Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Jimmy dropped to the bench, feeling all of his strength vanish. He placed his hands over his head and recounted the shots he had made.

Two-digits?

It was barely even two digits if he could remember.

With his preoccupation with beating Kai Guo, he became even more of a loser. He couldn't accept it. However, at the same time, he knew that it was his fault and his fault only.

He shakily sighed, glancing at where his father and sister were. There, he saw Johnny Wang with the most disappointed look he had ever seen. Jimmy's breath got caught in the back of his throat.

Then, Johnny stood from his seat, looking at Jimmy one more time before leaving. He placed his hand over his heart, and then Kimmy looked at him with a concerned look.

She shook her head, causing Jimmy to sigh and look up at the ceiling. What was he expecting?

Meanwhile, Kimmy sighed and went after their dad. However, she stopped in her tracks once she heard what Johnny and Ashley were talking about.

"That idiot," Johnny muttered. "I told him to do his best, yet here he is—making a fool out of me and my legacy!"

Ashley pursed her lips. "Calm down, sir. Jimmy did a great job for someone who's playing in the Interhigh Nationals for the first time."

"It's also Kai Guo's first time, isn't it? Why is it that someone from a small school can do it, but Jimmy can't? He's someone who has been going to basketball workshops since he was born!"

Ash held in the urge to roll her eyes. "It's because they had different trajectories in life, sir. Kai Guo is not your son."

"Oh, now I wish he was," he muttered. "But no, I'm stuck with Jimmy."

Kimmy covered her mouth. She didn't know that her dad could stoop that low.

"Now, what am I going to do?" Johnny asked with a defeated sigh. "It seems like I have to pull some strings again."

Ashley frowned. "What do you mean, sir?" she asked.

"The ranking," he said. "I'm assuming that it has changed a lot now that the Shizi Dogs have won. Jimmy promised he would end up as the highest-ranked first-year player. I want you to do something about that."

Ashley and Kimmy had the same expressions. "W—what do you mean, sir?" Ashley asked.

Johnny clicked his tongue. "You already know what I mean," he said.

With that, he walked away from Ashley.

Kimmy watched the older girl, who appeared conflicted.

Then, she pursed her lips before shaking her head.

***

The entire arena was still screaming their heads off even after the game had finished. For the supporters of the Dogs, it was out of joy. For the die-hard fans of the Champions, it was agony and disbelief.

The players on the court, however, were a whole different story. For a moment, there was silence. The reality hadn't hit them yet.

Then, in a single heartbeat, the entire Shizi Dogs bench exploded, rushing onto the court. Kai stood still at the center, momentarily overwhelmed. He felt something swell inside his chest and an unfamiliar tightness clawing at his throat. For the first time in their life, he thought he might actually cry.

Yuze was already crying, his face hidden behind his hands. He dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by it all. His parents had pushed through the crowd, reaching the edge of the court. Yuze looked up, his tear-filled eyes meeting his father's proud gaze.

Coach Muchen leaned in to help him up, but it was Yuze's mom who pulled him into a fierce embrace, cradling her son like he was still a little boy. "You did it," she whispered, her own voice breaking.

Renren was a blubbering mess. He grabbed Kun in a bone-crushing hug, tears streaming down his face and mixing with the snot dripping from his nose. "We did it! Kun, we really did it!" he sobbed, his body shaking with emotion. It was their last year together, and they actually did it.

Kun wasn't any better. His eyes were red, cheeks wet as he buried his face into

Renren's shoulder, whispering, "Yeah, we did."

Andy and Jinping had somehow made it to the other end of the court. They jumped up in pure exhilaration, high-fiving each other, their feet almost touching the ceiling.

It was higher than either of them had ever jumped in a game.

Andy landed with a grin so wide it looked like it might split his face in half. "Did you see that jump?" he yelled, breathless, to no one in particular. Jinping nodded, laughing so hard that his legs almost gave out beneath him. He clutched his stomach, gasping, "I think we broke our own record."

Off to the side, Jet and Shang were holding onto each other's shoulders, almost bouncing in place. Their voices overlapped as they kept repeating the same phrase like a mantra. "We did it! We did it!"

They looked at each other, tears spilling over but laughing all the same. They continued to chant—it felt like if they stopped saying it, the victory might slip away.

And then there was Kai.

He stood apart from the chaos, looking up at the ceiling as if he could see past it all the way up to the sky. He felt the sting of tears in his eyes, the heat of them welling up no matter how hard he tried to hold it back.

His vision blurred, but he didn't look away. He thought of all the games he'd played, all the training sessions where he'd pushed himself to the point of exhaustion. He thought of his past self, of the sacrifices they made for him to stand here at this very moment.

He closed his eyes, smiling faintly. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't bother wiping it away.

It was okay to cry today.

It was okay because they'd won.

"Are you seeing me… mom?"