Chapter 0123: Lu Yingnan: Do You Still Want the Ball?

One second, he was dribbling slowly; the next, Lu Yingnan suddenly accelerated, combining a jab step with a behind-the-back dribble, perfectly replicating the exact move the opposing small forward had used to shake off Liu Suchen… No, it was even smoother than that!

Lu Yingnan blew past three defenders. His various footwork and dribbling techniques cascaded down like a waterfall—it was incredibly fluid and exhilarating to watch!

Trailing behind Lu Yingnan, Xia Chiyi witnessed his dribbling up close. It was simply like watching a magician on the court!

The big center Martin and the obnoxious Jenkins were about to double-team Lu Yingnan. Lu Yingnan looked toward Xia Chiyi with a deep gaze. Xia Chiyi’s heart leaped nervously. Is he going to pass the ball to me?

But Lu Yingnan instead passed the ball to Mo Chuang on the other side. It was a truly beautiful no-look pass. Off the court, Assistant Coach Carpenter nodded, admitting to himself that he was thoroughly impressed by Lu Yingnan.

Mo Chuang received the ball and was just about to charge under the basket when—smack—he was intercepted by Gloomy Bro!

The offense and defense instantly reversed, and Gloomy Bro swaggered away with the ball.

Xia Chiyi turned and chased after him desperately, while Yang Huaiyu, Liu Suchen, and Lu Yingnan also quickly retreated to defend.

Xia Chiyi and Lu Yingnan formed a pincer movement on Gloomy Bro again, but unfortunately, before they could force him to the sideline, the opponent executed a highly rhythmic crossover step-back and passed the ball to their shooting guard, Rudy.

Rudy caught the ball and was almost intercepted by Liu Suchen, so he had to pass it again. Jenkins once again scored with a dunk.

No matter how annoying Jenkins was, this guy’s positioning was truly fantastic; he could always accurately receive the easy scoring opportunities fed to him by his teammates.

For the first time, Xia Chiyi felt the lights in Qing Da’s basketball arena were too bright, shining on Jenkins’s face as if he were an undefeated protagonist.

Jenkins pointed both index fingers to the sky, even did a little solo dance, and blew a whistle in Zhou Zhexiao’s direction while he was at it.

Xia Chiyi pinched his own choppy bangs. I haven’t even blown a whistle at Zhou Zhexiao, what right does this Jenkins have!

Although Connecticut scored two consecutive baskets, Assistant Coach Carpenter’s expression grew increasingly serious.

Just now, the opposing team actually had four players match the speed of their point guard. Such defensive retreat speed could rival their formidable opponents, the Duke Blue Devils.

How is this possible? How could these East Asian college students, supposedly lacking explosive power, be so fast?

Following that, Connecticut launched another super fast break. A tacitly understood cut-and-pass sequence shattered the zone defense Lu Yingnan had organized. Jenkins received the ball under the basket, switched hands between the defense of Yang Huaiyu and Mo Chuang, and executed a clean layup to score!

On the bench, Ye Chaoying covered his eyes. “It’s been a full two minutes, and we’re just being led by the nose by the opponent like this… completely powerless to fight back…”

Jenkins even swaggered over to Xia Chiyi and smiled broadly, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth.

“Hey, small potato, you haven’t touched the ball yet.”

Xia Chiyi rolled his eyes at him. “Not your business. Watch your ass.”

Yang Huaiyu was a bit worried that Xia Chiyi would be at a disadvantage and deliberately came to his side. Only when he saw Jenkins walk away grinning did Yang Huaiyu retreat behind Xia Chiyi.

“Hey, right now I’m really missing your dunk from the Southeast Division Finals.”

“Huh? Which one?”

“The one where you almost dunked on my head.”

Yang Huaiyu smiled, shallow laugh lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. This guy’s mindset was as good as ever; he wasn’t affected by the opponent at all and could still joke around with Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi rubbed the tip of his nose. “I want to do that too, but haven’t you noticed I haven’t had a chance to drive to the basket? Old iron bros, I’m relying on you guys.”

The others were not feeling quite so calm at the moment.

“No way, no way, it’s been a full two minutes since the opening, equivalent to a fifth of the first quarter, and we still have a goose egg?”

“Are we going to finish the first quarter with a zero? Break the ice quickly! Break the ice!”

“Whether it’s Liu Suchen or Yang Huaiyu, just score one goal!”

Lu Yingnan looked toward Li Xiaoran, thinking the coach would call a timeout or give him some tactical hints, but Li Xiaoran merely crossed his arms and nodded at him, meaning: You are the point guard, you call the shots for organizing the offense.

While adjusting his wristbands, Lu Yingnan retreated to his defensive position and said loudly, “We’re not that bad, it’s just that the opponent’s rhythm is too strong, and we’ve fallen deeply into their pace. We need to score, break the deadlock, and drag them into our rhythm.”

Xia Chiyi looked at Lu Yingnan. Although this was their first game working together, the other party’s calmness and composure made Xia Chiyi feel a willing desire to be led by him.

Liu Suchen asked with a smile, “How do we break the ice? We’re very passive right now. Neither Yang Huaiyu nor I have had much chance to take a swim under their basket.”

“Then let’s drag their forces out from under the basket first.” Lu Yingnan turned his face and cast a meaningful glance at Xia Chiyi.

“Ah…” Yang Huaiyu revealed an understanding smile and poked the back of Xia Chiyi’s head. “Starting from the next second, you are the scoring core.”

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi froze. He had just thought double-teaming the opposing Gloomy Bro with Lu Yingnan was quite interesting; how did he suddenly become the scoring core?

Liu Suchen asked with a smile, “Don’t dare to?”

“Dare, why wouldn’t I dare!” Xia Chiyi loosened his wrists, his eyes narrowing slightly. “This young master still hasn’t even touched the ball yet.”

“It’s good that you dare. Your big bros will set screens for you, little Chiyi, feel free to fly.” Yang Huaiyu clapped his hands and stepped back.

What was more efficient for scoring than a sudden cold arrow from the three-point line?

Liu Suchen was also full of enthusiasm, and even Mo Chuang’s serious face revealed a rare smile.

Their artillery battery was about to activate.

The Connecticut players felt it was strange.

It had been so long since the opening and they hadn’t scored a single point; the opposing team should be dejected and utterly routed.

But why did their expressions suddenly become relaxed?

In the next possession, the ball returned to Lu Yingnan’s hands. His momentum while dribbling was like a diving fighter jet.

If it weren’t for the mission to break the ice, Xia Chiyi really wanted to follow beside him to properly appreciate and absorb his skill package.

Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu followed around Lu Yingnan, mobilizing Connecticut’s defense. Seeing that seven or eight players were crowded into the left half of the court, it was about to become a chaotic mess.

Lu Yingnan threaded a needle with a pass, and Xia Chiyi caught the ball at the top of the three-point arc!

Gloomy Bro had actually seen through this maneuver and rushed toward Xia Chiyi, but was blocked by Mo Chuang.

In this brief moment of open space, Xia Chiyi dipped the ball, jumped, and released it in one fluid motion.

Assistant Coach Carpenter’s eyes widened—a very beautiful posture.

But being beautiful was useless; this kid was too impatient, it would be hard for it to go in…

Swish—

The sound of the basketball brushing through the net rang out.

The audience felt as if they had received a grand pardon. Finally, finally, finally, the ice is broken!

Xia Chiyi turned around and immediately hugged Mo Chuang. “Thanks, Master Chuang!”

Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu smiled at each other. They had done a pretty good job as bait; if basketball had Oscars, they should win a little golden man.

Jenkins sneered coldly. In his view, this was merely a coincidence. Moreover, in the NCAA, any Tom, Dick, or Harry could shoot, but not every shot would score.

Lu Yingnan looked at Xia Chiyi: “If I get a steal in the next round, can I pass the ball directly to you?”

Xia Chiyi’s throat bobbed. “If you can steal it, I can score it.”

“Good.” Lu Yingnan lowered his center of gravity.

This was the first time Xia Chiyi had received such a promise, and the one making the promise was Lu Yingnan. He instantly felt a surge of excitement.

The opposing point guard attacked rapidly. Lu Yingnan, somehow predicting the move, braked hard, jumped, and intercepted Gloomy Bro’s high pass mid-air.

Gloomy Bro stared at Lu Yingnan with wide eyes, finally realizing that his opponent was no simple character.

Liu Suchen rushed over to receive the ball, sure enough, drawing both Jenkins and Martin over to defend. Neither of these big guys expected Lu Yingnan to execute a behind-the-back pass while turning—it was Xia Chiyi who received the ball again!

The three-point line; Xia Chiyi was once again standing on the three-point line.

Rudy, acting as the shooting guard, wasn’t fooled. “Over my dead body!”

With lightning speed, he slipped through the screen set by Mo Chuang and Yang Huaiyu and chased after Xia Chiyi!

Assistant Coach Carpenter smiled. Rudy’s ability to defend against pick-and-rolls was top-tier.

The women’s basketball players closed their eyes; they really couldn’t bear to see Xia Chiyi get blocked.

But facing Rudy, Xia Chiyi showed absolutely no fear. With an inverted between-the-legs dribble, he engaged in a back-and-forth tug-of-war with Rudy, followed immediately by an untelegraphed lateral step-back.

Once the distance was pulled open, no matter how high Rudy jumped, Xia Chiyi released the ball calmly.

Rudy’s eyes widened. Also being a shooting guard, at such a close distance, he naturally knew how smooth Xia Chiyi’s shooting form was—it hadn’t deformed in the slightest due to his tight defense.

No matter how strong Rudy’s jumping ability was, his fingertips couldn’t reach it… the arc of the ball was too high!

Carpenter’s throat bobbed as he watched helplessly as the ball entered the basket again—Too fast.

He lowered his head, quickly searching for the files Head Coach Seton had sent him, the list of players to watch out for… Chiyi Xia, a player who can complete a 21-point shooting drill in 60 seconds.

Sixty seconds… In Connecticut’s first string, only their junior shooting guard could do that, and that player had already been drafted into the NBA this year.

Xia Chiyi maintained his posture with his right hand pointing at the ceiling, flashing a massive smile at Rudy.

Rudy was somewhat dazed. He had only seen such a release speed in the camps of formidable enemies like Kansas and North Carolina… How could it appear here?

Xia Chiyi’s head was quickly rubbed into a bird’s nest by Yang Huaiyu, Liu Suchen, and Mo Chuang.

On the bench, Li Shunchuan revealed an appreciative expression: “Xia Chiyi possesses a stability and a big heart that ordinary shooters lack.”

“But he earned all of this. His training volume is twice mine; even Yang Huaiyu couldn’t persist through it,” Ye Chaoying said.

The team’s small forward, Carl, patted Rudy’s shoulder and comforted him, “You are better.”

Jenkins looked at Xia Chiyi and sneered.

In his view, this small potato was so easily missed by the defense simply because he was too small.

“Next, they will focus on defending you. Do you still want the ball?” Lu Yingnan asked.

Xia Chiyi looked at Lu Yingnan’s solid back. Even though this guy spoke coldly, just that one sentence, “Do you still want the ball?”, filled Xia Chiyi with the desire to score.

“If you dare to pass it to me, I dare to score it,” Xia Chiyi replied.

Lu Yingnan smiled very faintly.

For Lu Yingnan, this wasn’t just about scoring; he also wanted to understand exactly where Xia Chiyi’s ceiling lay.

This time, Liu Suchen stole the ball from Jenkins’s hands. The speed was as fast as a sickle swinging through weeds—clean and sharp.

“Good—” A wave of applause erupted from the audience.

Even Connecticut’s substitute players couldn’t help but whisper to each other and admit: “He is good.”

Jenkins’s lungs were about to explode with anger. He launched a frantic output of F-bombs, but the English failure Liu Suchen just pretended he didn’t hear it.

He closely tailed Liu Suchen, watching as three Connecticut players rushed over to encircle him.

“Tsk…”

These guys’ speed is way too fucking fast.

Even Li Xiaoran and Ling Huanzhen, who were accustomed to grand scenes, couldn’t help but clench their fists, breaking out in a cold sweat for Liu Suchen.

Before being completely sealed off, Liu Suchen thrillingly passed the ball to Lu Yingnan. At this moment, Yang Huaiyu had already cut under the basket!

Center Martin and small forward Carl quickly retreated to defend. Lu Yingnan didn’t pass the ball to Yang Huaiyu, but pushed the ball to the side, passing it to Xia Chiyi once again.

Jenkins rushed in front of Xia Chiyi. Losing the ball earlier had made him lose face; he had to block this shot.

Although this guy was annoying, he definitely wasn’t useless. As soon as he came up, he accurately judged Xia Chiyi’s pivot foot, intending to stick close and restrict him so he couldn’t rush near the three-point line.

Seeing this scene, Yang Huaiyu smiled: Buddy, I’ve already used this move, and I’ve long since maxed out the “small potato’s” experience points with it.

Before Jenkins could set his feet, Xia Chiyi dribbled between his legs and hopped forward, as if to break through Jenkins’s defense. Jenkins’s center of gravity shifted accordingly. Xia Chiyi’s front foot had just landed, but he suddenly executed a step-back.

Jenkins’s mind was frantically outputting curses—This small potato is too cunning!

Rudy also rushed over to help defend; they wouldn’t let Xia Chiyi advance another half-step!

Who knew Xia Chiyi would shoot the ball directly!

The ball flew right over Jenkins’s head.

He just crossed the half-court line. Shooting so far and so hastily… it definitely won’t go in!

“Rebound!” Jenkins shouted loudly.

The big center Martin moved swiftly, single-handedly boxing out Yang Huaiyu and Mo Chuang behind him. This was probably what it meant to have one man hold the pass, with ten thousand unable to break through under the backboard.

On the bench, Huo Cheng broke out in a cold sweat. Martin’s dominance under the basket was too strong.

Zhou Zhexiao said calmly, “Don’t worry.”

At the same time, Xia Chiyi had already clenched his right fist, celebrating his own goal.

Swish—

The sound of the basketball brushing the net made hearts swell with excitement.

Only then did Huo Cheng understand what Zhou Zhexiao’s “don’t worry” meant—Xia Chiyi’s shot was guaranteed to go in! There was no need to fight for the rebound.

A burst of applause and cheers erupted from the previously low-spirited audience stands.

Center Martin frowned. No matter how well he established his position, if the opposing little boy didn’t miss, there would be no rebounds to grab.

Xia Chiyi looked at Jenkins in front of him and asked with a smile, “Hey, did your feet stick to the floor?”

Jenkins gritted his teeth and was just about to spew something when Xia Chiyi quickly walked away from him.

On the bench, Ye Chaoying nudged Zhou Zhexiao: “What did our little Ningchang potato say?”

“He asked if Jenkins’s feet were stuck to the floor, otherwise why couldn’t he stop his shot,” Zhou Zhexiao replied.

Li Shunchuan and Huo Cheng both started laughing along.

“So satisfying.”

Carpenter’s gaze involuntarily locked onto Xia Chiyi. He didn’t need a stopwatch; his experience told him that Xia Chiyi’s shooting release time was around one second… no, it was about 0.6 to 0.8 seconds. The key was that his position just now was quite far from the three-point line.

Carpenter made a gesture to Gloomy Bro, ordering him to tightly mark Xia Chiyi one-on-one.

Shooting guard Rudy, with the cooperation of his teammates, also answered with an ultra-long-range shot, returning the favor and tying the score.

Xia Chiyi constantly moved without the ball, and Gloomy Bro followed him tightly. His defense had a kind of sticky quality; no matter where Xia Chiyi ran, Gloomy Bro could firmly block Xia Chiyi’s most favorable receiving direction. Whether it was a backdoor cut or a V-cut, Xia Chiyi couldn’t shake him off.

Furthermore, this guy stuck tighter and tighter, spreading his arms as if to embrace Xia Chiyi in his arms.

The breakthrough techniques he had honed in the Division I league were completely useless against Gloomy Bro.

Carpenter smiled very faintly. See, no matter how fast your shooting motion is, it’s useless if you can’t receive the ball.

“Do you fall in love with me?” Xia Chiyi, somewhat exasperated by Gloomy Bro’s entanglement, couldn’t help but ask.

Gloomy Bro let out two dry laughs and replied seriously, “Yes, you are so cute.”

Fuck, this guy is seriously infuriating without paying the price.

From the corner of his eye, Xia Chiyi caught a glimpse of Zhou Zhexiao. The latter’s previously calm expression now revealed a trace of displeasure, though it was an emotion only Xia Chiyi could read.

Haha, this guy most likely heard the conversation between Gloomy Bro and me.

Although Xia Chiyi couldn’t shoot again, his previous three-pointers had successfully interrupted the opponent’s momentum, giving Lu Yingnan the opportunity to regroup their rhythm.

The Division I league’s Big Three commenced a vigorous scoring mode.

Lu Yingnan dribbled straight into the paint, charging so aggressively that the opponents thought this unsmiling point guard was going to violently dunk the rim. Who knew that, using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, he would smoothly drop the ball to Yang Huaiyu behind him? Yang Huaiyu backed down against Martin, suddenly gave a fake shimmy, and turned into a fadeaway jumper—it went in!

Yang Huaiyu looked toward Zhou Zhexiao and snapped his fingers.

These days he had been practicing the post-up turn into a fadeaway jumper. This was Zhou Zhexiao’s signature move, and also his advice to Yang Huaiyu.

“It’s just so-so,” Zhou Zhexiao said indifferently.

Ke Yan couldn’t help but cry out in injustice for his ace, “Such a realistic shoulder fake, such a fast turn, such an accurate fadeaway jumper—what more do you want?”

“It’s enough for the NCAA, but it needs to be smoother for the NBA,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Ke Yan took a deep breath and covered his eyes. “My mistake, I didn’t realize you had such high expectations for him.”

Meanwhile, a wave of “Woo”s rose from Connecticut’s bench.

Carpenter’s brows furrowed. Having selected many players for the team, he recognized that Yang Huaiyu’s foundation for that post-up fadeaway jumper was truly profound.

He quickly flipped through the documents and found Yang Huaiyu’s name… This was also a key observation target for Head Coach Seton.

Next, Liu Suchen also exerted force under the basket, scoring with a hook shot under the double defense of Martin and Jenkins, full of finesse.

His mid-air posture and hang time refreshed Carpenter’s impression of him once again.

The other players also put away their initial looseness, and the atmosphere grew serious.

Connecticut was no pushover either. Their small forward Carl executed a one-on-two drive under the basket and delivered a powerful reverse dunk, showing incredible NBA flair.

Shooting guard Rudy could not only shoot from long range but also cut under the basket, even scoring with a double-clutch layup under the dual defense of Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu.

“Truly worthy of Connecticut…” Xia Chiyi had always thought Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu were invincible; he never expected this Rudy to be so formidable.

“Couldn’t you jump a little later? Jumping so fast, are you really in such a hurry to be buried with me?” Yang Huaiyu tilted his head, smiling as he looked at Liu Suchen.

“Got it, I’ll jump a little later next time and let you die first.” Liu Suchen rested his hands on his hips, deliberately bumping his elbow against Yang Huaiyu.

Oh no, oh no, are these two enemies going to start fighting right here on the court?

Seeing Xia Chiyi’s worried look, Liu Suchen smiled: “My bad. I wanted to imitate the two-stage defense you and Zhou Zhexiao use with Yang Huaiyu, but I didn’t master the timing.”

Both sides went back and forth in a fiercely contested battle.

The Division I league’s Big Three withstood Connecticut’s lethal force, always managing to score when the opponent grew complacent. The point gap between the two sides hovered between four to six points.

Waves of exclamations echoed from the audience stands.

Connecticut was very strong, the audience had anticipated that long ago. But the fact that the five players on the court could hold their own without falling behind truly boosted their morale.

However, Xia Chiyi wasn’t very happy. He ran all over the court but couldn’t shake off Gloomy Bro. Most importantly… he hadn’t touched the ball again. It was really infuriating.

The first quarter ended, and both teams returned to their respective bench areas.

Zhuo Zheng high-fived his captain, his admiration for Lu Yingnan rising to another level at this moment. “Captain Lu, your steals and ball control are absolutely incredible! Truly worthy of being the Division I league’s strongest metronome!”

Song Boyun also leaned on Liu Suchen’s shoulder and swayed. “Chen-ge, your hook shots must have magic in them! They can bypass the opponents’ arms every time! When are you going to teach me?”

“Exclusive secret technique, strictly not for outsiders,” Liu Suchen said with an amused expression.

“Then I’ll acknowledge you as my dad.”

“I don’t want a son as stupid as you. It’s too hot, get away.” Liu Suchen helplessly pushed Song Boyun’s face away.

Ke Yan also sidled up to Yang Huaiyu and said, “Zhou Zhexiao just said personally that your post-up turn and fadeaway jumper is good enough to battle in the NCAA. With a little more practice, playing in the NBA would be no problem.”

“Is that so?” Yang Huaiyu turned around and extended a fist toward Zhou Zhexiao.

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao responded softly. He didn’t extend his fist, but instead poked Yang Huaiyu’s fist with his index finger.

Only Xia Chiyi had his head tilted up, looking as if he wanted to cry but had no tears. If there weren’t so many people around, he would have long since buried himself in Zhou Zhexiao’s arms, demanding an experience dump.

“You guys are farming points under the basket, but I’ve been stuck facing Gloomy Bro’s gloomy face this whole time! No one sets screens for me, no one passes the ball to me, no one cares about me—am I an orphan?”

As Xia Chiyi spoke, he even deliberately wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, as if he were about to cry.

“You played wonderfully. You are the behind-the-scenes hero of the first quarter.” Zhou Zhexiao’s hand reached over and gently rubbed Xia Chiyi’s head.

Just this simple sentence made Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu instantly realize something, and they both looked at Xia Chiyi in unison.

Only then did Li Xiaoran speak up: “Do you understand why Zhou Zhexiao says Xia Chiyi is the behind-the-scenes hero?”

Mo Chuang thought back very seriously and summarized, “Because Xia Chiyi’s three three-pointers broke the deadlock of the opponent scoring unilaterally, and he also pinned down the opposing point guard, that Gloomy Bro?”

Li Xiaoran looked at Lu Yingnan and said, “You should be the person with the strongest view of the big picture among them. What do you think?”

Lu Yingnan lowered his eyes, pondering for a moment.

Mo Chuang leaned in and asked, “Captain, you don’t know either?”

Lu Yingnan sighed and pressed down on Mo Chuang’s head. “I’m just thinking about how to explain it so you can understand.”

“I feel like I’ve been insulted. Don’t be like this, Captain.”

“Xia Chiyi used off-ball movement to drag the opposing point guard around, slicing up the opponent’s zone defense. This created more passing space for me, and also caused the big guy Martin and Jenkins to be half a beat slower in their defensive rotation. That’s what gave Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu the time differential to score.”

“Correct.” Li Xiaoran nodded, his gaze looking toward the opposite side.

And on the opposite side, Carpenter also turned around. But his gaze wasn’t on Coach Li Xiaoran; it was on Xia Chiyi, who had his head tilted back, guzzling water.

Carpenter admitted that he had underestimated this practice match.

He acknowledged that Lu Yingnan’s ball-handling skills were in no way inferior to first-rate point guards in the NCAA—precise, calm, possessing an aura of organization and leadership, with the movement of everyone on the court mapped out in his brain, and an incredibly strong sense of rhythm.

He also acknowledged Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu’s scoring abilities. Such players would be highly competitive whether they were placed in Connecticut, Duke, or North Carolina.

Even that center named Mo Chuang possessed highly proficient skills and the courage to meet force with force.

But the one who truly astonished Carpenter was Xia Chiyi, who looked as harmless as a little boy yet was lethal in every aspect.

With quick release and highly accurate three-pointers, he wouldn’t waste any opportunity created for him by his teammates.

Most importantly, even when tightly marked by the defense, he could still rely on his movement to create dribbling and scoring space and timing for his teammates.

Next, they not only had to restrict Xia Chiyi’s long-range shots but also restrict his off-ball movement.

Seeing that it was almost time to take the court, Xia Chiyi stretched out his hands to Zhou Zhexiao. “Share a little of your calmness, composure, and patience with me.”

Zhou Zhexiao slapped his palms. “I won’t just share a little with you; I can give it all to you.”

At the moment of the high-five, Zhou Zhexiao saw the stars between Xia Chiyi’s fingers again.

Zhou Zhexiao’s fingers suddenly tightened, hooking onto Xia Chiyi’s fingertips just as they were about to leave.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve always been looking at you, unable to take my eyes off you.”

What is this guy saying out of the blue!

Xia Chiyi looked left and right, finding that no one around was paying attention to them.

“You’ve seen so many formidable guys, and you still can’t take your eyes off me?” Xia Chiyi muttered softly.

Zhou Zhexiao placed Xia Chiyi’s palm over his chest. His body heat transmitted through the thin athletic jersey, and in that moment, Xia Chiyi felt as if his heart was resonating with Zhou Zhexiao’s.

Xia Chiyi’s face flushed, and his ears grew hot.

“Growing up, I couldn’t even walk properly whenever I saw Sheng Xingming. Compared to me, you’re still far behind.”

“Looking at it this way, compared to Sheng Xingming, I’m also far behind.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes lowered. This guy could even get genuinely jealous of himself.

Looking into Zhou Zhexiao’s eyes, Xia Chiyi smiled, took two steps back, and turned around to return to the court.

What they hadn’t expected was that in the second quarter, Gloomy Bro, who had performed well, was actually substituted out.

The newly substituted player was a brown-haired, curly-haired boy with a bright smile. Admiring him from a male perspective, this guy had deep eye sockets, distinct double eyelids, and handsome, three-dimensional features. Yet, despite his sharp jawline, he didn’t appear aggressive, probably because of his smile.

The opponent actually took the initiative to walk up to Xia Chiyi and said with a smile, “Hi, I’m Arthur. Your positioning is excellent.”

This guy was half a head taller than Xia Chiyi. As soon as he came up, he introduced himself and even praised Xia Chiyi’s positioning.

Xia Chiyi tugged at his athletic jersey, thinking to himself: This guy was probably sent up specifically to mark me. Smiling so politely, it’s definitely a case of the weasel paying respects to the hen—he wants to steal the eggs!

“Sorry, I don’t know English.”

After saying that, Xia Chiyi backed away, retreating until he was next to Lu Yingnan.

Arthur, the new substitute, clearly knew Xia Chiyi was spouting nonsense. In the previous quarter, Xia Chiyi had fluently provoked Jenkins; his English was better than many of the high-scoring TOEFL international students at school.

Yet, Arthur’s smile remained unchanged, just like… a college student looking at a cute elementary schooler.

The second quarter began, and sure enough, Arthur, the smiling tiger, defended tightly right in front of Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi had initially been very confident. His fake moves were at a very high level in the Division I league. Ma Tao, Zhao Lingcong, and even Yang Huaiyu had been faked out by him before.

But when Arthur defended Xia Chiyi, he never jumped easily. He always had one hand raised to exert shooting pressure on Xia Chiyi, and he agilely followed Xia Chiyi’s step-backs, always managing to create shooting interference at the most crucial moments.

Xia Chiyi felt himself being watched by those smiling eyes; the opponent’s grayish-blue pupils seemed to possess some kind of magic.

—It was as if Arthur could predict his step-backs and lateral shifts in advance. He could always react in perfect sync with Xia Chiyi. No matter how fast Xia Chiyi’s release was, as long as he dipped the ball, Arthur’s hand would reach over…

His legs felt as heavy as lead. Every one of Xia Chiyi’s dribbling breakthroughs became an opportunity for Arthur to cut the ball.

This feeling of being unable to breathe in or out was like choking.

This was true defense: predicting the opponent’s routines and leaving them with no path to take.

Xia Chiyi constantly observed how Lu Yingnan shook off his opponents, silently learning in his heart. He received a pass from Lu Yingnan, who lifted his chin, signaling Xia Chiyi to bravely break through the defensive bottleneck that was Arthur.

Xia Chiyi executed a massive change of direction, supporting himself with one hand on the ground and almost falling, but he managed to pass the ball around Arthur’s waist.

Liu Suchen caught the ball and scored with a switch-hand layup.

Xia Chiyi tumbled onto the court, his tailbone stinging a bit from the fall.

Arthur’s smile grew more pronounced as he reached a hand out to Xia Chiyi: “Nice pass.”

Xia Chiyi didn’t like this attitude of treating him like an elementary school student and decided to get up himself.

However, Lu Yingnan rushed over, resting one hand on his knee and extending the other to Xia Chiyi. “Getting up?”

“Even if I don’t want to get up, I can’t just sit here forever.”

Xia Chiyi grabbed Lu Yingnan’s hand and was hoisted up in one fluid motion.

“Wow, Captain Lu, you’re really strong.”

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lu Yingnan seemed to smile.

Xia Chiyi grinned broadly, took two steps back, and turned away lightly, like a little deer.

In the audience stands, the substitute players from Southwest Aviation University grew worried.

“Isn’t Xia Chiyi’s long-range shooting famous? Five minutes have passed in the second quarter, and he’s only taken one shot?”

“When I watched the live broadcast of the Southeast Division, he was really incredible. I guess meeting that Arthur today immediately showed the difference in levels, and he’s completely misfired.”

“These days, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can shoot three-pointers. Look at Connecticut’s shooting guard… Rudy, is it? He’s scored twelve points in five minutes. Now that’s a shooting guard.”

The Qing Da women’s basketball ladies sitting in front were annoyed to death listening to this.

“Hey, you benchwarmers, do you know why you can’t even get on the substitute bench? If you don’t understand, stop running your mouths blindly. This Arthur is obviously a lockdown defender!”

“Have you guys ever watched an NCAA final? Anyone assigned by Connecticut for specific one-on-one marking is an ace! It’s only been five minutes into the game, and that Arthur is practically glued to Xia Chiyi’s body. What does that tell you?”

After being heavily criticized by the women’s basketball seniors, those observing boys didn’t dare spout nonsense anymore.

Indeed, Connecticut was in its element in the second quarter. That shooting guard Rudy went 4-for-6, making Assistant Coach Carpenter smile from ear to ear.

The pick-and-roll between the big center Martin and the obnoxious Jenkins was also flawless.

This level of tacit understanding was forged in real combat; it could be called the textbook standard for pick-and-rolls in the NCAA.

Every time Lu Yingnan tried to squeeze through their screen to pursue Rudy, he would be accurately “sandwiched” by Martin and Jenkins. The range of their pick-and-roll was very wide; no matter how fast Lu Yingnan was, by the time he bypassed them, Rudy had already released the ball.

Meanwhile, Xia Chiyi was restricted by Arthur and couldn’t spare any effort. He couldn’t even utilize his positional advantage.

Du He and Shuai Bei leaned against each other, both very silent.

The farther you go and the higher you climb, the more you realize your own shortcomings.

Shuai Bei’s brows were furrowed as he looked at Xia Chiyi’s back. Having played so many games, this was the first time Shuai Bei had seen his aura so low.

Although Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu were scoring forcefully, bombarding the opponent’s basket with various high-level inside techniques, exhausting their stamina like this wasn’t a sustainable solution.

Coach Li Xiaoran called a timeout halfway through the second quarter.

Xia Chiyi returned to his seat, threw a towel over his head, and gripped both sides of it tightly with his hands. His brows were furrowed, and he subconsciously pouted, thinking hard about what he should do. Then he tugged at Zhou Zhexiao beside him, “Give me your towel.”

Standing not far away, Zhuo Zheng drew a sharp breath. Xia Chiyi dares to order Zhou Zhexiao around? Careful, the young master might beat your skull in.

Who knew Zhou Zhexiao would lower his head, take a clean towel from his sports bag, drape it over Xia Chiyi’s head, and gently help him wipe the sweat from the back of his neck and shoulders.

“That guy named Arthur… if you play basketball, just play basketball. Why does he have to wear perfume! It’s choking me,” Xia Chiyi complained in a low voice.

“It should be a sports cologne.”

“Ugh…” Xia Chiyi pressed a corner of the towel to his nose, inhaling the scent that fully belonged to Zhou Zhexiao. “Did you use it before too?”

“I don’t need it.”

“That’s good. Your scent right now is the best,” Xia Chiyi said.

“Mhm.”

Zhuo Zheng, who was currently pouring water for his captain, heard this entire conversation from behind. He wondered if his eyes and ears were broken… Zhou Zhexiao had such a spirit of “service”? So obedient? Was Xia Chiyi some kind of magical beast tamer?

The teammates from Ningchang University were very worried about Xia Chiyi.

Shuai Bei exhaled heavily: “I’m very worried about Xia Chiyi. That new substitute, Arthur, is truly his kryptonite.”

Du He also took a deep breath. “Yeah, even standing on the sidelines, I can feel the oppressive weight of Arthur’s defense… It’s like reaching a dead end, running out of ammunition and food…”

The next second, both of their heads were grabbed from the left and right by Ling Huanzhen.

“With your level of skill, you still have the time to worry about Xia Chiyi? Have you guys figured out Martin and Jenkins’s pick-and-roll coordination yet?” Ling Huanzhen asked.

“Roughly… we understand a bit,” Du He said uncertainly.

Ling Huanzhen spoke up: “First, the pick-and-roll process must be swift. If you’re even half a beat slow, the position you want will be occupied by the opponent.”

Du He revealed an “I get it” expression and said loudly, “During the second quarter, Mo Chuang kept running rapidly, wanting to set screens for Xia Chiyi, but Arthur saw through his intentions and always blocked his running route a step ahead!”

Shuai Bei also fell into deep thought. If it were him and Du He on the court, they probably wouldn’t be able to predict the opponent’s pick-and-roll routes. Yet Arthur could do it with absolute precision… The NCAA truly was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It wasn’t just individual skills; even their tactical awareness was on a higher level.

Ling Huanzhen continued to explain: “Another thing to note is that during the pick-and-roll process, the player setting the screen must expand the range of the screen. For example, when the opposing center Martin sets a screen for shooting guard Rudy, once Rudy successfully passes by him, Martin will immediately turn to face Rudy’s direction, keeping an eye on Rudy’s route, ready to catch a pass back if Rudy is unable to shoot.”

Du He held his head. “Looking at it this way, my awareness for screens and receiving passes is too poor.”

“That’s because Xia Chiyi has always been able to rely on his sudden stops and quick shots, or his own breakthroughs to score, which made us overlook the importance of the pick-and-roll. If we enhance our tacit coordination in pick-and-rolls, we might win more easily when we face Qincheng University,” Shuai Bei stated.

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[Author’s Note]
Xia Chiyi: Don’t call me a little boy, a little boy can also move mountains and level seas.
Wishing everyone a happy reading.