Chapter 25: Mocked Once Again

Day after day passed. Chen Feng was no longer training alone but had begun working with a few teammates, building their chemistry. There was no denying Chen Feng’s basketball skills—they were exceptional in every aspect: defense, offense, shooting, passing. All were outstanding.

Mitsui Hisashi’s specialty was three-point shots, but that didn’t mean three-pointers were his only skill. His overall abilities were equally formidable; his only flaw was a lack of stamina. Yet now, Chen Feng had completely made up for this shortcoming. His physical fitness surpassed even Sakuragi Hanamichi, the protagonist of Slam Dunk, by a good margin; he was more than capable of playing the full court.

With a deft move, Chen Feng shook off the basketball team captain, Fang Chenghao, and went straight for a layup, sending the ball cleanly through the hoop.

“Not bad at all, Chen Feng! Looks like after I graduate senior year, the captain’s position will be yours!” Fang Chenghao said sincerely.

“You flatter me,” Chen Feng replied with a smile.

Fang Chenghao smiled too, though there was a trace of jealousy in his heart. Still, he didn’t feel too envious. After all, Chen Feng was on his own team, and his academic performance was only average; he’d always planned to attend a sports school. If their basketball team achieved good results, the benefits would be significant for him as well.

“Lin Hang, what’s wrong with you lately? You look distracted,” said Coach Chen Ping, his voice suddenly reaching the group.

“Ah!” Lin Hang snapped back to attention, glanced at the coach, and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Lin Hang’s been acting weird these days,” Fang Chenghao muttered, looking at Lin Hang with some surprise.

“He has, a bit,” Chen Feng agreed with a smile. He could guess the reason—Lin Hang’s mood was probably connected to him. After all, Chen Feng had given him quite a hard time. If Lin Hang’s psychological resilience was a bit weaker, he might indeed have been unable to recover.

As practice was drawing to a close, Coach Chen Ping gathered everyone together, cleared his throat, and spoke, “Everyone, tomorrow is the weekend, and our opponent has been decided. Our first rival this semester will be Fourth High!”

“Fourth High?” Several teammates showed surprised expressions.

Chen Feng looked to Fang Chenghao with some confusion. “Is Fourth High that strong?”

Fang Chenghao gave a wry smile. “Of course. Their academic atmosphere can’t match ours, but their athletic program is far superior. They were last year’s runners-up. We played them once—they crushed us, beating us by more than fifty points!”

But then Fang Chenghao grinned at Chen Feng. “However, I don’t think they’ll expect you to be on our team this semester. When the game comes, we’ll be the ones to crush them!”

“Indeed,” Chen Feng smiled, considering this in his heart. Last year’s second place—if he led First High to defeat Fourth High by a wide margin, how many achievement points would he earn?

“Alright, everyone, go home and get a good rest. Meet at the school tomorrow at eight in the morning,” Chen Ping said, smiling at the team.

The next day.

At the city sports arena.

This was a stadium built with 300 million in government investment, featuring a soccer field, basketball courts, tennis courts, and more. It could accommodate tens of thousands of people. Typically, inter-company or inter-school sports events were held here.

Inside the basketball arena.

Chen Feng wore the number fourteen jersey, which still looked bulky on him. Though he had slimmed down considerably, the uniform still felt tight on his frame.

But the small turnout for the match disappointed Chen Feng—barely fifty people, scattered around. In truth, he didn’t know that, under normal circumstances, there would be even fewer. The very first game of the season rarely drew such a crowd. Still, this was a match between last year’s runner-up and a top-four team, which attracted some attention.

Although Jiangzhou was a major city with plenty of basketball fans, high school matches rarely interested most. The majority of spectators were parents of the players.

“Well, well, Chen Ping, I didn’t expect to see you in the very first game!” As the team entered the locker room, a voice suddenly echoed around them.

“Hm?” Chen Feng turned to see a burly man leading a team toward the locker room.

“Du Guang?” Chen Ping was surprised. Du Guang was the coach for Fourth High’s team.

“Yes, what a coincidence. I was wondering when I’d get a chance to avenge last year’s loss. Didn’t expect to run into you so soon!” Du Guang smiled.

“Ha, after losing to us by fifty points last year, you still have the nerve to talk big?” Du Guang said mockingly. “It was pure luck you made the semifinals last year!”

“What did you say?” Fang Chenghao’s expression soured. “You call that luck?”

“With your skills, you’re barely second-rate,” sneered one of Fourth High’s players. “Fang Chenghao, I didn’t get to thrash you enough last time. Today, I’ll make sure you’re really humiliated!”

The player was massive, over two meters tall—an intimidating height for a high schooler.

Fang Chenghao narrowed his eyes and replied coldly, “Good. Zhang Ke, I’ll take you on to the end.”

Clearly, there was no love lost between the teams; the tension was palpable.

“Hey, is that fat guy on your team? One of your starters?” Zhang Ke’s eyes fell on Chen Feng, his face twisting into a sneer. “Has First High run out of players that they have to put a pig on the court?”

“I’ve heard of pigs climbing trees before, but I’ve never seen a pig play basketball. What a sight!” The Fourth High players jeered, making Chen Feng the focal point of their ridicule.

“Pig?” The faces of First High’s team darkened in anger. Chen Feng might still look a bit overweight, but he had slimmed down a lot. More importantly, his skills had earned every teammate’s respect. He was easygoing and never put on airs—he could talk to anyone. He also selflessly shared his techniques, and everyone had improved under his guidance.

An insult like “pig” was never used for Chen Feng—not even as a joke, except perhaps the affectionate nickname “Chen Third Chubby.”

“Say that again, I dare you!” Fang Chenghao jabbed a finger at Zhang Ke’s nose, furious.

“Oh, want to fight? Come on, try me!” Zhang Ke taunted.

“Forget it,” Chen Feng stepped in front of Fang Chenghao and shook his head. “Why stoop to their level? Let’s settle this on the court.”

Chen Feng wasn’t angry. There was no point bringing himself down to their level. Fourth High was just an opportunity to rack up achievement points—why care what they said?

Fang Chenghao cooled down. Chen Feng turned to Zhang Ke and said calmly, “You beat us by fifty points last year?”

Zhang Ke snorted. “That’s right. What, you can’t accept it?”

“Not at all,” Chen Feng said, meeting his gaze. “I just want to tell you what’s about to happen: in this game, we’ll beat you by at least a hundred points. Remember—at least a hundred.”

He smiled at his teammates. “Let’s go.”

The First High players followed Chen Feng to their locker room, saying nothing more. By now, Chen Feng had earned real authority on the team—not because of his size or even his height, but from genuine respect.

“That fat pig really talks big. Win by a hundred points? Dream on!” Zhang Ke snorted.

“Right. He should look at himself in the mirror. Does he really think he can beat us? He must be dreaming,” another player scoffed.

“Alright, enough. Let’s not waste words. Let’s go inside,” Du Guang said. “No matter what, First High is pretty strong. We have to take them seriously.”

“This is outrageous!” The First High players were fuming as they entered their own locker room.

“Don’t take it to heart,” Chen Feng said with a smile. “Why bother with them? All we need to do is crush them with our strength—make them tremble at the mention of our name in the future!”

“That’s right!” Zhang Chenghao agreed loudly. “Today, let’s destroy Fourth High and show them how strong we really are!”

Chen Feng smiled faintly. Fourth High was nothing to him—not worth getting angry over. In his eyes, they were just a gift, an easy way to rack up achievement points. Delicious fat meat, delivered right to his door.