First period of evening self-study.
Teacher Li was watching from the podium.
Suddenly the door opened, and the person who opened it knocked three times—
Dong dong dong.
Everyone looked up.
It was the PE teacher, Wang Jiale.
Teacher Wang nodded to Teacher Li, then shouted at the whole class, “Anyone who can play basketball, come with me!”
Zhang Zihan, Li Tong, and a few other boys cheered and jumped to their feet.
But the next second, they glanced at Teacher Li, then calmed down and slowly sat back down.
Teacher Li smiled and said, “What, do you think I’m the kind of person who goes against the PE teacher?”
A few boys’ eyes lit up.
“There’s a basketball game soon, you guys need to work hard!”
“Woo! Long live our homeroom teacher!”
Seven or eight boys shouted and ran out noisily.
Zheng Siyuan was among them.
As he left, he patted Zheng Yang, signaling her to come along.
After Zhang Zihan went out, he poked his head back in and waved at Zheng Yang, mouthing, “Brother Yang, let’s go!”
Zheng Yang had wanted to go too, but when she saw that none of the girls had left, she felt embarrassed to move and just bit her lip, her heart itching like a cat scratching.
“Zheng Yangyang, why aren’t you going?” Teacher Li asked with a smile.
“Ah… me? Can I?”
“Why not?”
Zheng Yang slowly stood up, looked back at the desk behind her.
Wu Chun was looking excited and gave her a thumbs up.
Feeling greatly encouraged, she smiled, covered her mouth, and ran out with her head down.
Since it was evening, Teacher Wang led everyone to the indoor basketball court.
Zheng Yang was a few minutes late because she went to the locker room to change into shorts.
“Hurry up, class monitor, we’re waiting for you.”
Teacher Wang waited for everyone to stand in line, then said, “This is to understand everyone’s strengths so I can assign each person a position.”
He glanced at Zheng Yang.
“You’re the only girl, so let’s start with you.”
Zheng Yang smiled shyly and perked up her ears expectantly.
“The class monitor’s skills are among the top three in the whole school, but your body type is too disadvantageous, so you’ll play guard, and as a substitute.”
“What? Why am I a substitute, Teacher?”
Zheng Yang asked very aggrievedly.
“Because you’re a girl,” Teacher Wang said calmly.
“And the school doesn’t have a girls’ basketball team.”
“What’s wrong with being a girl? I usually play with them all the time,” Zheng Yang tried to argue.
“Is the intensity of casual play the same as a formal game? With your… figure, it’s good enough I’m giving you a substitute spot. If you understand basketball, I don’t need to explain further.”
Zheng Yang instinctively looked down at her round, firm chest and deflated.
She naturally understood what the teacher meant, especially as a girl playing basketball among boys.
But her enthusiasm had made her momentarily forget that her S-shaped figure—
Which others envied and admired—
Was actually a real hindrance in basketball.
At that moment, she longed for her former male body.
“The remaining seven—including the class monitor—make eight. Split into two teams and play a scrimmage. Play just like you usually do, and I’ll observe who fits which position.”
The seven boys and one girl split into teams as Teacher Wang instructed and played for over ten minutes.
“Hmm, Zhang Zihan, you’re the tallest, so you’ll play center. Zheng Siyuan has solid skills—small forward or guard. Li Tong, power forward. If Zhang Zihan rests, you take over as center…”
Zheng Yang felt slightly relieved hearing Teacher Wang’s arrangement for Siyuan.
In her eyes, the guard position on the court was the most dazzling.
She really wanted to be a starting guard, but she was a substitute.
Seeing Siyuan as the starting guard gave her a sense of inheritance, like “son, you’ve made up for your old dad’s regrets.”
After the assignments, Teacher Wang told everyone, “For the next week, every self-study period, including the first period of evening self-study, you’ll train here. If anyone thinks it will affect their studies, speak up now. You can quit.”
The eight looked at each other and smiled.
Who would want to study when there’s a chance to play?
For a moment, Zheng Yang’s old fatherly habit kicked in, and she wanted Siyuan to quit for his studies.
But she quickly convinced herself—
She owed Siyuan too much to take this away from him.
Besides, with her current identity, she had no right to expect Siyuan to obey her.
And she also wanted to spend more time with her son and watch his heroic performance on the court.
Over the next week, Zheng Yang spent every day in excitement.
She prepared a set of basketball clothes, but the uniform was very loose.
As a girl, she had to buy two black protective undershirts to wear underneath to avoid wardrobe malfunctions.
Otherwise, the boys on the court wouldn’t know which ball to watch.
She also got knee pads and wrist guards—
Not only for herself but also a set for Siyuan, better quality than her own, and told him, “Don’t say I gave them to you.”
She didn’t know that this made Siyuan overjoyed.
He hugged the protective gear she gave him every night when he slept.
But Zheng Yang didn’t buy him the gear for any other reason.
If she were still Siyuan’s father, knowing her son liked basketball, she would have bought them too.
But now, that male Zheng Yang was probably busy with the cooperation project with the Zheng Corporation, and he had no time to care about what Siyuan liked—
Just like she used to be.
She was still compensating.
The training started smoothly, especially Zheng Siyuan, who as the point guard played steadily and excellently.
Zheng Yang would occasionally curse in her mind:
‘Little brat, your basketball skills are all earned at the expense of your grades.’
But she couldn’t help keeping her eyes on Siyuan.
It was like an old father watching his son play from the sidelines—
Of course all his attention was on his son.
‘My son is so handsome! He plays even better than I did back then, no, better than I play now.’
Zheng Siyuan knew she was watching him, and playing felt like adding wings to a tiger, like having divine help.
But Zheng Yang was now just a girl of the same age.
This behavior of constantly focusing on one person looked wrong in others’ eyes.
No matter how you put it, it was obvious favoritism, obvious liking, or even love! “Love”—
That was Zhang Zihan’s conclusion, filled with immense jealousy and a sense of crisis.
On the third and fourth days of training, Zhang Zihan felt like a huge vat of vinegar had been knocked over in his heart.
The sourness made him extremely uncomfortable, weak all over, and unable to exert himself.
Especially every time he looked at Zheng Yang on the bench, only to find her looking at Zheng Siyuan.
“Zhang Zihan! What’s wrong with you? You can’t even catch a ball? How many times is this?”
Teacher Wang finally lost his temper after Zhang Zihan made another mistake.
“What’s up with you? Did you get dumped?”
Zhang Zihan instinctively glanced at Zheng Yang, saying “Sorry, teacher,” but the hit in his heart only made him want to cry.
Not out of guilt for his poor performance, but because his good buddy “Brother Yang” had taken a liking to someone else.
Although Teacher Wang had a strong build, teaching at a private school under Wu Shengli’s management, he was no simpleton.
He had long noticed the subtle relationship between Zhang Zihan, Zheng Siyuan, and Zheng Yang.
After the fourth day’s training, he kept Zheng Yang behind alone.
“Class monitor, do you like Zheng Siyuan?”
“Ah?!”
Zheng Yang was stunned by Teacher Wang’s straightforward, no-prelude talk.
“Don’t play dumb.”
Teacher Wang reached out and pinched Zheng Yang’s cheek.
“Don’t underestimate adults! In these few days of training, your eyes have been glued to Zheng Siyuan!”
“I was just… I’m not…”
Zheng Yang was incoherent, her face instantly red.
“And, does Zhang Zihan like you?” Teacher Wang asked again.
Zheng Yang almost cried.
‘Teacher, give me some breathing room. Your questions are too direct.’
Teacher Wang didn’t seem to wait for her answer and continued, “I don’t care who likes who—that’s for your homeroom teacher and the school counselor to handle. But one thing: you all need to be mindful of the impression you’re making.”
“Yes…”
Zheng Yang lowered her head and swallowed.
“You’ve seen Zhang Zihan’s condition. Dare to say it has nothing to do with you staring at Zheng Siyuan every day?”
Teacher Wang scolded.
“If this continues, I’ll have no choice but to force Zhang Zihan to quit training, or force Zheng Siyuan to quit!”
“No, no, no!”
Zheng Yang waved her hands repeatedly.
“Teacher, I truly know I was wrong. I’ll definitely change!”
“If I catch you staring at Zheng Siyuan again, you’re off the team. Not even a substitute!”
After leaving Teacher Wang, Zheng Yang was filled with regret.
She wished she could slap herself a few times.
Siyuan was a switch for her—
A switch that opened up her guilt toward her son, a switch for her admiration, relief, and pride.
She could barely hold back these feelings, but she always subconsciously forgot to consider other things, like not being misunderstood, or Zhang Zihan’s feelings.
Maybe it was too much to ask a 15-year-old girl to consider all the implications, but she was 38.
She should have known better.
She felt she had really let herself down.