TT Chapter 9. Basketball

Basketball

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny again.

The red maples had begun to dye the autumn air with color. Birds chirped and fluttered from branch to branch. And down below, a corgi named Beef Noodle was attempting, against all odds, to climb a tree on four stubby legs. Unfortunately, those legs were far too short. After a long struggle, all she managed was to dig two shallow pits into the earth beneath her.

“Woof!” she barked indignantly, loud enough to startle Chen Ting, who, at that very moment, was upstairs in a second-floor bedroom, deep in contemplation of his own life.

In an instant, three soul-crushing questions flashed through his mind—

Who am I?

Where am I?

What the hell did I do?

He looked down. The bed beneath him was huge and unfamiliar, with cool-toned grey-blue sheets. He lifted the blanket. Under his rumpled T-shirt were two bare, pale legs. Where were his pants?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of blue on the stool beside the bed. His head whipped around, and his eyes widened. Then widened further. Then further still.

Chen Ting. Male. Twenty years old. Nicknamed Ting Ting. Known for being sweet, polite, and universally well-liked. But last night, he had done the single dumbest thing of his entire life.

Now, with memories flooding back like a tidal wave, he sat cross-legged on a king-sized bed, his face turning redder and redder by the second, until at last, with a choked howl, he dove under the covers and wrapped himself up like a burrito.

Ting Ting was dead.

Just then, the door opened with a soft click.

Footsteps entered the room, each one coming closer and closer until they stopped right at the edge of the bed.

Chen Ting stayed wrapped in his shroud, playing dead.

The person lingered by the bedside for a moment before turning away, seemingly retrieving something from the wardrobe or cabinet, then heading into the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of running water echoed softly from within.

It was only after the water had been flowing for about a minute that Chen Ting cautiously lifted the corner of the blanket to peek around the room. On the stool was that all-too-familiar blue athletic tracksuit. This bedroom, unsurprisingly, belonged to Pei Yiyao.

It was 8 a.m. Pei Yiyao had probably just come back from a morning run and was now taking a shower.

As for last night, Chen Ting vaguely remembered crying far too hard, clinging to him and refusing to let go. That must have been why Pei Yiyao didn’t take him back to the dorm and brought him here instead.

So… should he run now?

Chen Ting fell into deep thought. If he ran, it would look too much like he had something to hide, and things would only get more awkward next time they met.

But if he didn’t run, he’d definitely run into Pei Yiyao right after his shower. One of them would be freshly out of the bathroom, the other still in bed. Just thinking about it was already weird. And to make matters worse, the moment Pei Yiyao’s name popped into his head, it triggered a mental playback of what he’d said last night.

“Don’t cry.”

“Don’t hit Ting Ting.”

Drunk Chen Ting had been a total crybaby, needing comfort every step of the way. But at least he’d behaved. Aside from crying pitifully, he hadn’t done anything too out of line. Pei Yiyao had held him and soothed him, and that was all it took for Chen Ting to cling to him like he was the only one in the world.

He had even sniffled his way through the night, smearing tears all over Pei Yiyao’s clothes.

When Pei Yiyao had finally carried him to bed last night, the original plan was to let him sleep just like that. But even in his dazed state, Chen Ting’s ingrained bedtime habit kicked in—he took off his pants before crawling under the covers.

Now… where had the pants ended up?

Chen Ting racked his brain. Oh. He’d handed them to Pei Yiyao.

After that, he had flopped onto the bed, pulled the blanket over himself like a well-behaved child, and mumbled with his eyes closed, “I’m going to bed now.”

Three seconds later, he was out cold.

Just thinking about all this made Chen Ting’s head throb. He didn’t dare recall any more details and couldn’t figure out whether running away or staying put would end up being more humiliating.

Thankfully, Pei Yiyao showered quickly. Within a few minutes, he was out of the bathroom. Chen Ting had no choice but to continue pretending to be asleep, hoping he could bluff his way through it.

There was really no better option. In his twenty years of life, this was the first time he had ever encountered something like this.

“Your clothes are on the stool,” Pei Yiyao said, glancing at the small, suspiciously motionless lump on the bed. A faint smile tugged at his lips, one he didn’t even notice himself.

After a pause, he added, “My parents aren’t home today.”

He left the room, considerately closing the door behind him.

Chen Ting finally threw off the blanket and sat up. He glanced at the sportswear on the stool, then looked down at his bare legs. He picked up the clothes and trudged off to take a shower.

But the moment he stood in front of the mirror, he froze again.

Who was that pitiful little wife with puffy red eyes staring back at him? Was that… Yang Shulin?

Chen Ting suddenly felt a little weak in the knees. His body refused to move. He spent ages dawdling in front of the sink, pressing cold water to his face, fanning it with his hands, until the swelling finally started to go down. But the pinkish hue around his eyes stubbornly lingered.

In the end, he gave up. With a frustrated tug at his hair, he accepted the absurdity of it all and prepared to face reality.

So when Pei Yiyao, who had been waiting in the living room for quite some time, finally saw him, what appeared was a perfectly blank-faced, pink-eyed Ting Ting. He looked pitiful, the kind that made people instinctively want to comfort him. But somehow, he radiated a very different kind of aura, one that shouted: Ting ge is strong. Don’t look, don’t ask, get lost.

“Breakfast is in the kitchen,” Pei Yiyao said.

Chen Ting finally pushed aside the awkwardness and took a closer look at Pei Yiyao. He was dressed in a soft beige loungewear set today, which made him look much more relaxed. With that melodramatic, prideful corgi perched on his lap, there was even a touch of domesticity about him.

Chen Ting nodded, hesitated for two seconds, and said, “Thanks for yesterday.”

Pei Yiyao kept it brief. “It’s nothing.”

Seeing him so calm and unaffected, Chen Ting felt a lot more at ease. Of course—this was Cool Guy Pei Yiyao. Why would he care about a few drunken outbursts? He probably had not even given it a second thought.

And besides, Pei Yiyao had brought him home to keep him from making a scene on campus. That alone was already very considerate.

“I’ll go have breakfast then.” Chen Ting walked into the kitchen with a relaxed step. Judging by Pei Yiyao’s usual image, he had expected a glass of milk with two slices of toast. If things were on the luxurious side, maybe even a fried egg and some bacon.

But what he saw was a multigrain pancake and a cup of soy milk, both still in their takeout packaging with the logo of a well-known breakfast chain.

Yeah, ordering delivery early in the morning… that was very on-brand for Cool Guy.

After finishing breakfast and stepping out of the kitchen, he noticed that Pei Yiyao was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was wondering where he had gone, footsteps sounded behind him. He turned and saw that Pei Yiyao had changed into athletic gear and was coming downstairs.

“You heading out?” Chen Ting blinked.

“Mm. Basketball.” Pei Yiyao looked at Chen Ting’s eyes, which were now mostly back to normal, and asked, “Want to come?”

Chen Ting’s first instinct was to refuse. It was not only because he was unsure whether he looked presentable enough to go out, but also because Pei Yiyao clearly had plans with other people, none of whom he knew.

But before he could say anything, Pei Yiyao seemed to have read his hesitation and said calmly, “You don’t need to play. Just sit and watch. I don’t know them either. The basketball court’s a bit of a walk, and by the time we get there, your eyes should look fine.”

It was the longest sentence Chen Ting had ever heard from him, and he was so surprised he forgot to say no.

Pei Yiyao took his silence as agreement. He lifted a white baseball cap and set it on Chen Ting’s head. “Let’s go.”

By the time Chen Ting thought to decline again, it was already too late. All he could do was follow along. And a minute later, he watched Pei Yiyao wheel a bicycle out of the garage.

Where was the flashy motorcycle?

Once again, Chen Ting found his image of Pei Yiyao shifting. Pei Yiyao swung a leg over the frame, settled into the seat, then looked back at him. “Get on.”

“You’re going to… give me a ride?”

“It’s far.”

Well, that was a pretty solid reason. Chen Ting told himself not to read too much into things just because of his own awkward thoughts, so he climbed onto the back seat.

A second later, the bicycle sped off.

“Hold on tight.”

Pei Yiyao’s deep, steady voice came through the wind. Chen Ting instinctively looked up at his back. It was not particularly broad, yet somehow felt especially reliable. He had not decided whether to hold on or not when a sudden burst of speed and the shift in momentum made him reach forward and wrap his arms around Pei Yiyao’s waist.

The villa district clung to the mountainside, and most of the roads in and out had a steady incline.

The wind whooshed past Chen Ting’s ears, wild and untamed. The rush of speed, something he had not felt in a long time, made his heart race. He leaned against Pei Yiyao’s back and watched the towering trees and blazing red maples sweep by on both sides. He took a deep breath of the clean mountain air and could not help but feel a surge of exhilaration.

Up ahead was a wide bend. Pei Yiyao leaned into it, and the wheels swept through the fallen leaves, sending them flying into the air. For a moment, the path was filled with swirling leaves.”

Sunlight poured down from the sky. The youth riding through the golden leaves and flickering light felt like something from a dream.

Chen Ting slowly let go with one hand and reached out, as if trying to catch a passing breeze. Even if he could not catch it, it did not matter. Wind was always elusive. If Jiang Hai were here, he probably would’ve sighed and said something ridiculous, like how what slips through your fingers isn’t the wind, but youth.

The more Chen Ting thought about it, the better he felt, until even the awkwardness of the previous night faded from his mind.

Half an hour later, Pei Yiyao finally stopped in front of a public basketball court. Chen Ting looked around carefully and noticed that the area was another villa district. The scenery was not quite as beautiful as the one near Pei Yiyao’s home, but it was still a peaceful spot nestled within the city.

“Yao ge!” A chubby guy in black, wearing a baseball cap, ran out from the basketball court, his steps full of excitement. But when he got closer and saw Chen Ting behind Pei Yiyao, his expression showed a flash of surprise.

Since when did Yao ge start bringing people out with him?

“Hi.” Chen Ting took the initiative to greet him.

The guy was all smiles, about to respond, when Pei Yiyao shot him a cold glance. “Call him ge.”

The guy flinched. But looking at Chen Ting’s baby face, he figured this kid had to be younger. Calling Yao ge was fine. He, Xu Fang, could accept that without complaint. But asking him to call someone younger than himself “ge” was just too much to swallow.

Chen Ting, on the other hand, did not mind. With a face like his, people rarely guessed his age right. He waved it off. “Just call me Chen Ting.”

The guy quickly nodded. “Alright, alright. I’m Xu Yiming. You can call me Xu Pang if you want. A friend of Yao ge is my—”

Pei Yiyao glanced at him again, and Xu Yiming immediately shut his mouth, looking rather aggrieved.

Just then, a few more people walked over from the basketball court. All of them were tall with long legs. The one in front was casually spinning a basketball on his finger, head tilted as he looked their way. He had that cocky, street-smart vibe.

“Xu Fang, these the reinforcements you brought in? Looks like a pretty ragtag bunch.”

Xu Yiming was instantly furious. His eyes widened as he snapped, “Wang Chaoshuai, I’m warning you, quit running your mouth. The last person who talked to Yao ge like that ended up in the hospital.”