Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"One, two, start squatting!" Lina screamed, blowing her whistle and watching as the Shizi Dogs suffered her morning training.

They were currently in the outdoor court at 4:30 in the morning, just as Lina had asked them to.

They were wearing their basketball jerseys, shivering since they were training in the cold, snowy weather.

"Lina, I'm cold!" Zeren exclaimed, causing the pretty girl to click her tongue.

"That just means that you guys aren't working hard enough! Because of that, we'll have another set," she said with a small, innocent smile, very contrary to her strong personality.

"I'm starting to think that coming here is a bad idea," Jet said, feeling that his mind and body were on the verge of breaking down.

Meanwhile, in a cozy and large room not far from the outdoor courts were the Longyu Dragons.

Coach Hope, their very charismatic and short-haired coach, made the team some hot chocolates after she lit up the fireplace.

Calvin looked around in amazement. "This might actually be better than Shanghai," he said. "How much did you pay for a room like this, coach?"

"Don't think about the expenses," Coach Hope said, glancing out of their window with narrowed eyes.

She used her sleeve to wipe away the mist that covered it, raising her eyebrows in surprise when she saw that a team was training so early in the morning.

Coach Hope squinted her eyes to take a better look at the team.

After a while, she finally realized that it was the Shizi Dogs.

"I still can't believe you lost to these guys," she said, capturing the team's attention.

Fenhua and Calvin went to where she was and also glanced out of the window.

"They look like a bunch of comedians," she continued, shaking her head in disapproval. "They really need a coach to discipline them."

"I don't think they have a coach," Dafu said. "I didn't see one when they came here. They also don't have one right now."

Coach Hope clicked her tongue. "Well, that explains it. Whoever is in charge of them must be very irresponsible."

Fenhua, too, sighed in disbelief.

"They're training so early in the morning?" Calvin asked.

Fenhua shook his head.

"I think they're having a snow fight."

The Shizi Dogs were, indeed, having a snow fight with Lina screaming at them.

***

"End my misery," Kun said as soon as they arrived at their room.

They had just finished with their morning practice, which consisted of drills in the snow and a game in the freezing outdoor court.

Now, they were back in their housing facility to eat some lunch.

"This isn't enough for us," Yuze complained, looking at the food that the facility had prepared.

Lina sighed, looking pitifully at the guys before going to the small kitchen.

"I'll whip you something up. I pity you, guys," she chuckled, causing the guys to turn to her with narrowed eyes.

"Well, who's the reason behind that?" Jet asked in a bitter tone.

Lina chuckled once more before heading to the kitchen. Kai, who had just finished his meal and was unsatisfied with the quantity of the food, trudged to where she was.

The team, still busy with their meals, didn't notice this.

Meanwhile, Lina jumped up in surprise when she saw Kai standing beside her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her hand over her heart.

Kai shrugged. "I wanted to help."

Lina shook her head. "You're still eating, right?"

Kai shook his head. "I'm done."

Lina chuckled in amusement, finding Kai very endearing.

"Well, I don't have to do much," Lina said. "I just have to cook these noodles."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Hmm," Kai hummed. "I'll be your trusty helper then."

The two of them worked in silence, and although they were only preparing instant noodle packs, it felt as if they were in a five-star restaurant.

It didn't take long for the instant noodles to cook, so the two of them made their way back to the living room.

As Lina placed down the noodles on the table, the players flocked to it like flies to a stack of poop.

Meanwhile, Zeren narrowed his eyes at Kai since he realized that he had come out with Lina from the kitchen.

However, smelling the delicious scent of MSG, he let it go and continued eating.

While they were eating, Lina decided to tell them something.

"I have some bad news for you, guys," she said, causing Kun to drop his chopsticks to the floor.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice shaky with the thought of training further.

"Tomorrow afternoon, all of the courts are closed because of a special event—only for tomorrow."

"So, we won't be able to train in the indoor gyms in the afternoon."

"Oh, thank goodness," Kun sighed in relief. "There is light at the end of the tunnel!"

"Don't worry," Lina chimed. "We'll have afternoon training all the other days."

Zeren gulped, already feeling his sore muscles as he continued eating.

"Does that also include today?" he meekly asked.

"Well, of course!" Lina happily said. "You already know your weaknesses. We can't fix that in just a span of five days, but we'll try our best to do just that!"

Kai nodded in agreement.

Jet turned to him in surprise. "Aren't you tired?"

"It's alright," Kai shrugged. "My muscles aren't too sore because we keep training in the cold. It's like we're in a constant ice bath that soothes our muscles."

Jet raised his eyebrows. "Now that you've mentioned it, I do feel less sore compared to our training yesterday night."

"Right?" Lina chimed from behind them. "That's the reason why I opted for outdoor training in the mornings!"

Jet froze. "She wasn't supposed to hear that, though."

Meanwhile, Yuze, who was on his third bowl of noodles, asked another question.

"Why is the court unavailable tomorrow, though?" he asked.

"Why? Do you want to play?" Lina excitedly asked.

Yuze shook his head. "I'm just curious."

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Lina chuckled in amusement. "Well, I think all of the courts are closed for the day since a basketball team is going to have an honorary practice here tomorrow."

"A basketball team?" Kai asked. "How important is that team for the whole facility to close their courts?"

Lina shrugged. "I don't really keep up with basketball outside of the high school scene after I became your manager. However, I heard it was a national team."

"A national team?" the Shizi Dogs exclaimed in unison.

"Hmm," Lina hummed.

"Yeah, they're a local national team, though. I think you must have heard about them—the Shenyang Sharks."

"The Shenyang Sharks?"