"How the hell did the school not tell us about this sooner?" asked Tai Wei angrily. He shook his head and waved Fang Mu away. "You get back to your dorm. I need to go and figure out how we're going to secure this thing. Oh, and be careful."
Having no choice, Fang Mu just nodded and said, "Okay."
The following evening, the basketball game began on schedule in the school gymnasium.
The gymnasium was a fully functioning sports arena, with a court that conformed to international standards and retractable bleachers that could seat over 2,000 people. Although the game wasn't set to begin until 7:30, by 6 p.m. students had already filled every seat and even the aisles were packed tight.
Zou Tuanjie and the rest of the diehard fans had long since hurried to the stadium and saved seats, two of which belonged to Du Yu and Fang Mu. The two of them waited until nearly 7 p.m. to begin strolling over to the stadium. As they reached the stadium steps, Fang Mu saw Deng Linyue and a group of girls walk past, chatting happily. A teacher standing nearby yelled impatiently, "Let's go, let's go! What took you ladies so long? Hurry up and get changed."
"Cheerleaders," said Du Yu, staring at all the gorgeously dressed girls. He grinned. "With beauties like that cheering him on, Liu Jianjun will be showing off for sure."
After squeezing through the jam-packed crowd and stepping on more feet than they could count, Fang Mu and Du Yu finally arrived at their seats. Before they could catch their breath, the sound of whistles and excited applause filled the stadium, followed by an earth-shattering roar. Looking up, Fang Mu saw a pack of scantily-clad girls run out to center court and begin dancing, with Deng Linyue in the lead.
At once everyone's attention shifted from thoughts of the game about start to the sight of the girls' legs, particularly their thighs. Du Yu's mouth was hanging wide open and his eyes were fixed straight ahead. Fang Mu found this hilarious and he reached over and handed him a tissue.
"What's this for?" asked Du Yu.
"To wipe the saliva off your mouth."
Du Yu laughed and socked Fang Mu on the arm.
After a few minutes, the cheerleaders' dance routine ended. A very loud and clear noise sounded overhead, announcing that the game was about to start.
Suddenly, as the announcer began to speak, all the lights in the gymnasium went out, save for the spotlight, which shined brightly on the entrance to the court. The players from the provincial team appeared first. They ran out under the light, one enormous athlete after another, as their familiar names echoed throughout the gymnasium. They stood imposingly across center court. The last to emerge was Su Jun, the member of the national team, and as soon as his name was announced, the crowd erupted, screaming and whistling so loud that it seemed the roof would blow off the building.
Next came the members of the JiangbinCityUniversity team. As they entered the arena under the glare of the spotlight, they appeared much more flustered than their professional counterparts. One point guard even slipped and fell as he was about to reach the court, causing the whole crowd to laugh good-naturedly. As team captain, Liu Jianjun was last to enter, and Fang Mu noticed that when he appeared the cheerleaders seemed to scream extraordinarily loud. Liu Jianjun made a point to grandstand as he ran out, waving at all the spectators.
The game began. Although the members of the provincial team were treating it like a practice match, the play was obviously one-sided. Compared to the professionals — whose average height was around 6'4" — the students looked tiny, clumsy, and scared. At the end of the first quarter, the provincial team was already leading 35-6.
When the second quarter started, the provincial team eased up, rarely using their physical superiority to drive to the hoop. Instead, they hung around the perimeter and launched jump shots. At the same time, the school team's offense started to pick up. Leading the attack was Liu Jianjun, playing especially ferocious. One time he even hit a turnaround jumper while being guarded by Su Jun himself. In retaliation, when it came time to block, Su Jun made no more than a symbolic effort, his tiptoes never leaving the floor. Fang Mu noticed that every time Liu Jianjun scored, he would face the screaming, dancing cheerleaders and fiercely pound the left side of his chest. Looking closer, Fang Mu saw that unlike his teammates, Liu Jianjun had drawn a big "D" onto his jersey, right over his heart, using what appeared to be felt-tip marker.
D for Deng, thought Fang Mu, smiling to himself. This guy…
At halftime, the provincial team still held a significant lead. But the student spectators didn't care at all about who won or lost. For them, the most important thing was seeing their sports heroes in person. They were excited to learn a dunk performance would take place during halftime, and of course the professionals would be the stars of the show. However, what made the crowd proudest was the news that a fellow student would be joining the show. This student was none other than Liu Jianjun. Although only 6'1", he could jump astonishingly high.
Liu Jianjun made three attempts. Although he missed one, his other two dunks were brilliant. After each, he turned toward the cheerleaders, roared once, and pounded his left breast. The cheerleaders responded with high-pitched screams. Frequently they would nudge Deng Linyue, looks of envy in their eyes. For her part, Deng Linyue kept fairly cool. But although she was hardly going wild with outward excitement, her eyes never left Liu Jianjun.
The second half began. Perhaps because he had been so active during the first two quarters, Liu Jianjun seemed a little sluggish at first, so the coach subbed him out to take a breath. Rather than heading straight for the bench, however, Liu Jianjun walked over to where the cheerleaders were and said something to Deng Linyue. Her expression seemed a little surprised, but she still nodded her head, blushing slightly.
"Aw, you don't have a chance anymore," grumbled Du Yu as he watched what was happening on the sidelines. "This guy's really stolen the show tonight."
"So what?" said Fang Mu. "You're such a broken record, always going on and on about something I never even cared about to begin with!" He stood up. "Let me by."
"Where are you going?"
"To the bathroom. Why, did you think I was trying to find a place to be alone so I could cry over my broken heart?"
Moments later, Fang Mu was outside the gymnasium. Compared to the noise and excitement of the arena, the gymnasium corridor felt unusually desolate. He hurried toward the bathroom, wanting to get back as soon as possible so he could keep enjoying the game. Rounding one corner, he nearly bumped into two stern-looking policemen in SWAT gear. Seeing them, his spirits fell.
You can't relax now, he told himself grudgingly. The killer is still out there somewhere.
In a flash, all that was going on in the gymnasium no longer meant a thing to him. He even forgot that he had been heading to the bathroom. Instead he just stood there, watching the two policemen walk away until they disappeared around the corner.
He looked out the window beside him. Although it was pitch-black outside, he could still make out a police car parked beside the gymnasium, its red and blue lights flashing soundlessly.
After watching it for a few moments, he turned and walked slowly and distractedly back to the arena. Once he'd returned to his seat he could no longer focus on the game. Scanning the bleachers, he spotted one plainclothes cop after another. Although they appeared to be moving carelessly through the crowd, they were still wary: nerves taut as a bowstring, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Fang Mu glanced back. Sure enough, Tai Wei was in the bleachers behind him. Seeing Fang Mu looking at him, Tai Wei made a small wave.
Expressionlessly, Fang Mu turned forward again. He didn't know why, but his spirits had sunk within him.