For the first time, Chu Xiaoyi felt somewhat confused about his own popularity. At airports, he was often surrounded by crowds of people, but in his own residential complex he seemed practically washed up. If one said that his fanbase consisted mainly of young women and did not include male security guards, that somehow didn’t seem quite right either—he had only appeared on the Spring Festival Gala a couple of days ago.
The siblings passed through the gate and entered the complex. As usual, Chu Xiaoxiao politely and obediently said, “Thank you.”
Still unwilling to give up, Chu Xiaoyi courteously asked the security guard, “Did you watch the Spring Festival Gala?”
The guard assumed the resident was just making conversation. Having now dismissed his suspicions, his attitude improved considerably, and he replied cheerfully, “Of course! They’ve been airing reruns these past few days!”
Chu Xiaoyi asked, “Then do you know who I am?”
The guard smiled. “I do.”
Chu Xiaoyi let out a long sigh of relief. So the guard had recognized him after all and had simply been carrying out his duties seriously.
The guard said, “You’re Xiaoxiao’s older brother, right? This is the first time I’ve seen you.”
Chu Xiaoyi: “…”
So after all that, you still don’t know who I am!
Seeing his peculiar expression, the guard hesitated. “You’re not her brother?”
He remembered that Chu Xiaoxiao’s father didn’t look like this, so he had made a guess based on age and appearance. Had he accidentally guessed wrong?
Afraid of creating another misunderstanding, Chu Xiaoyi hurriedly said, “I am her brother, Xiaoxiao’s brother…”
Chu Xiaoyi: Wonderful. My reputation in this neighborhood isn’t even as great as my little sister’s. I’ve already been reduced to “Xiaoxiao’s brother.”
Once inside the complex, Chu Xiaoxiao became much more familiar with her surroundings. She had already walked some distance ahead. Turning back and seeing her brother still chatting with the guard, she urged, “It’s time to go.”
She couldn’t understand why her brother kept bringing up the Spring Festival Gala. Was being remembered for appearing on television really something worth being proud of?
The siblings carried the fruit home. After resting for a while, they welcomed another round of dinner. After the meal, once her father Chu Jiadong had finished his work, Chu Xiaoxiao finally brought out the family’s basketball again and suggested, “Dad, let’s go play ball.”
Recently, Chu Xiaoxiao had noticed that Chu Jiadong had become unusually quiet. Ever since her bargain-bin brother returned, Dad had practically been living with his tail tucked between his legs. Every day, he was either cautiously smiling along or hiding in the kitchen cooking. He had none of his former confidence.
Father and son never communicated directly. They always relayed messages through other people.
Whenever the two of them were alone together, Chu Xiaoyi would usually lower his head and scroll through his phone, while Chu Jiadong would awkwardly rub his hands nearby. In short, meaningful communication was rare.
Chu Xiaoxiao used to play ball with Dad all the time. Noticing how timid Chu Jiadong had become recently, she decided to show some concern for her old father. After all, she had been forced to spend the last couple of days with her bargain-bin brother and hadn’t interacted much with Dad. She was a fair child and had to take care of everyone in the family.
Just as Chu Jiadong was about to agree, Chu Xiaoyi came out of his room. Seeing the basketball in the little thing’s hands, he felt the ball looked bigger than her head and teased, “Oh? You can play basketball?”
Noticing his eldest son’s interest, Chu Jiadong smiled apologetically at Chu Xiaoxiao and said, “How about you play ball with your brother instead?”
Chu Xiaoxiao felt somewhat annoyed. It seemed as though her bargain-bin brother’s timing was always perfect. If Chu Xiaoyi wanted to play basketball, Dad definitely wouldn’t participate anymore. Chu Jiadong was like an old beast wary of another’s territory. He rarely appeared in areas where Chu Xiaoyi was active unless other people were present as well, such as Chu Xiaoxiao or Xiao Bi.
Upon hearing this, Chu Xiaoyi immediately guessed the content of the father-daughter conversation and fell silent for a moment. At home, he spoke most with Chu Xiaoxiao and Xiao Bi, while still maintaining a certain distance from his father, Chu Jiadong.
Chu Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes in disappointment. “Dad isn’t coming?”
Chu Jiadong said, “I won’t—”
“Let’s all go together,” Chu Xiaoyi interrupted.
“Huh?” Chu Jiadong was visibly surprised. Seeing his son already turning around and heading back into his room, he cautiously asked in a low voice, “…Is that okay?”
After speaking, Chu Xiaoyi had already gone back inside to get his shoes. Not wanting to appear petty, he muttered, “Why wouldn’t it be? I don’t care.”
Since Chu Xiaoyi had put it that way, Chu Jiadong had no reason to refuse. Thus, Chu Xiaoxiao successfully brought both her father and brother along and headed toward the basketball court within the complex, taking advantage of the last remaining daylight.
The sky over the capital was now a pale blue-violet mixed with traces of golden radiance—the final lingering glow of the sunset. The three of them walked quietly along the path. Chu Xiaoxiao was positioned between her father and brother. She felt like the Berlin Wall from one of her foreign-language example sentences, completely separating the two sides.
Along the way, Chu Xiaoyi continuously dribbled the basketball, searching for his old touch and making it bounce with a rhythmic sound. The outdoor court was completely empty in the winter evening. Chu Xiaoyi dribbled comfortably before passing the ball toward Chu Xiaoxiao with a smile.
“What can you play?”
The pass was very gentle. Chu Xiaoxiao caught it easily. Looking toward Chu Jiadong with some hesitation, she wasn’t sure how three people were supposed to play together.
Chu Jiadong comforted her. “You two start playing first. Dad will watch for a while and then come join in.”
Standing beside the basketball hoop, Chu Jiadong really did assume the role of a spectator.
Having no other choice, Chu Xiaoxiao hugged the ball and ran toward Chu Xiaoyi. It was also her first time playing ball with her bargain-bin brother, so their coordination wasn’t particularly smooth.
Chu Xiaoyi hadn’t played basketball in a long time. The moment he got his hands on a ball, he reverted to his high school form, showing off all sorts of flashy dribbling moves and occasionally throwing down a dunk. Back in high school, he had played in basketball tournaments and even led his team to a championship. His handsome basketball skills had made him famous throughout the school overnight, earning him countless explicit and subtle confessions from girls over the following three years.
Chu Xiaoyi hadn’t inherited his parents’ intelligence, but he possessed exceptional athletic talent. When he first entered the entertainment industry, he had worked incredibly hard on action scenes, which was why Director Chen had noticed him at first glance. Unable to resist, he began demonstrating all kinds of difficult moves for his sister, displaying his superb skills. He was only one step away from sticking a sign on his face reading “The Real Sakuragi Rukawa.”
However, Chu Xiaoxiao was completely incapable of appreciating his basketball skills and only found his smug behavior annoying. She just wanted to play ball simply and casually, but her bargain-bin brother insisted on dribbling around with the ball, making it impossible for her to touch it and leaving her increasingly irritated.
Clearly, Chu Xiaoyi had yet to grasp the true essence of playing with a younger sister. Playing with a younger sister wasn’t about showing how amazing you were—it was about making her feel cared for and happy during the game. Otherwise, all you’d accomplish was making yourself disliked.
Seeing him still showing off, Chu Xiaoxiao angrily protested, “Are you going to play with me or not?!”
Chu Xiaoyi had only been dribbling around to tease her. Seeing that she was genuinely getting upset, he hurriedly said, “Alright, alright, here, here…”
He passed the ball to the little thing, deciding to see how she played.
After receiving the ball, Chu Xiaoxiao began dribbling seriously. Being small, weak, and entirely without technique, the basketball that had initially bounced high gradually bounced lower and lower, eventually seeming as though it wanted to stick to the ground and no longer bounce at all.
Chu Xiaoxiao even spun in circles while dribbling, like a little puppy trying to chase its own tail, turning around and around in place.
It was the first time Chu Xiaoyi had witnessed kindergarten-level basketball. Looking at the scene, he found it so amusing that he burst out laughing.
His laughter instantly embarrassed and enraged Chu Xiaoxiao. She fiercely slammed the basketball into the ground, but it only bounced weakly a few times and completely failed to express the fury in her heart. She was still too small to properly control a regulation basketball.
Chu Jiadong had always indulged Chu Xiaoxiao’s kindergarten-style way of playing. She had never faced this kind of ridicule before. Immediately furious, she stamped her feet and shouted,
“Dad—!”
Having angered the little one and summoned the big one, Chu Xiaoyi found himself in trouble. Chu Jiadong had originally been watching the siblings play together with satisfaction, but he had no idea why Chu Xiaoxiao had suddenly exploded and started calling for him. He could only hurry over and ask, “What’s wrong?”
Chu Xiaoxiao ran to her father’s side and angrily said, “You play against him! You play against him—!”
She immediately incited her father to avenge her. Her bargain-bin brother was only taller and stronger than she was—what was there to be so proud of? She had never mocked his foreign languages. Yet because he had some basketball skills, he thought he was amazing?
Chu Xiaoxiao decided to have Chu Jiadong suppress her brother’s arrogance and teach him what it meant that there was always someone better and a higher sky beyond the sky!
Chu Xiaoyi casually dribbled the ball and lazily said, “It’s no use calling him. He can’t beat me.”
Chu Xiaoxiao retorted, “Nonsense. Dad just doesn’t like showing off as much as you do!”
She had seen Chu Jiadong shoot and dribble before. He only deliberately lowered his level when playing with her.
Looking at the siblings facing off against each other, Chu Jiadong immediately felt one head become two. He had no idea what to do. He knew Chu Xiaoyi had no malicious intent in teasing his sister, but Chu Xiaoxiao had always possessed an exceptionally strong sense of pride. Being completely overwhelmed one-sidedly naturally left her feeling dissatisfied.
In the end, Chu Jiadong could only force himself onto the court. Amid his younger daughter’s enthusiastic cheers, he began a basketball showdown with his eldest son.
Chu Xiaoyi had no objections. Truthfully, he didn’t have the patience to continue accompanying Chu Xiaoxiao in dribbling practice. The little thing couldn’t be bumped into or knocked over, making him feel extremely restrained. His father, on the other hand, was an adult man who genuinely knew how to play basketball. At the very least, they could exchange a few rounds.
The one-on-one officially began. Facing his son, Chu Jiadong was somewhat unable to let loose at first, holding back just as he did when playing with Chu Xiaoxiao.
However, Chu Xiaoyi’s moves were clean and decisive. He deftly blocked his father, stole the ball, then immediately drove in for a layup and scored.
Wearing a provocative smile, he said, “Dad, this isn’t very interesting, is it?”
A stunned expression appeared on Chu Jiadong’s face upon hearing those words. Yet Chu Xiaoyi failed to notice his distraction and had already dribbled the ball away.
Chu Jiadong stared at his eldest son’s back. He stood still for several seconds before silently chasing after him again.
This was the first time Chu Xiaoyi had called him “Dad” since returning home.
Chu Jiadong could barely remember the last time his son had called him that. What year, month, and day had it been? Perhaps the year they argued on the Hengdian film set?
That seemed to have been their final meeting before this year’s Spring Festival.
[Dad, can you stop coming to find me? Wouldn’t it be better if you just stayed at home—]
Seeing her father at a disadvantage, Chu Xiaoxiao immediately became anxious. Standing beside the court, she began booing loudly.
“Chu Xiaoyi—can’t do it! Chu Xiaoyi—can’t do it!”
Upon suddenly hearing this, Chu Xiaoyi almost lost control of the ball. In his younger days, he had won championships amid cheers from girls. Who would have thought that one day he would be booed by a member of the opposite sex instead?
Times really do change.
Chu Xiaoyi: Are you perhaps my number one anti-fan?
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