Chapter 2: The Five Tigers Reunite

  The road to the city was still unfamiliar to Yan Lingfeng back then, but now, looking at the scenery along the way, he felt a kind of indescribable familiarity and closeness.

  The poplar trees by the roadside are towering and shading, passing through that famous lotus pond near and far. Yan Lingfeng couldn't help but think of the scene he saw when he walked here before his rebirth - the severely polluted pool, with only a few lotus flowers left. Now it's the most beautiful season for lotus blossoms all year round, and from afar, the pool water is also a deep green, setting off the white lotus flowers which are exceptionally beautiful.

  Yan Lingfeng on the chair couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder people say you can't go back to the past, now I really have gone back to the past, this feeling is actually not bad!"

  Today is the day when all high schools in Shu Yun City start, so it's common to see students of all ages waiting for buses on this road. The speed of the bus is naturally not going anywhere, listening to the complaints of people around me, Yan Lingfeng curiously turned his head to look at the young faces outside the window. After entering university and even later stepping into society, Yan Lingfeng often nostalgically thought about his high school life. People get along with each other for a very simple purpose, I can play with you, even if your family is poor, I don't care if your dad is the secretary of the municipal party committee!

  Now that he can return to his high school campus, although Yan Lingfeng still has no confidence in changing his fate, he is looking forward to reuniting with his former best friends.

  He didn't even think about doubling his efforts to study, having experienced more, Yan Lingfeng clearly realized that academic qualifications are sometimes just a piece of paper, a brick to knock on the door, and working for others will never have a day to turn things around. In this society, the salary of white-collar workers only represents that even if you receive your salary, you are still a white-collar worker; one set of suburban houses can swallow up your entire lifetime's salary.

  What will happen in the future? Yan Lingfeng thought about it all the way, but even after arriving at the station, he still couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer. "Forget it, I won't think about it for now, let's just take things one step at a time!" Yan Lingfeng shook his head, picked up his luggage and slowly got off the train with the crowd.

  I remember when I got off the bus by myself, still a bit dazed and confused. Then, a black-hearted trishaw driver took me on a wild ride around almost the entire city of Shuixin, charging me a full 10 bucks! Thinking about it now makes Yan Lingfeng's teeth ache with hatred, but at the same time, a strange idea pops up in his mind - will that trishaw driver from back then appear again?

  "Hey, young man, where are you headed? Take a ride on my motorcycle, it's cheap and fast." A middle-aged man with a hint of slyness in his voice spoke up beside Yan Lingfeng.

  "Hmm." Yan Lingfeng's face revealed a mysterious smile as he pretended to be lost and asked, "Uncle, how do I get to Number One Middle School?"

  The driver of the motorcycle thought for a moment and said, "That's quite far away. I see you have a lot of luggage, it would be too tiring to walk there. I'll give you a ride, don't worry about the money, just give me 10 yuan and we can consider us friends!"

  Yan Lingfeng burst out laughing and ignored the driver, carrying his luggage towards the exit, muttering to himself: "The waves are still the same! It seems that except for China's basketball team being eliminated, nothing else has changed!"

  Shuǐyún City First Middle School is actually very close to the station, a 5-minute walk can get you there. For someone familiar with the route like Yán Língfēng, it's not necessary to waste this money. Not having to settle accounts with this black-hearted ghost for this lifetime already counts as mercy. After all, according to Hēi Wúcháng's words, Yán Língfēng's physical condition at this time is extremely against the heavens!

  Soon, Yan Lingfeng arrived at the gate of Shu Yun No. 1 Middle School, which was originally located in the most prosperous area of Shu Yun City. With today's student enrollment, it was even more crowded and bustling with cars and horses. The current Shu Yun No. 1 Middle School was founded in the 70s, and later, with the school as the center, the entire pedestrian street and commercial street of Shu Yun City flourished on this street. After all, no matter what era, students' money is always the easiest to earn!

  Later, when Yan Lingfeng was in the second year of high school, the leadership of Yizhong sold this piece of hot land and bought a large piece of land in the suburbs to build a new school with an area and facilities far surpassing those of the old Yizhong. It is said that after everything was ready, there was still a large sum of money left over from the sale of the land, which shows the brutality of the real estate industry.

  Yan Lingfeng squeezed through the crowd and into the school gate, seeing this familiar campus, Yan Lingfeng wondered if he was dreaming, pinched his thigh, it hurt a lot, fortunately, he had indeed been reborn and returned to this campus which is now a shopping mall.

  At 10 o'clock in the morning, the sun was already scorching hot and dazzlingly bright, making it hard for people to open their eyes. Not far away, on the bulletin board, were posted the lists of new student class assignments. Yan Lingfeng thought about it and decided to go take a look anyway. If there were no mistakes, he should still be assigned to Class 048, and his homeroom teacher would definitely be "Pig Demon!"

  Going straight to the eighth page, in front of the notice with the list of new students for Class 8 of High School, Yan Lingfeng carefully read out name after name: "Xiang Ziyuan, Liu Zhuofan, Fu Zijun, Han Dengyun, Sun Feiying, Zhao Senming, Qin Xuedan, Tian Hui, Xiang Qingyun, Song Deming..."

  One by one, the familiar yet gradually unfamiliar names came out of Yan Lingfeng's mouth, and those scenes that were either joyful, angry or sorrowful involuntarily emerged from his mind.

  Xiang Ziyun, the top scorer in the city's middle school entrance exam, Liu Zhuofan, who studied with a flashlight at midnight, Fu Zijun, who was handsome and elegant, Gao Deyun, who was humorous and witty, Sun Feiying, who loved Kobe the most, Zhao Senming and Qin Xuedan, who developed from online to reality, Tian Hui, who was like a fake little kid, his roommate, Xiang Ziyun's twin brother Xiang Qingyun, and class monitor Song Deming, who had covered for him many times...

  "Hello, are you also from Class 8?" a bright and clear voice sounded beside Yan Lingfeng.

  He looked up and saw a familiar face, a head taller than Yan Lingfeng, with a joyful smile on his face - Han Dengyun.

  "Ah, yes, I'm Yan Lingfeng. Please take care of me from now on." Yan Lingfeng greeted politely, and couldn't just rush up to hug Han Dengyun and wail loudly: "Dengyun, you almost killed me! Aren't you over 2 meters tall? How come you're only this short?"

  "Haotian Yun, from now on we're brothers in the same trench, haha! It's only right that we take care of each other. But why does your name sound so familiar?" Haotian Yun asked with a smile.

  "This guy still has such a thick skin." Yan Lingfeng thought to himself, but his mouth was very polite: "I'm going to class, want to come together?"

  "Hmm, okay, good, I didn't know where the classroom was anyway, do you?" Hehe.

  "Alright, let's go." Yan Lingfeng shouldered his luggage and led the way.

  "Hey, Lingfeng, we can't just carry our luggage directly to the classroom, can we? Shouldn't we go to the dorm first and settle down?" Han Dengyun asked from behind.

  "Hey, look at me, yeah, let's go to the dorm first." Yan Lingfeng was now only excited about reuniting with old friends and had forgotten about this matter.

  Seeing Yan Lingfeng walk forward with a familiar turn, Han Dengyun asked in confusion: "Why do I feel like you've been here before? You don't look like a newcomer?"

  Yan Lingfeng was taken aback, indeed, he had spent nearly two years here, and except for the girls' dormitory, there was no place he hadn't been to. He really didn't look like a freshman...

  "I just looked at the map, no, isn't there a guide over there?" Yan Lingfeng casually made an excuse and responded.

  "By the way, just now behind my name it showed that I live in 501, what about you?" asked Han Dengyun.

  "Same here..." Yan Lingfeng replied without hesitation.

  That year, the legendary 501! The students who checked the dorms didn't even dare to linger at the door of 501 because apart from Yan Lingfeng and Liu Zhuofan, who studied very well, the remaining six people in 501 each had a remarkable background. Moreover, these guys were almost all over 1.8 meters tall, and their intimidating presence was too great when they walked out together.

  Before she knew it, Yan Lingfeng had already walked into the dormitory building with Han Dengyun. Han Dengyun followed behind her and sighed, "This place is not even as good as our middle school! This dormitory building looks like a dangerous house, can people really live here?"

  Yan Lingfeng didn't say a word, in fact he had thought the same way back then, but later this dormitory building that had weathered many storms gave a perfect answer, no matter how hard the wind blew or the rain pounded, it stood firm and unmoving, until the moment it was demolished and rebuilt, only then did this dilapidated dormitory building lower its proud head.

  At this time, their 501 dormitory had not yet been occupied, and Yan Lingfeng immediately cheered up. He clearly remembered that year because of the evil driver deliberately taking a detour, he was the last one to arrive at the dormitory and had no choice but to live in the bed by the door, which was drafty in winter and leaked rain in summer, and also had to take turns keeping watch with this group. Now, however, his luck had changed, and he could choose a bed with good feng shui and a better view.

  Ignoring Handengyun's chatter, Yan Lingfeng quickly put his luggage on the upper berth by the window, who was here, not only can be far away from the sight of the dormitory inspectors, but also wonderful is that from here to look down, the basketball court downstairs, the beautiful women on the street, all in sight!

  Yan Lingfeng happily made the bed, took out the mosquito net from his bag and hung it up. After finishing all this, two more people appeared in the dormitory: Fu Zijun with a slightly raised corner of his mouth and a sly smile, and Zhao Senming with sharp eyes and a cold expression.

  Fu Zijun smiled and greeted Han Dengyun as soon as he entered the door: "Wow, big silly bear, it's actually you! I really didn't expect that the three of us who fought fiercely in junior high school would end up living together in one dormitory!"

  Han Dengyun had already made his bed, choosing the lower bunk opposite Yan Lingfeng. His robust body would have been a nightmare on the upper bunk - heaven forbid! The person in the lower bunk would have gotten a free rollercoaster ride all day long.

  Han Dengyun looked at Fu Zijun's smiling face and frowned, saying: "Be serious for once, damn it! Seeing your smiley face makes me annoyed!"

  Fu Zijun hadn't spoken yet, but Zhao Senming, with a serious face, suddenly opened his mouth: "Big silly bear, didn't you lose to Zijun's school in the semifinals? You still hold a grudge until now?"

  Yan Lingfeng smiled and watched the three people arguing, as he sat on the upper bunk, so Fu Zijun and Zhao Senming didn't notice him, while making his bed, he continued to tease Han Dengyun.

  In junior high school, the city once organized a municipal junior high school basketball league. Since the top four teams would receive bonus points for the high school entrance exam and subsequent teacher allocation, each school attached great importance to it. At that time, the Water Cloud City Junior High School League was famous for its "Flying Forest Son" Four Great Kings. The Qingtian Junior High School where Handeng Yun was located lost to Fuzi Jun's Chengnan Middle School by one point in the semifinals.

  "Damn it, I really don't know what you're proud of? Those who can't even get the championship have no right to speak!" Han Dengyun said angrily.

  "You haven't fought that freak before, so you don't know how terrifying he is. Therefore, the one with the least right to speak is still you!" Fu Zijun said with a smile.

  "Hmm, that's right. The guy's strength isn't in his physical quality, his jumping ability is average, and he's not very powerful. But his basketball IQ is something you big oaf can't even begin to comprehend! He just slowly walks around in front of you, then suddenly sends the ball flying out of nowhere. His speed isn't that fast, but when he breaks through, that first step is absolutely terrifying! And being a lefty makes his breakthroughs even more unstoppable!" Zhao Senming fell into a reverie.

  "Am I that fierce?" Yan Lingfeng was astonished when he heard Zhao Senming's evaluation of himself. Those vague memories from back then seemed to have cleared up a bit. Originally, the school didn't allow students who ranked in the top ten of their class to participate in basketball games, but for the sake of middle school entrance exam scores, they eventually agreed to Yan Lingfeng's application, who had been playing basketball under his father's guidance since he was young.

  In the 8-to-4 match, Ziguang Middle School, where Yan Lingfeng is located, faced Jin Hong Middle School, where Sun Feiyang, the first of the four heavenly kings, is located. The situation of being behind by as many as 20 points in the first half finally allowed the physical education teacher to agree to Yan Lingfeng's request to play. As a result, Yan Lingfeng, who had been suppressed for a long time, gave Sun Feiyang a surprise, scoring 21 points in the second half and making a three-pointer at the end of the game to kill Jin Hong...

  "Hey, Ling Feng, come down and say hello to our roommates! These two guys may not look great, but they're actually pretty good people. From now on, we're all brothers!" Yan Ling Feng, lost in thought, was startled by Han Dengyun's loud voice, and only then came back to his senses, jumping off the bed and smiling at Fu Zijun and Zhao Senming: "Haha, nice to see you again! How are you guys?"

  Zhao Senming looked at Yan Lingfeng with a surprised expression and said, "When I came in, I saw someone lying on the upper bunk over there. I thought it was a noble brother who didn't bother to pay attention to us! It turned out to be you, huh? Indeed, you have the capital to ignore us!"

  Yan Lingfeng smiled and gave Fu Zijun a punch, laughing: "What are you talking about? I just couldn't bear to tear off your disguise."

  In the semifinals that year, Yan Lingfeng's opponent was Feng Huang Middle School where Zhao Senming was in. As a result, Phoenix, who was favored by many people, was ruthlessly plucked by Yan Lingfeng, and almost single-handedly sent the team into the final. Although Zhao Senming, as a controlling guard, passed out good balls one after another, his teammates had already been blinded by Yan Lingfeng's perfect performance and forgot where the basket was.

  Fu Zijun looked at Han Dengyun's shocked face and smiled: "What? You didn't know that this is the final MVP, Yan Lingfeng?"

  Han Dengyun shook his head repeatedly and said: "I didn't fight with him, how could I know him? No wonder I felt familiar when I heard the name just now! It turned out to be this pervert, damn it!"

  Swallows are blown away by a gust of wind, can it be that I myself survived in the past under this kind of veiled personal attack?

  Fu Zijun, Yan Lingfeng's final opponent, was defended by Yan Lingfeng to 4 hits in 21 shots with a hit rate of 4. The state of the host of Chengnan Middle School is so bad that the fate of Chengnan Middle School can be imagined.

  "What's the point of discussing past things now? Let's have a rematch!" Sun Feiying stormed into the dormitory, shouting as soon as he entered. The reason was that the four people in the dormitory were the leaders of the four strong teams, while he was a hero outside of the top four.

  "Haha, welcome our first of the Four Great Kings - Sun Feiyang's dazzling debut!" Fu Zijun clapped his hands and shouted.

  Basketball, what a distant memory it is! I didn't know I was so glorious back then! Yan Lingfeng looked at the four roommates with joyful faces and couldn't help but smile. Reliving those moments with these four brothers again is such a wonderful experience!