Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Yiming slammed the door closed as they entered their holding room.

The team turned silent as they took their respective seats, none of them daring to speak out first.

Meanwhile, the people at the bleachers started whispering among themselves.

"What's happening with the Feng Foxes?"

"It's the first time they went back to their holding room, right? They're usually so relaxed during halftime."

"I didn't expect the Shizi Dogs to be this tough to beat."

"How come they've improved so fast?"

"They used to be a team that we easily plummeted to the ground."

On the other hand, those at Shizi's side couldn't contain their excitement as they started discussing the game.

"Is that possible? Are we really winning against the Feng Foxes right now?"

"Technically, we're still behind by four points. But it's still amazing!"

"Our basketball team is actually cool."

Justin Liang looked at Kai, who was gulping down water on the bench. It still appeared like he wasn't sweating as much as everybody else, making Justin even more determined to have him on their team.

"Have the recruitment papers ready," he said to Junior.

Junior shook his head. "Are you a scouting team for the national leagues? You're taking this way too seriously. I asked you to come here because I like a cheerleader from the Feng Foxes, not to recruit Kai Guo to the Shizi Snakes."

Justin turned to him with raised eyebrows. "So, that's why you've been coming to a lot of games. You're secretly in love with the enemy!"

Junior scratched the back of his head.

"That's not what's important. Kai is off limits," Junior said.

"For now," Justin said. "However, we can have him next year in the next semester."

"His athleticism—it's different. I haven't seen it before in a first-year student. So, prepare the recruitment papers once we go back to school tomorrow."

Junior shook his head. "You do it yourself."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

On the other hand, the usually noisy Sir Dao was stunned to silence as he tried to comprehend everything that was happening.

Sir Muchen smirked as he turned toward the old teacher.

"You weren't expecting them to be this good, huh?" he asked, holding himself back from teasing the old man.

Sir Dao cleared his throat.

"Well, they are better than what I've expected. However, that's just because I underestimated Yuze's strength. That Zeren guy isn't too bad, too. He's stupid in class, but at least he's not stupid here."

"And Kai?" Muchen couldn't help but ask.

He was aware of the hostile relationship that the of them have, and he honestly found it unfair for Kai to always be the target of Sir Dao's taunts.

At first, he also thought that Kai was a pure troublemaker. However, the more he watched him on the court and in class, he realized that he wasn't bad at all.

In fact, he was even more hardworking than the average student.

Sir Dao chuckled. "You're already aware of my principles, Muchen," he said.

"Once I've set my mind on not liking a person, then I stick to it."

Muchen pursed his lips and didn't pry any further.

Meanwhile, Yani's eyes were wide in surprise as she internalized everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes.

She had never cursed so hard in her entire life, and she found herself engrossed in the game that she vowed to never watch!

She wasn't even like this with the games of the Shizi Snakes. Well, the cheerleading team always practiced their routines whenever the Snakes played, so being a pure audience member gave her another experience.

"I told you," one of the guys from the cheerleading team said. "It's a fun sport."

Yani pursed her lips as she turned to Suzy.

"What did you do to me?" she asked.

Suzy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Nothing? What could I have done with you?"

"You put a curse on me or something," Yani whined. "Why is basketball suddenly so interesting to watch?"

Suzy chuckled and shook her head. "That's what I'm trying to ask myself, too," she whispered.

"Someone must have compelled you to watch or something!" Yani exclaimed, shaking her shoulders.

"Tell me—who is it? Is it that Kai guy over there? I realized that you enjoined me to watch his game ever since he played in that funny league at Richgate. You must like him, huh?"

Suzy's eyes widened as she quickly covered Yani's mouth.

"What are you talking about?" Suzy exasperatedly asked. "There's no way. I don't like that guy. Who would even like someone like him?"

Yani stopped for a moment, looking back and forth between Kai and Suzy before shrugging.

"I guess you're right," she muttered. "You wouldn't like someone like him."

Suzy frowned.

"You're too pretty," Yani quickly added.

On the side of the Feng Foxes, there was another person who couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Peng Yang, along with the other 'Feng Falcons,' looked at the court with agape mouths.

Peng Yang couldn't help but frown as he focused his gaze on Kai, who was now back to warming up as he prepared for the third quarter of the game. He seemed more determined than ever, and Peng Yang could almost see the fire burning in his eyes from where he was sitting.

"How come it's like this?" Peng Yang muttered.

He still remembered when they played in 'Battle of the Handsome Balls' together. He was still a part of the second string then, and he seemed worse than Peng Yang during those times.

However, in a span of a very few months, he was now a part of the first-string team and was even playing as a starting player?

It was purely ridiculous!

Back to the holding room where the Feng Foxes were having an emergency meeting...

"What are we going to do?" Kexin asked.

"The three of us are getting tired, and we can't play for four quarters each. It will take a toll on our score."

Yiming let out a deep breath.

"Why can't you do it?" he coldly asked, making his teammates slightly afraid.

Kexin, whose tongue was as sharp as his shots, also stammered as Yiming looked at him with intensity.

"W—what do you mean?" Kexin asked.

"Why can't you do it now?" Yiming asked.

"You were able to play four quarters in the practice game. Why the heck are you saying you can't do it now?"

Shilei let out a deep breath while Bocheng scratched the back of his head.

"They've gotten much better," Bocheng said, responding instead of Kexin.

"Much more than I have imagined," he continued before staring off into the distance.

"Much more that I'm already unsure of how the game is going to end."