Chapter 0121: Qingda BBQ Stall

He Bin didn’t turn his head. In truth, he had always felt that he couldn’t compare to Xia Chiyi.

Aside from his off-ball movement and three-pointers, he didn’t seem to have any other weapons in his arsenal. Unlike Xia Chiyi, who, despite only being a freshman, constantly displayed astonishing potential and a level of skill that felt completely out of reach.

“You are the captain of our Ningchang University team and our savior in crucial moments. Without you, we couldn’t have won the Southeast Division finals,” Xia Chiyi’s voice rang out loud and clear.

Sitting in the front rows of the bus were Yang Huaiyu, Li Shunchuan, and the others. For Xia Chiyi to so brazenly remind them that they had lost the Southeast Division title—it seemed he really wasn’t afraid of getting jumped by the whole group.

Hearing Xia Chiyi’s words, the feeling of being acknowledged made He Bin’s heart swell, but mostly he felt bashful. He genuinely didn’t think he had been that important in the match against Qincheng University.

But then Li Shunchuan spoke up: “If you were a player for Southeast Mining University, He Bin, Coach Ma Tao would wake up laughing from his dreams. Zhao Lingcong’s scoring pressure would be significantly reduced.”

Yang Huaiyu tilted his head over the edge of his seat. “If we put you on Southwest Aero University…”

Sitting behind Yang Huaiyu, Lu Yingnan chimed in: “Then our probability of beating Qingda would exceed sixty percent.”

He Bin was completely stunned. He thought of himself as a nobody; he never expected the players from Qincheng University to recognize his worth so highly. As for Lu Yingnan… he wasn’t the type to just be polite because they were sharing a bus.

Xia Chiyi nudged Zhou Zhexiao with his elbow. “Hey, someone said you were just getting carried. How are you gonna reply?”

Zhou Zhexiao, who was drowsy from the rocking of the bus, half-opened his eyelids and reached his hand toward He Bin. “If you don’t know how to talk trash, give it to me. I’ll reply.”

He Bin fell silent, his fingers gripping his phone tightly. He knew Zhou Zhexiao’s reply would be incredibly arrogant, but this guy’s arrogance was always backed by raw skill. But what about himself? Did he have Zhou Zhexiao’s strength? Was he worthy of the trash talk Zhou Zhexiao would unleash?

He thought back to all those repetitive incidents from high school.

Because of his tall, handsome appearance and his great basketball skills, Sheng Fang had been the darling of their class.

Meanwhile, He Bin’s daily routine consisted of handing his homework and mock exams over for Sheng Fang to copy. Several times, He Bin had seriously told him that sports scholarship students still needed to pass their academic exams.

Sheng Fang would just smack the back of He Bin’s head and flash the smile of a golden boy: “We’re both sports students, but I’m different from you. I’m a Class-1 athlete. I can apply for an exam exemption.”

Sheng Fang’s buddies would laugh uproariously, treating He Bin’s “good intentions” as pure delusion.

During a provincial tournament, Sheng Fang was heavily guarded by the opponents. He Bin got open several times and called for the ball, but Sheng Fang stubbornly tried to force his way through the defenders, resulting in turnovers.

After the game, the coach pulled Sheng Fang aside and asked why he didn’t pass to the open He Bin. Sheng Fang stubbornly argued back, which led to the coach benching him for an entire game.

Sheng Fang showed zero remorse. Instead, he took his anger out on He Bin, assuming He Bin had snitched to the coach.

In every game after that, Sheng Fang never passed to He Bin.

Sheng Fang’s attitude eventually influenced the other teammates, and gradually, they also stopped passing to He Bin as much as possible.

The coach knew what was happening and could only try to persuade Sheng Fang earnestly, but Sheng Fang remained unmoved.

Because Sheng Fang was the team’s scoring ace, the coach, prioritizing the team’s victories, had no choice but to drastically reduce He Bin’s playing time.

As a result, He Bin never had any standout performances. By his senior year, no university coaches had their eyes on him, leaving him to test into Ningchang University on his own merits.

The bus passed another intersection. He Bin was still hesitating about whether to let Zhou Zhexiao fire back. He was so used to enduring things; he didn’t know if he should stir up trouble.

Another message popped up in the group chat, sent by Sheng Fang: [The Southeast Division and the Northeast Division are totally different. Our Northeast Division is a gathering place for the nation’s elite. The luckiest thing to happen to Ningchang University is probably just having Ling Huanzhen as their coach.]

It wasn’t just his eyes; even his heart felt violently pierced by those words.

He didn’t want to endure it anymore. Mocking him was one thing, but looking down on all of Ningchang University made He Bin desperately want to shut Sheng Fang up.

He didn’t talk much in the high school group chat anyway. Worst comes to worst, he just wouldn’t attend any class reunions. He handed his phone to Zhou Zhexiao. “You reply.”

He decided to hand full authority over to Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao took the phone, and Xia Chiyi leaned his head over. “Damn… this guy is so fucking arrogant. Roast him to death!”

[I heard that the lower someone’s horizons are, the more they need to be flattered.]

The moment this message was sent, Sheng Fang’s buddy was the first to jump out: [He Bin! Why are you being so passive-aggressive?]

Expressionless, Zhou Zhexiao continued to type: [What brand of candle is Sheng Fang that you love blowing him so much?]

On the other end of the phone, whether Sheng Fang didn’t see it or was just exploding with rage, he surprisingly didn’t reply. Instead, his good brother lost his mind.

[Fuck! Does a single division championship make you think you can fly? Where’s the group admin? Kick this lunatic out!]

Zhou Zhexiao’s expression remained entirely flat: [Are you a tonsil? Why are you so prone to getting inflamed?]

Xia Chiyi leaned against Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder, laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

Sheng Fang: [What the hell are you acting so arrogant for, He Bin? You don’t even rank inside your own Ningchang University!]

Zhou Zhexiao replied: [If I, the one who “doesn’t even rank at Ningchang University,” played in your place today, Yandu University’s coach would weep tears of joy.]

Xia Chiyi burst out laughing. “That is definitely the inner voice of Yandu’s coach!”

Sheng Fang finally couldn’t hold back and started raging in the group: [What the hell did Ling Huanzhen feed you to make your ego inflate like this?]

Zhou Zhexiao typed: [When it comes to ego inflation, you’re the expert. After all, your face is already thick enough to fit a thousand mountains and rivers.]

Xia Chiyi scratched the cowlick on top of his head, secretly glad he never argued with Zhou Zhexiao. Otherwise, he’d be choked to death by his words before they ever broke up.

Sheng Fang finally realized something was off: [You’re not fucking He Bin, are you? Who the hell took He Bin’s phone to bark like a dog in here?]

Zhou Zhexiao kept going: [Are you acting this arrogant because you think this group is a Dog Lovers Association?]

Xia Chiyi nudged Zhou Zhexiao, whispering, “Quit while you’re ahead. He Bin still has to show his face in his high school group!”

Zhou Zhexiao said calmly, “Whether he can show his face depends entirely on how many points we beat Yandu University by, doesn’t it?”

Xia Chiyi sighed. “The National Tournament is split into upper and lower brackets. We might not even be in the same bracket as Yandu University.”

Zhou Zhexiao nodded. “Alright, then I’ll end this meaningless squabble. After all, He Bin still needs to use his phone.”

With that, Zhou Zhexiao sent one last message: [Instead of running your mouth here, you’d be better off burning some incense. Pray you don’t end up in the same bracket as Ningchang University, otherwise, there’ll be a whole lot of three-pointers flying right over your head.]

Message sent, Zhou Zhexiao handed the phone back to He Bin.

He Bin glanced at the chat history, closed his eyes, and let out a laugh.

It was the sheer exhilaration of finally venting his frustrations. Even in a battle of words, Zhou Zhexiao would never lose.

“A whole lot of three-pointers… I don’t even know if I’ll get to play,” He Bin whispered.

Unexpectedly, Ling Huanzhen, who was sitting in front of him, turned around. “Scoring from dual outside shooters is Ningchang University’s signature style. Forget Yandu University—even against Qingda, you’ll be on the court whether you want to or not.”

“Exactly!” Ye Chaoying wrapped his arm around He Bin’s neck from behind. “You’re our captain, have a little ambition, will you?”

“Alright, I get it.” He Bin patted Ye Chaoying’s hand. “Let go of me quickly, or I’ll be strangled to death before I even get to eat Qingda’s BBQ.”

Only then did Ye Chaoying obediently sit back down.

He Bin’s phone was still vibrating non-stop. He took it out and glanced at it, realizing that several of his other classmates had sent him private messages.

[Holy shit, He Bin! You were so badass today! After tiptoeing around Sheng Fang for so many years, it feels like you’ve finally stood up for yourself!]
[He Bin, you’ve changed! You’ve gotten so cool! Keep it up!]
[That guy is already in college, it’s about time he learned how to act like a decent human being!]

Even though everyone hadn’t spoken up directly in the group, it seemed they had been tolerating Sheng Fang for quite a long time too.

---

Their bus drove onto the Qingda (Qinghua University) campus. Despite being a prestigious university with a heavy academic atmosphere, today, posters celebrating Qingda’s back-to-back Northeast Division championship were plastered everywhere. Posters of their star players decorated the campus, creating an entirely different vibe from when Xia Chiyi last visited.

As soon as their bus stopped, they saw Liu Suchen and Huo Cheng waiting at the entrance of the small cafeteria. They really looked like the picture of smug satisfaction!

Lu Yingnan was the first to step off and bumped fists with Liu Suchen.

Yang Huaiyu was still lazily lounging in his seat, admiring the green leaves outside the window, until Liu Suchen walked over and knocked on the glass.

“Get your ass down here and explain what the hell you were saying on the train last night.”

Yang Huaiyu slid the window open and shoved the massive bouquet of flowers he had been resting on his lap outside. “Ah Chen, wishing you eternal youth and longevity!”

Liu Suchen felt flattered. Just as he caught the bouquet, he suddenly felt something was off. “Why are the colors so plain and pale?”

Lu Yingnan commented from the side, “Yeah, they look perfectly suited for a graveyard visit.”

Liu Suchen immediately leaped up with the speed of a shot block and grabbed Yang Huaiyu’s head, pulling half of his body out of the window.

“Yang Huaiyu, you really are a hardcore fanatic of grave-dancing, aren’t you!”

“Ah… ah… let go! If you make me go bald, are you gonna buy me a wig?!”

The second half of the bus was filled with Ningchang University players. They didn’t even have the heart to get off, opting instead to watch a live-action drama of the love-hate relationship between the First Division’s Big Three.

Huo Cheng stood at the entrance and waved to Xia Chiyi and the others. “It’s fine. It’s like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai—one is willing to beat, the other is willing to suffer. Hurry up and come over, the BBQ stall is all set up.”

Hearing the words “BBQ stall,” Ling Huanzhen immediately led his team off the bus.

Tonight, this small cafeteria had practically been booked out by the Qingda basketball team.

Liu Suchen rolled up his sleeves, declaring he would personally grill meat to host Xia Chiyi. But what he ended up placing in front of Xia Chiyi was a pitch-black piece of “dark cuisine” that still had raw, bloody streaks inside when bitten into.

Xia Chiyi seriously suspected Liu Suchen was trying to murder him.

“Taking out the enemy shooter before the two armies clash… deceitful, but effective,” Yang Huaiyu said with a profound expression, nearly getting skewered by Liu Suchen’s grilling skewers for his trouble.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll grill it for you,” Zhou Zhexiao said, looking at Xia Chiyi.

Is this the perk of having a boyfriend?

“I want beef! Giant squid! And a huge chicken cutlet!”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao stood up, ruffled the top of Xia Chiyi’s head, and went to grill the meat.

Fortunately, the cafeteria’s head chef hadn’t placed any hopes on these young guys successfully cooking their own meat, so he had already prepared a lot of dishes in advance. Otherwise, eating Liu Suchen’s creations would have sent them all collectively ascending to heaven.

A short while later, Zhou Zhexiao returned with a plate of perfectly grilled meat and set it next to Xia Chiyi. “Eat.”

It wasn’t burnt, there were no weird colors, and it smelled incredibly savory.

Xia Chiyi took a bite of the beef. The seasoning and saltiness were just right—cooked through, but not tough.

“So…”

Before Xia Chiyi could say “So delicious,” Zhou Zhexiao leaned close to his ear and whispered, “If it’s delicious, finish it all. But I don’t grill meat for anyone else.”

After saying that, Zhou Zhexiao acted as if nothing had happened.

Behind them, the continuous sound of other people’s complaints echoed.

Ye Chaoying had an expression that said he had lost the will to live. “I had so many expectations for this BBQ, but what the hell have I been eating?! It’s a grand showcase of dark cuisine!”

“Yeah, if only Qingda’s BBQ skills were as high as their basketball skills!” Ke Yan agreed.

Even Southwest Aero’s Lu Yingnan was standing silently in front of the BBQ pit holding a plate.

Liu Suchen’s grilling skills were so atrocious that he was unanimously voted out of the grilling station. Currently serving everyone was Liang Tan.

Facing a massive bigshot like Lu Yingnan, the freshman point guard Liang Tan was so nervous his hand trembled, and the cap of the spice shaker fell off.

“Ah—!”

Liang Tan looked ready to cry, but unexpectedly, Lu Yingnan dropped his center of gravity, shot his hand out, and caught the cap mid-air. With an upward flick, he perfectly snapped it right back onto the bottle. The whole process looked like a magic trick.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Liang Tan looked at Lu Yingnan with starry-eyed admiration.

Xia Chiyi also caught a glimpse of this, his heart giving a slight jolt. That reaction time is way too fast.

Lu Yingnan patted Liang Tan’s shoulder. “Let me do it.”

Twenty minutes later, everyone was finally eating normal-tasting BBQ.

Yang Huaiyu sighed in awe, “Subarashii…”

Liu Suchen threw his arm over Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder, pulling him close. “Not bad, Old Yang. While I wasn’t by your side, you haven’t been slacking on watching Japanese videos, huh?”

Yang Huaiyu swatted Liu Suchen’s hand away. “There are children present, please keep your thoughts pure. Haven’t you watched any of the many Japanese sports anime?”

On the other side, the coaches of the different teams sat together, eating their meal while planning out tomorrow’s practice matches.

Coach Ren, the one with the most seniority, started, “The National Tournament is about to begin. Barring any accidents, the champion should be among us here. In the little time we have left, fighting to the death and putting too much psychological pressure on the players doesn’t seem necessary, right?”

Ling Huanzhen was enjoying his food so much that he blurted out without any situational awareness, “That sounds pretty arrogant! What if a dark horse from the Northwest Division emerges and wipes the floor with everyone sitting here?”

Li Xiaoran frowned and forcefully shoved a massive bone straight into Ling Huanzhen’s mouth. “Can’t a bone this big shut your mouth?”

Coach Gu from Southwest Aero University also smiled and shook his head. “I’m not drinking this cursed milk (jinx).”

“None of us are,” Coach Ren laughed.

Li Xiaoran wiped his hands and said coolly, “The NCAA finals ended in March, and the University of Connecticut (UConn) defended their championship title. Their head coach and I go way back, so I sent him an invitation.”

Ling Huanzhen immediately put down his meat bone, revealing a look of surprise. “Don’t tell me you’re sending players over for a tryout? Do you want to pull an ‘Empty Fort Strategy’ during the National Tournament? Li Xiaoran, your ego has gone to your head…”

Li Xiaoran really wanted to take that massive bone and smash Ling Huanzhen’s skull in. “Listen to me clearly. He gave me a lot of face. Their assistant coach brought their second-string team over to form a training camp with us. It’s only for a week. It’s just their second team, not the lineup UConn used in the NCAA finals. Coach Ling, if you think it’s beneath you, you don’t have to participate.”

This time, not only Ling Huanzhen, but even Coach Ren and Coach Gu were stunned.

“Coach Li, you’re really willing to let our other university teams participate in this exchange?”
“Did UConn agree to that?”

Ling Huanzhen set down the bone and said slowly, “Let me guess. If an NCAA powerhouse like UConn wanted to organize a training camp, they could choose Duke, UNC, or Kansas. They don’t need to cross an ocean. Sending people over here to play practice matches, even if it’s just their second team… doesn’t it feel like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito? So… they definitely had conditions for accepting the invite, and those conditions involve the rest of our three teams.”

This was basically the equivalent of an NBA Championship team sending their bench to play practice matches in the CBA.

Putting the sheer difference in skill levels aside, since UConn won the championship, they naturally had the capital to be arrogant. Why would they travel thousands of miles to send people to Qingda?

Li Xiaoran and Ling Huanzhen stared at each other—one expression serious, the other flashing a roguish grin.

Coach Ren sighed, “Reel in the sparks in the air, you two.”

Coach Gu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, yeah, we need to save our energy to fight off the foreign invaders.”

Li Xiaoran nodded. “Their condition is that we have to field the strongest combined lineup from the First Division. Their head coach, Seaton, invited Liu Suchen for a tryout last year, but it unfortunately coincided with Liu Suchen resting an injury. It kept getting delayed, all the way until this year’s First Division tournament. We can’t let Liu Suchen go right now, so we chatted over email. I told him this year’s First Division was even more exciting than last year. He didn’t believe it, so I sent him the video of the Southeast Division Finals.”

Ling Huanzhen put on a ‘just as I thought’ expression. “I know Old Seaton pretty well too. After all, when Jiao Yingfeng and I were studying at Kansas, he was our assistant coach. The head coach at the time didn’t care about us Asian players at all, but Seaton felt that Jiao Yingfeng and I would definitely make it big, so he frequently gave us extra private training.”

Li Xiaoran raised an eyebrow. “Then why don’t you guess who Old Seaton set his sights on?”

“It has to be players who would be considered high-level even if placed in the CBA.” Ling Huanzhen rubbed his chin, a smug smile hanging on his lips. “The Southeast Division finals, huh? Qincheng University vs. Ningchang University. First, tell me, how many people did he pick?”

“Three.”

“Only three? Old Seaton’s tastes are as picky as ever.” Ling Huanzhen started counting on his fingers. “Yang Huaiyu, Zhou Zhexiao, and Xia Chiyi.”

“Correct, you win a meat bone.” Li Xiaoran looked at Coach Gu. “He’s also very interested in Southwest Aero’s Lu Yingnan. Although UConn isn’t lacking in point guards, someone like Lu Yingnan is still a rare find.”

Ling Huanzhen laughed. “So, this is a remote tryout for UConn. They want to test the level of our top university players. Then we shouldn’t hold back either; we’ll use them as a whetstone. Sending only their second team? We definitely have to make Old Seaton beat his chest in regret for not sending the first team!”

Ren Xin furrowed his brows. “If I’m not mistaken, this is also a training exercise for the World University Games, right? The people you just mentioned are probably all in Old Xie’s little notebook. UConn’s level is essentially the competing level of Team USA. If our top university players can’t even beat their second team, then we probably won’t achieve much at the World University Games.”

“That’s exactly the point,” Coach Gu said, his brow creasing.

Even though it was just a practice match, the four coaches had no choice but to treat it with absolute seriousness.

Ling Huanzhen suddenly burst into laughter. “I can’t even imagine—if these brats knew who their real opponents were for tomorrow’s practice match, could they still be eating and drinking so happily right now?”

“That’s why we’ll wait until they’re full to announce it. Also, for the first game tomorrow, we can’t let the guys from UConn underestimate us. Otherwise, in the following practice matches, our opponents probably won’t show their true skills anymore. Them slacking off is one thing, but if they find it boring and return to their country early, that would be a vicious slap in the face to our First Division.”

Li Xiaoran’s words caused the other coaches to fall silent.

Only Ling Huanzhen was still engrossed in eating his bone with his hands. Because it was so quiet around them, the “slurp” sound he made sucking out the marrow was exceptionally loud.

Li Xiaoran couldn’t stand it anymore and viciously kicked him under the table. Ling Huanzhen looked up, only to find the other three coaches staring at him.

“Xiaoran, don’t look so grumpy! Even with strong enemies at the door, a man still has to eat,” Ling Huanzhen said, putting down the bone, a smear of sauce still on his mouth. “It’s impossible that the NCAA finals ended in March, and now it’s April, yet you coaches haven’t studied that championship game. Haven’t you simulated in your heads what you would do if your team had to face UConn?”

Li Xiaoran crossed his arms and said coldly, “I feel like our Qingda is only one Xia Chiyi short of defeating UConn. How about you lend him to us for a bit?”

Ling Huanzhen smirked. “Do you think the synergy between Xia Chiyi and Liu Suchen is higher, or the synergy between Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao? And are you just missing a Xia Chiyi? You’re also missing a top-tier point guard—Lu Yingnan.”

“You…” It was Li Xiaoran’s first time being left speechless by Ling Huanzhen.

Hearing this, Coach Gu clutched his thermos and began to laugh.

Ling Huanzhen went back to gnawing on his bone, saying sagely, “I am no longer the Ling Huanzhen of the past.”

“You actually know what your past self was like?”

“Terrible at everything except being first in line for meals. Don’t think I don’t know what you lecture me about every day.”

Coach Ren also laughed, pushing the platter of large bones in front of Ling Huanzhen. “It’s a blessing for young people to have a good appetite!”

“Him, young? He’s pushing forty. Give it two years and he’ll definitely…”

Before Li Xiaoran could finish, Ling Huanzhen ran a hand through his hair, as if shooting a shampoo commercial.

“Don’t worry, Coach Li. Forget two years, even in twenty or two hundred years, my hair will still be thick! I’ll never go bald in the middle! You on the other hand… that’s not guaranteed.”

Li Xiaoran gritted his teeth. “I was referring to your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar!”

Over at the BBQ stall, the charcoal fire had died out at some point. The group of young guys had been crowding around fussing with it for ages, yet not a single one managed to get the fire going again. Every one of them looked disheveled, with charcoal ash smudged across their cheeks, noses, and foreheads.

“No way, I haven’t even had a few bites of the BBQ made by Captain Lu yet!” Zhuo Zheng was incredibly unhappy, poking at the charcoal along with the others, but unable to spark even a single ember.

Yang Huaiyu and Liu Suchen were also hovering around the BBQ stall. These two usually bickered fiercely, but when it came to food, they bickered even harder.

Liu Suchen studied the setup and asked, “Does this solid alcohol go under the charcoal or on top of it?”

Yang Huaiyu smiled and replied, “You really are a beautiful piece of trash.”

“Who are you calling beautiful?”

“Shouldn’t the focus be on ‘trash’?”

Lu Yingnan said flatly, “You two should just get married right here. That way, a hundred years from now, you can keep bickering in the graveyard.”

“Who wants to marry him!”
“Who wants to bicker with him in a graveyard!”

The two of them argued for twenty minutes, and the charcoal still wasn’t lit.

Eventually, the cafeteria chef couldn’t watch anymore. With a towel draped over his shoulder, he came to the rescue. In a few swift moves, the charcoal was blazing again. “It’s not like you’re rubbing sticks together to make fire, why couldn’t you light it?”

The chef swept his gaze over these college students who supposedly dominated the basketball courts, his eyes seeming to say: You’re all clearly useless, what makes any of you better than the rest?

After eating their fill, the players rubbed their round bellies, discussing how since they were stuffed, they might as well play a few pickup games to digest.

Liu Suchen leaned against Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder like he had no bones. “Full? The coach might have some big news to announce in a bit.”

Yang Huaiyu unceremoniously shunted his shoulder upward. “Get up. You and I are innocent of any ties.”

“Mhm… you scumbag. Our innocence was lost a long time ago, yet you can’t wait to cut ties with me.” Liu Suchen kept tugging at Yang Huaiyu’s arm to gross him out.

“Uh… you’re really letting me experience the joy of being a tyrant corrupted by a concubine. By the way, how is this training camp led by Qingda structured?”

“The second-string players from UConn already moved into our international student dorms yesterday. They’re taking it pretty seriously. They brought eight players, plus an assistant coach.” Liu Suchen lifted his eyelids and looked at Yang Huaiyu. “Do you still want me to get up?”

“No need, it’s fine if we’re not innocent.” Yang Huaiyu revealed a look of anticipation mixed with amusement. “What are the coaches planning? A four-school gauntlet?”

“How is that possible.” Liu Suchen chuckled.

Seeing that it was almost 9:30 PM, Li Xiaoran slowly stood up and clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.

“You guys should be about done eating, right? I’ll skip the welcome speech and get straight to the point. Tomorrow, the games for our four-school training camp will officially begin. However, your opponents will not be the people sitting among you. Instead, it will be the second-string team of this year’s NCAA champions, the University of Connecticut. Although it’s their second team, you should all know that the level of the NCAA is even higher than our CBA, so the strength of a championship team’s second string cannot be underestimated.”

The entire room went dead silent. Everyone was stunned by this sudden news.

The players from Qingda already knew about it. Song Boyun was leaning against Huo Cheng, gleefully enjoying the shocked faces of the other teams.

Du He: Who am I? Where am I?
Ye Chaoying: What the hell? I just finished watching the Northeast Division finals today, and suddenly the NCAA is here?
Shuai Bei: Did UConn come here just to flex a dimensional strike and show off?

Xia Chiyi looked toward Zhou Zhexiao, but Zhou Zhexiao looked completely calm and unfazed.

Back in the day, Sheng Xingming had led Duke University to defeat UConn in the NCAA, winning the championship two years in a row.

He just didn’t expect that this year’s champions would be UConn, and that they would send people right in front of Zhou Zhexiao.

What was this? The cycle of fate?

“The first game is absolutely crucial. The starting players have been selected by the four coaches based on tactics and optimal combat power. Just because you weren’t chosen doesn’t mean your skills are lacking, so please mentally prepare yourselves. The situation on the court changes rapidly, and any one of you could be subbed in at any moment. Understand, or do you not understand?”

A full two seconds passed, and still, no one answered.

Everyone was still processing the news.

Li Xiaoran’s expression turned even colder. “Do you understand, or not?!”

The crowd woke up as if from a dream, and a chorus of “Understood!” echoed through the room.

“Good. I’ll begin the roll call now. Point Guard, Lu Yingnan,” Li Xiaoran’s voice rang out.

“Here!”

Although Ke Yan and Ye Chaoying were both point guards who had performed phenomenally this year, if they were talking about the title of “Number One Point Guard,” it undoubtedly belonged to Lu Yingnan.

This choice was fully deserved.

Ye Chaoying looked at Lu Yingnan, thinking to himself that he definitely had to observe closely tomorrow to see exactly how Lu Yingnan orchestrated the offense.

“Shooting Guard, Xia Chiyi!”

Xia Chiyi hadn’t expected to be placed in the starting lineup. He was only a freshman, and his big-stage experience couldn’t compare to Li Shunchuan’s.

“Here!”

Li Xiaoran gave a slight nod, but Xia Chiyi’s brain was buzzing.

He leaned close to Zhou Zhexiao and asked, “Me? Did I hear that right? Tomorrow we’re playing against the NCAA champions—UConn! And they’re letting me start as the shooting guard? Did Coach Li drink some of Old Ling’s magic potion? Am I dreaming? Could you pinch me?”

“Is a pinch enough?” Zhou Zhexiao asked in return.

“Huh? What else do you want to do?”

“Do you want a kiss?”

“N-No… no need.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s palm gently covered the back of Xia Chiyi’s head. “Look at Qingda’s shooting guard, Song Boyun. Does he have a look of envy, jealousy, or hatred?”

Sensing Xia Chiyi’s gaze, Song Boyun raised an eyebrow at him, then smiled.

“Look over at Southwest Aero. Does anyone have an objection?”

Xia Chiyi locked eyes with Lu Yingnan. The other party nodded at him, appearing quite satisfied with his new teammate.

“Qincheng University is also perfectly fine with it.”

Xia Chiyi looked at Li Shunchuan. Li Shunchuan enthusiastically gave him a “Keep it up” gesture.

“It seems everyone is very willing to give me, a freshman, an opportunity to gain experience.”

Ye Chaoying’s head suddenly popped out from behind Xia Chiyi. “I say, do you really have zero self-awareness about your own skills?”

“You think… I’m not qualified?” Xia Chiyi felt a chill in his heart.

Ye Chaoying shoved him. “As a shooting guard, your lead is a whole tier above everyone else, you idiot!”

Xia Chiyi turned to look at his own captain, He Bin. Let’s not forget, He Bin was also a shooting guard.

He Bin laughed and lightly tapped the back of Xia Chiyi’s head with his fingertips. “Although I’m reluctant to admit it, it’s true—you’re a whole tier ahead.”

Xia Chiyi suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

“Small Forward…”

The crowd tensed up. Everyone knew the competition for Small Forward was fierce. Liu Suchen, Yang Huaiyu, Zhuo Zheng, and Zhou Zhexiao—not a single one of them was a pushover.

Zhou Zhexiao, Zhou Zhexiao, Zhou Zhexiao!
Xia Chiyi chanted the name silently in his heart.

“Liu Suchen.” Li Xiaoran revealed the answer under everyone’s expectant gazes.

Xia Chiyi let out a breath. Liu Suchen was last year’s First Division MVP and had participated in the youth training camps. He was indeed the optimal choice for Small Forward.

“Here,” Liu Suchen raised his hand, then leaned into Yang Huaiyu’s ear and whispered, “I’m the starting small forward. Are you super disappointed?”

Yang Huaiyu smiled calmly. “Whether I’m disappointed or not is secondary. But I can tell, Xia Chiyi is really disappointed.”

Liu Suchen followed Yang Huaiyu’s gaze and saw nothing but the back of Xia Chiyi’s head. “Do you have x-ray vision? You can see right through his head to the expression on his face?”

“I don’t even need to look. I can figure it out with my toes.”

Actually, Zhou Zhexiao’s expression was fairly calm. His teammates had wanted to console him, but they couldn’t detect a single hint of disappointment on his face.

Xia Chiyi was about to say something, but Zhou Zhexiao ruffled the cowlick on his head. “Don’t worry. There’s a ninety percent chance I’ll still be taking the court.”

Hearing this, Xia Chiyi immediately understood what Zhou Zhexiao meant.

The opponents were so strong that they would inevitably have to go all out. The physical toll would be massive. It wouldn’t just be Liu Suchen; even Xia Chiyi himself likely wouldn’t be able to play a full forty minutes.

Not to mention, Zhou Zhexiao graduated from Oak Hill Academy. He and Zhuo Zheng were likely the two players most accustomed to the American playstyle.

Instead, it was Southwest Aero’s Zhuo Zheng who had his brows knitted tightly together. His gaze wasn’t fixed on Liu Suchen, but rather on Zhou Zhexiao.

“What is it?” Lu Yingnan asked.

Zhuo Zheng hesitated. “N-Nothing.”

He just hadn’t expected Zhou Zhexiao to take not being selected so well, without making any fuss.

“Power Forward…” Li Xiaoran’s gaze swept across most of the cafeteria and landed in the direction where Liu Suchen was sitting.

Liu Suchen seemed to sense something and immediately moved his head off Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder. Yang Huaiyu glanced at him and noticed that Liu Suchen was wearing a rare, serious expression.

“Yang Huaiyu.”

An uproar swept through the small cafeteria.

“What? Did I hear that right? Yang Huaiyu is playing Power Forward?”
“We have so many amazing power forwards in this group! Qincheng University’s He Zhan, Qingda’s Huo Cheng… even Ningchang University’s Shuai Bei is incredible! Why pick Yang Huaiyu?”
“Yang Huaiyu is really tall, and he’s great at blocking shots and grabbing rebounds, but going up against the guys from UConn… isn’t his frame a little too small for that?”

Yang Huaiyu nodded with a smile and asked loudly, “Are the coaches sure about this?”

Li Xiaoran nodded. “It was an unanimous vote. Or do you think you can’t handle it?”

“I can handle it. I can play any position,” Yang Huaiyu replied.

Waves of “Booooo—” echoed through the room.

“Yang Huaiyu, you’re arrogant as hell!”
“If you don’t grab at least five rebounds, you’re getting beaten up when you sub out!”
“If you can play any position, why don’t you go play Center!”

Liu Suchen draped his arm back over Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder, lazily leaning against him. “Brother Huaiyu, they all think you’re being really arrogant.”

“You, more than anyone, know exactly how good I am.”

The people near them put on expressions begging for mercy.
When these two started putting on a theatrical act, normal people simply didn’t have the mental fortitude to watch.

Li Xiaoran’s gaze swept over them, and everyone fell silent. “The final position, Center—Mo Chuang!”

Mo Chuang raised his hand high. “Here!”

Xia Chiyi leaned into Zhou Zhexiao’s ear and whispered, “Southwest Aero has two players in the starting lineup!”

“Yeah,” Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

“Can Yang Huaiyu really play Power Forward?”

“Have you never tasted the feeling of being blocked by him?”

Reminded by Zhou Zhexiao, Xia Chiyi suddenly realized that whether it was boxing out under the basket, grabbing rebounds, or explosive power, Yang Huaiyu was top-tier even among power forwards. Moreover, his techniques were incredibly refined.

Most importantly, if he played Power Forward, he would be a Power Forward with incredible scoring ability.

Li Xiaoran continued, “I know everyone is feeling nervous. This newly formed team has never coordinated together before. But when you guys advance to higher-level competitions in the future, it’ll very likely be just like this—suddenly taking the court and having to synergize with unfamiliar teammates.”

Zhuo Zheng sighed. “I feel like we’re just blindly charging in. We haven’t even really studied our opponents, and we’re playing them tomorrow.”

Li Xiaoran chuckled. “Don’t worry, I bet the guys from UConn haven’t studied us much either. As opponents, we’re both completely unfamiliar with each other. It’s perfectly fair.”

And so, tomorrow’s lineup was temporarily finalized. The coaches of each team dismissed the players to return to their dormitories to rest.

This practice match had come too suddenly. Even on the walk back to the dorms, everyone couldn’t help but discuss this year’s NCAA finals.

Zhou Zhexiao had his hands in his pockets and was just about to walk up to the sixth floor of the dorms when Zhuo Zheng suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, Zhou Zhexiao… can you come over here for a second?”

Zhou Zhexiao stopped in his tracks and looked at Zhuo Zheng.

Xia Chiyi was completely dumbfounded. Was it going to rain red? Zhuo Zheng actually took the initiative to speak to Zhou Zhexiao?

---

[Author’s Note]
I’m afraid I won’t be able to write all the way to the World University Games, so let’s just treat this match as a preview for it.
Happy reading, everyone.