Troublesome – Chapter 33

Wrong

You shot at the wrong basket.

Lu Zhenqiu blinked her eyes, looking at Jin Shuilan, seemingly unable to accept the fact that she had finally made a basket, only for it to be an oolong ball¹. The brilliant smile on her face froze, then slowly faded. Jin Shuilan’s heart ached just watching. At this moment, she really wanted to poke her own forehead, wondering why she had set the rule to play a full-court game at the start. She had only thought that since Lu Zhenqiu had run into Tang Yingxia today, and was reminded of her mother, her younger brother, and all those troublesome matters², she needed to vent. She wanted Lu Zhenqiu to run around more, which was why she passed the ball to her, but she forgot that Lu Zhenqiu probably hadn’t understood the rules yet.

Two girls walked over with smiles, calling her “sister” one after another, their voices very sweet.

“Sister, so you really don’t know how to play basketball,” the shorter girl said. “You’re even worse than me.”

Lu Zhenqiu puffed out her cheeks, a bit deflated. She looked at Jin Shuilan and said, embarrassed, “I’m sorry, Teacher Jin.”

“Teacher Jin?” The taller girl paused. “So you’re a teacher!”

The two girls exclaimed in unison, “Hello, Teacher!”

Lu Zhenqiu’s originally gloomy mood was dispelled by their antics, and she laughed. She nudged Jin Shuilan’s arm. “Teacher Jin, they’re greeting you.”

Jin Shuilan glanced sideways at her. In just an instant, she was a living dragon and vital tiger³ again, looking like she had already forgotten the embarrassing incident from just now. Jin Shuilan’s heart settled. She raised her hand, suddenly wanting to ruffle the top of Lu Zhenqiu’s hair, wondering if it was as soft as her own heart felt at this moment.

Seeing she wasn’t moving, Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head. “Teacher Jin?”

Jin Shuilan snapped back to her senses. She looked at the two girls and said, “I’m not a teacher.”

The two girls looked bewildered. “You’re not a teacher?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Not a schoolteacher.”

The taller girl seemed to understand. She nodded. “Are we still playing?”

That one sentence brought back Lu Zhenqiu’s bitter feelings. Before she could feel awkward, Jin Shuilan said, “We are.” She looked at Lu Zhenqiu, then said to the two girls, “Go easy on her.”

“Don’t worry, sister, I’ll definitely go easy on you!” They all knew Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t play, and they were just playing for fun, so no one was being serious. The shorter girl was about the same skill level as Lu Zhenqiu. With one king leading one bronze⁴ on each side, they were also having no end of fun. The four of them played until they were essence exhausted and strength depleted. Lu Zhenqiu was half-leaning against a bench, and the two girls beside her were discussing who should go buy water. Just as Lu Zhenqiu was about to get up, Jin Shuilan said, “I’ll go.”

After speaking, she looked at Lu Zhenqiu. “Rest here for a bit.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded obediently. “Okay.”

After she left, the taller girl asked, “Sister, do you live nearby?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “No, we live over by Sunshine Tower.”

“That’s not too far either.” The other girl said with a grin, “Sister, will you come play basketball again next time? That shot you made just now was so cool!”

Lu Zhenqiu wasn’t good at other things, but her shooting was quite accurate. She had just made a few shots that made the two young girls want to whistle in appreciation. She said, “Not sure, it depends if I have time.”

But after a round of exercise, although she was covered in sweat, she also felt relaxed, and even her breathing felt smoother. Lu Zhenqiu felt that if she had the chance, she would definitely come again. As she spoke, she glanced in the direction Jin Shuilan had left.

A person entered through the doorway, but it wasn’t Jin Shuilan. The shorter girl at her side called out, “Brother.”

Lu Zhenqiu looked over. It was a rather sunny-looking man with a buzz cut, wearing a white and blue tracksuit. The girl introduced him, “My brother, he’s the manager here.”

Zhou Yuan⁵ took two steps forward and saw a girl sitting next to his sister. Perhaps because she had just been exercising, her face was flushed, making her eyes seem even brighter. Her features were well-proportioned and pretty, her eyebrows like distant ink-wash mountains⁶. She was extremely beautiful. His heart skipped a beat, and even his steps as he walked over were slightly different from usual. His sister didn’t notice anything abnormal and waved. “Brother, over here.”

Zhou Yuan looked at Lu Zhenqiu and asked his sister, “Your classmate?”

His sister shook her head. “Nope, she’s a sister I just played basketball with. Her shooting is f#cking awesome!⁷“

Zhou Yuan’s heart was beating like a drum. He smiled and extended a hand toward Lu Zhenqiu. “Hello, Zhou Yuan.”

Lu Zhenqiu also extended her hand. “Lu Zhenqiu.”

“Lu Zhenqiu,” Zhou Yuan said. “What a nice name.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head. “Thank you.”

Her voice was so pleasant to listen to as well, soft and gentle, making one feel as if they were floating on clouds. Zhou Yuan had never known he was so sensitive to voices. He asked, “Are you here alone?”

“No…” Before Lu Zhenqiu could finish, she heard the sound of someone approaching, followed by Jin Shuilan calling out, “Zhou Yuan?”

Zhou Yuan turned his head. “Jin Shuilan?”

They actually knew each other?

Lu Zhenqiu looked curiously at Jin Shuilan, then at Zhou Yuan. The other two girls were also stunned. “You guys know each other?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “University classmates.”

His sister clapped her hands. “Is she that hardest-to-chase campus belle? The one who later went to write novels?”

She had a straightforward personality and only realized what she’d said after meeting Jin Shuilan’s lukewarm gaze. When they were facing off in basketball just now, she hadn’t felt anything, but now she felt a little creeped out. Zhou Yuan patted her on the head. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

His sister let out an “oh” and sat down beside them, holding her tongue.

Zhou Yuan had come to find his sister for lunch and happened to run into Lu Zhenqiu and Jin Shuilan. He said, “Why don’t we eat together? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. They’re talking about a reunion in the group chat recently, are you free?”

Jin Shuilan rarely participated in reunions, but the class president would often call to urge her. Jin Shuilan’s personality in school was similar to how she was now; she also liked to come and go alone. But people have a mentality of admiring the strong, and her achievements were enough to make others forget her attitude, even making them feel that being cold and arrogant was just her personality. So, Jin Shuilan’s social connections were never bad.

This time, however, she hadn’t been notified yet.

Because she never looked at group chats at all.

Seeing that they seemed to have things to talk about, Lu Zhenqiu asked, “So, are we eating together?”

Jin Shuilan said, “Either is fine.”

Zhou Yuan smiled. “Then I’ll book a private room first. The place right outside the sports complex, the one we used to go to for reunions. The food’s pretty good.”

Jin Shuilan nodded. The group started walking outside. The two girls were like little sparrows, chirping incessantly, especially Zhou Yuan’s sister. She talked about everything from cosmetics to clothes, and then to life in the dorms. They had only walked half the way, and Lu Zhenqiu already knew how many people were in her dorm, where they were from, and what their hobbies were.

Listening to them, she suddenly felt a pang of envy. This was probably the last period of indulgence before entering society, to be without sorrow or anxiety, to be very happy.

It wasn’t far from the sports complex to the restaurant, just over ten minutes. On the way, Zhou Yuan went to a nearby supermarket to buy some drinks. He asked them, “Want some beer?”

Jin Shuilan shook her head. “No.”

Zhou Yuan’s sister jumped up. “I do! We…”

“You’re not allowed to drink.” Zhou Yuan glared at his sister. “You’re still in school, what are you drinking for.”

His sister muttered, “What’s the big deal, I’m not a three-year-old.”

Zhou Yuan didn’t agree. After buying the drinks, he led Lu Zhenqiu and the others into the restaurant. The private room was on the first floor and wasn’t very large. When they arrived, the cold dishes had already been served. Zhou Yuan glanced at Lu Zhenqiu and asked Jin Shuilan, “Is this your friend?”

Jin Shuilan nodded. “Mhm.”

Zhou Yuan said, “She’s very pretty. How about we all go out for a meal together next time?”

She said this while greeting Lu Zhenqiu, “The reunion is in a few days, you should come and hang out with Jin Shuilan.”

Lu Zhenqiu gave a dry laugh. “Isn’t it a class reunion?”

“It’s fine,” Zhou Yuan said with a dismissive sound. “A class reunion is just for catching up. Some people bring friends, it’s not a problem.”

Jin Shuilan glanced at Lu Zhenqiu out of the corner of her eye. Seeing her awkward smile, she changed the subject, “What date is it?”

“End of the month,” Zhou Yuan said. “Let me check the time.”

He fiddled with his phone, probably checking the group chat for the date. The two girls across from them were chatting about dorm matters. Lu Zhenqiu sat beside Jin Shuilan. The server was serving a dish from her side, so Jin Shuilan pulled her arm, and half of Lu Zhenqiu’s body fell into Jin Shuilan’s embrace. She was startled and tried to sit up straight, but Jin Shuilan still held her wrist.

The wrist was slender, the skin smooth and delicate. Jin Shuilan said, “Don’t move, they’re serving food.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head and indeed saw a server on her other side placing a dish on the table. It was grilled fish. The server, wearing thick gloves, placed the still-sizzling fish on the table. She moved her chair a little closer to Jin Shuilan and said in a low voice, “Thank you, Teacher Jin.”

Jin Shuilan released her hand.

Her fingertips had brushed against her palm.

Scorching hot and dry.

Zhou Yuan found the date and said, “Found it. The 29th, at the end of the month. Are you free?”

Jin Shuilan asked, “Afternoon or evening?”

“Evening, for sure,” Zhou Yuan said. “It’s a weekend, picked a time when everyone’s off.”

Jin Shuilan nodded. “Got it.”

Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang. Jin Shuilan glanced at the screen; it was a call from Ji Zibo. Lu Zhenqiu also unintentionally saw Ji Zibo’s name. She said, “Teacher Jin, you should take the call first.”

Jin Shuilan grunted in agreement and got up to take the call to the side.

Zhou Yuan sat on Lu Zhenqiu’s other side and asked her, “Do you also write novels?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head and smiled. “I don’t.”

Zhou Yuan asked, “Then what do you do for work?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t hesitate. “I do livestreams.”

“Livestreams?” The sister across from him perked up. “Sister, which platform do you stream on? I love watching livestreams!”

Lu Zhenqiu replied, “Sanshui.”

“Sanshui, huh.” Zhou Yuan nodded. “That’s a pretty big streaming platform. I usually watch game streams on there. Do you play games too?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “I sing.”

“Your voice is so nice, you must be an even better singer. Sister, what’s your channel ID? I’ll follow you!” Zhou Yuan’s sister was delighted. Lu Zhenqiu gave her the channel ID, and Zhou Yuan followed her as well. He asked, “Just started streaming?”

Lu Zhenqiu smiled. “Mhm, just started.”

Zhou Yuan clicked into her replays. Lu Zhenqiu was singing an old song. The melody was long and lingering, gentle and melodious, and her voice was ethereal. He said, “You sing really well.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her eyes. While talking to them, she kept craning her neck to look toward the window where Jin Shuilan was standing on the phone.

Zhou Yuan listened to half the song and was about to put his phone away when he asked again, “Do you come here to play basketball often?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Not often, this was my first time.”

“Do you like sports?” Zhou Yuan said. “Let’s add each other on WeChat? Next time I can just let the uncle at the entrance let you in directly.”

Lu Zhenqiu thought about it and felt it was a good idea. She nodded. “Okay.”

When Jin Shuilan returned to the table, the two had just finished adding each other on WeChat. She sat down and asked Lu Zhenqiu in a low voice, “What were you talking about?”

Lu Zhenqiu also replied in a low voice, “Your classmate just said that we can come in directly next time.”

We.

Jin Shuilan caught those two words, a hint of a smile in her eyes. She asked, “What do you want to play next time you come?”

“Basketball again?” Lu Zhenqiu said. “But I’m not very good at it. Is there any sport Teacher Jin wants to do? I can accompany you.”

Jin Shuilan looked at her and smiled. “I’m fine with anything.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s face lit up as she took a sip of her drink.

Jin Shuilan gave her a deep look. Perhaps Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t realized it, but from just a moment ago, in Lu Zhenqiu’s plans, there was now a “her.”

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, muah muah.

Lu Zhenqiu: Teacher Jin, what kind of exercise do you want to do?

Jin Shuilan: A two-person physical limit-expansion exercise.

Lu Zhenqiu: ???

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