Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

[Unofficial Game Loss: -2]

[Current Level: Noob (63/100)]

Kai's eyes continued to twitch as Captain Yuze spoke with them. He saw Roy from his peripheral vision, and he was laughing among his friends like he didn't just block Kai of his chance of shooting the ball.

"The team will deliberate on your performances," Yuze said, walking back and forth in front of the applicants.

"Don't expect that all of you will make it," Yuze coldly added.

The applicants nervously nodded, but Kai was still stuck on the shot he couldn't make.

"You are dismissed," Yuze said, and the newbie players scrambled out of the court.

Jinping held his head up high as he exited the gym, already certain he was going to make the team.

Zeren walked slowly so he could admire Lina's beauty for longer.

"Wait," the pretty manager softly called from her seat.

Jinping and Zeren stopped while Kai continued to mutter curses under his breath, walking to the exit with an angered heart.

"Wait," she repeated.

Zeren excitedly smiled, about to walk to where Lina was sitting, when she suddenly called out to another name.

"Kai Guo," she called the unfamiliar boy.

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Zeren froze in his spot while Kai finally stopped walking. His eyebrows slightly furrowed as he turned to the girl.

He pursed his lips together in nervousness. She was the second girl who willingly called out for him!

"Yes?" Kai briefly asked.

The members of the varsity team stopped talking as they waited for Lina to say her next words.

They wondered why their manager, who was only interested in basketball, stopped a first-year she wasn't even familiar with.

Lina cleared her throat as she looked into his eyes; however, it was more like she was looking into his bangs instead.

"Have you—have you played basketball before?" she asked.

For some reason, his short play a while back reminded Lina of something.

The people inside waited for his answer, but Kai paused to think about his answer seriously.

"No," Kai responded. "This is the second time I've played in this life," he truthfully said.

Lina pursed her lips before nodding, her eyes still trying to gauge where she had seen Kai before.

Kai couldn't take her gaze, so he bowed his head before exiting the gymnasium.

Meanwhile, Zeren shook his head, feeling disappointed.

"Lina, aren't you going to ask me?" he wailed, skipping toward Lina's way.

Kun held out his hand before Zeren could even come close to Lina.

"Time to leave, boys," Kun smiled, pointing toward the exit.

***

Kai sighed in frustration as soon as he got out of the gates. He started walking back to their house, all while muttering insults under his breath.

"I'll never forgive that egg-looking guy."

He halted when he almost bumped into a metallic pole. There, he saw his reflection staring back at him.

His bangs were sweaty and sticking to his forehead, making it look like he hadn't showered for days. His uniform was dirty because of the car washing circumstance with Sir Dao, and his chin and jaw area were covered with unruly stubble that could be mistaken for pubes.

"Maybe I shouldn't be criticizing somebody else's looks," he said, finding himself slightly unattractive too.

He continued his journey back to their house, but it seemed like the universe really had it out for him.

A truck speeded through the roads, running through a puddle in the process.

Kai was unfortunately walking near the puddle, so his bottom half became completely drenched in the process.

To make matters worse, it seemed like the water in the puddle had been dyed red from the soil, making it seem like blood was splattered all over Kai's uniform.

"Could this day get any worse?" Kai muttered.

He decided to speed up so he wouldn't encounter any more unfortunate circumstances.

As he tried to step forward, he felt that something was strange. It felt like he was cooler than usual.

He continued walking despite this cold feeling but finally looked down after a few meters.

There, he saw his rubber shoes on the verge of dying.

The reason why he was cold was because the front sole of his right shoe had completely detached itself from the cloth lining, so his toe was already out in the open.

He closed his eyes and turned his head to the sky, his fists clenching in frustration.

Kai wanted to scream but held back for the sake of their neighbors.

What he didn't know was a group of old women were gossiping on a nearby house's balcony, so they were able to see his silent outrage.

"I—Is that blood?" one of the old ladies stammered, peering from the balcony.

"Gosh, that kid is really something else," another whispered.

"Should we call the police?"

"It's a good thing my Jinping is a decent student and is great at basketball. He would never be like that kid," a proud mom boasted.

Kai finally arrived at their house, only to find that his Grandma wasn't around. He sighed in relief when he finally arrived at their bathroom.

He couldn't wait to wash out the grime and bad luck of today's events.

He removed his clothes and sat on the small stool. There was a little bit of water in the basin, so he used that to wet himself and lather on some shampoo.

When it ran out, he opened the faucet to get more water. However, he didn't hear the water flowing, making him frown.

He opened his eyes despite the suds that covered his face and continuously opened and closed the faucet to get more water.

His efforts were useless, though.

They ran out of water...

...and so did Kai's sanity.