Chapter 43: Outcasts, You Say?
"Well, it is called 'Battle of the Handsome Balls.' Thankfully, we fit right in the criteria," Dylan exclaimed, patting everyone on the back.
Just then, a van with tinted windows pulled up next to the court, just right in front of the six players of Shizi High.
Tony exclaimed in shock when he saw their reflection on the windows, placing his hand over his chest.
"What?" Sunny worriedly asked.
Tony steadied his breathing before shaking his head.
"I just saw our reflection—that's all," Tony muttered.
Kai shook his head and focused his gaze on the van once more. Truly, they looked like a funny bunch—almost like a circus act with their distinct looks and personalities.
However, his thoughts were quickly cut off when the people inside the van went out, causing a frenzy among the audience.
Kai frowned in confusion as he looked around the court, wondering who these people were to be creating such hysteria. Even the cheerleaders supporting their own teams turned to see the group of men clad in green jerseys.
Kai felt a twinge of bitterness in his heart as he looked at their jerseys, which resembled Huolan High's.
"Who are these boys? An idol group?" Alen asked.
Mingze shrugged. "I don't think so. They're all very handsome, though—that must be why all these people are screaming at them."
Dylan narrowed his eyes at the five men and sighed in frustration once he finally recognized who they were.
"It's them," he muttered, causing the other players to turn to him. "I can't believe we ran into them right here."
Just then, the group of five men passed by Shizi High, even bumping into Kai's shoulder in the process.
The tallest among them, and undoubtedly the most popular, unapologetically glanced at Kai before clicking his tongue.
"Watch where you're going," he muttered. Then, he glanced at the other members.
"Oh, it's you," he chuckled, causing the other players to halt, too.
"Peng Yang," Dylan said, walking over to face the tall and handsome player.
"Dylan," Peng Yang chuckled. "I see that you still haven't grown."
Dylan smirked. "And I see that your head is still bigger than ever."
"Of course," Peng Yang smirked. "When you're this handsome, it just gets to you. Oh, wait. I don't think you'll be able to understand, though."
Dylan was about to confront Peng Yang head-on, but Kai held him back, causing Peng Yang's attention to shift to the Shizi's tallest player.
Kai looked down at Peng Yang since he was around two inches shorter.
"Oh, I see you recruited a tall one," Peng Yang said, feeling a bit wary. "But since he's in your team, I'm guessing he's a total beginner."
"He's just as good as me," Dylan proudly smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
That caused the opposing team to burst into laughter, with Peng Yang's eyes even welling up with tears. Meanwhile, the players of Shizi High watched them with unamused expressions.
"We don't have anything to worry about then," Peng Yang smiled. "I guess this will be fun. I hope we cross paths soon."
Peng Yang looked around the court and basked in the attention they were currently getting.
"Well, looks like we have to go and greet our fans. See you later, Shizi," he said, obviously looking down on their team.
With that, the group of five men walked away from them, leaving Shizi in a tension-filled atmosphere.
Dylan's face was as red as a lobster, so Sunny took matters into his own hands.
"Breathe in and out. In and out. That's right. You're fine," Sunny assured, placing his hands over Dylan's shoulders.
"Goodness," Dylan sighed, cracking his knuckles as he glanced one more time at Peng Yang and his team.
"Who even is that team?" Mingze couldn't help but ask.
"The infamous 'model line' at Feng Arts High," Tony responded, causing Kai to perk up once again.
"Feng Arts?" Kai asked. "You mean, the top two school right after Yin Yang?"
"Yes," Dylan answered. "It's them—those bastards who are stuck in the second-string like me but feel like they're better than everybody else."
"Why are they called the 'model line,' though?" Alen asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sunny chuckled. "They're the handsome players of Feng Arts' second-string team."
"However, I have to say—their looks are the best part of themselves. We played with them once, and we almost beat them! We were just off by one digit," Tony chimed.
"So, they're not that good?" Mingze inferred.
Sunny scratched the back of his head. "Well, it was a casual game, and they might have gone easy on us, but they're definitely no match to our first-string players at Shizi High. Even Jinping and Zeren are better than them!"
"I agree," Tony said. "Besides, the good second-string players from Feng Arts wouldn't really join this league. Those five are benchwarmers of the team, so they must have decided to join this small league instead."
Kai nodded, listening intently to everything they were saying. If Jinping was better than these players, then their team might have a chance to win.
At first, he merely intended to join the league to earn his jersey and get some good practice.
However, with players from Feng Arts and a player from Yin Yang joining, Kai was more fired up than ever.
Just then, his thoughts were cut off when the commentator spoke.
"Players, please line up in front of your team logos. We will start the games in five minutes!"