Lo and behold, the semi-finals had arrived.
The rookie comntators had now stepped away from the podium, replaced by veterans in the industry.
David and Gina Lee, the iconic comntator couple, were perched at their desks with mics around their heads, giving their enthusiastic greetings as the caras panned across the crowd.
The seats were packed, and it wasn't even mid-morning yet. The ga was set to start at 10 AM, and there were only around fifteen minutes left until the awaited start of the ga.
People from Jilin filled the venue this ti, wearing their school colors and carrying banners with pride.
The supporters of the Shizi Dogs and Yin Yang High were especially loud.
For Shizi, this was a historic mont—their first ti reaching this level of competition. The principal of Shizi High, a man with a reputation for being pruny and old-fashioned, had even sponsored the trip for his teachers.
"I can't believe the principal sponsored this trip just for us," Miss Cherry exclaid, nearly bouncing in excitent.
Sir Dao turned to him with wide eyes. "This was a sponsored trip?"
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Miss Cherry frowned in confusion as she nodded.
"Yes?" she said in a questioning tone.
"I paid for it," Sir Dao muttered, turning to their principal with wide eyes. However, the old man didn't pay any attention to him. He just waved his pink, sparkly banner in the air like an enthusiastic teenager.
To the right of the principal sat a few unexpected faces: the entire Shizi soccer team.
Justin Liang, the captain who had once tried to recruit Kai for his squad, had surprised everyone by sponsoring his team's trip as well.
"How much did you pay for this trip?" Junior asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Not much," Justin said.
Junior clicked his tongue. "Must be nice," he said with narrowed eyes. "Still, you could have saved money and just invited !"
"The entire team wanted to watch," Justin said. "Besides, my mom has a lot of money. Let use it."
Junior shook his head in amusent. "Don't tell you're still looking into recruiting him."
Justin pursed his lips and rely shook his head. That wasn't the case now, of course. After watching the Interhigh Preliminary finals, Justin had genuinely beco a fan of Kai. He even went as far as watching the Interhigh Nationals gas through fan-taken live streams just because he was curious about how the Dogs were doing!
But that wasn't all.
The Feng Foxes had shown up, too.
Chunlei was eating so popcorn while his teammates discussed who was going to win this particular ga.
"Hey," Yiming said, capturing his attention. "Don't you have a prediction for this one? You're always pretty spot on."
Chunlei paused for a while, his cheeks appearing like a hamster's, before shaking his head.
"I genuinely don't have an idea."
In the VIP area, faces from nearly every team that had been eliminated now gathered to watch. The seats were filled with players, coaches, and staff—except for the Juren Champions.
Their absence was notable, but the truth was they were already preparing for the finals. For them, this match was a re formality, a stepping stone to their inevitable victory. They didn't need to watch—they knew whoever won today was going to lose to them.
But one figure in the crowd caught everyone's attention as they entered.
Kimmy Wang, effortlessly pretty and wearing a fashionable jacket, walked like she owned the stadium.
And maybe she did—she was the daughter of none other than Johnny Wang, after all.
All eyes were on her as she made her way through the VIP section, her brother Jimmy trailing behind, trying to blend into the crowd with sunglasses and a hat pulled low.
"Shit, this is so embarrassing," Jimmy muttered as so people whispered to speculate about his identity.
"Stop being such a loser," Kimmy scolded, shooting her brother an annoyed glance as he slouched behind her.
Jimmy grumbled, his hands shoved into his pockets. "I'm not interested in watching this," he muttered, though his presence at the ga said otherwise.
Kimmy rolled her eyes as they found their seats. "You've never even seen Kai play, Jimmy. You need to watch him at least once. That will prepare you for the finals."
"My teammates aren't here," Jimmy shot back, scanning the VIP area as though hoping to find soone to bail him out of this situation. "Maybe Chaoxing is, but he's already seen Kai plenty of tis."
Kimmy raised an eyebrow. "Chaoxing? He's the most reasonable one out of all of you. At least he respects the ga."
Jimmy shifted in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "They're not even going to win."
Kimmy pursed her lips, unwilling to let the conversation end there. "They will," she said, a note of hopefulness in her voice.
Jimmy turned to her, his expression doubtful behind his sunglasses. "How are you so sure?"
Kimmy hesitated. The truth was, she wasn't sure. She wanted to believe in Kai and the Shizi Dogs, but it wasn't a guarantee. Both teams were skilled, with similar strengths and standout players like Kai and Max Zhou, the opposing team's star. However, there was sothing about the way Kai played that made her believe in their chance, no matter how slim it might be.
"I've been analyzing both teams," Kimmy said. "They're similar in composition. Both have strong offensive players, great defense, and good teamwork. Max Zhou is the Knights' best player, just like Kai is the Dogs'. It'll co down to sothing more than skill."
Jimmy snorted. "Skill is everything in these gas."
Kimmy shook her head. "It's not just about skill at this stage. It's about desperation."
"Desperation?" Jimmy echoed, sounding skeptical.
"Yes." Kimmy's eyes were focused, her thoughts drifting as she spoke. "Who wants it more? Who's willing to sacrifice everything on the court? I believe that's the team who will win."
Jimmy stared at her for a mont, incredulous. "That's a lot of blind faith."
"Maybe," Kimmy admitted, leaning back in her seat, though her eyes didn't leave the court. "But desperation fuels sothing deeper than just skill. Desperation makes you dig into places you didn't even know existed."
"So, whoever is most desperate will win."
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