Striving for Harmony After Transmigrating as an Alpha Female Supporting Character - Chapter 20

After the weekend, the System issued a new mission for Ai Xiaoyu: attend Cheng Wang’s basketball game.

Cheng Wang had passed the preliminary rounds of the tournament. After all, a sports student was bound to be stronger than amateur players, and their class team had made it to the finals.

In the original novel, Ai Xiaoyu liked Cheng Wang with an blatant, shameless persistence. Naturally, she had to attend a game like this, where high-spirited youths showcased their prowess.

Not only was she supposed to go, but she was also meant to drag a “scapegoat” along. Jing Nianxun was pulled into it as a cover, making it look as though Ai Xiaoyu wasn’t there for Cheng Wang, but simply watching the game with a classmate.

During the match, while Ai Xiaoyu watched Cheng Wang, Cheng Wang kept his eyes on Jing Nianxun. This had infuriated the original Ai Xiaoyu, leading her to mock and sneer at Jing Nianxun, completely forgetting that she was the one who had forced her to come.

This segment was one of the most criticized plot points in the original book, vividly depicting the malice of the female supporting character against the innocent, “white lotus” image of the female lead.

Ai Xiaoyu had grown accustomed to the System’s strange missions. “What are the completion criteria?”

The System replied: [Simply bring the female lead to watch the basketball game.]

Understanding the task, Ai Xiaoyu stood up leisurely from her seat, stretched, and asked Jing Nianxun beside her, “Our class has a basketball game this afternoon. Do you want to go watch?”

Asking this already implied that Ai Xiaoyu wanted to go herself. Jing Nianxun, willing to accompany her, said, “Sure. But are you interested in basketball? I never knew.”

It was true; she had known Ai Xiaoyu for three years and had never seen her watch a game or show even a hint of interest in the sport.

Ai Xiaoyu could only offer a perfunctory laugh. “It’s a class activity. I figured I’d help fill the stands and cheer. They’ve worked pretty hard.”

She then blinked and added, “But you can bring your phone to play on. Or better yet, bring a book—it might be quite boring.”

That afternoon, in an inconspicuous corner of the gymnasium bleachers.

The seats were piled with chips, drinks, and several thick books. Ai Xiaoyu sat with her legs crossed, holding a handheld gaming console. She wore earbuds, humming along to the background music and occasionally bouncing her legs.

On the other side, Jing Nianxun sat upright, holding a copy of Criminal Psychology 2.

…She looked completely out of place next to the cheering, celebratory crowd.

Somewhere on the court, a team from another class had won, and the surrounding crowd raised their hands and screamed with deafening volume. Ai Xiaoyu adjusted her earphones and turned up the volume to block out the noise.

Jing Nianxun gently nudged her. “Our class is up next.”

“Oh,” Ai Xiaoyu grunted. She took off her earphones and looked lazily toward the basketball court.

A few scattered members of their class were dressed in uniforms designed with a “straight man aesthetic”—the color scheme looked remarkably like prison attire. They seemed devoid of energy. Cheng Wang was the only one who stood out slightly, standing at the front, but because the lighting in the gym was poor and his skin was quite dark, his face was hard to make out.

The players behind him were a ragtag bunch; some were clearly amateurs pulled in just to make up the numbers.

…It really was a miracle they had reached the finals. Perhaps the “power of the plot” had forcefully carried them this far.

Compared to the fiery cheerleading squads of other classes, their section of the bleachers was nearly empty. Most of the attendees were boys who liked basketball anyway. Aside from Ai Xiaoyu and Jing Nianxun, few girls had shown up.

In class, their teacher, Old Zhang, had put it this way: “It’s really not easy for our class to make it to the finals. Although our chances of winning might not be high, we should still offer our encouragement and support. Go watch if you can!”

When even the teacher said the win-rate was low, who would want to go?

Ai Xiaoyu put her earphones back on but kept the music off, staring intently at Cheng Wang.

Actually, aside from the System’s mandatory requirement, she was a bit interested herself. In her past life, Ai Xiaoyu had been in the basketball club in high school and was even a star player for a while. Unfortunately, there were so few girls playing that they couldn’t even form a full team. She was often mocked for it, told that playing basketball all day made her look like a “tomboy” and that she didn’t act like a girl.

Thinking back to her previous life, Ai Xiaoyu sighed. Eventually, as her studies grew more demanding, she quit the club. After university and starting work, she hadn’t touched a basketball again.

Now that she was in an ABO world, even though her current body was petite, she had the physical constitution of an Alpha. She felt an itch to play again.

Cheng Wang was actually quite good. He had a height advantage and moved across the court like a black panther, reaching the hoop with ease. However, his style was a bit too “brute force,” lacking in technical finesse.

Ai Xiaoyu rested her chin on her hand, staring motionless at the court, analyzing his movements.

Jing Nianxun hadn’t turned a page of her book in a long time. She noticed Ai Xiaoyu’s gaze and followed it, seeing that she seemed to be watching Cheng Wang.

A realization suddenly hit her. Ai Xiaoyu, someone who usually showed zero interest in basketball, was here watching the game. Was it really for Cheng Wang?

That big liar. Talking about “class honor” when it was really for her own selfish reasons.

Jing Nianxun felt a bit annoyed. She asked, “Didn’t you say the game would be boring? You seem to be watching very intently.”

Ai Xiaoyu blinked, startled. “Their playstyle is indeed quite boring.”

If it’s boring, why are you watching? Jing Nianxun thought. She suddenly asked, “Then, do you know how to play?” She regretted it as soon as she said it; after all, how could Ai Xiaoyu, who never watched basketball, know how to play?

But Ai Xiaoyu subconsciously nodded, then shook her head, and finally said, “I know… a little bit. My middle school gym teacher taught me.”

Middle school again!

Ai Xiaoyu explained away all her suddenly appearing skills as things she learned in middle school. Middle school clubs were diverse, middle school teachers were all-powerful. She only prayed that a middle school classmate wouldn’t suddenly appear to expose her, saying she had never joined a club or learned basketball.

It was Jing Nianxun’s turn to be surprised. Ai Xiaoyu could play basketball?

She suddenly realized she knew very little about Ai Xiaoyu; there were so many things she didn’t know.

Jing Nianxun pointed to the other side of the gymnasium, where there were some vacant basketball courts and people playing recreationally. She asked, “If you know how to play, can you teach me?”

In reality, Jing Nianxun didn’t particularly want to learn basketball, but she felt very dissatisfied with Ai Xiaoyu keeping her eyes fixed on Cheng Wang.

Ai Xiaoyu happily agreed. She pulled Jing Nianxun down from the bleachers. As they left, she glanced back at Cheng Wang. He seemed to have noticed them; he frowned and paused for a second, during which the ball was stolen by an opponent.

On the empty court, a few boys were showing off their skills, dribbling in fancy patterns, yet missing every shot once they got near the hoop. One of their balls bounced off the rim and rolled toward Jing Nianxun.

Ai Xiaoyu caught the ball with a backhand, spun it beautifully on her fingertips, and then hooked her arm for a smooth three-pointer.

“Holy crap! That actually went in!” the boys over there shouted, looking at Ai Xiaoyu in shock.

“Want to play?” someone asked.

Ai Xiaoyu waved them off. “No thanks.”

She led Jing Nianxun to another hoop. The boys fell silent and instinctively moved out of the way.

“Stand a bit closer first. Try to shoot and see if you can get it in.” She gave some brief guidance on the form. Jing Nianxun followed her instructions, but the ball fell weakly below the rim, hitting the ground and bouncing away.

“Haha.” Jing Nianxun gave a bitter laugh and shook her head. Ai Xiaoyu, however, was laughing happily. This reminded her exactly of when she first started learning—missing the net constantly because she lacked strength.

She encouraged Jing Nianxun to use more force and keep trying, but Jing Nianxun was simply too weak. Her body felt soft and frail, perhaps due to past malnutrition or her natural constitution.

Ai Xiaoyu thought for a moment. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t differentiated yet. Once she turns into an Alpha, she’ll be fine.

A cheer erupted from the main court, indicating someone had won. Ai Xiaoyu saw Cheng Wang walking back to the bleachers looking dejected, which meant their class had lost.

Cheng Wang sat in the first row of the bleachers and saw Ai Xiaoyu and Jing Nianxun walking back. He glared fiercely at Ai Xiaoyu.

When Ai Xiaoyu reached him, Cheng Wang suddenly stood up and said venomously, “Ai Xiaoyu, I finally see through you. I used to think you liked me, but now it’s clear you’ve been working tirelessly to drive a wedge between Jing Nianxun and me. Tell the truth, you’re the one who likes Nianxun, aren’t you!”

“Huh?”

Ai Xiaoyu was stunned. Where on earth did that come from?

Me? Like Jing Nianxun?

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