Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"You didn't even get your answer," Jimmy said as they walked through the hallways.

They decided to go back to their room after the scrumptious dinner. As they got there, they realized that their two other roommates still weren't around.

With that, Jimmy and Chaoxing settled in their respective beds.

Jimmy sighed as he pulled his covers to cover himself. "I hate this. They're such a big facility, but why do they only have single beds?"

Chaoxing looked at him with amusement before shaking his head. "You need to take into consideration that they're trying to fit a lot of people inside the facility. Even Olympic athletes sleep in single beds. Just be thankful that we don't get a bunkbed."

Jimmy shook his head. "I'm bringing my own bed if ever I'm going to play in the Olympics."

"Such a spoiled one," Chaoxing smiled. "You should really be thankful that I've grown accustomed to your spoiled tendencies. Otherwise, I wouldn't even acknowledge your existence."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "It's not like you can do that. You're the team captain."

Chaoxing shook his head. "You didn't even speak with those guys."

"Why would I talk to them when we don't have anything to do with each other? It's not like they'll benefit me in some kind of way. Besides, they're all from small schools in a small city. They're not on my level."

Chaoxing sighed as he hiked himself up to sit on the bed.

"You shouldn't speak like that," he reprimanded. "All of them are competent players."

Jimmy raised one eyebrow in surprise. "You're saying that when you also underestimated them when we got here."

"At least I'm still respectful to them. You should really learn how to interact better. I swear—not all the time you need to benefit from a relationship." Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

Jimmy shook his head. "That's not what my dad told me. He told me that I should only place myself in positions where I can get the most benefits. That way, I will always get what I want."

Chaoxing clicked his tongue. "I guess you'll be learning it the hard way," he muttered.

"What did you say?" Jimmy asked.

"Nothing," Chaoxing said, ignoring the young man before bringing out his phone from his pocket.

Then, he quickly dialed a number, placing his phone over his ear.

It rang for quite a long time before the person on the other side finally responded.

"Hello?" Jian's gruff voice was heard from the phone. Along with that was the sound of zombie grunts and guns in the background.

"Are you playing video games?" Chaoxing asked.

There was some clicking sounds before the announcement 'game over' was heard.

Jian clicked his tongue. "Well, not now. You just made me lose."

Chaoxing shook his head in amusement. "We both know that you've been playing that game for hours. I bet it's the only thing you're planning on doing throughout the break."

Jian stayed silent, causing Chaoxing's smile to widen. He had known Jian for the longest time to know his real reactions. Despite the perfect persona that he displayed to other people, he also had a clumsy side that only those he was closest to knew.

"And what about it?" Jian snapped. "It's not like I'm harming anyone."

"I swear—you're quite similar to Jimmy in some aspects," Chaoxing teased.

Jian clicked his tongue. "Don't compare me to that spoiled brat."

"Anyway," he added, clearing his throat. "Why did you call?"

"Oh," Chaoxing said, suddenly feeling excited. "I just wanted to tell you about the very exciting game that we had today!"

Jian's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You've already started playing? I thought the official training would start tomorrow."

"It will," Chaoxing said. "However, we played with the players from the University of Shanghai."

"Hmm," Jian hummed. "I played with those guys before. They're alright."

"Yeah, I think their teamwork is top-notch."

"So, did they beat you?" Jian asked with a small smirk.

"No," Chaoxing happily said, surprising Jian a little bit.

"I see," Jian said. "Who played in our team?"

"Who said that our team played?" Chaoxing asked. "I played with a couple of players from Jilin. I also played with Kevin—that guy from Shanliang."

"Max?" Jian asked, aware of the number five elite player.

"No," Chaoxing said. "The Knights didn't come here this time around."

"Then who?" Jian asked.

"You're curious, huh?" Chaoxing asked, enjoying the fact that Jian was interested in his story. He was rarely interested or excited about quite a lot of things, so this was one of Chaoxing's joys in life.

"As if," Jian said. "You're telling me a story, so I'm keeping the conversation."

Chaoxing chuckled. "Well, there was Chunlei from the Feng Foxes."

"I heard of him. I bet he's good too," Jian said.

"He is," Chaoxing said. "Then, I also played with Qiang from the Huishi Alligators."

"Hmm," Jian hummed, already losing interest.

Chaoxing waited for a couple of seconds before speaking once again.

"Aren't you curious about the fifth player?"

"Huh?" Jian asked. "No," he deadpanned. "I didn't even notice that you didn't reveal the fifth player. I'm guessing that he's irrelevant since you didn't even mention him."

"No," Chaoxing said, shaking his head. "It's the opposite. He's actually a great player."

"A great player?" Jian asked.

"Yes," Chaoxing confirmed. "He only had slippers on and he even had a mask, but he ran really fast and didn't even appear out of breath."

"What's his name?"

"That's the thing," Chaoxing exclaimed. "I don't know! In fact, not a lot of people know. I tried asking the other Jilin players, but they didn't want to share the information with me."

Jian's face fell as he shook his head, preparing to start another game.

"You called me just for that?"

"Yes," Chaoxing said. "It's really exciting! I didn't expect to be this intrigued on our first day here."

"You should totally come sooner if you want to join in on the fun."

Jian stayed silent, focusing on the game.

"Jian!" Chaoxing exclaimed, capturing his attention. "You are coming, right?"

"I swear—I feel you'll find something interesting here."

A smirk of disbelief appeared on Jian's face.

"Let's see," he said.

And with that, he ended the call, his entire focus now on the game.

"Interesting? Exciting?" he muttered, the smirk now replaced with a frown.

"I highly doubt that."