Chapter Three: The Price of Match Four

Blue probability lines filled Jianxia’s vision: a blocked shot, Chen injured, a counterattack; a pass to Xiaoman, time expiring; a return to Wei Lan, a safe draw. Not one led to two-one. For the first time, Jianxia felt glad. Then Chen Sui chose none of them. She chipped the ball toward an advertising board. It rebounded at an impossible angle, passed over the sliding defender, and dropped in front of Qiao Ran. It should have been out. Contact with an object beyond the court meant a kick-in. But a narrow tear had opened in the board’s plastic face. The ball slipped through it, struck the metal support hidden behind, and bounced back through the same opening. Two players blocked the referee’s view. All he saw was the ball skimming the line.