HGTM CH19

Chapter 019: Because I Want to Win, You Must Lose

Hearing about this match, Xu Mi also hurried to Ningchang University, bringing her high school sisters along.

Her sisters didn’t understand basketball at all and scrolled through their phones in boredom. They had no liking for Chen Chuan’s basketball gang; tall, aggressive, without a shred of aesthetic appeal. They also didn’t understand the point of a bunch of people fighting to put a ball into a hoop.

Tea cups were placed on the seats at the chairman’s podium, clearly for the school leaders. The question was, how many of them understood basketball?

The Vice Principal arrived first. After finding a seat, he gave Chen Chuan a meaningful look, and Chen Chuan immediately brimmed with confidence.

What surprised everyone was that Assistant Coach Cheng Qing wasn’t the main referee but served as the assistant referee.

There were even four senior students serving as table officials on the sidelines.

Shuai Bei, who had intended to play casually, sensed something was wrong. “It’s just an intra-team match; a referee and a timekeeper would have been enough. Why are there an assistant referee, an assistant scorer, and a 24-second operator today?”

Du He was also surprised. “Yeah, and a technical commissioner… this is too formal… I feel like I’m about to play in the grassroots tournament. So nervous…”

Xia Chiyi nudged Ye Chaoying. “Is our Principal Feng this serious?”

“I… I didn’t expect this either…”

The calmest among them was Zhou Zhexiao. He was stretching his legs and doing various warm-ups on the side. Seeing Xia Chiyi still chatting with Ye Chaoying, he frowned, hooked his finger into Xia Chiyi’s back collar, and dragged him over to warm up.

Meanwhile, Xu Mi’s sisters and the girls who came with them were taking photos with their phones.

“Who is that cool guy who hasn’t smiled at all? His legs are so long, and the way he stretches his shoulders is so sexy! The one being dragged away by him is also handsome, a pure school hunk style!”

Xu Mi’s face was full of black lines. Who was the one complaining earlier that basketball players were all brawn and no brain, with crude manners?

“Wipe your drool, don’t let it drip on your clothes,” Xu Mi said helplessly.

Five minutes before the match started, Principal Feng entered with several school leaders. They chatted and laughed in the corridor, but a tall figure attracted everyone’s attention.

The school leaders took their seats one after another. Principal Feng, beaming with joy, spoke into the microphone in front of him: “Today, Ningchang University welcomes a distinguished guest, a recently retired CBA star, a premier power forward, and a leading figure of our Chinese men’s basketball team—please give a warm round of applause to welcome Ling Huanzhen! Today, Ningchang University is honored to invite Ling Huanzhen to serve as the main referee for this school team match!”

Principal Feng’s introduction was like dropping a depth charge. Even those who didn’t watch basketball rarely didn’t know Ling Huanzhen.

Thunderous applause erupted from the stands. Ling Huanzhen walked out of the tunnel and stood in the light. Many of his fans in the stands, unable to suppress their excitement at seeing him in person, screamed frantically.

Xu Mi was also stunned. Did the video she sent to Ling Huanzhen work? Did Ling Huanzhen personally come to test Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi’s abilities?

Ling Huanzhen made a shushing gesture, took the microphone handed by Cheng Qing, and said loudly, “I have retired. The protagonists today are the students about to compete. You are the future of Chinese men’s basketball! And I am just a green leaf, here to witness if there is a possibility for Ningchang University to counterattack!”

After this sentence, Chen Chuan’s face turned unpleasant. He felt that Ling Huanzhen’s appearance this time wasn’t to support them, Ma Wenhua’s old subordinates.

On the contrary, He Bin was very calm and said indifferently, “The bigger the fame, the less likely he is to be biased. We just perform normally; he has to be fair and just. Ling Huanzhen can’t blow a black whistle.”

Ling Huanzhen paused and then said: “I won’t say clichés like ‘friendship first, competition second.’ The reality is—because I want to win, you must lose!”

Xia Chiyi came to Zhou Zhexiao. Just as he was about to pinch Zhou Zhexiao’s face, the other party pinched his cheek first.

“Ow—” Xia Chiyi was in so much pain that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Zhou Zhexiao’s hand then gently covered his cheek. He was so fierce just now, but suddenly became gentle.

“Not a dream. The main referee today is Ling Huanzhen.”

Du He was so excited he stuttered, “My god, is this the highlight of my basketball career? Ling Huanzhen came to watch me play!”

This unexpected joy made Ye Chaoying nudge Shuai Bei. “Bro, isn’t Ling Huanzhen watching you play more fulfilling than posing randomly in a studio?”

Shuai Bei froze there. A heart that had long cooled in his chest suddenly began to beat, thump after thump, louder and louder.

Today, he wanted to play for Ling Huanzhen to see. He wanted to unleash all the abilities that had been suppressed by Ma Wenhua!

With a whistle around his neck, Ling Huanzhen came to the center of the court. Everyone took their positions. Responsible for the opening jump ball were Du He and Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan took a deep breath, thinking Du He hadn’t played for a long time and his form must have declined. He would use the jump ball to give them a head-on blow!

The court quieted down. Ling Huanzhen tossed the ball high vertically. At the moment it started to fall, the centers from both sides jumped together.

Du He held back a surge of energy. Being called a blockhead by Ma Wenhua, having his starting qualification taken away, being forced to give up basketball—all these bits and pieces filled his heart with intense longing. Even if this was the last match of his life, he wanted Ling Huanzhen, who had seen wider worlds, to acknowledge his ability!

Du He jumped a full five centimeters higher than Chen Chuan. With a “thud,” the ball was tipped near Ye Chaoying.

Ye Chaoying caught the ball. Giving no one time to react, he dribbled straight into the opponent’s paint. Chen Chuan and his team didn’t even have time to defend before he laid it up for points.

“Good job—” Ye Chaoying ran back and high-fived Du He.

But soon, the opponent retaliated. As soon as He Bin dribbled to the three-point line, Chen Chuan tacitly helped him screen Du He, and He Bin hit a three-pointer.

“Damn, the opponent has a turret too.” Ye Chaoying stood with hands on hips. “Xia Chiyi, can you win some face for us?”

“Got it!” Xia Chiyi moved his wrist. This He Bin looked like an expert in mid-to-long-range shooting, and with Chen Chuan setting picks for him, if he didn’t dampen their spirit, he would have come for nothing.

Ling Huanzhen glanced at Xia Chiyi, thinking: Kid, show me your skills quickly! If you’re a dud, should I ask Sheng Xingming or Zhou Zhexiao to reimburse my flight ticket?

While Chen Chuan was still dribbling and guarding against Ye Chaoying, a figure passed by him, and his ball was gone!

A sound of surprise came from the spectator seats. Xia Chiyi had stolen the ball!

“Wow, the ball was gone in the blink of an eye?”

“This bro’s steal speed is so fast!”

Xia Chiyi rushed to the three-point line and got into shooting posture. Two opponents came forward to intercept. The whole arena thought Xia Chiyi would pass to Ye Chaoying nearby, but unexpectedly, he jumped to shoot!

He Bin shouted: “He can’t make it—”

Chen Chuan rushed to the basket immediately, jostling for position with Shuai Bei to grab the rebound. Smoke rose instantly under the basket.

Xia Chiyi’s ball had been sent out. It was just like what Ling Huanzhen saw in the video—graceful hang-time, time pausing briefly for him. When the parabola formed, the defenders were already falling back, and the ball passed between their heads.

The moment it went into the basket, Xu Mi was the first to applaud. In her view, the quality of this three-pointer was much higher than He Bin’s.

Xia Chiyi stole the ball from Chen Chuan himself; he didn’t need teammates to feed him the ball, he could create scoring opportunities himself.

Facing a double-team interception without a screen, he still shot calmly. A clean and crisp shot; that moment was simply too pleasing to the eye.

Xu Mi was still analyzing the quality of this shot when her sister frantically tugged at her sleeve. “Ahhh, I thought Zhou Zhexiao was handsome just now, but now I realize Xia Chiyi is my type…”

Xu Mi’s flesh hurt from being pinched by her crystal nails. She really wanted to ask if she knew where Xia Chiyi was handsome. If it was just about shooting three-pointers, then He Bin was also handsome.

As the referee, Ling Huanzhen looked in Zhou Zhexiao’s direction and touched the tip of his nose, meaning: Just so-so!

Little brat, if the ones defending you were me and Jiao Yingfeng, you wouldn’t even have the chance to shoot.

Zhou Zhexiao lifted his chin. Although far away, Ling Huanzhen was sure he scoffed.

But this three-pointer indeed gave Chen Chuan and He Bin a head-on blow. Their team’s scoring method always relied on He Bin as the offensive center, with others setting picks for him to create shooting opportunities, while Chen Chuan fought for rebounds under the basket. This was also the tactical arrangement Ma Wenhua made for them before being hospitalized.

They had been practicing around this tactic all summer.

In He Bin’s view, it was only natural for everyone to grab balls and create opportunities for him.

Until Xia Chiyi’s first three-pointer made He Bin suddenly feel a strong sense of unease.

He kept convincing himself that Xia Chiyi making the shot under a double-team was just a coincidence.

In the following game, Ye Chaoying continued to display his skills in interception and stealing. Chen Chuan and his teammates couldn’t hold the ball for three seconds before Ye Chaoying took it away. Ye Chaoying didn’t hog the limelight but distributed the ball to Du He and Shuai Bei.

He also had selfish motives, hoping these two could feel his sincerity and continue to be teammates after this match.

With Ye Chaoying feeding them balls like this, Du He and Shuai Bei practically lived under the opponent’s basket, dunking one after another with loud clangs.

As if the hoop were truly Ma Wenhua’s head, all the unwillingness Du He and Shuai Bei felt from being oppressed these days erupted.

Chen Chuan and his teammates were dunked on until they doubted life.

Before the first quarter was halfway through, Chen Chuan’s team was trailing by eight points.

On the podium, Principal Feng looked at the Vice Principal beside him. “This Du He and Shuai Bei are very formidable under the basket. Are they also freshmen?”

The Vice Principal was somewhat embarrassed. “This… I’m not quite sure…”

The Party Secretary spoke up instead. “If I remember correctly, I saw Du He and Shuai Bei last year. Because of their large physiques, I have a deeper impression of them. They seem to be from the basketball team too?”

Principal Feng gave a meaningful “Oh” and asked back, “That’s strange then. I see they play quite well. How did we get shaved bald in the divisional competition last year?”