Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"I would lick someone's toes just to play a game with Jian Niu," Renren said, capturing everybody's attention.

"I don't know how to feel about that," Jet muttered.

"I mean, I'm weird, but I personally wouldn't say anything like that," Shang added.

"What even compelled you to say that?" Jinping asked, appearing disgusted.

Renren shrugged as he looked at the large team of the Juren Champions. Even among the large crowd, Jian Niu stood out. It wasn't because he was very attractive like Kai, but because he had an aura to him.

A black hole aura.

"I'm not talking about playing with him in an official game," Renren said. "I personally don't think I'm ready to face him on the court. I really wish we didn't end up in the same bracket. However, I'm talking about a casual game. Even a few minutes would be enough!"

Yuze hummed. "I think everyone wants to play with him."

Kai frowned. "Why?" he asked.

They looked at him like he had grown three new heads.

"What do you mean—why?" Andy asked. "Isn't it obvious?"

Kai sighed. "I know why. He's the best player among us. However, why are you guys so desperate?"

"Because he doesn't play with just anyone," Shang explained. "He barely even comes to their team practice, and like Chunlei before, he doesn't play that much when teams are weak."

"So, playing casually with him is like finding a needle in a stack of hay."

Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise. He thought he knew a lot about Jian Niu, but it turned out that he actually didn't

"He played with me, though," Kai whispered, finding it strange.

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"What was that?" Andy asked.

Kai lifted his head and cleared his throat. "Nothing," he muttered.

"Anyway," Shang continued. "I heard Max played with the other Elite Five members, including Jian Niu."

"Ugh, I'm so jealous," Renren said, leaning against his luggage.

"Dang!" Jet exclaimed. "I can already imagine their aura."

"I can't," Andy said, appearing scared by the thought. "I think I would suffocate."

Just then, Lina exclaimed in disappointment, which diverted their attention to her.

"Crap," she muttered.

"What is it?" Kun asked, looking at her with concern.

Lina pursed her lips and showed her phone to her teammates.

"Coach Muchen just texted me," she started off. "It seems like our flight would be delayed for five hours. So, our car transportation has automatically postponed their duties, too. They'll be picking us up two hours from now."

"What?" Jinping exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Something about a failed maintenance," Lina muttered.

The boys froze and held in their complaints.

"Well, I guess that's alright," Renren said. "I don't want to die just right before the Nationals."

Andy hit his arm. "Don't say things like that."

"What?" Renren asked. "I'm just stating the possibilities."

The others shook their heads in amusement.

"What are we going to do now, though?" Jinping asked. "We have some time to kill."

Yuze scratched the back of his head and was about to respond when Chaoxing's voice suddenly caught their attention.

"Kai!" Chaoxing exclaimed.

Kai turned his head to the side and saw a bubbly Chaoxing, an annoyed Jimmy, and a nonchalant Jian staring at him.

Kai pointed to himself, so Chaoxing nodded while chuckling.

Then, he waved his hand, so Kai did the same.

"See you at the Nationals!" Chaoxing exclaimed, and with that, he turned away with the rest of his teammates.

Meanwhile, Kai found himself frowning in confusion.

The others, too, were confused.

Jet nudged his shoulders. "Since when were you guys close?"

Kai shrugged. "We're not," he said. "We just spoke for a second during the barbecue party."

"Hmm, strange," Shang muttered.

"Well, Chaoxing has always been friendly," Kun chimed.

"Or maybe," Andy added. "Kai is his type."

Kai clicked his tongue and hit Andy's shoulder before turning to Yuze, wanting to change the topic.

"You were saying?" he asked.

"Right," Yuze said. "Well, on our way here, I saw that one of the outdoor courts is open. The other teams have also left, so I'm sure there are other vacant courts out there."

"Do you guys want to hang out there for a moment?"

A collective groan, except from Kai and Lina, was heard.

"Alright, maybe waiting at the airport is better," Renren muttered.

"We've already played basketball for the past few days without resting. Now, you're telling us to wait at the basketball court?" Jet asked.

Meanwhile, Lina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "That's a genius idea! I'll tell Coach Muchen about it."

The others' eyes widened.

"Lina," Kun whined. "Our body still hurts from the training yesterday. Let's just call a cab and go to the airport and have some food, hmm?"

"Cabs are expensive. Airport food is also expensive. That's why we already bought food from the convenience store a while ago," Lina deadpanned, causing Kun to purse his lips in disappointment.

However, he couldn't really refute her statement.

Airport food was, indeed, freaking expensive.

"Besides," Lina added. "I'm not asking you guys to train. You can just practice some shooting while we're waiting for our transportation to come."

The others glanced at each other before sighing in defeat.

"Do we have a choice?" Jet muttered.

On the other hand, Yuze and Kai were already on their way to the court, causing the others to shake their heads in amusement.

"I swear—those two love basketball so much," Jinping chuckled.@@novelbin@@

As they got to the outdoor courts, it seemed like Yuze was right. There were a lot of vacant ones because most of the teams were already on their way back.

However, one particular court was filled with a few people—five people, to be exact.

Yuze and Kai glanced at each other before coming to a silent agreement. They made their way to the occupied court, their teammates trudging behind them.

Yuze opened the gates, capturing the attention of the people inside the court.

The five of them turned to Yuze and Kai with wide eyes before amused expressions appeared on their faces.

"What are you guys doing here?"