Chapter Twenty-Five: Return to the Field

47:49! Just two points behind!

As we retreated on defense, Yi deliberately ran past me, excitement radiating from him as he gave me a resounding high-five. Our theatrical celebration seemed to provoke the sensitive nerves of Class 3, Grade 12. They quickly launched a counterattack, stringing together several passes. Suddenly, Xu Zhang made a sharp drive, shaking off Xiao Hei and charging straight into the paint. Shuai Cheng, thinking Xu Zhang merely wanted to break through and pass, didn't stick close. Instead, he stepped back to the right, focusing his attention on their power forward, Yu Du. As expected, after Xu Zhang took two steps toward the basket, he feinted a pass in Du’s direction.

Shuai Cheng had been watching closely and moved laterally to block Yu Du’s path. Seeing Cheng fall for the feint, Xu Zhang’s eyes flashed with cunning; the passing hand pulled back imperceptibly, and at the same instant, his third step carried him forward firmly.

Xu Zhang was about to finish an easy layup. Cheng, realizing his mistake, quickly abandoned Yu Du, raised his arms high, and leapt, desperate to make up for his error.

The whistle sounded sharply—Cheng had committed a foul, striking Xu Zhang’s hand. Meanwhile, the ball rolled off Xu Zhang’s fingertips, grazed the backboard, and slipped into the hoop.

“A three-point play!” The whole crowd erupted.

Standing at the free throw line, Xu Zhang calmly sank the bonus shot, bringing the score to 47:52.

Four minutes remained in the game. Who would claim victory in the end?

Xiao Hei controlled the ball at the top of the arc. Taking advantage of Yi’s pick, he darted to the right baseline, drawing their center’s immediate defense. Sensing danger, Xiao Hei quickly passed the ball back out to Yi at the perimeter, who, as always, faced a double-team. At that moment, I was left completely unguarded again. Yi spotted my position instantly; the ball arrived almost simultaneously in my hands.

Should I drive or shoot? The thought flashed like lightning through my mind. With time running out, a layup seemed the safer bet. I made my choice in an instant.

No matter what, this ball must go in! Angling my body, I drove toward the paint, only to have a shadow suddenly block my path. How could he be here? Impossible—wasn’t he screened by Yi?

“I’ll get past you!” There was no more time to hesitate. I twisted my body, brushing past Mu Li almost shoulder to shoulder.

I made it! The space ahead was wide open. Instinctively, my right foot took another step forward. But I’d forgotten to check if there was room to step.

Suddenly, my balance was lost. The momentum carried me forward, and I crashed down. A fierce pain shot from my knee, and the open court before me faded into blankness...

Clutching my knee, an agony unlike anything I’d ever known tore through me like a surge of electricity. Pain—no, the word hardly captured it.

“Xiao Bei... what happened to you... don’t scare me!” Lele was nearly in tears.

Everyone crowded around—Yi, Chao Sun, Shuai Cheng, Hui Ye, Xiao Hei... Yet all I felt was a deathly silence. Through blurred vision, all I could see was a knee swollen like a steamed bun...

Lying on a hospital bed, the room was empty. I struggled to sit up, but my left leg felt nothing at all. The whole world seemed to shut me out in that moment. What would happen next? What if I could never walk again...

I didn’t want to think about all those what-ifs, nor did I dare.

As my thoughts spiraled, Lele walked in from outside. Seeing her, I hurriedly asked, “What’s the diagnosis?”

It was clear she had been crying; her eyes were still puffy. Her appearance made my heart sink, a sense of foreboding rising within me. “Lele, just tell me—I can handle it!” It almost felt as if I were comforting her.

Lele glanced down at my knee, then quietly said, “The doctor said it’s a stroke of luck amidst misfortune—your knee hit the side, and it’s dislocated! If... if it had struck the front, it would’ve been a comminuted fracture.”

Hearing “dislocation,” I breathed a long sigh of relief. “Lele, you nearly scared me to death.”

Seeing my nonchalant relief, Lele’s face turned serious. “You pig, I’m not done yet! A knee dislocation is nothing like other joint dislocations!”

Her earnestness made me anxious again. “How so?”

Lele pondered for a while before explaining, “A knee dislocation needs a very long period of recovery, and during that time you can’t participate in any physical activity...”

I couldn’t help but interrupt, “How long?”

Lele pursed her lips and carefully sat before me. “The doctor said at least a year!”

“So long?!” I was dumbstruck. “And after that? There won’t be any lasting effects, right?”

“If you recover well, there shouldn’t be any problems.” Worry clouded Lele’s eyes.

(Five months later...)

Alone, I sat quietly on the railing beside the basketball court, watching a few younger students happily running across the court. Unconsciously, I touched my uncooperative left leg.

“When will I ever be like them again?” Each day, I asked myself this question in my heart. Now, though I could walk unaided, it was still just walking. Even now, my left leg was weak; the simple running and jumping that once came so easily were impossible.

“Am I useless?” I lowered my head, picked an ant from the grass, and placed it in my palm, speaking to it as if to myself.

At some point, Lele appeared before me. “Xiao Bei, let’s go home.”

Since my injury, Lele had taken it upon herself to escort me to and from school every day. Over these months, Dad and Mom had gradually accepted my pretty, adorable girlfriend. Thus, Lele naturally became the model my parents used in their lectures. Every other sentence: “Look at Lele...” It was enough to drive me crazy.

I looked up at Lele, pressing my hands to the ground as I tried to stand. Seeing my struggle, Lele quickly reached out to help, but I gently shook my head. “Let me do it myself.”

At my insistence, Lele withdrew her hand.

“See, I’m almost fully recovered. You won’t need to tire yourself escorting me every day!” I said, showing off by pacing back and forth in front of her.

“That’s not happening,” Lele said firmly. “Before your injury, we always went to and from school together anyway. What’s tiring about it? Your parents have entrusted you to me, so I must fulfill my duty to take care of you!”

“You silly Lele, you’ve become my guardian!” I grumbled, sticking out my tongue. “Actually, Lele, it’s a real pity.”

“A pity? For what?” Lele didn’t understand.

“A pity my good days are over. I won’t get a seat on the bus anymore...” I said, hands on hips, looking at the sky in mock indignation.

“Pfft, go cool your head somewhere else!” Lele retorted angrily. “That’s just fishing for sympathy—I despise you!”

“But... I really was disabled then!” I argued, shamelessly.

“Disabled, my foot! Now behave and come home with me!” Lele grabbed my ear fiercely.

“Lele, when did you get so violent? Ow, that hurts! Be gentle!” In my mind, Lele was always the epitome of gentleness and grace. But lately, she seemed to be developing the temper of that wild Chu Chu! For me, this was hardly good news.