The longest river

Chapter 4: Human hearts are unpredictable, but the system can measure them.

Yang Shuai was stunned.

He never expected Lin Xiulan to make such a request.

"If you don't want to, that's fine too. You can stay here with us for now and move out when you find a suitable place later." Lin Xiulan thought Yang Shuai was unwilling, so she changed her suggestion.

“No, Aunt Lin, I’m willing.” Yang Shuai shook his head.

He has nothing now, and there are only two ways to solve the problem of food: either he can look for expired bread in the trash can like the original owner; or he can find a job in a restaurant or bar to earn money.
His original plan was to work, but the system required training to reach its talent limit, and he also had to go to school. If he really did that, he would have to work the night shift, and whether his thin body could withstand it in the long run was a question.

In comparison, adoption is a better solution, and after spending time with the Rondo family, he could tell they were good people.

“I’m just afraid of being a burden to you,” he continued to explain.

The Long family is not well-off, and having another person would put a lot more pressure on them.

"You don't need to worry about that. Although we don't live a very luxurious life, we'll always have enough to eat and wear," Lin Xiulan waved her hand.

"Thank you, Aunt Lin. I will repay you in the future." Seeing this, Yang Shuai stopped worrying about it.

"Silly child, I'm not asking for your repayment."

The details of Yang Shuai's meal yesterday all show that he is a sensible child. Such a child has such a tragic experience, which not only makes people sympathize with him, but also makes people feel sorry for him.

Yang Shuai hummed in agreement. No matter how well he spoke now, it was better to actually repay the favor in the future.

"I'll head to school now, Aunt Lin," he said, preparing to leave.

"Wait a minute, my breakfast will be ready soon. Eat before you leave."

"No need, Aunt Lin, someone already said they'd bring me breakfast today."

Lin Xiulan nodded without saying much, after all, she wasn't the only compassionate person in the world.

After leaving Longduojia and getting onto the main road, Yang Shuai jogged slowly to warm up.

The streets were quiet around 5 p.m., with few pedestrians and a cool breeze blowing from Lake Erie.

But Yang Shuai felt incredibly warm inside at that moment.

His transmigration into the original owner's body was a hellish start, but how lucky he was to meet the Rondo family.

More than ten minutes later, when they were not far from the school, Yang Shuai slowed down to calm his breathing.

Just then, a girl of about twenty years old walked towards them.

The girl was wearing high-waisted jeans and a loose T-shirt with a Mickey Mouse cartoon head printed on the front. Her face was delicate and full of youthful energy.

Upon seeing this, Yang Shuai went straight to meet him.

Under the girl's questioning gaze, he politely asked, "Auntie, how do I get to Cleveland High School?"

The girl's initially puzzled gaze instantly turned cold. She gave Yang Shuai a wink and quickly left.

After the girl left, Yang Shuai had a puzzled look on his face.

He was seizing every opportunity to gain points, but the system notification sounded in his mind just now.

His actions just now did not cause any negative energy in the girl.
impossible.

This was a classic street prank video he had seen in his past life, and the girl's reaction proved that it worked.

Or is it that the system can only collect negative energy generated on the field?
It seems we still need to verify this further.

Once he arrived at school, Yang Shuai began practicing his jumping ability.

The newbie gift pack only contains one enhancement card. If he wants to raise his abilities to the maximum level later, he can only rely on training.

Although I never had any professional basketball training in my past life, I did see some basic basketball training methods on Douyin (TikTok).

Standing jumps, stationary jumps, and step jumps can all train jumping ability.

The first class in the morning was at 8 o'clock. After shooting practice lasted for about an hour, Yang Shuai prepared to leave.

He had just reached the door when he ran into Luther.

Luther was carrying a paper bag, and when he saw that it was Yang Shuai, he handed it to him directly.

Yang Shuai took it, opened it, and found that it contained a hot dog sandwich sprinkled with salad dressing, still steaming hot.

He was very surprised.

Yesterday, after Rondo mentioned that Luther might ambush him, he was prepared for Luther to fob him off, but he didn't expect that the guy would actually fulfill his request completely.

"It's not poisonous, is it?" Yang Shuai glanced at Luther.

"Negative energy from Mike Luther +89".

Luther tore off a piece of sandwich in front of Yang Shuai, stuffed it into his mouth, stared at Yang Shuai as he ate it, and then turned and left.

Watching Luther's retreating figure, Yang Shuai seemed lost in thought.

The negative energy Luther just generated has nothing to do with the court.

It seems his previous judgment was inaccurate, so the number of points has nothing to do with the occasion, but rather with the object?
The girl from before was just a passerby, but Luther is now an opponent?
So it only works on the opponent?
This still needs further confirmation. Right now, the important thing is to eat.

He didn't eat much last night, and he did a lot of exercise this morning, so he's very hungry now.

After finishing breakfast, Yang Shuai took out his textbooks from his locker and went to class.

American high schools are very different from those in China, or rather, they are more like universities in China, with a credit system that combines required and elective courses.

Moreover, each grade has a different focus: ninth and tenth grade lays the foundation, eleventh graders take exams similar to the Chinese college entrance examination (Gaokao) such as the SAT/ACT and AP exams, and twelfth graders complete their credits.

Yang Shuai is currently in eleventh grade, and he will be taking various exams in the second semester. If he wants to play in the NCAA, the academic pressure will be considerable. Therefore, even though his training schedule is heavy, he cannot skip classes to train. Classes are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a lunch break in between.

Yang Shuai didn't need to worry about lunch. Cleveland High School is a public high school, and students like him receive free lunches.

Although it tastes bad, it's enough to fill your stomach.

After finishing his classes for the day, Yang Shuai put his books back in his locker, picked up his backpack, and headed straight for the training hall.

Before training began, Johnson gathered everyone together for his daily pre-training pep talk.

During this process, Johnson announced that Yang Shuai would become a member of the Varsity team.

"Negative energy from Shamet O'Neal +16".

"Negative energy from Henry James +21".

"Negative energy from Mike Luther +158".

"Negative energy from Carl Davis +18".

"Positive energy from Chris Rondo +199".

……

Along with Johnson's decision, a series of notification sounds appeared in Yang Shuai's mind.

Yang Shuai looked surprised.

This series of beeping sounds completely overturned his previous guess.

This energy can come not only from opponents, but also from teammates.

Moreover, he had always thought that only negative energy was possible, but now he realized that positive energy was also possible.

After making the announcement, Johnson signaled for the team to begin training.

Yang Shuai, who had previously trained with the junior team at the training hall, went to train at the main stadium with the Varsity team amidst the envious gazes of his teammates.

On the way there, Rondo couldn't resist running up to him and bumping shoulders in celebration.

At that moment, Yang Shuai suddenly realized another wonderful use of the system: it could determine whether others had good intentions or bad intentions towards him.

It's said that people's hearts are hard to fathom, but this is much more efficient than trying to figure out what the other person is thinking.

After starting to train with the Varsity team, Yang Shuai also benefited greatly.

Although American high school basketball, professional basketball, and even college basketball are much rougher, their training is still much more professional than he knew.

For example, footwork alone includes multiple aspects such as forward and backward steps, cross steps, and lateral movements.

What surprised Yang Shuai even more was that after practicing for a short while, Johnson actually came over to give him personal pointers.

This earned him another wave of negative energy points from his teammates.

Yesterday he was just a substitute player on the junior team, but today he's a hot commodity on the Varsity team. How can such a change not make people envious?
"Do you have time later? Let's have dinner together." After giving his instructions, Johnson even extended an invitation to Yang Shuai.

This left Yang Shuai both flattered and puzzled.

However, he quickly nodded, saying that those who didn't eat when they had food deserved to go hungry.

After training ended, Yang Shuai greeted Rondo and then got into Johnson's car.

Johnson drove a second-hand Hummer, and the way he drove it on the road was just as eye-catching as his afro and big gold chain.

They went to a nearby pizzeria, and Johnson ordered three large pizzas in one go.

"Isn't that too much?" Yang Shuai asked instinctively.

“Not much. Your most important thing right now is to gain weight.” Johnson looked at Yang Shuai’s slender arms.

Yang Shuai then understood why Johnson had invited him to dinner.

Johnson, like Lin Xiulan, was probably aware of his situation.

This warmed Yang Shuai's heart and gave him a new understanding of the strict head coach.

“I will not play you until you reach my weight requirement,” Johnson went on to state his plan.

Standing nearly 2 meters tall but weighing only 75 kilograms, this might be manageable in one-on-one fights, but it makes one very vulnerable to injury in official matches.

Yang Shuai nodded. He wasn't in a hurry to play. After today's training session, he knew that he still had a lot of room for improvement in his basketball skills.

After all, in my previous life, I had limited time to spend on basketball because I was busy preparing for the college entrance exam.

“It’s a pity our school doesn’t offer basketball scholarships, but if you perform well in the new season, I’ll recommend you to a coach I know at AAU 1, where you’ll have a chance to get an NCAA college basketball scholarship.” Johnson was thinking long-term.

"Thank you, Coach." Yang Shuai said sincerely, knowing that he had met a good coach.

Johnson smiled and nodded, then said with a touch of emotion, "I had high hopes for you when I selected you, but it wasn't until yesterday that I realized my judgment was correct."

The pizza arrived at that moment, and it looked very appetizing, steaming hot.

"Eat up," Johnson gestured to Yang Shuai that he could start eating.

"Mm." Yang Shuai nodded vigorously.

There is no love without a reason in this world. The impact of yesterday's one-on-one duel was greater than he had imagined.

-Dividing line-

①: The AAU Basketball League is a youth basketball tournament organized by the Amateur Athletic Association of the United States. It includes basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball, etc., but basketball is the most famous. The competition is divided into different age groups and includes intercontinental qualifiers and championships.

(End of this chapter)