NPT C22 PART 1
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 22: PUBLIC TARGET (PART 1)
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“Mei, go buy some sensible clothes for Feng when you have some free time. It’s a bother to see him always wearing the same outfit.” Tangge said.
Tangsao did previously offer to go shopping with me for clothes, but I denied. If Tangge were to take notice, there might be some unwanted misunderstandings.
But now, Tangge was the one who brought up the issue first, and there didn’t seem to be any discontent in the tone of his voice. He didn’t seem to have a problem with me spending time with Saozi.
Though, it did make sense. Maybe Tangge had previously worried that he might be cheated on, since it wasn’t impossible that a country b.u.mpkin like me to fall for Saozi’s seductions.
However, things were different now. If others were to judge from my current standpoint, Liu Jie was a beautiful young girl of high status, and Saozi was already married; any normal guy would definitely pick Liu Jie. Still, I just had to disagree. The happiness and excitement that I experienced with Saozi was definitely something Liu Jie could never give me.
“Mm, then let’s go in the evening. We should send him back to school first, or else he’ll be late.” Saozi replied.
Ten minutes later, I arrived at the gate. To my surprise, Liu Jie was waiting for me at the entrance, and walked up to me with a big smile on her face.
She hooked her elbow with mine, and my heart started to race from the soft bounce of her chest. My mind traced back to what happened in the car.
“Feng, what took you so long? You should’ve come with me after all.” Liu Jie pouted her lips. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How on earth could the speed of Saozi’s Honda Fit compare to a million-yuan Porsche?
Of course, I could tell that Liu Jie wasn’t actually disappointed, she just missed me.
“Well, that wouldn’t have worked. Your dad was in the car, too.” I shook my head. Having a free lunch fall out of the sky was already good enough for me.
“Aye, I don’t like him at all, he always rambles on nonstop. If you were there, he would shut up.” Liu Jie complained.
“Ahem, Cla.s.smate Liu Jie, we’re on campus now, so we should keep our distance.” I let go of her, and she didn’t seem very happy about it. “Hmph, I don’t care, I’m still going to hold you.”
Then, she took my arm again, and we strolled into the school grounds. I felt powerless against her charm.
Student romance was supposed to be banned on campus, so the two of us were quite a sight.
“Who is that, how did he get with Liu Jie?”
“I know that guy, he’s the new top bra.s.s around here. His name is Zhuang Feng.”
“Zhuang Feng? That guy who f**ked up Guo Tao?”
“Who else? There’s no one with b.a.l.l.s bigger than his at our school!”
I didn’t pay attention to them, and took Liu Jie upstairs into the building. I noticed that her hands were soft and delicate, and unconsciously squeezed them. Her cheeks reddened slightly.
“Hmph, doofus.” Liu Jie rolled her eyes. She seemed rather sensitive.
When we neared the cla.s.sroom door, I saw a tall and stocky guy standing at the frame. Liu Jie’s brows furrowed at the sight.
“Li Zhiyuan, why are you here?” Liu Jie asked, annoyed.
“What, why aren’t you happy to see me? Because you’re cheating on me?” Li Zhiyuan sneered. Cheating? I remembered Guo Tao saying something about Li Zhiyuan and Liu Jie on our first encounter.
Could she be the kind of girl to have a fickle heart? That would be a relief to me, then.
“Stop lying, there’s nothing between us right now.” Liu Jie huffed.
Li Zhiyuan ignored her, and said, “Well, for now, anyways. And it’s best for you, punk, to stay away from Jie. She’s not someone you can handle.”
“What do you mean ‘handle’? You’re the worst.” Liu Jie got angry, and slapped him across the face.
NPT C22 PART 2
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 22: PUBLIC TARGET
He seemed to be stunned by her blow, and bewildered eyes all around us turned in our direction. “Oh, so you’re hitting me now? If you don’t explain yourself today, then don’t even think about walking into your cla.s.sroom!” He cried stubbornly.
“Are you sure you’re not going to let me pa.s.s?” I tried to go around him, but he moved to block me.
“You must swear to never bother Jie again, or you can wait here all day.” Li Zhiyuan declared.
I stomped on his foot. He leaped upwards with a howl, looking rather funny.
“You little sh*t, just wait!” Li Zhiyuan swore. Because the homeroom teacher had just come, he didn’t dare start anything.
During cla.s.s, Liu Jie wrote a message on a slip of paper, and had her cla.s.smates pa.s.s it to me.
“Hey, did you get angry?” Her graceful handwriting looked really cute.
In contrast, mine was like a goblin’s. “Nope.”
“Tch, liar. Don’t mind what Li Zhiyuan said earlier. I’ve been in a relationship with him before, but I realized that he was a complete jerk real fast. We were only together for a week before he asked me to spend the night in a hotel room like some r.e.t.a.r.d. When I denied him, he thought I had someone else on my mind, and always tried to find a chance to look through my phone. I couldn’t take him anymore, so I dumped him, but he played the victim card and spread all sorts of rumors about me in school. I hate him so much.”
With Liu Jie’s explanation, it dawned on me. Her reputation in school indeed wasn’t the best, and I had heard some gossip that she was a very unstable person with a history of careless relationships. But now, after being with her, I understood that she really was quite the opposite.
Li Zhiyuan was simply a villain. He probably knew that Liu Jie had a wealthy background, so he spread those rumors to make people think that she was a shallow girl.
“Okay, well, I stood up for you, didn’t I?” It was a pain to pa.s.s slips back and forth like this, but I didn’t have a phone.
I was glad that I was now respected in the cla.s.s, having cla.s.smates willing to pa.s.s slips for me. They still teased me though, joking that I had each foot in a different boat, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g a MILF and a loli at the same time. I only blushed at their comments.
After two cla.s.s periods, it was the homeroom teacher’s subject. Teacher Liu* walked into our cla.s.s with a sour expression.
*Though they have the same phonetic sound, Teacher Liu’s surname (刘) is different from Liu Jie’s (柳).
“Round up some boys, we’re entering the basketball compet.i.tion.” Her words stirred up a buzz in the cla.s.sroom.
“What basketball, Teacher Liu? Didn’t our cla.s.s forfeit already?” Liu Sanmao asked.
“Yeah, and I heard the school approved it, too.” w.a.n.g Xiaopang agreed.
“Yes, they did say that our cla.s.s didn’t have to partic.i.p.ate, but the head of the athletic department talked to me personally, saying that it was an opportunity to exercise and strengthen the bond between our cla.s.smates. By some logic, he said that this was mandatory and more important than our studies. If we still forfeit, our finals scores will be penalized!” Teacher Liu explained. She never liked athletics, and often put more emphasis on our textbooks than on getting some fresh air.
“I know; the head of the athletics department is Li Zhiyuan’s uncle. Zhuang Feng made him angry, so he asked him to do this as revenge. We’re all f**ked.” A cla.s.smate reminded us.
“Aye, all of our boys are weak p.u.s.s.ies, we don’t have enough to make a basketball team at all.” A girl said.
“Zhuang Feng, it’s all your fault. Beating up Guo Tao was whatever, but now you’re at odds with Li Zhiyuan? What do we do?”
Their accusations made me feel more or less awkward. Li Zhiyuan really was a coward, he must’ve heard about Guo Tao’s incident and didn’t dare to fight fire with fire.
“Zhuang Feng, maybe you should go apologize, the cla.s.s’ studies won’t be affected that way.” Teacher Liu suggested.
“Yeah, take some responsibility. Look at Xiaopang’s stature, he’s not fit for sports at all.”
“Mm, and from what I heard, the basketball compet.i.tion is already at the finals, we shouldn’t meddle with something big like that.”
Our cla.s.s only had about ten or so boys, and they all looked deeply unwilling to go. But, I didn’t want to apologize, either.
“It’s fine, I’ll go, then. No pressure on you guys.” I shrugged my shoulders.
NPT C23
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 23: MEN NEED TO HAVE SOME BLOODl.u.s.t
[Donate by going to the chapter POST on the main page! It’s the “No Protection Tonight” box on plumlizi.com]
The cla.s.s was speechless, and must’ve thought I had gone insane.
“Feng, have some common sense. This is basketball, not a fistfight. It’ll be too late to regret it when they do you in.”
“Yeah, Zhuang Feng, it’s not that big of a deal to give up. Their cla.s.s’ basketball skills are famous even in our entire city.”
Teacher Liu sighed, “Hey, be more supportive, guys. He’s doing this for your sake.”
“However, we can’t just have you enter the compet.i.tion alone. Let’s just get some random people to make up the team, and I’ll go with you guys. The other teachers will be there too, so the game will most likely end if they go too far.”
Though the other boys in my cla.s.s were incredibly unwilling, they couldn’t do anything against Teacher Liu’s decision.
The girls, however, grew excited as they started to discuss handsome boys from other cla.s.ses.
“You should all start preparing for the game at four o’clock. There’s half an hour left, so you should go warm up.” Teacher Liu wasn’t really a bad person. Besides being overly strict on our studies, she didn’t have any problems otherwise.
When we walked out, we heard the neighboring cla.s.sroom making fun of us. “Look, that weak-a.s.s cla.s.s is actually going to play basketball!”
“Haha, they were forced to. Let’s go watch later, Li Zhiyuan said that he’ll pummel them!”
The other boys behind me turned white with fear, with horror written all over their face.
When we arrived at the courts, the referee was just about to announce the results. “This year’s school basketball tournament first place goes to…”
“Wait, ref, Cla.s.s Five from the third-year wants to challenge us!” Li Zhiyuan shouted in our direction.
Liu Jie followed behind me, and asked me if I had played basketball before.
“Ah, nope.” I rubbed my nose. There were no basketb.a.l.l.s in our village; having a couple marbles to shoot with was already a luxury.
“You doofus, why did you volunteer if you haven’t played before? Go apologize to Li Zhiyuan later, I’ll back you up.” Liu Jie punched me lightly.
“What should I be afraid of? It’s not like I don’t know how it works, it’ll be fine.” I was unfazed. Li Zhiyuan had to be put in his place; he had been spreading the word all afternoon how he was going to pulverize us.
If I didn’t put an end to this, I wouldn’t be able to lift my head to my cla.s.smates in the future. With this opportunity, I’d be able to teach him that I wasn’t someone he could push around.
“No, no. You’ll pay a price for trying to crash through this by yourself, I’m not allowing it!” Liu Jie pouted, showing her dominant side.
“Why do you even care?” Somehow, I had become her boyfriend. Because Liu Jie hadn’t said she loved me, I didn’t mind.
“Tch, you’re thinking too much. I’m just worried that Mei-jie* will blame me if you get hurt.” Liu Jie pinched me. Was she addicted to pinching people or something?
*The prefix –jie is the same as –ge, but feminine. It can either be used for someone older than you, or an older relative/sibling. However, this is only for people who are a few years older.
I wasn’t going to let her go so easily, and I cupped my palm against her a.s.s when n.o.body was watching. Her suppleness was pure ecstasy to touch.
Liu Jie wasn’t prepared for it at all, and gasped in surprise. Her moan was filled with enticement and temptation.
The incessant chatter around us covered Liu Jie’s squeal, but some of our cla.s.smates around us caught it. They turned their heads away with knowing smiles.
Liu Jie’s face turned red with embarra.s.sment, showing her charming and tender side. Frankly, her small frame wasn’t lacking in curves at all.
City girls nowadays don’t eat much, so they’re often lacking in nutrition. There aren’t many who don’t have a decent breast size, but at the same time, many of their busts aren’t shaped particularly well. Liu Jie was an outlier, and her beautiful yet gentle arcs, along with her delicate collarbone and pale legs, exerted a powerful aura of youth.
It really wasn’t a surprise that there would be so many boys at our school who fancied her. Though, her words earlier about Saozi worrying about me carried a feeling of sourness.
Maybe the hot tea incident at the hotel earlier was a sign that I love her, but when Tangge and the others urged me to keep it going with Liu Jie, Saozi didn’t look like she wanted to object. Could she be signaling that I shouldn’t get ahead of myself?
I felt incredibly confused and tense while thinking about these things. Playing some ball and letting this frustration out was a good way to cool off.
Soon, our cla.s.s arrived at the courts, and Li Zhiyuan’s team was deep in discussion.
“Yuan-ge, this is getting a little out of hand, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, we’ve been working our a.s.ses off for half a month, and we’ve taken first place already. Why do we have to play another match? If-”
“Stick that ‘if’ up your crotch, Year Three’s Cla.s.s Five is a load of garbage. It’s not like you guys don’t know that that guy stole my girlfriend, and made me a laughingstock in front of everyone. I’m going to crush him for all the world to see!” Li Zhiyuan’s voice surged.
It was obvious that he said that for me to hear, but our guys were still indignant at his insults. “How could he talk sh*t about us like that?”
“Yeah, that’s just over the top.”
“Are your test scores any higher than ours? All brawn, no brain.”
Our cla.s.s wasn’t backing down. It wasn’t right at all to have undercla.s.smen talk about us like that. There were a hundred or so onlookers around us, so they weren’t letting it slide.
Li Zhiyuan started to go off again. “Play hard, I think we can end the game without them scoring a single point. If that happens, I’ll pay for a big dinner, and we’ll split the reward money evenly.”
His words made me curious. “Sanmao, first place has reward money?”
“Yep, every year’s basketball team champion gets six thousand yuan*. Feng-ge, is that what you’re going after?” Liu Sanmao saw my face light up, and asked in awe.
“Exactly, Sanmao. Everyone’s gotta have some goals, and if you put in the effort, there’s not much that you can’t achieve.” I patted his shoulder, but he smiled bitterly.
“Feng-ge, I’m surprised you still have a sense of humor at this point. We’ll be nothing but target practice for them, and it’ll be a wonder if we even score a single hoop.”
I narrowed my eyes. It was my first time playing basketball, and when Liu Sanmao asked me what position I was going to play, I replied that whatever one was fine.
“Feng-ge, have you never played basketball before?” He asked awkwardly.
I nodded solemnly. “Yep, but I’ve watched basketball in my free time on the TV. Don’t worry, I won’t drag the team down.”
“We can still forfeit. I’m guessing that once the match starts, they’ll totally screw us over. Our cla.s.s is just weak as h.e.l.l.” w.a.n.g Xiaopang had already lost confidence.
“You know, I’m guessing the reason why you guys are made fun of all the time is because you give up before anything even happens. Can’t you all act like men for once?” I got frustrated, and paused. “I don’t really care whether you guys come or not, I can go by myself.”
They stood in silence for a while. “F**king h.e.l.l, it’s just basketball. The most that can happen is sc.r.a.pes and bruises, and we can even skip school on an injury excuse.” w.a.n.g Xiaopang spoke.
“Sh*t, if even pervert w.a.n.g isn’t backing down, I won’t, either. We’re all graduating this year, and n.o.body wants to do that with regrets.”
They weren’t completely hopeless. All they needed was a spark to light up their flame of resolve.
NPT C24
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 24: YOU’RE SO MEAN
[Donate by going to the chapter post! Find it on the main page.]
Their spirits lifted with my encouragement, and the two cla.s.ses soon walked onto the basketball court.
It was a rather sorry sight. Even the students from our own cla.s.s was cheering on for Li Zhiyuan, but our only cheerleader was Liu Jie.
Everyone who watched thought that we were on a suicide mission. Though, that wasn’t anything to be surprised about.
I’d heard some people talk about Cla.s.s Eight, second-year. The whole cla.s.s was pretty much all headed into athletic colleges, so their grades didn’t really matter. In every sports compet.i.tion in our school, they’d always been at the top, snagging every single athletic award possible.
With the blow of the referee’s whistle, the game started in a flash. I was quick to grab the ball in one leap.
“Hmph, let’s see how you think you’re good enough to steal my woman.” Li Zhiyuan growled, and charged towards me.
With an easy sidestep, I dodged him and rushed to the other side of the court. The other players must’ve never antic.i.p.ated that I would evade Li Zhiyuan, and were too late in trying to stop me.
I ran to the basket, and dunked the ball in with an simple jump.
“Clang”. Dead silence followed the tumble of the ball, and everybody stared in disbelief.
“F**k, am I dreaming right now?”
“Wait a second, did Cla.s.s Five just score?”
Even the referee looked bewildered that we succeeded that easily.
Li Zhiyuan’s face darkened. To him, this was a really, really big deal. “What the h.e.l.l, did you guys grow up eating c.r.a.p? You guys couldn’t block him with that many people?”
Cla.s.s Eight wasn’t too happy with his scolding. “Yuan-ge*, didn’t you fail, too?”
*Remember, the prefix -ge means “big brother”, in a friendly/familiar way. It’s the same with how Zhuang Feng’s cla.s.smates call him Feng-ge.
“Shut up, how could I fail? I was just trying to create an opportunity for you guys, or else I’d just steal the spotlight. Don’t blame me.” Li Zhiyuan grumbled.
I almost laughed out loud. This guy was insecure to the max. His teammates stood in awkward silence, and didn’t say much else.
On the contrary, our cla.s.s was at a new height of excitement. “Feng-ge, you’re the coolest!”
“I couldn’t even keep up, we scored?”
“Feng-ge, you were hiding your claws all along!”
Their reaction was as if I had already won, though I didn’t quash their joy. The hardest step for a person to take is to face their own problems, and the best way to solve them is to take slow, steady steps.
They lacked that bravery, and I was more than happy to give them a push.
In the next round, the ball fell into the other team’s hands. The guy was fierce, and pushed right through our cla.s.s. But when he shot the ball, I slapped it out of the air, resulting in it landing in w.a.n.g Xiaopang’s hands. He looked surprised and afraid, and it was clear that his limbs didn’t have any coordination from his lack of exercise. He ran only two steps before crashing onto the ground.
“Haha, this fatso is too funny.” The onlookers cracked up, and even our own team started scolding him.
“Stupid fatso, you never listen to us telling you to stop jacking off all the time.”
“What an eyesore…”
They were too caught up with teasing him, and forgot to keep in track of the ball. In no time, Li Zhiyuan s.n.a.t.c.hed it up.
“What a bunch of lowlifes. Let me show you how it’s done.” Then, he shot forward like a bull. But after he sprinted a few meters, his teammates couldn’t help but remind him.
“Yuan-ge, go get the ball back, what’re you standing around for?”
“What do you mean get it back, the ball’s right h-” Just as he spoke, Li Zhiyuan looked down at his empty hands in confusion. He hadn’t realized I had already taken the ball from him.
Another beautiful dunk earned me another round of praise from our cla.s.s.
“Whoa, Feng, you’re too awesome!” Liu Jie squealed in the distance.
With two hoops lost, Cla.s.s Eight was in a state of dismay.
“Yuan-ge, there’s something wrong with this kid.”
“His skills are at least province-team level!”
“F**king h.e.l.l, you guys keep an eye on him. I should be able to handle the rest by myself.” Li Zhiyuan started to issue orders.
With all of those people on my tail, things weren’t looking so good. If they had any tricks up their sleeves, I’d be in trouble.
Soon, I had possession of the ball again, but five or six people from Cla.s.s Eight were blocking my way. I couldn’t break past them like I did last time, and I was afraid they would try to make me score a penalty if I came in contact with them.”
“So you think you’re some hot sh*t, punk? Let’s see you score another point against us.” Li Zhiyuan sneered confidently.
I squinted my eyes at the hoop. Though I was half a court away, I took aim and shot the ball. The wind was rather heavy, and it might have interfered with my estimates, but I had no choice since I was blocked by so many people.
“Is this guy crazy? Shooting for the hoop ten or so meters away?”
“What an idiot, who does he think he is?”
“Shut up, at least he has enough b.a.l.l.s to try. What about you?” Liu Jie stood against the jeers. I never thought that the girl would care about me so much; I would be lying if I said I wasn’t moved.
The ball flew nearly perfectly into the basket. Though it bounced slightly against the rim, it still went in.
“Ahh?” In the stadium, there was no sound besides the ball hitting the floor. The atmosphere was extremely bizarre.
“Did it go in?” The referee swallowed nervously. He had walked away to smoke a cigarette, and probably never thought I would score. After all, the chances of that happening were on par with getting pregnant while using a condom.
“I think it did.”
“Wow, what the h.e.l.l?”
“I just can’t believe this is happening.”
Even Cla.s.s Eight started to question if they could win or not.
“Sh*t, this can’t be real. We need a time-out, we’re too tired from our previous game.”
The referee didn’t object. During the break, Liu Jie jogged over to give me a bottle of water. Her face was lit up with joy, “Feng, you’re so cool that I don’t even know what to say.”
“Ahaha, am I now like a hero to you?” I chuckled.
“Hmph, I can’t even compliment you once without you getting c.o.c.ky. You haven’t won yet.” Liu Jie rolled her eyes.
“Ah, playing against them is a joke. As long as my cla.s.smates keep pa.s.sing me the ball, we’ll win for sure. I’m more worried about whether I should even let them score any points; that Li Zhiyuan is way too arrogant, sticking to you like gum on a shoe.” I spread my hands, and accidentally touched Liu Jie’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The tender feeling made my heart soar like an eagle.
“Ah.” Liu Jie immediately blushed. “You’re too mean.”
Then, she jogged back to the distance. I realized that this girl was rather cute, the type that makes you feel relaxed at the sight of her. Being with Liu Jie didn’t give me any pressure or anxiety, and I even felt a sense of dominance around her.
NPT C25 PART 1
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 25: A RISING STAR (PART 1)
[Donate by going to the chapter post! Find it on the main page.]
Maybe it was because she was the first, but Saozi took a very important position in my heart. However, it was very hard for our future together to succeed in any way. Still, I couldn’t stop myself from daydreaming.
Because, when Saozi was drunk, she did ask me whether the two of us could go a step further if she wasn’t my in-law. Sadly, all the “ifs” humans think about are just lies to themselves, things that we can only desire but not achieve.
I remembered that night clearly. When I couldn’t take it anymore and hurried to go m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e in the bathroom, I distinctly heard Saozi’s sobs. Her emotions must’ve be even more complex than mine, and I couldn’t lose my sense of morality just because I felt bad for her. After such a long time of not being able to satisfy herself, she must’ve climbed on my bed thinking of my young, strong body under the influence of alcohol.
Of course, I’ve also wondered how things would’ve turned out if I had slept with Saozi.
While I reminisced and thought about all these things, the time-out was over.
With their earlier losses in mind, Li Zhiyuan and his team didn’t dare underestimate me again. Once I got the ball, I pushed forward carefully. I was like a jaguar, darting through their defenses. Li Zhiyuan kept shouting, “Quick, don’t let him get over there.”
Suddenly, a player lunged towards me. I wasn’t fazed, and dodged him easily to steal the ball. Much to my surprise, the guy was suddenly sprawled on the floor, yelling while clutching his knee.
The game was paused, and the referee rushed forward. He had a serious expression on his face, “Oh no, this isn’t good. His foot is broken.”
“F**k, Zhuang Feng, that’s just evil. Why did you hurt our teammate?” Li Zhiyuan demanded. The other players followed his lead.
“If you want a fight, we’re more than happy to do that.”
“You know, I was even sort of admiring your basketball skills, but now it’s clear that you just play dirty!”
The accusations were pointed at me like javelins, and the referee sighed. “Cla.s.smate, your actions have severely broken the rules. I’ll have to remove you from the game.”
His words instigated fervent discussion all around us, and whispers seemed to come from everywhere.
If I were to be off the court, the others would definitely get mowed down. There wouldn’t be any chance for us to win, as Cla.s.s Eight would catch up in points in no time.
Li Zhiyuan hid a malicious smile. I had seen him laughing with the referee during the timeout, but it didn’t click in my mind at the time. Now that I thought about it, this all must’ve been planned.
F**king h.e.l.l, did they think I was someone they could bully? My teammates looked nervous and scared, discussing whether or not to forfeit.
“Wait.” I didn’t back down, and demanded, “For what reason are you kicking me off the court?”
“Hmph, what kind of question is that? Because I’m the referee, punk. Even if you disagree, there’s no use, whatever I say goes.” The referee smirked at me in contempt.
I tightened my fist. “If you aren’t fair about this, I’ll beat you up.”
The referee paused, and let out a shriek of laughter. “Little brat, you’re just clutching at straws here. What part of this am I being unfair about, I’m a certified province-level referee. Whatever, I’m not going to waste my breath. Hey, Cla.s.s Five, are you still playing or not?”
My stomach roiled with anger. Our cla.s.s’ honor was right in front of my eyes, yet it had fallen into the referee’s hands. And, I couldn’t do anything about it.
The other teammates looked at me helplessly. If I were to nod, they would immediately forfeit, meaning that all my hard work earlier would go to waste. It was obvious that they had pretty much already given up, so I didn’t feel like putting them in danger any longer.
“Hehe, it’s just disgraNPT C25 PART 2
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 25: A RISING STAR (PART 2)
The referee turned around. Upon sight of the man, he greeted courteously, “Coach Sun, why’d you come here?”
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you stopping the match?” Coach Sun asked unhappily.
“Whoa, is that Sun Jianfei?” A nearby cla.s.smate cried excitedly.
“What Sun Jianfei?” The girls looked confused.
“It’s normal that you don’t recognize him, but you at least know Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming, right? They were both trained and brought up by him!” *
*I’m not sure if you guys know Yi Jianlian, but I’m sure a lot of people know Yao Ming. They’re both real basketball players, with Yi Jianlian playing in the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007 and Yao Ming in the Houston Rockets for nearly a decade. However, the coach here (Sun Jianfei) is fictional.
My heart thumped, and I knew why he looked so familiar. His face popped up very often back when I watched basketball, but I didn’t make the connection.
“This student broke the rules, he fractured another player’s leg.” The referee explained, though his voice was a little shaky.
“Hehe, he fell by himself, what does it have to do with me?” I snorted. The referee ordered me to keep quiet.
Coach Sun looked doubtful, and walked past. The referee glared at the “injured” player, who immediately started to holler in pain.
“Coach Sun, I’m your loyal fan, you’ve gotta be on my side, here.” He moaned between grunts of ache.
The coach stayed silent, and stuck a cigarette in his mouth while taking out a lighter.
However, he didn’t light his cig, and instead put the flame near the player’s pants. In no time, he started to feel that something was wrong, and jumped up with a howl. He sprinted to the water fountain with his a.s.s on fire.
“Hey, you stinking old man, what are you doing?”
“How could you do that to my idol?”
The girls didn’t like what the coach did.
But Sun Jianfei didn’t get angry, and chuckled in amus.e.m.e.nt. “Little Zhang*, didn’t you say that his leg was broken? How is he up and leaping all of a sudden?”
“Hah?” His words shook the audience, and the referee looked stunned.
“Uhm, it might’ve been a mistake in judgment.” Referee Zhang refused to admit his mistake.
Sun Jianfei’s face stiffened, and he walked briskly up to him. Two heavy slaps slammed into the referee’s face.
“You motherf**ker, are you still not going to confess your crime?” Sun Jianfei kept swearing like an old drunk villager. I had heard before that his temper wasn’t something to be trifled with, and today, the rumors proved themselves to be true.
“Ah, Coach Sun, I’m terribly sorry. The student over there bribed me, and promised that he’d give me half of the prize money.” The referee couldn’t withstand Coach Sun’s authority, and blabbered about what had happened.
“Hmph, you’re really a f**king piece of work. If I hadn’t seen the live video of this match, your stupidity would’ve buried a prodigy!” Coach Sun shouted.
It was rather ironic. Some students had broadcasted live videos to try capture our failure, but they ended up helping us instead.
“Coach Sun, it, it can’t be that serious. He’s just a student.” The referee’s face was pale.
“Do you think that I’m joking? Only students can have potential like this. Yi and Ming didn’t even have talent comparable to his, and with a little training, he would definitely become a rising star!” Coach Sun shook his head. The referee kept apologizing profusely, but the coach looked in my direction. “The one you’re supposed to apologize is over th-”
His incessant praise was getting annoying. I interrupted him and said, “Hey, I didn’t ask for anything. Someone like you isn’t fit to be a coach.”
“Aha, kid, you’ve got some s.p.u.n.k. I respect that.” Coach Sun laughed. “Zhang, I’ll talk to the province basketball a.s.sociation later, you can start figuring out what your next job will be. Don’t meddle with other people’s disciples again.”
The referee’s eyes rolled from anger, and he fainted on the spot. Some of the other players quickly lifted him up like a hunk of roadkill and left the court.
Coach Sun’s eyes glimmered, and he said, “It’s a wonder that a kid as young as you has this much talent. Are you interested in playing some ball with this old-timer here?”*
*No Protection Tonight is not a sports novel.
NPT C26 PART 1
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 26: BLOW, DON’T SAY A WORD (PART 1)
[Donate by going to the chapter post! Find it on the main page.]
“What’s the big deal about basketball? Can I make some money out of it?” I had only agreed to play for the cla.s.s’ honor, but I’d never antic.i.p.ate things would escalate to this degree.
Coach Sun looked exasperated. “With an annual salary of two hundred thousand, along with season win commissions, I doubt you’ll have any problems with money.”
The nearby students gasped in surprise.
“Whoa, a direct invitation?”
“This can’t be real, Coach Sun, look at me, I definitely have talent as well!”
“h.e.l.l, from today on, I only have one idol, Zhuang Feng in Cla.s.s Five, Year Three. He’s got a two-hundred grand salary at eighteen years old, what about you guys?”
To me, the sum was an astronomical number. I could understand the others’ envy; after all, we were all high school students. The ultimate goal of studying and getting a good job was to make bank, and I had bypa.s.sed that with nearly no effort at all.
I was practically a n.o.body before, but I’d become someone to be gawked at in a single leap. The moment I walk away with Coach Sun was the moment I become of different worlds than everyone else around me.
“Sorry, but I’m not interested.” After a momentary pause, I refused Coach Sun’s offer.
“Eh.” Like the currents of an ocean, before they had recovered from the initial shock by the coach, they were again struck dumb by my response.
“Oh dear lord, is this kid out of his mind?”
“If it’s not because he thinks that’s too little, then his head must’ve been kicked by a donkey!”
“A snake can’t swallow an elephant.”
“This brat is really getting ahead of himself!”
Coach Sun looked awkward, too. “Name your price then, young man.” He said reluctantly.
“Ahem, coach, I didn’t mean it that way. I just think I have better things to do.” I shook my head. How could I be that greedy? Of course, I couldn’t just say that it was because of Saozi.
“What?” Coach Sun looked at me strangely.
The other students p.r.i.c.ked up their ears, eager to hear my reasoning.
“As a student, I feel like studying is the way I want to go about my life.” I spoke firmly.
“Psh.” Everyone snorted.
“F**k, is he joking? How could studying get you anywhere nowadays?”
“If he doesn’t get hold of this chance, he’ll come to regret it.”
“I wish it were me.”
Coach Sun fell silent. Then, he patted my shoulder, “Alright, if that’s the way it is, then this old man won’t pressure you. Here’s my business card; if you change your mind, just give me a call.”
“Okay, thank you.” I felt relieved. With the coach exposing the truth, the player from Cla.s.s Eight was benched for breaking the rules, and the rest of the match flew through in a breeze. The score ended 52:0, and Cla.s.s Eight’s unbreakable winning record came to a standstill.
“Shutdown!” At first, that outcome was what everyone had predicted, but never in their wildest dreams did they think it would be us that would win.
A bunch of girls shrieked, “Zhuang Feng, you’re too cool!”
“Look here, look here. I’m taking a photo.”
“Take me, daddy. I’m single~”
Their calls irked Liu Jie, who hurried over and took my hand. She grumbled, “He’s my boyfriend, so all of you better back off!”
I felt wave after wave of bliss from her creamy touch, but it also attracted the fiery gaze of the homeroom teacher.
“Jie, tone it down a bit. Teacher Liu’s gonna get angry.” I reminded her, and she unwillingly let go of my arm.
As promised, I received the six thousand yuan of prize money. I was intending to split it evenly, but they kept refusing to let me. Finally, I managed to convince them to take a thousand, and they looked quite happy with themselves. After all, they worked hard for it.
Teacher Liu kept complimenting me for my decision to put my studies first and praised me for my ambition, making me embarra.s.sed.
Then, she told me to not flaunt my romance in public, or else it would harm the cla.s.s’ reputation. It was best for the both of us to try our best and get into a good college under the circ.u.mstance that we wouldn’t interfere with each other’s studies.
I agreed, and as soon as Teacher Liu left, Liu Jie appeared by my side like some spirit. She giggled, “Feng, you must’ve rejected Coach Sun’s offer because you didn’t want to lose me, right?”
“Eh.” What kind of logic was this girl on about? Before I could say anything, she said, “Don’t deny it, that score of 52 is clearly a confession.”
Indeed, with Li Zhiyuan’s cla.s.s scoring 0, it read as 520 along with ours. I had no words to refute Liu Jie’s incredulous explanation. *
*520 is Chinese internet slang for “I love you”.
NPT C26 PART 2
NO PROTECTION TONIGHT
CHAPTER 26: BLOW, DON’T SAY A WORD (PART 2)
[Donate by going to the chapter post! Find it on the main page.]
“Then, how are you going to thank me?” I couldn’t help but tease her. Liu Jie paused for a moment, and kissed me square on the cheek. Before I managed to react, she walked away. My heart felt warm and fuzzy seeing her sashay off in the distance.
I borrowed my cla.s.smate’s phone and dialed Saozi’s number, telling her that school ended early for me. She told me to wait at the gate, and I hopped on her car ten minutes later. She had changed into white washed jeans and a white top, along with a feisty ponytail. Though it was a simple outfit, it gave off an aura of youth on her smoking-hot body.
How was she a young miss at all, Saozi practically looked like a student. The sight of her tight top against her supple b.r.e.a.s.t.s slammed into my mind like a train, and I subconsciously peeked at her.
“Do I look nice?” Saozi asked. She had noticed my gaze, and I looked away awkwardly.
“Ah, of-of course.” My smile was a bit rigid.
“Hehe.” Saozi’s laugh was like the chime of a bell.
We got off at a busy mall outlet. Because she didn’t dress her age at all, even the shop employee thought we were a couple. They picked out a few outfits for me, saying that they looked perfect along with Saozi.
She looked extremely happy upon their words, and prepared to swipe her card. However, I caught her hand, and took out a roll of crisp, new cash. “I’ll pay.”
Saozi didn’t look too happy when she saw it. “Feng, did you ask for money from Liu Jie?!”
“Hah? No, Saozi, this is reward money from basketball. You can ask my homeroom teacher if you don’t believe me.” I shook my head. She stared in my eyes for two seconds, and nodded approvingly when she couldn’t find any traces of discrepancy. “That’s good. Remember, men who rely on women don’t deserve anything. I didn’t want to talk back during lunch since your Tangshu was present. Oh yeah, if he asks you to borrow money from Liu Jie, don’t promise him anything. Your Tangge should take care of his own mistakes, and I’m getting really tired of him having other people clean up his messes.”
“Sure, Saozi. Also, uh, there’s really nothing between me and Liu Jie, I just didn’t want to let down Tangge.” It was just the two of us, so we didn’t have to worry about anything.
“I don’t care about that, why’re you worrying?” She rolled her eyes at me.
Her clean-cut reply stung at my heart. Did Saozi really have no feelings for me? Was it just a drunken fluke?
Then, she picked out two outfits for me as well as a pair of running shoes. Except I didn’t know how to tie my own shoelaces, so Saozi kneeled down and explained how. She was as gentle as any young wife should be.
The abyss of her curves and her pale, luscious b.r.e.a.s.t.s were exposed in front of my eyes. A memory surfaced in my mind; when I watched p.o.r.nos with her, there were occasions where the female actor used her t.i.ts to a.s.sist the guy in reaching his climax.
If I were to be in between them… wouldn’t that be wonderful? I grew more thrilled with each thought, and a certain part of my body started to react.
I was wearing loose joggers, and a “tent” was making its impression at a rapid pace. If Saozi were to see it, it would be the end of me.
I decided to try ducking into the dressing room to hide for a while, and took a step back. But she was still helping me tie my shoelaces, and she wasn’t expecting me to move. She drew a breath in surprise, and her position made her instinctively lean forward with my shift.
Then, her little head buried itself into my groin, and our posture was every bit intimate as you can imagine!
The key point was, when Saozi gasped a little, her mouth was still open, so she had directly enveloped my “buddy”. Though it was separated by fabric, the tight warmth made me smolder with intensity.