Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"I hate her," Lina groaned as she slumped on the table.

Shang chuckled and lifted her up using the back of her shirt.

"The table's dirty, you know?" he asked. "And don't be too upset about it. She's still young."

"I'm young, too," Lina said. "I definitely wasn't like that during my first year as a manager."

"That's right," Shang said. "You were like our coach even when you were just a first-year student. Meanwhile, that Fei girl is just utterly pretty."

"I don't know how to feel about your last statement," Lina said with narrowed eyes.

Shang chuckled and shook his head. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, she's gone now," he said.

"That actually makes it worse," Lina said. "That means that all of her banners have been distributed!"

Lina glanced to her right and saw the Feng Arts team also packing up already.

"Meanwhile," she said, glancing at the sizable stack of pink banners on their table. "We were only able to give out banners to Yuze's faithful admirers and some students from the school who took pity on us."

Shang and Lina stared off into the distance before sighing in unison.

However, they suddenly felt ominous figures shrouding their view of the sun and casting a shadow over their table.

Lina snapped out of her trance and was surprised when she was met with four unfamiliar guys staring down at the two of them.

Shang also snapped out of his daze and looked at the group with wide eyes.

"Umm, do you need help with anything?" Lina asked.

None of them spoke, and they also kept neutral looks on their faces, making the two even more confused.

The guy at the front merely pointed to the banners.

"Do you want a Shizi High banner?" Lina asked.

They nodded in unison.

Lina wordlessly handed them four banners and muttered a small 'thank you.'

The group nodded once again before walking away from the table and heading to the entrance of the court.

Lina and Shang exchanged puzzled glances as they watched the intimidating students walk away with their banners.

"Who are those guys?" Lina finally asked.

Shang shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "They're weird, though. They didn't even talk."

"Oh gosh," Lina said, slumping on the table once more, not even caring about the germs that adorned it. "Shizi High only has weird supporters."

Shang chuckled in amusement.

"Well, at the end of the day, any kind of support is still support, right?"

***

"We're done," Lina said, feeling drained as she placed the remaining banners on the small coffee table.

Shang, too, sat on one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. They didn't even give out a lot of banners, and he already felt too tired!

They were currently in Shizi High's designated holding room, waiting for the opening ceremony to start.

"We have a problem," Kun said.

Lina and Shang lifted their heads, finally noticing the cold atmosphere in the room. Most of this was attributed to Yuze's mood, who appeared to be plotting the downfall of a mysterious someone.

"What is it?" Lina asked.

"Kai's not around yet," Kun said.

Lina's eyes widened as she looked around the room. Indeed, the tall player with a strong presence wasn't in their midst. So, that was why she felt a bit strange when she came in!

"Kai's not here yet?" Shang asked, sounding confused. At first, he thought that Kai wasn't serious about basketball at all. However, after they became closer, Shang realized that Kai was actually very passionate about the game! He was very excited about the Winter Cup, too.

"Maybe something happened," Shang muttered, knowing that Kai wouldn't miss the chance to come early and experience the opening ceremony to its fullest.

Yuze clicked his tongue while shaking his head.

"And just when I thought he was taking this seriously," Yuze muttered.

Jinping cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not that big of a deal, is it? He's not even a starting player."

Yuze glared at the first-year student.

"What's one of my rules in this team?" he asked.

"Never ever be late," the team said in unison, causing him to nod.

"That's right. I don't tolerate any latecomers."

Meanwhile, Kai was about to piss his pants as he got out of the bus and ran to the basketball court.

He still needed to sprint a few hundred meters before he got to the entrance, yet he could already hear the cheers coming from inside.

He halted for a moment as he internalized their cheers. Then, the vague sound of a commentator's voice was also heard, making him curse and run even faster than before.

Kai hadn't played yet, but sweat was already dripping from his temples!

Just then, he felt something plop onto his shoulder, causing him to halt once more. He wiped the substance off, only to find bird poop on his hand.

He looked up to the sky and saw a bird flying on top of him, almost like the action was deliberate.

"Really?" he asked as he glared at the bird. Out of this large area, the bird chose to poop on Kai's shoulder?

Then, the sprinklers from a nearby grass patch came on, dousing him in water.

"Aish," he muttered as he ran once more, taking his towel from his backpack and wiping his body as he made his way to the entrance of the court.

The people outside threw him weird stares, finding the tall, semi-wet player strange.

As he arrived at the entrance, a guard placed his arm over the door.

"Are you a player?" he asked.

Kai enthusiastically nodded. "Yes. I need to go in."

"The players' entrance is in the back," the guard explained.

Kai shook his leg impatiently as he craned his neck to look at what was currently happening inside the court. However, all he could see were the enthusiastic heads of the viewers.

"This entrance does not lead to the court itself. There's no opening. That's why this entrance is for the audience members only," the guard chimed.

Kai didn't argue any further. Instead, he broke out into another sprint.

However, halfway through, the commentator's voice pierced through the air once more.

"Without further ado, let us all welcome this year's participants for the Winter Cup!"