Would You Mind If I Play?

“Hey! I’m Mitsui!”

“I’m Jin!”

“Jin Soichiro? He can’t compare with our Mitsui!”

“That’s just crap! Jin’s the best!”

“That’s sh*t!” Mitsui’s the best! Just look at that match between him and Kainan. With that three-pointer shot, no one could defend against him!”

“Did you watch Slam Dunk properly? The website clearly states that Jin Soichiro from Kainan is the best!”

The two fans of Slam Dunk were bickering on the basketball court. Looking at the situation, no one dared to interfere. As the two continued to argue, a soccer ball came whistling by and bounced off the backboard. The two of them were shocked and turned their heads to find where the soccer ball had come from. At this time, another soccer ball flew by and went into the net with a swishing sound! It was a clean shot! Then, more and more soccer balls came flying by. The two of them realized that it was too dangerous to argue there, so they instantly ran far away, making weird noises.

On the soccer field.

“Not bad! Looks like you’re already getting a hang of it. You’ve got about 30 % of it down already!” Besides Sun Laihong, who was speaking and Li Yongle, who was kicking the ball, the rest of them at the basketball court had their mouths wide open. They could not comprehend what was going on.

“It’s only the third day and your improvements are already really obvious! Keep working hard!” Sun Laihong patted Li Yongle on the shoulder and left. The rest of the team constantly praised and admired Li Yongle as they surrounded him.

Zhao Defeng did not join them, but he was called out by Sun Laihong.

“How’s that? Still have doubts?” he smiled and asked Zhao Defeng. “Now you know why I assigned the number ’10’ to him instead of you?”

Zhao Defeng watched the crowd as they embraced Li Yongle. “I hate to admit it, but he really is a talented one…”

…

“Alright, today’s training has come to an end!”

Everyone scattered.

“Tsk! He’s running even faster!” Zhang Jun watched his teammates as they appeared as blac dots in the distance. “Didn’t you guys yell that you were tired when were training!”

Yang Pan brought a big basket over as Su Fei wanted to put in the soccer balls she had collected. But instead of placing them inside the basket, she insisted on kicking the balls into it. Half a day had passed and she only managed to kick in one ball. Zhang Jun looked at the sky and said, “If you don’t finish, we’ll have to stay here overnight!”

Su Fei glared at him. “Don’t just stand there. Help me!”

Zhang Jun approached Su Fei. “Watch closely!” Then, he picked the ball up with his foot, and with a kick, the ball flew obediently into the basket. As he continued to kick, barely a moment passed before all the balls were in the basket. There were none left.

“Not bad! You do have talent!” Su Fei smiled.

“Hehe! Do you think that the story of Luoyang’s number one front attacker’s just a rumor?” Zhang Jun placed both of his hands on his hips and boasted.

Su Fei made a silly face. “Your tail’s already tilted to the sky with just a few words of praise!”

“Zhang Jun, are you coming to watch the match tomorrow?” After Yang Pan returned the balls to the equipment room, he came back to ask him.

“Match? What match?”

“The third and fourth place play-off! Do you only care about matches that involve you?” Yang Pan replied moodily.

“No!” Zhang Jun shook his head. “I only care about matches that I participate in!”

Yang Pan decided not to get himself entangled further in that pointless conversation. “In another sense, the game tomorrow afternoon game will be Fan Cunjie’s farewell game! He made the Luoyang high school community feel grand for three years. Will his farewell game also be a grand one?” Yang Pan lifted his head and looked to the west, but he could only see a faint redness tainting the blue sky.

“Hmph! Just wait till it’s our turn. We’ll be even grander compared to him!”

Yang Pan turned to Zhang Jun.

“What?”

“Ah! When else can we have such a distant, yet ambitious goal?” Yang Pan then faced Su Fei. “Are you going tomorrow, Su Fei?” He already knew that it was a waste asking her. If Zhang Jun was not going, Su Fei would not be going either.

Of course, Su Fei shook her head. “I’m not going.”

“Why?”

“Hehe! I’m giving Zhang Jun tuition tomorrow.” Su Fei smiled.

“T-Tuition?”

“That’s right. Uncle and Auntie allowed me to give Zhang Jun tuition classes. We’re already in our senior year, so our college entrance examination isn’t far away.”

“Oh, yes! Our college entrance examination’s around the corner. I aspire to be a youth of Qing Hua University and Beijing University, so I’m going to take my test there!” Zhang Jun placed his hands on his hips again and replied arrogantly.

Yang Pan flung a bag at him and said, ” I think you have to attend the “Home squatting” University instead to have ‘your youth’! Let’s go already!”

…

“Li Yongle, the sky’s getting dark. You still don’t want to leave?”

Zhang Lintao went to the soccer field, carrying his bag to find Li Yongle still training.

“The lights from the school building are shining down at the soccer field, I can still see.” Li Yongle launched another kick and the soccer ball slammed into the basketball post and bounced away.

“Your accuracy is already good enough and you’ve achieved 30 % of it! What more do you have to train for!”

“I’m aiming for an accurate long pass while running!” Li Yongle dribbled the ball forward and kicked it all of a sudden. The soccer ball slammed into the edge of the backboard.

Zhang Lintao saw Zhang Yang retrieving the balls from the basketball ball stand, so he put down his bag and found a place to sit. He quietly watched as Li Yongle kicked balls towards the basketball post, which was 30 m away.

*Dong!*

*Swish!*

*Dong!*

*Klang!*

…

Su Fei’s parents came to the door again. The four middle-aged men and women had a lot of topics to chat about and they were very lively. Zhang Jun closed the door, but it did not stop the loud noise that was coming from the living room.

He gathered his books and pencil, deciding to do his homework at Su Fei’s house.

“Uncle, Auntie, is Su Fei at home?”

“Yes, she’s there. It’s too noisy here, so you should go with her to complete your homework!” Su Fei’s mother smiled. The woman’s smile was similar to Su Fei’s. Even her voice was the same. The first time he heard Auntie’s voice, Zhang Jun thought it was Su Fei and it almost made him call her name. He could see Auntie’s younger days from Su Fei and he could see how Su Fei would be like when she got older from Auntie. Despite the old appearance, the charm would still be there.

Thanking Auntie, Zhang Jun went out the door and escaped the laughter of the four adults. He then knocked on Su Fei’s door.

Su Fei was wearing her pajamas when she opened the door.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Zhang Jun exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“Your pajamas are so pretty….”

Su Fei made a gesture of wanting to hit him and Zhang Jun instantly changed his words. “The person is also pretty!”

“Hmph!” Su Fei turned away and her hair swept across Zhang Jun’s face. A sweet aroma floated into Zhang Jun’s nose and he could not help inhaling.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s still early, are you going to sleep soon?” Zhang Jun looked at the clock on the wall. It was only about nine.

“I’m wearing this because it’s comfortable, Stupid!”

Zhang Jun stuck his tongue out. “My house is too noisy, so I begged for a bit of quietness at your place.”

“Hihi! I was the one who rushed my parents to your house.” Su Fei sat on her bed as she hugged a soft and fluffy dog plushie.

“Ah! How sneaky!” Zhang Jun sat in front of Su Fei’s table and copied Su Fei’s homework.

“Hey! Didn’t you come here to study?”

“Yes, study. I’m working really hard on studying!” Zhang Jun continued to copy her homework while he replied.

“Hmph!” Su Fei faced away and ignored him.

At that moment, only the sounds of writing and the passage of time could be heard in the room.

“You have to win the finals tomorrow!”

“Okay.” Zhang Jun did not even lift his head up. He just continued copying her homework.

“You mustn’t lose!”

“Mhm.” Zhang Jun did not stop writing.

“If you lose, I’m breaking up with you!” Zhang Jun put his pencil down and turned to face a serious Su Fei. “What’s going on with you, Su Fei?”

Su Fei did not answer. She only stared at him. Zhang Jun did not speak either, instead he looked at Su Fei. It was his first time staring eye-to-eye with a girl and he was surprised that he did not feel embarrassed about it. In the past, the moment he made eye contact with the opposite gender, he would always quickly look away. He was fearful that others would suspect him of having impure motives. But this time, when he looked at Su Fei in front of him, there was no discomfort. Rather, there was a sweet feeling and it made him totally reluctant to turn his gaze away.

Su Fei kept her gaze on Zhang Jun. The light cast a soft glow on her smooth forehead and cheeks, forming a halo around her.

The hands of the clock moved with each second and it became the only sound in the silent room.

What a beautiful picture!

Until…

*Growl…*

Su Fei shifted her gaze to the clock on the wall. Zhang Jun laughed in embarrassment. “This…”

Su Fei stood up. “Are you hungry? I’ll get you supper.”

“Oh, alright? Ah!” Zhang Jun extended his hand and thought of pulling Su Fei back. But, he only caught Su Fei’s shadow. This is bad! It’s going to be horrible! Zhang Jun sighed heavily in his heart, but it was not a good idea for him to disturb Su Fei’s “enthusiasm to cook”.

There were sounds of pots and pans colliding in the kitchen. Zhang Jun had a wry smile and swallowed. He walked into the kitchen like a brave martyr.

Suddenly, Su Fei’s cry could be heard from the kitchen. Zhang Jun thought a “cockroach” had appeared. He quickly rushed into the kitchen and saw Su Fei holding on to her left index finger. There was a little blood on her fingertip and the kitchen knife had been thrown to the side. Zhang Jun did not have to ask to know what happened. He approached Su Fei and grabbed her hand without hesitation.

“Let me see!”

“It’s nothing.” Su Fei smiled. She wanted to let go of Zhang Jun’s hand. “The water’s still boiling in that pot…”

But Zhang Jun turned off the gas. He brought Su Fei to her room to let her sit on the chair. “Where’s the plaster?”

Su Fei was shocked by Zhang Jun’s actions. She stared blankly at him for a while before she pointed at her table. “The third drawer from the left…”

Zhang Jun opened it and a box of unwrapped Band-Aid was lying quietly in the drawer. He took a strip out and gave it to Su Fei to apply. “If you don’t know how to do it then don’t. It’s dangerous and you’re bound to get hurt…” Zhang Jun suddenly looked at Su Fei’s left middle finger, index finger and thumb that were injured by the knife. He remembered seeing a colorful book on her desk when he was looking for the band-aid. It appeared to be a book titled “Home-Cooked Recipes”.

His stomach growled again. This damn stomach! Zhang Jun scolded himself in his heart.

Su Fei immediately stood up. “I’ll boil the water. I know how to cook noodles.” But, she was held still by Zhang Jun. “I’ll go.”

Su Fei was surprised to see Zhang Jun starting the gas and boiling the water. He also had the green onions cleaned and arranged neatly on the cutting board. Then, with his four fingers closed together and slightly bent, he pressed down on the green onions with his thumb on the side. He used his right hand to chop it and as the knife moved forward, his left hand moved back. The kitchen knife looked like it would have cut into the joints of his four left fingers, but it did not cut his fingers.

“How are you so skilled—”

“Back then when my parents weren’t often at home, I would always cook for myself. After a long duration of time, I naturally became skilled,” In the time that Zhang Jun replied her, the green onions were already chopped. Then, he skillfully scooped them with the kitchen knife and divided them into two bowls.

The bowls were already prepared with soy sauce, blended oil, sesame oil and MSG.

“Now I have no problems estimating the ingredients too. I’ll make two bowls of noodles.”

“I’m not hungry…”

“Give my home-cooking a try!” Zhang Jun turned with a smile. “Give me some cold water.”

Zhang Jun then handed a bowl to Su Fei. She filled it with water and returned it to him. This suddenly made her feel something: it was a familiar scene! And snap, it finally came to her! During the weekends, her mother would be busy in the kitchen and her father would give her a hand. He had to ask her on what to do, but he was happy—her father would never be strict with his wife. Looking at their happy faces, Su Fei would position herself on the sidelines. But then her father would always kick her out of the kitchen with the excuse of it being too “chaotic”.

Comparing the current scene and the other one, the difference was, this time there was no one around to chase Su Fei out of the kitchen on the excuse of it being “chaotic”…

As she thought about it, her faced flushed. Fortunately, Zhang Jun had his back facing her, so he did not see it. Otherwise, she would not have known what to say. Would she say that she was thinking if the two of them were a couple? Would she that the were going to have a child together one day? Just kidding! There was no way she could say those kinds of things! But, was it too early to even think about these things?

While Su Fei stared at Zhang Jun with loads of messy thoughts on her mind, Zhang Jun stood with both hands on his hips and exhaled. “And it’s done!”

Looking at the steaming hot noodles, Su Fei could not resist picking up her chopsticks.

“It’s been so long since I last did this, I’m not even sure how it’s turned out. Give it a taste.”

Su Fei picked up a few strands of noodles and put them under her nose to sniff. “Smells good!” Then, she blew on them before she putting them in her mouth. “Tasty!”

Zhang Jun smiled and hungrily ate the noodles too.

“Can you teach me?”

“W#@t?” Zhang Jun’s mouth was full of noodles that it was unclear what he said.

“Can you teach me how to cook?” Su Fei held her chin as she watched Zhang Jun gulped down his noodles.

“Is that really necessary? There are loads of other girls who don’t know how to cook too, so it’s not necessary!” In honesty, Zhang Jun was just lazy.

“No!” Su Fei shook her head. “I have a reason why!”

Zhang Jun drank the soup up and said, “What’s your reason? It’s not going to be a big deal if I give you a lifetime of meals…” As the words came out, he saw the strange expression on Su Fei’s face. He knew he either said something he should not have, or something that was too early to be said.

Both Su Fei and Zhang Jun were stunned.

At that moment, the door flew open. Uncle and Auntie had returned. When the two entered the house, they saw their daughter and Zhang Jun facing each other across the table, and there were two bowls of steaming hot noodles on it.

Other than that, there was just silence…