Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Sir!" Zeren whined as he held onto Sir Muchen's desk. "I have somewhere to go today!"

"I know that you have basketball training," Sir Muchen started off. "But this is also important."

"It's not basketball training! It's much more important than that. My love life is on the line if you don't let me go," he dramatically said, almost kneeling on the floor.

Meanwhile, Kai, whose row was assigned to be the classroom cleaners of the day, watched him in amusement.

"And your grades are on the line if you go," Sir Muchen sighed. "You've failed two quizzes of mine already. You need to answer a make-up quiz so you can pass this grading."

"Am I all alone on this one?" Zeren asked, glancing at Kai since he also wanted him to stay.

"Yes," Sir Muchen said. "Now, go ahead and grab a seat so you can answer this 75-point quiz."

"75 points?" Zeren asked with wide eyes. "That's a periodical exam already!"

"Do you want to have the make-up quiz or not?" Sir Muchen asked as he held the paper toward Zeren.

Zeren pursed his lips and begrudgingly sat on one of the chairs.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Good," Sir Muchen smiled. "You have an hour to finish it. I have to go home early to feed my dogs and cats."

Zeren sighed and flipped the paper, sighing even deeper when he saw the contents of the quiz.

"I don't know any of these," he muttered.

Meanwhile, Kai was done with his duties, so he grabbed his backpack from his chair and prepared to go out of the room.

Zeren sighed as he stared at his retreating figure.

"Next time, my love," he muttered. "We'll definitely have our alone time together!"

Kai walked through the hallways with Bao, who was busy eating some snacks that he bought from the convenience store.

"Who are you going to meet again?" he asked.

"Lina," Kai responded.

Bao stopped as soon as he heard her name. "You mean—the really pretty manager of the basketball team?"

"Yup," Kai said. "She's very pretty, isn't she?"

Bao enthusiastically nodded. "She's very kind, too. Are the two of you going out on your own?" he asked.

"Hmm," Kai hummed.

Bao stopped for a moment and looked at his friend with a strange gaze. Kai, too, halted when he saw this.

"What?" he asked.

"Are the two of you dating?" Bao asked in a teasing tone.

Kai's cheeks reddened as the idea of dating Lina popped into his mind. Then, he shook his head.

"Definitely not," he said.

Bao chuckled in amusement. "Why are you so defensive about it?"

"I'm not," Kai said.

He just felt shy at the thought of dating a girl.

"I'm just telling the truth," he continued, trying to compose himself. "I'm only going to accompany her to register our team for the Winter Cup."

Bao nodded. "Well, she is out of your league," he muttered.

"No offense, though!" Bao quickly said. "The two of you just feel…different, you know?"

Kai nodded in understanding. "I know."

They finally arrived in front of the gym, where Kai and Lina agreed to meet after their classes.

"Well, there she is," Bao said. "I'll get going then. You guys have fun!"

Kai nodded, his eyes focused on Lina. She was dressed differently today. Instead of her usual matching tracksuit, she was dressed in the school uniform that consisted of a blazer, a polo, and a skirt. However, her legs weren't exposed and were covered with jogging pants instead.

"Hey," Kai said as he made his way to where she was.

"Hi!" Lina said, her cheeks a bit pink because of the cold. "So, umm, are you ready to go?" she asked.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The two of them started walking while conversing about their day, oblivious to the eyes watching them from afar.

Zeren, who still wasn't finished with his make-up quiz, stared at them from the window, appearing straight from a drama scene with his melancholic expression.

He wanted to cry because of two things—one, because his long-term crush was out with another guy (it technically wasn't a date, but Zeren was still upset), and two, he couldn't get past number three on Sir Muchen's worksheet.

Another person, Eva, who was sitting on one of the benches near the gymnasium, narrowed her eyes once she saw the pretty woman right by Kai's side. It had been a while since she last saw Kai, and Eva was about to greet him when he saw that he was with another woman.

"Who is she?" she muttered while looking at Lina.

Eva instantly brought out her phone and pulled out her FBI skills to search for her profile on social media.

"So, how did your day go?" Lina asked, making some small talk.

"Thankfully, it was uneventful," Kai said.

"Why?" Lina chuckled. "Is it usually eventful?"

"Very," Kai said. "Ever since I was granted this chance, life has become much more dynamic."

"This chance?" Lina asked, confused.

Kai froze when he realized his slip-up.

"This chance to go to Shizi High," he awkwardly chuckled. "Ever since I came here, there haven't been any dull moments."

"That's Shizi to you," Lina said. "We may not be the greatest school, but it's definitely a place where we can make the greatest memories."

The two were finally out of the school's vicinity and were on the train to go to the office of the high school basketball committee for their registration for the Winter Cup.

They didn't speak much during the ride. However, it was surprisingly peaceful and not awkward at all. There were some times when they bickered here and there, but it only added to the fun of their conversation.

After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the office of Jilin's high school basketball committee.

"Let's go," Lina said, leading Kai inside since it was his first time to come to this office.

"It's just going to be quick since I've already prepared everything," Lina said, retrieving the documents from her bag.

However, as they arrived inside the office, Kai realized that it might not be quick at all.

"Gosh," Lina muttered as soon as she saw the familiar group of guys.

"The Dolphins are here."

"The Dolphins?" Kai asked out loud.

"Shh," Lina tried to cover Kai's mouth, but it was already too late.

"Did you call for us, bud?"

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