Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Kai made up his mind.

He was going to talk to Lina no matter what happened.

So, for that, he prepared everything that he could.

Zeren still misunderstood him despite Kai insisting that it wasn't anything like what he was thinking.

However, Kai couldn't care less about what Zeren thought about him. What was important was that Lina knew that Kai wasn't disgusted at all.

However, before all of that, he still had to go through the boring regimen that Coach Jin had prepared.

"Alright, let's do these drills again," he shouted, making Kai cover his ears.

Coach Jin didn't miss the action, so he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the young student.

Meanwhile, Kai was wondering when they would be able to play a practice game with one another.

It was obvious that their skills had improved after their game with the Feng Foxes, and it would be insightful to play with one another in order to gauge each other's improvements.

However, Coach Jin seemed to be adamant about making them run around the court and pass balls at each other—as if Lina and Yuze didn't already incorporate it every week!

Kai didn't like how their training was going, so he raised his hand in the midst of their drills.

Coach Jin frowned when their training was interrupted by Kai's sudden halt.

"What are you doing?" Coach Jin asked with narrowed eyes.

The other players also turned to him with wide eyes, surprised that Kai had actually interrupted their practice.

Most of the players also wanted to engage in a practice game, but they didn't dare go against Coach Jin.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Kun telling him to cut it off. However, Kai had gone way too far for him to back out from his decision.

"Don't you think it's good for us to play too?" he asked the question that the players had in their minds but didn't want to verbalize.

Coach Jin's eyes narrowed even further. "For what? You've been playing in games every week. What's the use of playing with your teammates?"

"We haven't played against each other since our game with the Feng Foxes. It would be a great way to see how much we've improved," he reasoned.

"Moreover, we have been doing drills since yesterday. We have already played with the Xing Stars, and we've also established that we cannot beat them in their own style."

"They probably have a similar, structured training program like this, but to be able to beat them, we need to make more unexpected plays. I believe that playing together as a team will help us do just that."

Coach Jin chuckled in amusement after Kai's long reasoning. "Who are you again?"

"It's Kai, coach," Kai answered.

"And what's your position on the team?" Coach Jin asked.

"The Power Forward, I guess," Kai said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I see," Coach Jin smirked. "You're a player."

Kai frowned as Coach Jin circled around him like a predator watching his prey.

"And I'm a coach," he continued, his smirk widening.

"So, that means that I have the right to say how this training goes."

"You, on the other hand, will follow it as my player," Coach Jin said in a stern voice, stopping in front of Kai.

"So, get back to doing my regimen. In fact, add one more circuit," he said, causing the guys to groan in frustration.

However, with another stern look, they continued doing their burpees.

Then, they shook their heads at Kai.

Kun even went close to him and patted his shoulder.

"That's why we don't say anything to him," he whispered.

With that, their training continued, and Kai's suggestion was disregarded.

As soon as they were finished, the guys were ready to leave despite their aching bodies.

Coach Jin's presence suffocated them a bit, so they couldn't wait to go home.

Kai, after placing his bag over his shoulder, prepared to go after Lina, who was already preparing to leave the gym.

However, before he could take another step forward, Coach Jin called for his name.

Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he couldn't help but focus his gaze on Lina despite Coach Jin's continuous calling.

"She's leaving," he muttered, not wanting to let her go out of his sight.

"Kai Guo!" Coach Jin loudly exclaimed, causing Kai to turn to him with full attention.

The coach massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"How many times do I have to call you?" he asked just as Kai arrived right in front of him.

Kai pursed his lips. "I have to go soon," he said.

Coach Jin didn't like Kai's response, so he proceeded to scold the poor boy—for interrupting their training a while back, coming up with a ridiculous suggestion, and overall being disrespectful.

However, even then, Kai didn't bother listening to his empty words.

All he wanted was to get out of there quickly.

Yet, Coach Jin continued firing him with useless advice.

Kai softly sighed.

Now, he knew why Coach Jin and Sir Dao were friends.

***

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Kai was finally able to leave the court.

Coach Jin sermoned him for a couple of minutes, and he stayed silent all throughout because he knew there was no use agitating the middle-aged man.

With that, he hoped that Lina would still be around in school.

She usually stayed after their training to eat with the other guys, and he was hoping that it was the same case during this time.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He passed by the second-string players and decided to ask them.

"Have you guys seen Lina?" he asked.

The second-string players turned to each other with knowing looks.

Kai immediately recognized their expressions. "Seriously," he sighed. "I need to know where she is."

"Slow down, lover boy," Dylan chuckled. "It's a good thing we just saw her a while back. She's in the back alleyway. I think she's feeding the school's stray cat."

"Thanks," Kai said before running to the back part of the school.

A small smile arose from his lips with the thought of Lina feeding a cat.

If he thought about it, Lina, herself, looked like a cat—with her sharp eyes and heart-shaped lips.

'How could a cat feed another cat?' he asked himself, feeling amused with his thoughts.

However, his smile quickly dropped when he heard Lina's voice.

It wasn't the sweet, scolding voice that he was used to hearing.

Instead, it was that of terror.

"Leave me alone!"