Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Let's go," Yuze said just as the game had finished. He glanced at the bench of the Yin Yang Knights and shook his head when he saw their celebratory expressions.

They were hugging each other and shouting in joy—with Max Zhou at the very center of their celebration.

The Shizi Dogs stood, following their captain out of the court.

As they arrived outside, Zeren couldn't help but ask a question.

"Why did you leave amidst their celeb—"

Kun held onto Zeren's arm and shook his head. Zeren was confused for a moment but eventually shut his mouth.

"I'll be heading home," Yuze said, appearing to be in a bitter mood.

With that, the other players dispersed to go to their respective homes.

However, most of them decided to take a train—one of them being Kai.

Kai smiled as Lina sat next to him. The pretty girl smiled back, her cheeks pink for an unknown reason.

They sat in comfortable silence until Lina asked a question.

"How did you know?" she suddenly asked, capturing Kai's attention.

"Hmm?" he hummed.

"How did you know that the Yin Yang Knights were going to win?"

Kai smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I just had a gut feeling," he responded.

Lina chuckled in amusement. "Well, it seems like your gut feelings are mostly right."

Kai shook his head.

Well, it wasn't just a random guess.

When he accidentally met with Max Zhou in the city's public court, it seemed like he was practicing his shooting. After getting some Intel from Shang that Max Zhou's weakness was three-point shots, Kai realized that he must have practiced that particular skill that night.

So, when he saw him setting up a play for a three-point shot when there were mere seconds left in the game, Kai already knew that he was going to lead his team to victory.

Lina sighed, snapping Kai back to reality.

"It was such an intense game. We definitely would have lost if we had won," she chuckled.

Kai nodded in agreement.

It was a reality that he wanted to deny, but at the same time, a reality he had to face.

Because of it, he was even more determined to improve his skills just in time for the Interhigh Preliminaries.

He stared at his reflection on the windows adjacent to him and smirked.

Lina, who was continuously watching him, raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Then, some heroic music started playing in the background, and some wind blew through his hair.

She looked around and found that the train was suddenly playing some music.

"What the?" she muttered, feeling like she was in some kind of movie.

Then, when she turned to Kai, whose hair was out of his face, she froze.

"What the?" she repeated, louder this time, causing Kai to turn to her.

For a second, his face remained visible. However, the magic disappeared when his hair fell over his features once again.

"I'm going to improve," Kai said with determination.

"Huh?" Lina asked, feeling absent-minded. All she could think about was Kai's face.

Kai held onto Lina's hand, surprising the older girl.

"I'm going to improve. The next time we're going to see each other—I'll make sure I'm a better player."

***

"149"

"150"

Kai exclaimed happily after he finished his set for the day.

He smiled when he felt his muscles twitch from exhaustion. He had just increased his usual 100 reps to 150, and he felt better than expected.

With that, he left his room and was met with the breakfast that Grandma Bingbing had prepared.

"You've already delivered the onions?" she asked, placing his plate on the table.

Kai nodded and dug into his meal.

"Yeah," he said, his mouth already full of food.

"Well, that's early," Grandma Bingbing said.

"I had a run," Kai said, now holding out his plate for another serving.

Grandma shook her head. "You're working out too hard. You don't seem like a first-year student in high school anymore."

"I've gotten that a lot," Kai said, already on his second serving of food.

"Well, I guess it's better than you getting into trouble."

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Kai smirked, standing from his seat.

"That's right," he said.

With that, he went back to his room and brought out his large duffel bag.

Grandma Bingbing frowned in confusion as she looked at his bag.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "School doesn't start for three weeks more."

Four weeks had passed since the Winter Cup ended, and in that duration, Kai worked hard to improve his skills.

In their last two weeks of school, the team decided to take a break from daily training to recuperate their bodies.

However, Kai didn't stop training himself and went to the court every day with the second-string team.

They have now been on their winter break for two weeks, during which Kai continued training and working out.

Kai had felt pretty bored for the past two weeks, but now, he was excited because he finally had a chance to go out.

Kai smiled and held out his hand.

"I need a little bit of allowance. I'm going to another city."

Grandma Bingbing raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"To another city?" she exclaimed. "Why are you going there?"

"To train, of course," he said, showing off his already worn-out and faded basketball.

"...and you didn't tell me?" the old woman asked.

Kai shrugged nonchalantly. "I forgot! I only packed last night."

Grandma Bingbing sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Goodness. You're really going to be the death of me," she muttered.

Kai continued holding out his hand, inching closer to the old woman.

"Please, Grandma," he smiled sweetly, blinking like an innocent little puppy.

"I promise to pay you back when I finally become a famous basketball player."

"And when will that be?" she asked, sounding reprimanding but eventually pulling out her wallet from her pocket.

Then, she brought out a 500-yuan bill.

"This is too much," he said. "Our transportation and homestay is already paid for."

"Just keep it," Grandma Bingbing said. "Think of it as payment for delivering the onions for the past two weeks."

Kai smirked and kept the money.

"Thanks, Grandma. You're the best!" he exclaimed.

"You only ever say that when you get what you want," the old woman deadpanned.

Nonetheless, there was a small smile on her face, obviously happy to be praised by her grandson.

"Where are you even going?" Grandma asked.

Kai smiled as he placed his bag over his shoulder.

"To Shenyang!"