Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"We should have watched since earlier!" Chaoxing exclaimed as they walked through the lobby of their hotel.

"We didn't even play in the game, so it wouldn't have mattered if we left. Well, I didn't play because I didn't want to. You guys didn't play because you aren't good enough," he continued, causing the younger players to direct their gazes to the ground.

"But anyways!" he cheerfully said. "It was really cool. How can they win against the Longyu—"

Chaoxing's words were cut short when he bumped into someone—a sweaty figure. He grimaced but kept it in, not wanting to appear hostile.

"Apologies," Chaoxing even said.

However, the person in front of him clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Watch where you're going," he spat before moving away from him.

Chaoxing watched as the guy walked away, crossing his arms in front of his chest and narrowing his eyes at his retreating figure.

"I shouldn't have apologized," he muttered.

Meanwhile, the younger players looked at the young man with wide eyes.

"It's Fang Liu," they muttered.

Chaoxing clicked his tongue as they gushed about the player. "Don't bother with him," he said. "He's like Jian, but worse."@@novelbin@@

The new players turned to Chaoxing with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean, captain?"

"Well, he has Jian's angsty teen vibes, but multiply it by three,"

Chaoxing said. "It's his first time here, but he's already acting high and mighty."

"He's good, though," the young player said.

"I didn't say he wasn't," Chaoxing muttered. "That's why he's so annoying."

They continued to traverse through the lobby when they were met with another amazing player.

"Zheng!" Chaoxing exclaimed, waving his hand.

Zheng lifted his head and waved back at Chaoxing. "See you guys at the finals!" he greeted with a friendly smile.

"See you!" Chaoxing responded with the same enthusiasm.

The younger players were once again amazed. It was the number two Elite player!

"Now, that guy is someone you want to be friends with," Chaoxing said. "Such a good guy. If I wasn't friends with Jian, then I would wish for him to be the number one Elite."

"Well, everybody loves Zheng," they remarked.

"Rightfully so," Chaoxing said. "That guy is really good—very hardworking, too."

They entered the elevator and pressed the number of their floor. Chaoxing whistled while the younger players felt suffocated in the small space. In fact, being in the presence of a big senior still felt pretty awkward for them.

So, when they arrived at their floor, they silently sighed in relief.

"Well, I'm going to my room," Chaoxing said. "You guys work hard so you can replace our legacy, alright?"

The young players nodded and rushed back to their rooms.

Meanwhile, Chaoxing continued to whistle as he entered their shared room.

He frowned when he saw that Jian was the only one there.

"Where's Jimmy?" he asked.

"His dad took him out to eat," Jian said, focusing on his video game. It was something he actually enjoyed because he wasn't the best at it. However, he couldn't help but feel frustrated as his character died once more.

The spawn time was already more than a minute, so he placed the phone on the bed and looked at Chaoxing.

"Well," he cleared his throat. "How did it go?"

Chaoxing stopped scrolling through his phone and lifted his head, wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

"Oh, so you're curious now, huh?"

Jian clicked his tongue. "I'm just making small talk."

"Sure, sure," Chaoxing said, sounding unconvinced.

Jian's frown deepened, causing Chaoxing to burst into laughter.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you since you're so curious."

Jian sighed. "I'm not curious!"

"The Dogs won," Chaoxing revealed with a small smile.

At that moment, something clicked in Jian's mind. His character had already respawned, but he didn't pick up his phone. In fact, his teammates were already cursing him out, but he couldn't move as he was surprised by Chaoxing's revelation.

Chaoxing couldn't help but smile. Moments like these made him the happiest—when Jian seemed genuinely interested.

"The Dragons lost," he muttered. "Beaten by that team?"

"Yup," Chaoxing responded, popping his 'p.' "It was awesome! We were only able to watch the last three minutes, but it's a hundred times more exciting than our game."

Chaoxing observed Jian's face and continued talking when he saw his intrigue increasing.

"Kai Guo did some kind of dunk—and it was from the three-point line. Can you believe it? The kid could jump so far and high! If it wasn't a dunk, then it could count as a three-pointer!"

"That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was really awesome. Calvin wasn't smiling, too—which was rare. He must have been very serious about the game."

Chaoxing felt satisfaction build in his heart when he saw Jian clench his fists. However, it was gone in the blink of an eye, causing Chaoxing to frown.

He thought he got him!

Jian sighed and grabbed his phone once more, going back to his game. Much to his surprise, they still hadn't lost.

Chaoxing cleared his throat. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I heard you loud and clear," Jian said, his focus on the game. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"Aren't you…fazed?" Chaoxing asked.

Jian lifted his head for a second before shrugging.

"No," he deadpanned. "Maybe Calvin's not in his best condition. Did you check if he was injured?"

Chaoxing pursed his lips. "No," he muttered. "But, he was playing intensely, so—"

"There you go," Jian said. "You don't know the details of the game. Maybe Calvin wasn't at his best."

"But they won by a lot of points!" Chaoxing defended.

"It doesn't matter," Jian said. "They lost. That's it. It's not like we're going to lose against the Dogs, too."

"In fact, we might not even play against them. They have a game with the Keystone Giants on the last day of the group phase. I have a good feeling they're not going to have a good run after that game."

"Oof," Chaoxing muttered at the mention of the infamous team. Then, he quickly lifted his head, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Since when did you monitor other teams' schedules?"