Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Dylan ran through the doors with heavy steps, his phone in his hand.

The Shizi Dogs turned their attention to him as he breathlessly walked up to them.

"Where have you been?" Mingze asked.

"Out and about," Dylan said, still breathless. "I found out some new information."

He turned his phone to the players and showed them the photo that his friend had sent.

The boys looked at the phone with confusion.

"Well?" Dylan asked, gauging their reactions.

Kai scratched the back of his head. "Why are we looking at an edited photo of you and Jayson Tatum on the beach wearing bikinis?"

Dylan's eyes widened, and he quickly scrolled to the next photo before showing it to the boys once more.

They were about to make fun of Dylan, but they all turned silent as the new photo became clear.

Lina frowned. "Is that...Zeren?" she muttered.

"He's wearing a green jersey," Kun deadpanned.

"He doesn't suit green very well. It washes him out," Jet said.

Shang stopped munching on his carrot to also say his observation.

"What the heck is he doing there?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jinping scoffed. "That bastard transferred to Feng Arts."

Yuze remained silent as a deep frown etched onto his face.

"What?" Jet exclaimed, looking erratic. "Why did he get an offer instead of me?"

Shang slapped the back of his friend's head. "You're so stupid," he said.

"Zeren has way more potential than you," he deadpanned. "However, I still can't believe this. I thought only Kai got an offer."

"So, that's why he has been acting strange," Jinping remarked. "He was also with Kexin during the Acquaintance Ball, so I already had a hunch."

Kai continued to frown, not knowing what to say.

He also didn't see it coming.

He thought that Zeren was acting strange because of his confession to Lina or maybe even because of the kiss he witnessed right after.

Kai had been meaning to talk to him during the past few days, but he was more aloof than usual.

It seemed like he actually had other plans in mind.

"What are we going to do now?" Kai asked, rendering the boys speechless.

It was a question that hit their team hard.

Even the second-string team cast their eyes to the ground, not knowing the answer to Kai's question.

Kai had to admit that Zeren was also an important part of their team. He was one of their shooters, along with Yuze, during the Winter Cup. He wracked up the most points out of all the rookie players in the entire city, too, which made his recruitment understandable.

So, with his absence, the Shizi Dogs were bound to have a harder time.

They all turned to Yuze, who appeared deep in thought.

"What are we going to do, captain?" Kun asked.

Yuze let out a deep breath and massaged his nose bridge before responding.

"There's nothing we can do but accept the results," he said. "It's going to be tough on our team since Zeren is one of our shooters."

"What we can do now is wait for the try-outs on Wednesday," Lina chimed.

"And hope that there's someone decent among the applicants."

***

Wednesday quickly came, and the boys were all excited to meet new, possible teammates. They all arrived earlier than usual, and the second-string team also deferred their training to watch the tryouts.

Lina stood at the center of the court along with Yuze, waiting for the new applicants.

"We really need new players," Lina sighed. "I still can't believe that Zeren transferred to another school. I was planning on talking to him about his confession."

"Maybe that's why he transferred," Yuze teased, making Lina roll her eyes.

"But honestly, I also kind of knew," he added. "I saw him during the Acquaintance Ball with Coach Ben, but I didn't pay much attention to it."

"It would have been better if Gongwen was still with us," he continued. "But with his absence along with Zeren's, we're down to eight players—Jinping, Kun, Jet, Me, Kai, and the others who definitely aren't ready to play with the big schools."

Lina sighed. "Let's hope for the best."

Just then, the first few players entered the court, and Yuze immediately squared his shoulders to intimidate them.

"Place your bags on the bench," Lina instructed. "Then, line up based on the time you got here."

The boys blushed as Lina intently stared at them. However, much to their ignorance, the pretty manager was just busy analyzing their potential.

"What do you think?" Yuze softly asked.

Lina hummed. "It's still too early to tell since I haven't seen them play," she started off. "But their auras are a bit weak."

"Hmm," Yuze agreed.

"However, there are a few promising boys with good builds," she added.

"I can see that," Yuze said.

"How are we going to go about this, though?" Lina asked. "Are we going to pick based on their potential like we did with Kai? Or based on their actual skill?"

"Both," Yuze responded.

With that, he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon," Yuze said in a deep voice, intimidating the applicants even more.

"I wish the pretty manager would talk instead," one of them whispered.

However, Yuze, with his keen ears, was able to hear them.

He turned to the pair with narrowed eyes. Discover more content at empire

"Now, let me start off with introducing myself," he coldly said while looking at them.

The two applicants turned their gazes to the ground.

"My name is Yuze, and I am the team captain of the Shizi Dogs," he started off, pacing back and forth in front of the applicants.

"I don't know the reason why you came to this mid-year try-out, but I want you to know that if your reason for staying here is solely for our pretty manager, then I suggest you just leave."

Kai chuckled as they observed the newcomers. The two who just talked about how pretty Lina was quickly packed their bags before leaving, rendering the other applicants silent.

"He's doing it again," Jinping said with crossed arms. "I'm glad I'm not in their place anymore."

Yuze smirked and stopped in the very middle.

"Great," he smirked. "Now, we have an even number."

"I'm assuming that you are not ready to play with my teammates just yet, so you will play on your own."

"Four versus four," he continued.

"Let's see who matches the Dog's pace."