Chapter 9

The day of the competitions. Chang'e's already finished science, having breezed through the questions with no major problem thanks to Hou Yi. 'And myself,' she adds. "Never discredit yourself," is something her father has constantly told her throughout the years, "Just as long as you don't boast too much about it." And little Chang'e and her father laughed at that.

But now she has sports, which she isn't too concerned about, but her excitement and determination to win make her hyper.

"Chang'e Jie! Aren't you bummed Hou Yi won't get to see you play?" Yu Ran teases. Her team hasn't let her off the hook yet, even all the gossip they've received for Saturday.

"I don't really care, Yu Ran," she sighs, but can't stop a fond smile from making its way into her face.

"I would have loved to see him cheer," Kai Lan notes, trying to imagine how Hou Yi would look like. She burrows her eyebrows together in thought, before giving up.

"Oh, oh, I know!" Ming Li says from the bleachers. She's not sleeping this time, surprisingly, but that's only because the coach forbids her from sleeping before competitions.

Ming Li makes a weird, but somehow distinctly male face. "Chang'e," she emphasizes in a deep voice, way deeper than Hou Yi's which make Yu Ran and Kai Lan collapse into each other in laughter. Ming Li grits her teeth and whisper-shouts to Xia Ling, "Psst. Quick."

Xia Ling gets the idea and starts to fan in front of Ming Li's face, creating a wind that blows her hair gently. Yi Xin cackles, trying to help Xia Ling fan Ming Li's face through her laughter, but to no avail.

"Chang'e," Ming Li starts again with fluttering eyelids, "You can do it." Ming Li bites her lip at the end, and all the juniors fall to the ground, clutching their chests as they struggle to breathe through the giggles.

"Yup, you got it," Xia Ling praises as if what Ming Li had acted was something normal. They high-five each other, giving Chang'e wide grins.

"That is not how he would cheer," defends Chang'e.

"Oh yeah? And you would know, huh?" Xia Ling quipped playfully.

"Urgh," Chang'e groans light-heartedly, rubbing her face, "You guys are way too into this."

"We'll be out of it when you actually kiss!" Yu Ran compromises, even if Chang'e already knows that's not the truth.

"I might just kiss him to stop you guys," she jokes, at which the juniors gasp in surprise.

"Ooh, Chang'e," Xia Ling mourns, "Goodluck." Both she and Ming Li send her sad goodbyes and all of the sudden, Chang'e vision is now filled with juniors.

"Naughty Chang'e Jie!" Yi Xin teases. "You would break Hou Yi's break with a meaningless kiss?" Yu Ran chimes in. "Oh, how cruel," Kai Lan comments, hand to her heart and the other on her forehead. She faints into Yu Ran's and Yi Xin's arms.

"That'll be Hou Yi when you tell him you kissed him for nothing," Yi Xin scowls humorously as Yu Ran fake cries into Kai Lan's shoulder.

"Alright, alright," Chang'e relents, patting each of the juniors on the head, "When I kiss him, it'll have meaning."

Kai Lan gets up and they start cheering, running around Chang'e in circle.

"I wanna be an aunt!" Yu Ran shouts, laughing. "Me too!" Yi Xin joins. "And me! Me three!" Kai Lan says.

"Wha—That's way too far guys!" Chang'e scolds, turning red.

"Girls, girls," their coach's voice appears, followed by the stomp-stomp of their backups—who they're fighting against—entering the gym, "I've got something to say."

"What is it, Coach Ira?" Xia Ling asks, standing up straighter.

"We will start playing soon," she informs gravely. She then turns to Chang'e and says in the most teasing mother voice Chang'e has ever heard, "One of the basketball teams is late, so the boys will be starting later than we are. Hou Yi will be there to watch you, dear."

Chang'e dies. On the spot. "Coach Ira!" she whines with her now tomato-colored face. The rest of the team laughs with the coach, and Chang'e feels like they've all ganged up against her.

"Who told her?" she questions dejectedly.

"Oh, no one did, I've always known," Coach Ira answers with a knowing smile on her face. Guess she wasn't lying about knowing. It even shows on her smile.

"You think I would rat you out?" Yu Ran approaches her with a pout.

"Kinda," Chang'e replies with a shrug.

"Ah! I'm hurt, Chang'e Jie, how could you be so—"

Tweet, tweet. It's starting. They wish each other goodluck combined with a pat on the back for extra support. Chang'e and her team stand on one end with the other team assembling on the other end.

"Chang'e," she hears someone shout. Hou Yi. She looks at him quickly before the game starts and catches what he says, "You can do it!"

'Dang it, Ming Li.' Chang'e wants to laugh. Really bad. But the game's starting and she has to focus. 'Laughing can wait for after the game,' she tells herself as she watches a girl on the other team serve the volleyball.

It goes up. The game begins.

Chang'e watches as the ball sails through the air. Her eyes follow its every movement until it soars back down.

Xia Ling manages to hit the ball back up, tossing it over to Ming Li, the setter of their team with insane hand coordination, despite her chronic sleepiness. Yu Ran and Yi Xin run up on opposite sides of the court, both open for Ming Li to toss the ball over. Ming Li sets, and Yi Xin unleashes her explosive spike. Even though Yu Ran executes her fake spike flawlessly, the opposite team catches the ball, tossing it back way high over the net.

It's tight, and the pressure in the air rises as the ball falls out of their reach—until Chang'e dives and saves the volleyball, sending it back into the air. Yu Ran runs up, and bam. Beep.

"One point for Ming Li's team!" Coach Ira announces. It's on.

Cheers. And then there's lots of it. The game has ended by now, and Chang'e is celebrating with her teammates. Their team has won by a set.

"What did I tell you?" Ming Li shouts over the cheers of the crowd, "He did do that!"

Yu Ran whips her head around so fast, "He did?!"

"He did," Yi Xin confirms, "It was so funny, I wanted to bend over and laugh." Kai Lan pats Ming Li on the back, wiping tears from her eyes. Chang'e can't tell if it's from the laughter or from their win.

Xia Ling suddenly pushes everyone aside, whispering to them. Chang'e's left in confusion as Yu Ran mouths her a goodluck.

"Hey." Hou Yi. Chang'e turns around stiffly and tries to ignore the juniors' giggles.

"Hello," she can feel some sweat drip down her forehead, "Don't you have your basketball game?"

"In a while," he replies, shrugging as he hands her a water bottle, "For you, by the way. The other team still hasn't arrived. How lucky is that?"

Lucky? To watch her volleyball game? 'No,' she corrects herself, 'probably not.'

"Thanks," Chang'e takes the water bottle, the condensation on the outside cooling her hands, "for the water bottle. And for watching."

"It's no problem. You did great, by the way. Congrats." Hou Yi smiles at her and Chang'e feels like she won a whole 'nother volleyball game.

"Hou Yi! Game's starting," his coach yells from the bleachers, waving a clipboard.

"Ah, that's me. Gotta go, see you after!" Hou Yi runs back to his coach with a wave. Chang'e laughs a little before sighing. The volleyball net has been moved away and the players are huddling on one side of the court.

"Chang'e Jie, you lucky, lucky woman," Yu Ran remarks, "What a caring boyfriend you have!"

"He's not my—"

"Ah, ah, ah," Xia Ling stops her from saying anything more. "You have to prepare for the art competition. And he might as well be your boyfriend."

Chang'e is too busy agreeing with the first statement that the second sentence flies over her head. She only realizes it when Yi Xin squeals, high-giving with Kai Lan.

"Hey, that's unfair—" she whines, but is promptly whisked away by her volleyball team, into the shower room and after a while, in front of the door to the classroom that her art is sitting in peacefully.