hotmtlnovel Chapter 34, Team 1
Chapter 34, Team 1
Qin Yu kept an eye on Xin Zhiyan out of the corner of his eye.
She worked very diligently, taking notes, occasionally whispering a few words to her companions, her gaze focused on the competition field, and she didn't look particularly towards Qin Yu and his teammates.
This put Qin Yu at ease a little.
My phone vibrated again. Su Lingjuan: "Qin Yu's here! At the door! Wearing a white dress! Where are you?"
Qin Yu's scalp tightened. He looked up towards the entrance and, sure enough, saw a slender figure in a white dress looking around—it was Su Lingjuan.
She was clearly dressed up today, standing out among the crowd of people in sportswear, sweating profusely.
Many people have already noticed her, casting curious or admiring glances at her.
"Qin Yu, come over here for a moment," Qin Yu said to Wu Yun and Du Dewu, lowering his voice. "Someone is looking for 'Zhou Biao'."
Wu Yun was taken aback for a moment, while Du Dewu showed a playful expression that said, "Qin Yu understands."
Qin Yu strode towards the entrance, trying to avoid the direction Xin Zhiyan might be looking.
Su Lingjuan's eyes lit up when she saw Qin Yu, and she jogged over to greet him: "Zhou Biao! Qin Yu almost thought you'd run away!"
Her voice was quite loud, and several people nearby looked over.
"Keep your voice down." Qin Yu frowned and pulled her to a less crowded spot to the side of the entrance. "Why are you dressed like this?"
"What? Doesn't it look good?" Su Lingjuan twirled around, her skirt billowing. "When meeting your 'boyfriend's' parents, of course you have to dress formally."
"That happened this afternoon. It's a basketball game now," Qin Yu said helplessly.
"I know, Qin Yu is here to cheer you on!" Su Lingjuan said with a grin, then looked Qin Yu up and down, "You're actually wearing a mask? You really have pimples on your face? Tsk, what a pity for that face... But it's good this way, it makes you more mysterious, like a master."
Qin Yu was too lazy to explain: "It's not Qin Yu's turn to compete yet. Qin Yu's team got a bye in the first round."
"A bye? You're so lucky?" Su Lingjuan blinked. "That's perfect. You can accompany Qin Yu around, and he'll tell you what to be careful about this afternoon..."
"Qin Yu wants to watch the game and observe the opponent." Qin Yu immediately refused.
"It'll only be for a little while!" Su Lingjuan grabbed Qin Yu's arm and shook it.
Just then, Qin Yu felt a gaze fall upon him. It was very familiar.
Qin Yu's body stiffened slightly, and he slowly turned his head.
Xin Zhiyan had finished her recording work sometime earlier and was walking towards the entrance with her companion, seemingly to retrieve something. Her gaze fell on Qin Yu and Su Lingjuan. More precisely, on Su Lingjuan's hand linked with Qin Yu's arm.
She stopped in her tracks, a clear look of astonishment flashing in her eyes. She glanced at Qin Yu, then at Su Lingjuan, her brows furrowing slightly, as if trying to recognize or confirm something.
Qin Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Did she recognize Qin Yu? Or did she just think that the masked man, "Zhou Biao," looked familiar?
Su Lingjuan noticed Qin Yu's unusual behavior and followed his gaze, also seeing Xin Zhiyan. The two girls' eyes briefly met in the air.
Xin Zhiyan quickly regained her composure, the astonishment on her face fading into a polite yet distant indifference. She nodded very slightly, almost imperceptibly, in Qin Yu's direction, then looked away, whispered something to her companion, turned and walked in another direction, her back straight.
Was her nod directed at Zhou Biao, or at Qin Yu?
Did she recognize Qin Yu or not?
"Hey, Zhou Biao?" Su Lingjuan tugged at Qin Yu's sleeve. "What are you looking at? Do you know that pretty volunteer?"
"...No, that doesn't count." Qin Yu withdrew his gaze, his mind in turmoil, but he tried to keep his tone calm. "Let's go back. The important matches are coming up soon."
"Oh," Su Lingjuan replied, then glanced back at the direction Xin Zhiyan had left in, pursed her lips, and followed Qin Yu.
When they returned to Wu Yun and Du Dewu's side, Du Dewu looked at Su Lingjuan, who had returned with Qin Yu, and the teasing in his eyes became even stronger. Wu Yun, on the other hand, looked bewildered, glancing at Qin Yu and then at Su Lingjuan, not daring to ask any further questions.
"And who is this?" Du Dewu asked.
"Su Lingjuan. A friend," Qin Yu introduced briefly. "Wu Yun, Du Dewu, Qin Yu's teammates."
Su Lingjuan greeted everyone with a natural and generous air, but her attention was quickly drawn to the court: "Wow, the atmosphere is quite lively! Which team is the strongest?"
Her interruption temporarily calmed the turmoil in Qin Yu's mind. Qin Yu forced himself to concentrate and looked at the basketball court.
The next match was between the "second strongest" team from Qingyang District and another local team. The Qingyang District team was clearly superior, with fluid offense and tough defense, quickly widening the score gap and winning without any suspense. Their star player was a shooting guard about the same height as Qin Yu, with crisp movements, accurate shooting, and a condescending, cold gaze. At the end of the game, he glanced specifically at Qin Yu's team, his gaze lingering longest on Wu Yun.
"It seems everyone's targeting you," Du Dewu said to Wu Yun.
Wu Yun smiled wryly: "Qin Yu would rather he hadn't appeared in that video."
After the first round of matches concluded, including the teams that received a bye like Qin Yu, seven teams remained. The host announced that the second round draw would result in one team receiving a bye again.
This time, the volunteers were the ones drawing lots. Qin Yu saw Xin Zhiyan. She took the lottery box from Qin Wenbin and walked to the center of the venue. The spotlight shone on her, and she lowered her head slightly, reached in, and took out a card.
She glanced at it, then held up the card, facing the audience, her voice clearly amplified through the microphone throughout the venue:
"The team that received a bye in the second round is—"
She paused, her gaze seemingly sweeping across the crowd.
"Team Number One".
Number one? Qin Yu immediately looked at the battle card stubs that Qin Yu and his friends had filled out earlier. Qin Yu and his friends were number six.
Not Qin Yu and his ilk.
A murmur of disappointment and envy arose from the audience.
"Please have the captain of Team One come forward to confirm," Xin Zhiyan said.
A tall boy in a Qingyang District team uniform stood up; it was the same indifferent shooting guard from before. His face was expressionless, as if he took it for granted. He walked up to Xin Zhiyan, glanced at the card, nodded, and turned to walk back.
Xin Zhiyan completed her task, returned the lottery box to the staff, and retreated to the sidelines. Her position wasn't too far from Qin Yu and the others; through the surging crowd, Qin Yu could see her quiet profile.
Qin Wenbin then drew the pairings for the second round.
"Next match, team number six, against—" He glanced at the card in his hand, then looked up, his gaze seemingly sweeping over Qin Yu and the others intentionally or unintentionally.
"Team number eleven."