Chapter Thirty-Three: Venting

  On the basketball court, eight people are playing a four-on-four game on half of the court.

  The defensive player was the captain of the Emerald Four basketball team, who was now seriously staring at his opponent running with the ball in front of him. The sweat on his face kept falling from his face, but he no longer had the mind and time to wipe away the sweat. He knew that as long as he was slightly distracted, his opponent would immediately seize this opportunity to break through himself.

  Lin Pingfeng bent his waist, with both hands open, constantly adjusting his slightly urgent breathing to ease his somewhat tired body.

  At this time, his opponent began to attack, Lin Pingfeng tightly stuck to the opponent's constantly shaking body. Lin Pingfeng couldn't see which direction the opponent's waist would break through because every move of this opponent seemed like a breakthrough and also seemed like a fake move. Lin Pingfeng could only use the method of not changing to respond to all changes, standing firmly in his defensive position.

  At this time, the opponent really broke through from Lin Pingfeng's right side. The breakthrough was so sudden that despite Lin Pingfeng watching his movements with high concentration, he still couldn't defend against it. In an instant, Lin Pingfeng lost his defensive position and could only helplessly watch as his opponent rushed straight to their own basket, leaving the task of defending him to his teammate on the inside line.

  That man cut into the blue bottom, facing an opponent who was bigger than himself in both body shape and height. He didn't hesitate for a moment, nor did he make any extra moves, directly jumping up to dunk. The giant palm of the insider who came to fill the defense wanted to slap down the basketball held by the person's hand, but his arm wasn't as long as he imagined. His powerful palm hit hard on the forearm holding the ball, and his strong body also collided with the smaller man's body.

  As he was being hit on the arm by that big guy who came to help defend, he had already thrown the basketball high towards the hoop and was also knocked to the ground by the strong body of that big guy.

  A loud slapping sound of a palm hitting an arm, followed by the dull thud of two people colliding in mid-air, and then a crisp netting sound.

  "Whoosh."

  The big guy looked at the ball thrown by this man who had already committed a foul and fell from the basket, with an unbelievable face.

  The man who was knocked down didn't say a word, slowly got up from the ground, gently patted off the dust on his body, and then ran to the top of the three-point line to restart the game.

  Lin Pingfeng looked at him with a bit of weirdness, he didn't know what was wrong with him today, not like his usual self at all. Today he played basketball very wildly. Yes, wildly. As soon as he got the ball, he would rush into the blue zone, even though his face now showed signs of fatigue and his breathing was a bit short of breath, but as soon as he got the ball, he still did this, which was completely different from his usual style of playing basketball by passing the ball. Lin Pingfeng didn't know what was wrong with him today.

  The person who made Lin Pingfeng feel strange was Lin Xiaoyu.

  Today is a gloomy day, without the sunset slowly sinking into the city's towering buildings. However, the returning birds occasionally fly over the stadium, bringing with them a few cries, which seem somewhat desolate in this autumn season. The people playing on the court have already left one after another. On the empty court, only two people are sitting next to the basketball hoop, resting.

  "What's wrong with you today?" Lin Pingfeng looked at Lin Xiaoyu, who was quietly drinking water. At this moment, he had completely lost his usual relaxed and cheerful demeanor, replaced by a melancholic expression, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. This was a completely different person from the sunny boy Lin Xiaoyu that Lin Pingfeng knew.

  Lin Xiaoyu's action of drinking water stopped, he looked at Lin Pingfeng, but still didn't speak.

  "Xiao Yu, if you consider me as your friend, then tell me what's going on. Is there anything bothering you that I can help with? If I'm unable to assist, just talking about it will make you feel better. Don't keep your troubles bottled up inside." Lin Pingfeng looked at Lin Xiaoyu with genuine sincerity, this younger schoolmate who was three years his junior.

  Seeing Lin Xiaoyu's hesitant expression, Lin Pingfeng glanced at the somewhat overcast sky and seemed to be muttering to himself: "I first felt the pain of life around your age too. I was in third grade then, and that year I fell for a girl in my class. She wasn't the type who stood out for her looks, but she had this captivating charm... every time I saw her smile, I'd feel like the whole day passed by really quickly..."

  Lin Pingfeng seemed to see the figure of the girl he liked in that gloomy sky, and his mouth involuntarily revealed a smile with complex emotions. Lin Xiaoyu saw in this smile endless happiness, as well as unbearable pain.

  "I was a complete bad student back then. Skipping class, fighting, failing exams... if it wasn't for my dad knowing the school principal, I would've been expelled long ago. But she was an extremely quiet and well-behaved girl. Her name always appeared in the top few spots on every exam. Yet somehow, we two students who seemed worlds apart ended up together. After we started going out, our teachers intervened. At that time, I was notorious for fighting and playing basketball in school. That nosy teacher forcibly broke us up, saying I would bring down her grades and ruin her future. The teacher told her parents about us. In reality, when we were together, I didn't affect her grades at all. Later on, she got severely scolded by her family... the next day, I clearly saw a handprint on her pale face and her slightly red eyes from crying. My heart was bleeding in pain. That's how we broke up. Maybe because of what happened between us, after we split up, her grades weren't as good as before, and I became even more depressed..."

  Lin Pingfeng took out a cigarette from his bag, lit it slowly, and exhaled a mouthful of thick smoke deeply.

  Lin Xiaoyu looked at Lin Pingfeng's nostalgic and melancholic expression, and a sense of empathy arose in her heart. It turned out that everyone's love had its own painful side.

  "After junior high, I never saw her again. I heard she went to another place with her family to study. And because my family had some connections, they helped me get into this school, Fada Middle School, for high school. Otherwise, it would have been really hard for me to get in. I slowly grew up, and now I'm not considered mature yet, but compared to when I was in junior high, I feel like I've grown a lot, and my perspective on things has changed greatly. Like before, I was very impulsive, and I didn't get along with anyone, so I don't know how many times I got into fights. Back then, fighting really wasn't a big deal, we'd just grab whatever we could find and go at it, without caring about our lives at all. When I graduated, I even beat up the teacher who was trying to break us apart outside of school, and almost ended up in juvenile detention. Now that I think about it, I was really stupid back then. Haha." Lin Pingfeng's laughter was filled with bitterness.

  Lin Pingfeng patted Lin Xiaoyu's shoulder: "Xiaoyu, you mustn't let those troubles affect your thoughts and influence your attitude towards life now. All the problems will fade away with time."

  Lin Xiaoyu was moved by Lin Pingfeng's sincere words, which were like those of an elder brother. His heart, which had been shrouded in gloom, seemed to emit a ray of sunlight that had been hidden behind dark clouds.

  It seems that heartbreak is a catalyst for human growth, allowing people to mature overnight. Lin Xiaoyu seemed to have grown up several years in just one night.

  Lin Xiaoyu became somewhat silent, and no one knew why Lin Xiaoyu would become like this. The previous Lin Xiaoyu who always had a sunny smile on his face seemed to have suddenly changed into another person, as if he had lost interest in everything. Even the normally eloquent Lin Xiaoyu had become a bit taciturn.

  Lin Xiaoyu felt a suffocating air in her chest, so she ran desperately on the basketball court. When she was exhausted and her brain lacked oxygen, gasping for breath, Lin Xiaoyu finally felt a little better. This made Lin Xiaoyu forget about those unhappy things. So today, Lin Pingfeng saw a completely different Lin Xiaoyu from usual when playing ball.

  Lin Xiaoyu slowly told Lin Pingfeng about her bitter first love, and after speaking out what was in her heart, she felt like the oppressive air in her chest was slowly released, just as Lin Pingfeng had said.

  Lin Pingfeng patted Lin Xiaoyu's shoulder: "Xiaoyu, first love is always like this. Your girlfriend just left you, and you'll definitely have the chance to meet again in the future. Just like I've been holding onto the hope of seeing her again, so you can't give up on yourself because of this. We should live more freely and not let worries bind our hearts. The problem won't be solved by keeping it bottled up inside; we need to let go."

  "Debonair?" The word churned in Lin Xiaoyu's mind.

  Yes, since you're carrying a burden that you can't move on your own, why put it on your shoulders? You should slowly put it down and come back to move it when you have the ability.

  Lin Xiaoyu clenched her fist tightly.

  Lin Pingfeng looked at Lin Xiaoyu's gaze, which was slowly becoming firmer, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of encouragement for him. At the same time, he also thought of another person, that beautiful girl named Yan Nan. He knew that Yan Nan had long since fallen in love with Lin Xiaoyu, who looked very delicate, and that the girlfriend Lin Xiaoyu mentioned was definitely not Yan Nan. Lin Pingfeng couldn't help but wish Yan Nan well for the emotions she would soon face. Lin Pingfeng felt that Yan Nan and Lin Xiaoyu were a match made in heaven.

  "Come on, Xiao Yu. Go home and take a good hot bath to relax yourself. I'd rather see the sunny you from before." Lin Pingfeng stood up with his backpack on his shoulder.

  Lin Xiaoyu felt a little grateful for Lin Pingfeng's consolation: "Thank you, Brother Feng, you've made me feel much better."

  "Haha, don't mention it, we're friends after all. Besides, I'm just reminding you, the rest is up to you to face." Lin Pingfeng said seriously.

  Yes, the road is one's own. The one who can be relied on is also oneself.