Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Renren stared at the trash bin for a couple of minutes, in disbelief that Kai had thrown a paperweight into it without any struggle.

The last time he watched their game, which was against the Xing Stars, he still had a hard time shooting mid-range.

Then, he turned his attention back to Kai.

Just how much did he improve in the span of weeks?

"You can't back out now," Kai smirked before Renren could even open his mouth.

Renren sighed and leaned his head against the door.

"What did I get myself into?"

Kai smiled, causing a shiver to run down Renren's eyes.

"Holy balls, you were really scary just now," he said. "You should work on your smile."

Kai, however, didn't heed his comment since he was elated at the chance.

Not only could he gain 50 XP, but he could also recruit a good player into their team!

"Why did you leave the Shizi Dogs?" Kai asked.

Renren clicked his tongue, almost as if he was already expecting the question.

"Because I didn't want to be there anymore," he grumbled, causing Kai to sigh in disappointment.

"When I made this bet, I was expecting you to answer honestly," Kai said.

"But, that is the answer," Renren muttered.

Kai shook his head. Fortunately, he knew just how fragile human beings were and how easy it was to manipulate them into doing what he desired.

"I get it," Kai said, shrugging. "You don't want to answer because you're weak."

Renren frowned. "Weak? I am nothing but weak."

Kai pursed his lips and patted Renren's back in a teasing yet comforting manner.

"It's alright to admit that you're weak. That's also the reason why you left the Shizi Dogs, right? You probably wanted to go to a stronger team, but then again, you chose another weak team. Kind of pathetic, if you ask me," he said, continuing to provoke Renren.

Renren's jaw clenched, and at that point, Kai knew that he was getting close to his breaking point.

"So, you don't have to say anything. I already know. I already understand your decision," he said in a mocking tone.

"What the heck do you know about my life?" Renren said in a calm voice, causing Kai to smirk.

He directed his gaze to the side so Renren wouldn't notice his scheme.

Although Renren's voice was calm, there was an underlying anger underneath.

"We haven't even met before. Heck, this is the first time you're talking to me, yet you're acting as if you know everything about my life!"

Kai stayed silent, knowing he had already fulfilled his objective.

"Bingo," he whispered.

"I can't accept a stranger calling me weak when I did everything to stay on that team!"

"I just didn't have a choice," he said, on the verge of tears.

Kai's eyes widened. Well, this was more than what he bargained for. He wasn't expecting tears to emerge!

"I had to leave the team because of the circumstances surrounding my family, but if I had a choice, then I wouldn't have left."

"I love basketball more than anything in the world, and I love playing it more with the teammates that I like."

"However, life is a cruel thing that left me with no choice but to leave."

"Now, I can't even what I love anymore."

"There!" he exclaimed. "Are you happy with my explanation?"

After he said those words, he let out a deep breath.

Kai continued to stay silent, giving Renren some space to think.

"Are you done?" he asked after a while, causing Renren to glare at him.

"Fuck off," Renren said. "I vented to you, and that's all you have to say?"

Kai smirked. "I was joking. You took it so seriously."

Renren froze before sighing in defeat.

"Goodness. What kind of person are you?"

"The kind of person who will not stop until he gets you back in the team," Kai said, causing Renren's frown to deepen.

"Why do you even want to bring me back so much? As I said, we don't even know each other! We haven't even played with each other."

"You already said so yourself," Kai responded. "You love basketball more than anything else. Besides, let's just say that I have a good feeling about you joining the team once again. My balls are tingling."

Renren was taken aback.

"I don't think that's an appropriate thing to say."

"My ball senses," Kai corrected himself. "You know—basketball."

Renren scratched the back of his head. "I still don't think that's a good thing to say."

Kai clicked his tongue.

"Anyway, you haven't told me the real reason why you truly left," he continued. "So, I'm still waiting for your answer."

Renren sighed and hit his head with his knee.

"Whatever," he muttered. "I already shared too much anyway."

"Go ahead," Kai said. "I'm quite a good listener."

Renren rolled his eyes before continuing.

"My home situation changed when I entered Senior Secondary School," Renren started off, looking into the distance as he recalled the past.

"I had a good life while I was growing up," he continued. "I had everything I could ever want—a spoiled brat, other people may say. My dad owned a start-up company that hit it big when I was a child. With that, my parents made sure that I had a beyond comfortable life."

"And I did," he smiled. "We had cooks, drivers, maids, and staff that were not needed in the house. We also had a huge house that I was very proud of. I loved taking my friends there and treating them to some good food. I also treated my friends out a lot, which meant that I had quite a big circle."

"Money was never a problem," he said.

"However, as soon as Junior Secondary School ended, an internal conflict happened, which caused my dad's company to go bankrupt in just a span of months. Because of this, he started gambling to get the money back, but that never worked out, too," he bitterly continued.

"At first, I didn't want to go to Shizi High since it was a place that was supposedly for the low-middle class. However, I had no choice. It was a school with an affordable tuition fee. Back then, I wasn't good enough to get into a good school with a scholarship—because I was used to getting everything I wanted with money."

"Fortunately, I met the basketball team, which made me think that it wasn't so bad."

"However, even then, our family situation had gotten even rougher. My dad had also gotten worse, and my mom was increasingly becoming impatient."

"So, when I thought it couldn't get any worse..."

"...it did."

"Because by the end of my first year at Shizi High, my mom left."

"She left me."