Chapter 0105: A New Generation Replaces the Old King

Looking utterly bewildered, Yang Huaiyu raised his hand and patted Xia Chiyi’s back, while Xia Chiyi stared back at him with wide eyes.

While adjusting his breathing, Yang Huaiyu said: “Very impressive. The hip-rotation scissor step misdirection completely faked out both Ke Yan and me. You’re the only one in the entire Southeast Region who could do that.”

Worthy of his reputation as a famous player in the Division I league, he could calmly face and appreciate an opponent’s brilliant move.

But as Xia Chiyi looked past Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder and met Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze, that guy’s expression was comparable to having eaten fly poop.

Crap… This awkward scene was the equivalent of being on a date on the street, playing on your phone and reaching back to hold your boyfriend’s hand, only to walk five hundred meters before realizing the person you’re holding hands with is Old Wang from next door!

Good thing Zhou Zhexiao hadn’t confessed yet, otherwise this would solidly be the rhythm for a breakup!

The audience was also in an uproar.

“What’s going on? Why did Xia Chiyi jump onto Yang Huaiyu?”

“Holy crap, he hugged the wrong person… I feel embarrassed for this bro.”

“Yang Huaiyu’s temper is truly good. If it were Southeast Mining’s Ma Tao, he might take this as a provocation and twist Xia Chiyi’s head off!”

Sitting in the back row, Ma Tao was shot while lying down (catching a stray bullet).

“Is my heart really that narrow-minded?” Ma Tao asked Zhao Lingcong.

Rubbing the tip of his nose, Zhao Lingcong chose silence over the truth in order to save his life.

Chen Hui commentated on this offensive sequence: “Actually, the starting point of this fast break was Du He utilizing a forceful box-out to restrict Meng Ting’s movement. And Meng Ting is the person most adept at rebounding in this game! It’s worth mentioning that the arm movement on Du He’s box-out was completely clean; the referee had no grounds to blow the whistle.”

Xu Mi added: “Du He’s forceful box-out just now wasn’t attacking the ball; it was attacking the person. He didn’t give Meng Ting the opportunity for a running start under the basket. With Meng Ting’s vertical leap, once he gets a running start, Du He wouldn’t be able to pin him down. Therefore, the key point of that box-out was to eliminate his run-up space.”

In the stands, Liu Suchen hugged his arms, leaned back, and looked at his own team’s power forward, Huo Cheng.

“I originally thought Xia Chiyi’s absorption ability was abnormal enough. I never expected that even Du He could complete a skill upgrade mid-game.”

Huo Cheng said indifferently: “That’s because Zhou Zhexiao specifically demonstrated it for Du He earlier, coupled with Ling Huanzhen’s pointers from off the court. Facing Meng Ting, you either block him and forcefully squeeze him out of the rebounding zone using your back, or you restrict his jump to create opportunities for your teammates.”

Liu Suchen nodded: “The key lies in having the courage to firmly press back. Du He’s box-out just now was very tough, yet it didn’t draw a foul.”

Meanwhile, on the coach’s bench, Ling Huanzhen gave Du He a thumbs up.

Du He, you need to be more confident. Your learning ability is much stronger than you think it is.

Du He sniffled, his eyes turning slightly red. He was acknowledged by the coach!

Letting out a breath, Xia Chiyi slowly swaggered over to Zhou Zhexiao’s side and lightly bumped him with his shoulder.

“You can’t blame me for hugging the wrong person just now. With such a brilliant breakthrough, I would definitely want to look for you. It was your own fault for failing your off-ball movement.”

Although Xia Chiyi forcefully tried to cover for himself, his little heart was pounding wildly, already mentally cosplaying the ‘Panda Burning Incense’ meme, hoping Zhou Zhexiao wouldn’t hold it against him.

Half of Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze was covered by his bangs. Xia Chiyi couldn’t read his eyes and didn’t know if the other was secretly fuming.

After two or three seconds, just as the referee was about to blow the whistle to resume play, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly extended his hand toward Xia Chiyi: “Give me a wristband to use. This one is soaked.”

Without a second word, Xia Chiyi immediately placed his hand into the other’s palm.

Zhou Zhexiao’s fingers slid along Xia Chiyi’s wrist and into his wristband. With a stretch of his five fingers, the wristband transferred onto the back of Zhou Zhexiao’s hand.

He released Xia Chiyi’s hand with an expression as if nothing had happened, and pushed Xia Chiyi’s wristband and his own wristband together.

The sensation of this guy’s touch still lingered on his wrist. Xia Chiyi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He glanced at the time—there were 2 minutes and 29 seconds left.

If possible, many people were probably so nervous they were about to have a heart attack, wishing they could fast-forward to see the final result.

And during these 2-plus minutes, Qincheng University launched an overwhelming counterattack.

Yang Huaiyu’s one-armed double-clutch was impossible to guard against.

On the three-point line, Li Shunchuan used a pump fake to send both Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao—who had rushed over to defend—flying, and then calmly shot the ball, fully displaying his true colors as a sharpshooter.

As Qincheng University’s offense sped up, constantly slicing apart Ningchang University’s zone defense, Xia Chiyi suddenly realized that he and his teammates were running themselves ragged. They always wanted to be one step faster than Qincheng University, but often ended up falling right into their rhythm.

Having finally gained possession of the ball, Ye Chaoying and Shuai Bei surprisingly committed a coordination error.

Ling Huanzhen stood up. He had to call a timeout. If he didn’t, in the final minute, Ningchang University’s defense would likely completely collapse like water spilled on the ground.

—This was the extreme pressure of last year’s King of the Southeast. The closer it got to the end of the game, the more powerful an impact it could produce.

Destroying zone defense, dragging down rhythm, and sweeping Ningchang University into Qincheng University’s pace.

Even the score went from being tied to a 2-point lead, and Qincheng University vaguely showed a trend of widening the point difference further.

Looking at Ling Huanzhen standing up, Xie Huai frowned and said: “He must call a timeout to adjust their condition. Sometimes ‘fast’ doesn’t mean winning; on the contrary, if the body constantly moves before the brain, losing mutual coordination and entering a disordered state… it can be very dangerous.”

In the stands, the expressions of all the Southwest Aviation University players were stern, except for Zhuo Zheng, whose broken eyebrow was raised high.

“What’s going on? I originally thought Ningchang University’s chances of winning were huge… why are they suddenly all messed up, struggling to cope like headless flies?”

Lu Yingnan answered: “This is the true strength of a top-tier powerhouse in the Division I league. Even in the last minute, they can drive their opponents crazy.”

Just as Ling Huanzhen was about to request a timeout, Xia Chiyi suddenly stole the ball from Yang Huaiyu’s hands.

When did this kid pop out?

From the corner of his eye, Yang Huaiyu observed Xia Chiyi’s cold, stern profile.

He clearly had a childish face, but at this moment, he gave Yang Huaiyu a bone-chilling premonition.

In countless lightning-fast possessions, speed, explosive power, agility, and physical consumption were constantly accumulating, and a sense of exhaustion pressed down like heavy mountains.

Yet there would be a shot like this—unexpected, yet entirely reasonable.

It contained technique, and captured the perfect timing.

Perhaps the audience couldn’t understand the significance of this shot, but it would make the comrades fighting alongside him engrave it in their minds for a long, long time.

—Expressionless, amidst the double-team of Meng Ting and He Zhan, Xia Chiyi used a sudden change of direction to shake open a gap. Feigning to create distance, he calmly deceived Li Shunchuan, who came to help defend, and decisively executed a fadeaway jumper.

That parabolic arc was very high, very melodious.

It was very slow—slow enough to grant his teammates a chance to calm down.

Swish, nothing but net.

Spirits that had been on the verge of crushing collapse took wing and soared at this moment.

Looking up at it, Zhou Zhexiao felt it was truly beautiful… as vast as the high sky and the open sea, just like the repeated process of him being drawn to Xia Chiyi.

The spirits of the entirety of Ningchang University were greatly invigorated.

The score difference between the two teams was just 1 point!

In the remaining 30 seconds, basically, whoever scored first would lock down the victory.

Ling Huanzhen’s call for a timeout didn’t leave his mouth; instead, it was Coach Ren of Qincheng University who called a timeout.

The highly experienced Coach Ren saw the change brought about by Xia Chiyi’s shot. It was like a weightless feather that, upon falling, carried the crushing force of Mount Tai, instantaneously reducing Qincheng University’s destructive power to zero.

Only a timeout could allow Qincheng University’s players to temporarily readjust themselves from the power of this shot.

Xia Chiyi slowly swaggered back to the bench area. As soon as he sat down, Zhou Zhexiao pulled his head toward him.

He held him tightly, very tightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Not just anyone can use a single shot to break an opponent’s rhythm.”

“Is that… so? You can’t either?”

Zhou Zhexiao smiled. “I don’t remember.”

But he would remember Xia Chiyi’s shot forever.

Ling Huanzhen gathered everyone in front of him. “We’ve reached the final thirty seconds. Today, you guys have already surpassed everything from yesterday. So we’re going to play one more huge wave!”

As his words fell, several heads excitedly squeezed in front of Ling Huanzhen.

“We can still play something huge? How huge?”

“Doesn’t matter, whether it’s ‘the golden cicada shedding its shell’ (a decoy tactic) or ‘besieging Wei to rescue Zhao’ (a diversionary tactic), bring it on!”

“Does Zhou Zhexiao understand Sun Tzu’s Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems?”

Xia Chiyi retorted helplessly: “He just hasn’t bought a smartphone, it doesn’t mean he’s not smart!”

After a bunch of chattering and whispering, some teammates nodded, while others pondered deeply.

Ling Huanzhen shouted the slogan: “Ningchang University—One, two, three!”

Most people shouted loudly: “Kings of the Southeast!”

Only Du He: “Sure victory!”

“I thought you weren’t nervous anymore…” Shuai Bei glanced over at Du He.

Wiping the sweat off his face, Du He smiled sheepishly: “I forgot… I really forgot. Besides, in the last thirty seconds, anyone who isn’t nervous is a dead man.”

The players returned to the basketball court. In the final thirty seconds, would they be left standing halfway up the mountain, or would they summit the peak of the Southeast?

The answer was about to be revealed.

If the audience originally felt Qincheng University had a higher chance of winning, now they finally understood what it meant to be evenly matched, with victory and defeat unpredictable.

Disregarding his image, Principal Feng shouted at the top of his lungs. The water in his thermos had been drained long ago.

To Pang Shuai, all of this felt like a grand dream. Just a few months ago, he couldn’t even distinguish the five positions on a basketball court, and watching games with Xia Chiyi and the others left him thoroughly confused. But gradually, those silky-smooth moves, elegant jump shots, and flashy offensive skills under the basket felt like they had opened the door to a new world for him.

Basketball had also become a part of his life.

As Ningchang University’s basketball team continuously moved forward, he felt like he was moving forward along with them.

He had become a big-shot technical analyst on a basketball enthusiast forum, and the team photos he took were even liked by official media. He seemed to have found his own path as well.

Pang Shuai had heard too many inspirational stories, but in these last thirty seconds, Ningchang University basketball team, you will become the legend in other people’s mouths!

The players of both sides stepped onto the court, but the spectator stands were unusually quiet.

The moment the game resumed, static time began to flow.

Ke Yan sprinted over with the ball, his center of gravity pressed very low. The ball passed rapidly among Qincheng University’s players.

They were using this method to slice apart Ningchang University’s defense again!

Twenty-eight… twenty-seven… twenty-four seconds…

Meng Ting caught the ball, letting out an angry roar as he prepared to execute a powerful dunk.

Shuai Bei jumped with all his might.

In the days gone by, Ling Huanzhen and Zhou Zhexiao had accompanied him in practicing defense under the basket countless times.

No matter how many times he had lost to Meng Ting in this game, this final time, it was absolutely unacceptable!

Angle, strength, timing—not a single one could be missing.

Shuai Bei flew up and forcefully blocked the shot!

The force was so immense that the ball produced an explosive sound when it hit the ground.

This block had no foul whatsoever. The referee stared closely, the whistle in his mouth, but he didn’t blow it.

Du He immediately caught the ball. Twenty-two seconds on the countdown.

Yang Huaiyu and He Zhan immediately came up to press tight. Du He attempted to pass to Ye Chaoying but was intercepted by Yang Huaiyu. Yang Huaiyu swiftly charged into the paint with the ball!

Ball possession on the court was truly unpredictable, the situation changing in the blink of an eye, almost bursting the audience’s hearts.

Dribbling, Yang Huaiyu took a high-speed run-up!

Zhou Zhexiao and Shuai Bei both jumped up to defend. Yang Huaiyu double-clutched under the basket, but just as he was about to release the ball, he realized something.

The audience let out a collective gasp. Neither Liu Suchen nor Lu Yingnan anticipated that Xia Chiyi would appear from right beside Zhou Zhexiao.

Yang Huaiyu’s motion of trying to loop the basketball past Zhou Zhexiao’s arm was practically serving the ball straight into Xia Chiyi’s hot pot (block).

With a bang—

This was the off-rhythm defense against Yang Huaiyu’s double-clutch that Ningchang University had practiced for so long!

Yang Huaiyu found it hard to believe. In such a crucial, fleeting moment, they were actually able to coordinate and execute this kind of two-stage… no, three-stage defense.

Ye Chaoying caught the ball and shouted loudly: “Fast break—”

Eighteen seconds on the countdown.

“In your dreams!” Ke Yan followed tightly behind Ye Chaoying, his center of gravity lowered so much he was almost sticking to the floor. He pushed the ball out of Ye Chaoying’s hands, nearly falling flat on the floor himself.

Li Shunchuan and Ye Chaoying rushed madly toward the ball. In the instant it was about to go out of bounds, Li Shunchuan scooped it back. Turning around, he tried to pass it back to Yang Huaiyu, but it was intercepted by Xia Chiyi!

Yang Huaiyu hurried over to defend. The entire arena could hear the audience counting down the seconds. The focus of the whole world gathered on Xia Chiyi.

In Xia Chiyi’s mind, there was no longer any thought of victory or defeat, only the off-ball movements of everyone around him. He felt as if he could see exactly what was going to happen next.

If he wanted to win, he had to break through Yang Huaiyu’s defense.

Watching him, Yang Huaiyu predicted his every move.

Lowering his center of gravity, Xia Chiyi looked as if he was going to rely on speed to blow straight past Yang Huaiyu. But the moment Yang Huaiyu shifted his feet, Xia Chiyi captured the position of his front-and-back stance. With a decisive dribble, he landed right beside his front foot—attacking the top foot.

When Xia Chiyi passed him, Yang Huaiyu tried to turn around to chase him, but was brought down by his own center of gravity.

The entire arena fell into an uproar.

Even the highly experienced Chen Hui and Xu Mi widened their eyes, momentarily at a loss for how to commentate.

“At this time—he actually dared to dribble and attack Yang Huaiyu’s top foot!”

Even the well-informed Xie Huai was surprised by Xia Chiyi’s agility and decisiveness.

In his mind, Liu Suchen imagined what would happen if he were the one facing Xia Chiyi’s attack on the top foot.

The answer was, he would also fall over during the process of turning around.

Lu Yingnan had defended many top-tier players in the Division I league, but at this moment, he also admitted that Xia Chiyi’s attack on the top foot was simply unavoidable. Even if it was Yang Huaiyu, he was powerless to do anything.

The pressure of the final few seconds hadn’t crushed Xia Chiyi; instead, it had pushed him to another, higher level.

Like a shooting star destined to start a prairie fire, he charged into Qincheng University’s paint.

Everything was reduced to pure instinct.

Fighting a last-ditch battle, everyone from Qincheng University desperately rushed back under the basket.

Yet, with a no-look pass, Xia Chiyi handed the ball to Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao was very dangerous. Zhou Zhexiao had extremely strong explosive power. Zhou Zhexiao was omnipotent under the basket.

One person couldn’t defend him, two people couldn’t block him; it required a mid-air city wall of at least three people!

Leaping into the air with immense explosive power, Zhou Zhexiao arched his legs and back, creating a tremendously shocking visual impact.

Meng Ting, He Zhan, and Yang Huaiyu all rushed over, jumping with all their might. The high wall formed by the three of them almost entirely covered the rim… Who knows if, twenty years ago, Sheng Xingming had ever faced his opponents’ iron wall blockade all alone in the league on the other shore?

Zhou Zhexiao initiated a double-clutch from the very spot he jumped. His incredible hang time allowed him to evade Meng Ting and He Zhan, but Yang Huaiyu had long been prepared to block him.

“Heh.” Looking into Yang Huaiyu’s eyes, Zhou Zhexiao gave a very faint smile, and chicly passed the ball backward.

A pass? Zhou Zhexiao actually chose to pass after a massive double-clutch?

And the person receiving the ball was precisely Xia Chiyi!

At that moment, all the blood in Yang Huaiyu’s body froze.

This was Ling Huanzhen’s final plan—the golden cicada shedding its shell.

Xia Chiyi was the golden cicada that tucked its wings and trailed behind Zhou Zhexiao, while Zhou Zhexiao was the ultimate decoy.

At this point, even if Ke Yan and Li Shunchuan wanted to intercept, they were being securely guarded by Du He and Shuai Bei.

Xia Chiyi jumped. It was a moderate, completely open shot with no defensive interference whatsoever.

It was also a shot more elegant than a textbook, carrying a trajectory of absolute certainty.

Swish, nothing but net. The entire arena went silent.

Time dropped to zero.

Standing in place, Xia Chiyi took large, heavy gulps of air.

The sweat between his brows flew up, then fell back onto his eyelids, dripping into his eyes and stinging them.

Upon landing, Xia Chiyi swayed slightly. He finally felt the pull of gravity; his legs were sour and aching.

After so many games, this was the first time he distinctly felt exhausted.

Until thunderous exclamations erupted throughout the entire arena.

“They won—Ningchang University won—”

Throwing all caution to the wind, Principal Feng hugged the secretary beside him and shook him vigorously. “They won! They won, they won! We won!”

Even though the cheers in the arena were so loud the ceiling was vibrating, the players of Ningchang University felt an inexplicable sense of bewilderment.

Ye Chaoying used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his cheek.

Shuai Bei supported himself on his knees; after all, blocking Meng Ting had required him to exert every last ounce of his strength.

Du He stared blankly at the scoreboard. “112 to 111… it seems like we won… My eyes aren’t seeing things, right? We’re the ones with 112 points, right?”

Unchanging in his unhurried pace, Zhou Zhexiao walked toward Xia Chiyi, grabbed the back of his head with one hand, and pressed him into his embrace.

Even though his head had been buzzing just a moment ago, right now he heard that familiar, reassuring sound of breathing.

Rising and falling continuously, like watching the tide at sunrise, endless and boundless.

Leaning close to Xia Chiyi’s ear, Zhou Zhexiao said one sentence.

His ears were ringing; the only clear thing was the hot breath Zhou Zhexiao exhaled onto his ear cartilage and cheek.

But before Xia Chiyi had time to discern what he said, his teammates had already frantically jumped onto them, everyone’s voices taking turns bombarding Xia Chiyi’s ears.

“We won! We won!”

“We are the new Kings of the Southeast!”

“Oh my god, am I dreaming?!”

As his teammates crowded around them, Xia Chiyi felt he had a reason to be indulgent. He looped his arms tightly around Zhou Zhexiao, pressing against his heart once again.

The commentators were also incredibly excited, and the bullet comments in the Coolang live broadcast room exploded.

[Holy crap! I take back my previous words! Even if old Grandpa Newton was reborn, Zhou Zhexiao could overcome gravity and float!]
[This final shot was too brilliant! Absolutely the number one most spectacular goal in the Southeast Region!]
[Lock Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi together from now on! This duo is so fucking awesome!]

Clapping vigorously, Chen Hui felt the hot blood constantly surging in his heart. He felt proud to have personally commentated this game: “Congratulations to Ningchang University! From advancing as first place in their group for the first time, to making it into the top eight for the first time, to advancing to the semi-finals for the first time, to charging toward the throne and executing a counterattack to become the Kings! Overthrowing the past and forging a path of brilliance!”

Xu Mi’s eyes were also brimming with hot tears, her voice carrying a slight tremble: “They always say the path of a king is bound to be bumpy, but no summit is ever reached by coincidence or luck. Chen Hui and I have watched Ningchang University all along their journey, and with every game, they became stronger than the last. I believe it will be the same in the Nationals!”

And this final play of coordination made the eyes of certain people in the arena turn red.

Standing on the sidelines, Ling Huanzhen felt as if he was seeing the last Olympic Games that he, Sheng Xingming, and Jiao Yingfeng had participated in—which was also the furthest they had ever gone.

He grabbed the rebound and handed it to Sheng Xingming. Sheng Xingming charged under the basket at an unmatched speed, only to face the triple defense of the opponent’s small forward, power forward, and center. Sheng Xingming could only pass to the teammates behind him, but no one was there to receive it. Jiao Yingfeng, who was closest to him, was still in the corner, missing the pass.

But Xia Chiyi was different. Whenever Zhou Zhexiao went hard under the basket, he was always ready and waiting at the position where he was needed most.

An innate synergy, just like quantum entanglement.

Jiao Yingfeng’s eyes turned red. Watching that group of young people wild with joy together, his vision gradually blurred into a sheet of tears.

“Yingfeng, hey… hey, are you alright?” Fan Qingliang handed him a tissue.

“I’m fine… I’m just… just happy for them.”

He felt as if the chasms in his heart were being filled by their radiant light.

Xie Huai’s shoulders were trembling. His lips quivered as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t get the words out.

Gao Jinshu asked nervously: “Coach Xie, Coach Xie, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

This shot represented the regret of many people, the lingering obsession of their generation.

Xie Huai offered no commentary; he merely opened his arms and hugged Gao Jinshu tightly.

“You’re amazing. You’ve taught a good student. I saw it.” Xie Huai patted Gao Jinshu’s back.

Gao Jinshu was stunned for a moment. After all these years, he had once again received his mentor’s affirmation. His chest overflowed with hot blood; he suddenly felt that he could still do a bit more for basketball.

In the stands, Liu Suchen was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Honestly, in this game, whoever won would be well-deserved, but whoever won would also be a formidable enemy.

It was just that… regarding Ningchang University’s final coordination and synergy, and that identical line of thinking shared by Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi, he truly didn’t know how to crack it.

Casting a sidelong glance at Coach Li Xiaoran, Liu Suchen discovered that the corners of his coach’s eyes were already wet, even though he was trying his best to suppress his inner excitement.

“Coach… actually, if you have any thoughts, you can share them with us.”

Opening his mouth slightly, it took a long while before Li Xiaoran finally spoke: “The most glorious game of my life was participating in the Olympics with Sheng Xingming that one time. Zhou Zhexiao’s final pass was exactly the same as Sheng Xingming’s… only no one caught Sheng Xingming’s ball, whereas Zhou Zhexiao is truly incredibly lucky…”

Liu Suchen smiled knowingly: “Because Xia Chiyi is always prepared to receive him.”

Li Xiaoran watched Zhou Zhexiao for a long time, then looked at Ling Huanzhen standing on the sidelines.

This guy surprisingly hadn’t gone up to join the melee with the players, but was just watching silently.

The feelings of their generation of old players at this very moment were probably exactly the same.

The two commentators, Chen Hui and Xu Mi, were still in a state of extreme excitement, so thrilled their voices were cracking.

“A new generation replaces the old king! The throne of the Southeast Region will never lack challengers! To forge a path to the throne, Ningchang University trampled all the thorns flat, proved their strength, and brought fresh blood to the entire Division I league!”

“Let us once again introduce the Ningchang University basketball team. They come from Jin Province, a province where basketball is not highly developed. Since the establishment of the collegiate Division I league, the best result for any basketball team from Jin Province has only been reaching the top eight of the Southeast Region. And in the past, Ningchang University was a regular at the bottom of the group stages. ‘Drawing water with a bamboo basket—all in vain’ was their synonym! On their campus forum, you could see that the most frequently appearing words in alumni’s evaluations were ‘lying flat’ (slacking off) and ‘letting it rot’ (giving up)! But starting from the grassroots tournament this year, step by step, they made their opponents see them in a new light, tore off all the labels, and overturned all evaluations! Even barren land can bloom with proud, unyielding flowers!”

Xia Chiyi was held in Zhou Zhexiao’s embrace, surrounded by layers upon layers of teammates.

This felt like a closed-off universe where he and Zhou Zhexiao were each other’s core.

For the first time, Xia Chiyi felt that Zhou Zhexiao was his, and belonged solely to him alone.

This was the first significant championship Zhou Zhexiao had won since his rebirth, and right now, he was only embracing Xia Chiyi.

So this is the strength of Zhou Zhexiao’s embrace. So this is what his breathing and heartbeat sound like.

Like a tide surging up from the deepest ocean trench, like wind that has trekked thousands of miles—all for a definite goal, a resonance of the utmost synergy.

“Let’s go, we can’t forget Coach Ling!” Chen Chuan’s loud shout snapped everyone back to reality.

Suddenly, they swarmed toward Ling Huanzhen on the sidelines.

“Ningchang University—”

“Kings of the Southeast!”

This time, no one shouted the wrong slogan.

“What… what are you guys doing? Be reasonable… rein in your emotions! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!”

Ling Huanzhen was hoisted up and tossed into the air.

These brats were taller than average people and had great strength. Having just won the King of the Southeast title, their heads were full of excitement.

With every ascent, Ling Huanzhen felt a panic that he was going to crash into the ceiling.

“Don’t… don’t… put me down…”

His voice was completely drowned out!

On the opposite side, Qincheng University seemed much quieter.

Lifting his jersey to wipe his sweat, Yang Huaiyu sat back down on the bench.

With his head lowered and a towel draped over it, Li Shunchuan’s shoulders were quivering. You didn’t even need to hear the sound to know this guy was crying.

Yang Huaiyu sighed. He raised his hand, but didn’t press it onto his head.

At this time, no words could comfort him.

The two tall guys, Meng Ting and He Zhan, also had their heads down, silently packing up their things, their eyes red.

In contrast, Ke Yan tilted his chin up, head held high: “What’s with all this dejection? Do you look down on Ningchang University? I think the opponents are very strong… Don’t put on such a cowardly look of being unable to afford a loss!”

“That’s true… but I really feel so unwilling…”

Some players had already burst into tears.

Head Coach Ren Xin took a pack of tissues and wiped away their tears one by one.

“You guys, how old are you, treating the Southeast Regional tournament as the finish line? There are still the Nationals ahead. In the Nationals, there are high-level opponents like Southwest Aviation University and Qing University, who have beaten you before too. Furthermore, ever since Ningchang University entered the final four, Southwest Aviation and Qing University haven’t missed a single game watching them. What does this mean? In their hearts, Ningchang University is also an opponent worthy of the National Final Four. Since that’s the case, losing to Ningchang University is nothing to be ashamed of.”

They understood the reasoning, but losing the title of King of the Southeast was the most sorrowful thing right in front of them.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Huaiyu exhaled slowly. “We didn’t have any obvious mistakes in terms of technique or tactics. We already played perfectly, but the opponents improved too fast.”

“It was me… I didn’t seize the opportunity…” Meng Ting’s voice trembled. “If my dunk hadn’t been blocked…”

“Alright, you’re already the person with the most rebounds in the whole game. When you come out to play, you eventually have to pay up. Being too greedy isn’t good.” Holding his shoulder, He Zhan comforted him.

Yang Huaiyu sighed: “If you need to feel guilty, then I deserve to die even more. I got blocked by Xia Chiyi on a double-clutch layup, and at the very end I got attacked on my top foot by Xia Chiyi and nearly fell over in front of everyone. Even Zhou Zhexiao’s final fake double-clutch into an actual pass… I failed to defend against that too.”

Ke Yan shoved Yang Huaiyu. “Oh, give it a rest… Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi’s final coordination was fundamentally uncrackable. If you blocked Zhou Zhexiao, he’d pass to Xia Chiyi. If you went to guard Xia Chiyi, Zhou Zhexiao would’ve chosen to double-clutch and score. In the end, it was a dead end either way…”

“I… if only I could’ve broken through Ye Chaoying’s defense in the first quarter… What ‘Number One Sharpshooter in the Southeast Region’… from now on I’ll probably be the Number One Joke.” Li Shunchuan’s eyebrows drooped heavily, the corners of his mouth pulled down past his chin.

“Even if you broke through Ye Chaoying, you would’ve faced Xia Chiyi’s pursuit defense and help defense.” Coach Ren patted Li Shunchuan’s shoulder.

This kid’s self-confidence had probably plummeted to rock bottom, harder to resolve than a breakup.

“But Xia Chiyi can handle the ball, he can do layups, he can block shots… He can swing between forward and guard, or play combo guard… I got insta-killed into dust by him…”

When Li Shunchuan began to doubt himself, dark clouds spiraling above his head, the other teammates no longer felt that losing the game was such a big deal.

Li Shunchuan became their center of attention; coaxing him to stop crying became their top priority.

Yang Huaiyu looked across the court. Xia Chiyi just happened to turn his head, and their gazes collided.

Opening his arms, Yang Huaiyu walked over.

“Come on, want me to crown you?”

Xia Chiyi had just walked over to him when Yang Huaiyu took off his own wristband and stood it up on Xia Chiyi’s head, pretending it was a little crown.

“Is ‘Embarrassed Li’ crying?”

“He’d cry if he accidentally stepped on an ant while playing basketball.” Yang Huaiyu smiled.

Turning his face sideways, Xia Chiyi carefully observed Yang Huaiyu’s expression. “You… aren’t going to cry, are you?”

“Why should I cry?” Yang Huaiyu asked in return.

For a moment, Xia Chiyi didn’t know what to say, so he could only try for awkward humor: “Probably because… eyes washed by tears will be brighter, or something like that?”

Lowering his eyes, Yang Huaiyu smiled. “What are you thinking, little brat. When I was losing games, you were still playing with mud.”

“You even use losing games to brag?” Xia Chiyi asked with a smile.

“Losing here is better than losing in the Nationals. Plus, as everyone knows, the Goddess of Victory is very fickle. The year before last she favored Southeast Mining, last year she was partial to us at Qincheng University, and this year she’s taken a fancy to Ningchang University. But who can stay young forever?”

As expected of Yang Huaiyu, he was much more capable of taking things in stride than Xia Chiyi had imagined.

Leaning forward slightly, Yang Huaiyu approached Xia Chiyi. “Hey, the way Zhou Zhexiao is looking at me… it’s as if I burned down his house and dug up his ancestral graves?”

Xia Chiyi turned his head to glance back. Zhou Zhexiao was holding a towel with one hand to wipe his face. Half his face was blocked, revealing only one eye, and his gaze was very deep and cold.

With his slightly curly black bangs swaying back and forth against the white towel, Xia Chiyi surprisingly found it a bit enchanting.

“It means his guard against you hasn’t dropped yet. For us, winning is only temporary.”

“It’s good that you guys haven’t let victory go to your heads.” With his hands on his hips, Yang Huaiyu smiled. “Hey, how does it feel to take down the title of Kings of the Southeast?”

“Hmm…” With his face half-tilted upwards, Xia Chiyi thought seriously for a moment. “Originally, I was really looking forward to it, like a kind of obsession. But now that I’ve really got it, that wave of joy evaporated in an instant.”

“Because you are not satisfied. The King of the Southeast isn’t anything amazing to you.” Yang Huaiyu patted Xia Chiyi’s shoulder. “Thank you to Ningchang University for taking our place as the object of study for all major competition regions. Every one of your shots, every pump fake, all your coordination with Zhou Zhexiao—they will all be placed under the microscope and studied by those strong schools. Good luck!”

Xia Chiyi revealed a huge smile: “This is very fair, isn’t it? You guys study us, and we are also studying you.”

Yang Huaiyu nodded and gave Xia Chiyi a high-five. “See you at the Nationals.”

“No more practice games arranged?”

“In your dreams!”

After saying that, Yang Huaiyu chicly turned around and left.

Xia Chiyi returned to Zhou Zhexiao’s side and tugged at his towel. “Alright, stop wiping. If you keep wiping, your face is going to catch fire from the friction!”

At this moment, Ling Huanzhen was already surrounded by several media reporters. Seeing that some people were about to come looking for them, Xia Chiyi grabbed Zhou Zhexiao.

“Let’s go! We’re heading back to the locker room!”