Study Monster Cultivation System

The basketball court was still not crowded.

Since class ended early today, the guys from Class Four had taken over two courts.

Jiang Qinghua, Liu Xin, and Li Zheng naturally ended up on the same half-court.

Liu Xin was still blaming himself for Hu Chunmei’s illness, and his shots to the basket were less impressive than usual.

Jiang Qinghua and Li Zheng stood side by side, warming up.

"One-on-one," Jiang Qinghua said indifferently. "While there aren’t many people."

"Forget it, I definitely can’t beat you," Li Zheng said, shaking his head while doing his exercises.

"You won’t know until you try."

"I don’t need to try to know."

"You don’t get it." Jiang Qinghua picked up a basketball that rolled over, trying hard to brush off the cold and bleak feelings around him. "You really don’t get it."

"I get it." Li Zheng took big strides and started doing jumping exercises. "I really—am just lucky—that’s all. I just—want to relax—without crushing—other classmates."

"Could you stop talking while jumping?"

"..."

Just as Jiang Qinghua was about to say more, a cold draft beside him turned into a fierce gust.

He quickly raised his hand to block it.

Bang!

It was a basketball.

Luckily, he caught it in time.

But his hand still hurt a lot.

The force...

"Come on, Jiang Shuai," Qiao Bixia said, cracking her knuckles as she walked over.

"Hey~" Xu Mengxi waved to greet them from the side.

There seemed to be someone else lurking behind them; from the shiny shoes, it had to be Lin Yujing.

Jiang Qinghua swallowed his frustrations with a vengeful look. "Don’t you seniors have extra classes…?"

"The school’s being evaluated for model status, so they don’t dare to add any," Qiao Bixia said as she ran over with a thump, leaping at Liu Xin. "Yoo!"

Thunk!

Liu Xin staggered from the collision, glanced back at Qiao Bixia, picked up the ball silently, and didn’t say a word.

"Wow, the oil can isn’t in form today."

"Can’t be bothered with you." Liu Xin shot the ball, but it missed.

"No worries, I’ll get you in form," Qiao Bixia said, rubbing her hands as she turned to Jiang Qinghua. "Stop dawdling, three-on-three, let’s go."

Jiang Qinghua glanced at the distracted Lin Yujing, who didn’t seem to be watching her steps.

Was she avoiding his gaze?

Maybe there was still hope.

Jiang Qinghua’s expression changed. "Alright, but a mixed-gender game is too unfair to you all. How about rotating teams?"

"Bring it on," Qiao Bixia said, snatching the basketball from Liu Xin’s hands. "Come on, everyone, gather round."

"Rotating teams" was a way to randomly form teams on the court.

The captain would spin the ball, and whoever it pointed to would be on their team.

The six of them quickly formed a circle.

Qiao Bixia spun the ball upwards and then caught it again.

The ball pointed straight at Lin Yujing.

Qiao Bixia quickly grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

Next, Jiang Qinghua spun and it pointed to Xu Mengxi.

In the final round, Qiao Bixia spun and it pointed to Li Zheng.

The results were in.

Qiao Bixia, Lin Yujing, and Li Zheng formed one team.

Jiang Qinghua, Liu Xin, and Xu Mengxi formed the other team.

Everyone was a bit disappointed with the results.

But at least Jiang Qinghua could now face off against Li Zheng directly.

"Ten points, with three-pointers counting as double," Qiao Bixia said, throwing the ball hard at Li Zheng.

Li Zheng raised his hand and gently caught it, then dribbled to the center court to inbound the ball.

"Got it," Qiao Bixia whispered to Lin Yujing. "Pass him the ball a lot, wear him out, and then we swap teams after ten points and crush him."

"Okay!" Lin Yujing nodded eagerly.

On the other side, Jiang Qinghua’s team had no communication at all.

Xu Mengxi wanted to discuss some tactics, but he only saw two men standing sternly.

Liu Xin stood under the basket with a lifeless expression.

But Jiang Qinghua was different, his fists clenched, and his eyes were burning with determination.

This unyielding sense of defiance reminded Xu Mengxi of how Brother Shuo looked yesterday.

Indeed, it had been a long time since Jiang Qinghua was this serious.

This time, he wouldn’t lose again.

Get it clear, Li Zheng!

This court belongs to Jiang!

Standing at the inbound point, Li Zheng also felt this unusual fighting spirit.

It seemed to be beyond just a game.

Never mind, better to avoid it for now.

He passed the ball to Lin Yujing.

"Got it." Lin Yujing received the ball and waved her hand, organizing the offense. "Got it, got it."

On the other side, Jiang Qinghua shouted, raising his arm. "I’ll guard Li Zheng, you take Lin Yujing, whoever you are."

"Okay..." Xu Mengxi faced Lin Yujing.

"Got it." Lin Yujing turned her head and glared, then immediately returned the ball to Li Zheng.

As soon as Li Zheng received the ball, he saw Jiang Qinghua charging toward him like a bull.

Startled, he quickly passed the ball back to Lin Yujing.

Lin Yujing dribbled twice and passed it back. "Got it!"

Li Zheng dribbled once and returned it.

As they ran forward, they kept passing the ball back and forth.

Before they knew it, they had exchanged six or seven passes.

Jiang Qinghua kept chasing but suddenly felt his legs weaken.

The game had just started.

But it felt like he could hear the final buzzer already.

Every hard pass from Lin Yujing felt like a stab to his heart.

Every pass returned by Li Zheng made him feel shorter.

As he kept running, he couldn’t run anymore.

By the time he realized it, he had been left behind.

"Ah..." Jiang Qinghua looked back dazedly.

In a trance.

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing seemed to move in slow motion.

They looked harmonious, warm.

Even exchanging meaningful glances.

He seemed to understand something.

Pain.

So much pain.

Thud, swish.

Li Zheng scored an easy layup.

To be honest, that offensive play felt pretty comfortable.

The fast-paced passing back and forth left Jiang Qinghua in the dust.

That was a satisfying play.

"Nice shot," Li Zheng said to Lin Yujing.

"Got it." Lin Yujing turned her head, hoping Li Zheng would soon be out of energy.

Qiao Bixia pushed past Liu Xin to grab the ball and threw it to Jiang Qinghua: "Not working, Jiang Shuai."

Thump.

Right in the chest.

Jiang Qinghua didn’t resist and fell backward to the ground.

"Hey?!"

The others hurried over.

But Jiang Qinghua stared blankly at the sky, as if he didn’t feel the physical pain at all.

He understood, he realized.

And he also felt hurt.

He was even humming something.

The excruciatingly painful realization.

You were once my everything.

But looking back at my path,

Each step,

Was so lonely.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from the side of the field.

"Liu Xin, get over here!"

Not just Liu Xin, even Li Zheng shrank down in fear.

It was Qiao Sheng, who was about to leave school with Hu Chunmei.

"Karma...has arrived..." Liu Xin sighed and walked over with his head down.

The game paused, Lin Yujing grabbed the ball and enthusiastically practiced layups.

Qiao Bixia was very worried about Jiang Qinghua, shaking him vigorously.

"Jiang Shuai, what happened? Say something," Qiao Bixia gritted her teeth and, as her thick lips trembled, her tough yet tender expression became apparent. "Li Zheng, help me hold him down, I’m giving CPR."

CPR is CPR.

But why hold him down?