"What do you want to drink? Coffee, please?"

"Oh, whatever!"

Is Coca-Cola okay? Coffee smells good but tastes bitter.

Reese folded his legs slightly, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

Nie Chuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later, Reese came back and placed a mug in front of Nie Chuan. Nie Chuan smelled it and looked at Reese in surprise, because it was not coffee or cola, but chocolate milk.

Reese didn't take Nie Chuan's surprise seriously, and said calmly, "If you still want to grow taller, you should drink more milk."

"Can I grow taller?"

"Maybe?" Reese raised his eyebrows again, making Nie Chuan unable to tell whether he was serious or just teasing him.

"Back to the topic, Ewing wants me to teach you some offensive and defensive tactics. But tactics don't really have a set template, nor are they set in stone. Tonight, let's analyze last year's league finals. Both teams are the best in the league, and their coaches have their own strengths in tactical arrangements, but the most important thing is the players' ability to execute tactics."

Reese's voice reminded Nie Chuan of a male anchor on TV, who had no emotional ups and downs but had a professional filter.

When the game started, Reese sat next to Nie Chuan and said to him, "When you see the team in blue jerseys, imagine number four as Montenegro, number five as Carlo, number eight as me, number fourteen as Ewing, and number six as you."

"Oh." Nie Chuan nodded.

Reese began to play the game video. Every time an attack or a superb cooperation ended, Reese would stop the video, replay it again, and explain it to Nie Chuan in Chinese and English.

"For example, this 'closing-door tactic' is well-applied, but if the defenders don't get close to their teammates quickly and in time, or don't keep up with the opponent's offensive rhythm, it will leave a gap for the breakout player to pass through."

"Um!"

After watching the actual game scene and listening to Reese's summary, Nie Chuan felt that his brain was particularly clear.

Reese's explanation is very targeted. In terms of defending against fast breaks, he will focus on explaining what Nie Chuan, as a point guard, should do and how to respond, disrupt and interfere with the opponent's passes and breakthroughs.

When the normal game was over, it was already half past ten in the evening.

Because he had been concentrating on watching the video, Nie Chuan's eyes were a little tired, so he raised his hand and rubbed them.

Reese turned off the TV: "That's all for today."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Is there anything wrong with your legs these two days?" Reese suddenly asked while leaning against the sofa.

"No problem! I'm fine!"

As soon as Nie Chuan finished answering, Reese leaned down and covered Nie Chuan's calf above his ankle with his left hand.

The moment they touched, Nie Chuan's muscles tensed up.

Reese's fingers were so long that Nie Chuan even felt that he could completely clasp his ankles. His palms were warm, just like the time when he almost hit his forehead in the restaurant and was held by Reese.

“You can’t stop doing calf raises.”

"Oh, I see."

"Okay, I'll take you back to the dormitory."

Reese stood up and grabbed the coat hanging on the hanger.

"No need! I can go back by myself! I can go back!"

"too late."

"Ah? I'm a man, does it matter?"

But Reese had already walked to the door. Turning back, Nie Chuan raised the corner of his lips and said, "This doesn't distinguish between men and women."

"Ah? What do you mean by gender neutral?"

Nie Chuan followed and watched Reese lock the door, but he was thinking about those words in his heart.

But Reese just smiled and didn't answer him.

Although Reese looked cold, he was not without smile. In fact, Nie Chuan had seen him smile several times. Reese put the key in his pocket and walked forward, and Nie Chuan followed behind him.

"Um, what do you mean by 'regardless of gender'? Are you worried that I'll get robbed? Don't worry! There are only students here, we won't run into any robbers!"

Reese looked down, the smile on his lips seeming to grow wider.

He took his hand out of his pocket and gently pushed Nie Chuan's forehead. Judging from his mouth shape, he seemed to say "kid".

When Nie Chuan walked downstairs to his student dormitory, Reese just waved his hand and left.

Nie Chuan returned to his room, and when he opened the door he saw Zhou Bin lying on the bed with his phone in his arms, chatting with someone on the phone. His face was full of love, and Nie Chuan wanted to roll his eyes.

When Nie Chuan came back from taking a shower, Zhou Bin had finished his call, but he was still looking at the phone with a smile on his lips.

"Hey - Silly Bin! Come back to your senses!"

Zhou Bin said in a calm tone: "Anyone in this world can call me stupid, but you, Nie Chuan, are really not qualified."

What this means is that even when Zhou Bin is in his most brainless state, his intelligence can still crush Nie Chuan.

"Come on! Tell me! Which pretty girl are you dating?"

"He's from the same department as me, and he came from the Magic City."

"Oh, how long have you been eyeing someone else?" Nie Chuan asked as he took out a chocolate bar from Zhou Bin's bedside table, unwrapped it and started to chew it.

Zhou Bin quickly reached out his hand and held it under Nie Chuan's chin, fearing that he would drop the wafer residue on his bed.

"The first class of the school year, of course."

"I... really don't know how to praise your speed..."

Nie Chuan really wanted to pry Zhou Bin's head open to see how he was so invincible in front of girls.

Zhou Bin saw what Nie Chuan was thinking at a glance. He patted his head in amusement and said, "You, stop thinking about blondes, big breasts and big butts all the time, and you will definitely find the right one!"

"Why can't I think?" Nie Chuan showed an unhappy expression.

"Do you think Jennifer Lawrence would be into you?"

"Nonsense, do you think she will like you?"

"No." Zhou Bin answered Nie Chuan very seriously, "I just hope that you don't lose your brain because you've been with Mao Xian for too long. Of course, there's no such thing as liking someone more than anyone else. Maybe one day someone like you will really be favored by a goddess. But before that, you have to turn yourself into a diamond."

After saying that, Zhou Bin was about to pull up the quilt and go to sleep.

Nie Chuan hit Zhou Bin hard with a pillow twice, then returned to his bed with a groan: "Zhou Bin, just wait! One day I will let the goddess hold my arm!"

"Just don't bring someone else to see me someday."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nie Chuan turned his face away, and Zhou Bin only had a few strands of hair sticking out from under the quilt.

"It's nothing. But Chuan, are you really starting to play basketball?"

"…I think so. But is it too late?"

"I don't know if it will be too late, but I have a feeling that as long as you stick with it, you will make me proud."

Nie Chuan felt warm in his heart, and whispered under the quilt: "Thank you."

In the next few days, after class, Nie Chuan would practice playing basketball with Carlo and the others, especially passing and cooperation.

"Nie Chuan! Your most important responsibility during the game is to bring the ball across half court! You need to have a broad vision and pay attention not only to our position but also to the position of our opponents!"

As they cooperated with each other, Ewing shouted reminders.

Nie Chuan, who was extremely afraid of him before, now thinks that this guy is actually quite cute.

It's just that Reese never comes to practice like this. But if you think about it carefully, Reese's personality might make him better at fighting alone.

After playing for an hour or two, Ewing put his arm around Nie Chuan's shoulders and asked, "Hey, tell me the truth, except for the three-step layup, you can't do anything else?"

Finally, Ewing discovered it...

"Even if I teach you now, it might be too late by the time of the practice match. But...are you willing to learn from me?" Ewing asked.

"Of course I do!"

He would love to have someone willing to teach him how to shoot!

"Boy, you are so lucky! Ewing is one of the top ten shooters in the league!" Carlo said happily.

"Huh?" Ewing turned his head and glared at Carlo fiercely.

Carlo immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing again: "It's the top three."

Ewing put his hands behind his back, walked in front of Carlo, stood on tiptoe, stared into his eyes and said, "Why do I feel that you are so reluctant?"

"No, no, no, I am willing..."

I don’t know why, Carlo is nearly ten centimeters taller than Ewing, but he always feels weak in front of Ewing.

Ewing put his hand on Carlo's face and pushed him away. He turned to Nie Chuan and said, "Ignore this idiot. I'll teach you how to shoot from close range within the center circle. Allen, if you play normally in the practice match, you should be able to dribble into the opponent's back. If all the scorers on the team are under the opponent's defense, you should shoot and score in time as long as the time is right."

"Yeah!" Nie Chuan taught himself how to shoot when he was in middle school. Although he knew the most basic posture, it was good enough for him to make one shot out of dozens of balls.

He also wanted to know, if Ewing was a top shooter in the league, Nie Chuan really wanted to learn the real secret from him.

"Watch this." Ewing dribbled the ball and came to Nie Chuan's side, making a shooting gesture. "Put the ball in front of your chest with both hands. This is very similar to a chest pass. Of course... with your height, the ball can be slightly higher than your chest."

“…”

I thought you were cute just now, but now I think you are a bad review! What do you mean by "at your height"? Will I still grow up well?

“Your strength should extend from your feet to your waist, and from your abdomen to your hands.”