Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Chapter 268 He Loves Compliments

"What's happening?" Mark exclaimed as the crowd murmured excitedly.

"Are you guys excited for the games?" he asked.

However, truth be told, the crowd was more excited about Kai.

Who knew that the entertaining first-year player had the looks, too?

Fanclubs were already being made for him as Mark spoke, and others who didn't know much about basketball, found themselves wanting to root for him.

Nonetheless, Mark continued amidst the crowd's discussion.

"This has been a long-awaited event," he said in a charismatic voice. "The two teams who will reign at the very end will be the ones to represent our city for the Interhigh Nationals. Will we finally able to see someone from Jilin reign this year?"

"With that, I shall not make you wait any longer. We shall start with the games!" he exclaimed.

That seemed to snap away their amazement from Kai's looks for a second as they cheered out loud.

"The first game in the main court shall be with the Huishi Alligators and the Shizi Dogs!" he said.

"Simultaneously, the Feng Foxes and the Daxue Dolphins shall battle it out in the supplementary court next door!"

"Let the Interhigh Preliminaries begin!"

The crowd was surprised that a big team like the Feng Foxes would play in the smaller court. However, it was true that more people wanted to watch the battle between the Alligators and the Dogs.

The match between the Dolphins and the Foxes was already obvious enough, so most people didn't want to leave the main court.

The Feng Foxes were also disappointed since they wanted to watch the Shizi Dogs play.

Nonetheless, they had no choice.

Coach Ben led the team to the supplementary court while their respective supporters followed.

Meanwhile, most teams, who had games later on in the day, went to the seats designated for them on the main court to watch the first game.

Just then, fifteen minutes were shown on the clock, so the Shizi Dogs made their way back to their waiting room to prepare.

On their way there, they bumped into the Huishi Alligators—specifically Qiang, causing Jet to tumble to the ground.

It wasn't just a mere fall.

He literally rolled on the dirty floor.

The Shizi Dogs laughed at him; however, they quickly became silent when Qiang spoke.

"You guys should work on your strength," he said, making them turn their attention to the big man.

Kai's eyebrows furrowed. He knew he had seen Qiang before in the Winter Cup, but seeing him up close felt different.

It was almost as if he was bigger.

Yuze pursed his lips. "We'll see that on the court," he said.

Qiang smirked. "Definitely," he said, before walking away from the Shizi Dogs.

With that, the Dogs also went inside their waiting room, feeling a bit upset about Qiang's comment.

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However, before they could address their annoyance for Qiang, they had to address the elephant in the room.

"He looks pretty strong, huh?" Kai asked, causing the team to focus their attention on him.

They were silent for a moment, just looking at Kai with bright eyes.

Kai frowned in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"

His question triggered anger among his teammates.

"Something on your face?" Jinping exclaimed. "You mean—what's with your face?"

"So true!" Jet exclaimed. "You allowed me to give you advice as a fellow below average man, but this is what you actually look like?"

Kun shook his head in disbelief. "Yuze has actually been dethroned."

Meanwhile, Renren turned to Lina. "I think you could actually win your bet with that Fei girl."

Andy nodded in agreement. "If you would have asked me to join the team just like this, then I would have agreed right away! You guys wouldn't even need to threaten me."

"That's right—wait, did we threaten you?" Jinping asked.

Kai sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

At that moment, Lina felt her heart skip a beat.

She couldn't believe that it was really Kai standing before her.

"Does it really matter?" Kai asked, causing the team to go into a frenzy.

"Of course, it matters! I would love to be born with a face like that," Jet said.

"Our team is going to be even more popular," Andy chimed.

Kai clicked his tongue, a small smile playing on his lips.

"See! He likes it!" Jinping exclaimed.

Kai pursed his lips to hide his enjoyment of the situation. Of course, he liked being

called handsome. But, he didn't want that to show.

"His smile is getting bigger," Jet said in a teasing tone.

Kai covered his face and shook his head before facing them once more.

"Well, right now, it doesn't matter," Kai said, allowing himself to smile a little bit.

"Who cares if you have such a handsome, irresistible, and cute teammate..."

"I take it back now," Jet said.

"Yeah, me too. I hate it here," Jinping remarked.

Kai ignored them and continued with his statement.

"...if we're going to lose the game."

"I definitely don't want to be like Peng Yang," he muttered.

"Lina has been awfully quiet," Andy pointed out, earning him a glare from the pretty manager.

"Do you not like Kai's haircut?" he asked.

Kai looked at Lina, and at that moment, she felt like her heart was going to explode.

"I—I do," she calmly said, making Kai smile.

"That's enough about Kai," Coach Muchen said. "Your classmates are going to have a field day on Monday," he muttered.

"Anyway," he continued, snapping back to focus. "The game is starting soon. Remember everything we've practiced."

Lina nodded in agreement. "Use what you've learned during the training camp."

"And you," she said, pointing at Kai. "Don't get hurt."

Kai saluted. "Aye, aye captain."

"Now," Coach Muchen chimed.

"I know I told you to hold yourselves back during your practice game with the Yin Yang Knights."

"However, I am withholding that advice for this game."

Then, Muchen smirked.

"Give it your all!"

Just in time, the buzzer was heard, notifying the players that it was time to go back to the court.

Lina smiled as she opened the door.

"Let the Interhigh Preliminaries Begin!"