Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Chunlei paused before he responded to Yiming.

"No, I was running around before I came here," he said.

"But didn't you come from an interview?" Yiming asked. "You went here after that, right?"

Chunlei pursed his lips. That was indeed what happened. However, he didn't want to say it out loud.

After the game, Chunlei found that he was more breathless than usual.

It was strange since he only played for around seven minutes. Did he play that hard for him to become breathless?

Surely, that wasn't the case.

Chunlei sighed and stood next to Yiming, observing their happy teammates.

"Why aren't you celebrating with them?" Chunlei asked. "Surely, you're happy that we've won."

Yiming sighed as he looked down at his hands. He still felt the ghost of the rubber basketball on his skin, and his hands lightly trembled.

It had been a while since he played for two whole quarters in a game.

He felt something strange in his heart. Then, he turned to Chunlei, his expression unreadable.

"Well, we did win," Yiming muttered. "But somehow, it feels like we didn't."

Chunlei pursed his lips, a silent agreement forming between the two of them.

It seemed like they knew something that only the two of them would understand.

"We could have lost," Yiming finally said, breaking the silence.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Chunlei let out a deep breath.

"No—we would have still won," Chunlei confidently said.

Yiming stayed silent.

"However," Chunlei quickly followed.

"We have another reason to work even harder."

Yiming turned to the happy-go-lucky player and noted his serious expression.

"They're going to be tough to beat next year," he muttered.

***

The skies were already dark when the Shizi Dogs finally decided to leave.

They were dejected that they had lost the game for which they had worked hard. However, in the end, they realized that it wasn't their last game.

Moreover, they felt proud of themselves for being able to maintain a one-digit gap despite both Yiming and Chunlei playing in the game.

The audience had already gone home, so only a small crowd of people loitered around the grounds of the gymnasium.

The Shizi Dogs went out of the venue, some of the people pointing toward their way and whispering among themselves.

Kai wondered if they were talking about them positively or negatively. However, it still felt good seeing people actually talking about them now.

Back then, it was as if they didn't even notice Shizi High's presence in the league!

Just then, he turned his head to the side, seeing Lina with a dejected expression.

Kai frowned when he realized that they still had something to talk about.

Then, a cold gush of wind blew over them, causing her to shiver.

"The nights are getting colder," Kun said, blowing some hot air into his palms.

"Well, winter is approaching soon," Jet remarked. "It's going to be a pain in the ass to train in the cold again."

"Training in the cold is great for the stamina," Yuze said, making the two players purse their lips.

Of course, Yuze would enjoy training in the cold and harsh weather!

Another gush of wind blew, so Kai started removing his jacket so he could give it to Lina.

He also wanted to talk to her about what happened on the night of the Cultural Festival.

However, before he could reach her, Zeren had already popped up behind her, placing his own jacket over her shoulders.

Lina looked up at Zeren, startled by his sudden action.

She looked at the jacket and frowned. "What's this?" she asked.

"You look cold," Zeren said, his lips trembling.

Kai scoffed as he watched Zeren put on a brave facade. It was obvious that he was cold himself!

Lina looked at him with raised eyebrows before acting to remove it.

"I think you should take it," she said. "It looks like you need it more than me."

Zeren shook his head despite shivering in the cold wind.

"Just take it," Zeren said. "My dad's going to pick me up anyway. You can even join us if you want. His car has a heater, so it'd feel toasty."

Lina pursed her lips before shaking her head.

"We still have a bus at this time. I'll just join Yuze and the others in waiting at the station," she said, causing Zeren to look down at the ground in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Kai smirked as he watched their exchange.

Zeren's shivering got worse, so Lina fully removed the jacket from her shoulders and gave it to Zeren once more.

"You're going to get hypothermia at this point," Lina chuckled. "Your lips are turning blue."

Zeren shook his head. "There's no way."

The two of them continued to tease each other, so Kai decided to intervene. He removed his jacket, enjoying the cold air blowing against his skin, before placing it over Lina's shoulders.

The pretty manager's eyes widened as she looked up at Kai. Then, her mouth went agape when she saw it was him.

However, her facial expression quickly turned neutral afterward, even borderline angry—which made Kai even more confused.

"I don't need this," Lina said, about to remove the jacket.

However, Kai held onto her hand and gently slid her arms into the sleeve before zipping it all the way up.

"Don't worry. It's clean," Kai said, observing how his jacket nearly engulfed Lina's figure, causing him to smile fondly.

Lina looked down at the ground and didn't bother responding.

Meanwhile, Zeren clicked his tongue and placed a gap between Lina and Kai.

"What are you doing?" Zeren asked.

Kai ignored him and continued looking at Lina.

"Do you want to...talk?" Kai asked.

Lina didn't look up from the ground as she shook her head.

"My dad's waiting at home," she muttered. "I have to get home soon."

"Yeah," Zeren smirked. "She doesn't want to talk to you at this moment, you bastard."

Kai's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Zeren. He seemed awfully upset when Kai didn't even do anything to him.

It almost seemed like he knew something that Kai didn't.

Kai then looked around, seeing if the others would intervene. During moments like these, Yuze would usually step up and slap both the back of their heads.

However, he seemed quiet even though he was obviously hearing their conversation.

Kai's frown deepened. Why did it feel like they were all acting hostile toward him now?

Kai sighed and focused his attention on Lina instead.

"I can accompany you to the bus station," Kai said. "We can talk while we walk there."

Lina pursed her lips before turning to Zeren.

"Your dad is coming, right?" she suddenly asked.

Zeren looked at her with confusion. "Mmh, yeah. He's probably near now."

"Then, let me come with you," she said, causing Zeren to smile widely.

Meanwhile, Kai couldn't help but frown.

Didn't she just decline his invitation?

"Yeah, sure," Zeren happily said.

Lina nodded and stepped away from Kai—almost as if she was setting a boundary between the two of them.

Kai frowned in confusion.

Just what did he do so wrong?