Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"All my life, I've been so used to being set aside because of my disability," Lina continued.

"So, I'm sorry for assuming that you were going to do the same," she said with an apologetic smile.

"I understand," Kai muttered. "I don't blame you for reacting that way."

Lina sighed and played with her fingers.

"Honestly, the Shizi Dogs were the only people who had taken it quite well, so I should have expected you to accept me, too."

"They're the people who didn't even care about my disability. One day, I told Yuze and the others, and they all just shrugged like it was no big deal," she chuckled while recalling the memory.

Kai chuckled alongside her. However, he stopped chuckling when a thought popped into his mind.

"Wait," he said, turning to Lina with narrowed eyes.

"How did Zeren and Jinping know about this, then? How come they knew before me?" Kai asked, suddenly feeling offended.

Lina chuckled in amusement. "That's what you're concerned about?"

"Yes!" Kai exclaimed. "You told them before you told me? I'm quite offended."

Lina chuckled even louder. "Well, to be fair, I didn't tell it straight to their faces."

"I was placing on my track pants one day, and Jinping came into the changing room without any warning. That's how he knew."

Kai's eyes widened in surprise, and he stood on the swing with a deep frown.

"He saw you naked?" he exclaimed.

Lina's eyes widened at his conclusion.

"No, silly!" she exclaimed. "I was already wearing my skirt!"

Kai sighed in relief and sat back down on the swing, placing his hand over his heart.

"Meanwhile, Zeren's dad had been my dad's friend for a while now, so he already knew about my leg ever since we were young," she explained.

"That's...good," he said.

Lina shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you even thought of that."

Kai clicked his tongue. "Well, I would honestly be upset if you told them before me."

"Why would you be upset?" Lina suddenly asked, even surprising herself with the blunt question.

"Why not?" Kai asked. "Didn't we become friends first before you did with them?"

Lina pursed her lips. Well, she didn't really consider herself to be friends with Zeren despite their close dads. Moreover, she was still awkward with Jinping.

"Right," Lina softly chuckled. "Friends..."

"Yeah—friends," he muttered.

Lina pursed her lips. "I know. I should have told you," she said. "However, I was the most scared of your opinion."

"I wanted you to see me in a good light."

Just then, the wind blew in their direction, causing Lina's hair to go all over the place.

Kai couldn't stop himself as he reached out to her face before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears.

"I guess the feeling is mutual then," Kai softly said.

"I also want you to see me in a good light."

***

"Coach Jin isn't here!" Jet exclaimed as soon as he entered the gym.

Lina and Kai, who were talking to each other about their day, halted as soon as Jet said those words.

"He isn't?" Kun asked with wide eyes, already feeling excited.

"Wooh!" he shouted. "We can play however we want!"

Lina shook her head as she stood from her seat.

"Back then, you wanted a coach to guide us. Now, you're celebrating when he isn't around," she said in a fake scolding tone.

Kun scratched the back of his head.

"I said I wanted a coach—not Coach Jin."

"Damn, right!" Zeren exclaimed. "I don't like how he trains us. Can we please go back to your regimens, Lina?"

Lina looked around the gym and at the doorway, confirming that Coach Jin truly wasn't around.

"I guess," she said, scratching the back of her head and looking at Yuze for support.

Yuze nodded, causing the team to celebrate.

"Since we've been doing nothing but drills since Monday, let's go ahead and play a practice game," he suggested.

The team excitedly nodded and split into teams.

Kai and Yuze were chosen to be on the same team. Meanwhile, Jinping, Zeren, Kun, and Jet were on the other team.

Some of the second-string players played with them in order to fill the game.

"It's unfair," Alen complained as he looked at Kun's team. "There are four main character players on your team!" he exclaimed, pointing at their opponent.

"Main character players?" Kai asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Alen nonchalantly nodded. "Players that are mentioned the most in the past games. You're one of them, by the way."

Kai raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise.

"It's only fair!" Zeren exclaimed. "Yuze's on your team, and he's already equivalent to three players."

Alen tried to counter what he had said but shrugged in the end.

Yuze was truly a monster on the court.

"Alright," Dylan exclaimed, acting as the referee. "Let's start this game, then!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He was about to blow the whistle when the door suddenly opened, revealing unfamiliar faces.

"Oh, there they are!" one of them exclaimed.

"Are you guys going to have a practice game?"

The players turned to each other in surprise.

Yuze stepped forward and nodded in response.

"Yes," he said. "Do you need anything?"

"Sweet!" a girl that Lina recognized to be in her class exclaimed. "Can we watch you guys?"

"W—watch us?" Mingze squeaked.

Yuze, too, was flabbergasted since none of the students watched them practice before.

Well, some of his admirers did, but they all settled with watching from the windows instead.

"I guess?" Yuze said in an unsure tone while scratching the back of his neck in confusion.

The Shizi Snakes always had people watching them during practice, so it shouldn't be such a big deal.

However, for the Shizi Dogs, it was very unexpected.

"They said we can watch, guys!" the girl exclaimed, so she opened the door wider for the other people to come in.

The players were expecting around five of them to watch.

However, it seemed like more and more people were coming in!

Kun walked over to Yuze and placed his hand on his shoulder, suddenly feeling nervous.

"What is happening?" he asked.

Yuze shrugged. "I also don't know."

Just then, another group of people came, which surprised everybody in the court.

"The cheerleading team?"