Chapter 19: 19, Unexpected Chapter 19: 19, Unexpected Chen Jun grabbed the ball and sprinted toward the opposing court, passing it to Lu Bin when he saw someone blocking his way.
Lu Bin had just snatched the ball when a player from the other team blocked him. Frowning and turning to look at Ling Yu, he realized that not only was Zhao Feng guarding him, but now Fan Jianguang had joined as well, clearly determined not to let him have the ball.
Scanning his surroundings, Lu Bin clenched his teeth and made a decision. He looked at Song Yan Ning and tossed the ball to her, “Little girl, catch!” Now he had to play the hands he was dealt, hoping for a miracle once again.
When Zhang Ju saw the ball flying toward Song Yan Ning, he sneered and ran in her direction. With him there, that ugly girl wouldn’t stand a chance at catching the ball, and he hadn’t even had the chance to teach her a lesson yet. Now was the perfect opportunity.
With this thought, Zhang Ju deliberately collided with Song Yan Ning under the guise of going for the ball. He was strong, and a little girl could surely not withstand it. Even if she didn’t fall, the collision would hurt. Moreover, he had already planned to fake stumbling if she didn’t fall and push her to the ground. After all, the game was almost over, and it didn’t matter if he fouled; they had surely won.
Song Yan Ning saw through Zhang Ju’s intentions, sidestepped to avoid the collision, caught the incoming ball with one hand, took a step back, and shot toward the basket.
“What does she think she’s doing?”
“Has she lost her mind? Shooting from that far?”
“Does she think it’s as close as it was before? Dream on.”
Ling Yu watched the basketball fly off, giving a wry smile. From such a distance, not even he could make the shot; it seemed they had lost the game.
Zhao Feng glanced at the basketball and scoffed with a smile, looking at Ling Yu, “You’ve definitely lost this game. From now on, you are not allowed to come here ever again.” Their prior agreement was that the winner would take over the basketball court.
“It’s not over until the last moment,” Ling Yu snorted coldly, his figure flickering as he broke past the two defending against him and ran forward. He didn’t have much hope for that ball, but as long as the last moment hadn’t arrived, they still had a chance.
Zhao Feng and Fan Jianguang quickly followed and soon tightly guarded Ling Yu again.
“Chen Jun, Lu Bin, go for the rebound!” As he was guarded by Zhao Feng and his teammate, Ling Yu anxiously shouted to the still dazed Chen Jun and Lu Bin.
Chen Jun and Lu Bin snapped back to reality and hastened toward the opposing court.
Lu Bin deeply regretted passing the ball to Song Yan Ning at that moment. If he hadn’t, the ball wouldn’t have been wasted. If they couldn’t grab the rebound, the game would be over, since there was only half a minute left.
The basketball quickly flew toward the basket, unchallenged by Zhao Feng’s side. They had already written it off as a miss.
But as the ball neared the basket, it suddenly dropped in a beautiful arc.
“Smack!” With that sound, it fell through the hoop.
Seeing this, everyone on the court was stunned, dropping into an eerie silence. A basket? How could that be possible? How could it make it in from such a distance?
“We scored, we won!”
“We won, hahaha…” Ling Yu and his teammates came to their senses, overflowing with joyous cheers. They truly hadn’t expected such an outcome.
“Damn it!” Zhao Feng’s face turned an ashen blue with anger. He hadn’t anticipated that despite all his calculations, they would be defeated by a little girl.
Ling Yu walked up to Song Yan Ning and happily said, “Thank you!” If it wasn’t for her, they wouldn’t have won the game.
Song Yan Ning smiled and shook her head playfully, winking, “I didn’t expect it would go in either. I guess I’m just really lucky.” She didn’t want the spotlight. Except for free throws, she hadn’t tried shooting before; the reason she shot this time was because Ling Yu’s grandfather was friends with her grandfather, and Zhang Ju’s actions had angered her. So, she too had made some moves on Zhang Ju.
Ling Yu laughed heartily and patted Song Yan Ning’s shoulder, “When you start school, join our basketball team. We still need an assistant.” He found he couldn’t quite figure her out; she didn’t seem like just a seven or eight-year-old.
Song Yan Ning smiled, “I’ve heard school has lots of homework. I don’t want to join the basketball team.” She’d rather spend the time practicing in Emperor Realm than playing basketball.
“Ouch!” All of a sudden, Zhang Ju clutched his stomach in pain, staggering toward the nearby restroom.
Song Yan Ning glanced at Zhang Ju as he headed off, her lips curling in a mischievous smile. He was going to have a tough time getting out of the restroom today. She was never one to be bullied; anyone trying to bully her should be prepared to get bullied back.
“So, who was it that was going to eat the basketball? You can eat it now,” Chen Jun said, spinning the basketball with one hand and walking over to Zhao Feng and his group.
“It seems someone also said they’d quit playing basketball forever,” Lu Bin and the others joined in, looking mockingly at Zhao Feng and his team.
“Don’t get cocky, let’s go!” Zhao Feng glared furiously at Chen Jun and the others before leading his squad off the court.
“Knew you’d play dirty. Shameless.”
“Hey, why are you leaving? Can’t face the music, huh? Not man enough? Why so cowardly?” Chen Jun and his friends laughed tauntingly.
As Zhao Feng and his team walked away, Chen Jun and the others withdrew their gaze with laughter. Nothing was more satisfying than watching their opponents flee in disarray.
They approached Song Yan Ning and Ling Yu.
“Little girl, thanks for this time.”
“Didn’t think you were such a good player, making it from that distance.”
“Can you share your secret with us?” Everyone looked at Song Yan Ning with hopeful faces. Initially, they hadn’t been fond of her; after all, everyone is drawn to those who look good. Now, not only did they have a good impression of her, they were also curious.
Song Yan Ning smiled, “I’ve never played basketball before. It was just good luck this time.”
“Are you serious? You’ve never played basketball?”
“That can’t be.” The crowd showed disbelief. No matter how good one’s luck, it couldn’t possibly result in consistent scoring. They played basketball two to three times a week and never achieved such a high success rate.
Song Yan Ning nodded, “This really is my first time playing basketball.”
Everyone turned to Ling Yu, who just shrugged, indicating he was just as clueless. He had only met her that day.
Song Yan Ning turned to look at Ling Yu, “Let’s go back; my grandfather will start worrying soon.”
“Okay!” Ling Yu nodded with a smile, then looked at the others, “We’ll be going now. You’ll see her again; she’ll be coming to our school in September.”