Chapter 83: Birthday (First Update)

A week later, Grandpa Yuhang was discharged from the hospital, bringing a ray of sunshine to everyone's somber mood. Zheng Yuan created a group chat, mainly for their basketball team buddies and their girlfriends.

Daxu suddenly popped up: If I remember correctly, Minghan's birthday is the day after tomorrow.

Immediately, the group chat came alive.

“Haha! I finally have an excuse to go out and have fun. My mom’s been forcing me to do practice exercises every day—I’m about to be sick of them,” Chen Bao exclaimed.

“This time, let’s find something fun that gets everyone moving.”

“Let’s go for an outdoor cookout! We can all barbecue together, that’ll definitely be a blast,” Huang Ying suggested.

Everyone agreed without hesitation.

Daxu immediately called Minghan. “Hey, kid, what are you up to?”

Minghan was drenched in sweat on the basketball court. Next semester would be his final one in middle school, and he was also set to represent Jinhua Middle School in the county-level basketball tournament.

The Coach, who was now quite pleased with his progress, practically treated him as a super sixth man. And being called a super sixth man was no small matter—just look at Ginobili from the Spurs, a sixth man but a legend with three championships already.

“Training!” Minghan replied, panting heavily.

Sometimes Daxu thought Minghan was really intense—he would stop at nothing for his goals. When Minghan first entered middle school, his grades were above average, but he soon advanced into the top five. Just a year ago, Minghan was a basketball novice; now, he could easily outplay Daxu.

Aside from Yuhang, Daxu knew best just how hard Minghan trained. When he first met Yuhang, he thought Yuhang was a basketball fanatic, spending every day on the court. But after Minghan started playing, he was even crazier—not only working on his skills, but also on strength and stamina, treating himself like a pro.

In fact, Minghan’s whole training regimen wasn’t haphazard; he had carefully consulted with Coach, who had spent years in the professional leagues and developed his own unique methods.

His philosophy: Basketball isn’t just a matter of skill—it takes all-around improvement for real progress.

Minghan wholeheartedly agreed.

Daxu continued, “Minghan, your birthday’s the day after tomorrow. We’re planning a cookout. Remember to bring your girlfriend along!”

Minghan froze—he hadn’t checked his phone and had no idea everyone had already planned this for him. A warm feeling filled his heart.

Su Yan was always busy, so when he was in elementary school, his birthdays were just a bowl of noodles with an egg at his mom’s shop. But ever since he found this group of friends, life had become so much brighter.

Daxu probably sensed what Minghan was thinking and laughed, “Don’t get too emotional. I just want an excuse to get Huanhuan out so she can see that I’m not just handsome—I’m also a top chef.”

Minghan retorted, “Daxu, you’ve changed targets so many times and you’re still single. I really doubt your skills!”

Daxu coughed awkwardly. “Uh… accidents… Anyway, Minghan, I’ve got something to do, gotta go. Make sure you bring a few more friends!”

Beep beep beep…

Minghan shook his head—sometimes he was truly at a loss with Daxu.

He picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and called Yuhang.

Yuhang picked up quickly, “Hey, man, are you inviting me to your birthday party?”

Whoa—was Yuhang psychic?

Then he remembered, with Huang Ying in the group, Yuhang probably already knew about the plan.

“No problem, right?” Minghan asked.

Ever since his grandfather was discharged and his health improved, Yuhang had been in a much better mood. “Man, it’s your birthday! Even if I had a broken leg, I’d hobble over on crutches. Don’t you know, eighteen years ago, a rainbow appeared in the sky the moment you were born…”

It seemed Yuhang was completely back to normal. Minghan simply said, “Alright, alright,” and hung up.

Sometimes, he thought the moody version of Yuhang was somehow more natural.

Who should he tell next? Ah, her.

Right then, Chen Li was at home racking her brains, while Chen Nuo looked on, speechless.

“Come on, it’s just a birthday. Can’t you just buy something from a store? Why are you moping like this?” Chen Nuo grumbled. Since last night, Chen Li had been fretting about Minghan’s upcoming birthday and hadn’t prepared anything.

Chen Li glared at her. “If you don’t help me come up with something today, you’re not sleeping tonight.”

Chen Nuo thought to herself how unlucky she was—girls in love were truly unreasonable.

At that moment, Minghan’s call came through. Chen Li answered excitedly, her voice as sweet as honey. Even Chen Nuo was a bit mesmerized—Minghan was really lucky to have such a beautiful sister.

When she hung up, Chen Li went back to worrying.

“Who was that?” Chen Nuo asked.

“They’re having a barbecue, and he invited me,” Chen Li replied.

At the mention of fun, Chen Nuo’s eyes lit up. She’d been bored stiff at home. “Sis, I want to go too! I want to see some cute guys!”

Chen Li could only sigh. “Whatever you want.”

…

After finishing his shooting and dribbling drills on the court, Minghan started organizing some pickup games.

He played with clear intentions—sometimes he’d focus on shooting, sometimes on driving to the basket, and other times on connecting his teammates.

There weren’t many people at the community court, but Minghan’s skills and sportsmanship had earned him a reputation. Some of the younger boys even started calling him “Brother Han,” giving him a bit of street cred and making him blush.

After the games, Minghan went home, enjoyed a refreshing shower, and sat down to watch a basketball match on his computer.

Truthfully, most of his days that year were spent like this—simple and repetitive, but he found endless joy in it.

After finishing his daily assignments, Minghan started getting nervous about the contract signing with the Qianyang Club set for tomorrow. Coach would accompany him.

“If only I didn’t look so unfortunate, I once dreamed of being a basketball star too and capturing the hearts of countless girls,” Coach had joked, despite being usually serious.

Minghan couldn’t help but laugh—Coach was actually very endearing and cared deeply for them.

“Don’t worry, Coach. When I make it big, I’ll tell all the girls I had a handsome coach waiting for them at Jinhua Middle School…”

Yuhang sent a message, serious for once: Minghan, what do you think our future will be like?

Who could say what the future holds?

After thinking for a moment, Minghan replied: I guess we’ll be surrounded by wives and concubines.

Thinking too much about the future is exhausting. The best way to live is to cherish each day—so that, looking back one day, there will be no regrets.