Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Chapter 247 Nothing To Be Ashamed Of

"Do you also live in Richgate?" Kun asked with wide eyes as the team stopped right in front of the subdivision gate.

The guard narrowed his eyes at Kai, but he quickly relaxed when he saw that Yuze was with them.

Yuze frowned. "I would have noticed if we were neighbors."

Kai shook his head. "No, we're just waiting for someone."

Kai looked at his phone and the multiple texts he had sent to Renren.

It was exactly 6:30 PM, so he should have been here by now.

"I'm hungry," Jet complained.

Andy clicked his tongue. "Go ahead and leave then," he deadpanned.

The two of them were about to fight once more when Kun suddenly spoke.

"Renren?" Kun exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

The entire team turned their gazes to the side and were met with none other than Zhou Renren, who mirrored their shocked looks.

He was wearing his old jersey from Shizi High since Kai told him that they were going to play.

However, before him were his old teammates, shocking him to the core.

Yuze froze, and it seemed like he couldn't believe his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kai smirked as he walked closer to Renren, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.

"There you are," Kai said. "You're late by..." he started off, glancing at his watch before clicking his tongue.

"...three minutes. Did you have a busy day at the diner?"

Jet turned to Shang, who joined them at the last minute.

"I really thought that Kai wouldn't even be able to talk to him," Jet whispered.

"Me too," Shang whispered back. "Yuze and Kun had been looking for him for the longest time. It's almost scary how persistent Kai is."

Renren snapped out of his shock and turned to Kai with a heated glare.

"You lied to me," he whispered through gritted teeth.

Kai shrugged. "We can play basketball if you join the team once again."

Renren clicked his tongue and directed his gaze away from the team.

"I'm leaving," he said, about to leave, but Kai held onto his arm with an iron grip, making him unable to move.

Renren pursed his lips, frustrated since he couldn't counter Kai's strength.

"Let go," Renren said.

"Just join us," Kai said. "You're already here."

Renren sighed and finally faced his teammates, particularly Yuze.

"They don't want me here," he said, looking into Yuze's eyes.

Yuze's jaw clenched as Renren sighed.

"I invited you, though," Kai said. "So, they don't get to say anything about it."

Renren was about to argue some more when Kun finally spoke.

"Yeah, you should join us," Kun said with a friendly smile.

Renren was surprised by Kun's kindness.

"Kai invited us to his house for dinner," Kun continued. "You wouldn't be too out of place since you're wearing our uniform anyway," he chuckled.

"That's alright for everyone, right?" Kun asked, turning to his teammates.

"That's fine with me," Jet said.

"I don't care," Jinping remarked.

They turned to Yuze, who clicked his tongue.

"Just lead the way," he said, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

"Nice," Kai smirked. "Let's go."

Lina excitedly nodded and went next to him.

Meanwhile, Kai kept Renren by his side, ensuring that he wasn't going to escape.

"We're not going to ride a bus?" Jet asked.

"Nope," Kai said. "I live near here."

"Alright," Jet said and continued following after him.

The team walked to Kai's house, with Lina being the most excited.

"It's our first time in your house," she said.

Kai smiled as he scratched the back of his neck.

"I think this is the first time that my friends would come to the house," Kai said, capturing everybody's attention.

"Really?" Lina asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Kai said. "That's why my Grandma is quite excited."

Jinping nodded in agreement. "He really didn't have any friends in our old school."

Kai clicked his tongue but didn't say anything.

"We're near," Kai said, making the others excited.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Kai's humble abode.

"Here we are," Kai said, making his teammates halt.

As soon as Renren saw the condition of Kai's house, he froze.

It was a small house, almost as small as the place they were renting, and it appeared like it had been a long time since it was renovated.

In short, Renren's status in life was more or less the same as Kai's.

Then, with a dreaded heart, he turned to his past teammates, curious about their reaction.

Renren was expecting looks of disgust or disappointment, but they looked surprisingly unfazed.

Kun sniffed the air and smiled.

"Is that the food we're going to eat?" he asked.

Kai smirked as he glanced at Renren.

"Yup," he responded. "Let's go in."

With that, he led the team inside his small house.

Having seven large boys inside their house definitely made it appear even smaller.

"You're here?" Grandma Bingbing exclaimed.

"Yes, Grandma," Kai smiled. "These are my...friends," he said, introducing the Shizi Dogs.

He was about to call them his teammates, but Kai realized that they were already more than that.

"You're just in time," Grandma said, calling them to sit on the floor as she prepared the table.

Renren remained silent while his other teammates looked around Kai's house.

Jinping clicked his tongue.

"I thought you were...rich," he said.

Jet nudged his shoulder.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Jinping said. "I just feel bad for assuming that he was born with a gold spoon in his mouth."

Kai shook his head in amusement.

"Well, sorry for the small space," Kai said, glancing at Renren from time to time.

"I'm afraid we don't fit our table since it's only good for four people," he continued.

"Honestly, I was hesitant to call you guys here because I felt like you wouldn't be comfortable," he chuckled.

"But I wanted to thank you guys for taking care of me well for the past year."

"I can't really afford to buy you guys any gifts, so I decided to just invite you over for a meal."

"Although, it's pretty shameful that I'm letting you guys sit on the floor."

Renren cast his gaze to the ground since he related to Kai's situation.

Just then, Yuze spoke, making Renren lift his head in curiosity.

"Shameful?" he scoffed.

"Why would you feel that way when there's nothing to be ashamed of?"