Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The team continued to look at Kai, feeling that he was a different person. His hair had gotten even longer, which now touched the tip of his nose.

However, his face was cleanly shaved, making Lina blush despite the cold weather.

After Shang said those words, Kai looked down at him and scrutinized their height difference.

"I don't think I've gotten taller. I bet you just got shorter because of your injury," he deadpanned.

Shang frowned in confusion. "Is that possible?" he whispered.

"I think so," Jet said right by his side.

"There's no way," Kun said, also standing next to Kai and comparing their heights.

"You definitely got taller. You've gotten buffer, too."

Kai scratched the back of his neck, unconsciously flexing his muscles.

Lina pursed her lips and quickly looked away.

"I've been working out," Kai boasted.

"Like you need any more of it," Jinping muttered in a bitter tone. Then, he looked at his toned arms and let out a deep breath. He was on the lankier side, so no matter how much he ate, he could never have gains like Kai!

Zeren, on the other hand, felt his chances crumbling as he gazed at Kai.

Not only was he blessed with good genes for his body and height, but he was also pretty intelligent.

However, thinking that he was better-looking than Kai appeased Zeren a little bit.

"Yeah, that's right," he muttered, reassuring himself. "I'm much more handsome."

"What did you even do?" Jet asked, wanting to learn his secrets.

The entire team also turned to Kai, looking forward to his answer.

Yuze definitely didn't need it, but he was still curious.

"You're not taking steroids, are you?" Jet whispered.

Kai's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head.

"No," he denied. "I just stuck to a consistent work-out and ate my Grandma's food well."

The others sighed in disappointment after his revelation.

"Well, that's no fun," Jet said. "I'm sure you have some sort of secret."

Kai shrugged since he really didn't do anything special.

Just then, their driver honked the car, catching all of their attention.

"Let's go in, guys," Yuze said, leading his team inside the van.

Jet and Shang narrowed their eyes at Kai.

"We'll find out your secrets soon, you gatekeeper" Jet said before entering the car.

Lina went to the shotgun seat while Kai stayed at the very back, just right behind Yuze.

He was about to enter the van when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder.

Kai turned around and saw none other than Justin Liang, who was looking at him with bright eyes and clutching onto a plain white envelope with a heart sticker enclosing it.

Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise, about to ask a question when Justin bolted back to their vans, making Kai even more confused.

"Kai, come in," Yuze grumbled, so he went in before opening the envelope.

He tried to hide it from his teammates, but Jet, being the nosy bastard that he was, gasped loudly as soon as he saw a glimpse of the heart sticker.

"What's that?" he exclaimed, trying to get it from Kai's hold.

Kai placed it under his thighs and glared at Jet.

"It's nothing," Kai said.

"Nothing? I saw a heart sticker there! I bet you received a confession. Oh goodness, when will it be my turn?"

The whole team turned to Kai, even Lina, who had to crane her neck with extra effort just to look at him.

"A love letter? With his face?" Jinping asked.

Kai sighed deeply. "Stop looking. I didn't get a love letter."

Jet clicked his tongue while shaking his head. "You're not the same Kai as I know. You're much cooler now."

Kai smiled in amusement and waited for them to shift their attention to another topic before opening the envelope.

Fortunately, most of them had the attention span of a fruitfly, so it didn't take long for that to happen.

With that, Kai retrieved the envelope from under his thighs and silently opened it.

Then, he frowned when he saw what was written on the piece of paper.

'Please join the Shizi Snakes.'

***

"We're here."

Four and a half hours later, the basketball team finally arrived at their destination.

Yuze stayed up the entire ride, so he was the one to wake them up.

Kai groggily lifted his head, blinking away the sleep from his eyes before gazing outside the window.

As expected, snow and fog covered the area. He also saw a recreational swimming pool from where he was sitting, noting that it was covered with frost and leaves.

He shook his head in amusement.

The second-string team definitely wouldn't like that.

The players started going out of the car, still appearing sleepy.

However, when they observed their surroundings, the sleepiness instantly left their bodies.

"Wait," Jet said, his mouth agape as he stared at the spectacle before him. "This is actually a good place."

Kai, too, was amazed at the scale of the training facility. It seemed like a multifaceted facility that catered to different sports.

They were currently in the quadrangle, surrounded by the different courts catered to a particular sport.

A volleyball court. Find your next adventure on empire

A basketball court.

An indoor swimming pool.

And plenty more!

Lina smirked as she observed their amazed expressions.

"I told you I tried to save a lot for our other expenses because I went all in for our training facility!" she happily exclaimed.

"Did our budget even cover this?" Yuze asked.

Lina smiled. "My dad donated some funds."

Yuze clicked his tongue. "You should have told me."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lina shook her head. "He was happy to help. It's also a gift from him to the team for doing so well in the Winter Cup!"

With that, Lina walked in front of the indoor basketball court, gesturing to the large one-floor building.

Kai could already hear some people playing inside, which meant that they weren't alone in the training facility.

"Welcome, boys," Lina happily said.

"You are now in the most prestigious training facility in the whole of Shenyang!"

"This is where we're going to be staying for five days and four nights!"

"I hereby declare the commencement of this year's Winter training camp!"