Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Uh...," Kai trailed off before looking down at his foot.

Chunlei chuckled and shook his head.

"You know, I really thought you weren't anything special when I first met you," Chunlei started off, walking closer to Kai.

"Sure, you were a funny dude. But that was it. Your basketball skills seemed almost non-existent to me," he continued.

Then, he stopped right before Kai, the playful smile on his face turning into something serious.

Kai's eyebrows slightly raised in surprise.

Meanwhile, there was a slight glare in Chunlei's eyes—almost as if he was showing disgust.

"But now, you feel...different," he muttered.

"You're like me, right?" Chunlei suddenly asked.

Kai pursed his lips and scratched the back of his head. He didn't understand why Chunlei was asking such serious questions.

"Look, man," Kai started off. "I was just looking for a...rock."

Chunlei ignored his statement and continued speaking.

"You're hiding your real skills, right?"

Kai chuckled awkwardly. "I think you're reading too much into this."

"Then, play with me," Chunlei said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Kai clicked his tongue before looking at the net.

Well, he did want to play.

"Alright," he sighed. "Just for a short minute," he said.

Chunlei smirked and walked to the middle of the court. Kai followed while holding onto the ball.

The two of them stood there for a while as if they were predicting each other's moves.

"You first," Chunlei said, nodding in his direction.

Kai nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. He was finally going to play after restricting himself for one week!

With that, Kai started dribbling the ball, making Chunlei narrow his eyes.

From the get-go, Chunlei could already feel that Kai's way of handling the ball was different—more refined.

Kai could feel it, too.

The last time they played with each other was when he was still proficient, so it wasn't really surprising.

Nonetheless, Kai felt very excited about it.

Kai dribbled to the left, and Chunlei quickly followed.

"Hmm," Kai hummed. It also seemed like Chunlei was playing to his fullest capacity. He didn't look this desperate during their last game.

However, Kai found it strange.

If this was his full capacity, then why was it that Kai could see his every move?

Kai smirked to himself as he continued dribbling the ball. He found a small opening, barely passable, but he knew he could do it.

With that, he attempted to get past Chunlei for a lay-up.

However, as he stepped his right foot on the ground, he felt the dull ache return.

It wasn't alarming enough for him to stop. However, it was enough to slow him down.

"Frick," he muttered.

Lina was right.

With that one stumble, Chunlei managed to take away the ball, hurriedly going to the other court and dunking it with ease.

Kai tried to go after him, but he knew that he shouldn't run. So, he was only able to catch him at the half-court.

Chunlei turned around with a smirk.

Then, he shook his head.

"Sorry," he said. "It seems like I was mistaken."

Then, he went to pat Kai's shoulder. "Forget everything that I had said."

Kai tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"You need more practice," Chunlei smiled.

"Look, I just got hit by a—"

"Well, it appears like that's the only time I have for the day," Chunlei said, not even bothering to listen to Kai.

With that, he walked to the bench to get his bag.

Kai clicked his tongue and felt frustrated. It was a moment of weakness! He didn't want to aggravate his injury!

With that, he walked to where Chunlei left the ball, which was at the half-line, and half-heartedly threw the ball into the ring, not really paying attention to his form.

However, much to his surprise, his joke of a throw made it inside.

Kai's eyes widened, and he turned to Chunlei to see if he had witnessed the nearly miraculous shot.

However, he was too busy fixing his things to even notice.

Meanwhile, Kai still couldn't believe it. He looked down at his hands and shook his head.

Somehow, it felt like shooting became even easier for him.

"You're really a strange kid," Chunlei remarked, making Kai lift his head.

"Well," Chunlei muttered, taking the ball from the ground and stuffing it inside his bag.

"Enjoy your stone searching," he said.

"I'll see you at the opening of the Interhigh Preliminaries!"

With that, he made his way out of the court, leaving Kai all alone.

As soon as he was gone, Kai couldn't help but celebrate.

"Dang, self," he muttered.

"That was a really nice shot."

***

Friday had arrived, and the dreaded practice match with Yin Yang Knights was finally going to take place.

"I'm so excited," Jet exclaimed as the train led them to the northern part of the city.

"I'm finally going to step foot in Yin Yang High!"

Yuze clicked his tongue, feeling strangely nervous. He had attempted to talk to his dad about the upcoming practice game but couldn't find it within himself to actually do so.

After Yuze turned down his offer to transfer to Yin Yang High, their relationship became even more strained.

"It's not that special," Yuze grumbled.

"Ah, right," Shang said. "You always come here, right?"

Kai turned to them in confusion. "Why do you always come here?"

The old players exchanged knowing looks.

"He has a girlfriend here," Kun teased, earning him a pinch on the thigh.

Kun squealed like a pig, causing the other passengers to turn to them. However, the passengers didn't have the courage to complain because of Kai's and Yuze's intimidating aura.

"Yin Yang Road."

The bot voice rang through the intercom of the train, and with that, the players stood from their seats.

The other passengers couldn't help but follow their every move, especially Kai's and Yuze's.

Their tall heights and huge builts cast shadows upon those who were sitting, making them feel even smaller than they were.

"These kids are...huge."

"Well, they are basketball players."

"Wait, are they the Shizi Dogs?"