Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Mommy, turn on the local channel!" a beaming child with sparkling eyes said to his mother.

"Why, honey?" she asked. "What do you want to watch from the local channel?"

"Basketball!" the kid exclaimed.

The mother's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Basketball? Since when were you interested in basketball?"

The kid urged his mom to make it faster. "Basketball is cool now, mommy! The big teams are going to play today. It's going to be the last game."

"Ah," the mother chuckled. "By the big teams, you mean the Yin Yang Knights and the Feng Foxes? Well, basketball was also a big deal when we were younger, but it kind of lost its spark as I grew older. Come to think of it, these teams also dominated the leagues back then."

"No, Mommy," the kid said, his gaze focused on the screen.

"Not that—it's the Knights and the Shizi Dogs."

The woman halted as soon as she heard the name of her alma mater.

"Shizi Dogs?" she clarified.

"Yes, mommy! They're from Shizi High!"

The mom's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she looked at the screen.

"Eh?"

Meanwhile, the audience, who were already in the court, were surprised to see so many cameras inside.

"Woah," Dylan said. "So, this is how the finals look like? There's usually only one camera in the playoffs."

"Why? You've never watched the finals in your three years in high school?" Alen asked.

"There was no reason to. Shizi High never played in the finals," he said.

Meanwhile, some people also complained about how hard it was to get the tickets.

"Goodness!" Miss Cherry exclaimed. "Getting these tickets was so hard. I thought I was battling K-pop fans or something."

Just then, a man with a familiar scent sat next to her.

She turned to the right to confirm his identity, and, indeed, Sir Dao was right beside her.

"Sir Dao!" she exclaimed. "You're still here? I thought you weren't interested in these games?"

Sir Dao cleared his throat and kept his gaze on the court.

"My daughter forced me to go," he said, coming up with an excuse. "It's not like I want to watch the game or something."

On the other hand, the media people, who weren't really updated with the latest high school basketball news, were perplexed to see so many people on the court.

"Is this how it really is?" Nina, the courtside reporter, asked. She was a mass communications student, so she was familiar with the popularity of basketball at the collegiate level.

However, she never knew that the high school league was also as popular.

"You've never watched a game?" her friend, Rolan, asked.

Nina shook her head. "I'm busy with the collegiate games. They also have a tournament."

"Well, you're in for a wild ride," Rolan said. "These young guys show a bright future."

"Is it that exciting?" she asked.

"It is!" Rolan exclaimed. "I was also unsure if I was going to like it, but when I watched the game between the Alligators and the Dogs, I was instantly hooked. It felt as if I was watching a real-life anime."

Nina shrugged before crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, let's see," she said, suddenly feeling excited for the game to start.

In the interim, the situation outside the court was just as buzzing as the one inside.

The merch booths were filled with people, and one particular booth had a line that went as far into the garden of the area.

"What is this?" some asked. "A line for a food stand?"

One of the people on the line turned to the person who asked. "It's the line for the Shizi Dogs' merch booth."

"Lina, make it fast," Jet anxiously said.

"Can you wait?" Lina asked. "We don't have any change left!"

"Calm down," Renren sighed. "You're not making it better."

Jet stood and looked at the line from where he was at.

"But there's too many people! I am a chronic people pleaser, so I don't like having people wait in line."

Lina shook her head. "Then, please them. Dance in front of them if you'd like."

Jet sighed and defeatedly sat on his seat. "I can never win with you, guys. If I don't play well in the games, I'll blame it all on you."

Renren and Lina turned to each other with amused smirks.

"You only have yourself to blame for your incompetence."

Jet pursed his lips and slumped in his seat. "At times like this, I miss Shang."

Renren and Lina shook their heads and continued tending to their clients.

Lina couldn't shake off the smile on her face. At this point, she was going to win the bet that Fei had made during the Acquaintance Party. From the looks of it, the Knights also had a long line, but it wasn't nearly as long as the one for the Dogs.

"I'm surprised," Renren smiled. "Although Kai's merch is the best selling one, we are still able to sell the others' merch too."

Lina nodded. "I'm happy. I really feel like our team is different now."

Further away from the court, just right before its garden, stood a short old woman with hunched shoulders. She let down a sack of onions by her side as she gazed at the large court.

Then, she looked at her hands, which were calloused from her work of more than thirty years.

With that, she placed one of her hands over the court, just hovering in the air, and closed her eyes. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire

Although she wasn't able to watch her game, she wanted to wish him a safe game.

"Bring my grandson safety," she muttered.

"Let him reach his dreams."

"Have him know that I am proud of him even if I cannot be there."

With that, the old woman opened her eyes and finally smiled.

She placed her arm back in a neutral position and walked away from the court.

However, she halted and looked back at the court once again, feeling nervousness and pride swell in her heart.

"Good luck, my little Kai."

"Don't get hurt."