He couldn't even remember the last time he'd played in a game like the one he now found himself in. For who knows how long, all he'd done was practice free throws by himself, and he now found it extremely difficult to adapt.
Suddenly, Du Yu burst through the crowd towards the hoop, dribbling fast. Leaping into the air, he saw Liu Jianjun's enormous frame come flying at him, arms up and ready to block the ball into the stratosphere. At the last second, he spotted Fang Mu out of the corner of his eye, still standing by the foul line, and with a flick of the wrist he passed the ball.
Stunned, Fang Mu instinctively caught the ball. At that moment, one of his teammates cut under the hoop. No one was nearby. Without thinking, Fang Mu immediately passed him the ball, and the teammate unhurriedly laid it in.
"Beautiful!" cried several players in admiration.
The player who just scored ran excitedly over to Fang Mu with his hand raised. At a loss, Fang Mu lifted his own hand.
Smack! The two of them high-fived.
This sound sent sparks shooting through Fang Mu's brain, and all of a sudden he was filled with a strange yet familiar feeling.
Sweat-soaked backs and blazing-hot afternoons. Friendly cheers and shouted taunts.
The bygone days of his youth, when he had lived without worry or sadness.
Again someone passed the ball to him. This time he caught it smoothly, dribbled between his legs, and then faked left and crossed hard to the right…
Yes, that's how I used to do it.
Is that Eldest Brother jumping to block me?
Stopping on a dime, he leapt into the air and extended his arm. That old familiar feeling.
Swish. The ball dropped through the net.
"Nice one!" cheered Liu Jianjun.
"What did I say," said Du Yu proudly. "He's untouchable."
"I'll guard him," said Liu Jianjun. He ran over and stuck close to Fang Mu.
As the pace quickened, the game grew more and more intense. Bodies slammed into one another. The ball flew through the air. Pass, catch, shoot, rebound. High-five.
"Jeez, he doesn't miss."
"Man, looking at him you'd never know."
"New teams, new teams. We want Fang Mu!"
Sweat dripped from Fang Mu's forehead. He closed his eyes.
Yes, that's right. Back then, this is how happy I was.
They played until it got so dark they could barely see the ball. At last they gave up, albeit reluctantly. On the way back to the dorm they stopped at a store on campus, where Fang Mu bought a watermelon that had been sitting in a tub of icy water.
The watermelon was still coated with bits of ice when they got back to the dorm room. After slicing it open, everyone grabbed a piece and began to eat. Every now and then someone would cough from choking on one of the seeds, provoking a round of good-natured derision from the others.
"I'm saying, Fang Mu," said Liu Jianjun, wiping watermelon juice from his mouth, "you should join the law school basketball team. NextGradSchool Cup, you'll play shooting guard."
"Me?" said Fang Mu, throwing away his rind. Suddenly he smiled: "I'll need an appearance fee."
Everyone roared with laughter. Liu Jianjun grabbed a watermelon rind and pretended to chuck it at Fang Mu, who laughed and fell back as if it were a direct hit.
Everyone was still carrying on when Meng Fanzhe pushed open the door. As soon as he stepped inside he nearly slipped to the floor on a watermelon rind.
"Jeez, what are you guys up to in here?" he asked.
"Oh, hey," said Du Yu. "Want a piece of watermelon?"
"No thanks," said Du Yu, waving his hand. "I'm just looking for Tom."
"Tom? Who's Tom?" asked Fang Mu, confused.
Liu Jianjun laughed. "Guess you haven't heard. A few days ago this guy got a cat and decided to name it Tom. Which is why," he paused to wink at Fang Mu, "we're all calling Meng Fanzhe 'Jerry'."
As the room once more exploded with laughter, Meng Fanzhe leapt on Liu Jianjun.
"All right, all right," said Du Yu, his voice suddenly serious. "I know where your cat is."
"Where?" said Meng Fanzhe, releasing his hands from Liu Jianjun's throat.
"Here," said Du Yu, lifting his half-finished bowl of meat sauce and noodles. "I saved the tail. Want a taste?"
Meng Fanzhe's face fell. "No way," he said.
"It's so delicious," said Du Yu, licking his lips like he could barely keep from eating it.
"It's okay," Fang Mu quickly butted in, "they're just messing with you." From the look in Meng Fanzhe's eyes, Fang Mu could see he was about to cry.
"You're such a jerk," Meng Fanzhe bit out to Du Yu. He had regained his composure, but his tone was still angry.
"And you're so naive. How could you have believed me?" Du Yu laughed loudly.
Just then a voice shouted angrily from down the hall. "Meng Fanzhe!" it called. "Get over here now! Your stupid cat just shit on my bed!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," said Meng Fanzhe as he whipped around and ran out of the room.
Laughing, several of the others followed him: "Man, this idiot's way too unlucky," they said almost in unison.
"All right, I should be going, too," said Liu Jianjun, climbing to his feet. "Fang Mu, you and I need to play one-on-one sometime."
Fang Mu smiled. "It's a deal."
"As for these watermelon rinds…" Liu Jianjun paused, pretending to be deep in thought, "you guys take care of them!" Then with a laugh he opened the door and slipped out.
Du Yu grabbed a sandal and threw it after him, but it was too late. The sandal merely smacked against the door.
"That jerk," he said, laughing.
Before going to bed, Fang Mu went to the showers to cool down. There, standing beneath the showerhead, his body drenched with ice-cold water, he felt an indescribable happiness well up inside him. Tilting his head back, he let the water wash over him.
Two math students were showering nearby, all the while discussing the "ridiculous body" they'd seen on some girl at the library that day.
Through the frosted glass of the window beside him, Fang Mu could faintly make out the lights of the dormitory opposite. Although blurry, the view seemed somehow warm and cozy.
Actually, life really is full of happiness-it's just that I never felt myself worthy of enjoying it.
Du Yu was already snoring when Fang Mu returned to the dorm, but he'd still been thoughtful enough to leave the desk light on for him.
Fang Mu was exhausted. He hadn't exercised in forever, and his legs and shoulders were already painfully sore. Without waiting for his hair to dry, he climbed immediately into bed.
Feeling something hard beneath his head, he reached under the pillow. It was the dagger.
Lying there, Fang Mu turned the dagger in his hands, inspecting it. The handle was dark green and rough and partly scarred from where it had been burned in the fire. He took the blade from its sheath. It shone cold as death in the light of the desk lamp.
Rolling out of bed, Fang Mu sheathed the knife and stuffed it underneath some clothes in his dresser.
He then lay down once more, switched off the light, and went to sleep.
Later that night, Du Yu woke to the sound of his roommate tossing and turning in his sleep.
"This guy's not having a nightmare again, is he?" he mumbled softly, before once more falling fast asleep.
At 1 o’clock in the morning, Fang Mu suddenly woke with a start, got out of bed and grabbed the knife from the dresser.
Expressionlessly, he slid it underneath his pillow, and then lay back down and pulled the covers overhead.
At last, drowsiness swept over him like a heavy black curtain, and he fell asleep.
CHAPTER 9