Returning to '97, creating a new life

After making a phone call back and finding Su Xingwan, Xu Kai obtained her consent before leading everyone to the small gymnasium.

Hey, Yao Ming, Liu Wei, and there's another one, their teammate Xu Kai. I don't recognize him, but he's also very good, a professional player. I heard his surname is Jia.

Sun Jun wasn't very familiar with them, but they were all in the same circle, so they at least knew each other. In an environment where both sides had coaches present, they exchanged some social pleasantries.

"Wow, not bad, your hometown team has found you."

Xu Kai turned his head and looked at Su Xingwan, who had just nudged him with her elbow. "Sister, do you want to see what you just did? Are we that close?"

Besides, am I not the stinky man you see?

"You're probably secretly pleased," Su Xingwan said, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"I'm not someone who hasn't seen it all before. I'm not so easily fooled by a little girl." Yesterday's indifference was to keep my distance, but today's confrontation is because I'm not suppressing myself.

"So, your girlfriend is really outstanding?"

Xu Kai rolled his eyes inwardly. No wonder, given his current state, even if he told her he'd been with hundreds of women, she wouldn't believe him. No matter how outstanding someone is, the age gap in experience still exists. Su Xingwan's worldly interests are limited to the romances and relationships between young people.

"I am a good student and will absolutely abide by school rules and regulations."

Can you imagine Su Xingwan, a girl with a first-love face, a gentle voice, and an ethereal, pure aura, suddenly giving you the middle finger?

What kind of imagery is that?

On the court, Sun Jun brought Dong Bin and Fei Wenxin onto the court. This was a suggestion made by the assistant coaches of both teams who also act as scouts. Meanwhile, Yao Ming led Hu Yuxuan and his center teammates to form a half-court offensive and defensive team.

Even though Yao Ming is still a young version of himself, with a slender build, his height and the skills he has honed since childhood create an invisible pressure that makes you afraid to attack the paint. When he plays three-on-three in the half-court, his height, agility, and well-developed skills make him an absolute weapon of mass destruction. Even Sun Jun, who is about to become the king, can only rely on his experience to deal with him.

Dong Bin and Fei Wenxin were completely lost.

He got blocked several times, couldn't get any rebounds, and his defense was completely ineffective.

Dong Bin's strength, which he had always relied on for his fame, was also useless. Only when they faced each other did they realize that Yao Ming, despite his current slender build, was still quite powerful.

Xu Kai, watching from the sidelines, was also thrilled. He knew the future trajectory. Yao Ming was still very green in many ways and was far from NBA level. He hadn't even reached his peak domestically, but even so, he still dominated the game on the court.

Never underestimate the heroes of the world.

Like Li Lei, the center on the team, Hu Yuxuan was completely outmatched by Sun Jun, who was at 100% maturity. They were like toddlers being toyed with. Today, we truly saw the gap between them and the real top CBA professional players.

"Want to go downstairs and have some fun?" Xu Kai's eyes gleamed with a different kind of fervor as he glanced at Su Xingwan beside him and made a suggestion that would greatly advance their relationship.

Everyone hopes that their family and friends can understand them.

I'm not friends with Xu Kai, just people who appreciate each other's tastes. Right now, that taste feels even better; he's the one who truly understands me.

"We're in a group with Sun Jun, playing against three teammates from a Shanghai team."

Xu Kai elevated the value of this proposal to several levels. Su Xingwan stopped pretending, and the flames in her eyes were now burning brightly. This was her best "confession" of her love for sports.

My inherent disadvantages, my height disadvantage, and my previously misunderstood inner self have now been given an excellent opportunity to be fully displayed.

I'm not trying to prove myself to anyone, nor do I need anyone's approval. It's simply about giving myself closure. The stage I didn't have before is today's best stage.

If Su Xingwan could invite Yao Ming and the other two to come, she had the ability to put together a half-court game that everyone would find unbelievable.

How can you play without a center forward?

Sun Jun is the center forward.

In the backcourt, Liu Wei is close to 190cm, and Su Xingwan is only 166cm tall, and she's a girl. How are we supposed to compete?

Xu Kai shows you how to play: after receiving the ball, jump directly from a meter away outside the three-point line, shoot, and with a swish, confidently clench your fist.

One isn't enough, let's have another one.

Two people sent Liu Wei over to defend, and he defended against the defense before another one came over.

Three of a kind, three of a kind, leaving everyone in the audience dumbfounded. A professional basketball-level guard, closely guarding you, and you still managed to shoot a three-pointer, and make it? Liu Wei's hand was practically blocking your face.

For the first three balls, Liu Wei remained fully focused, keeping a close watch on Xu Kai. However, on the fourth ball, Xu Kai served.

Su Xingwan darted past Old Jia, nicknamed "Carpenter," and leaped to shoot a layup against Yao Ming's defense. The overwhelming defensive presence forced Su Xingwan to contract her body mid-air, performing an irregular spin as she tried to get past Yao Ming, but Yao Ming's size was simply too much.

Su Xingwan passed the ball to Sun Jun on the other side of the basket before he landed. Sun Jun received the pass and jumped to score with a simple layup.

Xu Kai walked out, giving Su Xingwan more space so that her petite frame could be fully utilized.

Liu Wei didn't dare leave his side. Let alone help defend, if he lost focus for even a moment, Su Xingwan would pass the ball out and throw out a three-pointer. Even without the pressure of the score, it would be embarrassing for the three professional teams to see the opponent score both inside and outside.

Xu Kai took one defender away. Su Xingwan dribbled a bit too much. In a normal game, that would be unreasonable, but under these street rules, you have enough space and time to dribble, find your rhythm, and break through.

Sun Jun pulled out of the box again, giving Su Xingwan even more space. The two of them were shooting from mid-to-long range, and Yao Ming had no answer for them.

Su Xingwan's shooting is also very accurate, and her slender arms are not the way women shoot, but the standard shooting posture of men. As long as she is open, her shooting percentage is very high.

Without a center, they were instead overwhelmed by a more well-balanced team. Yao Ming had no choice but to call Liu Wei back, and with the professionalism of the three of them, they coordinated their tactics for defense.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

Xu Kai made three of four shots, completely silencing the professional coaches and players present who were criticizing his irrationality with an absurd three-pointer.

Even if it's unreasonable, making three three-pointers in four possessions has nothing to do with being reasonable; the result speaks for itself.

The most exciting part of the match wasn't even there. The most exciting part was when Xu Kai, exhausted from constantly switching teams, used his physical strength to fight Liu Wei, the carpenter, and Sun Jun. His success rate wasn't high, but his attacks were back and forth, and his defense put a lot of pressure on his opponents. If it weren't for his significant lack of experience, the outcome of this singles match would have been very different.

Being able to withstand Sun Jun's back-to-the-basket attacks is something that would leave everyone speechless.

Sun Jun is approaching thirty years old, the most mature stage of a man's body, with a perfect combination of strength and physique, and a huge height advantage. It is crucial that a high school student whose body has not yet fully developed is able to defend such a player one-on-one. Sun Jun himself admitted that he did not hold back at all and gave it his all.

The real treasure is not Hu Yuxuan or Li Lei, nor Dong Bin or Fei Wenxin, but Xu Kai and Su Xingwan.

The latter is a girl, so her height is completely out of the question.

Xu Kai is different. At 185cm tall, with shoes on, he's not actually afraid of guards around 190cm in terms of height. His three-point shooting, his stamina, and his physical attributes are all treasures.

All his lack of experience couldn't outweigh his confidence in facing strong opponents. No matter how strong they were, he was willing to fight them.

He went one-on-one with Yao Ming for a few rounds, and although he was blocked twice, he still made some commendable offensive plays under the basket.

Everyone else was taking turns to rest, but Xu Kai and Su Xingwan, whether teammates or opponents, remained on the court.

Park In-ji was worried about Xu Kai's stamina tomorrow, but Xu Kai himself didn't care at all. If he didn't go professional, this might be the closest he would ever get to a top domestic fighter. He couldn't hold back; he had to fight to his heart's content.

Tomorrow's strongest opponent is not the affiliated high school, but a sports school composed of three professional players who are almost all in reserve. In Yao Ming's words, their strength is at the level of a club's youth team main players.

"As long as you recover quickly enough and have enough energy reserves, tomorrow's match will not pose a threat to you."

If it weren't for the fact that Dong Bin, Hu Yuxuan, and others had a competition the next day, the group, in high spirits, almost suggested a full-court match.

After all, half-court offense and defense is not the mainstream in professional play; being able to demonstrate strength throughout the entire game is what truly earns recognition.

Xu Kai didn't show it off, and Park In-ji didn't help him boast about it either.

Dong Bin and Fei Wenxin were stopped by their glances.

[Playing the entire game, that's what makes Xu Kai so terrifying.]

The sheer terror of the full-court shooting drills, which only Xu Kai could master, still lingers in the minds of Park In-ji, Dong Bin, and others. They all tried it, and failed miserably within five minutes.

Faced with the gazes of some who saw a treasure and others who concealed their jealousy, hostility, and worry, Xu Kai remained calm. Regardless of whether there was any filth involved, he did not intend to rely on basketball as his first choice for a second chance at life. Therefore, he was fearless and worry-free, letting everything take its natural course and according to his own wishes. Moreover, his willingness to accept this path took precedence over the so-called "golden road" of basketball.

I don't need the shortcut to success you might imagine. I have the shortcut of the times. Even if I achieve nothing, even if I'm a nobody, even if I lack vision and foresight and can't hold onto wealth, a few obvious waves of wealth will be enough to ensure I have enough to eat and wear and enjoy a comfortable life.

I won't beg you, nor will I make you my indispensable helper. So why should I worry about being targeted for being too high-profile? Why should I worry that I won't have opportunities if I don't bow and scrape?