Insufficient balance

  "Bang bang bang......" On the basketball court near the city hall, someone was playing basketball.

  It's now three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are usually very few people playing ball at this time on a summer day. Although a tall building next to the court blocks the intense sunlight, casting a shadow over half of the court, the sweltering heat of summer still makes it unbearable.

  The child wearing a large white T-shirt is playing ball in the sweltering weather.

  Sweat had soaked through his clothes, and his small face, which was still tender and childlike, was also covered in sweat. A few drops of sweat were hanging from the hair on both sides of his forehead, and the sweat was slowly sliding down his small face along the hair tips.

  A red mountain bike is parked under the basketball hoop, next to it is a sky blue cap and brown transparent body sports water bottle.

  This young boy who still has a childish air about him is Lin Xiaoyu.

  It's already summer vacation. Lin Xiaoyu, who had good grades on his final exams, asked his father to buy him a basketball. After seeing the satisfactory scores on the report card, Lin's father took Lin Xiaoyu to the mall and bought him a brand new basketball without saying another word.

  Lin Xiaoyu went to the basketball court after taking a nap, because there were no hoops in the nearby courts at home. He liked the sound of the ball going through the hoop, so he ran to this court which was farther away from home. Since it was past 5 pm and more people would be playing, Lin Xiaoyu who wasn't very skilled couldn't play with the better players, so he came alone to this empty court in the hot afternoon.

  Lin Xiaoyu picked up the basketball with both hands, standing near the 45-degree angle inside the three-point line arc. She glanced at the distance to the hoop, then raised the ball above her forehead, her left hand lightly supporting the right hand holding the ball as she pushed it forward with force.

  The basketball flew straight up from Lin Xiaoyu's hands at a 60-degree angle, flying over a meter higher than the top edge of the backboard. The ball, which had not rotated in mid-air, lost the force exerted by Lin Xiaoyu's hands and fell freely towards the hoop under the influence of inertia.

  The ball didn't go in with a "swish" as Lin Xiaoyu had expected, but instead hit the inside edge of the basket with a "clunk", and after spinning around the rim for a circle, it slipped out and fell to the ground.

  This is Lin Xiaoyu's three-point shot that earned her the nickname "artillery" from her friends.

  Lin Xiaoyu, who saw her own shot didn't go in, didn't lose heart and immediately ran to the bottom of the basket to pick up the ball and continue her "high-shot cannon" shooting.

  Lin Xiaoyu found a lot of joy in this seemingly dull shooting practice center, because Lin Xiaoyu discovered that her hit rate was getting higher and higher. In the past, she could only make three or four out of ten shots, but now she can basically make five or six, and from time to time, she can hear the "swish" sound she longed to hear. This made Lin Xiaoyu forget about the sweltering weather and focus on her shooting practice.

  Just as Lin Xiaoyu was indulging in his own shooting pleasure, another figure appeared on the court.

  A boy about the same age as Lin Xiaoyu came to the court with a basketball, and since only half of the court was shaded by the high-rise building, the boy dribbled the ball to the basket in front of Lin Xiaoyu, which was relatively cooler, and started shooting near the free throw line.

  Lin Xiaoyu could tell from his skilled ball-hitting technique that this person was more proficient at playing than himself, but the shooting action was even less regular than his own "high-shot cannon style".

  The boy's shot was completely pushed out with both hands, but the hit rate is also better than himself. Lin Xiaoyu saw that he made three of four shots.

  Lin Xiaoyu saw that this boy, who was about the same age as him, could shoot so accurately, and he felt a surge of competitiveness in his heart, so he started to show off his "high-shot cannon" shooting skills in front of the boy.

  It's unclear whether it was Lin Xiaoyu's good hand feeling or good luck, but Lin Xiaoyu continuously made three empty-handed shots with his "anti-aircraft gun".

  "Whoosh."

  "Whoosh."

  "Whoosh."

  On this empty court, these three intermittent pleasant net sounds are particularly clear and loud.

  The boy who was shooting hoops saw Lin Xiaoyu's godly shot and was also a bit surprised. He couldn't help but take a good look at the boy around his age with a satisfied smile on his face standing next to him.

  "Let's have a competition," said the boy, looking at Lin Xiaoyu who was beaming with pride after scoring consecutive goals.

  Lin Xiaoyu listened to him speak and also took a measure of the boy. Seeing that the boy was half a head taller than herself, with a milky complexion, wearing a loose-fitting white sports suit, his dense hair slightly too long, almost covering his eyes with very long eyelashes.

  Lin Xiaoyu felt that the boy's voice was as suitable for his appearance and shooting style as a word she had learned from TV - "sissy".

  "Alright, how shall we compete?" Lin Xiaoyu agreed to his proposal for a match with alacrity, completely disregarding whether her mediocre skills could defeat her opponent.

  "One-on-one, whoever scores five goals first wins." The boy with a soft voice said the rules of the game.

  "Alright, you attack first." Lin Xiaoyu graciously allowed her opponent to make the first move.

  This kind of one-on-one duel was not unfamiliar to Lin Xiaoyu, he and Yang Tianxiao often played like this, although each time it ended with Lin Xiaoyu's miserable defeat.

  The boy didn't give in either, standing outside the three-point line and passing the ball to Lin Xiaoyu.

  Lin Xiaoyu passed the ball back to him after receiving it, indicating that he was ready and the game had begun.

  The boy took over the ball passed back by Lin Xiaoyu and started slapping it with his hands alternately.

  Lin Xiaoyu's eyes were fixed on the opponent who was dribbling the basketball back and forth, her body slightly bent in a serious defensive posture.

  The boy suddenly accelerated the frequency of his ball, slowly transported to the free throw line. Accelerated left and right swing, then suddenly a right-handed dribble to Lin Xiaoyu's left side.

  Lin Xiaoyu, who was dazzled and lost her balance, didn't have time to make any defensive moves, and could only watch as her opponent rushed into the basket from her left side, scoring with a two-and-a-half step layup.

  "It's one-zero. Your turn to attack." The boy said to Lin Xiaoyu as he picked up the ball from under the basket after scoring a goal.

  Lin Xiaoyu took the ball and said, "I'm starting my offense now."

  Lin Xiaoyu dribbled the ball, looking for a chance to break through, but this "sissy" boy's defense was very solid. Lin Xiaoyu tried several times to dribble past him, but was blocked by his quick footwork each time. On the contrary, Lin Xiaoyu almost lost the ball under his defense.

  Lin Xiaoyu, who liked to use his brain when playing ball, found that this effeminate child was not as strong as himself. If he were to force a breakthrough, the other would have difficulty stopping him. However, Lin Xiaoyu did not like using such brute strength to win, thinking it made the game uninteresting.

  Lin Xiaoyu carefully manipulated the ball while her mind quickly turned, and soon made up her mind. Lin Xiaoyu slowly moved the ball to the left, and when she reached around 40 degrees, she suddenly accelerated and broke through.

  That kid immediately blocked Lin Xiaoyu's breakthrough route one step ahead, and Lin Xiaoyu could only stop his body in a hurry, raise the ball with both hands and shoot.

  The child immediately jumped up to cover, but when he jumped up, he found that Lin Xiaoyu's shooting action was only half done and stopped. He knew he had been deceived, but his body in the air did not obey his control and flew towards Lin Xiaoyu's side...

  Lin Xiaoyu, who was being closely guarded by her opponent, adjusted her shooting posture when her opponent was about to fall to the ground, and used her familiar "high cannon" shot to tie the score for herself.

  "It's one all." Lin Xiaoyu handed the ball over to her opponent with a hint of complacency.

  Fake action is Lin Xiaoyu's favorite move when playing basketball, and she likes the feeling of deceiving her opponents. As for fake actions, Lin Xiaoyu seems to be born with it, and even Yang Tianxiao, who has played basketball with Lin Xiaoyu, is amazed by his incredibly realistic fake actions despite his mediocre basketball skills.

  After being fooled by Lin Xiaoyu, the boy seemed to get a bit angry, and his expression became serious during the game. Another easy layup was scored after shaking off Lin Xiaoyu with a gentle swing of his body.

  "I'm ahead again." The boy said with a very pleased expression, waving his fist at Lin Xiaoyu.

  Listening to his "sissy" voice full of complacency, Lin Xiaoyu felt very uncomfortable in her heart. However, Lin Xiaoyu had to admit that the breakthrough of this "sissy" was really fast, but when he was about to break through, she didn't know which direction he would go, and he had already left himself behind.

  Lin Xiaoyu and that child who Lin Xiaoyu defined as "girly" were competing with each other, taking turns attacking.

  Because Lin Xiaoyu didn't have the continuous hollow shots and hand feeling from earlier, she deceived her opponent two or three times but still couldn't make a shot. On the contrary, after being pointed out by her opponent once, she scored with a jump shot.

  Lin Xiaoyu is now one game down and four games behind, with her opponent still holding serve.

  He had just been faked out by this "girly" move, scoring a basket with his own shot, which made Lin Xiaoyu even more uncomfortable. Lin Xiaoyu's defense became a bit sticky and annoying.

  But Lin Xiaoyu's death-defying defense was hard to make up for the lack of defensive experience and technique, and Lin Xiaoyu was once again shaken off by this "sissy" opponent. However, this time Lin Xiaoyu didn't get completely left behind, he closely followed his opponent. Seeing that his opponent had already started a two-and-a-half step layup with both hands holding the ball to their chest, Lin Xiaoyu hastily stretched out his left hand towards the basketball in front of his opponent's chest as they drove up from his left side.

  Unfortunately, Lin Xiaoyu's hands didn't move as quickly as his brain did. When Lin Xiaoyu reached out to steal the ball from in front of his opponent, that effeminate opponent had already single-handedly dunked it into the hoop.

  Lin Xiaoyu's hand that was trying to steal the ball ended up empty, but her forward momentum couldn't be stopped, causing her to press one hand against the opponent's chest.

  "Ah!" The "girly" opponent saw the basketball on his own backboard and was a little excited. But suddenly someone pressed down on his chest, and in a state of panic, he shouted out loud. Suddenly, the strength in his body disappeared, and his body in mid-air was knocked open by Lin Xiaoyu's incoming force...

  Lin Xiaoyu felt that her left hand was pressed against a soft and fluffy place, and then the effeminate boy let out an "ah" as he was knocked open by her. Seeing that she had knocked him flying, Lin Xiaoyu instinctively wrapped her right arm around his waist.

  But the momentum of that "niang" being knocked open was not something Lin Xiaoyu could pull back with one hand, and instead Lin Xiaoyu was also dragged forward by that force.

  With a "bang", Lin Xiaoyu and her effeminate opponent fell to the ground of the basketball court together.

  "Let go!" The effeminate man shouted at Lin Xiaoyu after falling to the ground. Because Lin Xiaoyu had hugged him, when they hit the ground, it was Lin Xiaoyu's body that fell first, and he didn't get hurt on top of Lin Xiaoyu.

  Lin Xiaoyu released his grip on "Niang Niang Qiang" and suddenly felt a burning pain in his right arm. He sat up and looked at his right arm, only to find that the skin was scraped off, no wonder he had a burning sensation.

  Lin Xiaoyu felt around her body again to see if there were any other injuries, and found that apart from the abrasion on her arm, she had no other injuries, so she put her mind at ease.

  That "sissy" stood in front of Lin Xiaoyu, who was still sitting on the floor. His small face, which had been soft and cute, had somehow turned bright red. He said with some anger: "How could you press down on someone's...here..."

  "I didn't do it on purpose, I was trying to get the ball but you moved it away... Besides, this is normal when playing ball, I didn't use much force, did I hurt you?" Lin Xiaoyu said gruffly from the floor, "Are you a man or not? You can't even take a bump, one little collision and you fall over... Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." That "girly" one heard Lin Xiaoyu say that he wasn't a boy, and almost couldn't help but laugh to himself thinking "It turns out this silly kid doesn't even know she's a girl."

  "And I want to tell you, I wasn't a boy in the first place." Thinking of Lin Xiaoyu's hand on her chest earlier, this girl-like boy's face couldn't help but flush with heat.

  Lin Xiaoyu heard that "sissy" say he wasn't a boy, Lin Xiaoyu was shocked and blurted out: "What, you're a girl?! Then didn't I just lose to a girl in basketball?"

  Lin Xiaoyu, who had a slight big man complex, felt extremely humiliated for losing to a girl.

  "What's wrong with losing to a girl? Are girls inferior to boys?" This little girl, who looked like a boy, had always thought that girls were no worse than boys. Hearing Lin Xiaoyu's tone of belittling girls made her very unhappy, "You still lost to me, this girl."

  "That was just after I learned to play ball, and I will definitely beat you next time." Lin Xiaoyu defended herself.

  Lin Xiaoyu now understands why this person is so feminine, playing ball and speaking like a girl. It turns out to be a girl.

  Lin Xiaoyu remembered that when playing ball, she had smelled a faint fragrance on her body, which was similar to the scent he had detected on Li Jingru and Murong Huimin. "It turns out that girls' bodies all have a fragrant scent." Lin Xiaoyu thought to herself.

  "Excuse me. How old are you?" the girl asked.

  "I'll be in second grade next semester." Lin Xiaoyu didn't want this girl to think she was younger than her.

  "Same here. I haven't seen you before, which middle school are you from?"

  "Fei Cui Fourth Middle School."

  "No wonder I've never seen you before, I'm from Experimental Middle School."

  "How long have you been playing basketball?" Lin Xiaoyu really wanted to know how long this girl had been playing ball, and in his heart, he hoped that she had started playing from birth, so the longer she played, the less embarrassing it would be for him to lose to her.

  "I started playing basketball during summer vacation in 6th grade and played for a year. How about you?"

  "I... I just started playing this summer vacation." Lin Xiaoyu shortened her basketball age by one or two months.

  "Oh, no wonder your skills are so bad. Haha." The little girl didn't forget to tease Lin Xiaoyu's ball skills.

  "Hmph, you're just a bit better at playing ball than me, your breakthrough is more powerful than mine, but your shooting isn't as accurate as mine." Lin Xiaoyu said with discontent.

  "Heh, really? Then let's have a shooting competition!" said the little girl, looking at Lin Xiaoyu with a not-so-pleased expression. She suddenly noticed that Lin Xiaoyu's arm was scraped and asked: "Your hand is hurt, are you okay?"

  "It's nothing." Lin Xiaoyu was used to such minor injuries.

  Lin Xiaoyu walked over to her mountain bike, picked up the water bottle, poured some water on her scraped knee and started a shooting competition with the girl.

  The method of shooting is very simple, it's just shooting at a point. This is a game that many people who play basketball have played before.

  Start shooting from the bottom of the basket, and at each small grid position on the free throw line in the three-second zone of the court, you must make a shot. Keep shooting until you reach the free throw line to the three-point line, and change positions after making each shot. If you make it, you can continue shooting; if not, switch to your opponent's shot. If your opponent doesn't make it, go back to the previous point where you didn't make a shot and continue shooting. Alternate until you make it before switching to the next point. See who makes the three-pointer first to win.

  The two of them started shooting one after another on this half court. As the two of them went further back, their hit rate for making shots from farther away from the hoop became lower and lower.

  Lin Xiaoyu's "anti-aircraft gun" shot still lacked the right timing, when Lin Xiaoyu had just reached the free throw line, that girl had already completed a three-pointer from beyond the three-point line with her push shot.

  Lin Xiaoyu lost to this girl once again.

  "How's that? Conceded defeat yet? Nothing more to say, huh. Haha." The victorious girl said triumphantly to Lin Xiaoyu once again.

  Lin Xiaoyu, who was a bit disappointed at losing again, quickly wiped away the unpleasantness in his heart. He looked at the girl with a smug face and said: "I'll win you next time, are you coming here to play ball tomorrow? Let's have another match tomorrow."

  "Great, I'll come back tomorrow and beat you." The girl readily accepted Lin Xiaoyu's challenge and then asked, "What's your name?"

  "My name is Lin Xiaoyu."

  "Oh, I'm Yan Nan." The girl told Lin Xiaoyu her name.

  "Alright, I'll be waiting for you here at three o'clock tomorrow." Lin Xiaoyu made an appointment.

  "Alright, then I'll come here tomorrow at three to continue beating you." The girl named Yan Nan smiled and said to Lin Xiaoyu, a pair of shallow dimples appearing on her smiling face.

  At the beginning of summer vacation, Lin Xiaoyu often came to this stadium at 3 pm in the afternoon, and a girl named Yan Nan also appeared beside Lin Xiaoyu as an opponent.

  The two people became more familiar with each other in their daily matches, and when they were tired from playing basketball and took a break, they would sit on the floor and chat. Lin Xiaoyu gradually learned that this girl named Yan Nan liked basketball because she had watched "Slam Dunk", and the cool and handsome character Akira Rukawa was her favorite. Lin Xiaoyu, who liked Sakuragi Hanamichi, naturally couldn't help but have a heated debate with Yan Nan about their respective idols. However, the debate was inconclusive.

  In the unclear singles match, Lin Xiaoyu's ball skills are rapidly improving. The often-losing Lin Xiaoyu is slowly starting to win more and lose less, and as a girl, Yan Nan is gradually no longer a match for Lin Xiaoyu. In the three-point shooting contest, Lin Xiaoyu's "high cannon" shooting is also gaining an advantage.

  Two children spent a happy summer vacation on the court under the shadow of tall buildings, in the net that swayed with the clear wind of summer, on the orange basketball that bounced constantly on the court, and in the laughter and competition between the two.

  (PS: A girl has appeared, hehe, there will be more in the future. Please give me some votes, thank you.)