Chapter 99
From six o'clock to seven o'clock, Hao Ren finally understood how to dribble under Xie Yujia's earnest instructions.
He had never played basketball except for the occasions when he was dragged to the court by Zhao Jiayi. However, when he was in middle school, he had been a member of the Track and Field Team and was close with the Soccer Team. He had often acted as their temporary goalkeeper and thus was not a stranger to b.a.l.l.s.
Despite the chilliness of the morning wind, Xie Yujia began to sweat while jogging around Hao Ren to get him into the correct positions.
Covered with a thin layer of sweat, she looked even more alluring. Her fit and beautiful figure attracted Hao Ren's gaze while he was practicing how to dribble. After all, Xie Yujia had told him not to stare at the ball but to observe the movements on the court. Currently, Xie Yujia was the only person on the court.
Xie Yujia blushed at his stare, and she went behind him to correct his posture.
"Cla.s.s President, I've dribbled for an hour now, and my arms are sore. When can I learn something else?" Hao Ren turned to look at her before asking.
"We are practicing the standing dribble which is the simplest technique, and we'll turn to dribble while running after a while. Why are you so impatient?" Xie Yujia snorted and lectured Hao Ren like a coach.
"Change to your right hand!" She instructed.
Immediately, Hao Ren changed the ball to his right hand and resumed dribbling.
"Good," Xie Yujia nodded approvingly and said, "Now, I'll show you the running dribble. The match is next week, so I won't have time to teach you cross-overs. It will be enough if you master the speed dribble."
She stole the ball from Hao Ren and ran to mid-court after a series of dizzying dribbling movements around Hao Ren.
"Look carefully! The key to the running dribble is the coordination between your hands and feet. You must not travel with the ball. The faster you move, the farther back the ball will be, and the greater force you will need to apply. When you are traveling in a straight line, you usually dribble once every two steps."
Hao Ren admired Xie Yujia's vigorous figure in her white t-s.h.i.+rt and the sway of her long ponytail. Thinking back to how easily she stole the ball from him, Hao Ren was ashamed of himself.
After looking around, he found that Yu Rong and the guys had left. It was not surprising since they could only watch Xie Yujia from afar and could not interact with her. One hour of that would make the drowsy guys bored.
Clap! Clap… Xie Yujia dribbled the ball back to Hao Ren from mid-court. It was quite enjoyable to watch her beautiful white legs running in the white sneakers.
Suddenly, someone whistled at Xie Yujia from outside of the court.
Hao Ren turned and saw the Basketball Team led by Xie Wanjun was pa.s.sing the wired fence of the court. Some of the team members saw the pretty Xie Yujia playing basketball and couldn't help but to whistle to show their appreciation.
"It seems like not all the players know that she is Xie Wanjun's younger sister," Hao Ren thought.
Xie Wanjun stopped suddenly and pointed at the guys who had whistled. "Each of you, do 50 push-ups here and now!" he shouted.
Then, he entered the open basketball court in Zone B and walked up to Xie Yujia and Hao Ren. He asked, "How was the practice?"
"Very good! He is a quick learner," Xie Yujia answered immediately.
Taking the ball from Xie Yujia's hand, Xie Wanjun turned abruptly and dribbled the ball at lightning speed to the net before jumping up and dunking it with a bang!
Outside the court, Zhao Jiayi gaped at the scene. He had been jogging for an hour and was soaked in sweat, but he rallied again when he witnessed Xie Wanjun's masterful show of skill and strength.
"Get back to your drill." Xie Wanjun caught the ball and tossed it to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren caught the ball and was at a loss for words.
Walking out of the court, Xie Wanjun turned to the guys who were still obediently doing push-ups and slapped them on their heads one by one. "She is my younger sister. If any of you dares to whistle at her in the future, you will do 200 push-ups for it. Now get up and run to the stadium to start training!" he said.
Then, he jogged with the team into the stadium. Zhao Jiayi, who was at the end of the line, turned to look at Hao Ren in the open basketball court and waved his arms at him in encouragement.
"Just ignore my brother; he's just showing his muscles. Let's get back to our practice." Xie Yujia took the ball from Hao Ren and dribbled it like a professional player.
Then, she showed Hao Ren high dribble, low dribble, dribble block, and dribble turn… Hao Ren admired her thorough and professional manner. He was surprised that this well-behaved and Tri-Merit student was also good at basketball.
Xie Yujia didn't stop the morning session until 8:30 AM when some students pa.s.sed the court on their way to their cla.s.ses. Xie Yujia picked up the basketball and said, "Well, we're done now. It's time for cla.s.s."
She looked quite cool tucking the ball underneath her arm. Against the green shades, she was like the cover girl on a fas.h.i.+on magazine.
"Good. Let's go." Slightly panting, Hao Ren nodded and showed his agreement. After all, it would be difficult for a strong person to practice dribbling for two hours without rest while carrying over 25 kilograms on each wrist.
Walking out of the court, Xie Yujia put the basketball into the basket on her bike. Then, she walked over to Hao Ren and asked, "I brought the books for today's morning cla.s.ses with me. Don't you need to go back and get your books?"
"No! We as guys never use books in cla.s.s!" Hao Ren waved his hand.
Exasperated, Xie Yujia shook her head and replied, "Ok then. I will return the basketball to my brother before we go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Then, we can head to the cla.s.s."
She rode the bike to the stadium nearby. Soon, she returned with an empty basket to the exit of the basketball court at Zone B.
"Let's head to the cafeteria!" Xie Yujia beckoned at Hao Ren.
"You will carry me on your bike?" Hao Ren was surprised.
"Yeah! I can carry people!" Xie Yujia nodded and said, "Jump on!"
Grinning, Hao Ren scratched his head. He ran to the back seat and jumped onto it lightly.
He had thought that Xie Yujia couldn't handle his weight on the bike. To his surprise, she adjusted the position of the paddles and rode steadily forward.
Now, Hao Ren was in a dilemma. He had thought that Xie Yujia would have to give up and let him ride, but he underestimated her and had to be carried on the back seat to the cafeteria by a girl.
Hao Ren kept his feet close to the wheel and cautiously placed his hands around Xie Yujia's waist. He had meant to grip the seat, but it was too small. If he were not careful, he would accidentally touch her.
Xie Yujia was silent on the way. It was her first time carrying a boy on her bike. It was an impulsive act, but it was okay since there weren't many students on campus yet.
They went into Green Hill Cafeteria and lined up to buy breakfast. Hao Ren had offered to treat the Cla.s.s President to a meal to thank her for teaching him how to play basketball, and Xie Yujia gladly accepted it.
While Xie Yujia waited in line with Hao Ren, many guys glanced at her openly or secretly.
This was not surprising. In a sports t-s.h.i.+rt, Xie Yujia's gorgeous figure, pretty face, outstanding temperament, and vibrant energy were too tempting to resist.
Ignoring the admiring glances, Xie Yujia got her breakfast with Hao Ren and sat down with him to eat.
Seeing Hao Ren's ordinary clothes and looks, the guys were jealous of him and wondered how a plain guy like him attracted such a pretty girl.
After breakfast, Xie Yujia and Hao Ren walked out of the cafeteria. Coming and going together, they indeed looked like a student couple.
"Cla.s.s President, you go ahead and bike to the Academic Building. I'll walk," Hao Ren said when Xie Yujia went over to her bike.
"Well, ok." After a moment of consideration, Xie Yujia rode the bike toward the Academic Building. She knew Hao Ren was afraid that the girls in the cla.s.s would gossip about them if they were seen on a bike together.
Hao Ren looked after Xie Yujia's figure and thought, "Even on a 100-yuan bike, a pretty girl like her can still make such a beautiful scene."
"Hey!" Hao Ren was suddenly disturbed by a loud yell.
He turned and saw Zhao Jiayi standing behind him, covered in sweat.
"d.a.m.n! What are you doing here?" Hao Ren asked.
"I've been here for a while. I saw you in the cafeteria but didn't want to interrupt you guys," Zhao Jiayi said while wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
"There is nothing between the Cla.s.s President and me!" Hao Ren turned and walked toward the Academic Building.
Zhao Jiayi walked along with him. He threw an arm around Hao Ren's shoulder and said, "Nothing? Do you think I'm blind? Xie Yujia rode the bike, and you sat on the back seat. You're really good at this. How come no pretty girl is carrying me on a bike?"
"You saw it?" Hao Ren asked him.
"Of course. I just finished the practice and was about to head to cla.s.s when I saw you guys. d.a.m.n! I chased you guys halfway here, but neither of you heard me calling."
Imagining Zhao Jiayi chasing them in sweat while they rode forward breezily, Hao Ren felt sorry for Zhao Jiayi.
Zhao Jiayi b.u.mped Hao Ren with his brawny hip. "Go for her! It seems like Xie Wanjun willing to let you pursue his sister," he said.
"Well. Not now." Hao Ren threw off his sweaty arm.
In cla.s.s, everyone had known that Xie Yujia was Xie Wanjun's younger sister, and it became a hot topic among the students in the cla.s.sroom.
The guys who had been secretly admiring Xie Yujia lamented about the surprising news while silently giving up their plans to pursue her. They congratulated themselves for not acting rashly.
After all, it would take more than an ordinary guy to handle the sister of such an influential figure.
Now, the girls understood why the overbearing Lin Li from Cla.s.s Three wasn't able to do anything to Xie Yujia; it was because Xie Yujia's brother was a figure who was more powerful than Huang Xujie!
After the Mechanical Drawing Cla.s.s, Xie Yujia packed up her stuff, ignored the glances cast her way, and walked out of the cla.s.sroom with her good friend and dormmate Ma Lina.
Her ponytail swayed innocently, but in other people's eyes, she was no longer an ordinary Cla.s.s President.
The gossip spread to other cla.s.ses when the guys at school began to talk about how Zhao Jiayi, who was only 1.7 meters tall, had suddenly joined the basketball team. It seemed like guys could gossip just as well as girls.
Thanks to Hao Ren, Zhao Jiayi was famous; he was in such high spirits that he didn't care about the nature of the gossips. He just couldn't wait for next week's match to begin.
However, Hao Ren remained calm the whole day. After his afternoon cla.s.ses, he went back to the dorm to change before taking the bus to LingZhao Middle School.
He didn't care about all the gossip at the school since tonight's Parent-Teacher Meeting was his top priority…