Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The gymnasium erupted into cheers as the starting players of Feng Arts finally took the court.

Bochung, Kexin, and Shilei went to the center, accompanied by two players who bad-mouthed Shizi High a little while ago. Kai was a little bit disappointed since Yiming and Chunlei weren't playing, but then again, it wouldn't make sense if they dispatched their star players in a practice game, especially during the first set.

So, as much as Kai was disappointed, he wasn't really surprised.

"Let's go," Yuze said, stepping forward and leading Shizi High's first five to the center.

Yuze, the captain and tallest member of the team took his role as the Center. Meanwhile, Shang, the second-tallest third-year player, assumed the Power Forward role. Acting as the point guard was Kun while the two recruited first-year players, Zeren and Jinping, were the Shooting Guard and Small Forward, respectively.

All in all, there were five members left on the bench, making up the ten members of the official team.

As expected, the cheers were practically non-existent except for a few pity claps from the audience.

Yiming and Chunlei sat side-by-side, observing the players of Shizi High.

"Yuze's body got bigger," Yiming muttered. "Maybe I should hit the gym more often."

Chunlei chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"If you work out more, I'm afraid your muscles are going to burst. You're fine. Yuze's just another breed," Chunlei said.

Yiming pursed his lips in disappointment, causing Chunlei to chuckle even louder.

"What are you so upset about? You already know that Yuze's a great player. He's the reason why Shizi High didn't end up in last place last year."

"Yeah," Yiming said. "I'm still better than him, though."

Chunlei smirked. "Well, technically, you are. You're in a much better team, so it's expected."

Yiming scratched the back of his head. "I guess," he muttered. "If he meets some decent teammates, then his potential is going to increase."

"Isn't that obvious?" Chunlei chuckled. "He has been waiting for decent teammates for the past two years, though. I doubt he'll find one this year."

"Well, Kun and Shang are still here. I hope they've improved a bit. He also has some new teammates," Yiming pointed out.

"Are you familiar with them?" Chunlei asked.

Yiming nodded. "I've seen those two in the lower school league," he responded. "Zeren is good. The coach tried recruiting him, but he said that the 'love of his life' was going to Shizi High and he couldn't pass up the chance."

Chunlei shook his head. "He's going to regret choosing them sooner or later."

Feng Arts took a bow and went to their positions, once again earning loud cheers from the audience. However, as the Shizi High players did the same, they received even fewer cheers than before, making Kai shake his head.

He didn't like how the team was being treated like gum on the sole of someone's shoe; so, he took matters into his own hands.

Kai swallowed his embarrassment and started clapping loudly and cheering for the team, his deep voice booming across the gym.

"Let's go…Shitty High!" he loudly said amidst the relatively silent gymnasium.

Kai thought that his cheer would create a ripple effect among the crowd. However, it only made it silent—deafeningly silent.

The players of Shizi High looked at him with wide eyes, in disbelief at the words he just said.

Then, Kai finally realized what he said after a couple of seconds. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt everybody's gazes on him. One particular gaze stood out—Yuze's—who was glaring at him with profound annoyance.

"I—I didn't mean it," Kai quietly said to the second-string players on the bench.

However, they merely pursed their lips and didn't even bother glancing at Kai.

After a few more seconds, the gymnasium finally burst into cheers—but not the good kind.

They laughed out loud when they realized what the unknown Shizi player just called their school.

"Shitty High? I might start calling them by that name now."

"Shitty High for shitty students."

"That dude is hilarious! He said it so confidently, too."

"His voice is so deep, though. I nearly got startled."

"Who is that, by the way? He seems tall."

"Wait a minute…is that Kai?"

Meanwhile, Yuze, who heard more unpleasant comments being thrown their way, shook his head in disappointment.

"Kai's ruining everything again," Jinping sneered.

Yuze sighed deeply. "Ignore them. Get into your positions."

Jinping wanted to insult Kai more, but he followed their captain's words and went to his position behind him.

Meanwhile, Chunlei still wasn't over laughing at what Kai had said. His body shook as he giggled, even disturbing the players beside him.

"Stop now," Yiming clicked his tongue. "Was it that funny?"

"It was," Chunlei said, wiping the unshed tears from his eyes. "That guy said it so confidently, too. I could tell he wasn't expecting it at all."

Yiming shook his head and focused his gaze on the player who cursed his own school.

"I haven't seen him before," he said to Chunlei, who was still laughing his ass off.

"Huh?" Chunlei asked, finally calming down after his laughing fit.

"That guy—he's the only player I'm not familiar with," Yiming responded.

"Most of them I've seen. Dylan's still in the second string after all these years. Those two beside him are second-string players in the past, too. Meanwhile, those two younger students asked for my autograph before," Yiming said.

"They did?" Chunlei asked; however, Yiming ignored his question.

"But that guy—I haven't seen him before."

Chunlei hummed, wondering why their captain was so curious about the funny player. Then, when he narrowed his eyes and finally got a good look at him, he realized why.

"He looks like Yuze when he was a first-year," Chunlei muttered. "Why is he not playing then?"

Peng Yang, who had been listening to their conversation from the moment it started, ducked down so his head was inside the railings.

"He's in the second-string team," Peng Yang said, startling the two-star players of the Feng Foxes.

"Peng Yang," Yiming sighed. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"I…just overheard your conversation," he bluffed. "I wanted to tell you that he's in the second-string team and hasn't been playing basketball for that long. He's also bad news, so it would be great not to associate with him."

"...and you know this because?" Chunlei asked.

"We played with them once," Peng Yang responded.

"So…," Yiming trailed off, "...he's not something we should worry about?"

Peng Yang confidently shook his head. Kai and his team might have beaten them, but Peng Yang knew that he didn't stand a chance against their official players.

"Not at all."