Zhang Ziyang caught the ball, but Xu Ze’s unwavering confidence gave him a slight pause. Could this guy be pretending to be weak?
But then he quickly dismissed the thought. Xu Ze had never touched a basketball in all the time they’d been classmates. Even if he had been good in the past, years of inactivity would have ruined his skills. With that in mind, Zhang Ziyang felt reassured and stood proudly at the free-throw line. He dribbled the ball a couple of times, then turned to Luozi. “Luozi, you be the referee. I don’t want anyone saying I took advantage of him.”
“Hmph…” Luozi snorted but stepped forward to stand nearby, watching as Zhang Ziyang prepared to shoot.
By now, people from other courts had noticed something was happening. A one-on-one challenge? That was always worth watching. Soon, a crowd began to gather, curious to see who was facing off.
Most of them recognized Zhang Ziyang, the star center of the clinical medicine team. But the other guy? He looked unfamiliar, someone who rarely showed up on the court. Was an outsider really daring to cause trouble at Xingda University?
A few who knew Xu Ze whispered among themselves. “Isn’t that Xu Ze? He never plays basketball. What’s he doing challenging Zhang Ziyang?”
As the crowd grew, even a few pretty girls joined in. Zhang Ziyang, basking in the attention, felt more and more pleased with himself. Although he was a key player on the team, he rarely got to shine like this. Now, all eyes were on him. Standing at the free-throw line, he looked around confidently, dribbled the ball a few times, and took his shot.
“Swish!” Zhang Ziyang lived up to his reputation. The first shot went straight through the net without touching the rim, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Seeing Zhang Ziyang’s form, Luozi’s face grew darker. He knew Zhang Ziyang’s skills well. If he maintained this level, Xu Ze would have a hard time winning.
Xu Ze, on the other hand, had never been seen playing basketball before. Even if he had some skills in the past, beating Zhang Ziyang now seemed nearly impossible.
Zhang Ziyang, energized by his successful start, continued shooting. “Swish… clank… swish…” Although he missed a few, he made seven out of ten shots, maintaining his usual standard.
After finishing, Zhang Ziyang tossed the ball to Xu Ze with a smug grin. “Alright, let’s see how many you can make. But I think you should just start preparing dinner now, to save yourself the embarrassment.”
Xu Ze caught the ball lightly, smiling calmly. “It’s not over yet. Let’s see how it goes.”
With that, he stepped up to the free-throw line. Under Luozi’s worried gaze, he dribbled the ball a couple of times to get a feel for it, took a deep breath, and raised the ball to shoot.
At that moment, a soft gasp came from the crowd. Zhang Linyun, standing at the back, peered through the gaps in the crowd and saw Xu Ze preparing to shoot. She covered her mouth in shock. “Xu Ze? He looks so different now. I thought he never played basketball?”
Beside her, Tao Zhixiong sneered. “He’s just putting on an act. Look at how long he’s taking to shoot. He’s clearly a rookie. No way he’ll make it…”
But before he could finish, Xu Ze’s ball arced through the air, hit the rim, rolled around the hoop, and dropped through the net.
