Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Competition Begins

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Match Begins

“You?” Zhang Tongtong, Liu Feifei’s best friend, was the first to stand up. “With your skills? I watched you just now—out of ten shots, you didn’t make a single one!”

Liu Feifei tried to pull her back, but failed. Zhang Tongtong continued, “Having you play for us is like handing victory to the other team.”

“That’s right!” another boy chimed in. “I saw you shooting too—honestly, you’re terrible.”

Then a thin, monkey-like boy said, “Fart God, you need to know your place—you’re Fart God, not Basketball God!”

The students burst out laughing. “You’re not planning to play with your butt, are you?”

“Playing basketball with your butt? Ha, I bet Fart God could shoot a three-pointer with it!”

Gao Yang tried to persuade Shi Bai, “Come on, Shi Bai, stop fooling around. Let’s go play video games instead.”

But Shi Bai wasn’t the least bit angry. Instead, he replied earnestly, “Relax. Since you were going to forfeit anyway, letting me play won’t make things any worse.”

“What do you mean ‘won’t make things any worse’?”

At this, the basketball team captain, Wang Xiaolong, stood up. “No matter how bad we are, at least we’ve been practicing. What about you? I bet you don’t even know the basics of holding the ball. Putting you in is just asking to embarrass ourselves.”

“Exactly!” echoed the other team members.

“Captain!” a student named Ma Xiaojiu stood up. “Doesn’t matter. If we lose, we lose. Let’s just go play the match!”

Wang Xiaolong clenched his fist. “That’s right! No matter what, we can’t run away like cowards!”

“Yes, let’s go for it!” The players’ spirits suddenly rose.

Class monitor Sun Wencai, seeing how Shi Bai’s antics had somehow roused everyone’s fighting spirit, smiled to himself and pushed his glasses up. “Alright, let’s hurry down. The match is about to start.”

The classroom, once filled with chatter, was soon filled with the sounds of students packing up, and in no time it was empty.

Gao Yang slung his backpack over his shoulder, walked over to Shi Bai, and gave a wry smile. “Let’s go—your army of eight million warriors is waiting.”

Shi Bai shook his head. “No, I have to play in this match.”

Gao Yang was taken aback. “Why? You’re not even on the basketball team.”

Shi Bai laughed. “I have to think of our class’s honor!” With that, he headed downstairs.

“Hey!” Gao Yang quickly followed. “You’re something else. You almost sound serious.”

Meanwhile, Shangguan Yunfei, Wang Zhongtian, and Li Mubai exchanged glances. Their only reason for transferring here was Ye Ying’er—they had never felt a sense of belonging to this class. Yet, Shi Bai’s antics had piqued their curiosity; if nothing else, they wanted to see what tricks he had up his sleeve.

Even Ye Ying’er followed them out; she didn’t want to miss the show.

Although Shi Bai’s basketball skills were unimpressive, with someone who could casually perform the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, who knew what he might pull off on the court?

The students soon gathered on the sports field. Both sides of the court were already crowded. On the right stood Class 1, Grade 12—Shi Bai’s class. On the left was Class 6, Grade 12—Li Xiujie’s class.

It was obvious that Li Xiujie’s class was far more popular. Not only were their own classmates there, but many students from other classes had come to support them. The sidelines were packed, and a long banner stretched across: “Victory to Class 6, Grade 12!”

Beside Li Xiujie stood a dozen girls, bustling about, bringing water and towels. Not only were there many of them, but they were all the most beautiful girls in their class.

Watching this, the boys from other classes were filled with envy and jealousy.

Gao Yang couldn’t help but comment, “Are those girls idiots? That guy switches girlfriends like he changes underwear, yet they’re still all over him.”

Shi Bai sighed helplessly. “That’s just how people are. And it’s not just girls—look at all the guys fawning over the prettiest girls.”

Compared to Class 6, Class 1 looked quite pitiful. Although there were plenty of people standing around, most weren’t supporters—they were either there because there was nowhere else to stand or had come specifically to watch Li Xiujie score. There were no banners, no girls serving tea or water.

The Class 1 players stood on the court, glancing at the star treatment their opponents received, then at their own sorry state, and immediately became crestfallen.

“Boss,” Ma Xiaojiu said to Wang Xiaolong, “I feel like everyone’s just here to watch us get crushed.”

Wang Xiaolong glared at him, and Ma Xiaojiu quickly looked away. Wang Xiaolong glanced over at Li Xiujie, his confidence wavering.

Li Xiujie’s strength was undeniable—a tall figure of 1.87 meters, skilled in long shots, layups, and dunks. In an average second-rate school, being able to dunk was practically a superpower.

“Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter!” Wang Xiaolong said to the team. “We’re here, so let’s play. If we lose, we’ll lose with dignity!”

The team fell silent. That wasn’t exactly encouraging—their already drooping heads hung even lower.

“Who says we’ll lose?” Just then, Shi Bai pushed his way out of the crowd. “Let me play—we’ll win for sure!”

The team froze. “Give it a rest!”

Wang Xiaolong shot Shi Bai a glance. “Don’t mess things up. Just watch from the sidelines.”

Shi Bai grew anxious. “Trust me, I’m really good!”

The team members just laughed coldly and ignored him.

Shi Bai could only shake his head. Perhaps this was for the best—after all, the ace always comes on at the last moment.

At this point, the PE teacher walked onto the court, arranged the two teams, and blew his whistle for silence.

Once everyone was ready, he stepped to the center and, with another whistle, tossed the basketball high into the air. The game began.

There was no suspense in the initial scramble—Li Xiujie won possession, burst forward, and in his white jersey, he seemed unstoppable.

A quick pass, then the ball returned to him. He leapt up and, with one hand, slammed the ball through the hoop.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The girls shrieked with excitement, clutching their faces. “He’s so handsome!” Some were even in tears. “He’s just like Rukawa Kaede!”

Even the teacher keeping score looked impressed. “That opening dunk was really something.”

Many of the boys applauded as well. “This guy’s got real skills—you have to give it to him.”

From that point on, the game became Li Xiujie’s solo performance—layups, jump shots, three-pointers. He seemed to be the only one moving on the court; everyone else faded into the background.

Fifteen minutes later, Class 6 had scored 30 points, 24 of which were Li Xiujie’s.

This wasn’t a professional match, so the teacher had set the game to 30 minutes—two halves of 15 minutes each.

By halftime, Class 6 had 30 points, while Shi Bai’s class had only managed 4.

The students from Class 1 were crestfallen. “Maybe it really would’ve been better not to play.”

“This is so embarrassing.”

“Sigh, forget it. Let’s just enjoy the show—watch Li Xiujie’s performance.”

Some had already started rationalizing their defeat.

Shi Bai, shaking his head helplessly, realized there was no more time to waste. He activated his system: “Custom mission—let me play in the match.”

“Custom mission successful. Mission activated.”

To get himself on the court, he’d have to refuse to play—reverse psychology. Suddenly, he shouted:

“You’re not letting me play, huh? Fine! I won’t play, even if you beg me!”

The students from Class 1 all stopped in surprise. “What’s he talking about?”

“Is he crazy? Who said he could play?”

The team looked at Shi Bai as if he were an idiot. Wang Xiaolong said, “Ignore him,” and absentmindedly opened a can of Red Bull.

But at that moment, one of the team members suddenly clutched his stomach. “Ow! My stomach hurts!”