Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The air was filled with tension as the two teams sat side by side in the homey barbecue restaurant. There was only one free table that could accommodate all six of the Shih Tzus, and unfortunately, that just so happened to be the table next to the Falcons.

The other customers looked toward their way, mostly at the Falcons because of their dazzling looks.

However, as their gazes strayed to the strange group of boys by their side, they quickly evaded their gazes away.

"Those boys look like gangsters."

"I think they came from a basketball league!"

"Oh, basketball? I missed watching it. When is the Winter Cup starting again?"

"In less than a month, I believe."

The people around them engaged in their own conversations, finally allowing the two teams to eat in peace.

Dylan shook his head as he devoured the grilled pork straight from the stove.

"They were looking at us so intently just now," he smirked, feeling proud. "They must be amazed by our presence, am I right?"

"Amazed?" Peng Yang scoffed from his table, making the Shih Tzus turn to him with raised eyebrows.

"Appalled, you mean," he said, not even bothering to look at them.

"Is he talking to us?" Mingze whispered.

Dylan clicked his tongue as he continued devouring the meat.

"Whatever. I don't really listen to losers' opinions," he childishly stuck his tongue out to the Falcons.

Sunny held Dylan back while the Falcons clicked their tongues in annoyance.

"You want to talk about the real loser here?" Peng Yang asked. "Why don't we talk about Shizi High's losing streak. Out of the eighteen schools in the city, what was your highest rank in the past five years again?" he teased.

"Fifteenth," one of the Falcons chimed before the others guffawed in laughter. "Their over-achiever captain can't even save the team from the trenches!"

Dylan's face grew red since they were now talking about his one and only idol in life—Yuze.

"For your information, we ranked thirteenth place in the Winter Cup when Yuze was just a first-year," Dylan corrected him.

Peng Yang merely shrugged. "That doesn't make it any better. It just means that your first-string team isn't capable of competing with Feng Arts High. You could only dream of being in the single-digit ranks, much less in the top five!"

"The team has only been established for thirteen years," Alen meekly said. "Feng Arts is famous for its basketball facilities, which had been created as early as the 1970s. Of course, you would have an advantage."

"What did you say?" Peng Yang asked with furrowed eyebrows, causing Alen to squeak in fear.

"Nothing!" Alen said, quickly zipping his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Kai happily ate the seasoned pork and beef that Dylan was unconsciously grilling. His teammates were all preoccupied with the argument, so Kai took the chance to eat all of the meat on the table!

He had always wanted to eat out with a group of friends in his past body; however, he didn't have any friends nor any money to do that. Now that he was given the opportunity, he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.

However, it was hard to enjoy all of the food with Peng Yang's continuous yapping. Kai hated to admit it, but he might actually be worse than Jinping!

"You might have won today, but there's no way your school can win against us in the official leagues. This was just a lucky win," Peng Yang remarked.

"Enjoy your victory while you can because I'm sure that Feng Arts High will plummet you to the ground in the upcoming months," he boasted.

"You have a lot to say for someone who isn't even on the first-string team," Kai said, his eyes focused on the food on the table, acting like he didn't just direct his statement to Peng Yang.

Peng Yang's gaze snapped to their table as soon as Kai spoke, his eyes practically shooting out fire as he gazed at Kai.

"What did you just say—"

"Ah, I'm stuffed," Kai said, patting his stomach. "I want some ice cream next. Alen, treat us to some ice cream."

Alen nodded, already wanting to leave the restaurant before things heated up further.

"Stay there, you bastard," Peng Yang said, finally standing from his seat and going to the Shih Tzus' table.

The people around them gazed at the group of boys; however, they were afraid of getting caught in the rumble.

"Say that straight to my face," Peng Yang said.

Kai looked at Peng Yang but found himself quickly looking away since he looked quite intimidating. He knew he was supposed to be heartless, but it was still hard to adjust to Kai Guo's Rottweiler-like personality when in truth, he was just a huge Golden Retriever.

"I'm just saying," Kai said, popping another piece of meat inside his mouth. "You shouldn't be so boastful when you aren't even in Feng Arts' first-string team. Besides, you are quick to judge Shizi High when you haven't even seen this year's line-up."

Peng Yang chuckled, finding Kai's statements ridiculous.

"The fact that I'm in Feng Arts is already a testament that I'm a good player," he said angrily. "And I don't need to know about Shizi's line-up this year. Most of the decent first-years are either in Yin Yang or Feng Arts. I'm sure that the newbies that ended up on your team are just a couple of side characters."

"Shouldn't you be more angry at the first-years who made it to the first-string team on their first try?" Kai asked, not really minding Peng Yang's insults to Shizi High.

Peng Yang's face twisted into an angry grimace. He looked around until his eyes landed on a glass of lemonade on their table.

He stared at it for a couple of seconds before directing it toward Kai. However, Dylan held onto his hand before he could throw the liquid toward Kai's way.

"You're not going to disrespect my teammates," he exclaimed, acting like a superhero from a cheesy movie.

Nonetheless, he did a great job protecting Kai as the lemonade was still in Peng Yang's hands.

The two tugged on the cup back and forth, the liquid content spilling bit by bit as the two of them fought to have the upper hand.

Just then, the bells above the door chimed, signaling the arrival of a new customer.

The two were still so preoccupied with their mini-fight that they didn't notice the two new customers behind their backs.

Peng Yang, having enough of Dylan's grubby hands, pulled at the cup with a lot of force.

However, at that very moment, Dylan's grip loosened, making the cup spill its contents behind Peng Yang's shoulders and right onto the new customers.

The people inside gasped, while the basketball players froze in shock when they saw who it was.

Dylan covered his mouth and stepped back when the beautiful woman wearing a white shirt, now drenched with pee-colored liquid, looked at them with tormented eyes.

"Suzy Mei," Dylan whispered, feeling like his world just came to an end.