She stood idly for a while.
In the boundless night, she gazed at the sea of lights from countless homes.
The sound of a basketball hitting the ground reached her ears.
Next to the convenience store was the basketball court from before.
Only the area around the basketball court had streetlights, making it hard to see clearly.
“Bang,” “bang,” “bang,” each hit landed heavily on the ground.
Just by listening, one could sense the anger in the heart of the person dribbling the ball.
Shi Niannian looked up.
…
He stood outside the three-point line, sweat at his temples glistening in the dim yellow streetlight, like firelight reflecting on his face.
His chin raised, tracing a clean and distinct jawline.
The ball left his hands, drawing a beautiful parabola in the air.
It hit the backboard and went in, bounced twice on the ground, and returned to his hands.
This repeated.
The muscle lines on his arms showed with exertion, his prominent Adam’s apple, the smooth neck line, and the wrist controlling the ball.
Shi Niannian recognized who it was, watched for a while, then turned to go home.
After walking a few steps forward, she recalled her aunt’s words from the evening.
Her footsteps paused, and she turned toward the basketball court.
The entrance to the court was a sliding iron mesh door. Shi Niannian pushed it, creating a noisy sound.
Jiang Wang caught the ball and stopped shooting.
Those cold eyes met Shi Niannian’s.
Gone was the frivolity and casualness of the daytime; now his eyes were dark, devoid of any emotion.
The girl wore a soft cotton dress with canvas shoes. The white shoelace on her left foot had a bit of dirt, the back of the shoe was stepped on under her foot, revealing a section of rounded, fair heel.
Her hair was down, blown backward by the evening breeze.
The wind brought the fresh, clean scent of someone who had just bathed, wrapping around his nose.
During the days when his ears couldn’t hear, Jiang Wang’s sense of smell and vision had become much sharper than before.
That breeze carrying jasmine fragrance and honey sweetness dispersed much of the hostility in him.
Even the wind coming from the girl was warm.
Sweat slid down Jiang Wang’s jaw, dripping from his chin, soaking into his collar, showing through the fabric of his clothes.
He didn’t speak, looking at her with lowered eyelids.
Shi Niannian walked a bit closer to him, starlight reflecting in the girl’s eyes.
Tilting her head slightly as she looked up, her index finger lightly tapped twice on her jawbone.
Jiang Wang raised his hand and wiped.
Blood.
Shi Niannian looked at him, her gaze direct and pure.
“Who?”
Who hit you?
My father hit me.
Jiang Wang found it laughable.
“What?” he curled his lips in light mockery. “Are you going to hit them back for me?”
Shi Niannian didn’t speak.
She lowered her head, reached into the front pocket of her dress, fumbled for a while, and took out a small box.
She took one out and handed it to him, decorated with Rilakkuma patterns.
Due to the huge height difference between them, her hand was raised high to her forehead.
She pressed her lips together with no expression.
Looking a bit foolishly serious.
Only then did Jiang Wang notice she had the same band-aid on her hand.
He shook his head, meaning he didn’t want it.
He never put such things on his face.
Shi Niannian still held up her hand, not speaking.