Behind him, Zhang Ziyang’s expression shifted from disbelief to outright frustration. He knew he had lost, and lost badly.
No one was paying attention to him anymore, but inside, he felt a deep sense of humiliation. He had set this up to embarrass a rookie, only to end up being the one humiliated.
As for Tao Zhixiong, standing in the crowd, he muttered under his breath, “So what if he can shoot? Even NBA players have 100% free-throw percentages. Real skill is in playing the game.”
But even he didn’t fully believe his own words. Someone who could shoot like this couldn’t possibly be a bad player.
Zhang Linyun, watching Xu Ze’s confident figure bathed in sunlight, felt a pang of regret. She tugged at Tao Zhixiong’s sleeve and quickly turned to leave.
Seeing Zhang Linyun walk away, Tao Zhixiong shot Xu Ze a resentful glare before hurrying after her.
“Three shots left…” Xu Ze raised the ball, a flicker of something in his eyes. He released the ball, but this time, it hit the rim and bounced away.
“Aww…” The crowd let out a collective sigh, a mix of disappointment and relief. If Xu Ze had kept making every shot, it would have been too much for some to handle.
But Zhang Ziyang and Luo Zi, standing close by, noticed the slight hesitation in Xu Ze’s motion just before he released the ball. As the ball flew through the air and missed, both of them had the same thought: He did that on purpose.
Even though Xu Ze needed to make the next two shots to officially beat Zhang Ziyang, no one doubted he would succeed. Even Zhang Ziyang himself had given up hope. Someone who could deliberately miss a shot to avoid showing off too much wasn’t going to lose.
Sure enough, with two more clean swishes, Xu Ze wrapped up his performance, finishing with eight out of ten shots. His victory earned the team a dinner at Xiaochun Restaurant and, more importantly, the respect and recognition of his teammates. No one would ever see him as just a rookie again.
Afterward, Xu Ze declined an invitation to join a scrimmage. Instead, he spent some time practicing dribbling and ball-handling with Luo Zi.
Though his movements were still a bit awkward and unpolished, no one dared to look down on him. They all knew that someone who hadn’t touched a basketball in three years but could still sink eight out of ten free throws wasn’t someone to underestimate. Luck could only take you so far.
Luo Zi, watching Xu Ze’s rapid improvement, couldn’t help but marvel. “If this guy isn’t a natural talent, then he must have been a beast on the court back in the day.”
At the same time, a spark of hope ignited in Luo Zi’s heart. If they could nurture Xu Ze’s skills, their department team might just have found a new star player.
