["There's a basketball game tonight between our university's sports college and the neighboring CSU. Want to go watch?"]
["I'll go to jeer."]
Capital City University, the country's top institution of higher learning, has the largest campus area among all universities and offers the most diverse range of majors. It boasts a dozen flagship programs, including not only the exceptionally strong Medical School and School of Sciences, but also highly specialized Dance Academy and Sports College.
The Dance Academy and Sports College were incorporated into Capital City University some years ago. They were formerly known as Capital City Dance Academy and Capital City Sports Academy, respectively. However, since the three universities merged, all their students have been referred to as Capital U students.
["We can go check out some abs."]
["I'll look at CSU, but not CUSC."]
CSU and CUSC are different.
CSU is an independent university, fully named Capital City Sports University, while CUSC is the Sports College of Capital City University. However, CUSC is dominant, and given that its predecessor was indeed older than CSU, plus the fact that it has a formidable "King of Hell" in charge, CSU was forced to use a three-character abbreviation.
The one replying to the message was Xi Shui's roommate, and the one wanting to see abs was Xi Shui's other roommate. They had been bantering in the group chat for nearly half an hour.
Lin Xiaojin's attention turned to Xi Shui.
He tagged Xi Shui in the group: Little Xi, come with me to watch the basketball game!
Xi Shui was stretching his legs in the practice room and replied: Not going.
Xi Shui's reason for not going was simple.
Although CUDC and CUSC were both departments of Capital City University, they couldn't stand each other.
The two sides looked down on each other, having been entangled in contempt and conflict for years, yet forced to be bound together, fiercely attacking each other internally while defending each other like mother hens externally.
Lin Xiaojin kept bombarding Xi Shui with voice messages, "Come with me, please come with me, I'll treat you to juice."
Xi Shui's heart softened.
"Two glasses!"
Xi Shui took his legs down from the barre, "I'll take a shower and come. Wait for me at the West Garden gate."
Lin Xiaojin excitedly sent a message, "I love you, Little Xi!"
Dance students have early morning and evening practice sessions every day. Xi Shui is currently a sophomore in the Ballet Department of CUDC. Because the school's practice rooms are locked at 8 PM and students are no longer allowed to use or enter them, his parents rented a two-bedroom apartment for him in a residential complex next to the school. One of the bedrooms was converted into a simple practice room, allowing Xi Shui to practice dance whenever he wanted.
The residential complex is less than a ten-minute walk from the school, just across a park.
On this hot summer night, the air was still scorching. Xi Shui carried a pink water bottle, drinking as he walked.
When he arrived at the West Garden gate, Lin Xiaojin was just coming from the direction of the dormitories.
From a distance, Xi Shui entered Lin Xiaojin's field of vision. Although they both studied ballet, Xi Shui's aura surpassed that of his classmates by a large margin. There were two reasons for this: firstly, Xi Shui came from a ballet family - both his parents were ballet dancers, and his grandmother was once the principal dancer of the Capital City Ballet Company. Growing up in such an environment, Xi Shui's physique had always been superior to his peers, and his understanding of dance was more profound.
Secondly, Xi Shui's talent for dance was truly remarkable. He won the gold medal in the junior group of the Peach and Plum Cup in high school, and as a freshman, he won the gold medal in the youth group of the Peach and Plum Cup Classical Ballet Choreography Competition. Now he was preparing for next year's Varna International Ballet Competition.
He also had a good personality, without any airs of being a young prodigy. He helped classmates with choreography and correcting movements, and was very popular in the Dance Academy, almost rivaling the popularity of that "King of Hell" in the Sports College.
Xi Shui stood on one side of the large iron gate of West Garden, carrying a white canvas bag and holding a 1000ml pink water bottle.
He never cared much about his attire, not because he lacked aesthetic sense - on the contrary, every performance costume he wore on stage was breathtakingly beautiful, both in material and design. Xi Shui just couldn't be bothered to put effort into anything other than dancing.
A loose white T-shirt, black knit pants, simple colors, superior physical condition - he stood out like an elf fallen into the human world amidst the coming and going students.
The streetlight fell on his jet-black eyelashes, like the wings of a black butterfly.
"Little Xi, I'm here, hurry up, hurry up, I had my friend from the Sports College save us seats, the best seats!" Lin Xiaojin jogged over, pulling Xi Shui forward.
Xi Shui reacted slowly, following Lin Xiaojin, and asked curiously, "You have friends in the Sports College?"
When CUSC and CUDC argued, CUSC would insult CUDC saying they couldn't lift or carry anything, and CUDC would retort that CUSC had strong limbs but simple minds. The grudge had always been there, and given how different their majors were, there wasn't much interaction between the two colleges.
Lin Xiaojin blinked, looking embarrassed.
"Did I not tell you before? The person I like is from the CUSC basketball team? I'm going to watch him tonight."
"You didn't tell me, I didn't know."
"Well, now I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else."
"Okay."
The basketball game was about to start in ten minutes, and the gymnasium was packed. Xi Shui and Lin Xiaojin entered directly through the staff entrance on the first floor.
All seats in the gymnasium were full, with people even sitting in the aisles. The two basketball teams hadn't started playing yet, but the students serving as spectators and supporters had already raised banners saying "CUSC is the best."
The players were warming up on the court, seemingly engaging in friendly exchanges, but every movement was sparking with tension.
Xi Shui felt like his ears were about to go deaf.
Lin Xiaojin pulled him all the way to the basketball team's rest area.
Xi Shui looked at the group of tall, sturdy young men in front of him and was taken aback. Male ballet dancers were generally not short - he was borderline 180cm and usually felt quite tall, but compared to these Sports College students, the difference was visibly significant.
They were wearing black jerseys, each with their own number on the back and chest. Their skin tones varied, with none particularly fair, but some exceptionally dark.
Upon noticing the out-of-place visitors, they immediately stopped their joking and horsing around.
Meng Kewen, who was sitting on the bench, stood up and said, "Lin Xiaojin, come here."
The rest area was right in front of the spectator seats, with a few steps leading up to it - a shortcut.
Xi Shui, hugging his water bottle, brushed past the basketball team and sat in the seats Lin Xiaojin's friend had reserved for them.
"Hello, I'm Meng Kewen, Lin Xiaojin's childhood friend," Meng Kewen greeted Xi Shui. He had noticed Xi Shui as soon as he and Lin Xiaojin walked into the gymnasium. His aura was too good, looking aloof and somewhat unapproachable.
"I've heard Lin Xiaojin mention you, you're Xi Shui."
"Yes, hello," Xi Shui nodded, formal and proper.
"......"
Xi Shui didn't understand basketball and wasn't very interested in it either. He put on his Bluetooth earphones, took out his phone from his shoulder bag, and started watching some ballet videos he had saved.
Lin Xiaojin was discussing enthusiastically with Meng Kewen nearby.
"Has Wu Fengyi arrived yet?"
"Not yet, but he should be here soon. Just called and said he's at the entrance."
"Little Xi, I'm so nervous," Lin Xiaojin suddenly called out to Xi Shui.
Xi Shui: "What are you afraid of?"
"The person I have a crush on is at the entrance."
Xi Shui looked at Lin Xiaojin, and Lin Xiaojin looked at Xi Shui.
After a while, Xi Shui spoke: "So..."
Lin Xiaojin gave up. He gave up trying to discuss love with an idiot who only had dancing in his head.
Xi Shui was about to continue watching the unfinished video when his finger hadn't even touched the play button before he heard the cheering from the stands behind him suddenly grow louder, like surging ocean waves.
Xi Shui curled his fingers and looked in the direction everyone else was looking.
Two young men walked out from the staff entrance, wearing the same black jerseys, with numbers 1 and 2 on their chests. They were estimated to be over 185cm tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. The muscles on their arms were strong but not exaggerated, exuding a youthful and vigorous hormonal aura.
Lin Xiaojin started frantically patting Xi Shui's thigh. Xi Shui guessed - the person Lin Xiaojin had a crush on must be one of these two.
Meng Kewen wasn't particularly excited, as they were all teammates who saw each other frequently. Instead, he showed obvious surprise when he saw the person behind Wu Fengyi, "Zhou Zeqi came too?"
Xi Shui hadn't lowered his head yet.
Behind the two men in jerseys was another young man wearing a black T-shirt and black trousers. He was very tall, casually holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand. His facial features were defined and sharp, and his skin was several shades fairer than all the athletes Xi Shui had seen today.
Lin Xiaojin suppressed his excitement and asked, "Why is the 'King of Hell Zhou' here too?"
Xi Shui also browsed the forum.
He knew that the 'King of Hell Zhou' was the big shot from the Sports Academy, occasionally seen on the forum. The forum users always photoshopped him together with the 'King of Hell Zhou' to ship them as a couple, though they weren't the only pair being shipped – the forum could make any bizarre pairing work.
However, apart from the title 'King of Hell Zhou', Xi Shui knew nothing else about him.
"Wenzi, still sitting up there? Come down." Wu Fengyi tossed a bottle of mineral water to Meng Kewen, who caught it deftly. Meng Kewen stood up and said to Lin Xiaojin, "I'm going down."
Lin Xiaojin, whose eyes were now fixated on Wu Fengyi's body, couldn't care less where his best friend was going.
Meng Kewen jumped down from the steps in one go. He walked up to Wu Fengyi and greeted the person next to him, "Old Zhou is here too?"
"It was boring staying at home, so I came to take a look," Zhou Zeqi walked to the front of the bench, and several team members quickly made room in the middle.
Xi Shui lowered his gaze to look at the young man standing below him. He was dressed as casually as Xi Shui, and although his posture was relaxed, his intimidating presence was unmistakable.
The other's calm gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds before he turned and sat down.
Lin Xiaojin shifted closer to Xi Shui's position and whispered, "That's Zhou Zeqi, a third-year student majoring in Sports Rehabilitation at the Sports Academy. In the forum's shipping rankings, you two have the highest popularity."
The other had already sat down on the bench directly in front of Xi Shui.
It was visible that Zhou Zeqi had broad shoulders, and through the thin summer fabric, one could faintly see the smooth, beautifully shaped muscles beneath.
"Why?" Xi Shui didn't even know this person.
"You'd have to ask the people on the forum. They say it's about 'couple vibes' – something that can be understood but not explained."