### 030. On the Basketball Court
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Playing basketball is all about physical confrontation. If you can’t keep up physically, being fast on your feet is as useful as a chocolate teapot!
So, when Lin Nan swaggered onto the basketball court clutching a ball, he was feeling a bit anxious.
“Surely no one will laugh at me, right?”
He looked around. Most people were focused on their game, while a few spectators sat on the benches, watching like it was a theater performance. But outside the court, a horde of freshly released students passed by, curiously peering in like it was a zoo exhibit.
Chen Yao followed him, with the head-down Typist Tu Junhui trailing behind. This guy had originally planned to go for a jog, but thanks to Lin Nan’s sudden change of heart this afternoon, he was now roped into playing basketball.
Most players occupied one half of the court, and the outdoor area was made up of eight courts, which were good for about sixteen groups of players.
They found an empty half-court. Chen Yao casually took the basketball Lin Nan handed him, put a hand on his hip, and asked, “Remember what the gym teacher taught us about stationary shooting? You got this, right?”
“…….” Lin Nan awkwardly turned his head. Honestly, he had no clue; during gym class, he was busy blending into the crowd while glued to his phone.
He had long heard that basketball could help you grow taller, but without a buddy to show him the ropes, he never dared to try. Now that Chen Yao had thrown down the gauntlet, he figured, why not see if it could work for him?
So, prior to leaving, he made a detour to the bathroom to check his height.
Wearing shoes, he measured 165 cm.
He used to think he was around 167 cm with shoes on, so he often boasted about being 170 cm. If this measurement wasn’t a mistake, it meant the magic he had experienced truly impacted his height. His roommates saying he had shrunk wasn’t just casual teasing after all!
“Alright then, let’s start with shooting,” Chen Yao said, walking casually to the three-point line. He jumped, launched the ball, and planned to land a cool one-liner, but to his utter shock, the ball got stuck in the rim and backboard combo like it was auditioning for a circus act.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, he glanced back at Lin Nan, only to find him zoning out, staring at a girl outside the court, chatting with Tu Junhui. Clearly, no one was paying attention to him.
“That girl is probably taller than you, right? I remember you claiming to be 180 cm?” Lin Nan said, envy dripping from every syllable.
Tu Junhui nodded sagely, “Legs are d*mn long! What’s with this girl being so tall? Did she come into this world to sabotage your height?”
The girl, dressed in a short-sleeve shirt and denim shorts, sported legs that seemed to go on forever, attracting the gazes of everyone around her like a magnet.
Filled with jealousy, Lin Nan couldn’t help but exclaim, “Those legs are incredible!”
“Jealous, are we?” Chen Yao sauntered over, glanced at the girl, and shrugged, “Don’t let her height fool you; her face can’t match your good looks!”
“Wait, what?! I’m not comparing myself to her looks!” Lin Nan shot Chen Yao a glare, realizing he had fallen into a trap.
It was fine if Chen Yao figured out his peculiar tendencies; they had no secrets after all. But Tu Junhui? Who knows what conclusions he might jump to.
Panicking, Lin Nan turned to Tu Junhui, who seemed to have misunderstood their exchange. With fervent nods, he proclaimed, “Man, if I could snag a girlfriend with legs that long, I’d be envious of her boyfriend for sure!”
Where was this guy’s mind wandering off to? Lin Nan suddenly wondered if he had misinterpreted Chen Yao’s comment; what if he was just as clueless as Tu Junhui? Was he overreacting?
Once the girl disappeared from view, Lin Nan glanced at the ball wedged in the basket and then at Chen Yao, whose expression screamed, “I’ve got no idea what to do.”
“I’ll try to get the ball down,” Chen Yao declared, stretching. He had played enough basketball to have jumped and grabbed a few rebounds in his day.
But a confident plan quickly turned into a fail as he flubbed his attempt right in front of Lin Nan.
While Chen Yao was busy grappling with the stuck ball, Lin Nan turned to Tu Junhui and started discussing second-hand computers. “I can pay you back next month, how about that? I spent a bit too much at the start of the semester…”
He had a monthly allowance of a thousand, but after buying basics like shampoo and shower gel, a chunk of it vanished like magic.
Recently, he had been ordering takeout constantly, and with daily expenses over forty bucks just for drinks and breakfast, he was down to just enough to survive on a dish of meat and a vegetable from the cafeteria.
“You’re telling me we have to wait until next month to get repaid?” Tu Junhui clearly hadn’t expected Lin Nan to be this strapped for cash.
“Next month… I’ll pay you back three hundred to start, and if we win any prize money from the competition, I’ll hand over everything. I’ll figure out a part-time job to slowly settle the rest…” Lin Nan hurriedly explained, his face turning a shade of crimson.
He had always hated owing money; in the past, he wouldn’t even touch a credit service. Now? He was willingly procrastinating.
“Oh, that’s cool… I guess,” Tu Junhui scratched his head. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll just sell the computer on the cheap after two months. Not like it’s a big deal.”
“Yeah…”
Lin Nan had initially just been thinking about earning some quick cash, but without debts, there was no urgency. Now that he had financial obligations, getting a part-time job was suddenly the priority.
While trying to learn shooting from Chen Yao, Lin Nan’s thoughts drifted, and his shots were as weak as a noodle. He missed the basket repeatedly.
Chen Yao understood Lin Nan’s worries but getting a part-time job wasn’t too easy right now. Delivering food would be awkward since Lin Nan had ghosted on the cafeteria last time, not to mention his service work had hours that clashed with classes. The only part-time options were stuff like tutoring, handing out flyers, or dressing up as a mascot, none of which sounded exhilarating.
One of Lin Nan’s shots missed the rim completely, and Chen Yao stepped forward to retrieve the ball. He turned to Lin Nan and said, “How about this Friday night? Let’s head to the pedestrian street together and scope out some part-time gigs?”
“Really?” Lin Nan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. He quickly ran up, eyes sparkling. “Do you already have ideas on what to do?”
Caught off guard by Lin Nan’s shimmering puppy eyes, Chen Yao awkwardly looked down, only to meet Lin Nan’s plunging neckline: “How about dressing up as a mascot? You’d sell it so well on the street!”
Pretending to be distracted by passersby, he continued, “I’ll accompany you, at least someone will be there to back you up.”
“Best idea ever!”
Lin Nan beamed, standing on tiptoes as he hooked an arm over Chen Yao’s shoulder. “True bro! Don’t forget, half the earnings go to me! I’m short on cash right now, consider this my way of paying you back for all those meals!”
“Get lost!”
