” Zhu Xuyao did not miss a beat. “Who was the one who ran up to him all excited the first time you met, practically glued to his side, begging for a one-on-one? And then got absolutely wrecked? I told you to keep a low profile. Now look how pathetic this is.”

Xu Fanming looked like he was ready to breathe fire.

Zhu Xuyao held up both hands as if to block incoming claws, but continued undeterred. “Losing once is no big deal. Admit he’s better, train hard, make a comeback. Then get crushed all over again. But hey, at least you’d be a humble underdog with a comeback arc.”

At that moment, Pan Yuan clapped for He Jiang nearby and smiled brightly. “Another three-pointer. You’re amazing, He Jiang.”

Zhu Xuyao’s expression changed instantly. He had completely forgotten he was just praising “God He” a moment ago. “If that guy dares go after my Yuan Yuan, it doesn’t matter how good he is or what leagues he’s played in. He’s nothing to me. I’ll make sure he learns some manners. He played high school league? So what. I’ve played CBA, CUBA, CABD, and CEFG.”

“You’re full of it,” Xu Fanming said. “Then I’ve played in the ‘Huo Xing Lan Qiu.’ I was MVP three years running. Got a medal and everything.”

“HXLQ? What’s that even mean?”

“Intergalactic Basketball Association for Earth-Based Aliens.”

The two idiots looked at each other and doubled over laughing like fools. Once they had laughed themselves breathless, Xu Fanming gave a dismissive snort, waved him off, and said, “I’m going to train. Don’t bother me.”

He turned to leave and walked straight into He Jiang’s chest.

Xu Fanming yelped, rubbed his nose, and looked up. He Jiang was smiling as he looked down at him.

“Want to make another bet?”

“You’re not done yet?”

“This time, let’s bet on three-pointers,” He Jiang said with a bright smile. “Whoever makes five in a row first wins.”

“And what does the winner get?”

“The winner…” He Jiang drew out the last syllable, “gets a free strawberry ice cream.”

Xu Fanming couldn’t help but laugh. “The great god has a sweet tooth?”

“If you’ve got the energy to mock me,” He Jiang said, reaching out to ruffle his hair, “you might as well think about how to beat me.”

Xu Fanming thought, What’s the big deal? Just five three-pointers.

And promptly jinxed himself.

He already knew how ridiculously good He Jiang was at shooting. Challenging him was just asking for trouble.

Five three-pointers might not sound hard, but making five in a row without missing was a brutal test of skill and luck. Xu Fanming’s shooting accuracy was decent, but hitting five straight was still tough. After a bumpy attempt, he barely managed four. As he raised the last ball, he saw He Jiang standing off to the side, arms folded, smiling like a fox. The moment their eyes met, every hair on his body stood up.

And sure enough, he missed.

That smug bastard had been waiting for him to screw up.

Realizing he’d walked right into a trap, Xu Fanming cursed under his breath, but it was already too late. That smiling devil bent down, picked up a ball, and stepped behind the line. He made five three-pointers in a row, each one clean and precise. The ball never even grazed the rim. Around them, the court stirred with gasps of amazement. He Jiang remained calm, as if making another five would be no different.

Xu Fanming tried to slink away, but He Jiang reached out and grabbed him by the back of his collar. “Running away? How cowardly.”

Xu Fanming looked like he was about to cry. If he ever agreed to another bet with this guy, he might as well tattoo “idiot” on his forehead.

After training, the team was heading out for dinner. He Jiang deliberately stayed at Xu Fanming’s side and said, “Captain, Xu Fanming and I have some personal business to settle. We’ll skip dinner tonight. Sorry about that. I’ll treat next time.”

Fang Ruihan looked from Xu Fanming to He Jiang. One was smiling, the other was visibly upset. The air between them was tense. In the end, Pan Yuan stepped in with a gentle laugh.

“Alright, I’ll send the meeting notes to both of you later. Be careful on your way back.”

He Jiang nodded with a polite smile, looking all calm and innocent.

“Thank you, senior.”

Once the others had left, only the two of them remained. Xu Fanming felt uneasy right away. He just wanted to grab something cheap and be done with it.

He Jiang suddenly asked, “Where are you taking me?”

Xu Fanming didn’t answer. He walked into a small convenience store, opened the freezer, and pulled out the cheapest milk popsicle he could find. He handed it over without looking at him.

“This one.”

He Jiang looked at the popsicle, then at him, holding back a laugh.

“I don’t like this. I want strawberry.”

Xu Fanming clicked his tongue.

“Why are you so difficult?”

“A bet’s a bet,” He Jiang said, closing the freezer. “I said strawberry ice cream.”

In the end, Xu Fanming had to take this high-maintenance jerk to a milk tea shop and buy him a strawberry cone. It cost ten yuan, and every bit of it made his heart hurt.

Watching He Jiang happily enjoying his strawberry cone, Xu Fanming could only console himself. Fine, just think of it as feeding a dog.

He finally felt a little better. Seeing that He Jiang looked quite satisfied, he asked irritably, “Can I go now?”

“Hm?” He Jiang seemed to finally realize Xu Fanming was trying to leave. “Not yet. This made me a little thirsty. Go get me a milk tea too.”

Xu Fanming practically exploded. “Don’t push your luck!”

Seeing the little raptor about to bare his teeth, He Jiang quickly raised a finger to his lips, making a quieting gesture. Then he leaned in and spoke in a low, coaxing tone, full of mischief and charm.

“Don’t be mad. Fanfan, gege’s going to take you somewhere fun tonight.”