Niu ShiLi"s team got more serious after we had the upper hand. Pi ZeGuang and Mu ZhongMing also respected me a bit more after witnessing my hook shot.
In order to strengthen collective honor, I dashed left and right to attract the other team"s attention. At the same time, I was able to create an opportunity for my teammates, so Pi ZeGuang and Mu ZhongMing were each able to get two points.
Each person on my team scored once for a total of 6 points. Anyone could see the difference in ability between our team and Niu ShiLi"s team. Since Pi ZeGuang and Mu ZhongMing were both subst.i.tutes and we never played together before, it made the difference between my skills and Niu ShiLi"s skills even more evident.
As the physics cla.s.s representative, there was no way Niu ShiLi could not reason it out.
His expression said everything: disappointment, anger, and overflowing fighting spirit.
This is what I need. Only a fighting spirit will make someone stronger, and I need him to be stronger fast. Otherwise, cla.s.s 2-3 has zero chance of winning and I could kiss the free dinner at the cla.s.s leader"s home goodbye.
Compared to the silent Niu ShiLi, Xu LiJun and Sun Yu were much craftier. They were currently making excuses on why they lost six points:
“The sun is pretty blinding today! Otherwise, I would have scored my last shot!”
“That"s right, pause the game! I have to tie my shoes! It"s all because my shoes weren"t tied properly!”
“Did you guys notice we picked the oldest net in the school, the frame is a bit crooked!”
“That"s right! Also, this ball isn"t good, there"s not enough air and there are a lot of b.u.mps…”
“My vest is strangling my shoulders!”
“Yeah, my shorts are also strangling my crotch…”
“Stop talking!” Niu ShiLi roared because he couldn"t stand them anymore, “We can work harder if our skills are not comparable, why are you making so many excuses!”
Xu LiJun immediately shut his mouth, but Sun Yu kept quibbling:
“It"s true the ball doesn"t feel good! There are so many b.a.l.l.s in the equipment room, why did Xiong YaoYue have to pick this…”
You could only hear someone curse from the spectators towards the end of his sentence:
“Sun Yu, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! How dare you talk behind my back!”
Not sure when Xiong YaoYue was already standing among the spectators with her short shirt and hot pants, she had both hands on her hips and screamed in a startling loud voice:
“I helped you borrow a basketball with the goodness of my heart, but you don"t appreciate it! Also, didn"t I tell you before to not call me by my full name! Call me Xiao Xiong or Yue Yue, or my new English name Winnie!”
Sun Yu forced an awkward smile after being reprimanded by Xiong YaoYue.
Xiong YaoYue turned around and ran off somewhere after she finished her sentence. Everyone thought it was because she was angry, but moments later, she quickly ran back. The only difference was she had a brand new basketball under her arms.
“I"ll give this to you!” She tossed the basketball to Sun Yu and said, “Don"t blame me again when you lose!”
After she tossed the ball out, she clapped her hands together as if she remembered something. Then she pointed towards me and said loudly:
“Wait a sec~~~ You"re a PE committee member now too, you should be the one getting the b.a.l.l.s for the boys!”
Ah, that"s true. It"s because I had trifling matters at hand, and they"re used to you helping them, so that"s why I sometimes neglect the duties as a new PE committee member.
“Ah, sorry, sorry.” I waved at Xiong YaoYue, “I have a bad memory, so I might need your help in the future again —— but I"ll treat you to ice cream!”
Xiong YaoYue easily agreed: “Alright! Deal! But you have to treat me to Häagen-Dazs!”
Because I lost my focus while speaking to Xiong YaoYue, I wasn"t able to block the ball when Sun Yu pa.s.sed to Niu ShiLi. When I moved forward, Niu ShiLi pa.s.sed to Xu LiJun. Xu LiJun didn"t waste this opportunity and scored with a layup.
Now it was 6:2, even though it was because of my negligence, but Niu ShiLi held himself back and didn"t go for the spotlight and Xu LiJun went for a layup to prevent a block, which means they are teachable.
Sun Yu, who made the least contribution, gloated at Xiong YaoYue:
“How"s that? Didn"t we score right after we switched to a better ball?”
Xiong YaoYue thought it was natural, “What are you getting pleased for! Isn"t it only because I distracted Ye Lin? —— Ah Sun Yu, your fly is open!”
Sun Yu looked down with fright and Mu ZhongMing and I was able to easily pa.s.s the ball to each other, then Pi ZeGuang picked it up midway and scored.
“Huh? Yue Yue, why did you trick me!” Sun Yu complained, “I don"t even have zippers on my shorts!”
Xiong YaoYue stuck out her tongue, “It"s only fair if I distract your team once too! Now it"s back to normal, I won"t speak anymore!”
Compared to the basketball team"s practice on the other field, we were practically complete amateurs. Even the field wasn"t synthetic, but concrete. We had to be extra careful cause we would lose a chunk of meat if we fell down.
That"s why not many people were watching. A portion of them were best freinds of the players, and the rest were followers of cla.s.s 2-3. Total people numbered less than twenty.
But among these twenty people, there were four or five girls in dresses who weren"t afraid of getting sunburns like Xiong YaoYue. They gathered around in the shade sharing snacks while pointing to the court and talking.
Once there were girls watching, Xu LiJun and Sun Yu immediately got fired up like two roosters in a c.o.c.kfight. Their interception and shots on target rates both increased. With the addition of Niu ShiLi"s consistent aid, they were actually able to catch up and make the score 8:6.
After a struggle under the net, my team"s Pi ZeGuang was awarded two free throws. But because he was distracted by the girls, he only scored one even though mid shots were his specialty.
9:6, it seems we need more mental training! On the day of the actual tournament, there will be much more spectators and more females. If you guys drop the ball at a crucial moment, how would we take first in our year? How would I get free food at the cla.s.s leader"s home!
There was also nothing to praise for Xu LiJun and Sun Yu"s liveliness, since they would expend too much energy trying to show off in front of the girls.
Mu ZhongMing was gloomy as usual and it was like he didn"t even notice the existence of the girls.
I heard his family is Buddhist and his grandfather has taught him from young that females are a double-edged dagger. It made Mu ZhongMing disillusioned to society at an early age.
Fortunately, Mu ZhongMing didn"t have serious depression and had no interest in life. He at least liked to see others" demise, for example, the scene of me drinking Fu Yan Jie.
Compared with Mu ZhongMing"s lethargy, Niu ShiLi was much more energetic, and he was also not distracted by female spectators. He had the demeanour of a general.