Chapter 133: Treacherous Gambit
[Page 1 of 3]
There was one person in front of Bai Ziyi...
Where was the other one?
That extra person—the one nobody had noticed—suddenly cut in at an angle!
Smack!
The basketball was intercepted midair!
The opposing player immediately took the ball and sprinted toward the other side!
The corner of Li Run’s mouth curled upward. Excellent!
“Ha! What good are four people?” Han Yuanzhong shouted mockingly as he chased after them...
Sui Yi and A-A exchanged a glance.
Four people were useless?
What about two?
They pushed off with their feet.
Speed!
They were coming!
A-A darted left and right, leaving behind a series of afterimages as he slipped past the person guarding him. Just as the other man shouted an expletive, Li Run—who had heard the rapid footsteps behind him—stared fixedly at Sui Yi.
He no longer dared underestimate her. Besides, as a man who cared deeply about his pride, he could not allow himself to be “shaken off” by a woman twice.
His eyes narrowed, and he suddenly pressed his body against Sui Yi, intending to use his much larger frame to suppress her.
Whether he also had any intention of taking advantage of the opportunity to grope her was impossible to say.
Perhaps, under those circumstances, Li Run—who was not entirely ruled by lust—was driven mainly by a man’s desire to win. In any case, he shoved in with considerable force, almost as though he meant to drive Sui Yi beyond the boundary line!
But A-A had been able to shake off the strongest young thug.
How much more easily could Sui Yi, who was countless times stronger than A-A, deal with him?
The moment Li Run pressed in, Sui Yi lightly pushed off with one foot.
Li Run only felt a chill of wind sweep past his eyes. In the blink of an eye, Sui Yi had vanished.
Below the court, Yu Hang and the others were utterly astonished.
What had that been just now...?
In truth, Sui Yi could not have used anything too exaggerated to evade Li Run. She had simply employed a perfectly measured speed—nimble and agile—and flashed away from directly in front of him.
Then...
She and A-A raced down opposite sides of the court, moving in parallel like two straight lines and carving dazzling paths across the court.
Then...
The young man carrying the ball heard Han Yuanzhong and the others shouting warnings, but it was too late for him to react.
Whoosh!
A dark figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
A-A’s expressionless face was right before his eyes.
A-A was about to make his move!
At that critical instant, the young man—
“Zhang Yang, take it!”
He passed the ball to Zhang Yang!
The pass was swift and perfect!
Zhang Yang, already positioned to the left beneath the basket, prepared to receive it.
His hands were already spread open...
Yu Hang and the others widened their eyes.
It was easy to imagine what would happen if Zhang Yang received the ball. He was unguarded and standing close to the basket.
The shot would be certain to go in!
That would make their situation even worse!
“No...” Even the injured Yu Hang could not help trying to get up.
But when a sharp pain shot through his lower back, he sucked in his breath and froze.
Smack!
The ball landed in a pair of slender, snow-white, exceptionally beautiful hands.
From Zhang Yang’s perspective, a dark figure had suddenly flashed into existence a little over a yard in front of him.
Her smooth, shoulder-length hair was as black as moist ink, its dark sheen gradually taking on a watery luster as it streamed in the wind...
A faint fragrance drifted toward him.
Was this a dream?
At that moment, Zhang Yang remained frozen with both hands spread open in the air, as if preparing to catch something, push something away, or launch something himself...
In the eyes of so many people, the pose looked utterly ridiculous.
It was just like a move from one of those old street-fighting games—a Hadouken! You know, the sort of thing that resembled Master Roshi’s Kamehameha.
The next second, the sharp thumping of the ball as Sui Yi slapped it from hand to hand abruptly jolted Zhang Yang out of his daze. When he came to his senses, he saw that Sui Yi was already dribbling the ball with astonishing elegance and sprinting rapidly toward the frontcourt.
By then, Li Run and the others were chasing her from every direction!
A-A and the others followed close behind, guarding against them with all their might.
The atmosphere was unbearably tense...
[Page 2 of 3]
“Come on! Come on! Come on!”
“Go, Sui Yi!!!!”
Lin Chuxiao and the others were practically delirious!
Perhaps only the pounding sound of the basketball could describe their heartbeats.
Thump, thump, thump!
Swish!
Sui Yi reached a spot about a yard beyond the three-point line.
The strongest of the thugs finally had Li Run and another man surround A-A. Then he arrived in front of Sui Yi.
He slapped down hard, trying to knock the ball away—
Or perhaps trying to strike her hand?
The force was tremendous!
Enough to leave a girl’s hand swollen and misshapen, like a pig’s trotter soaked in water.
Whoosh!
Sui Yi’s hand and the ball vanished at the same time!
Smack! Smack!
Behind Sui Yi, the basketball passed from one hand to the other!
A beautiful back-to-the-basket move!
The ball emerged on the other side, and at the same time, Sui Yi’s figure flashed.
The young man felt her hair brush across the back of his hand...
At that very moment, Li Run arrived, having been delayed by the young man. His vision blurred, and the basketball passed between his legs!
Smack!
She had dribbled straight past him!
There was no one ahead of her!
There were people behind her, but they could no longer catch up. All they could do was watch as she...
Jumped, raised the ball, and released it!
A perfect arc!
Swish!
A perfect basket!
“Perfect!”
Several high school students, unable to contain their excitement, shouted the word aloud.
Boom!
The ball struck the ground, bounced, and fell again.
Only then did someone shout, “The three-point line!”
Everyone’s eyes fell unmistakably on the clearly marked three-point line directly in front of Sui Yi’s toes.
Was that a three-pointer?
“Uh... girls can make three-pointers too?”
Many boys had seen girls clasping the ball with both hands and tossing it upward, their shots resembling those of an ape. They had often mocked girls for it in order to feel superior.
But now, one by one, they fell silent.
Most girls did not even have the strength to shoot from the two-point line, let alone the three-point line.
Sui Yi’s shot had been light and clean, and her form had been extraordinarily beautiful. In fact, her posture had somewhat resembled Bai Ziyi’s—the most accurate shooter on the court...
Smack!
The ball dropped through the net.
Li Run and the others’ faces fell, while Yu Hang and the others’ mouths stretched toward the heavens.
“Uh... three points!” Shi Chao could not very well pretend not to see such an obvious three-pointer, so he had the scorekeeper record three points.
The score now stood at 35 to 32.
The time...
“Five minutes left.”
Five minutes!
Li Run and the others hurriedly called a timeout!
They had no choice!
Sui Yi and A-A were simply too fast!
But what could they do in five minutes?
Could they take down Sui Yi and the other two, then bury them right there?
Of course not!
“Don’t panic... Yuanzhong, go over there and say...” Li Run whispered a few words to Han Yuanzhong.
The unwilling and anxious Han Yuanzhong’s eyes lit up when he heard them. He nodded, then quickly ran toward Shi Chao and the others.
Over on Yu Hang’s side—
[Page 3 of 3]
“Here, have some water. Drink up.”
“Sui Yi, here, have some water...”
The four of them received an enthusiastic welcome.
Sui Yi held a bottle of water but did not drink. Out of the corner of her eye, she happened to see Han Yuanzhong run over to Shi Chao and say something to him.
Shi Chao listened, shook his head, and frowned. Then he glanced toward their side, his expression hesitant.
Finally, Han Yuanzhong said something with a stern expression. Shi Chao narrowed his eyes, but in the end, he still nodded.
With that single nod, Sui Yi raised her brows.
“What kind of trick are they pulling now?” A-A frowned in deep displeasure. He had originally wanted to experience the simple atmosphere of high school, but the opposing side was darker than ink.
If not for Sui Yi, they would have certainly lost the game!
“No idea... I imagine they’re trying to stall for time first. Unless they’re foolish enough to have the principal simply declare them the winners.”
Sui Yi smiled faintly.
Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking...
The principal announced that he would be stepping away for a little while and would return shortly.
His words did not suggest that he intended to have anyone else serve as referee.
And if that was the case, could the students say, “Principal, you don’t need to come back—we’ll have someone else judge the game”?
Of course not!
Li Run and the principal had played a very simple trick, but it left Yu Hang and the others so furious they could hardly bear it.
At that moment, Li Run hung up his phone.
He sneered at Sui Yi and the others, who were looking over at him.
Want to beat him?
In their dreams!
--------
How long was “a little while”?
In truth, it was not long. The students ate, drank, and played around on the court, and more than ten minutes passed. They had not even finished half the snacks in the boxes before the principal returned.
But one minute before he came back, a young man walked onto the court.
He was dressed in sportswear and had an unmistakably masculine, handsome appearance. As he walked, he removed his jacket and smiled at Li Run.
“I say, Young Master Li, you called me here just to play basketball with these little brats?”
There was some dissatisfaction in his voice.
Li Run winked at him.
“Brother Gao, you’re from the provincial capital’s basketball team. Naturally, this is beneath you. But one of the people on my team was injured, and I couldn’t find anyone else, so I had to ask you. Don’t worry—I’ll take you out for a good time later.”
The phrase “a good time” stirred something in Gao Yun’s heart. He and Li Run exchanged a knowing smile, after which Gao Yun tossed his jacket to Han Yuanzhong.
“Fine. I’m in!”
As soon as he removed his jacket and turned around, his imposing presence became apparent.
And the mention of the provincial capital’s basketball team had already caused the atmosphere throughout the court to freeze before erupting into commotion once more.
The provincial capital’s team...
What kind of outrageous advantage was this?
Li Run, did they have no shame?
“Damn it! This is too much!” Chi Gao cursed furiously. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to charge over, but Xiao Nan and the others held him back.
That was when Sui Yi said something.
“If we lose a game like this, who will really believe that we lost? Since that is so, what is there to fear?”
She paused, then smiled.
“On the other hand, if we win, then it will truly be worth celebrating.”
She did not care much about victory or defeat.
But she never did anything without confidence.
--------
Before long, both sides returned to the court.
Gao Yun was tall and powerfully built. In particular, his legs were even longer than Zhang Yang’s.
The ball was in his hands.
Thump, thump, thump.
He dribbled as he walked several steps forward, while Li Run and the others followed behind him...
They advanced toward Sui Yi’s side of the court.
The instant A-A charged out—
Gao Yun moved!
He sprinted!
His speed was only slightly inferior to A-A’s.
A-A rushed in front of him!
But...