Chapter 47: Alley-Oop Layup

The atmosphere was strange, and for a moment, Ming Han didn't know how to begin. The two of them walked slowly, as if each was waiting for the other to speak first.

How did Ming Han feel about Chen Li? She was the girl he knew best. Whenever he was with her, he felt natural and at ease.

“Chen Li, you must be joking…” Ming Han didn't know what else to say.

Chen Li shook her head. “I don't like to make jokes, you know that.”

Ming Han fell silent again—more accurately, he was embarrassed.

Although there had been girls who liked him since he was young, very few had expressed it so directly. Lin Jingjing was the first, and at the time, Ming Han had felt a small surge of pride. It showed that Brother Ming had a bit of charm after all.

But Chen Li’s confession caught him completely off guard.

“Chen Li, what should I do now?” At that moment, Ming Han sounded like a child, at a loss for words.

Chen Li was speechless. Wasn’t it supposed to be the girl who felt shy at a moment like this? Why did Ming Han seem even more nervous than her?

“Ming Han, I’ll wait for you!” Chen Li took his hand.

Her hand was icy cold, yet it made Ming Han’s heart feel warm.

Ming Han knew exactly what Chen Li’s “wait” meant. At least during middle school, he had never even considered dating. There were so many things more important than romance at this age.

…

The next day, Ming Han got up at seven, put on his sports gear, and went downstairs for a run.

Yu Hang was still half-asleep. “Ming Han, what are you doing? I haven’t had enough sleep!”

Yu Hang hadn’t come home with Ming Han the night before. He’d been out until nearly ten. When he walked in, he saw Ming Han beaming with joy.

“Ming Han, you’re the only one who can’t tell how Chen Li has always felt about you,” Yu Hang teased.

Ming Han scratched his head, looking as honest as ever.

Now Yu Hang was lamenting his fate—Ming Han dragged him out for an early morning run, and after that, insisted they go play one-on-one basketball.

Yu Hang had been obsessed with basketball since elementary school and often spent entire afternoons practicing alone on the court. But compared to Ming Han’s fanaticism, he knew he couldn’t keep up.

Ming Han’s training had become borderline crazy. He couldn’t sleep at night unless he made two hundred mid-range shots in a day.

“Ming Han, after this summer, when you’re back at school, I don’t think there’ll be many people left who can take you one-on-one,” Yu Hang said seriously.

Ming Han replied, “Rather than just playing one-on-one, I want to be a better team player. After all, scoring a lot of points is nothing compared to winning the game!”

Two days flew by, and finally, the day arrived for their game against the first-year champion team.

It had to be said, being two years older was a definite advantage. Their physiques were already among the best in their grade, but these upperclassmen were still a bit bigger.

Coach Black kept emphasizing: tactics, defense!

No one really knew each other; after all, even though they were at the same school, the middle school division and the high school division were managed separately.

The high schoolers looked at Ming Han and his teammates with a trace of disdain. Their teacher might have said these were the best players in the middle school, but they themselves were last year’s first-year champions! Why would they be afraid?

The referee was an elderly PE teacher from the school, known for his lenient calls. That meant today’s game would likely be quite physical.

With fouls called loosely, everyone’s moves would naturally be rougher…

Coach Black began explaining their first-quarter tactics. “Big men, once you’re set in the low post, everyone else make space. Set more screens, run more pick-and-rolls. Lin Wei, Lin Shan, remember your speed advantage.”

Ming Han didn’t start. For now, Haiming was playing the shooting guard. He had both range and the ability to drive to the basket.

At tipoff, Qiang took possession for the first attack.

It was clear the first-year center hadn’t even bothered to jump seriously. They obviously didn’t take the game seriously.

Yu Hang brought the ball up.

The first-year point guard saw Yu Hang was only about 1.7 meters tall and not particularly stocky, so he didn’t defend him closely.

Yu Hang dribbled low with his right hand, then suddenly switched to his left, faking out the defender and driving straight in.

No one expected him to get past so easily, and there was no help defense. Yu Hang tossed up a floater—nothing but net!

Now the first-year point guard looked wary. He realized this eighth-grade guard’s ball-handling was at least on par with his own—so many moves, he almost had a touch of Iverson’s flair.

On the next possession, the first-years ran a screen for their small forward, who missed a jumper. Lin Wei grabbed the rebound and ran the fast break.

Lin Shan and Yu Hang sprinted to the three-point line on opposite sides. Lin Wei snapped a quick pass to Lin Shan, who launched a three—swish!

5–0!

The first-years were stunned. Was this the level of middle schoolers? It was a bit scary!

Their coach realized his players were underestimating their opponents and paid the price. He hurriedly called a timeout.

“Underestimating your juniors? Look at their teamwork, their tactics. Now look at yourselves—you can’t even manage basic defense!”

Their power forward, who seemed to be the captain, patted everyone on the shoulder. “Let’s play seriously from now on! I feel like if we don’t go all out, we’ll lose badly today!”

They were a champion team, after all—how could they be so weak?

On the next possession, the power forward isolated Lin Shan, used his left shoulder to bump him, then spun and scored.

Lin Shan stuck out his tongue, signaling he hadn’t lost position on defense.

But on the next play, he caught a behind-the-back pass from Yu Hang and nailed a mid-range jumper.

With three minutes left in the first quarter, Ming Han subbed in for Lin Shan, and a small forward named Ze Kai from Class Five replaced Lin Wei.

A 3+2 rotation!

Coach Black told Ming Han, “You take the point, have Yu Hang move back a spot.”

It seemed the coach wanted to try out some new systems.

Once on the court, Ming Han brought the ball across halfcourt. Yu Hang came over to set a pick—after a successful screen, Ming Han split the defenders with a bounce pass to Yu Hang. Yu Hang drove inside, drew the defense, then tossed a behind-the-back pass to Ming Han. Ming Han took one dribble and lobbed it up—Qiang leapt for an alley-oop off the glass and scored!

“Wow, that was awesome!” The bench erupted in cheers.

Even Coach Black nodded in approval; the three of them had executed a beautiful play. Ming Han’s ball-handling and decision-making had both improved rapidly.

Qiang was excited too—no way would Yu Hang have been able to make that pass. His height limited his vision and the alley-oop route, but Ming Han’s pass was perfect.

The first-year players didn’t look happy. They were still down by four, and their own play was nowhere near as smooth as that of their junior teammates.