Chapter 010: Getting Crazy Is Instant Gratification

Just then, the team’s assistant coach, Cheng Qing, walked towards them, his eyes lighting up when he saw Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao.

“I was planning to visit you two before the freshman military training. I didn’t expect Ye Chaoying to bring you here! With you two, the school team will definitely make it out of the preliminary rounds this year!”

Cheng Qing enthusiastically extended his hand to Xia Chiyi.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xia Chiyi felt several gazes piercing him like sharp arrows, almost turning him into a sieve.

“Ye Chaoying, you’re on the school team too. Since you’re here, why aren’t you joining the practice?” A big guy roared at Ye Chaoying.

Ye Chaoying snorted and leaned towards Xia Chiyi. “Allow me to introduce Chen Chuan, Ma Wenhua’s trusted confidant.”

“What? Chen Chuan (Sunken Ship)? Ma Wenhua chose him as a confidant? That’s too unlucky, isn’t it?”

Ye Chaoying stood up, vaulted over the railing with one hand, and landed lightly in front of Chen Chuan.

“What’s there to practice? Even if I’m better than all of you, I won’t be a starter. It’s a waste of time.”

Chen Chuan scoffed coldly and arrogantly poked Ye Chaoying in the chest several times. “The First Division University League isn’t like your high school games! Your little tricks from high school won’t cut it in university-level competitions!”

“Oh, really?” Ye Chaoying smiled. “I thought your dribbling was the kindergarten game.”

“What did you say—”

Other team members surrounded them, looking ready to beat up Ye Chaoying.

Xia Chiyi facepalmed. They hadn’t even joined the team yet, and Ye Chaoying couldn’t wait to pull aggro.

“Even if you brought people to join the team, whether you can be starters is up to Coach Ma!”

Ye Chaoying put on an indifferent expression. “Oh, then may I ask where Coach Ma is? Do you really believe he’s hospitalized due to poor health? He’s clearly worried that Ningchang University won’t even make it past the provincial preliminaries in September, so he decided to be a hands-off boss.”

“Bullshit! Seniority is the rule set by Coach Ma! Whether you’re a hotshot back from America or participated in the provincial team selection, getting a starting position depends on Coach Ma’s word!”

Ye Chaoying picked his ear, turned to look at Xia Chiyi, and shrugged, implying: This is the school team.

To put it bluntly, starting spots were weapons Ma Wenhua used to rule the basketball team. Winning wasn’t important; obedience was.

Xia Chiyi looked at Cheng Qing and said seriously, “So Coach Cheng, even though you said earlier that with Zhou Zhexiao and me, the school team would definitely make it out of the preliminaries… whether we start or not depends not on skill, but on Coach Ma’s whim?”

Cheng Qing exhaled, looking embarrassed. “Don’t worry, I’ll fight for starting positions for you with Coach Ma!”

Ye Chaoying spread his hands and continued to poke at Coach Ma’s backbone in front of everyone. “Fight for what? I heard that last year, a senior player treated Coach Ma to lobster and abalone for a month just to get a starting spot, and he secured the center position. The original center was ‘sensible’ and only sent a sack of dried sweet potatoes—a local specialty—during the New Year. That sack was dragged away by the cleaning lady on the esteemed Coach Ma’s orders. Mr. Dried Sweet Potato sat on the bench until Ningchang University was eliminated.”

Holy sh*t. Anyone hearing this would scoff internally: A month of lobster and abalone? Isn’t Coach Ma afraid of gout?

“No wonder Ma Wenhua claims to be sick. What if the garbage collector comes?” Xia Chiyi mumbled.

“What did you say—” Chen Chuan, seemingly possessing super-hearing, actually heard Xia Chiyi’s words. Without warning, he grabbed the basketball in his hand and smashed it viciously towards Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi never expected such a move. Suddenly, Zhou Zhexiao next to him reached out an arm. With a bang, he intercepted the ball.

The air vibrated slightly. Xia Chiyi’s heart almost stopped. If that ball had hit him, who knows if he’d get a concussion.

“Which part didn’t you hear clearly? I can say it again.”

A cold, oppressive voice rang out.

No one expected Zhou Zhexiao, who spoke the least, to have the most powerful aura.

Chen Chuan froze there, his legs feeling like they were filled with cement, unable to move.

“Seniority” was the rule most beneficial to them. They had long established relationships with Coach Ma. Winning based on closeness was easier; why rely on skill?

For a starting position, they didn’t care if the team could make it past the preliminaries. Or maybe they didn’t think they could make it out at all, so playing a few games was enough. These people were the ones truly smashing a broken pot.

Assistant Coach Cheng Qing immediately tried to defuse the situation. “Although Coach Ma mentioned seniority, I believe that with absolute strength, he would prioritize you as starters. I…”

“If seniority worked, Chinese soccer would have won the World Cup long ago.”

Zhou Zhexiao raised his chin. This sentence was like a cannonball, blasting the other team members into silence.

Seeing Chen Chuan about to rage impotently, Ye Chaoying spoke first, his voice even more piercing. “I have three people here. Anyone unwilling to lose opportunities due to seniority can join us.”

The basketball gym suddenly fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone looked at Ye Chaoying with “Are you crazy?” eyes.

Xia Chiyi was also stunned: Ye Chaoying, are you trying to usurp power? A queen is indeed a queen!

Hands in pockets, Ye Chaoying looked at everyone. “Military training starts next Monday. So, this Friday morning, do you have the guts for a PK match? Winners start, losers bench. Those who don’t accept it—get lost.”

Chen Chuan shouted back, “Bring it on! I want to see if anyone is willing to join you! Three against five then, let’s see how arrogant you can be!”

Zhou Zhexiao leaned forward against the railing. His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried well. “Tell that Coach Ma, the wind is too strong lately; his coffin lid might not stay down.”

Chen Chuan gritted his teeth but didn’t have the courage to chase after them.

“You’re very wild today. Is this the style in America?” Xia Chiyi looked at Zhou Zhexiao in confusion.

“Basketballs should be put in the hoop to score.”

Turns out Chen Chuan throwing the basketball at Xia Chiyi had crossed Zhou Zhexiao’s line.

“Don’t know who said they wanted to dunk a basketball on the Qingda coach’s face…”

Ye Chaoying gestured for Xia Chiyi to leave.

When they reached the basketball gym entrance, Xia Chiyi snapped out of the cool and arrogant atmosphere. “Ye Chaoying, who gave you the courage to make such harsh threats!”

“You two,” Ye Chaoying suddenly put his arms around Xia Chiyi’s shoulders. “Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!”

“Too exciting, isn’t it?” Xia Chiyi clutched his chest. “I used to be a good student who respected teachers.”

“Respecting Ma Wenhua might mean you have no future,” Zhou Zhexiao replied.

Even if the three of them were a pirate ship, getting crazy was instant gratification, and staying crazy was a blast.

Just as Ye Chaoying let go, Assistant Coach Cheng Qing chased after them.

“Wait, wait for me…” Coach Cheng arrived in front of them, panting with hands on his knees for a while before steadying his breath. He tugged at his collar and sighed. “You guys are too impulsive… Even if someone is dissatisfied with Coach Ma’s rules, no one will risk offending him to join you. You’ll only have three people.”

Xia Chiyi smiled with hands in his pockets. “Three people is enough.”

“Even if you win and the old players give up their starting spots, it’s useless if Coach Ma doesn’t agree!” Coach Cheng continued.

Xia Chiyi kicked Ye Chaoying. “Yeah, you must have thought of this, right? Dragging Zhou Zhexiao and me into this without a solution?”

After being rivals in high school for so many years, Xia Chiyi knew Ye Chaoying was someone who prepared thoroughly before striking.

“Coach Cheng, you should know I wasn’t selected by Coach Ma, but specially recruited by Principal Feng, right?” Ye Chaoying said with a smile.

The arrogance in his eyes was intense.

Coach Cheng froze for a moment. “Is that so?”

“On Friday’s match, Principal Feng will bring the school leadership to watch. Hopefully, those brown-nosers can beat us,” Ye Chaoying said with a smile.

Hearing this, Xia Chiyi finally understood that Ye Chaoying had connections upstairs.

They say a new broom sweeps clean. Principal Feng definitely wanted to get rid of Ma Wenhua. Unfortunately, the guy feigned illness, making firing him inappropriate. Plus, other school leaders would speak up for Ma Wenhua to give face to Ma Hongming from the provincial team.

If the three of them could defeat the old players in front of the school leaders, at least Principal Feng could justifiably demand Ma Wenhua keep their starting positions.

Coach Cheng laughed. “Not bad. They say young people rectify the workplace; looks like Ma Wenhua is about to be rectified by you guys.”

“So, want to join us?” Ye Chaoying leaned towards Coach Cheng and whispered, “Help us persuade some capable players? Although we can win three-on-five, having an incomplete lineup is a bit embarrassing.”

“Besides Vice Captain He Bin, I don’t think anyone else on the team is worth your effort. But He Bin’s father broke his leg and was hospitalized last year. Coach Ma organized a donation to pay off the medical bills, so he owes Coach Ma a favor. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t join you.”

As Coach Cheng spoke, he picked up his clipboard and wrote down two names and phone numbers.

“I think the people you need are these two.”

Ye Chaoying took it, looked, and nodded in thanks.

Only when Coach Cheng had walked far away did Xia Chiyi lean his head over.

“Who are they?”

“How should I know? Let’s go back and ask around.”

Just as they opened the dorm door, Little Fatty, who had been participating in club sign-ups, returned.

Seeing his roommates, Little Fatty shouted, “Hey! Did you check today’s Weibo hot search? Our Asia’s premier power forward Ling Huanzhen is holding a press conference tonight to announce his retirement!”

“What!”

Xia Chiyi shouted. Zhou Zhexiao, entering behind him, also looked stunned.

“Is it because we didn’t even make the top four in the Asian Championships, so Ling Huanzhen is disheartened?” Ye Chaoying pulled out a chair and took out his phone.

Ling Huanzhen and Sheng Xingming were stars of the same era. Back then, Chinese men’s basketball produced a batch of experts capable of fighting in the NBA, like Jiao Yingfeng, Li Xiaoran, Ji Bo, and Gao Jinshu.

At that time, Chinese men’s basketball ruled Asia. Unfortunately, with the fall of Sheng Xingming, others gradually retired due to injuries and age. Ling Huanzhen was the only player who had persisted until now.