Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

After their lunch, the boys decided to disperse.

They didn't opt to watch the game between the Knights and the Rams since they felt that the result was already set in stone.

There was no way the Rams would be able to beat the Knights.

"Bye, guys!" Jet exclaimed. "See you on Monday!"

"Yeah, see you!" the others chimed.

Meanwhile, Kai scanned the area until his eyes landed on a familiar figure.

He pursed his lips and unhesitatingly went to where she was.

"Lina," he said, sounding breathless even though he wasn't tired.

Lina turned around with wide eyes, not expecting Kai to be following after her.

"What are you doing here?" Lina asked. "Your house is in the opposite direction."

Kai didn't answer her question and instead asked one of his own. "Your dad's not picking you up today?"

Lina wordlessly shook her head. "He's still in the station. It's quite early," she said.

"Hmm," Kai hummed, still trailing after her.

Lina looked up at him and cleared her throat. She knew that she still needed to confess, but it was getting more difficult the more she postponed it!

"You're not going home yet?" she asked.

Kai shook his head. "I want to walk you home."

Lina bit her lip. It was times like this that she really fell for Kai. How could she not when he was just too caring?

"Well," she said, clearing her throat to avoid an awkward silence. "How's your relationship with Suzy?"

Kai frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lina scratched the back of her head. "Well, you know. She confessed to you after the game."

"She wasn't the only one," Kai said, causing Lina to stop.

Kai also stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked.

"Alright, Mr. Popular," she said in amusement. "You're so popular now that you even have admirers from Juren High."

"Ah, right," Kai said. "Those girls in the yellow uniforms, right? I wonder what they're doing here when their school is all the way in Shanghai?"

"They got on a plane," Lina said, making Kai curious.

"And how do you know that?" he asked.

"Well, they held up the line for our merch because your items are all sold out. I overheard their conversation somehow."

"Hmm," Kai hummed. "I didn't get her name, though."

Lina raised one eyebrow. "Why? Did you want to get her name?"

"No," Kai shook his head. "I just wanted to ask her if she had ever seen the number one Elite in their school."

Lina couldn't help but chuckle. "You're still thinking about basketball even now, huh?"

"Of course," Kai smiled.

"Going back to the topic—what happened with you and Suzy?" Lina continued to pry, not wanting to let the topic go.

"What are you on about?" he asked.

"Well, we saw the two of you by the entrance of the court a while ago," Lina muttered.

"Oh, that," Kai sighed. "She kept pestering me to take her out."

Lina's eyes widened in surprise. The dignified Suzy Mei actually did that?

"Well, what did you say?" she asked.

"I said no," Kai deadpanned. "There's no reason for us to go on a date."

"Besides, I don't think she likes me like that. Maybe she's just messing with me or something."

Lina frowned. "What made you think so?"

"She hates my guts," Kai said. "The first time we met, she accused me of being a pervert. For a long time, she also didn't care about the basketball team. So, I don't think her feelings have changed in such a short amount of time."

"You don't know that, though," Lina whispered, so Kai was unable to hear her.

For a long time, Lina thought that all she felt for Kai was friendly admiration. She even considered that she just cared for him as a team manager. However, her feelings quickly changed to romantic ones before she even knew it.

"What was that?" Kai asked.

Lina shook her head. "Nothing," she muttered.

They continued walking to Lina's house when Kai decided to ask another question.

"Right, you wanted to say something to me that day, too, right?" he asked. "The day we beat the Feng Foxes?"

The two of them halted for a while, just looking into each other's eyes.

Just then, Yuze's voice rang in the back of Lina's mind.

"Think of it as a simulation. Jilin City is a small district. There are plenty of other schools that are stronger in the bigger cities."

"If we can beat the Yin Yang Knights, then our chances of winning the Nationals are also going to increase!"

Right.

They still had a game with Yin Yang Knights, undoubtedly their biggest rival.

"What did you want to say, hmm?" Kai softly asked, snapping Lina out of her daydream.

"Say what," Lina continued. "I might just tell you after the big game."

Since Lina had already confirmed that Kai didn't feel that way about Suzy, she wanted to move forward. However, she also knew that the finals were coming up, and she didn't want to serve as a distraction during the critical period.

Kai frowned. "But that's still a week from now."

"Just a week," Lina said. "It will pass in no time."

Kai clicked his tongue. "That's unfair," he muttered.

The two of them finally arrived in front of Lina's house before they knew it.

They stopped, and Kai still appeared sulky since Lina didn't want to reveal what she wanted to say.

Lina chuckled in amusement, even going on her tippy toes and patting Kai's head.

"There, there," she said. "You'll know in no time. Wait for it until then, right? For now, you need to focus on the game," she softly added.

"I think I'll be thinking about this one more," Kai said.

Lina clicked her tongue and shook her head. "You better not," she scolded. "We need you in your best state for the next game."

Kai sighed and eventually agreed.

"Alright, I'll wait until then."

"Well, you better go," Lina said with a small smile. "Share the good news with your grandmother."

Kai smiled and nodded. "Will do."

Meanwhile, Lina couldn't shake off the smile on her face as she watched Kai walk away from their house.

Then, with her gaze still on Kai, she opened their gate.

However, strangely, it was already open, and before she knew it, she had bumped into none other than her dad.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Did he see all of that?

"Dad," she nervously chuckled.

Her dad watched her with hawk eyes, so Lina knew that he, indeed, saw what had happened a few moments ago.

"What did I tell you about Kai Guo?"