Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Why does she look like someone pissed in her cereal this morning?" Renren asked as he sat with his friends.

It was currently lunchtime, and the three third-year players of the Shizi Dogs, along with Lina, were sitting at a round table at their school's garden.

Kun shrugged and took a bite from his banana. "I don't know. She chatted me all of a sudden to join her for lunch."

Yuze sighed and opened his backpack to bring out the food that his mom had prepared.

"Sweet! Free lunch!" Kun exclaimed and grabbed some of Yuze's food.

Yuze shook his head and let him be, already used to his friend's behavior.

"Yeah, you alright?" Yuze asked. "You're usually excited during this time of the year."

"Oh yeah," Kun chimed, his cheeks filled with food. "I thought you'd be more fired up since our game with the Feng Foxes is this Friday."

"I am," Lina said, still looking down.

"What's with the long face then?" Renren asked.

Lina let out a deep breath before responding.

"Kai," she vaguely said.

Kun tilted his head to the side in confusion while the other two smirked knowingly at each other.

"What about him?" Yuze teasingly asked.

Lina sighed and placed her phone on the table, showing Kai's viral video.

It had over 200,000 views at that point, and the comments were filled with different people asking for his details.

"Ah," Kun said, smiling as he took her phone and observed the screen. "Kai had gotten so popular, huh?" he chimed.

"Yeah," Renren said. "Even the girls from our year are asking me for his number."

Lina sat straight and slammed her fist on the table.

"You guys are not helping at all! That's exactly the problem," she exclaimed.

Kun frowned. "It's a problem that he's getting popular? Isn't that good for you since you can win against your bet with Fei?"

"Yes," Lina said. "But it's also not good for my heart! There are so many people wanting the boy that I like."

Yuze and Renren chuckled as Kun dropped his banana on the ground.

"You've finally come to terms with your feelings?" Yuze asked.

Lina sighed and leaned her head against the table.

"I think I've liked him for a long time. I was just a bit hesitant since Zeren was around back then. I didn't want to blatantly hurt his feelings," she confessed.

"Wait, wait!" Kun exclaimed, still in shock. "Let's backtrack a bit. Since when did you like Kai?"

Renren shook his head. "It was so obvious. You're stupid for not noticing it."

Kun pursed his lips and looked into the distance. "Dang. I thought you guys were just joking."

"We were," Lina sighed.

"At least in the beginning," she continued. "But he's quite charming."

"Now, people are also coming to me for his contact details!" she exclaimed.

"Isn't that normal, though?" Renren asked. "Kai's a decent basketball player with good looks. He's bound to be popular."

"I know that," Lina said, looking down at her fingers.

"But I still can't help but feel jealous—even if we don't even have something going on between the two of us! There are so many pretty people out there who like him."

Yuze shook his head.

"He looks at you the most, though," he said.

"He does," Renren confirmed.

"Yeah, whatever these guys said," Kun chimed, still clueless.

"This isn't a 'blind leading the blind' moment, is it?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"No," Yuze deadpanned. "I'm not blind."

"Besides, it seems like he isn't interested in others," Yuze continued. "Someone wanted to give him a love letter last Thursday, but he didn't take it."

With Yuze's statement, Lina felt like she had been resurrected.

"Really?" she exclaimed.

"Yes," Renren said. "So, you shouldn't think too hard about it. He's bound to have more fans as the games progress."

Just then, Lina's dejected expression changed into that of determination.

The boys were shocked when she suddenly stood from her seat and slammed her fist on the metal table.

"So what you're saying is—I need to confess right now!" she exclaimed, making the boys turn to each other with surprise.

"Well, that's one way to conclude things," Renren chuckled.

"Are you sure about your feelings?" Kun asked.

"I am!" Lina exclaimed. "I started liking that boy even if he had pube-like facial hair! How can I be unsure about it?"

"Just as long as you guys are telling the truth, then I think it'll be okay," she continued.

The boys looked at each other before nodding in unison.

"Shoot your shot," Yuze said.

"We're rooting for you to make the goal."

***

Meanwhile, the girl's restroom was filled with gossip during the break.

"Did you guys hear?" one of them asked. The other ladies naturally became curious.

"Kai is accepting confession letters! He's also saving contact numbers!"

"Really?" another asked.

"Yes!"

[+1 XP, number saved]

[+1 XP, love letter accepted]

Kai smiled politely as another girl handed him a love letter. She blushed before running away.

"Dang," Mingze said as he ate his lunch. "That's like the 6th on this day."

"7th," Bao corrected. "And he received 12 numbers, too—from both men and women!"

"Ah, right," Mingze said. "I'm so jealous. When will I have this kind of fame?"

Kai scratched the back of his head. Although it was nice to get some attention, it also was burdensome to receive so much from people he didn't even know.

"What's with the change of heart, though?" Alen asked. "You rejected a lot of letters and numbers last week."

Kai let out a deep sigh.

The answer was simple.

It was because of his mission.

However, he couldn't really say that out loud, so he settled for a shrug.

"I just felt like it," he responded.

"This is Kai's playboy era!" Alen teased, making Kai shake his head.

With that, they continued their meal.

However, before Kai could even get another bite, Alen nudged his shoulder, causing his spoon to drop to the ground.

Kai clicked his tongue and glared at his friend.

However, Alen's gaze was far from him. Kai followed his gaze and saw that Alen was looking at Lina, who was walking over to them with a determined expression.

Bao frowned in confusion.

"Why does she look like she's preparing to go to war?" Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire