Chapter 2 — Change players in the final match

As soon as I sat still, I saw Giang Nghien Tu standing in the middle of the yard, his eyes staring at me fiercely. Halfway across the field, I could still clearly see the outline of his tightly pursed lips and the red corners of his eyes. The referee blew the whistle and the match started. The next forty minutes became the most miserable defeat in Giang Nghien Tu's playing career. He is completely out of playing shape. Wrongly passed the ball, missed the frame, even once while dribbling the ball... went out of bounds. The coach standing on the field shouted until his neck was covered with blue veins, demanding to replace him, but he stubbornly shook his head and refused. Before my eyes, the virtual comment stream rolled up again as if holding a celebration: 【Defense line broken! He's about to grow eyes on the female lead!】 【Laugh out loud, that three-point throw just now was clearly thrown towards Tham Tinh Ha?】 【What statistics, this half Giang Nghien Tu glared at Tham Tinh Ha seventeen times, glared at the female lead thirty-four times.】 【Tham Tinh Ha: did I offend anyone?】 The first half ended, the score difference was twenty. point. Giang Nghien Tu's team was almost mercilessly crushed. During the break between halves, he did not return to the resting area but walked straight towards me. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his chest heaved violently, each step seemed to shoot out sparks of anger. The stands gradually quieted down, all eyes turned to us. He stood in front of me, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbed over it:

“What does that mean?”

“What does that mean?” I raised my head to look at him.

“Water.” He clenched his jaw, "Can you give water to Tham Tinh Ha?"

“Can't I give water to another player?” I replied, "Is the basketball court open at your house?"

Giang Nghien Tu's expression momentarily froze, perhaps because he didn't expect me to protest. In the past twenty-two years, the three things I said to him the most were: "Sorry", "My bad", and "Don't be angry."

"Lam Thu Nguyet," he lowered his voice, each word seemed to hiss through his teeth, "You intentionally provoked me, right? Just because I gave the ticket to Van Tinh?"

Van Tinh. You called me really intimately.

“The ticket is yours, you can give it to whoever you want.” I said, “Just like this bottle of water is mine, I also have the right to give it to anyone.”

“You—” He reached out to grab my wrist, but I backed away.

That action was like setting off an explosion. Giang Nghien Tu's eyes lost all reason, he took a step forward, almost cornering me between the chair and his body:

"Haven't you caused enough trouble yet? I'm competing now! Do you have to choose this moment to cause trouble?"

The stands were buzzing. To Van Tinh stood up from the VIP area and looked worriedly in this direction. The comments were crazy: 【The classic line has appeared! ‘You have to choose the right time to cause trouble?’】 【Translation: My face is more important than your feelings.】 【Female protagonist, bounce back! Fuck that self-centered man!】 I looked at his face, the face I had been looking at for twenty-two years – from tenderness to clear angles, from chubby boyish cheeks to sharp jawline. I thought I would see it for the rest of my life.

"Giang Nghien Tu," I said softly, "I'm not causing trouble. I just... don't want to continue playing this game anymore."

“What game?”

"You block me, I wait for you to turn around; you're cold, I'm the one taking the initiative; you give the things you once gave me to someone else, I still have to pretend not to care. Game play there.” I said each word clearly, “I'm tired.”

Jiang Nghien Tu's pupils shrank sharply. He opened his mouth to say something, but the whistle to start the third period rang. The coach shouted from afar:

“Giang Nghien Tu! Back to the team!”

He looked at me deeply - in his eyes was unprecedented panic. But in the end he still turned around and ran back to the field. In the second half, Giang Nghien Tu went completely crazy. He no longer followed the strategy, when he had the ball, he attacked, like a wounded animal rushing madly. Tham Tinh Ha was hit and knocked down twice by him, the referee repeatedly blew penalties, but he ignored everything. The ratio continued to widen. In the last three minutes, victory or defeat is decided. During a shot to the basket, Giang Nghien Tu was blocked by Tham Tinh Ha and fell hard to the floor. The ball rolled out of bounds, but he did not immediately get up. I saw his hands holding the ground shaking. Tham Tinh Ha stepped forward and tried to pull him up, but Giang Nghien Tu shook his hand away and stood up himself. His forehead was scratched, blood mixed with sweat flowed down, his eyes were bloodshot, looking both struggling and scary. The final whistle sounded. 68:42. Losing is crushing. Giang Nghien Tu's teammates bowed their heads and quietly retreated to the resting area. Only he stood in place, his eyes piercing through the crowd, locking onto me. I packed my things and as soon as I got to the walkway, he stopped me.

“Speak clearly.” His voice was hoarse, mixed with a stuffy nose, "What do you mean you're tired?" Lam Thu Nguyet, in your eyes, are we just a game?"

The hallway was dimly lit, his shadow covered me. I smelled the scent of sweat and blood from his body, along with a light scent, unique to Giang Nghien Tu. The scent that once made me feel so reassured that it brought tears to my eyes.

“Twenty-two years,” I raised my head, “Giang Nghien Tu, I've known you for twenty-two years. From the moment he learned to walk, he followed him closely, and when he learned to write, he filled his diary with his name.

Do you think that's a game? His throat moved slightly.

"Because it's not a game, I don't want to continue anymore." I said,

“True love is not one person always running after, and the other person forever running away.”

“I didn't hide—” He quickly objected.

“So why did you block me?” I asked, “Why does it disappear every time I get angry? How come you clearly agreed to go watch the match, but you can conveniently give the tickets to someone else?

Giang Nghien Tu moved his lips, but couldn't say a word.

“Say it.” I took a step forward, "Give me a reason, a reason enough for me to continue waiting."

The hallway was so quiet that noises could be heard from afar. Blood from Giang Nghien Tu's forehead dripped to the floor, spreading into a dark red flower.