Ying Yue : "What?! So you and her had met before? "
Jun Hong : *flashback..... Wu Mei Xing....* "Nope, but I did felt that she looks familiar. And I guess that's cause I once accidentally saw her photo in Coach Wu's wallet. And he used to talk about his only daughter when he trained me. About how talented she is and how he can't wait to see her surpass him.
Whenever I failed to achieve his daily target he had set for me, he would mentioned his daughter and said
"Even my daughter who is a year younger than you could easily done that, but why you can't? Huh?"
At that time, I was eager to meet her to see with my own eyes how good she is.
Then he told me if fate allows, one day he would introduce her to me since we're both aiming to be a professional basketball player. But then... He never had the chance... "
Hui Yin : Fate huh... In the end you indeed met her but I guess it's not how you would've imagined. Plus, if it weren't for Jia Li, I'm guessing you wouldn't have the chance to meet her at all.
Ying Yue : And why is that so? We're in the same academy after all. Sooner or later, we would've meet right? Especially during any sports events since she's THAT talented in any sports.
Hui Yin : Well, that is IF she's part of any sports club.
Ying Yue : What do you mean? Don't tell me she didn't go for any selection for any sports club. What a waste of talent!
Hui Yin : Well, that's exactly what I meant. Plus, Mei Xing just transferred to Tian Fu Academy this year, so not many know about her yet. The only reason I knew about Mei Xing was because Coach Chai wanted me to look for her and persuade her to join the basketball team. And he also told me abit about her history in order for me to understand the reasons behind his request. After all, Coach Chai was a close friend of Coach Wu.
Ying Yue : Then why hasn't he or you informed me about her? I'm the captain after all.
Hui Yin : .....
Jun Hong : Well, sorry to say this but you can be too impulsive when handling things . Plus, Hui Yin is the better choice in persuading. Like how she used Jia Li instead of facing her directly.
Ying Yue : Fine, I admit I can be impulsive. But that doesn't explain why no one told me about her existence.
Hui Yin : Sorry Ying Yue.. Coach Chai told me to handle this myself and he even specifically told me not to tell you. He didn't want Mei Xing to be more distant than she is now. If someone as impulsive as you were to confront her, then it would've been harder to make her open her heart to join any sports again , let alone basketball.
Jun Hong : [ Heh... Open her heart....]
Ying Yue : "Ugh! I don't get it... Why bother then? If she doesn't want to play anymore then why should we care? Cause she's "talented"? So what?! We all are."
Hui Yin : You see?! Cause he knows you don't get it that Coach Chai didn't want to tell you about her. Coach Chai wants to help Mei Xing but he knows that she would've avoid him. That's why he asked for my help.
Jun Hong : But I'm just curious though.. How did you know about Jia Li? Did you heard about her from Coach Chai as well?
Hui Yin : Jia Li? Ah... That's where I got lucky. During the day for the selection, I overheard her conversation when she was calling her mom.
*Flashback to the selection day*
After the second stage of the selection had finished , (completing the training drill within the time limit) Hui Yin ordered all students to line up. Then, she say out loud the student's name that passed the selection one by one. And one of the students who passed is
Jia Li.
Hui Yin : [ There's no one named Mei Xing here.. Just as Coach Chai had told me, Mei Xing would not go for the selection. I guess this is not going to be easy.. ]
" Alright, congrats to all who've passed. Please write down your details in the paper I'm going to pass to you all. Remember to paste your photo on it as well. Hand it back to me during the upcoming friendly match against the boys team. That's all for today. See you next week "
" Thank you , Vice Captain! "
Everyone started to pack their stuff and leave the basketball court. Hui Yin stayed back to make sure all the equipments are properly kept in the storeroom. After she locked the storeroom, she saw that there's still one person left standing at a corner.
And that person is Jia Li.
She was busy talking on the phone that she didn't realize that Hui Yin was walking towards her to ask why she haven't leave.
Jia Li : Hello? Mom? Yeah.. Somehow I managed to pass the selection. But there's still this friendly match against the boys team to finalize the new members for the team. Huh? Mei Xing? No.... I mean.. She didn't come for the selection.
Hui Yin : [ Did I heard she said Mei Xing? Does she know her?]
Jia Li : " You asked me why? Mom... You knew what happened to her 3 years ago. Since then, she never involved in any sports, what more to say basketball.....
Ah.. That time she played basketball with me cause it was my birthday wish. She couldn't refuse me because she felt that she owed me a lot. But all I did was helping her when she's at her downest and be by her side. Since then, she always tried her best to do the same for me....
It's no big deal, we grew up together after all.. What happen that day shocked me as well. The thought of Uncle Wu and Auntie Wu to suddenly.... *suddenly recalled back bad memories and sigh* Mom, I'm hanging up now okay? See you later. "
Just as Jia Li ended her call, she turned around and saw the vice captain in front of her....
" Ah.. I'm sorry for taking too long. I'll leave now. "
Jia Li quickly grab her bag and was about to leave but Hui Yin stopped her.
Hui Yin : Wait! Your name is Jia Li right?
Jia Li : Yes, that's right.... [ Wow, she already remembered my name]
Hui Yin : I didn't mean to overheard your conversation earlier. But I believe you're a friend of Mei Xing?
Jia Li : Yes, we even grew up together...
Hui Yin : So you know everything about her?
Jia Li : I wouldn't say everything but I guess I know her the best.
[ Beside me, she didn't have many true friends that she could trust anyways. Not even one of her so-called-friend that didn't approached her with the intention to ask for her parents signature or wanting to go to her house to see how rich she is. A few of her fans even created a blog about Mei Xing. She had a fan club and she's really beautiful so she's practically a celebrity back in middle school. Don't tell me Vice Captain is also her fan?! ].
Um.. I'm sorry if I'm being rude but can you go straight to the point? "
Hui Yin : If that's the case, Coach Chai actually asked me to find Mei Xing and persuade her to join the basketball team. But I've never met her before so I was wondering if you could introduce me to her.
Jia Li : Oh.. Sorry to disappoint you but she quit basketball 3 years ago. So you're just wasting your time trying to persuade her. If that's all, I'm leaving now.
Hui Yin : No! Wait... Please... I want to help her...
Jia Li stopped and suddenly had a serious expression, looking at Hui Yin to see if she's really being serious and meant what she said.