Chapter Twenty-Two: Battle Beneath the Basket

The game was about to begin, yet standing at the edge of the court, my mind wandered.

“So many people!” Sun Chao, our center, peeled off his school jacket from over his jersey and plopped down on the ground, grinning mischievously.

Ye Hui was even louder, shouting, “Look! Girls! So many girls!” He jumped around, excitement written all over his face.

“Who is this guy?” Everyone instinctively took a step back, keeping their distance from him. After the commotion died down, we all tacitly fell silent, turning our gaze toward Xiao Yi. He wore his usual cool expression, arms crossed against his chest as he leaned on the basketball hoop, staring indifferently ahead.

But I kept scanning the crowd, trying to spot Lele.

“Hey, Xiao Bei! What are you doing? Come warm up, don’t just stand there daydreaming!” Cheng Shuai saw me spaced out, and casually hurled the basketball toward me. “Catch!”

I caught sight of the ball flying my way and hurried to grab it, but it slipped right through my hands.

Cheng Shuai looked surprised. “What’s up with you?”

“Ah, nothing…” I was restless—Lele, why haven’t you arrived yet?

Seeing my distraction, Xiao Hei waved at me. “Xiao Bei, the game’s about to start! Come run some laps and loosen up!”

“Oh…” I replied hastily, bending to pick up the ball.

“All right, everyone gather up.” Xiao Yi, who’d been standing by the hoop, suddenly clapped his hands. We instinctively formed a small circle.

“Our opponents are Class 1, Grade 11. Is everyone ready?”

“Class 3 will win!” Ye Hui pumped his fist.

“Class 3 will win!” Xiao Hei shouted, too.

“Defeat Class 1!” Everyone roared together.

“Sun Chao, Cheng Shuai, Ye Hui, Xiao Hei, and I will start! Xiao Bei, Lin Dan, Zhao Wenyu, you’re substitutes! Let’s go, everyone!” As Xiao Yi finished, the warm-up ended. The two PE teachers walked to center court, chatting. One held the basketball; the other nodded and put the whistle in his mouth, blowing crisply to signal the start.

At tip-off, Class 1’s center, number 8 Yang Wei, got the ball first. Their point guard, number 1 Tang Hui, darted forward, leaping to snatch the ball securely. Without hesitation, Tang Hui dodged our guard Xiao Hei’s interception, dribbling quickly ahead before hurling the ball toward the front court. Their small forward, number 17 Zeng Ming, was first to reach the spot, catching the ball in stride and laying it in for an easy score.

2–0, and less than three seconds had passed.

It was our turn to inbound. The ball barely crossed half-court before Xiao Hei was double-teamed by Tang Hui and number 20—our former starting guard Haozi from last year. Taken by surprise, the ball became dead. Xiao Hei clutched it tightly, frantically searching for a teammate through the gap. The pass was forced, and just then, a figure darted out—another neat steal: Zeng Ming again!

After stealing, Zeng Ming sprinted toward the front court, unguarded, and scored another basket.

4–0, only fifteen seconds gone.

“Focus!” Xiao Yi screamed, running over to Xiao Hei and gently patting his shoulder. “Don’t rush, the game’s just starting.”

“Yeah!” Xiao Hei nodded determinedly.

Class 1 quickly retreated, settling into half-court defense. Xiao Hei surveyed the court and realized a fast break wasn’t an option, so he slowed his pace, raised his arm, and signaled everyone to play steadily.

The team spread out near the three-point line. Ye Hui and Xiao Yi crisscrossed, and Haozi, guarding Ye Hui, was blocked by Xiao Yi’s body. Seizing the defensive lapse, Ye Hui immediately called for the ball, which arrived in his hands. He accelerated toward the right perimeter, then suddenly changed direction, squeezing into the lane. Zeng Ming, trying to help, was left behind, forced to watch Ye Hui lay the ball in, scoring Class 3’s first point of the basketball league this year.

“Great shot!” Passing by Ye Hui, Xiao Yi pumped his fist in excitement.

By halftime, our class led by a narrow margin: 31 to 29.

As the second half was about to start, Xiao Yi leaned against the hoop, took a swig of water, tossed the bottle aside, and pointed at me. “Xiao Bei, Wenyu, you two go in. Ye Hui, Cheng Shuai, take a break.”

I quickly took off my jacket and stood up, passing Ye Hui who encouraged me, “Go for it!” I nodded and ran onto the court.

Amid the thunderous cheers of the crowd, Class 1 surged forward again.

Pass, then another pass—both forwards pulled defenders side to side, slicing through our defense with a sharp assault. Before we could react, their power forward, number 14 Li Feng, had already established position inside, guarded by the much shorter Xiao Hei. Class 1’s substitute point guard Wu Fei decisively lobbed the ball in.

Li Feng lowered his center of gravity, backed into Xiao Hei, caught the ball, pivoted twice. Xiao Hei couldn’t withstand his strength and was forced back. Li Feng seized the moment, grunted, spun, and hooked the ball into the basket.

31–all!

Xiao Hei quickly inbounded, and the ball soon made its way to me, guarded by Haozi.

“Heh, Dead Rat, you’re unlucky to run into me today,” I thought as I dribbled.

Haozi crouched low, arms wide, eyes locked on my basketball, gone was his usual playful grin.

I feinted several times in front of him; Haozi nervously shuffled side to side but held his defensive position. “Dead Bei, you won’t get past me…” he whispered.

Before he could finish, I smiled, suddenly accelerated left and cut straight into the lane. Haozi lost his spot, but he recovered quickly, chasing after me in a blink. Center Yang Wei and Wu Fei, who was guarding Xiao Hei, also converged into the paint.

Sensing trouble, I quickly passed to the left corner at the moment of the double-team.

Xiao Hei caught the ball, glanced at the three-point line under his feet, and calmly took the shot.

The ball flew fast—while everyone’s attention was still on me, the three-pointer had already swished through the net.

34 to 31!

Xiao Hei and I high-fived, celebrating our teamwork.

The referee’s whistle sounded, marking the end of the game. The final score was 58 to 47. I played the entire second half, shot 7 for 4, scored 8 points and 3 assists—a decent performance, though what saddened me most was that I never saw Lele, not even once.

Standing beneath the hoop, Xiao Yi waved for everyone to gather. Watching us, heads down, panting and drenched in sweat, his gaze suddenly turned sharp. “This game exposed a lot of our weaknesses! But a win is a win! I hope in the next matches, everyone keeps up the effort! Come on! Class 3, Grade 11 must win!”

“Come on! Class 3 must win!” Everyone echoed enthusiastically.

“Pig Bei, congratulations,” Haozi said, walking over, looking dejected, his backpack in hand after we dispersed.

“Ha, no big deal,” I replied nonchalantly, draping my arm over Haozi’s shoulder. “Let’s go, I’ll treat you to milk tea.”