Chapter 41: The Goddess and Her Pig-like Teammate

For the audience, this was a match ten times more exciting than they had originally imagined. Now that the game was over, they couldn’t help shouting, reluctant to let go of this passionate and soaring atmosphere, and intentionally or unintentionally lingering in this heart-pounding, thrilling feeling.

They cheered and applauded, thanking the players for providing this sumptuous feast of basketball.

They were still unwilling to leave, as if they wanted to stir up a new round of climax right there.

“It’s over, we won!”

The members of the Ruiyun team also couldn’t hold back their cheers one by one, even more excited than when they won the provincial championship last time. The point guard, number 0, was so agitated he could hardly control himself. Despite his “Emperor Attack” physique, he was almost wiping away tears. He went to hug each teammate, but Yang Qi and Li Mingwei simultaneously pushed him away with disdain, making the others burst into laughter.

“God Yang, how could you dislike me too? I’m your die-hard fan!” Number 0 wailed loudly, pretending to be a heartbroken “millennium uke.” Then he raised his eyebrows and shouted to the surrounding teammates, “Brothers, hoist God Yang up for me!”

“Alright, hahahaha!”

These teammates had long been coordinated. They surrounded Yang Qi, some lifting his feet and some his hands, roughly yet affectionately lifting Yang Qi and throwing him high into the air again and again, full of bromance.

Yang Qi was thrown into the air repeatedly, the smile on his face growing wider. This was the first time he had truly participated in a group activity. He originally came just for a mission, but now he was starting to enjoy it a bit, making up for those more than ten lost years of being alone and chuckling to himself.

Finally escaping from the hands of these animals, Yang Qi stood on the ground, panting. It was much more exhausting than the match itself, and he laughed heartily too. At that moment, a person walked towards Yang Qi. It was Jerry, number 10 from Anderson High School.

Number 10 Jerry reached Yang Qi and suddenly stretched out his hand. Of course, it wasn’t to pick a fight or hit someone, but he revealed a smile and said to Yang Qi, “Congratulations, black-haired kid!”

This hand was meant for a handshake.

“You are very strong, the strongest opponent I have ever met to this day, including anyone in the NSAA!” Having experienced the final quarter, Number 10 Jerry was completely convinced by Yang Qi. He continued with a smile, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m very glad I had this chance to play against you. Your basketball skills and personal charm have completely won me over! Also, I apologize to you for my stupidity and recklessness, including that incident during the day!”

Yang Qi mostly understood what he meant. He smiled, not really planning to hold a grudge over today’s events. He also reached out and shook Jerry’s hand, which was still hanging in the air. Thinking his spoken English wasn’t that great to try fancy words, he said, “Me too!”

Seeing this, Jerry smiled happily. After the handshake, he directly took off his own basketball jersey and handed it to Yang Qi, saying, “I hope we can exchange jerseys. This is a testament to our friendship.”

Yang Qi knew this was a common tradition in some matches. Though a part of him wanted to joke about how easily “old America” forms friendships, he also thought that sometimes you have to fight to become friends. Yang Qi wasn’t a reserved person, so he also took off his own jersey and gave it to Jerry.

“The male god is mighty, just like that he subdued this show-off foreigner!” Number 0 gave a thumbs up, and the others also chuckled.

Two grown men stood there in front of so many people with their upper bodies bare. This wasn’t a big deal on the basketball court usually, but in the eyes of the fujoshi, admirers, and infatuated girls in the audience, it became a super explosive event. They all started screaming.

“Please allow me to strike a nose-bleeding pose!”

“Wow, Male God Yang Qi’s figure is so amazing! That foreigner is also super great, though a bit worse than the male god! The male god looks quite thin but has muscle when shirtless. He truly is a male god, perfect inside and out!”

“I so want to see these two guys with explosive physiques hug each other!”

“Could you be any more fujoshi?”

“Abs, abs! Such beautiful abs! I wish I could be bumped by abs like that!”

“You pervert, you mean bump your butt, right? I despise your thoughts so much! How could you let the male god do such a thing? If he’s going to do it, he should do it to me. My butt is perkier than yours anyway, so the bumping sound should be nicer!”

…

After Yang Qi and Jerry exchanged jerseys, soon other teammates started exchanging as well. Although Ruiyun team won this match, they had deeply impressed the people from Anderson High School with their strength. Although Anderson High School lost, they also made the Ruiyun team feel they couldn’t be underestimated at all.

Both sides proved themselves with strength and earned the opponent’s respect. This friendly match achieved excellent results.

The white-haired coach of Anderson High School walked towards Niu Fengshan. The two coaches shook hands.

“This match taught me a lot,” the white-haired coach said with a smile for the first time. “Huaxia truly is a magical land. Your players showed me what it means that there is always someone better. It’s truly amazing.”

For the white-haired coach, he originally thought this would be an easy friendly match, even largely like coming to give the Ruiyun team a lesson. He never expected this to be the final outcome. He was surprised and taken aback, but he gladly accepted it.

After hearing the translation, Niu Fengshan said, “Me too. This match showed me many shortcomings of our team. Your many novel playing styles and formations gave me a lot of food for thought! Haha, this is the real purpose of friendly match exchanges!”

…

The match finally ended. The players from both sides left the court, and the audience reluctantly slowly left the gymnasium. All along the way, they discussed the excitement of the match, with Yang Qi undoubtedly being the biggest highlight.

“The final quarter was just too exciting! Yang Qi completely exploded. Each dunk made my heart jump into my throat!”

“Yeah! Yang Qi’s jumping and his moves and posture in the air were just too explosive, super cool and domineering! Even though I’m a guy, I have to say I’ve fallen for him!”

“Ugh, get away, gay! But, I’m his die-hard fan too!”

“I never knew there was such a person at school before. Today really opened my eyes and blew my mind!”

“Haha, good thing I didn’t bring my girlfriend to watch, otherwise she’d definitely fall for this guy.”

“I so like Yang Qi oppa~ I really wanna know if Yang Qi oppa has a girlfriend oh! If he doesn’t, then I’m gonna go after him! Oh no, even if he does, I’ll still gather my courage and go after him lah! I really, really like him ahh!”

“Save it. Look at that try-hard wanghong aesthetic of yours. And could you straighten your tongue and talk properly!”

“What’s wrong with the wanghong style? What’s wrong with curling my tongue? You know nothing~ I’ve always been using this method to exercise my tongue. My tongue is super awesome~ maybe Male God Yang Qi likes it like this!”

…

“The match just now was really so exciting. Damn, that kid Yang Qi is actually this amazing!” Du Sisi was still savoring it, chattering to the person beside her. “I’m really curious how this kid is so amazing. Good at studies, good at fighting, eloquent, strong sense of justice, and now adding being this good at basketball! This is great. He instantly became a star. Tomorrow, there will definitely be busybodies rating this guy as Ruiyun’s number one male god!”

“And aren’t you just a busybody,” Chen Xiaoxiao said, giving Du Sisi a look.

“Hehe!” Du Sisi sidled up to Chen Xiaoxiao, linking arms with her. “Sister Xiaoxiao, you have to try hard. As the old saying goes, when a boy pursues a girl, it’s like climbing a mountain; when a girl pursues a boy, it’s like poking through a layer of gauze. If you make a move, Yang Qi definitely won’t get away. Goddess paired with male god must be enchanting! Even though that kid stubbornly won’t admit he likes you, I can tell he’s lying! Go for it, attacking goddess!”

“Why are you talking about this!”

Chen Xiaoxiao pulled her hand away from Du Sisi and glared at her.

“Oho, Sister Xiaoxiao, are you getting shy? I’m telling you, it’s not easy to find someone worthy of you. That kid barely qualifies, so you should just reluctantly accept him!” Du Sisi chuckled.

Chen Xiaoxiao didn’t say anything, but there was a trace of invisible dejection in her eyes. During the day, she had heard the conversation between Du Sisi and Yang Qi in front of the library, and it had sunk into her heart. Du Sisi asked Yang Qi why he didn’t like her, and Yang Qi didn’t deny it. Right, he can do everything, he’s so outstanding, why would he like her? Just because she’s good-looking?

Always looking down on others, Chen Xiaoxiao didn’t even realize it herself—this was the first time she had such thoughts.

And just at that moment, a figure quickly ran towards them. Du Sisi with her sharp eyes immediately spotted that it was Yang Qi. She nudged Chen Xiaoxiao with her elbow and whispered, “See, I told you so. This kid definitely likes you. He made such a splash today; he must want to strike while the iron is hot and use this great opportunity to come confess to you!”

Having said that, she waved at Yang Qi and called out loudly, “Kid Yang Qi, go for it! Come here quick, Sister Xiaoxiao is here!”

Yang Qi, who had just managed to escape from the basketball gym, suddenly heard Du Sisi’s words. He was slightly startled, hurriedly smiled and gave a greeting, but his steps didn’t stop. He directly sped towards the school gate at full speed. Those so-called reporters and scouts in the gym were too savage. Luckily, Yang Qi had foresight and was nimble, otherwise he would have been trapped inside. Yang Qi did not want any interviews or to face pursuit and interception.

“This… this kid is rushing to be reborn or what? Why is he running so fast?” Seeing this, Du Sisi stomped her foot and cursed fiercely. Even she, as thick-skinned as she was, felt a bit embarrassed.

There were still classmates on the road, pointing and gossiping. The names Yang Qi and Sister Xiaoxiao put together really got people’s imaginations running wild. One was the newly risen male god, the other was the girl always liked by all the boys and girls at school. Couldn’t some connections be made?

And Chen Xiaoxiao, watching Yang Qi’s fleeing back as he ran away, felt the inexplicable tension that had arisen in her heart instantly vanish into thin air. At the same time, the expectation that accompanied that tension was also plunged into an abyss. More than anything, there was embarrassment! She didn’t even have the heart to glare at Du Sisi. What kind of teammate was this Du Sisi, yelling nonsense like that!