UI Chapter 70

While the younger players handed out the drinks, Ji Minglun and Shen Ran walked together toward the locker room.

Although Ji Minglun was a graduate student, basketball tournaments didn’t separate players by academic level. Besides, his skills were top-tier within the team—if he stepped in to replace Zheng Mingjin, the coach definitely wouldn’t have any objections.

As they walked and talked, Shen Ran asked about Jiang Lin’s recent situation. Ji Minglun said he was doing well—Jiang Lin would be graduating next summer and returning home.

While changing in the locker room, Ji Minglun mentioned the environment in Los Angeles, saying the international student community there had a good atmosphere. Jiang Lin had a Hong Kong roommate of the same age who had been looking after him.

Shen Ran could hear the lingering worry in Ji Minglun’s tone. Knowing that the two had grown up together, and that Jiang Lin had always relied on Ji Minglun for everything, he understood why Ji Minglun still felt uneasy. After all, Jiang Lin gave off the impression of someone who always needed someone by his side. But the fact that he had the courage to return to China to chase after Ji Minglun showed just how deep their feelings ran—it was something that moved Shen Ran as well.

Thinking about his own significant other, Shen Ran closed his locker, a smile spreading across his lips.

Ji Minglun finished changing before him, and the two sat on the locker room bench, tying their shoelaces. The basketball shoes Shen Ran was wearing had been a recent gift from Zhao Jiyu. That night, after dinner, Zhao Jiyu had casually handed them to him without mentioning the price.

When Shen Ran opened the box and immediately recognized the white-and-gold limited-edition Jordan sneakers, Zhao Jiyu’s expression remained as calm as ever.

“Try them on,” he had said. “Your old shoes are worn out. I picked these according to your size, so they should fit.”

Shen Ran stared at the shoes, unmoving. A moment later, he felt Zhao Jiyu pull up a chair beside him and ask,
“What’s wrong? You don’t like them?”

He shook his head, his bangs falling to obscure his eyes. Zhao Jiyu could easily guess what he was thinking but didn’t point it out. Instead, he simply reached over and held his hand. After a while, Shen Ran snapped out of it, smiled, and said,
“Next time, don’t buy a limited edition—it’s not necessary.”

Zhao Jiyu leaned in, his deep voice carrying a casual tenderness.
“I just thought they suited you. You’d look great wearing them on the court—I didn’t think too much about it.”

Shen Ran looked at the person before him, at those eyes filled with deep affection. At that moment, he completely forgot about the shoes in his hands. Instead, he pulled his hand free, pressed it against the back of Zhao Jiyu’s neck, and kissed him without hesitation.

What happened after that was indescribable, but in the end, he only got to try the shoes on the next morning when he finally got out of bed.

They fit perfectly—comfortable and supportive. He moved around a bit, testing out a few basketball maneuvers, and found them incredibly stable. He wore them to practice for the next two days. At first, he felt reluctant to use them, but Zhao Jiyu had been right—shoes were meant to be worn, or else there was no point in buying them.

Beside him, Ji Minglun’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen before answering with a smile. Shen Ran recognized the familiar voice that came through the speaker and looked up, realizing Ji Minglun had answered a video call.

“Minglun, are you going on the court?”

Jiang Lin’s voice came through, accompanied by the background sound of an English movie playing.

Shen Ran looked at the phone screen. Jiang Lin was sitting on a large sofa, dressed in light summer pajamas.

“Yeah,” Ji Minglun replied with a smile.
“You’re still awake?”

“It’s just 11 PM. Lu Zhe and I are watching a movie,” Jiang Lin said. Just as he finished speaking, another figure appeared on the screen.

Shen Ran saw a face with fair skin similar to Jiang Lin’s. The man was wearing a black silk robe, his physique lean and well-proportioned. His sharp and elegant features carried a scholarly air. As Shen Ran looked at the screen, the man glanced back at him with a relaxed, slightly languid expression.

He handed Jiang Lin a chocolate wafer roll, then smiled briefly at Ji Minglun as a form of greeting. Sitting beside Jiang Lin, he licked another wafer roll while watching the movie projected onto the screen in front of them.

Ji Minglun and Jiang Lin continued chatting. During their conversation, Jiang Lin also spoke briefly with Shen Ran. As they were about to hang up, Jiang Lin wished them luck in their game. At that moment, the black-haired young man beside him finally turned around and smiled as he spoke.

“Good luck with the game.”

“Thanks,” Ji Minglun replied with a smile. After saying goodbye to Jiang Lin, he ended the call.

Once Ji Minglun put his phone away, Shen Ran asked,
“That guy next to Jiang Lin just now—is he his roommate?”

“Yeah,” Ji Minglun said.
“Lu Zhe is a really good person. Part of the reason Jiang Lin found the courage to come back to me was because of Lu Zhe’s encouragement.”

Shen Ran had known all along about Ji Minglun and Jiang Lin’s history, so Ji Minglun never needed to hide anything from him.

Thinking back to the subtle awkwardness he had sensed earlier, Shen Ran lowered his voice and asked,
“Senior… that Lu Zhe… could he be…?”

Ji Minglun chuckled and patted Shen Ran on the shoulder.
“Your eyes are pretty sharp now.”

Whether that was a good or bad thing, Ji Minglun wasn’t sure.

Just then, the door swung open, and someone called them to gather. The two quickly finished getting ready and headed out.

Today’s game was a friendly match against another university’s basketball team within the city. Their opponents were strong, making the competition evenly matched. After the coach finished giving his final instructions, both teams started warming up on the court.

Shen Ran made two consecutive three-pointers, then glanced toward the entrance. The half-open door revealed no one outside. Since the game was about to start, the venue had been cleared of unnecessary personnel. The junior who had distributed drinks had already handed out all the sea salt watermelon lattes, but he had saved one for Shen Ran.

Shen Ran placed it next to the one he had bought himself, planning to leave it for Zhao Jiyu. However, even when the starting whistle blew, Zhao Jiyu still hadn’t arrived.

In the first few minutes of the game, Shen Ran was slightly distracted. Ji Minglun noticed and reminded him to focus. Pulling himself together, Shen Ran immersed himself in the game, and before he knew it, the first half was over.

Wiping the sweat off his chin with the front of his jersey, Shen Ran glanced at the scoreboard on the wall.

The game was intense—the two teams were evenly matched, keeping the score gap within five points. Whenever one team scored, the other would quickly respond.

This kind of back-and-forth was mentally exhausting. Ji Minglun patted Shen Ran on the back as they walked toward the bench to rest. The coach came over to discuss the game plan for the second half.

As Shen Ran drank half a bottle of sports drink, his eyes drifted once again toward the empty entrance.

Still no messages from Zhao Jiyu.

The cup of sea salt watermelon latte he had set aside for Zhao Jiyu had long since lost its ice. Condensation had gathered on the cup, leaving a ring of water stains on the bench. Shen Ran touched the cup with his fingers—it was no longer cold.

Before the second half started, Shen Ran couldn’t hold back and opened Zhao Jiyu’s WeChat chat window, typing: “Are you still coming?”

After sending the message, he got up and joined the team huddle. Two minutes later, his previously dim screen lit up. Just as he glanced at it during the jump ball, his fingers barely touched the basketball before he was bumped mid-air by the opposing team’s jumper. He lost balance and crashed to the ground.

The referee’s whistle blew—an intentional foul by the opposing player.

Ji Minglun came over and asked if he was okay. Shen Ran rubbed his sore hip and said it was nothing before Ji Minglun pulled him up.

This time, Ji Minglun took the jump ball. From a distance, Shen Ran glanced toward his phone, desperately wanting to check if Zhao Jiyu had replied, wanting to hear that everything had been taken care of. But he couldn’t walk over, so he forced himself to focus on the game.

As the second half began, the competition intensified. Shen Ran, as the small forward, was mainly responsible for scoring, while Ji Minglun, the power forward, supported him under the basket. Their teamwork helped widen the score gap to eleven points. However, the opposing team quickly adjusted their strategy, assigning four defenders to lock down Shen Ran and Ji Minglun.

With double coverage, passing and shooting became extremely difficult. Both Shen Ran’s plays and Ji Minglun’s rebounds were suppressed.

The lead was cut to just nine points, prompting their coach to call a timeout.

Back on the bench, Shen Ran was panting heavily. Ji Minglun threw a towel over his head, but instead of drinking water, Shen Ran immediately grabbed his phone.

As expected, Zhao Jiyu had replied.

“Sorry, I was busy earlier. But I’ve taken care of that thing. I’m heading over now, though I might not make it in time to watch your game.”

Reading that, Shen Ran’s heart was still pounding from the game, but his emotions instantly calmed down. His lips curled into an unconscious smile.

The towel Ji Minglun tossed over him covered his face, so no one noticed he was grinning. Lowering his head, he quickly replied: “It’s okay. Just be safe. No need to rush.”

After replying, he finally took a sip from his half-finished sports drink and refocused on the coach’s instructions.

Since the opposing team had switched to a man-to-man defense with zone coverage, the coach decided to bench Shen Ran temporarily and sub in Tang Yao, a backup player known for his three-pointers.

The change quickly disrupted the opposing team’s defense. Tang Yao’s three-pointers broke through their formation, throwing them off rhythm. Shen Ran’s team then scored three consecutive baskets, narrowing the score gap to just one point.

The audience was on edge, following the game’s rapid shifts. Cheers erupted frequently from the stands. Just when it seemed like Shen Ran’s team would take advantage of their momentum to overtake the lead, the opposing team regained their composure. They returned to their man-to-man defense strategy, shutting down Ji Minglun and Tang Yao.

With just over two minutes left on the clock, Shen Ran walked over to the coach and requested to be subbed back in.

The coach had already planned to put him back in at the right moment, so he called a timeout, gave Shen Ran a few instructions, and swapped him in for a teammate who was completely exhausted.

Shen Ran fist-bumped the outgoing player and positioned himself at the three-point line as per the coach’s plan.

His sudden placement caught not only the opponents off guard but also Ji Minglun, who briefly hesitated before glancing at the coach.

The coach signaled Ji Minglun, who quickly understood. In the next few plays, Ji Minglun executed a series of flawless fake passes. Each time the defense thought he was passing to Shen Ran or Tang Yao, he instead either dunked or executed a layup, single-handedly scoring six more points.

The electronic scoreboard showed they were leading by four points, with just one minute left in the game. However, their opponents remained calm, showing no signs of panic. Through a fast break, they quickly closed the gap.

With only 20 seconds remaining, the score difference was down to one point. As the opposing team attempted another fast break, Shen Ran intercepted the ball at a tricky angle. He dribbled past a defender and passed to Tang Yao, who faked out his opponent before passing the ball back.

By then, Shen Ran had already reached the basket, but two defenders were right in front of him. They leaped simultaneously, attempting to block his shot. However, in mid-air, Shen Ran suddenly switched hands and passed the ball to Ji Minglun, who had just arrived beside him.

At that moment, many spectators in the stands jumped to their feet in excitement. The ball landed in Ji Minglun’s hands, and he went for a dunk. But an opponent, chasing close behind, managed to get a hand on the ball. The basketball bounced off the rim, teetering on the edge of falling out.

Just as it seemed like they might miss the shot, Shen Ran landed, then immediately jumped again. This time, he outmatched the two defenders in height, seized the ball, and slammed it forcefully through the hoop. The ball hit the ground with a heavy bounce, and as he landed, his footing wobbled, causing him to stumble backward into Ji Minglun’s arms.

Ji Minglun steadied him immediately. At that exact moment, the final buzzer sounded, and the entire gym erupted into thunderous cheers.

Shen Ran bent over, hands on his knees, panting as he looked up at the scoreboard.

The electronic display flickered twice before settling—their team had won by three points!

The crowd’s excitement roared on. Shen Ran turned back to Ji Minglun, finally allowing himself to relax and smile. Ji Minglun smiled as well, and the two hugged briefly. Their other three teammates rushed over to join in, and their coach clapped as he walked toward them.

Overwhelmed with the exhilaration of victory, Shen Ran instinctively turned to glance back again.

He hadn’t expected anything, but this time, he saw a familiar figure.

Zhao Jiyu stood at the entrance of the basketball gym, hands in his pockets, his eyes crinkling behind his glasses as he gazed at Shen Ran in quiet amusement.

Seeing that warm smile on Zhao Jiyu’s face, Shen Ran could hear nothing else. His mind was completely occupied with one thought—since Zhao Jiyu had arrived in time, had he seen that last, incredibly cool dunk of his?