Chapter Forty: Reporting the New Member of the Basketball Team

Having survived the first week of military training, all the freshmen were now able to keep up with the instructor’s pace during subsequent sessions. Time continued to slip by quickly.

One night, after evening self-study, around nine o’clock, Xia Shu followed Lin Xiang to the basketball court. At this hour, the courts were crowded with students playing basketball. The soft yellow glow from the streetlights illuminated countless youthful faces, and the chaotic thumping of basketballs against the ground filled the air—a sound that was somehow exhilarating.

For many single girls, if you asked where on campus you could find high-quality boyfriends, the basketball court was undoubtedly one of the best places. Sun Kaikai, captain of the School of Information and Electrical Engineering’s basketball team, stood in front of the lineup of freshmen, his expression particularly stern.

He stood exactly 1.8 meters tall, with a well-built frame. Dressed in a red vest, the defined muscles on his shoulders were on full display. Holding a basketball under one arm, he gestured with the other as he spoke: “This year, a total of twenty freshmen will be joining our basketball team. From now on, we’ll have training sessions two nights a week. There’s also an important announcement: the Freshmen Basketball Cup will be held right after the end of military training.”

“Each of you should coordinate with your classmates—since almost every class in our department is all male, putting together a team shouldn’t be an issue. As for the Women’s Basketball Cup, it’s cancelled due to insufficient numbers. However, after the departmental tournament, we’ll move on to the university-wide competition, which will mainly be played by our team members.”

“Everyone who made the team should already be familiar with the rules of basketball, right? If you’re not, you can look them up online yourself. I won’t go into detail here.”

“Now I’ll do a roll call. Listen carefully and get to know each other’s faces.”

“Wang Feng!”

“Here.”

“Xie Nan!”

“Here.”

…

“Lin Xiang!”

“Here.”

“Xia Shu!”

“Here.”

Standing in the center of the crowd, Xia Shu raised his hand. Among the freshmen, he was of above-average height. The moment he responded, he drew considerable attention. While it might be difficult to remember everyone else’s name from this roll call, Xia Shu was someone everyone recognized at a glance.

After all, recently, Yun University had become a little famous because of him. Since the semester began, every day there were new posts about him on the campus confession wall. Yesterday, a new freshmen interview video featuring him had come out, and before long, it was trending again.

Now everyone knew that this freshman already had a girlfriend. The comments on the original video had exploded, shattering the fantasies of countless girls in an instant. Still, many people praised Xia Shu for calmly admitting he was in a relationship during the interview. Some of the most popular comments expressed curiosity about what his girlfriend looked like.

But Xia Shu no longer paid much attention to these comments; after coming clean, he felt much lighter.

Soon, Sun Kaikai finished the roll call of all those selected for the team. His stern expression softened, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he nodded at Vice Captain Gu Changzhi beside him. “Alright, I want to welcome all the new members to our basketball team. Today is our first real meeting together, so as captain, I should give you all a small gift. These sports wristbands are a token of welcome.”

Gu Changzhi grinned and carried a black bag down the line. This little gesture immediately raised the new members’ opinion of Sun Kaikai.

“They’re Giannis MVP wristbands! Captain, you’re awesome.”

Everyone recognized their value. They’d expected the wristbands to be cheap, but these were nearly a hundred yuan each. With twenty new members, that was two thousand yuan spent on gifts!

For college students, two thousand yuan was not a small sum. Sun Kaikai’s generosity only increased his popularity. It made sense—these were all discerning guys. Just looking at Sun Kaikai’s limited edition black-and-white Mamba Kobe 6 sneakers, it was clear he had some money to spare.

Of course, for basketball players, shoes were the biggest expense. Xia Shu knew this all too well; he’d already spent two or three thousand yuan on just two pairs of good-fitting basketball shoes, which pained him a little. But those who loved basketball were obsessed with their shoes, just like girls with handbags.

“There are five positions on the court: point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center,” Sun Kaikai continued. “Based on your physique and abilities, think carefully tonight about which position suits you best, and let me know. In the end, I might adjust a few of your choices, but I hope you’ll all feel the passion and camaraderie of our team.”

“Now, have fun and get to know each other. The four courts here are all ours tonight—go play!”

Sun Kaikai smiled, then, without even looking, flicked the basketball in his palm behind him—swish!—straight through the hoop.

The freshmen were stunned. No wonder he was the captain—he could make a shot like that without looking. True skill.

Lin Xiang then grabbed his basketball and walked over to Xia Shu, a playful curve on his lips and a steady gaze. “Which position are you thinking of signing up for?”

“Definitely small forward! And you, Xiang, you must be center, right?” Xia Shu replied with a smile.

“Of course. In terms of build, I’m the most suited for center. But to be honest, I dream of playing small forward too,” Lin Xiang laughed. After all, the thrill of making a long-range shot on the court brought them a unique sense of accomplishment.