Their ti-out ended without them having a proper conversation.
Lina wanted to say sothing, but the boys were already making their way to the court.
The Elites instantly observed that sothing was wrong. Chunlei wasn't afraid to voice that out, though.
"Eyy, they're in bad moods. They're going to lose this ga if they keep this up, for sure," he chuckled, another crumb falling onto Fang's lap.
"Do you always say your mind?" Fang asked.
Chunlei smiled. "I do," he said.
Fang shook his head and focused his gaze back on the court.
The ga has started once more.
Kai stood in the middle of the court, chest heaving, eyes glued to the ball as it moved between the Juren Champions.
Although his eyesight was good, he felt that everything was a blur.
The scoreboard felt like it was mocking him, showing 27-12.
The shouts, groans, and roars of everyone could be heard all around him. It was strangely muffled yet clear at the sa ti.
The voices of his teammates reached him, frantic and overlapping.
"Pass!"
"No, here!"
"Jet, listen!"
"Get it here!"
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"Kai, co on!"
But Kai couldn't move.
Every second felt like it stretched, and all he could do was watch Jian Niu glide across the court. He was unstoppable. The way Jian maneuvered past Jet and Renren with such ease made it look like he was on a different level.
And maybe he was.
Or maybe, it wasn't even a maybe—but a certainly.
"They're crumbling under pressure," Max observed. "This is the wrong ti to be having this type of breakdown."
Zheng nodded in agreent. "Even our team wasn't this bad when we first faced off with the Champions."
On the court, Kai's teammates were falling apart.
Jet's passes were mistid. Kun tripped over his own feet in a desperate attempt to regain possession. Andy's three-point attempts were off, the ball bouncing away to groans from the crowd. The once roaring energy of their fans dimd, replaced by mutters of disappointnt.
It really did feel like the end, even though it was just the first quarter.
"This is painful to watch," Gina sighed, shaking her head. Even from his spot on the court, Kai could hear the disappointnt in her tone.
David clicked his tongue. "The Shizi Dogs seem lost without their captain. Yuze's absence is more impactful than we thought."
Yuze, sitting on the bench with clenched fists, stared at the court. He regretted not saying anything for the ti-out.
anwhile, the locals of Jillin were on the edge of their seats, not knowing what to do.
Grandma BingBing had her lips pressed tight. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her thumb.
Her eyes widened, and she saw that her finger had been grazed with a knife while she was cutting onions. She quickly ran to the sink to wash the blood off.
Her blood ran cold as she glanced back and forth between the television and her finger.
It had been forty years since she started cutting onions. She had mastered the art of it already. So, why was it that she cut her hand?
"I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered.
Lina bit her lip as Chaoxing dunked with a roar, adding another two points to the Juren's lead.
The scoreboard blinked: 29-12.
Lina's heart sank as she realized how dire the situation was. Whispers floated around her, laced with annoyance and doubt.
"They're supposed to be good?"
"This isn't even a competition."
"Total letdown."
The last four minutes of the quarter were a battle, but not in their favor. Kai moved on autopilot. He couldn't think of anything, so he just moved.
anwhile, Jian played great as always, showing everyone the gap the Champions had with the Dogs. Chaoxing, on the other hand, made eye contact with Kai and shook his head. At that mont, Kai also saw the disappointnt in his eyes.
He felt a sharp pang in his chest.
In the very middle of the court, way above everyone else, Johnny Wang's laughter echoed among those with him. "So this is the prodigy everyone's been hyping up?" he jeered. "Ah, remind of his rank again after the ga. I don't think he deserves it."
Ashley, seated next to him, frowned, her eyes flicking between Kai and the scoreboard. "What is going on with him?" she muttered, knowing that Kai Guo was much more than what he was showing.
She knew.
She had binge-watched his highlights.
Kai felt the world closing in. He felt like he was in a tsunami with nowhere to escape.
The lights seed too bright, the court too small. He clenched his fists, trying to find that spark inside him, the one that had driven him through every challenge, every ga. But it was gone, drowned in the noise.
"Look around you."
The voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. Kai blinked, and in the midst of the chaos,
Yuze's eyes t his from the bench.
Yuze didn't speak, of course.
He looked just as lost as Kai.
However, his words before the ga started echoed in the back of Kai's mind.
"Look around you."
Ti slowed. The noise dulled like soone had turned the volu down on the chaos.
Kai lifted his head and, for the first ti, really looked.
His eyes swept the stands, seeing familiar faces.
Sir Dao, who had thought of him as a troubleso boy to now a competent competitor, was there, nodding slowly as if urging him on.
Teachers who once doubted him now leaned forward, hope in their eyes. The Angs, with their fierce loyalty, sat tense but still supportive.
His friends—those who didn't give up on him. Those who were with him when he was still at the bottom.
The Elites watched, their expressions unreadable but focused. Opponents who had once faced him with respect and rivalry sat among the crowd, their eyes sharp with recognition. And Lina—her worry lted into determination as she caught his gaze, her lips moving in silent encouragent.
He wasn't alone.
His grandma must be watching from ho, too.
He had never been alone.
The invisible bonds between him and the people who believed in him, who had pushed him to be better, wrapped around him like a lifeline.
So, this was what Yuze ant.
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