Corner and Center

Corner and Center

At No.4 Middle School, the sun was still scorching today, making the students suffer miserably.

Instructor Li showed no mercy when drilling them. Some students privately said he was practically training them to death, and some even ran to complain to Shan Qingrong, but Instructor Li carried on exactly as before.

The students had no choice but to find joy in suffering. Every break was their happiest time, when they gathered in small groups to chat.

Throughout military training, Jiang Ning had been cultivating. As an immortal cultivator, he only needed to circulate his Spiritual Energy to regulate his body temperature and remain comfortable at all times.

He could spare only a fraction of his attention and still breeze through military training. That morning, Instructor Li had even specifically praised him and told the others to use him as an example, which earned him quite a few disdainful looks from the boys.

In their eyes, Jiang Ning's skinny frame meant that even if his stance and marching were perfect, so what? He was still a weakling. Two particularly unruly boys planned to have a little spar with Jiang Ning after military training ended.

They did not dare vent their resentment on Instructor Li, so they redirected it toward Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning felt no pride at Instructor Li's praise. His very essence of life was different from that of ordinary people. If he could not even manage a proper military stance, he would be making a complete fool of himself.

As for what his classmates thought, he did not care. If anyone came looking for trouble, Song Sheng was a warning enough.

Class Eight's formation was close to the Basketball Court. During breaks, the students sat on the Cement Floor in small groups and chatted.

One boy got carried away in conversation and pointed at the backboard. "Do you believe I can touch the backboard?"

The boy speaking was Hu Jun. He looked older than his age and was about 175 centimeters tall.

Ma Shicheng often played basketball. He was about the same height as Hu Jun, and though he had tried many times, he had always fallen short of the backboard.

"Cut the crap. Do you know how hard it is to touch the backboard? Maybe someone who's 180 centimeters could do it."

Hu Jun said, "Want to bet a bottle of Coke?"

Ma Shicheng was not afraid of him at all.

"If you can touch it, I'll treat you to a can of Red Bull."

Their bet drew the attention of the other students in the class.

Guo Kunnan, whose face had a roguish look and whose skin was dark, said, "Hu Jun, you really can't do it."

"I'm 178 centimeters, and I only barely managed to touch it after training in sports for a while in middle school."

Provoked, Hu Jun immediately got fired up.

"Bet a bottle of Coke."

Guo Kunnan pointed at him and declared, "Go touch it now. If you can reach it within three tries, I'll immediately buy you one from the school convenience store."

"Fine, I'll show you." Hu Jun stood up. Several boys around him made way, and after hearing the three of them betting, everyone started egging him on.

Back in high school, boys with good physical abilities and great strength were still quite enviable. They compared themselves whenever they had the chance and took pleasure in defeating one another.

Hu Jun stood on the Basketball Court and looked around. The classmates who had been sitting on the ground to rest all got to their feet to watch him touch the backboard, and he suddenly felt like the center of everyone's attention.

He backed up some distance, took a few running steps, and leaped up. His fingertips tapped the backboard.

"Awesome!" Ma Shicheng accepted his loss graciously and praised Hu Jun.

Guo Kunnan's expression turned a little unpleasant. He had not expected Hu Jun to actually touch the backboard.

With so many people watching, he could not back out. He simply said, "Your jumping ability's pretty good. We can play basketball together sometime."

Then he went to the school convenience store with Ma Shicheng.

A few students copied Hu Jun and tried to touch the backboard. But after jumping, they were still at least ten centimeters short. They tried several times without success, and only then did they realize how powerful Hu Jun's vertical leap was.

Several boys crowded around Hu Jun and asked how he had trained his jumping ability. Curious gazes seemed to come from the girls' side as well, and Hu Jun could not help feeling a little carried away.

Ma Shicheng and Guo Kunnan returned with drinks. Hu Jun popped open the chilled Red Bull and took a satisfied gulp, feeling wonderful all over.

Jiang Ning watched from the side, but he knew Hu Jun's moment in the spotlight would not last more than a few minutes.

The girls' formation began discussing it. Using this as an excuse, some girls approached Huang Zhongfei and asked whether touching the backboard was difficult. Huang Zhongfei said it was quite hard. Though he was 180 centimeters tall, he had not trained much and could not reach it.

Not far away, in Experimental Class 1's formation, a fat boy looked at the boy beside him and laughed. "Brother Hui, someone over there is showing off. Aren't you going to give it a try?"

The boy called Brother Hui had an outstanding presence. Tall and handsome, he smiled. "Sure. I'll give them a show today."

The fat boy, Lin Zida, ran to the edge of the formation and found a black bag. He unzipped it, revealing a basketball that looked quite high-quality.

Holding the basketball, he tossed it toward Zhuang Jianhui. The ball traced an arc through the air and landed steadily in Zhuang Jianhui's palm.

Lin Zida shouted to those nearby, "Ever seen a dunk? I'll perform a dunk for you today."

He shouted several times in a row, as though he were the one about to dunk.

Seeing Lin Zida acting like such a lackey, Zhuang Jianhui found it amusing. Outsiders would probably think Lin Zida was his follower, but in truth, they had grown up in the same Compound, and Lin Zida was absolutely a genius. Most people were simply deceived by his appearance.

Zhuang Jianhui was handsome to begin with, especially with that distinctive air of nobility about him. Quite a few girls already had a good impression of him. Lin Zida shouted with great enthusiasm, and though the girls did not really know what a dunk was, they still followed Zhuang Jianhui toward the Basketball Court.

Once the girls went over, the boys naturally followed as well. Whatever their motives, they all wanted to see it for themselves, and soon a large crowd trailed behind Zhuang Jianhui.

The other formations resting on the School Field were drawn in by the spectacle, and even people in the formations still training normally kept glancing over.

Thus, the students of Grade One, Class Eight saw a tall, handsome boy followed by a huge crowd. Everyone instinctively made way for them.

Hu Jun had not even finished his Red Bull when he saw someone approaching with a basketball. He also found a spot to see what this guy was going to do.

Before long, two or three hundred people had gathered around the Basketball Court.

A young instructor saw what was happening at the Basketball Court, then looked at his own absent-minded formation and waved his hand.

"Dismissed on the spot!"

More and more students gathered at the Basketball Court. Shen Qing'e, Chen Siyu, and the other girls from Class Eight were close to the School Field, so they secured good spots in the front row, their blinking eyes fixed on Zhuang Jianhui at the center.

Zhuang Jianhui's expression remained calm, utterly unaffected by everyone's attention. His mindset was excellent.

He dribbled the basketball, warming up and getting a feel for it at the same time.

Guo Kunnan asked in confusion, "Is this guy going to dunk?"

Ma Shicheng was stunned. "You've got to be kidding. I've never seen anyone who could dunk in my life."

Guo Kunnan had seen it before, but everyone who could dunk had been at least 190 centimeters tall. The boys on the School Field were only around 183 centimeters at most. How could they possibly dunk? Zhuang Jianhui made a few flashy moves, then started dribbling and suddenly accelerated.

As he rushed toward the backboard, his calves tensed, and he suddenly soared into the air. Holding the basketball, he easily rose above the rim, then snapped his wrist down. Bang! The basketball slammed through the hoop. He grabbed the rim with both hands, his body swinging with a raw, powerful beauty, like a man in flight.

"Holy shit!"

"Wow!"

Waves of astonished cries rang out around them. The girls in particular had eyes only for that stunning figure, their hearts racing as though they would never forget him for the rest of their lives.

"Brother Guo, what level was that dunk?" Ma Shicheng asked.

Guo Kunnan said, "I can't really judge what level it was, but it was insanely impressive. Mainly, he dunked it... really stylishly."

He felt an indescribable admiration. He often played basketball and knew how difficult dunking was. He would probably never dunk in his life, and even if he somehow managed it, he definitely could not do it that stylishly.

Lin Zida shouted, "One more!"

The girls around them shouted together, "One more! One more!"

"Handsome guy, one more!"

Zhuang Jianhui smiled. He dribbled again, but this time he did not dunk directly. Instead, he threw the basketball at the backboard from far away, then leaped up, caught the rebounding ball, and slammed it into the hoop with a reverse dunk.

An astonishing cheer erupted from the crowd, while the girls screamed wildly.

Compared to the previous dunk, this move was full of flashy beauty, making people want to see it again after watching it once.

Instructor Li had somehow come over and sighed. "Each generation really is better than the last. That kid's physical condition is amazing!"

Though everyone strongly demanded that Zhuang Jianhui do it again, he remained unmoved and left the court amid their enthusiasm.

As a result, on the second day of military training, Zhuang Jianhui of Grade One became the main topic among the girls.

Handsome, classy, in the Experimental Class, and able to dunk—so many advantages gathered in one person. Countless girls in the bloom of youth developed a crush on him.