Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"So, you mistakenly gave our slot away to them just because they're Longyu High?" Lina asked, her voice rising due to anger.

"Calm down, ma'am," the worker said. "The admin team had some lapses. We thought your team booked the court for this morning. However, you actually booked it this afternoon a few weeks ago."

"The Longyu Dragons unexpectedly came today, so we naturally gave them the slot for this court whilst knowing that it was free," he continued.

Lina bit her lip in frustration.

"You've already mentioned it, sir. We booked this place first. Can't you transfer them to another court?" she asked.

The worker shook his head. "Unfortunately, all the other courts had already been booked."

Fenhua clicked his tongue, also feeling frustrated.

"It seems like nothing's going right," he muttered under his breath before facing the worker.

"So, what are we going to do now?" he asked.

"Do not worry. We will have this sorted out by tomorrow since another team is leaving. However, for now, I suggest that the two of you share."

"What?"

"Share? So, you're telling us to play half-court?"

"What the heck?"

Exclamations of disagreements were heard from both teams, causing the worker to sigh in frustration.

"We're deeply sorry. The institution shall provide you free meals for your entire stay as compensation," he said in one breath before bolting out of the room, not wanting to deal with stubborn teenagers any longer.

With his departure, the atmosphere between the two teams became awkward.

"Yay to free meals, I guess?" Jet exclaimed, breaking the awkward tension between the two.

Fenhua sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Can we talk about this with our coach later? She just went to sort some things out."

"That would just be a waste of our time. We should already be training by now," Yuze said. "You heard the worker clearly. We booked this place first."

Fenhua smirked. "They still allowed us to play here, though. So, we're not leaving."

Yuze clicked his tongue in frustration.

Lina was about to speak once again when Kai interrupted her.

"Well, since we don't want to share the court, why don't we just play for it?" he asked, causing all of them to turn their attention toward the tall player.

"Is that the viral guy?" one of the players from the Longyu Dragons asked.

"He's taller in real life," another chimed.

Fenhua raised his eyebrows in intrigue. "Elaborate," he said.

"We're basketball players—not debaters," Kai started off. "The best way we can settle this is through the sport that we love."

"Let's have a practice game," Kai suggested with a small smile.

"Only two quarters. Ten minutes each. The winning team will get to keep the court for the rest of the afternoon," he continued.

Both teams were silent for a moment, but it could be seen in their eyes that they liked the idea.

Obviously, the Longyu Dragons felt like they were going to win.

Meanwhile, the Shizi Dogs would be grateful for the opportunity to play against a strong team like the Longyu Dragons.

Fenhua turned around to gauge his teammates' reactions.

When an objection didn't arise, he faced the Shizi Dogs and finally nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Fenhua said. "We'll take your suggestion."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Kai smiled along with the rest of his teammates, already excited for the game that was to unfold.

"Who will be the referee and the scorer?" Fenhua asked.

Dylan came from the bleachers, jumping through the railings and standing between the two teams. Find more adventures on empire

"Allow us," he said.

"Then, we're all settled," Fenhua said. "The game starts in five minutes."

The Shizi Dogs agreed, so the two teams separated and went to their respective benches.

"Dang, I'm excited," Jet said, already warming up.

Shang sat on the bench along with Lina.

"Who knew we would get such an opportunity? We should thank Kai for allowing this to happen," Shang said.

Kai smirked and glanced at the Longyu Dragons. "I think we can do it," he said.

"Do what?" Jet asked.

"Beat them," Kai confidently said.

"Eyy," Jet chuckled in amusement. However, Kai remained serious.

"Wait, you're actually serious," Jet deadpanned.

Kai nodded, his eyes showing his determination.

"I like your confidence," Jet said. "However, this is still the Longyu Dragons were talking about. They're the top four school in the entire country."

"I just have a gut feeling," Kai said, catching Lina's attention.

The pretty manager held her breath as she looked at Kai.

She could still recall how almost all of his gut feelings were right.

Meanwhile, on the Longyu Dragons' bench, the players flocked to their captain.

Fenhua clicked his tongue.

"Give me space," he said as he stepped back.

"Are you sure about this?" Riley, their center, asked. "Don't you think we should wait for Coach and Calvin?"

Fenhua smirked as he looked at his teammate's expressions.

"Why?" Fenhua asked. "Are you not confident that we can win if Calvin isn't here?"

"Of course not!" Riley scoffed. "We're the Longyu Dragons even without Calvin."

"Besides, the Shizi Dogs are new blood. They only started getting recognized this year because of their funny plays in the Winter Cup. On the other hand, our school has participated in the Interhigh Nationals plenty of times already."

"There's a huge difference," he exclaimed.

Fenhua nodded, glancing at the Shizi Dogs as he tightened his shoelaces.

"Definitely," he muttered.

Just then, a whistle was heard in the court, and Dylan trudged to the center line.

"Five minutes has passed!" he exclaimed, looking excited for the game that was about to unfold.

The other second-string team players were at the scorer's table, also ready to fulfill their roles.

"May I now have the starting players on the court?" Dylan asked like the fine gentleman that he was.

The two teams had already started gauging each other as the five players walked to the court.

Kai, naturally, insisted on playing for the first quarter.

When he saw the starting players of the opposing team, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

Then, he smirked.

The Longyu Dragons weren't holding back.

They actually sent their best players for the practice game.