His smile triggered another round of shrieks from the crowd.
Chu Yang suddenly felt her face grow hot. She told herself internally that it must be because of all those handsome guys sweating it out that's getting her worked up.
Just then, Zhou Caicai and Qian Xin finally showed up. "We didn't arrive too late, did we?"
Jin Yang patted the empty spots beside her, "No no, have a seat and watch. It's so intense, and they're all hotties."
Zhou Caicai and Qian Xin quickly sat down to watch the match. At first it was just Jin Yang shrieking, but soon there were three "Jin Yangs" screaming. Not only that, Qian Xin had also brought a camera and kept snapping away, ocassionally exclaiming, "Oh my god! So hot! Ahhhhhh! I'm drooling!"
Chu Yang: "..."
The whistle sounded, signifying the end of the first half. Chi Yan's team was currently leading by 7 points.
As the players headed off court to rehydrate, a girl suddenly went up to Chi Yan, her face flushed as she offered him a bottle of water. Chi Yan declined with a shake of his head, "It's okay, I've got water." He then took a huge swig from the bottle Chu Yang had given him earlier.
He drank too quickly and some water dribbled down from the corner of his mouth to his neck and torso, the sight oozing sensuality. Many of the girls around them instantly whipped out their phones. The girl who had offered water looked slightly crestfallen as she handed it to another player instead.
After downing half the bottle, Chi Yan used his towel to wipe off the sweat on his body before taking a seat beside Yuan Zhi and discussing tactics and such — too far for Chu Yang to make out clearly.
During halftime, the cheerleading squad took to the court and music started playing. A group of girls in short skirts came out dancing, livening up the atmosphere again.
"Ahhhhh so many hotties!! Xinxin, keep snapping! So many babes!" squealed Qian Xin ecstatically.
The other three with her continued fawning as well, occasionally letting slip vulgar words like: "Wow, her rack is huge! Easily bigger than mine by a whole cup size! Check out those legs, damn! Sis, you're killer! Holy crap, her waist is tiny, definitely less than 24 inches. Really wish I were a guy right now."
The 10 minute break was soon over.
At the start of the second half, Chi Yan's team seemed to be struggling more, their initial lead of 45:38 quickly diminishing to 53:50.
Then some altercation appeared to have taken place, nearly turning physical before everyone abruptly fell silent, uncertain of what had transpired.
The referee penalized Chi Yan's teammate and awarded the opposing team free throws.
Chu Yang overheard whispers behind her: "WTF ref! I clearly saw the other team antagonizing them."
"Yeah, it was obviously No. 6 who started it."
"This is bull, they have no sportsmanship at all?"
While Chu Yang had been watching the game intently, her eyes tended to follow the ball so she missed what exactly went down. With players moving quickly across court and occasional visual obstructions, she simply didn't catch what happened.
In any case, Chi Yan's team got penalized and the other team scored two consecutive shots, instantly narrowing the gap to 53:52.
Everyone grew tense.
Chu Yang then witnessed Chi Yan discussing something with Yuan Zhi and Wei Feng briefly before Yuan Zhi sank a 3-pointer. Meanwhile Wei Feng got knocked out of bounds and the opponent received a foul.
Fortunately Wei Feng was fine. The team then coordinated seamlessly, comfortably clinching the championship in the end. Chi Yan sealed their win with a stunning 3-pointer in the last second — he leapt into the air near center court and launched the ball straight into the hoop without even touching the rim!
The crowd erupted in raucous cheers!
Chi Yan also grinned as he exchanged high-fives with the others.
Off court, Chu Yang and her friends were clapping vigorously as well...
"So awesome!"
"Especially that last shot!"
"Holy crap, to score from that distance?!"
"Freaking unbelievable man!"
"Amazing, just amazing!"
After the match ended, people started streaming out of the stadium. As Chu Yang got up to leave, Jin Yang said, "Didn't the campus hottie Chi Yan ask you to join them for a celebratory dinner?"
Chu Yang responded, "Why would I, a girl, crash their victory party when I'm not even from their school or team? Let's go."
Jin Yang nodded and followed her out with the water bottles in hand.
Meanwhile, Chi Yan had towelled himself dry and slipped on a jacket after the game. He glanced towards where Chu Yang was seated earlier but found it empty.
His gaze swept across the entire court before spotting Chu Yang queueing to exit with her dormmates.
"Chu Yang!" Chi Yan called out while jogging over.
Chu Yang seemed to have heard someone calling her name but dismissed it as impossible, continuing to shuffle along with the crowd.
Suddenly, she felt her wrist seized by someone. She turned her head to see a panting Chi Yan who repeated, "Chu Yang."
Chu Yang peered down at her captive wrist. As if scalded, Chi Yan swiftly released his hold. "Sorry about that. I meant to ask, didn't we agree to have dinner together?"
Chu Yang stared blankly back. "We didn't though." She had been about to turn him down earlier.
"Huh?" Chi Yan blinked in confusion as he scratched his head. "We didn't?"
Just then, Wei Feng draped an arm over Chi Yan's shoulder, having come over as well. "Hello ladies! Let's grab dinner together, our treat!"
Yuan Zhi and Zheng Qing tagged along too. "Come on, the more the merrier!"
Jin Yang and her two friends also gestured eagerly at Chu Yang.
Chi Yan gazed expectantly at Chu Yang too.
Faced with so many hopeful stares, Chu Yang conceded with a nod, not wanting to seem unappreciative. Wei Feng and Zheng Qing high-fived, whooping in delight.
The other guys had met Chu Yang previously so they greeted her as well.
Chi Yan requested for them to wait as the boys needed time to freshen up after the game.
"Sure."
Later, the boys emerged with backpacks over their jackets. "Let's go. We booked a private room at the hotel restaurant near school."
As the group walked out of the library, a blast of cold air hit them. Chu Yang shivered slightly and hugged herself tighter, only now remembering the unopened water bottles in her grasp. She passed them around so her hands would be freed up.
It was quite a distance from the stadium to the hotel on foot. Chu Yang noticed the guys heading towards their cars and Chi Yan holding the door open for her.
Chu Yang pointed at her moped, "We'll take that over." There was space for 10 people across both cars but 12 of them altogether.
The same problem dawned on Chi Yan as well.
Wei Feng gave Chi Yan a little shove in Chu Yang's direction, snatching the car keys from Jin Yang as he declared, "Boss Chi, why don't you ride that moped with the esteemed miss Chu over there? We'll drive ahead first. Jin Yang, toss me the keys, thanks bro!"
It took a beat for Jin Yang to react before he fumbled the keys out for Wei Feng. At the same time, he shot Chu Yang a significant look.
The rest clamored into the two cars instantly, leaving Chi Yan and Chu Yang behind.
Chu Yang: "......"
Chi Yan: "....."
Only after the cars departed did Chi Yan clear his throat. He accepted Chu Yang's keys, simply stating "Let's go" as they headed towards the moped.
