Feeling Like Headbanging Any Second Now

After so many attempts, she finally made the first basket on the opening shot.

Xia Yanchun nearly jumped for joy. "Yes! I got one!"

"Just one, is that worth celebrating? My turn."

Shen Nian took the basketball the little loli retrieved and dribbled it a couple of times with practiced flair.

Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. He only knew a basic jump shot, but whether it went in or not was beyond his control.

After all, he'd never really played basketball before.

His shots could easily hit the rim or the backboard, but scoring was tough. Even his Luck +5 didn't kick in this time, and the ball clanged off the rim.

"Huff... huff..." Li Shiyan, sparkling with energy, ran to get the ball and handed it to the mysterious Xia Yanchun, giving her a little fist pump. "Keep going, Xiao Chun! You can do it!"

"Mhmm!"

Being one basket ahead, Xia Yanchun was already feeling a tiny bit inflated. She subconsciously straightened her back, her youthful chest only forming a small curve under her thick winter coat.

She took another shot, but unfortunately, it missed.

Then it was Shen Nian's turn... Luck +5 activated, and he sank a beautiful three-pointer.

"Hehe." Shen Nian flashed a peace sign at Xia Yanchun. "Your turn."

"Don't get cocky..." Xia Yanchun's mood dipped again, grumbling to herself as she tried to psych herself up.

Praying to the heavens, let me make one more!

Swish!

The heavens delivered! It went in!

Even though the ball rolled around the rim twice, it still went in!

Not counting the earlier practice shots, she was now two for four. Xia Yanchun felt terrifyingly strong.

Don't ask how it went in. Isn't luck part of one's ability?

However, she was also struggling. Each shot took a lot of effort, and coupled with the winter cold, she was now slightly out of breath, the frigid air stinging her throat.

The key was her generally poor stamina. She felt like a few more shots like this, and her arms would be sore and aching tomorrow. In contrast, Shen Nian wasn't even breathing hard.

The ball landed in Shen Nian's hands again.

Shen Nian shot casually. Miss.

They went through two more rounds before Shen Nian scored his second point.

The hand of [Glimmer Experience] was at work.

He was starting to get a feel for shooting now, a hot streak. It felt like a few more shots, and any three-pointers he made would be due to his own accuracy, not just luck.

"Two to two," Shen Nian grinned, reminding her.

"Haah..." Xia Yanchun took a deep breath, her face flushed and warm from the exertion, a delicate pink tinting the fine skin under her eyes.

Both were just one basket away from winning. She was incredibly nervous and also running on fumes. Gritting her teeth, she took the shot.

It had the height but not the distance...

Suddenly, a whistle sounded in the distance. Xia Yanchun glanced over and saw her class's PE teacher calling for assembly. Her heart leapt with joy.

"Let's call it here for today! Time to assemble!"

"Damn, wait for me to take this shot!"

"We'll get scolded by the teacher if we're late. Come on, Shiyan, let's go." Feeling guilty, Xia Yanchun broke into a little run, linking arms with Li Shiyan as they hurried towards the rest of their class.

Neither of them was good at shooting, but she was clearly at a disadvantage, her stamina failing her. She was already panting after just a few shots, so the teacher's assembly whistle came at the perfect time.

Smart people know when to make a strategic retreat; only a fool would keep competing with Shen Nian.

This isn't being a sore loser, okay? The teacher blew the whistle. We'd get in trouble for not assembling.

Watching the two girls retreat into the distance, Shen Nian's mouth twitched. He retrieved the ball himself and took one last shot before leaving.

Swish—

The ball sailed cleanly through the net.

After assembly and dismissal, Shen Nian, for the first time in a while, bought a drink with Chen Dong.

Xia Yanchun strictly regulated sugary drinks, so Shen Nian hadn't tasted anything sweet besides what he brewed himself for some time. The thought made his mouth water a little.

Back in the classroom, Xia Yanchun was slowly packing her books into her book box. She glanced at Shen Nian but didn't say anything.

"Your books? Put them in here." Xia Yanchun had deliberately left some space for him.

"In a bit, let me sort them out first."

"Okay."

This was a key benefit of being on good terms with the girls. Without Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan helping him pack, the books he couldn't fit would have to be piled on the floor.

Soon, the exam seating chart was posted at the back of the classroom.

Shen Nian got lucky. He was assigned to their own classroom along with Xia Yanchun, just at a different seat.

During the last period, everyone moved their desks and chairs, arranging them according to the seating chart. A classroom meant for fifty now only seated twenty-five. The school had even requisitioned classrooms from other grades to expand the number of exam halls.

The first mock exam was quite formal, taken seriously not just by students but by the school itself. Cinan's mock exams were province-wide unified tests, facilitating comparisons across different schools. Only the third mock exam was a tri-province unified test.

Because of the senior year's first mock exam, the freshmen and sophomores happily got a two-day holiday where they couldn't leave campus. As long as the seniors were testing, the underclassmen had to stay in their dorms, effectively only having evening self-study sessions.

Envious, Shen Nian wished he could fast-forward to the college entrance exams.

During the last period of evening self-study, Shen Nian and Chen Dong wore grave expressions.

"You've already lost," Shen Nian said, twirling his pen with a carefree smile, like a drunken flute player.

"Dammit, again!"

"Hah, the outcome is decided. There's no point continuing." Shen Nian waved a hand dismissively. "When it comes to Gomoku, you're still too green."

Hearing their chattering, Xia Yanchun smiled faintly. But as the class gradually grew noisier, she decided to intervene.

"The first mock exam is tomorrow. Those not studying, please mind your volume. Don't disturb classmates who are trying to review."

Shen Nian and Chen Dong immediately fell silent.

Our apologies, Class President. We spoke too loudly. We'll now prepare to finish writing the remaining two subjects of the "Five-Three" we haven't completed.

Chen Dong turned back to play Gomoku with Ma Mingfan. Shen Nian didn't dare make a sound either. Any more noise, and Xia Yanchun would start taking names.

Don't let her sweet appearance fool you. If the class got too loud and a reminder didn't work, she could note down several names at once. Enough names, and Su Kexi would call the worst offenders out for a chat.

Once the classroom quieted down again, Xia Yanchun let it be. She had just lowered her head to read her novel for a moment when a tiny eraser got stuck in her hair.

"…!" Xia Yanchun shot a vexed look at Shen Nian.

With the book barrier gone, she could see all of Shen Nian clearly. He was still pretending innocence, tracing circles in his mouth with his tongue like a little ruffian.

He looked like he was about to start headbanging any second.

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