aircannonsinc Chapter 128
Chapter 128
His upstairs neighbor came down once, saying it was too noisy. So Lin Feng moved to the basement to practice. The basement was bigger, uninhabited, and filled with old furniture and cardboard boxes. He dribbled the ball there, the sound muffled, and it couldn't be heard upstairs.
Cheng Yuxin still gets up at four o'clock every day to heat up milk for him. On rainy, cold days, she adds some ginger to the milk, saying it's to ward off the cold. Lin Feng takes a sip; it's spicy, and he's not used to it, but he doesn't say anything and finishes it.
Liu Jian still practiced with them. He wouldn't come on rainy days—his home was far from the court, a twenty-minute bike ride, and it wasn't safe to ride in the rain. Lin Feng didn't blame him.
Zhou Jianguo didn't come on rainy days either. Lin Feng found it strange—with such accurate shooting, why didn't he practice on rainy days? But he didn't ask.
Sun Jianguo, however, came rain or shine. On rainy days, he would come wearing a raincoat and stand in the hallway teaching Lin Feng tactics. When Lin Feng practiced dribbling in the basement, Sun Jianguo would squat beside him, taking a piece of chalk and drawing tactical diagrams on the ground—the positioning for pick-and-rolls, the rotations in zone defense, and the routes for fast breaks.
"Basketball isn't just about the hands," Sun Jianguo said, "it's about the brain. You've got enough hand skills, now it's time to work on your brain."
Lin Feng nodded and memorized the tactical diagrams.
The school gave us a day off on Qingming Festival.
Lin Feng didn't go to practice – Sun Jianguo said he would take a day off during the Qingming Festival to spend time with his family.
Lin Feng has no family.
His mother is in Guangzhou, his father is in another province, and Aunt Cheng is in Shenzhen.
He sat at his desk, watching the rain outside the window.
The rain was light, a fine drizzle that pattered against the window. The distant high-rises blurred in the rain and mist, like a traditional Chinese ink painting.
Cheng Yuxin knocked on the door and came in.
"Lin Feng, today is Qingming Festival, do you want to go and sweep your grandparents' graves?"
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment.
In the original owner's memory, his grandparents had passed away long ago. His grandfather passed away in the 1980s, and his grandmother in the 1990s. The original owner lived with his grandmother for a period of time when he was a child, but his memories of her were not deep. He only remembered that his grandmother liked to make him sugar cakes, which were sweet and soft.
He thought about it.
"Go."
Cheng Yuxin nodded.
"Then I'll go buy some paper money and incense."
She changed her clothes, grabbed an umbrella, and went out.
Lin Feng sat alone in the room, looking out the window.
It's still raining.
He remembered his past life.
In his past life, he lived in an orphanage. No one came to sweep his grave on Qingming Festival—he had no grave, and no one remembered him. He lived for forty-three years in that world, and finally died in a rented room, all alone.
Later, someone found him—his landlord—when he came to collect the rent. The landlord called 120 (emergency services), the ambulance arrived, the doctor took one look, and said there was no hope.
and then?
Then he arrived here.
He looked down at his hands.
Long fingers with distinct knuckles, and neatly trimmed nails.
He clenched his fist, then relaxed it, then clenched it again.
Energetic.
He stood up and walked to the window.
The rain hit the glass and flowed down like tears.
But not his tears.
After Cheng Yuxin returned from shopping, the two went out together.
The rain was still falling, not heavy, but it felt chilly. Cheng Yuxin carried an umbrella, a long, black, somewhat old one. Lin Feng didn't carry an umbrella; he simply pulled up the hood of his jacket.
Cheng Yuxin glanced at him.
"Come here, let's fight together."
Lin Feng walked over and stood under the umbrella.
The umbrella wasn't big, so the two of them squeezed together, shoulder to shoulder.
Cheng Yuxin was holding the umbrella with some difficulty. Lin Feng reached out and took the umbrella handle.
"I'll do it."