"Hey, jerk, keep it up!" Before Lin Tian took the court, Xiao Manxuan hit him with her clenched fist.
"Sis-in-law, cheer for us too!" Fatty Huang suddenly popped up and said, while the other teammates nodded incessantly in agreement.
Xiao Manxuan’s cheeks flushed red as she spat, "Who’s his sis-in-law? Don’t talk nonsense."
"Alright," Lin Tian raised his hand to signal them to quiet down, and said, "Pay attention when the game starts; you don’t need to move excessively because of your lack of stamina. Just hold your positions. I’ll handle running across the court. Clear?"
After everyone nodded, Lin Tian waved his hand grandly and led them out of the locker room.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
As soon as they entered the court, Lin Tian’s ears were filled with the intense sound of drums, a large drum brought by some classmate banging incessantly. The surroundings were also buzzing with noise, and the gym was completely packed with people.
But when Lin Tian and his four teammates appeared, the entire place fell silent for a moment, followed by various murmurs.
"Damn, the senior class one is hilarious. What kind of team is this—fat, thin, tall, short, it’s a total mix!"
"See that big guy? Does he think he’s Shaquille O’Neal or something?"
"Didn’t they say Lin Tian had incredible skills? Doesn’t seem like anything special!"
"Don’t mind what they say. After today, you guys will become legends at Xikou City High School!" Lin Tian lazily glanced at the spectators.
At that moment, the players from the school team also emerged from the opposite corridor, every one of them tall and strong, none under six feet. In comparison, the senior class one was a lot less imposing.
But before they could get cocky, the cheerleaders headed by Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu also came out, instantly causing a storm-like uproar in the arena.
The favor was completely overshadowed by the school team, and thankfully, at Lin Tian’s request, Xiao Manxuan and Zhang Lingyu did not wear cheerleader uniforms, or else the scene might have gotten out of control.
He was deaf to the noise around him, his eyes searching for Sun Decai’s location. Near the court, Sun Decai and Qi Jing occupied the best seats. When Lin Tian looked over, Qi Jing seemed to sense it and looked up.
In that moment, Lin Tian saw a complex expression in her eyes. He didn’t want to guess what it was, some things, once past, can never return.
The sharp, clear whistle sounded, and the referee had both sides choose directions before the game officially began.
Gao Le, a short player, competed against the school team’s player number twelve who towered several heads above him. Number twelve looked down at Gao Le with a disdainful expression.
But ten seconds later, he could no longer laugh. As the basketball reached its highest point, Gao Le shot up ’whoosh’, jumping several heads higher than number twelve.
"Bang!" Gao Le smacked the ball toward Lin Tian, stunning both the school team players and the spectators. The contrast was too great; the significantly shorter Gao Le outjumped number twelve, a fact the crowd couldn’t accept.
An even more shocking scene unfolded; Lin Tian caught the ball and turned to stand in place, without jumping, he shot with one hand. The basketball traced a beautiful arc towards the basket, commanding everyone’s attention in the arena.
"Clang!" The ball hit the bullseye!
The gym fell silent, even the referee was stunned and slow to react. After the silence, deep gasps followed, and the first to snap out of it was the little girl, Xiao Manxuan.
"Lin Tian..." She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted Lin Tian’s name loudly. That "Lin Tian" was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up countless ripples, and the crowd erupted into a massive roar.
The top student Chen Herun leaned in a bit and asked Lin Tian in a soft voice, "Have you also studied the problem of the relationship between shooting arcs and parabolic functions?"
"No," Lin Tian said, puzzled.
"Oh, I haven’t looked into it from such a long distance. I’ll have to try it out when I get back," Chen Herun scratched his head and walked back to his spot, leaving Lin Tian disheveled in the wind.
Brother, we’re still playing basketball here. Can you be a bit more serious? Lin Tian was utterly defeated by his professionalism.
The electronic scoreboard on the wall finally refreshed. The score was 3:0, Lin Tian won the opening with a stunningly long mid-court shot.
"Lin Tian, Lin Tian..."
"Class Three Year One, must win!"
The high-pitched shouts and cheers were deafening, as if they were about to break through the arches of the gymnasium.
Standing in front of the court, Sun Decai watched everything with a cold gaze, feeling disdainful. "Enjoy your moment of pride, the higher you climb, the harder you fall."
The referee finally calmed down, waving his hand to signal for the school team to take the ball.
After regaining their composure, the school team thought it was just a fluke. They had made mid-court shots before, it was just a matter of probability.
After they got the ball, they quickly attacked, arriving outside the three-point line. But as the lead player tried to drive forward, a huge figure blocked his way.
"Hehe, don’t think about getting past me," Fatty Huang grinned broadly. His opponent quickly switched the ball between hands, spinning it in a way that dazzled the eyes. But Fatty Huang just focused on his feet. The moment he moved, Fatty shifted slightly, his large body once again blocking the path. This happened several times, and the school team’s player couldn’t break through.
"Fatty, good job!" someone unknown from the cheerleaders shouted, and as Fatty turned to look, he got distracted and let his man get past him.
Lin Tian held his forehead, really wanting to go up there and give him a good beating. He stretched out his hand toward Gao Le and then made a blocking gesture. Gao Le nodded, understanding. As the opponent took the shot, Gao Le leaped up, forcefully slapped it down, and blocked it hard.
Lin Tian swiftly picked up the ball that flew out. As soon as the ball was in his hands, the crowd burst into a rowdy cheer.
"Four-pointer! Four-pointer!"
Damn it, Lin Tian cursed with a laugh. Who wouldn’t want to shoot a four-pointer if there was such a thing? But Lin Tian didn’t want to exaggerate. A mid-court shot was still acceptable, anything further seemed a bit off.
He tossed the ball to Class Leader He, who took it up the court. When two defenders came up to trap him, he passed it to Chen Herun who was beyond the three-point line.
Chen Herun, without thinking, reflexively threw the ball.
Another three-pointer. Chen Herun had been standing outside the three-point line motionless, wearing glasses, looking dignified and lost in thought. Yet, each time he shot, it was a three-pointer, reigniting the passion in the arena.
As time slowly passed, Lin Tian leisurely walked around on the court, occasionally gesturing to direct the movements of his teammates.
He hadn’t shot the ball again, but everyone recognized that Lin Tian was the core of the Class Three Year One team, the conductor. Many times when the school team was about to score, Lin Tian always appeared just in time to disrupt their shots.
Chen Herun, who appeared to others as a bookish type, had a shooting accuracy of over ninety percent, nearly all the shots were his.
The second quarter ended, and the score shockingly was 56-0 in favor of the Class Three Year One against the school team.
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