83: Competitive sports are the "war" of peacetime!

Lin You made sure to spread his attention equally, and after chatting with Sister Yin, he actively spoke to the low-key and reserved Qu Qinghuan.

“Teacher Qu, wasn't I awesome just now?”

Qu Qinghuan frowned. With so many people around, she still needed to maintain a teacher's “authority.” “No swearing... But, you were indeed very impressive. You have a great physique; do you exercise often?”

Lin You blurted out, “Yeah, it’s all hard work and sweat. I run often, five kilometers at a time.”

In reality, he had only run five kilometers once... After greeting the two “Supreme Overlords” watching the game, Lin You approached Xie Xingmeng, who was not far from Chen Yang, “Are you a man of your word?”

Xie Xingmeng turned her head away, “Mm.”

Lin You happily turned around and walked towards Du Zhaoyu, who had been waiting in the distance.

“Our teacher came to watch, no choice, I had to show some collective honor. Otherwise, I would have come over as soon as it ended.”

The emotional value Lin You provided made Du Zhaoyu very satisfied. “It’s okay, I’m just happy to watch you play. You don’t have to mind me.”

A girl's “You don’t have to mind me.” = “Although I said you don’t have to mind me, if you dare not mind me, I’ll show you my anger.”

Lin You shrugged, looking puzzled, “What ‘mind me’ or ‘not mind me’? I just wanted to come over.”

Su Wenwen, however, peeked at the countless gazes cast from behind Lin You. “Oh, big star, your luck with romance is booming, huh? Was it great being surrounded by girls just now?”

Lin You shook his head: “That was all just for show. A group of girls without Xiao Yu'er, I only find it noisy.”

During the short twenty-minute halftime break, Lin You displayed his scumbag nature to the fullest... but he was only a mediocre scumbag, after all, he ignored Qian Manzhi, who was practically throwing herself at him, and before Qian Manzhi could adopt the motto “If the mountain won't come to me, I will go to the mountain,” he quickly walked onto the court and joined the shooting practice under the hoop to maintain his feel.

After halftime, Class 20 seemed to have adjusted quite a bit. After all, as last year's grade 11 champions, they still had strength.

However, at the start of the second half, Lin You went after number 30 again, unleashing the trash talk tactics he hadn't used in the first half.

“Yo, isn't this Class 20's Little Curry? How many shots did you make in the first half? Oh, 1 out of 8? Only got 2 points? Truly a 2-point Curry!”

Lin You continuously spouted “outrageous remarks,” agitating number 30's nerves.

Swish!

After another big block followed by a fast break layup, Lin You leaned close to number 30 and said with a grin, “How did you get blocked again? Don't you like to shoot? Or do you have a grudge against the hoop?”

“Damn it, can you shut the hell up?!”

Lin You raised an eyebrow, “I thought you were mute. If you have the guts, beat me in a one-on-one, and I'll shut up immediately.”

A player from Class 20 was not far away, heard their conversation, and walked over to advise, “Gao Yuan, don't argue with him. Basketball is a five-person sport. As long as we win...”

“Get lost!” Number 30 yelled back at his teammate without turning his head, returning to the baseline to inbound the ball.

It's not you who's being stepped on and suppressed, the knife isn't falling on you, so of course, you don't feel the pain!

Lin You sighed internally, those who play tactics really have dirty hearts. Am I playing tactics? Oh, then it's fine.

The two halves, with no stopping clock, totaled 40 minutes of game time, and the microcosm was Lin You's teammates getting beaten up wildly, while Lin You relentlessly thrashed number 30.

Li Qingbo on the sidelines didn't even get a minute of playing time. As the basketball team's “sponsor,” he had no complaints whatsoever, snapping away with his SLR camera while transforming into a wild cheerleader, his throat nearly hoarse.

“Zhao Yi, you need to get tough! If not today, then when will you get tough?!”

“Chen Yang, awesome! That little floater, you're Ancheng No. 7 Middle School's Little Parker, damn it?!”

Qian Manzhi was standing next to Li Qingbo at this moment, looking at the charismatic Lin You on the court, then at her “crude” cousin.

“Cousin, could you keep your voice down? I think it's a bit embarrassing.”

Li Qingbo paused, then turned to look at Qian Manzhi, “Tch, what do you know? If we win, we'll have a chance at the championship, and I'll be a member of the championship team! What if they're just one cheer away from winning?”

One can only say that competitive sports are the “war” of peacetime! They are the best at stirring up a man's blood! Even if it's just a small high school intramural game.

In the second half, more and more people gathered at this court. Because this year's basketball tournament would eventually feature inter-grade matches, as a championship favorite from grade 12, Class 20's games also attracted spectators from grades 10 and 11.

Several groups of people looked at the scoreboard, their faces full of confusion, “Five minutes left, Class 20 is down by 5 points? Isn't Class 20 all sports students? What is Class 7? They can't even beat them?”

More than half the people in the entire basketball court area were gathered around this court, three deep and then three more, gradually reaching a scale of several hundred people.

“Class 7's number 11 is so amazing; he's been playing for so long, and his stamina is still so good!”

On the court, Lin You looked at the panting Zhao Yi and Chen Yang, knowing that even with the enhancement of the Happiness Technique, they were nearing their limit.

Only Lin You and the two of them hadn't been substituted out the entire game. Although Class 7 had 15 team members, and the remaining two could rotate constantly, their impact was minimal. Lin You and the other two — two outside players and one inside — were indispensable; without one, both offense and defense would be paralyzed.

However, Class 20 on the opposing side also had no coach. If there were a coach, number 30, Gao Yuan, being so hot-headed, would have been benched long ago.

In the last five minutes, Class 20 started to increase their intensity. Although the referee occasionally blew his whistle, some overly aggressive physical actions were no longer being called.

Suddenly, when Chen Yang drove in for a layup, he was fouled and pulled down by Class 20's number 23.

Lin You saw this scene from afar, his heart sinking. As he rushed over, he saw Chen Yang rolling on the ground, clutching his ankle.

“Damn it, if you can't play the ball, you resort to dirty tactics, huh?!”

Before Lin You could speak, Li Qingbo on the sidelines immediately shoved his SLR into Qian Manzhi's arms and charged forward. Before he even reached them, expletives were already spewing out.

Class 20's number 23 immediately raised his hands, indicating it was a tactical foul. However, Li Qingbo's championship dream was clearly under threat, so he didn't care about anything else and immediately prepared to fight.

“Li Qingbo, don't be impulsive!” Qu Qinghuan, seeing a fight about to break out, quickly ran over to mediate.

Fortunately, Qu Qinghuan was there; otherwise, Sister Yin alone probably wouldn't have been able to restrain the enraged Li Qingbo... A conflict was defused invisibly. With the referee's intervention, Class 7 received two free throws, the opponent's number 23 was ejected, and it was stated that if the opponent committed any more non-basketball actions, they would directly forfeit.

After all, the referee was the school's Sports Teacher. It was embarrassing for a proper sports student to resort to dirty tricks when they couldn't win fair and square.

Chen Yang originally didn't intend to leave the court, but after standing up, he limped, his eyes slightly red.

“Lin You... I'm sorry...”

Lin You smiled and patted Chen Yang's shoulder, “I used to think your skills were mediocre and you liked to show off, but today I realize you're a true man, damn it. Don't worry, we're still ahead. Watch me win for you!”

Watching Chen Yang being led off the court by Wang Lian, who came to help him, Lin You made the decision to put in Li Qingbo, who was the most spirited at the moment.

Li Qingbo looked at the Class 20 players opposite him and slowly said, “Lin You, was your most glorious moment standing on the award podium with Du Zhaoyu, watched by thousands? As for me, it is now.”

Lin You turned his head in astonishment, looking at the dramatic Li Qingbo... You don't think you're Hanamichi Sakuragi, do you?

I just thought the referee's calls were pretty relaxed now, so I let the most eager you go for a mad-dog defense against their ace...