Chapter 97: The Rankings (Third Update)

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.

The principal, who had remained silent all along, was the first to break it. “In truth, this is Ming Han’s personal decision. We have no right to interfere. Besides, because of his outstanding performance at the Lantern Festival, the county magistrate has already given our school public praise. He has earned honor for us as well.”

Ming Han’s math teacher, that adorable old fellow, also stepped forward to speak for him. “Teacher Yang, you’re worried about Ming Han’s grades, aren’t you? From now on I’ll keep a close eye on this brat. If his math drops below one hundred and forty, watch me not beat the pants off him.”

Seeing everyone defend him, Ming Han was deeply moved, though a little ashamed too. “Teacher, I’m sorry.”

Since Ming Han had clearly made up his mind, the homeroom teacher naturally had nothing more to say.

“Then I hope everything goes smoothly for you.”

The blessing was brief, carrying a touch of perfunctoriness and distrust.

At the very least, many people thought Ming Han was too eager for quick success, always looking for shortcuts and unwilling to work honestly from the ground up.

You already have such good grades. If you just endure a few more years, get into a good university, and find a good job, you’ll make something of yourself. Yet you insist on wasting these precious years chasing money from your youth.

“Yu Hang, this feeling of being misunderstood is really awful. Everyone thinks we’re short-sighted and only have an eye for money.”

Yu Hang blinked. “But we really are only after money.”

Ming Han thought to himself that Yu Hang was shameless. Couldn’t he make himself sound a little nobler? Like saying it was for a dream, or something...

Yu Hang patted Ming Han on the shoulder. “If everyone thinks we’re living off our youth and making quick money, then let’s just live up to their expectations. The more money we make, the better. Enough to make them shut up.”

Ming Han understood what Yu Hang meant. Many people simply could not stand the fact that they were already ahead.

But if they kept pulling away from the pack, far enough that those people could no longer even see them, then naturally there would be no more doubt.

“What instructions has Sister Fang given recently?” After the Lantern Festival, they had taken part in many events, but recently there had been little news.

Yu Hang said, “Sister Fang wants us to shine in the Challenge Cup. At the very least, we have to beat First Middle School.”

By now, Ming Han was gradually beginning to understand Qingyang Club’s strategy. Jinhua Middle School had been eliminated by First Middle School last year, so a rematch this year was bound to become a story of revenge. If Jinhua Middle School could win, it would certainly stir up a great deal of attention. Now Ming Han and Yu Hang, as a pair, were very popular online. Qingyang Club clearly wanted to shape them into the image of avengers.

Moreover, whenever they attended an event, the host would always introduce them as outstanding student representatives.

Every time the host described them with such exaggerated language, Ming Han could not help but marvel at the greatness of the profession. Blending the false with the true, making truth and falsehood indistinguishable—utter nonsense...

He shook off those stray thoughts. “What do you think our chances are against First Middle School?”

If this had been last year’s Jinhua, they might not even have had much of a chance. But this year’s Jinhua might well be the best team since the Black Coach took over. So Yu Hang was quite confident as well.

“I wouldn’t say we can definitely win, but at least it’s fifty-fifty.”

They both admitted that Wang Mingkang was truly formidable, perhaps already very close to Tank’s level. But basketball is a game of five players, and the others at First Middle School were not nearly so terrifying individually.

“Brother Qiang even compared our match with First Middle School to the battle between the Lakers and the Celtics. It might come down to defense and rebounds rather than offense.”

The road to the Challenge Cup would surely not be easy. There were hidden dragons and crouching tigers all over the county. Apparently, the school forum had even made two rankings for this year’s ninth graders: a team strength ranking and a player strength ranking.

First Middle School sat third on the team ranking, and Wang Mingkang was second on the player ranking.

When Ming Han scrolled through the list on his phone, he was furious, because his name was nowhere to be found.

“This ranking is way too unscientific,” Ming Han protested to Yu Hang.

Yu Hang said with a smile, “I think you could have made it to fifty-first place. It’s just that this list only ranked the top fifty, so you were unlucky and missed the cut.”

Seeing how pleased Yu Hang looked, Ming Han only became more displeased. Yu Hang was seventh on the list, the county’s number one point guard among junior high schools.

Ming Han scrolled upward again. “Huh? Brother Qiang is fifth. Our Jinhua Middle School has two in the top ten.”

Yu Hang nodded. “Not just that. Lin Shan and Lin Wei are both in the top fifteen. Aside from certain people, the starting lineup is all famous across the county.”

Ming Han was so annoyed he nearly choked. Certain people clearly meant me, didn’t they? I’ve only been playing basketball for a little over a year, okay? After this Challenge Cup, I’m definitely going to climb to the top of this ranking.

“Then shouldn’t our school’s overall strength be pretty high too?”

Yu Hang said, “Fourth. That’s already the highest predicted ranking in our school’s history. But a lot of netizens aren’t convinced and think our school still hasn’t proven itself.”

Indeed, Jinhua Middle School’s previous results were still quite a long way from fourth place.

At that moment, Ming Han saw the name ranked first: Fan Zenghui of Longhua Middle School.

“Yu Hang, do you know Fan Zenghui? He’s ranked ahead of Wang Mingkang. Just how terrifying is this guy?”

Yu Hang shook his head. “I don’t know him.” After a pause, he added, “But Tank does.”

“Oh?”

Yu Hang went on, “These past few years, Tank has gone to the basketball court every day looking for one-on-one opponents. In all that time, in games played to ten points over seven rounds, only one person ever beat him. And it was a 4–2 win. Even Tank was convinced.”

Ming Han knew how strong Tank was. In one-on-one play, he was even a level above Yu Hang.

“So it’s Fan Zenghui?”

Yu Hang nodded solemnly.

Their school, of course, was the number one seed in this year’s team strength ranking.

“If we end up against Longhua, how much confidence do we have in winning?”

“Not much. All five of their starters are top fifteen players. So if we draw them in the first round, we’re basically finished.”

Yu Hang was not the sort of person who gave up before a game had even started. Ming Han rarely saw him this lacking in confidence.

“There are still two weeks before the tournament starts. During this time, we can polish our teamwork properly,” Ming Han said to comfort him.

As soon as school began, the Black Coach had given them orders: every afternoon after class, they were to train together for an hour and a half.

After a whole winter break, everyone’s hair had grown longer. The Lin brothers, Lin Shan and Lin Wei, had even dyed theirs blond. Rumor had it that the academic affairs director chased them into the school gate with scissors in hand.

“Shave your heads tomorrow,” the Black Coach said, finding the brothers’ golden hair equally eyesore.

Lin Wei said helplessly, “Coach, this is psychological warfare. When opponents see us looking like this, they’ll think we’re punks and be terrified in their hearts. Their momentum will be cut in half.”

The Black Coach narrowed his eyes. “What I’m afraid of is that the referees will throw you straight out of the court. What kind of nonsense fashion is that?”

Ming Han and the others laughed so hard they could barely stand upright.