Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Midnight Conversation

Staring at Yu Manman in her black leopard-print bikini, Geng Haoshi felt as though he were on the catwalk of a lingerie show—dribbling back and forth on the runway, watching the model’s parade as he moved.

The two hundred dribbles were completed amidst a warm, peaceful, and slightly ambiguous atmosphere.

The rest of the team had also finished their daily training tasks.

“Gather up!”

Yu Manman, clad in her black leopard-print bikini, stood before the entire school basketball team—a row of players, each with nosebleeds streaming down their faces.

“Crack!” Yu Manman snapped her whip fiercely. “You’re all so fired up. Should each of you run ten thousand laps to cool off?”

Ten thousand laps?! The players shook their heads rapidly, wiping away their nosebleeds.

Beauty coach, you’re the one tempting us with lingerie and then blaming us, Geng Haoshi grumbled inwardly.

“From today onward, you must all be in bed before ten thirty, no exceptions!”

“Every morning, you must wake up by six!”

The players wanted to protest, but not one dared to speak.

“Go wash up and get to bed!”

With that, Yu Manman walked toward a simple, newly assembled bed.

“So the beauty coach is sleeping here too!” The players watched as Yu Manman lay down and pulled the blanket over herself… “If only she didn’t cover herself,” they thought, their faces full of longing.

“What are you idiots still standing around for? Get to bed!” Yu Manman glared at the team.

They shuddered once more, grabbed their toothbrushes, cups, and towels, and hurried to the washroom inside the sports hall.

“Wow!” Entering the washroom, Geng Haoshi couldn’t help but marvel, “It’s so huge!”

Inside were six rows of sinks, each row with six stations, every station equipped with all kinds of toiletries.

Each player found a spot and began brushing their teeth and washing their faces.

“Hey, do you think our coach might be…you know, gay?” Zhu Di spoke as he washed his face.

No one answered, so Zhu Di continued, “I think she is, and she’s the ‘top’ type. We’re just ‘fellow kind’ in her eyes, so she feels free to strut around us in a bikini.”

“Hmm, makes sense.” The players agreed.

“If that’s true, it’s such a shame—a beauty like her, and she’s gay?” Geng Haoshi sighed to himself, winking at his reflection in the mirror. “If I act more feminine, maybe the beauty coach will fall for me?”

The other players were speechless.

Within ten minutes, everyone finished washing and began spreading mats on the basketball court for sleep.

Lying on their mats, the players tossed and turned, unable to sleep. After all, it was only a little past ten twenty—at least an hour earlier than their usual bedtime.

“Senior Xiaosan, can I ask you something?” Geng Haoshi, wide awake, called to Zhou Xiaoshan, who lay not far away.

“What is it?” Zhou Xiaoshan, like Xu Gaofeng, was one of the more approachable members of the team.

“Senior Xiaosan, how did you win Sister Xiaoling’s heart?” Geng Haoshi asked, and the substitute players, who hadn’t heard the story, pricked up their ears.

“She chased me,” Zhou Xiaoshan replied lightly.

Geng Haoshi had hoped for some pickup artist secrets.

“Ha, Xiaoshan is the team’s number one heartthrob. It wasn’t just Xiaoling who chased him,” Xu Gaofeng commented nearby.

“That’s right. So many beauties, but in the end, Xiaoshan fell for a bad girl,” Zhu Di mused.

“A bad girl? You mean Sister Xiaoling? I think Xiaoling is so cool!” Substitute forward Zhang Zhaolong said admiringly.

“Cool she may be…but do you really want a tigress for a girlfriend?” Zhu Di raised an eyebrow at Zhang Zhaolong.

“Don’t listen to him,” Zhou Xiaoshan quickly interjected.

“Me, exaggerating? She often tackles you right in front of us,” Zhu Di insisted.

“Tackles? Is that a game?” Substitute shooting guard He Zhikun asked, confused.

Everyone was speechless, thinking: This guy doesn’t even know what ‘tackling’ means—he’s too innocent!

“Cough, cough, it only happened a few times… Mostly, I tackled her!” Zhou Xiaoshan defended himself.

The players looked unconvinced.

“So Senior Xiaosan is the ‘bottom’ then,” Geng Haoshi chimed in.

“Bottom, my foot! Want to see how strong I am as a ‘top’?” Zhou Xiaoshan said, lifting his blanket and pretending to get up toward Geng Haoshi.

“Senior Xiaosan, I don’t swing that way!” Geng Haoshi cried, hurriedly covering himself.

“Oh, getting our goody-two-shoes to say something so shameless—Xiao’er, you’ve got guts! I approve!” Zhu Di, who previously had some issues with Geng Haoshi, now felt a bit of admiration for him.

“Glad to hear it, let’s keep it up,” Geng Haoshi replied, not holding back.

“By the way, Xiao’er, how did you pull off that dunk?” Zhu Di had been wanting to ask, but pride held him back until now.

Everyone’s eyes locked onto Geng Haoshi, eager to know.

“Why ask? I didn’t even succeed,” Geng Haoshi replied nervously, seeing their intense stares.

“But how did you jump so high?” Zhu Di’s face was almost touching Geng Haoshi’s, determined to get an answer.

“Is it really because of your shoes?” The players got up, ready to try Geng Haoshi’s shoes for themselves.

The commotion was enough to disturb the devilish goddess coach.

“If you’re not asleep in the next minute, you’ll all get up and run a marathon!” Yu Manman’s furious roar sent the players scrambling back to their mats, terrified.

“Let’s keep it down,” Zhu Di whispered, unwilling to give up. “Xiao’er, you still haven’t answered us.”

He pointed at Geng Haoshi, eyes glaring fiercely.

Geng Haoshi swallowed and whispered, “This is my lifelong secret. If I tell you, you must promise to keep it.”

The players nodded eagerly, excited to learn a shocking truth.

Geng Haoshi lowered his voice further: “Actually, I’m an alien—and a genius.”

The team was stunned.

“Alien, my foot!” The players jumped up, ready to punish Geng Haoshi.

Just then, a chill crept up from behind them…