Chapter 0122: Who is a Small Potato!

“Are you two planning to have a showdown for the title of number one small forward? If you’re really going to fight, shouldn’t your firepower be aimed at Liu Suchen?” Xia Chiyi leaned back slightly and looked at Zhuo Zheng.

“Do I look like I have some sort of brain damage?” Zhuo Zheng’s brows furrowed tightly. “Zhou Zhexiao’s overseas social media hasn’t been updated in a long time. He definitely hasn’t seen Jenkins’s tweets.”

“Jenkins? Who’s that?” Xia Chiyi walked down the stairs a step ahead of Zhou Zhexiao.

Zhou Zhexiao, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, leisurely followed behind him and arrived in front of Zhuo Zheng, looking like he was reluctantly enduring this conversation.

Zhuo Zheng frowned, staring intently at Zhou Zhexiao. “You said you don’t remember anything from the past. You weren’t messing with me, right?”

Looking Zhuo Zheng in the eye, Zhou Zhexiao answered word by word, “I don’t know the past.”

It wasn’t “don’t remember,” it was “don’t know.” That was the absolute truth.

“Alright, Jenkins was our teammate at Oak Hill Academy. He was one grade above us…”

Zhuo Zheng’s brows were locked tight as he racked his brain on how to explain the complicated grievances between this Jenkins and Zhou Zhexiao.

“This Jenkins got into Connecticut? And his Twitter says he’s come to China?” Zhou Zhexiao asked.

“Right. Weren’t you originally on the verge of being recruited by Duke? UConn and Duke… they’re old rivals in the NCAA finals.”

Xia Chiyi popped his head over. “What you mean is, Zhou Zhexiao and this Jenkins had a massive falling out in high school. And it was so bad that when they chose colleges, they had to pick opposing sides to compete against each other?”

For the first time, Zhuo Zheng really wanted to pat Xia Chiyi on the head and say, You’re a pretty smart kid.

“Exactly.”

“Just tell me, how bad was this falling out?”

“If they saw each other, they’d start spouting trash talk. If no one held them back, they’d probably throw hands. During our high school games, whenever Zhou Zhexiao was on the court, the coach would sub Jenkins out. If Jenkins played, Zhou Zhexiao was definitely benched.”

“There has to be a reason for everything… It couldn’t just be that Jenkins was jealous of Zhou Zhexiao’s handsome face, or that he had an allergic reaction to Eastern mysterious beauty, right?”

Xia Chiyi was genuinely too curious. He glanced at Zhou Zhexiao, wondering just how many mortal enemies this guy had before.

First there was Dai Qun, then Zhuo Zheng, and now this Jenkins?

Unexpectedly, Zhuo Zheng actually nodded. “That reason makes up about half of it. The captain of our high school cheerleading squad, Susanna, was totally into Zhou Zhexiao, but Jenkins just happened to be madly obsessed with Susanna.”

“Ah, this complicated love triangle. The unattainable is always a source of restless desire…”

“It wasn’t a love triangle,” Zhou Zhexiao suddenly interjected.

“Huh? How is it not a love triangle?”

“I didn’t like Jenkins, so it didn’t form a triangle.”

Zhuo Zheng tilted his head. “What kind of misunderstanding do you have about love triangles?”

“That’s not how love triangles work. As long as there are three people involved in a romantic entanglement, whether it’s one-sided or mutual, it counts as a love triangle.”

Zhou Zhexiao responded soullessly, “Oh.”

Xia Chiyi looked at Zhuo Zheng. “So if this Jenkins sees Zhou Zhexiao, will he just run over and start spewing trash talk regardless of the situation?”

“Trash talk isn’t illegal.” Zhuo Zheng spread his hands. “My point is, you have to hold it in no matter what. Don’t get into a fight with him… though I feel like Zhou Zhexiao… isn’t as impulsive as he used to be.”

“Besides the love triangle, was he polite to you?” Zhou Zhexiao lifted his eyes to look at Zhuo Zheng.

“To me?” Zhuo Zheng laughed coldly. “That guy has a foul mouth too. I couldn’t cooperate with him on the court anyway. Jenkins is a bit arrogant. He thinks basketball isn’t a sport for Asians, and that we should stick to playing small-ball sports that require skill and intelligence, like ping-pong or badminton.”

Xia Chiyi rolled his eyes without hesitation. “Basketball requires skill and intelligence too. With only brute force, you’d just get made a fool of. No wonder a guy with a brain like Jenkins couldn’t make the starting lineup at UConn. Coaches hate stupidity too, alright!”

Suddenly, Zhuo Zheng found Xia Chiyi much more pleasing to the eye, especially the words “hate stupidity,” which struck right at his heart.

Zhou Zhexiao, hands still in his pockets, nodded. “Understood. Thanks for highlighting the key points.”

“What points?”

“If I get to play tomorrow, I’m going to destroy him.”

With that, Zhou Zhexiao headed upstairs.

Leaving Xia Chiyi and Zhuo Zheng staring at each other.

“Well then… thanks for the heads-up,” Xia Chiyi said.

“You’re welcome.” Zhuo Zheng tilted his head. “Aren’t you going back to the dorm with him?”

“No rush, let’s chat a bit more.” Xia Chiyi leaned in with a curious face. “Let me ask you, is Susanna pretty?”

“Very pretty. And she can do front flips.”

Xia Chiyi’s eyes widened with excitement. “Do you have a video? Show me! I thought cheerleaders doing front flips only happened in teen movies!”

“Ah, you’re into this kind of thing?”

Despite sounding disdainful, Zhuo Zheng’s hands honestly pulled out his phone and found a video to show Xia Chiyi.

They were wearing tank tops and short skirts, radiating health and fitness. A front flip landed perfectly on the beat of the music. Xia Chiyi thought, Is this a cheerleading dance? This is practically gymnastics!

Zhuo Zheng laughed in amusement. “Look at you, acting like you’ve never seen the world.”

“Did Zhou Zhexiao really not like her?”

Zhuo Zheng shook his head. “Probably never did. With Zhou Zhexiao’s personality, he wouldn’t even look twice at someone throwing themselves at him.”

“Is it… possible that he’s impotent?” Xia Chiyi lowered his voice and mouthed the words.

Zhuo Zheng nodded vigorously. “To be honest, I’ve heard that rumor too!”

“Who started it?”

“The cheerleading squad. Probably Susanna.”

The origin of Zhou Zhexiao’s ruined reputation was none other than the cheerleaders.

“Xia Chiyi, if you don’t come back to the dorm right now, don’t bother coming back at all.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s voice drifted down from the corner of the stairs.

“I’m off, see you tomorrow!”

Xia Chiyi lightly punched Zhuo Zheng in the chest, quickly turned, and ran off.

Zhuo Zheng clicked his tongue. “I bet Zhou Zhexiao actually likes you!”

“Holy crap, you could tell even that?” Xia Chiyi cheekily reversed his steps and shot Zhuo Zheng a thumbs-up.

“Get lost,” Zhuo Zheng waved his hand impatiently. Thus, aside from Ye Chaoying, another person in this world narrowly brushed past the truth.

---

The dorm rooms prepared by Qing Da were for four people. The roommates quickly showered. Fu Chenxue, who was sharing their room, brought his laptop, and the four of them sat together to watch this year’s NCAA Finals: UConn vs. Duke.

It was a game that was genuinely very close to NBA standards—exhilarating, seamlessly integrating skill, speed, explosive power, and tactics.

All four of them watched in focused silence from start to finish.

As for this player named Jenkins, he only appeared for three minutes during the second quarter.

His muscles were streamlined, his height was 201 cm (6’7″), and his physical confrontation ability was extremely strong. When he grabbed a rebound, he ascended like a rocket. The oppressive presence he exuded under the basket was overwhelmingly powerful.

Compared to him, even Meng Ting from Qincheng University seemed lacking.

For this guy to be recruited by UConn and even come off the bench in the finals as a freshman—even if only for three minutes—meant he definitely had real skills.

His dribbling looked deceptively slow, but once he accelerated, he was incredibly agile. Moreover, his shooting accuracy was quite high; he shot 2-for-3 during his three minutes on the court.

“I suddenly feel that the coaches picking Yang Huaiyu to play power forward is a little bit dangerous,” Ye Chaoying spoke up.

“Yeah.” Xia Chiyi nodded solemnly. “Do you guys think… Yang Huaiyu is going to get knocked flying tomorrow?”

“Probably…” Ye Chaoying said chillingly.

“But deep down, you guys secretly want to see him get knocked flying.” Xia Chiyi revealed a wicked smirk.

“Seeing through it without pointing it out makes us good friends.” Ye Chaoying pressed down on Xia Chiyi’s head.

Xia Chiyi swatted Ye Chaoying’s hand away. “But if he really gets sent flying, everyone will feel heartbroken. You guys are just satisfying your cheap mouths. No one actually wants to see anyone get hurt.”

In the dorm room next door, Yang Huaiyu, who was lying in bed watching the exact same game on his phone, suddenly sneezed twice in a row.

The game ended. UConn hit a crucial three-pointer and won the championship.

The arc of that final shot reflected in Ye Chaoying’s eyes. “After watching this game, I finally understand why the coaches unanimously chose you to play shooting guard.”

Fu Chenxue also nodded. “Whether it’s UConn or Duke, the mid-range and long-range shooting abilities of the players on both sides are top-tier. Everyone from forwards to guards can score… The pace of the game is so fast. A possession might end before they even drive into the paint… Even the guards can grab rebounds.”

Everyone was a hexagon warrior (maxed out in all stats). This was basketball on the other side of the ocean; it had already evolved to this level.

Xia Chiyi turned his face to look at Zhou Zhexiao. Surprisingly, although the guy was sitting in his chair, his head was half-drooping, and his eyes were already hazy.

Glancing at the time on his phone—it was 11 PM.

Zhou Zhexiao’s biological clock was incredibly strict.

Xia Chiyi poked Zhou Zhexiao’s cheek. He frowned, looking like he was struggling to stay awake.

“Hey, Susanna… Blonde hair, blue eyes, a radiant smile, and she can do front flips too.”

Zhou Zhexiao’s head bobbed down, and he suddenly snapped awake. “I don’t remember Susanna.”

“But Susanna definitely remembers you. When you go play in the NBA, who knows, maybe Susanna will be doing front flips in the cheerleading squad.”

Resting his chin on his hands, Xia Chiyi carefully observed Zhou Zhexiao’s reaction.

He thought Zhou Zhexiao would immediately explain, but having weathered many storms, the guy remained utterly calm.

“Do you want to mutually hurt each other with me?” Zhou Zhexiao turned around, looking into Xia Chiyi’s eyes. “Exactly how many ‘good brothers’ do you have?”

“I call everyone older than me ‘brother’ (ge). It’s just politeness. What’s the problem?” Xia Chiyi lifted his chin.

The line of Zhou Zhexiao’s lips curved ever so slightly.

This guy actually smiled?

Most importantly, that smile made Xia Chiyi’s heart flutter.

Why did this dorm have to be a four-person room? He really wanted to drive a forklift and scoop both Ye Chaoying and Fu Chenxue out!

“Zhao Lingcong is your Cong-ge, because you graduated from the same high school, and he was the captain of your high school basketball team. This brother, I can barely accept.”

“Hey, I’m talking to you about Susanna, and you’re bringing up Zhao…”

“Ma Tao is your Tao-ge. Because you tricked him and were afraid he’d beat you up, you called him ge. I can understand this one too.”

“Oh please, the one who tricked Ma Tao was clearly you!”

“Yang Huaiyu, your Huaiyu-ge. He plays basketball well, he’s handsome, and he smiles amiably every time he sees you…”

“I call him ge because I admire his open-minded personality! And he never holds anything back when he teaches me. Whenever people trash talk us online, he stands up to defend us. He’s… he’s a good person!”

“Mhm, you issued him a ‘good guy card’.” Without Xia Chiyi noticing, Zhou Zhexiao had leaned in close. His black, glass-like eyes carried a hint of teasing. “Then what about Liu Suchen? You just sent him a voice message. ‘Chen-ge’, ‘Chen-ge’, you called him that very smoothly.”

“That’s because… I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to wake up tomorrow morning, so I asked him to line up and buy us Qing Da’s famous sauce meat buns! It’s for us, not just me,” Xia Chiyi said with a serious expression.

Zhou Zhexiao’s palm reached over and pressed down on top of Xia Chiyi’s head. “Look, you have so many good brothers, and I’ve never held it against you. Are you really trying to make a fuss over a Susanna whose face I can’t even remember?”

The two stared at each other for a while. Wanting to blink, Xia Chiyi made a funny face at him.

Zhou Zhexiao then spoke up, “Tomorrow you need to be careful of this Jenkins. He will very likely target you.”

“Why? You’re not playing tomorrow, and he doesn’t know that I’m… together with you.”

“I deduced this from observing the five minutes he played.” Zhou Zhexiao took the mouse and dragged the progress bar. “Look here, and here. He tends to seek confrontations with the smallest opponents. This person has a very strong ego; he won’t recklessly challenge taller opponents because if he loses, his shattered ego can’t be pieced back together.”

“Conversely, bullying players smaller than himself fills him with confidence.”

Xia Chiyi took a deep breath, because among tomorrow’s starters, the smallest player wasn’t the point guard Lu Yingnan, but him, the shooting guard.

“Sigh, do you think I’ll still grow taller?”

“You will,” Zhou Zhexiao leaned close to Xia Chiyi’s ear and whispered. “In my last life, I was still growing taller at the age of twenty.”

Xia Chiyi smiled, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back. “Now, let me think carefully about how to deal with this Jenkins tomorrow.”

Ye Chaoying just happened to come out from washing up. As he passed by, he tapped Xia Chiyi’s forehead.

“Kid, don’t put too much psychological pressure on yourself. It’s just a practice match, not the finals of the World University Games. If you toss and turn all night and can’t sleep, I’ll mock you for the rest of your life.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not nervous at all. Tomorrow is a match against Connecticut, something I wouldn’t have even dared to dream about before. If we win, it’s a massive profit! If we lose, I’m not the one who loses face first. There are three giants standing in front of me; if the sky falls, it won’t crush me!”

Xia Chiyi narrowed his eyes, smiling like a cat licking a tin of wet food.

“That makes perfect sense! Tomorrow you’re just an Only freshman! Liu Suchen, Lu Yingnan, Yang Huaiyu, plus Mo Chuang—that’s four 2s in a poker hand. Whether your card is a 3 or a 4, it really won’t affect much!” Ye Chaoying said as he climbed into the top bunk.

Xia Chiyi looked at Zhou Zhexiao, thinking to himself that if Zhou Zhexiao played, the two of them would be the Big and Small Jokers; even four 2s couldn’t beat them.

The dorm atmosphere was much better than a hotel room. Not long after his head hit the pillow, drowsiness surged up, and Xia Chiyi quickly fell asleep.

---

The next morning, Liu Suchen deliberately brought Song Boyun and Huo Cheng along. Carrying several large bags of breakfast they had queued up for at the cafeteria, they distributed the food to their guests from afar.

Xia Chiyi broke open a meat bun. It was filled to the brim with meat stuffing soaked in rich sauce. One bite, and it was so delicious his eyebrows almost melted off.

When Liu Suchen delivered the breakfast to Yang Huaiyu’s room, Yang Huaiyu frowned and said, “Why is Xia Chiyi eating sauce meat buns while we only get eggs and braised noodles? Liu Suchen, you’re treating us differently! You only see the new love smile, but never hear the old love cry.“

“Yeah! Yeah! We don’t want braised noodles, we want Qing Da’s signature sauce meat buns too!” Ke Yan joined in the uproar.

Liu Suchen tapped his phone and held it up to Yang Huaiyu’s ear. “If you have the guts to act cute like this, I’ll kidnap the cafeteria chef just to get you a sauce meat bun!”

The voice message played Xia Chiyi’s utterly shameless voice: [Chen-ge, the dorm is too far from the cafeteria, I’m afraid I can’t wake up to line up for the sauce meat buns! Crying~ Hungry~ Want food~]

Ke Yan, who was eating an egg, almost spat egg whites all over Yang Huaiyu’s face opposite him.

Liu Suchen smugly waved his phone. “Can any of you manage to do that?”

Yang Huaiyu took a bite of his braised noodles and said seriously, “A sauce meat bun is not enough for me to sell my dignity.”

Ke Yan swallowed the egg white forcefully. “Confirmed, I don’t deserve this level of service.”

Liu Suchen laughed. “This is now Xia Chiyi’s dark history stored in my hands. Once he becomes famous, I’m going to make his shameless, food-begging voice note into my alarm clock and listen to it every day!”

Yang Huaiyu: “Trust me, he wouldn’t care.”

---

Today’s training camp was closed off; students outside the basketball team were not allowed to watch.

The Qing Da women’s basketball team originally had practice, but with the Four-School Joint Team battling Connecticut today, who could practice peacefully next to that? Their coach simply let them off the hook to be the sole audience on the sidelines.

Xia Chiyi wore the white athletic jersey issued by Qing Da over his own sports t-shirt.

For today’s first round of the match, the highly experienced Li Xiaoran acted as the head coach. He gathered the players in front of him.

“Our coaching staff analyzed Connecticut’s performance in the finals. Their offensive pace is extremely fast. Once they initiate a fast break, it’s very difficult to stop them from scoring. So our main focus must be completely shutting down their first pass, giving them no chance to receive it.”

The players nodded, their expressions grave.

Li Xiaoran merely saying their “offensive pace is extremely fast” was too conservative an understatement.

That kind of speed was like a fish swimming in water that suddenly flicks its tail and transforms into a dragon, scoring a goal in the blink of an eye.

Even if their team had gathered three giants from the Division I league, Xia Chiyi wasn’t sure if they could catch the tail of this swimming dragon.

He glanced at Lu Yingnan. The latter looked calm and collected, as if nothing could disturb his state of mind.

Perhaps sensing Xia Chiyi’s gaze, Lu Yingnan looked over sideways. His eyes were dark and deep, as if silent waves were welling up inside them, ready to swallow their opponents whole.

This match would be Xia Chiyi’s best opportunity to observe Lu Yingnan. He would get to watch all of Lu Yingnan’s defensive and stealing techniques up close.

“Offensive rebounds are the top priority. If we can’t grab the rebounds, possession will fall into their hands, and their fast breaks will hit us wave after wave until we collapse. Yang Huaiyu, Mo Chuang, you two need to toughen up.”

The two answered in unison: “Understood!”

“You absolutely must stop their rapid advance. Once they push it under the basket, there’s almost no chance left.”

“Copy that.”

“Also, and this is a point you must all remember clearly—” Li Xiaoran’s gaze swept over each of them. “Next month, the National Tournament opens. Everyone present is an elite core player in their respective regions. You cannot get injured in a practice match like this. We are here to spar and learn, not to risk our lives. Understood?”

“Understood!”

The non-starting players were all asked to sit in the audience stands. Li Xiaoran called out a few names to serve as rotational substitutes, among them was Zhou Zhexiao.

After they had been warming up for over half an hour, the people from Connecticut finally strolled in leisurely.

The assistant coach leading them was a middle-aged man with curly hair named Carpenter. As he walked in, he exclaimed in surprise, “Woo, so many people!”

The players following behind him wore sports jackets, twisting their waists and stretching their wrists and necks while laughing and chatting. It was obvious they didn’t take this game seriously at all.

Carpenter walked up to Li Xiaoran, shook hands, and exchanged a round of laughing pleasantries.

Whatever ‘sincere and passionate’ things Carpenter said, it made Li Xiaoran’s eyebrows almost stand on end.

Liu Suchen put an arm around Yang Huaiyu’s shoulder and said, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, this curly-haired assistant coach is a smiling tiger. He’s really pissed our Coach Li off!”

Yang Huaiyu smiled while swatting Liu Suchen’s arm down. “My English is bad, I don’t understand.”

Xia Chiyi pricked up his ears, using the same level of concentration he used during the Gaokao listening comprehension exam to decipher it. “He seemed to say that there are too many people here today, which will put a lot of psychological pressure on the players on the court. If we lose to Connecticut by a huge margin, we might not be able to mentally handle playing in the National Tournament later. He asked Coach Li if we have…”

“If we have what?” Mo Chuang asked.

The other three all looked at Xia Chiyi.

“If we have hired a psychological counselor.”

“Fuck me…”

Before Liu Suchen could spit out his trash talk, Lu Yingnan pinched the back of his neck.

“No need to swear, he’s just being ‘kind-hearted’. After all, their mental states are so fragile; if they end up losing here, it’d be troublesome if they can’t find a psychological counselor,” Lu Yingnan said indifferently.

“We’ll buy them plane tickets. They can go back to Connecticut and find all the counseling they want.”

On the opposite side, those towering players were still chatting. The more relaxed and joyful their smiles were, the more it showed they didn’t take their opponents seriously at all.

On the bench, Ye Chaoying frowned. “Damn, with the way they’re warming up, I’m worried that when they get cramps on the court later, they’ll blame Qing Da’s court for not being good enough or the air for not being fresh.”

But a veteran powerhouse naturally had reasons to be strong. The previously smiling Carpenter suddenly changed his face and roared at his players: “Warm up or ship out!”

This sudden roar wasn’t actually that loud, but it was highly intimidating.

The players, who had just been in a relaxed state, wiped the smiles off their faces and entered a state of tension.

The internal competition within such a top-tier team was immense. The assistant coach’s impression of them and their performance in practice matches would affect whether they could make the starting lineup in the future.

The legendary Jenkins finally noticed Zhou Zhexiao’s presence. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a smile that seemed hearty but revealed sheer arrogance.

“Oh my god, Zhou! Here you are! I thought you were in Duke!”

Xia Chiyi rested his hands on his hips and sighed. “It finally came…”

“What came?” Yang Huaiyu asked curiously.

“A scene similar to the malicious relative coming to claim family ties in a TV drama.”

Jenkins had already walked over to Zhou Zhexiao. His large hand patted Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder heavily as he jabbered on and on.

“What’s the malicious relative saying?” Liu Suchen leaned in next to Xia Chiyi.

Liu Suchen had no interest in other people’s gossip, but when it came to Zhou Zhexiao’s gossip, he absolutely had to get the piping hot, first-hand information.

“He said he didn’t expect to see Zhou Zhexiao here, he thought he went to Duke University. Hypocrite… This year’s NCAA final was Connecticut versus Duke. Did he not know in his own heart whether he saw Zhou Zhexiao in Duke’s camp? I just hate this kind of idiocy, he’s definitely going to waste our time again.” Xia Chiyi unhappily rolled his wrists.

Jenkins actually sat down next to Zhou Zhexiao, acting like they were good buddies. The opposing players also looked over, making the two of them the focus of the entire court for a moment.

“What is this guy saying now? Look at Zhou Zhexiao’s stone face, he hasn’t even given him an extra glance. How can he output so much nonsense all by himself?” Liu Suchen asked again.

“He’s asking why Zhou Zhexiao isn’t starting, and if Coach Li Xiaoran looks down on Oak Hill graduates. Oh, now he’s pretentiously asking if Zhou Zhexiao’s brain has fully healed from the car accident, and if his brain is the reason why he’s acting as a waterboy here.”

Liu Suchen frowned. “Strange, how can you understand everything?”

Xia Chiyi glanced at him. “Because I scored 132 in English on the Gaokao.”

Liu Suchen froze for a second, revealing a look of admiration for the first time. “You… your Gaokao… English score was actually 132? I thought you were a sports-special-admission student!”

“I’m not, I’m not worthy.” Xia Chiyi shrugged.

Lu Yingnan said lightly, “A Qing Da student actually envying someone else for scoring a 130 on the Gaokao English exam. Liu Suchen, seriously reflect on your own IQ.”

Zhou Zhexiao removed Jenkins’s arm from his shoulder, turned his face, and looked at him indifferently. “I don’t remember you at all.”

Jenkins paused for a moment, still processing the meaning of Zhou Zhexiao’s words in his head.

Doesn’t remember me at all? Who is he trying to fool?

Zhou Zhexiao added another sentence: “Maybe because you’re not Michael Jordan.”

This line made Xia Chiyi laugh out loud, and Jenkins’s face changed drastically.

This was blatantly mocking Jenkins for not being worthy of being remembered by Zhou Zhexiao.

“What are you laughing at, Small potato!” Jenkins shifted his gaze to Xia Chiyi, using his anger to deflect the embarrassment of being ignored by Zhou Zhexiao.

Liu Suchen’s eyes went wide. “I understood that one! Xia Chiyi, is he mocking you by calling you a small potato?”

Lu Yingnan walked past with his hands on his hips, dropping a line: “Let me educate a certain poor student surnamed Liu. ‘Small potato’ also means an insignificant nobody.”

“So it’s a double-entendre insult?”

At this moment, Xia Chiyi felt extremely stifled. He really wanted to snap back with some trash talk, but unfortunately, his brain had no English vocabulary in stock.

Who’s a small potato? You’re a small potato! Your whole family are potatoes, poisonous sprouted potatoes at that!

If he had known, he would have had Zhou Zhexiao teach him a few phrases last night.

“Be careful. That small potato is our Reggie Miller,” Zhou Zhexiao said calmly.

Jenkins clutched his stomach and started laughing. “OK… then I’m Jordan.”

He stood up and swaggered past Liu Suchen.

Among the players about to take the court, the one with the biggest reputation overseas was probably Liu Suchen. After all, he was the face of the Division I league and had been invited for trials by numerous prestigious powerhouses.

Jenkins didn’t walk properly and intentionally bumped his shoulder against Liu Suchen’s. Truly a case of forcing a presence when he had none.

Liu Suchen glanced at him. He was very beautiful, but when he dropped all expression, he was cold and sharp. “Watch your way.”

Jenkins hadn’t expected this pretty Asian boy to have such a powerful aura, and could only quickly walk away.

Xia Chiyi hadn’t expected the academic underachiever Liu Suchen to suddenly bust out English. The next second, the top of his head was forcefully rubbed down by Jenkins.

“Cute,” Jenkins grinned and walked back to his team.

At that moment, the look in Liu Suchen and Yang Huaiyu’s eyes completely changed.

Liu Suchen: “Fuck, I haven’t even rubbed Xia Chiyi’s head yet!”

Yang Huaiyu: “I thought I was the only one allowed to rub Xia Chiyi’s head.”

Mo Chuang frowned, asking in deep displeasure: “Did he just deliberately wipe his sweat on the top of Xia Chiyi’s head?”

Xia Chiyi suddenly felt his head was dirty.

On the bench, Zhou Zhexiao’s gaze turned ice-cold. The hand that was resting on his knee raised up and gripped his own arm.

Ling Huanzhen, serving as the assistant coach for this game, looked at Zhou Zhexiao’s back, thinking that Zhou Zhexiao’s heart was probably surging with rage right now.

After all, if anyone dared to rub Jiao Yingfeng’s head on the court, he, Ling Huanzhen, would dunk the ball right into that guy’s face.

After looking around, Lu Yingnan reached a conclusion: “Jenkins’s arrogant smile and obnoxious remarks didn’t make everyone angry, but after he rubbed Xia Chiyi’s head, the entire team suddenly united against a common enemy.”

“And so?” Mo Chuang looked at his captain.

“So in the future, to boost morale, we just need to let the enemy come over and rub Xia Chiyi’s head,” Lu Yingnan stated.

“I absolutely refuse!” Xia Chiyi declared self-righteously.

The referee blew the whistle, signaling the players from both sides to step onto the court.

The opposing center was 2.2 meters (7’2″) tall, with a burly and robust build. He was an African-American player with a shaved head. The back of his jersey bore the name Martin.

He looked much friendlier than Jenkins. Not only did he nod, but he also bumped fists with Mo Chuang.

It was just that… with this comparison, Mo Chuang, who was hailed as the number one center in the Division I league, actually looked a bit petite.

Everyone tilted their heads up, their eyes following the orange ball.

Xia Chiyi’s heart tightened. This was the first time in his life he was coming into contact with NCAA-level basketball. This had once been Sheng Xingming’s starting point.

Martin didn’t just jump high; he reached the apex faster than Mo Chuang. The arena lights scattered above his head, and his vigorous aura made it feel as though the very air was vibrating.

The ball was accurately tapped toward their point guard!

Connecticut’s point guard had medium-length hair tied neatly at the back of his head. He bore no expression. Earlier, when he had been laughing and chatting with his teammates, his mouth smiled, but there hadn’t been a trace of a smile in his eyes.

Xia Chiyi secretly gave him a nickname in his heart: Gloomy Bro.

The moment Gloomy Bro caught the ball, he accelerated. Xia Chiyi wondered how this guy’s ankles were built.

“Xia Chiyi—trap him—” Lu Yingnan’s voice rang out.

Firm and resolute, piercing across the court, carrying an innate authority. Xia Chiyi’s brain nerves instantly sharpened, and his feet moved in sync with Lu Yingnan’s voice.

Compared to Gloomy Bro’s dribbling speed, what was even more unbelievable was that Lu Yingnan had actually positioned his defense right on his right side! What kind of anticipation was that!

Coordinating with Lu Yingnan, Xia Chiyi boxed Gloomy Bro in.

Gloomy Bro was obviously used to such situations. With a bounce pass, the ball landed perfectly between Xia Chiyi and Lu Yingnan, nearly causing the two to collide.

Connecticut’s small forward, Carl, took the ball away. Liu Suchen was no pushover either; he instantly shifted over for help defense. However, this small forward faked a forward drive, and the moment Liu Suchen shifted his center of gravity, the opponent executed a behind-the-back dribble and blew past Liu Suchen’s other side.

Efficient, fluid, and his fake moves were incredibly deceiving.

This reminded Xia Chiyi of Zhou Zhexiao.

When Zhou Zhexiao deceived people, it was just like Carl. He not only controlled his own rhythm but completely destroyed the defender’s rhythm as well.

Liu Suchen wasn’t shocked. He made a prompt decision and accelerated to chase him down.

Carl went up for a layup, not expecting that Liu Suchen had actually caught up to his rear, looking like he was about to deliver a brutal chase-down block.

The assistant coach, Carpenter, who had his hands in his pockets initially, froze when he saw Liu Suchen leaping sideways in the air. He thought to himself, No wonder Head Coach Seton invited Liu Suchen for a trial. With that kind of speed… even among Connecticut’s first-string players, few can manage it.

However, Carl had abundant court experience. In the exact moment he was about to get blocked, he passed the ball to Jenkins.

With a loud bang, Jenkins slammed the ball in for a dunk. Hanging on the rim, he looked down at Yang Huaiyu and Mo Chuang, who had rushed over to defend, and revealed an incredibly confident smile.

Xia Chiyi let out a breath. Truly worthy of a top-tier NCAA powerhouse: fast speed, fast reactions, fast positioning, and more importantly, fast decision-making.

This wave of fast break caused the women’s basketball players and other school team members in the audience to clench their fists, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on their backs.

Compared to Connecticut, the matches they played before were basically child’s play.

“It took them less than ten seconds to complete their first score,” Ling Huanzhen said to Li Xiaoran, holding a stopwatch.

“Normal,” Li Xiaoran replied.

The ball possession finally went to the Four-School Joint Team. Lu Yingnan raised a finger, pointing at the ceiling, his face perfectly calm: “Our turn.”

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[Author’s Note]
Reggie Miller is a legendary three-point shooter in NBA history. He once created the miracle of scoring 8 points in 8.9 seconds, famously dubbed by the NBA as “Miller Time”.
Zhou Zhexiao comparing Xia Chiyi to Reggie Miller is extremely high praise.
I put the draft on the page and forgot to click “publish immediately”. After eating my yogurt and checking the page, I was suddenly embarrassed.
I wonder if anyone is waiting for my second update.