Raising a Girlfriend Starting from a Dream Game - Chapter 6

“BEEP!!”

  With the opening whistle, an inter-company friendly basketball game officially began.

  On the sidelines, Secretary Dong led the so-called cheer squad in shouting encouragements.

  Meanwhile, colleagues half-heartedly yelled “Go! Go!” while playing mobile puzzle games on their phones.

  Truthfully, none of the spectators cared about who won or lost on the court.

  They simply considered not having to work as a good enough reason to be there.

  But the players on the court were enthusiastic.

  They desperately fought for rebounds one after another.

  Though it was mostly the opposing team’s players dominating the boards.

  In the blink of an eye, the score had reached 18-6.

  Facing the point gap, Secretary Dong looked at the colleagues behind him and said: “Everyone needs to put in more effort! Cheer louder so the players can hear you! That’s how we’ll close the gap! Follow me – Go Red Star Technology! Go Red Star Technology!”

  But this only elicited scattered cheers in response.

  As the point gap widened further, the players on the court began complaining among themselves.

  “Lin Dong, you need to secure those rebounds!”

  “Damn it, that was clearly Chen Hai’s position, how could I get there?”

  “Why is this my fault? I was defending another player!”

  Perhaps out of frustration, during a scramble for the ball, one player accidentally hit his lips against an opponent’s elbow.

  “Hey! He’s bleeding!”

  “Quick, get him to the sidelines!”

  “Lao Feng, water! Get some water!”

  Ling Xiao looked up and saw that Technical Department’s Hui Ge had blood all over his lips, appearing quite serious.

  Secretary Dong, acting as the team’s “coach,” asked the players: “Hui Ge can’t continue. We need someone to substitute for him.”

  “We don’t have anyone else. We only had five players to begin with, and now one’s injured,” Chen Hai said helplessly.

  Then Secretary Dong looked at Ling Xiao and tentatively asked: “Xiao Xiao, I remember you’ve played basketball before, right?”

  “Ah? I just played for fun occasionally, never in formal matches,” Ling Xiao explained awkwardly.

  Clearly, he didn’t want to take the court.

  But Lin Dong said: “It’s fine, Brother Xiao. Just substitute in and stick close to your teammate.”

  Hearing this, Xu Xin immediately chimed in: “Brother Xiao, get on the court!”

  Faced with this situation, Ling Xiao had no choice but to put on Hui Ge’s jersey and reluctantly step onto the court.

  A cancer patient playing basketball – quite the unusual sight indeed.

  After Ling Xiao entered the game, Lin Dong instructed him: “Brother Xiao, just guard their point guard. He’s not very strong, should be easy to defend.”

  “Okay,” Ling Xiao nodded.

  The female colleagues on the sidelines seemed more enthusiastic upon seeing Ling Xiao join the game.

  The cheers gradually grew louder.

  But facing an 18-6 deficit, no amount of cheering could close the gap immediately.

  When the opponents launched their attack, Ling Xiao anticipated the passing lane and made a steal.

  He passed to a teammate to start the fast break.

  Soon, Lin Dong scored on a layup.

  He looked excitedly at Ling Xiao: “Brother Xiao, not bad! That was a beautiful steal!”

  Ling Xiao was also surprised by his own observational skills.

  But he quickly recalled his previous mission reward.

  “Must be the effect of Eagle Eye.”

  Thus, starting from the second quarter, Ling Xiao’s multiple steals and defensive plays helped gradually narrow the scoring gap.

  “Yay!”

“Brother Xiao is amazing! Another steal!”

  “Nice, nice! You said you couldn’t play basketball, kid!”

  The colleagues on the sidelines were gradually getting excited.

  Xu Xin led the department’s girls in continuously cheering.

  Just as everyone was focused on the game, several people appeared at the entrance.

  Among them was an elderly man wearing gold-rimmed glasses who watched the game and then chuckled, “It seems everyone is having a great time.”

  “Yes, Chairman Chen. Following your instructions, we prioritize our employees’ physical and mental well-being above all else. That’s why we organized this basketball game this afternoon—to strengthen the company’s cohesion. Only when everyone treats the company as their home and their colleagues as family can our work motivation keep improving,” Manager Su of Red Star Technology immediately replied with a smile.

  He looked respectfully at the elderly man before him, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

  Who would have thought that the head of the group would come to watch a basketball game between two subsidiaries?

  And this group head, Chen Dehai, kept his eyes on the game.

  From the start, when they were trailing 18 to 6 and the Red Star Technology players were complaining one after another, he knew the game might be lost.

  But then a young substitute came on, whose observational skills and on-court analysis were astonishing. He continuously helped the team narrow the gap through defense and steals.

  For a moment, Chen Dehai became intrigued.

  He then pointed at Ling Xiao on the court and asked, “What’s the name of that young man wearing number 8?”

  Manager Su looked up and immediately explained, “That’s Ling Xiao, an employee from our R&D department. He graduated less than a year ago.”

  “Hmm,” Chen Dehai nodded. “Not bad. He plays seriously and isn’t like the other players who only focus on attacking and scoring. In fact, playing a game is like running a company—attacking is like expanding the company, and defense is like internal operations. You can’t just focus on expansion and attack; defense is crucial. A young man like this should be nurtured well.”

  After saying this, he turned to leave.

  After hearing Chen Dehai’s words, Manager Su looked at Ling Xiao on the court, thought for a few seconds, and then also left the gym.

  Not long after, the friendly match ended.

  Players from both teams shook hands and dispersed.

  “Brother Xiao, you’re awesome! You stole the ball over a dozen times in one game!”

  “Yeah, Xiao Xiao, I’ve never seen you play before. I didn’t expect you to be so good.”

  “Next time we play, we’ll invite you. Don’t say no!”

  Faced with everyone’s praise, Ling Xiao could only say, “I just focused on defense and left the offense to everyone else.”

  Secretary Dong, seeing that his company’s players had ultimately won the friendly match, thought to himself that he could finally report a success.

  So, he suggested using company funds to have a meal at a restaurant.

  After the meal, some of the girls wanted to go sing karaoke.

  So, some colleagues organized the next part of the activity, while Ling Xiao left early and headed home.

  The streets were bustling with traffic. Just as Ling Xiao was about to turn a corner, a delivery rider on an electric scooter rushed toward him.

  Fortunately, he sidestepped quickly, avoiding a minor accident.

  While grumbling about the delivery rider not following traffic rules, Ling Xiao was also grateful for his Eagle Eye talent, thinking to himself that this skill was indeed useful. Not only did it enhance his powers of observation and acuity, but it also brought clarity to his once blurry world.

  Soon, he passed by a fruit shop and stopped in his tracks.

  “I’ll buy some.”

  The shopkeeper immediately chimed in, “This fruit is excellent. How about some grapes? Look how plump and large they are—one bite and they’re incredibly sweet.”

  While Ling Xiao was selecting the fruit, two girls walked along the road opposite.

  At that moment, Chen Ting was chattering away about something.

  Beside her, Yang Linlin seemed somewhat distracted.