Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game.

The crowd erupted into defeating cheers, with the students from Feng Arts screaming their school's name.

"Feng Foxes! Feng Foxes!"

"Feng Arts! Feng Arts!"

The cheerleaders performed their routine while those at the upper bleachers raised a flag that contained their school's emblem and started waving it around.

However, amidst all the noise, Kai could only hear Chunlei's voice ringing in his ears.

"You shouldn't have expected to win."

Kai felt a shadow looming over him, so he glanced up and saw Chunlei, who seemed unusually untouchable.

Although Kai was bigger than size, Chunlei's presence felt larger, which made Kai feel inferior.

Chunlei looked at him with a proud smirk before leaving him all alone—still sitting on the ground.

He felt his heart race as he looked back on everything that had happened during the game.

He knew that beating the Feng Foxes would be a great feat—especially since they only ever placed second during the leagues in Jilin City.

However, as the game progressed, Kai felt like their team could actually beat them.

So, he was hoping for them to snatch the victory and fulfill both their personal and team objectives.

However, Kai was merely mistaken.

He thought he would be able to control Chunlei at the end of the game, yet it seemed like he was just playing it easy.

Kai felt utterly defeated as he glanced around the venue and saw the varying reactions of the people.

The students from Feng Arts appeared the happiest as they cheered for the victory of their team. Meanwhile, those at Shizi High's side had disappointed looks. Kai even saw some people already leaving the venue, probably thinking that coming to the game was just a waste of their time.

Kai bit his lip in frustration.

He knew that they still had a chance to win in the loser's bracket and make it into the semi-finals, but Kai felt that this was their most devastating loss just yet.

Just then, amidst his personal reflection, he saw a calloused hand reach out to him.

Kai looked up and saw none other than Yuze, who also appeared disappointed that they had lost.

Kai pursed his lips and took his hand despite thinking that he didn't deserve it.

If only he knew that Chunlei wasn't playing his best, then he would have pushed himself even further.

So, in a way, Kai felt that it was his fault that they had lost.

However, he also couldn't help but think that he wouldn't be able to do anything if he was aware that Chunlei wasn't playing to the best of his abilities anyway.

Their other teammates walked to their bench, all with dejected expressions.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Kun, who was also disappointed, still tried to cheer them up as the Feng Foxes continued to celebrate.

"Hey, it's alright, guys," Kun shakily smiled. "It's not yet over. We still have a game against the Xing Stars in the loser's bracket."

Jet sighed before nodding. "Yeah, let's not be too upset about this."

Zeren pursed his lips and slumped on the bench.

"But I can't help but feel disappointed! I feel like I just played in the finals and lost."

Jinping nodded in agreement. "I worked really hard for this game, so it sucks that we weren't able to win."

Lina pursed her lips as she listened to their conversation.

"I'm sorry, guys," she apologized, causing the boys to turn to her in surprise.

"I should have come up with better strategies. There were just a lot of unexpected components in the game, so I wasn't able to tweak the game plan sooner."

"Why are you apologizing?" Zeren asked with a frown, standing next to her and wrapping one arm around her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze.

"You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, if you weren't here, we would be down by more than two digits!"

"Yeah," Kun agreed. "Let's just say that we've all had lapses in the game."

"However," he continued, smiling at all of them despite their dejected expressions. "Isn't it impressive that we were able to give them such a hard time?"

"And to think that they were already playing with their full starting line-up!" he exclaimed.

They nodded in agreement. However, they still couldn't fully shake away the disappointment away from their hearts.

"I'm sorry," Kai suddenly said, making everyone surprised.

"Sorry?" Kun exclaimed. "Why are you the one apologizing now?"

"I was guarding Chunlei in those last few minutes," Kai muttered. "I thought I would be able to stop him, but I couldn't. In the end, I allowed the nine-point gap to happen."

Just then, Yuze clicked his tongue.

"Do you really think you're that special?" Yuze asked.

Kai turned to him with raised eyebrows.

"It wasn't only because of you that we had lost," he deadpanned. "You must think very highly of yourself to believe that the outcome of the game rested on your shoulders."

Kai pursed his lips.

"This was a collective loss," Yuze said, glancing at the side of the Feng Foxes.

"However, even then, I do believe that we have tried our best. So, for that, I'm thankful for everyone."

With Yuze's statement, Kai felt strangely comforted.

"It really isn't too bad," Kun continued.

"Look around," he said, the others following his instruction.

"A lot of people actually came to support us," he smiled. "Other students from other schools even began appreciating our team."

Kai looked around and observed the people as they left the venue. He heard some conversations here and there, which led him to smile in satisfaction.

"Hey, this game wasn't too bad, was it?"

"Not bad? It was amazing! Arguably the best game of the Winter Cup just yet."

"You're right! The game with the Xing Stars and the Shizi Dogs comes a close second."

"Hmm, watching actually made my heart beat fast! Usually, we would only get these types of games during the semi-finals and the finals—especially between the Yin Yang Knights and the Feng Foxes! However, the Shizi Dogs managed to create two iconic games in the span of a week."

"I'm going to watch their next game."

"I'm looking forward to watching them on the court again!"

"You were right when you said that Yuze's really handsome."

Aside from that, as some of the students from Shizi High's side began to leave, they didn't forget to cheer for the Shizi Dogs.

"You did a great job!"

"We'll make sure to come to the next game!"

"We're rooting for you."

A small smile made its way to Kai's slips.

It wasn't just a bitter ending, after all.

***

The Feng Foxes entered their holding room, celebrating as chaotically as the students on the bleachers.

Some of them even took off their jerseys and waved it in the air, acting like chimpanzees who saw civilization for the first time.

Junfeng was, undoubtedly, the most excited of them all, feeling like he had contributed a lot to the game since he played for nearly two quarters.

Meanwhile, Kexin just smirked as he watched them, also feeling happy that they were able to win against the Shizi Dogs after much struggle.

Shilei and Bocheng were also excited, but they showed it in quite a sophisticated manner.

Yiming, on the other hand, stood at the corner of the room with an unreadable expression.

However, the starting players looked at each other knowingly—as if they already knew what their captain was thinking about.

Just then, Chunlei entered the room after his interview with their school's publication.

"There's the star of the night!" Coach Ben exclaimed, making the students burst into uncivilized cheers once again.

"Speech! Speech! Speech!" his teammates chanted, causing Chunlei to shake his head in amusement.

"I don't even know what to say," he said.

"Oh, stop it," Kexin teased. "You know you always have a lot to say."

Chunlei chuckled and gave him a thumbs up. "Well, you're right about that."

"Anyway," Chunlei said, his sweat still dripping from his temples and his heart beating erratically in his chest.

"It was a good game. However, we could have done better..."

In the middle of his speech, he found himself getting breathless, so he had to stop for a few seconds.

"There shouldn't have been a need for me to enter the court when four of the starting players were already playing," Chunlei continued. "Now, the Yin Yang Knights would have a clue of what I had improved on and which playing styles I'm trying to explore."

The team turned silent.

"However, it's already done," he said, still feeling breathless. "We still won—we're one step closer to meeting our enemies and getting the title of the champions."

With those words, the team cheered once more.

"It's alright," Junfeng said, standing beside him and patting his shoulder. "You suppressed your skills, right? I bet you didn't even show 50% of your real talent."

Chunlei chuckled, feeling an ache in his chest from suppressing his heavy breaths for too long.

"Yeah," he said, causing the team to excitedly chatter once more.

Then, Chunlei noticed Yiming on the side, who appeared to be deep in thought.

The two of them locked gazes, and it was as if Yiming was asking Chunlei to go to where he was.

So, that was what Chunlei did.

"Congrats," Chunlei said, holding out his hand for their captain. "However, you should have widened the gap when you first entered. I know that Yuze is still better, but—"

"You're breathless," Yiming suddenly said, cutting Chunlei off.

Chunlei frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You're breathless," Yiming repeated.

"...and you've only played for less than one quarter."

"Does that mean you've given it your all for this game?"