last second

The next day, when Xu Xi woke up, Jiang Shi had long since disappeared.The quilt was well covered, and the garbage in the living room was also thrown away. It didn't take much guesswork to know that it was Jiang Shize who cleaned it up.

Xu Xi's face flushed slightly when he thought about getting drunk yesterday, and he was inevitably a little embarrassed.

Is it too relaxing?Especially in front of newcomers...

Xu Xi tapped his forehead remorsefully, and only when he saw the alarm clock from the corner of his eye did he realize that it was getting late.He jumped up from the bed with a "pong" sound, and stumbled into the bathroom, his embarrassment made him even more annoyed.

You should thank him anyway!After washing his face with cold water, Xu Xi finally woke up and told himself secretly.

When Xu Xi rushed to the basketball hall, almost all the players were there. He glanced over the crowd, but he didn't see Jiang Shize.

Is that guy drunk too?

Xu Xizheng felt a headache when he saw Jiang Shize walking in from the outside, still appearing on the hour, yawning lazily.

"Jiang Shize."

Just as Xu Xi was about to step forward, the coach followed in.Hearing his call, the other party looked up at him, and when their eyes met, Jiang Shi suddenly smiled, which seemed a little familiar.

The training officially started, Xu Xi had no chance to talk to Jiang Shize again, and he didn't stop him until the break.

"Jiang Shize."

The rest area was full, and Jiang Shi was sitting on the ground alone, holding mineral water in his hand.

"Would you like to sit down?" Jiang Shi stepped aside a little and threw the basketball next to him into the distance.

Xu Xi shook his head, but did not sit down.

"I was drunk yesterday, sorry."

Xu Xi spoke hesitantly, embarrassed and embarrassed.Seeing this, Jiang Shi couldn't help laughing, which made Xu Xi more restrained.

"It's nothing, the captain's wine is very good, and he's just sleeping when he's drunk, so he didn't cause me any trouble."

Jiang Shi suppressed a smile on purpose, and looked at Xu Xi's face with a look of inquiry in his eyes. The way he laughed made Xu Xi a little dazed.

I shouldn't have lost my composure... Xu Xi thought in distress, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he quickly changed the subject.

"You cleaned up the living room too, it's too much trouble for you."

Xu Xi spoke sincerely, but Jiang Shi looked indifferent. He gulped down the mineral water and said after a long time: "It's nothing, it was what I brought, and I would like to thank the captain for borrowing the place."

Just as Xu Xi wanted to say "It's okay", Chen Jiaqing suddenly called out, "Captain, come here."

"Sorry." Xu Xi nodded apologetically, then turned and walked towards Chen Jiaqing.

Just halfway there, Chen Jiaqing ran up and said angrily, "Captain, why did you get hooked up with that guy?"

Xu Xi looked at him inexplicably, not understanding what he meant at all.

Seeing this, Chen Jiaqing became more anxious and said, "Are you drinking with him?"

Xu Xi was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Oh, yes, he sat at my house for a while yesterday, and he happened to bring some beer..."

Chen Jiaqing snorted coldly, and said angrily, "The captain is too eccentric. We usually ask the captain out for drinks, but the captain always says that he doesn't have time."

Xu Xi was speechless for a while, and said awkwardly: "Well, I'm really not interested in friendship. Besides, Jiang Shize..."

Seeing Xu Xi's reaction, Chen Jiaqing also felt embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blame the captain, but, captain, we don't like that guy. He is arrogant and uses basketball as a tool to make money. He is not suitable to be in the team at all. inside."

Hearing this, Xu Xi finally understood what Chen Jiaqing and the others meant. It wasn't that he blamed himself for not going out with everyone, but that he was dissatisfied with him getting close to Jiang Shize.

"Anyway, Captain, stop following..."

"Xiao Chen, it's not good for you to say that."

Hearing Chen Jiaqing's complaints, Xu Xi felt more and more headaches, and for the first time he was disgusted with them.Just as Chen Jiaqing was talking about excitement, she was suddenly interrupted by Xu Xi, and looked at him in surprise.

Xu Xi paused, took a deep breath, and said seriously: "What is the most important thing in a team? Shouldn't everyone be united? Malicious exclusion is not beneficial to the team's performance."

It's been a long time since I heard Xu Xi say such heavy words, Chen Jiaqing was surprised but also felt very angry.He glared at Jiang Shize angrily, and said dissatisfiedly, "Anyway, we don't recognize that guy, nor do we recognize him as a member of the team."

Chen Jiaqing opened his voice on purpose, Xu Xi turned his head subconsciously, worried about Jiang Shize's mood.Seeing this, Chen Jiaqing felt that Xu Xi was eccentric, and walked away angrily.

The atmosphere in the basketball hall once again dropped to freezing point. Under Chen Jiaqing's incitement, most of the players looked at Jiang Shize with contempt.However, Jiang Shi didn't care, and went about his own business.

Xu Xi looked at him in surprise, with complicated emotions in his heart, worried whether he was forced to smile, wondered what he was thinking, and blamed himself for not managing the team members well.

"Jiang Shize."

After a while, Xu Xi finally approached that person, but Jiang Shize suddenly stood up and said with a smile, "I'm so hungry, can I go eat?"

Xu Xi was taken aback, and subconsciously nodded.

When Jiang Shi saw this, the expression on his face became more and more happy: "Great, I'm going to eat."

After finishing speaking, before Xu Xi could speak, Jiang Shi had already left.When they walked through the door, Chen Jiaqing and the others sneered and sneered without any scruple, but Jiang Shi seemed to be deaf and didn't hesitate in his steps.

Such a tense situation made Xu Xi feel a headache, thinking of the coach's decision, he felt even more embarrassed.If Chen Jiaqing and the others knew that Jiang Shi would be the main pick for the summer league, how much trouble would they cause?And Jiang Shize's attitude, does he really not care, or is he hiding his emotions in his heart?

The more he couldn't see through, the more he cared about that person. Xu Xi was surprised to find that his eyes were always focused on Jiang Shize, whether it was intentional or not.

After the training, all the players changed in the lounge except for Jiang Shize.Everyone had almost left, and Chen Jiaqing was the last one who was about to leave, but Xu Xi stopped him suddenly.

"Xiao Chen, I have something to tell you."

Chen Jiaqing stopped unhappily, turned around and asked, "It's about Jiang Shize again?"

Xu Xi froze for a moment, then nodded hesitantly.

"There's nothing to say, the captain wants us to be united, right?"

Seeing that Chen Jiaqing was in a bad mood, Xu Xi couldn't help frowning, and advised, "Xiao Chen, you..."

"Captain, don't you really feel that you are biased?" Chen Jiaqing said irritably.

Xu Xi looked at him in surprise, almost unable to react.

Seeing this, Chen Jiaqing had a look of sarcasm on his face: "The captain always thinks that the problem lies with us, but is that guy okay? He doesn't like basketball at all, he joins the team because he can make money. Is the attitude right?"

Chen Jiaqing hit Xu Xi's worries. Indeed, Xu Xi couldn't agree with Jiang Shize on this issue.However, thinking about the content of the chat yesterday, he felt that Jiang Shize was not so indifferent, and he also said...

Xu Xi took a step forward and patted Chen Jiaqing on the shoulder.He didn't rush to speak, and when Chen Jiaqing gradually calmed down, he said, "I know you all have resistance to Jiang Shize, but after yesterday's match, you can at least agree with his strength."

Just as Chen Jiaqing was about to refute, seeing Xu Xi's embarrassment, she held back her words.

"And Jiang Shi also said yesterday that he promised to put in his best effort in the game. I believe he is a man of measure."

Chen Jiaqing looked at Xu Xi and remained silent for a long time. Xu Xi was a little worried about whether he would listen to the persuasion.

After a while, Chen Jiaqing finally raised his head. He sighed and replied, "I know, we won't say anything in front of him. However, this doesn't mean we can agree with his attitude."

Hearing this, Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing his relaxed appearance, Chen Jiaqing couldn't help but said: "The captain doesn't need to worry too much, we are also people who have a sense of proportion, just talk about it, and we won't deliberately fight against him during training or competition."

Being caught in the middle of the conversation all of a sudden, Xu Xi was inevitably a little embarrassed. He smiled covertly, but didn't know what to say.

"Then I'll go first."

Before leaving, Chen Jiaqing couldn't help but patted Xu Xi's shoulder, with a look of worry in his eyes.

Just after closing the door, he ran into Jiang Shize within a few steps, and when he passed by, Chen Jiaqing suddenly stopped him.

"Hey."

Jiang Shi stopped and looked at the other party with a smile.

"you call me?"

Even if Jiang Shi greeted him with a smile on his face, Chen Jiaqing still didn't like it, but now that he had something to say, he could only suppress his contempt.

"Did you hear my conversation with the captain?"

Jiang Shi smiled but did not answer, and did not deny it.

Chen Jiaqing was displeased with that casual attitude, and angrily warned: "You'd better remember what you said to the captain, don't hold back the team and don't make the captain worry."

Hearing this, Jiang Shi looked at the other party with a half-smile, but did not give an affirmative answer.

Chen Jiaqing has always been impatient, and asked impatiently, "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, I just feel that everyone cares about the captain."

"Nonsense, Captain for us..."

Before Chen Jiaqing could finish speaking, the man had already walked into the lounge.Chen Jiaqing had no choice but to swallow this breath, stared at the door angrily, and left angrily.

When Jiang Shize entered, Xu Xi was changing his clothes. The moment he faced each other naked, he subconsciously sped up, with a flustered expression on his face.

"Just finished?" Xu Xi asked.

At the end of the training, Jiang Shi was left behind by the coach and ran [-] more laps around the field.

"Well, I'm so tired." Jiang Shize sat lazily next to Xu Xi, took a bath towel and a clean T-shirt, and took off his shirt slowly.

"Wash slowly, I'll go out first."

Seeing Xu Xiergen's reddish appearance, Jiang Shi couldn't help laughing.Deliberately waiting until the man walked to the door, he called out to him maliciously.

"Captain, when I came in, I ran into Chen Jiaqing."

Sure enough, Xu Xi stopped, looked at Jiang Shize in surprise, and asked worriedly, "He didn't say anything?"

Jiang Shi smiled, looked at Xu Xi meaningfully, and replied, "No, he just warned me not to forget what I said to the captain."

Xu Xi was stunned for a moment, but he didn't think of anything, and then said: "Don't worry about what happened at noon, Xiao Chen and the others didn't do it on purpose."

"It's okay, the captain also said a lot of good things for me, didn't he think the captain was favoring me?"

Hearing this, Xu Xi immediately understood that Jiang Shi had heard their conversation.

"I didn't eavesdrop on purpose." Jiang Shi looked at Xu Xi with a half-smile, begging for mercy on purpose.

Xu Xi felt embarrassed instead, "That's not what I meant..."

Just when Xu Xi didn't know what to do, Jiang Shi frowned suddenly: "The reason why everyone listens to persuasion is because the captain is too gentle."

Xu Xi was startled, but before he could react, he heard the man say again: "It's gentleness, not ability. Isn't this kind of method a little weak?"

Jiang Shi looked at Xu Xi meaningfully, as if waiting for his reaction.The smile in his eyes seemed to see through Xu Xi's heart, and what had been hidden for a long time was exposed in front of him.

Xu Xi's heart trembled, and he suddenly felt a nameless tension. He didn't like this feeling. Although he knew it was not a secret, it always felt bad to be seen through.

After a long time, seeing that Xu Xi didn't speak, Jiang Shi asked, "Is the captain angry?"

After slowly calming down, the original panic disappeared, and a relaxed feeling was replaced by it.Xu Xi asked himself in surprise, did Jiang Shize's attitude make him more comfortable than the carefulness of the players and coaches?

"No, I'm not angry." The answer that came out of my mouth didn't mean to be half false.

Jiang Shi smiled in relief, as if he was really relieved.

Xu Xi sat back unconsciously, and said with a self-mockery: "There's nothing to be angry about. Other players and coaches have always felt the same way. I know whether it's gentle or weak, but everyone is very careful not to take It's so straightforward."

Jiang Shi laughed silently, waiting for Xu Xi to continue.

Sure enough, Xu Xi raised his head to look at him, smiled gently, and said in a gentle tone, "I was really taken aback at the beginning when you said it so frankly, and I felt like I was stripped naked."

Xu Xi coughed unnaturally and continued: "However, sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable to cover up."

Xu Xi frowned and didn't say any more.

"I go first."

When he saw Jiang Shi, he was about to go in to take a shower, and it was inconvenient for Xu Xi to stay, so he stood up suddenly, and went out in two or three steps.

Looking at the back of the man leaving, Jiang Shi couldn't help laughing.

◇

What he said in the waiting room that day quickly worked. Under the influence of Chen Jiaqing, the team members no longer deliberately rejected Jiang Shi.The relationship between the team has eased a lot, but they will not target him, nor will they get close to him.

At the same time, Jiang Shi didn't care about these things, he was still alone, and the occasional meal together was also proposed by Xu Xi.Most of the dinner table is about training topics or game matters, so that he can get used to the operation of the team as soon as possible.

One day, when Xu Xi came home, he accidentally saw Jiang Shize standing at the door with a luggage bag on the ground, and greeted him with a smile.

"Captain, good evening."

"Why are you here? Did you win the game again?" Xu Xi asked in surprise as he opened the door.

Jiang Shi unceremoniously changed his shoes and went in. After sitting on the sofa, he said, "I was kicked out of the hotel. I have no money to stay."

"Are you staying in a hotel?"

Xu Xi poured him a glass of water, and Jiang Shi gulped it down without hesitation.

"Well, apartment hotel, I was planning to rent a house next month, but I don't have enough money."

"So, you want to..." Xu Xi frowned slightly, already guessing Jiang Shize's reason for coming.

Sure enough, Jiang Shi said with a smile: "Captain, let me borrow for a while, and move out when I earn enough money."

Xu Xi looked at the bedroom in embarrassment, and replied, "But, there is only one room here..."

"It's okay, I can sleep in the living room."

Jiang Shi lay comfortably on the sofa and said with a playful smile, "The sofa is just right."

Xu Xi couldn't refuse, so he nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he thought of something: "The coach said that when you first signed the contract, you paid him a salary in advance..."

"It's over."

Jiang Shi took it for granted, but Xu Xi didn't know how to react.Seeing that Xu Xi was silent, Jiang Shi took out a shoe box from the suitcase and carefully placed it on the coffee table.

"I bought sneakers and queued up all night to get them. They were sold out in the US."

Xu Xi looked at the shoe box curiously, and the moment he opened it, he couldn't help exclaiming: "You bought a limited edition sneaker? Of course this is very expensive."

Jiang Shi took it out with a gift and handed it to Xu Xi. He said naturally: "I have been collecting this series and put it in the display cabinet. Unfortunately, I didn't bring it back..."

Hearing Jiang Shize talking about his collection excitedly, Xu Xi looked at him in surprise, and suddenly asked, "Actually, you like basketball very much, right?"

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and replied with his usual expression: "I never said I didn't like it, but in front of you, I can't say I like it very much."

Xu Xi looked at him in bewilderment, and before he had time to ask, the man had already explained: "If you like basketball as the whole of your life, then what is my liking?"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Shi would say such words, Xu Xi couldn't help being a little dazed, he tried to see something from the other party's expression, but found that he was gradually distracted.

After a while, Xu Xi suddenly said with emotion: "Not necessarily. I started playing basketball when I was very young. Whether it is the coach or the parents, they all hope that we can become professional athletes. Keep training and playing. , Playing basketball has become more important than studying.

"It's been a long time, and I don't know how much I still like at the beginning, and how much is for everyone's expectations."

Hearing this, Jiang Shi couldn't help laughing, and deliberately asked, "Is it you, or you?"

Xu Xi's heart tightened, he stared at Jiang Shize intently, and answered after a long time: "Yes, it's me."

"The captain is really a gentle and sensitive person."

Xu Xi smiled wryly, and said mockingly, "He is a very useless person."

Jiang Shi shook his head, rarely showed a serious expression, and insisted: "Although he may be a little weak, the captain is really a very good person."

Xu Xi was taken aback, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason.It wasn't the first time someone praised him for being gentle, and Jiang Shize wasn't the first to say that he was a good person, but the feeling was different now.

Jiang Shize's gaze seemed to penetrate deep into his heart, slowly stroking the softest part, and his smiling expression always carried an inexplicable meaning, which made people flustered and at the same time calmed down. Such a contradiction was so difficult to ignore.

After a brief embarrassment, Xu Xi was busy preparing dinner, and Jiang Shi also followed in to help.

"Captain, let me help too."

"You can also cook?"

"Of course, when I was in America, I lived alone."

"Then why live in an apartment hotel?"

"Cooking is troublesome."

"Is it okay now?"

"You can't eat and live for free, you have to help the captain."

There was one more person in the family, and the atmosphere became lively.The restraint between each other gradually disappeared, replaced by another feeling of harmony.

◇

The next day, Xu Xi reported to the coach that Jiang Shize lived in his house while taking a break.

When the coach heard that Jiang Shize was driven out of the hotel because he had no money, he was not surprised. Instead, he asked, "That guy seems to be doing nothing all the time, and the mobile phone I helped him has never been used. It just happens that I don't need it when I live with you." Worrying about him missing."

When talking about Jiang Shize, Xu Xi couldn't help asking: "By the way, how did the coach find him?"

The coach did not hide anything, and recalled: "He was hanging out at night, and he had no money to take the car home, so he gambled with people on the basketball court. When I passed by, I saw that he was playing well and talked to him. He heard that There is a fixed salary, and I readily agreed, it seems that I was really short of money at that time.”

It's really like Jiang Shize's style... Xu Xi has such a strong feeling after knowing him for less than a month.

"On the day I signed the contract, I got him a mobile phone. I didn't expect that guy to use it once. He said that he would rent a house next month and asked me to borrow money to pay the deposit, so I advanced his salary to him."

Later, the rent became sneakers...

Speaking of this, both of them felt helpless and had a headache, and the coach even warned: "In short, take care of him and don't let him cause trouble or find no one."

Xu Xi nodded, indicating that there is no problem.

The coach suddenly remembered something, and said casually: "By the way, when I signed the contract, I saw the information Jiang Shize filled in. His father seems to be a very good musician and is very famous in the United States. When I was eating that time, I was curious. He didn’t hide anything, and he revealed that he is also very talented in music.”

The coach paused and sighed, "It's strange, aren't sports and music completely different fields? It's a bit of a coincidence that I became a professional basketball player."

Realizing that he had talked too much, the coach stopped chatting and mentioned the summer league.Xu Xi listened attentively, but glanced at Jiang Shize's direction from time to time, seeing that he was talking to Chen Jiaqing and the others, he was a little worried.

At the same time, Chen Jiaqing just called Jiang Shize to the side, and asked straightforwardly at the first sentence: "Are you living at the captain's house now?"

The team has no secrets, and anything goes quickly.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

Jiang Shi asked back with a smile, but Chen Jiaqing was annoyed by his bland tone.Of course, since he agreed to Xu Xi's words, he will try his best to restrain his temper, not to mention that the focus is on other things right now.

"Since the captain agrees with you to live with him, there is nothing we can do if we don't like it. However, I hope you don't disturb the captain's life, and don't cause trouble for him."

Jiang Shi frowned deliberately, and asked back, "Why do you think I will definitely cause trouble for him? Maybe he will be very happy that I live there."

Chen Jiaqing hated this attitude the most, and almost cursed at her.

"Asshole, don't you hear us warning you?"

Jiang Shize's smile grew wider, but he remained silent.

"Anyway, don't let us know that you're embarrassing the captain."

This time, Jiang Shize actually gave an obedient "hmm".

Chen Jiaqing felt strange, he hesitated for a while, and then suddenly said: "Also, the captain is a very hardworking person, and he practiced on the nearby basketball court every night.

"However, he never wanted everyone to know, and everyone pretended not to know. Now that you live in his house, he will definitely find an excuse to go out. Please show me a little bit, and don't expose it, you know?"

Jiang Shi frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something, but didn't respond for a long time.

Chen Jiaqing was in a hurry, and shouted angrily: "Hey, do you understand, I warn you, if..."

"Effort is a good thing, there is no need to hide it."

Chen Jiaqing heard the words and said angrily: "You care so much. Anyway, the captain doesn't like us knowing, so we just pretend not to know. Isn't this a happy thing?"

"Well, I see."

Suddenly he got an affirmative answer, Chen Jiaqing didn't realize it for a moment, he was just about to say something, but Jiang Shi had already walked away.

"What did you say to Jiang Shize just now?" Xu Xi came over as soon as Jiang Shize left.

Chen Jiaqing said unhappily: "Captain, you are too biased, you think we are making trouble for him again."

Xu Xi had an embarrassing expression on his face, and was speechless for a moment.At this time, the rest time just ended, and Xu Xi's embarrassment was finally concealed.