Principal Zheng continued, "You lost, and you lost badly. But you were just like your dad—stubborn as a bull. After losing, you trained yourself to death, sneaking out of the dorm in the middle of the night to practice."
"The next year, when you faced those youth teams again, you challenged them to one-on-one games, one after another, and beat every last one of them."
"It even made the papers."
"You'd beaten those youth teams into submission."
Wang Yi laughed. "That was a stupid thing to do when I was young. I wouldn't do that now."
Principal Zheng looked a little surprised. "Oh? Now I'm curious. What would you do if you ran into that situation today?"
Wang Yi answered frankly, "I wouldn't wait a year. I'd crush them in three months!"
Principal Zheng laughed at that. "You really are still the same Wang Yi. You haven't changed a bit."
After speaking, Principal Zheng gestured for Wang Yi to start the game. Wang Yi turned to him and asked, "Principal, didn't you have something you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Let's talk after the game," Principal Zheng replied.
Wang Yi nodded.
The game was divided into two halves, each lasting fifteen minutes.
Wang Yi picked out basketballs from the rack beside the court.
He picked up one and squeezed it hard with both hands, then bounced it on the floor three times. Shaking his head, he tossed it aside and grabbed another, squeezing it just as hard before bouncing it on the floor a few times.
After a while, he settled on a ball with the right air pressure.
Then he walked to the center circle with a whistle between his lips.
He tossed the ball into the air with both hands. The instant one of the players jumping