Chapter 33: The Friday Basketball Game

Zhao Ming had always enjoyed flattering Zhuang Bi. Even though Zhuang Bi had just called him a bastard, Zhao Ming was already used to it. As expected, when Zhuang Bi was praised, he immediately burst out laughing, brushing off the shame he’d felt moments before, as if he had already beaten Feng Yisheng.

The next morning.

When Feng Yisheng returned to the classroom, Zhuang Bi walked over to his desk and said, “Feng Yisheng, don’t leave after school. I have something to say to you.”

“What is it? Can’t you just say it now?” Feng Yisheng asked.

Zhuang Bi was somewhat annoyed. In the past, Feng Yisheng had always obeyed him without question, but now he dared to talk back. Irritated, Zhuang Bi said, “Feng Yisheng, you just got back and already think you're tough? Aren’t you afraid I’ll beat you up?

But forget it, I won’t hit you. Otherwise, you’d run around saying I’m bullying you. Also, winning a one-on-one yesterday morning doesn’t mean anything. If you really have guts, come play a 5-on-5 match with me.”

Feng Yisheng thought to himself, I wasn’t looking for you, but you came to find me. He replied, “Zhuang Bi, you really do have a lot of requests!

I accept your challenge, but I hope you won’t bother me again in the future.”

“Fine!” Zhuang Bi agreed immediately, satisfied that he’d gotten his way.

Feng Yisheng then remembered the bet from the previous day and said, “And since you lost last time, I hope you stay away from Chen Yunxi.”

“Feng Yisheng, say that again after you win this time!” Zhuang Bi retorted shamelessly.

“I don’t know if I’ll beat you, but someone already broke their word this morning. I don’t want anyone cheating again this afternoon,” Feng Yisheng replied coldly. “I won’t show anyone mercy again like I did this morning.”

“You…” Zhuang Bi’s face darkened at the sarcasm, but then something seemed to occur to him, and he quickly forced a smile.

“Feng Yisheng, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s pointless. After school this Friday, see you on the court.”

With that, Zhuang Bi didn’t wait for Feng Yisheng’s answer and strode out of the classroom without looking back.

Because of Zhuang Bi’s family background, he held a privileged position on the eleventh-grade basketball team, and the others on the team basically did whatever he said.

Not only that, but the entire squad was made up of twelve players: ten official members, all highly skilled, and two substitutes.

All twelve had experience playing in major tournaments, and among all the eleventh-graders, there was simply no one better at basketball than these team members—at least, that’s what Zhuang Bi believed. He simply couldn’t imagine Feng Yisheng finding anyone stronger than the basketball team. But what he didn’t realize was that Feng Yisheng’s skills had already surpassed the greatest basketball players on Earth.

Because Zhuang Bi had been shouting while running around the playground that day, word quickly spread among students through friends that he’d lost a one-on-one match against Feng Yisheng.

Now the two were going to play a 5-on-5 game. Although Feng Yisheng had won the one-on-one, only a little over a hundred people had witnessed it—barely a fiftieth of the entire Nanshui Foreign Language School. So rumors started flying among those who hadn’t been there, claiming that Zhuang Bi had let Feng Yisheng win on purpose. Some even said it was Feng Yisheng who didn’t know his place and wanted to challenge Zhuang Bi, with Zhao Ming fanning the flames.

With the upcoming five-on-five, the entire eleventh grade was putting their money on Zhuang Bi, thinking Feng Yisheng was overestimating himself. The match was scheduled for after school on Friday, and nearly a thousand students were already planning to watch.

The next day, when Feng Yisheng arrived at the classroom—

“Feng Yisheng, you can’t play in the match,” Chen Yunxi found him and said.

“Why not?” Feng Yisheng asked, a teasing smile on his lips.

Chen Yunxi’s tone betrayed her concern. “You know they’re the basketball team. There’s no way you’ll find five people as good as they are. What will you do if you lose?”

Feng Yisheng looked her up and down, then grinned. “Chen, you care about me so much, it’ll make me think you like me.”

Chen Yunxi was only seventeen—a young girl herself—and when Feng Yisheng said that so directly, she blushed furiously and mumbled, “Hmph, I was just being nice. If you won’t listen, forget it.”

With that, she covered her face in embarrassment and ran out.

“Yisheng, you’re something else,” Qian Da, the classmate who sat behind Feng Yisheng, gave him a thumbs up. “Even Chen Yunxi likes you.”

At that moment, Jiang Zhiming came over, laughing. “What can I say? Yisheng is handsome—he’s popular wherever he goes.”

Feng Yisheng laughed heartily. “Now that’s what I like to hear, Old Jiang! Haha!”

“But seriously, I’m worried about you in this match, Yisheng,” Jiang Zhiming said. “But seeing how confident you are, you must have something up your sleeve!”

Qian Da chimed in, “Yisheng, are you really sure you can win?”

“Do you think I’d do something if I wasn’t sure?” Feng Yisheng replied.

“That’s true. You know neither Qian Da nor I can play basketball, so we can’t help you. But we’ll be there cheering you on,” Jiang Zhiming said apologetically.

Feng Yisheng felt a touch of comfort. Even though he’d been bullied by Zhuang Bi and his friends, Jiang Zhiming and Qian Da had always stood by him.

He walked over to them and said, “Alright, I appreciate your support. But this time, I’m going to teach Zhuang Bi a real lesson. And I’m confident I can win.”

Jiang Zhiming opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped, then gave Feng Yisheng an encouraging look.

But truth be told, Feng Yisheng himself wasn’t certain he could beat Zhuang Bi. Basketball wasn’t like other things—no matter how strong he was, it would be hard to outscore five people on his own.

Still, the thought excited him. He was determined to defeat Zhuang Bi singlehandedly, to crush him at the very thing he was best at. To strike at his pride.

And with his level-one cultivation, if he happened to pull a trick or two during the match, no one would ever know.

Since the rules forbade outside players and required the team to be made up of students from the school, that afternoon after class, Feng Yisheng went home and posted on the Nanshui Foreign Language School forum:

—“Seeking the Strongest Basketball Players at Nanshui Foreign Language School”—

After posting, he briefly explained the details of the match and didn’t bother waiting to read the replies.