Kai, seemingly the only one who have the courage to speak against none other than Marcus Han, cleared his throat.
He straightened his back before speaking.
"Yes, sir," he said. "We ca here with the mindset of being beginners. We were given this opportunity, and we do not want it to go to waste."
The players behind him turned to each other with amusent. anwhile, Marcus seed unamused.
"Beginners?" he asked.
Kai pursed his lips as he looked into his eyes. Was there sothing wrong with what he said?
The older player was shocked when he realized how handso the young player was.
He then chuckled, shaking his head. "I think you got lost, little boy. You should go to a modeling competition instead of a basketball pro-team."
A small smile made its way to Kai's lips, confusing the older players. The other Elite Five mbers were also shocked by how Kai was conversing with the living legend.
"Thank you for the complint on my looks, sir," he said, slightly bowing. "However, like I said, we ca here to play basketball—just like all of you."
Marcus' smile fell as Kai said those words.
"Just like all of us?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. "Are you hearing yourself right now?"
Kai pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
"Introduce yourselves, don't you?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest while charging the subject."
Zheng squared his shoulders. "I am Zheng Zhang. Forward. Captain of the Ying Eagles. We have placed second in the Interhigh Nationals for two years straight," he started off.
Jian was the next one to introduce himself, not wanting to be the last one.
"Jian Niu," he started off.
The players behind Marcus nodded in acknowledgnt. It seed like Kai was right. Jian would be the most well-received out of all of them.
"Also a forward. But I can play all positions. mber of the Juren Champions. I've been offered a slot in all of the teams you are in," he continued, receiving impressed nods from the others. "I have also led my team to beco the Interhigh Nationals champions for two years."
Marcus shrugged and waited for the next one to introduce himself. Jimmy did so without any hesitation.
"Jimmy Wang. I was offered various scholarships from the highest-performing high school basketball teams in the country. I have been playing since I was a little boy, and I do not fall short in terms of skills among my peers," he confidently said.
"Ah, Johnny's boy," Dong said. "Ask your dad to treat us to an expensive dinner, would you?"
Jimmy pursed his lips and nodded, not wanting to upset them further.
Kai opened his mouth to speak, but Max beat him to it.
"Max Zhou. The first player in Jilin to beco a part of the Elite Five. An all-around player. I am very trainable and very receptive to feedback. I am continuously growing, and from the last spot in the Elite Five last year, I have climbed to the third," he said, not daring to look into Marcus' eyes.
"Hmm," Marcus humd. "I see that all of you are confident with your titles."
Kai quietly sighed. He wasn't planning to go last, yet here it was. Marcus and the others turned to him with curious gazes.
"And you?" Marcus said, placing his hands on his hips, intimidating him with his gaze.
"Kai Guo," he started off. He thought about sharing his achievents, too, but then, he didn't.
"That's it, sir."
The other boys turned to him with wide eyes, while the older players were speechless for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
"That's it?" Marcus asked.
Kai nodded. He would share everything he achieved throughout his one-year career, but he reckoned all of it would be useless. They already carried their own prejudices. Unless they showed them that they could play against their roster, then it wouldn't matter at all.
"Are you the Mad Dog that everyone's talking about?"
Kai pursed his lips. Mad Dog. That was the nickna given to him when he created trouble on the streets. Thus, he shook his head.
The others scoffed, not liking how he was lying.
"Ah, you're testing my patience, kid," Marcus muttered. "Is that really how you're going to introduce yourself?"
Without a word, Kai nodded. Deep inside, he wanted to say sothing more.
However, he was really nervous—he was afraid he was going to blurt sothing stupid.
"Alright, enough," Marcus said, shaking his head. He gestured toward the n behind him. "They worked hard to be here. You guys know that, right? Out of everyone in the country, they fought tooth and nail to get this opportunity."
The room went quiet, the younger players looking up at Marcus.
"And now," Marcus continued, "we're going to put a bunch of high schoolers into the mix."
He scoffed in disbelief. "Do you know what kind of ssage that sends? To them, to us, to the league?"
"Exactly!" Muyang said, crossing his arms. "It says anyone can co in here with enough hype. What about earning your spot the hard way?"
The younger players shifted awkwardly, unsure how to respond. Jaw-Long, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke.
"Maybe we're being too hard on them," he said, his voice hesitant. "I an, we were all rookies once, right? Maybe we should give them a chance to show us what they've got."
Caleb clicked his tongue. "Don't tell you're already gaining a soft spot for these kids."
Jaw-Long shook his head. "I just want to see," he honestly said. "What are we yapping here for if they're actually good?"
Caleb leaned back, arms crossed. "Fine. Let's see it, then. Do you want to prove you belong here? Let's play."
Dong grinned, tossing the ball to the center of the court. "A short ga. Us against you. Let's see if all those achievents you've ntioned are actually true."
The Elite Five exchanged nervous glances.
"Fine," Marcus said, taking a step back. He then turned around to gesture to the two other pro players.
"Bam, Jie. Keep score for us."
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