With the sound of the starting whistle, the referee stepped off the court, and the jumpers from both teams leapt high.
Then Gou Yu, with his quick takeoff and impressive leap, got ahead of the opposing goggles-wearing player by nearly half a body length, easily pulling the ball into his own arms.
And then he started having trouble.
At the very edge of the court, Xu Nian was jogging slowly toward the opponent’s side, and it seemed like no one really cared about this guy.
After all, in front of a group that was ready for anything, a guy who always wore a smile, goofing around, didn’t seem to be taken seriously.
Watching the opposing team’s formation was Xiao Yi’an, running as he pushed his glasses up, seemingly looking for a chance to break through.
Next to him was Liu Anran, his face always cold and stern, and the eyes of the opposing players were almost all on him.
Underneath the basket stood a burly guy recruited from their class, who didn’t seem to know much about basketball; he automatically took up position under the rim, picking the easiest role and the one least likely to get in his teammates’ way, so Gou Yu skipped right over him.
So, who should he pass the ball to?
Gou Yu felt this was a real problem.
Whoever wanted it could have it, he decided.
Liu Anran came over and reached out, directly taking the ball from Gou Yu’s hands.
Taking advantage of Gou Yu’s surprise, Liu Anran glanced at the opponent’s basket, then very leisurely dribbled forward two steps.
If he kept up at that speed, it’d be dark by the time he got under the opponent’s hoop.
So Xiao Yi’an, thinking Liu Anran would pass, ran into an open spot where he’d have a good shot, glancing in Liu Anran’s direction, brimming with swagger.
He watched as Liu Anran suddenly sped up and shot the ball.
From almost the very center of the court.
The ball went in.
There were cheers from the sideline, which sharply contrasted with the silence from the opposing team.
“Hey, your little brother is amazing! Did he use to play pro?” Zhu Niao, sitting at the sidelines, nudged Liu Xie, who was sipping water next to him.
“He’s got nothing. He just crammed some practice a few days ago, can barely shoot, just has decent luck. If you ask him to dribble twice he’ll show his true colors,” Liu Xie rolled his eyes.
But obviously, the players on the court didn’t know that.
Especially the guys on the other team, each one staring at Liu Anran like they’d seen a nightmare, sweat already beading on someone’s forehead.
As if facing a formidable enemy.
Normally, shots like that are just luck, but in a match, nobody gambles on luck for the first basket.
That’s pure confidence in your own skills.
“Go, mark him! Don’t let him get the ball!” The goggles-wearing captain issued an order, assigning a player to guard Liu Anran one-on-one.
Then he caught the inbound from his own teammate and dribbled into Gou Yu’s half of the court.
He quickened his pace, glancing at the smiling boy in front of him as he easily sped past him with a single step.
Heh, so that’s all there is to it? He got through so easily.
Now all he had to do was score right in front of Gou Yu in the coolest way possible, and victory would be half his.
With that in mind, he picked the most humiliating move for someone as tall as Gou Yu—he’d back Gou Yu down, then score.
So, he charged in.
Gou Yu didn’t budge.
“Hey, friend, why’d you run into me without the ball? Couldn’t keep your balance?” Gou Yu gently patted his shoulder, asking with genuine concern.
The ball?
The opposing captain looked down—his hands were empty.
He turned back, only to see that same smiling boy, who he’d thought he left behind a moment ago, already deep inside his team’s paint, making an easy layup.
The ball went in.
Two quick scores in a row, and even team morale seemed to drop.
The five-point gap opened up just like that.
Xu Nian jogged back and high-fived Gou Yu.
Xiao Yi’an looked like he wanted to say something, but closed his mouth again.
He really wanted to say that their team didn’t seem to have any teamwork at all.
Liu Anran was strolling along the sideline with an opponent’s player, Xu Nian would steal the ball and charge the basket without even glancing at his teammates, and Gou Yu was hanging out near midcourt, seemingly filling in for the useless strongman under the basket.
It felt like everyone was just playing their own game—though things looked okay for now, it all felt like a rickety wooden boat, even leaking in several places.
The opponents inbounded the ball again, this time the afro-haired player caught it and headed for the half-court guarded by Gou Yu.
Xiao Yi’an got screened, Xu Nian was being watched, and Liu Anran was still strolling with his man.
The afro guy glanced at Gou Yu, hesitated.
Then, very “accidentally,” he bounced the ball off his own foot, shouting, “Whoops! My bad, my bad!”
All while rolling the ball precisely to Gou Yu’s feet for him to pick up.
Gou Yu stared dumbfounded at the ball in his hands.
Like a winning lottery ticket had just fallen into his lap.
“Hey, boss, sorry, just slipped up,” the afro guy muttered so only the two of them could hear, “I… I really want to improve!”
Gou Yu didn’t really get it, but that didn’t stop him from responding.
“Man, you can lose the ball with that little dribbling? Guess you’ll just have to move up in the world.” He chuckled.
“Thanks, boss, thanks!”
After that, the afro guy glared fiercely at his former teammates.
He simply followed Gou Yu, actually blocking out anyone who tried to stop him from his old team.
“Alright, let’s stop here. After all, some things can’t be handed to you for life,” Gou Yu said sincerely.
Truthfully, he just didn’t want the other team to realize he might’ve bribed someone for a fixed match.
He looked up.
Hey, wasn’t that the goggled guy who’d just lost his balance and crashed into him? Looked like he was the other team’s captain too.
Gou Yu glanced at the approaching basket, an idea forming.
He looked back at Zhu Niao.
Then he picked up speed.
The goggled captain braced himself, standing firm under the basket, waiting for Gou Yu to come at him.
Powerful footsteps and the sound of bodies clashing.
That tall figure didn’t slow down a bit, and the captain instinctively stepped back half a step, even jumped a beat late.
A broad palm landed on his shoulder. “Borrowing this for a sec.”
Gou Yu leapt up—and not just up, he pushed off the captain’s shoulder for extra lift.
He jumped almost too high.
Like a drawn bow, his right hand gripped the ball, muscles tense.
Every eye was on Gou Yu as he soared, even Zhu Niao’s.
And so, with a thunderous slam, the ball was dunked through the hoop.
The whole court went silent as death.
Until the basketball bounced twice on the floor, accompanied by two groaning creaks from the overburdened hoop.
“ohhhhh!”
Deafening cheers.
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