Chapter 028: The Super Substitute and Tang Hui’s Breakdown

"I'm just going to borrow your pin, no need to be so nervous," Song Kai said, pointing at the school badge on Liu Miaoyu's chest.

With a deft motion, Song Kai unpinned it.

The boys standing nearby were unfazed, knowing exactly what Song Kai was up to, but the guys in the stands couldn't take it. Damn, who does this bastard Song Kai think he is, acting so shameless! Touching the goddess Liu in front of everyone!

"A true Casanova!" Kong Qiang exclaimed in awe.

Even Sun Dao was stunned this time, swallowing hard.

Song Kai straightened out the pin and pressed it quickly to the Kunlun acupuncture point on Liu Bin's ankle, giving it a few swift twists.

"Alright, try standing up," Song Kai said.

"Hey, it really doesn't hurt anymore!" Liu Bin stood up in surprise, then gave Song Kai a friendly punch. "Not bad, Song Kai. I didn't know you had this kind of skill."

"Oh, I get hurt a lot myself, so I picked up a few tricks," Song Kai replied with a laugh.

"Awesome, Liu Bin's all good! Song Kai, you're amazing!" a girl shouted, throwing her arms around Song Kai's neck.

A whole group of cheerleaders rushed over and tossed Song Kai into the air once more.

"No, please!" Song Kai pleaded, dreading another round with these tomboys. "I beg you, let me go!"

Liu Yajuan, her face pale with anger, saw Liu Bin stand up and waved her hand. "Let's go! We won't play anymore! We're not going to compete against these uncivilized brutes!"

"Shhh!"

A chorus of jeers rose from across the court—the students of Class Three mocking them.

"Screw it! Let's fight them!" one girl shouted, rolling up her sleeves, her tomboyish side on full display.

"Yeah, let's show them!" the rest of the cheerleaders joined in, closing ranks.

Song Kai, suspended in midair, was promptly forgotten and crashed to the ground.

"Damn..." Song Kai muttered, scrambling up, covered in dust.

"Are you alright?" Liu Miaoyu rushed over to brush him off.

"I'm fine. So, are we playing basketball now? Did our class lose?" Song Kai asked.

"Pretty much. It's already halfway through, and our class only has a little over twenty points, while theirs is nearly fifty," Liu Miaoyu replied, crestfallen.

Then her eyes suddenly sparkled as she stared intently at Song Kai. "Song Kai, can you play basketball? Can you? Can you?"

Song Kai scratched his head thoughtfully.

Liu Miaoyu looked at him with hopeful, beautiful eyes.

Faced with such a gaze, Song Kai found himself unable to refuse.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll play. But let me make it clear—I'll only join this afternoon's game. I really have something to do tomorrow, so I won't be in the finals."

"Hahaha! Did I hear that right?" Chen Haijun walked over, having caught Song Kai's words. "Your class still talking about making it to the finals tomorrow? That's hilarious. If you manage to finish today's game without getting wiped out, that'll be a miracle..."

Liu Miaoyu shot Chen Haijun a glare; as class monitors, they knew each other well enough.

"Don't get cocky!" Liu Miaoyu retorted angrily.

Song Kai sighed again. Truth be told, he wasn't an expert at basketball, but he was fully aware of his own abilities: he was fast, agile, and most importantly, his shooting was deadly accurate.

Martial arts training had always included knife throwing and ring toss—so tossing a basketball was child's play.

Seeing Chen Haijun's smug face, Song Kai didn't bother holding back anymore. He'd play out this match and see how things went.

"Alright, guys, let's get ready," Song Kai said, waving his hand and taking the ball, bouncing it a couple of times.

"Wow! Song Kai's going to play!"

"Song Kai, you know basketball too?"

"That's awesome—you really are a jack of all trades!"

A few starstruck girls gathered around him.

Ignoring them, Song Kai walked over to Liu Yajuan. "Miss Liu, there's no need for words. Against a class like this, all we have to do is crush them with pure strength. Our class beats them academically, and we'll beat them in sports too. Honestly, their level is hardly worth worrying about."

Such brash words left everyone momentarily speechless.

Ma Bo snorted in exasperation. "Song Kai! Don't think you know everything!"

Chen Haijun had been smirking, but suddenly recalled the last time, when Song Kai had put Zhang Meng in his place at the edge of the field and then, without missing a beat, sank a throw.

Could it be... Song Kai really was good at basketball? Was he a sharpshooter?

Waving to the rest, Song Kai substituted in a new player and addressed his four teammates. "Alright, it's my first time playing with you guys. Let's work well together. Oh, and one thing—go easy. Don't make the guys from Class Three cry. It'd be too embarrassing for their teacher, Ma Bo."

Liu Bin and the others burst out laughing, and the tension instantly evaporated.

With the commotion dying down, the surrounding students were all abuzz with conversations.

"Class Seven's team is a joke—barely any boys. Oh, wait, there's one—the substitute."

"Haha, I don't know what the school was thinking when they made the class assignments. Only seven boys, and even those are all pushovers."

"Look, their substitute is on the court now. Are they just giving up?"

"How boring. If our class played against Class Seven, we'd just send our girls and win easily."

As the crowd chattered, the whistle blew—the game had officially begun.

Song Kai smiled at Liu Bin. "I'm only average at basketball, but I'm fast, have plenty of stamina, and my aim is pretty good. Bin, pass me the ball as much as you can."

Liu Bin nodded in agreement.

The teams quickly moved into position, with Liu Bin advancing the ball.

Knowing Liu Bin's skills, Class Three swarmed him immediately.

Song Kai dashed into place.

With a swift "whoosh," Liu Bin passed the ball right to Song Kai.

Song Kai leaped and fired a three-pointer.

With a loud clang, the ball sailed through the hoop.

"Holy crap! He's a real sharpshooter!" Liu Bin laughed.

"Not bad. Let's keep working together and crush them," Song Kai replied, rubbing his nose.

Chen Haijun's eyes blazed as he waved his team forward. "Let's attack!"

Now it was Class Seven's turn to defend, as Class Three bore down on them with aggression.

Song Kai zipped across the court, snatching the ball straight out of Chen Haijun's hands, then charged solo into the opponent's zone, leaped up, and dunked the ball single-handedly for another two points.

"What the—?!"

"That guy's only 1.75 meters tall, and he can dunk!"

"A substitute who can dunk?!"

"So that's their secret weapon—the super sub from Class Seven!"

The stands erupted, all eyes fixed on Song Kai.

"This kid's got skills," Kong Qiang muttered to Sun Dao, his mouth agape.

Sun Dao shook his head. "Hard to say how good he really is, but he's fast, jumps high, and seems to have great aim."

Meanwhile, the momentum on the court had completely shifted. Under Song Kai and Liu Bin's leadership, Class Seven was unstoppable.

Pass, catch, straight to the hoop for a slam...

Catch, jump shot from the three-point line—nothing but net...

Steal, fast break, slam dunk...

Song Kai's scoring spree sent Class Seven's points soaring.

Within ten minutes, they'd overtaken Class Three.

Liu Yajuan waved her arms ecstatically, with over thirty cheerleaders in short skirts behind her, all chanting Song Kai's name as if he were the star of a basketball manga.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Zhou Ran pouted.

Liu Miaoyu sat on the ground as well. "Yeah, they're acting like Song Kai's some kind of superstar."

Ma Bo's face grew darker and darker. With ten minutes left in the game, he couldn't take it anymore, hung his head, and left the gym.

His heart was bleeding.

If only he'd treated Song Kai, the supposed underachiever, a bit better...

Ma Bo didn't want to think about it anymore—all he felt was overwhelming regret.

A simple interclass basketball match at the city's top high school had attracted quite a crowd.

In a corner, five figures stood with hands in their pockets, their cold gazes fixed on Song Kai's every move.

"What do you think, Tang Hui?" asked the tallest, a burly man nearly 1.9 meters tall.

"He's got a lot of potential," replied Tang Hui on the left, who was about 1.7 meters and wore a loose sports jersey that hung all the way down to his knees.

"How does he compare to you?" the leader suddenly asked.

The other three were taken aback.

"Captain, you must be joking—Tang Hui is a provincial team seed, a strong contender for the national youth team!"

"Yeah, how could Tang Hui be compared to that guy?"

"I think that kid is just fast. His opponents are weak—no way he could steal and score so easily on a real court."

The captain sighed. "Tang Hui, what do you think?"

Tang Hui stayed silent for a long moment before shaking his head. "It's hard to believe, but while he's not as good as me yet, with a bit of training, in less than a month, I wouldn't be able to beat him. His speed, his jumping, his shooting accuracy—those are all natural gifts. Most crucially, his eyes and reaction time are incredibly fast. That's something no amount of training could let me surpass."

The others stared at Tang Hui. Though he was only 1.7 meters tall, he was undoubtedly the team's number two core player.

The captain waved his hand. "Alright, let's get ready. Our next match is against them."

The five turned and left.

Not far away, Kong Qiang and Sun Dao watched them go.

"Dao, aren't those guys from the Red Star Basketball Academy?" Kong Qiang asked.

"Yeah, that's them," Sun Dao replied, his brow furrowed.

"Seriously? They're playing in a school-level tournament? Aren't they participants in the provincial club league? We're doomed—there's no way we'll take first place this time," Kong Qiang moaned.

Sun Dao chuckled. "We never planned on winning. Just playing a good match against them tomorrow is a great opportunity. They're all top-level pros."

"I guess so," Kong Qiang said, trying to console himself.

Back in the gym, the game was in its final moments.

Class Three had already given up.

Chen Haijun stood stubbornly at mid-court, clutching the ball—not to stall, nor to shoot, but because he didn't dare dribble anymore. Song Kai was simply too fast, as if he could read his every move. The moment the ball touched the floor, Song Kai would steal it away.

Song Kai sighed. "Hey, Chen Haijun, are you playing or not? If not, just admit defeat already."

"Can we... can we surrender? We surrender! Yes, we give up!" Chen Haijun whimpered, vowing never to touch a basketball again. He'd thought he was pretty good, but in front of Song Kai, he was nothing. The blow was too much.

Class Three forfeited. Class Seven won.

The cheerleaders erupted in cheers.

Next up was Class Seven versus Class Nine. It was a close, friendly game, with Class Seven edging out a win—mainly because Song Kai only played three minutes.

Soon, it was time for the group final; the winner would advance to tomorrow's semifinals.

The next opponent: the Red Star Basketball Academy!

At that moment, Tang Hui was changing into his jersey, intending to talk with Song Kai beforehand. It was rare to meet a player with such potential, and if possible, he wanted to recommend Song Kai for the provincial seed team.

To play for the provincial team meant a direct path to the CBA, the Olympics, perhaps even the NBA.

Dressed and ready, Tang Hui headed toward Class Seven's rest area near the court.

Beside the bench, Liu Miaoyu and Liu Yajuan stood talking about the upcoming game.

"Which team is this? Red Star Basketball Academy? What a strange high school name! Teacher, does our city even have a high school like that?" Liu Miaoyu asked, scanning the match list in confusion.

Liu Yajuan scratched her head. "I don't know either. Must be some third-rate school. Just don't beat them too badly—they're from another school, after all. Friendship first, competition second."

"Yeah, exactly. Just win by a couple of points," Liu Miaoyu nodded. "Song Kai, did you hear that?"

"Mmm," Song Kai replied from his seat, enjoying a shoulder and leg massage from Zhou Ran and another girl.

And so the decision was made.

Tang Hui, intending to talk to Song Kai about joining the team, overheard the two women's conversation. His face reddened with embarrassment, and he couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.

"What? Third-rate high school? Damn... well, I guess it is a crummy school, since nobody there studies—it's a school dedicated to training professional basketball players! That place is practically the national team's cradle!" Tang Hui screamed inwardly.

Hearing such pity from the opposition, saying they'd only win by two points, Tang Hui felt a pang of awkwardness and lost all desire to introduce himself.

"Fine. I'll wait until after the game to ask him if he wants to join the club," Tang Hui thought dejectedly as he turned away...