Dunking Showdown

"First High School, go! First High School, go!"

"Affiliated High School, go! Affiliated High School, go!"

The enormous field rang with deafening cheers.

An exciting middle school basketball game was in full swing.

The cheerleaders from both schools held all kinds of props, cheering their hearts out for their own teams. The girls in matching uniforms at the very front were especially eye-catching!

On the scoreboard beside the court, several huge numbers were displayed, drawing just as much attention as the heated game itself.

First High School 45: Affiliated High School 46.

The team on the right half of the court was First High School.

A slightly overweight middle-aged coach stood at the sidelines, pacing back and forth as he watched the tight score on the board. From time to time, he glanced back at his players on the bench.

"Zhu Zhan, you..." The middle-aged coach suddenly turned around and looked at the tall, lean boy seated on the bench. The moment Zhu Zhan heard the coach call him, he immediately stood up.

With short black hair and bright eyes, Zhu Zhan wore the number 1 jersey and stood around 1.8 meters tall. His eyes held a trace of longing and anticipation for the game. The middle-aged coach sized him up and was about to speak when another voice abruptly rang out.

"Coach, I've rested enough. Let me play!" Along with that loud voice, another young man on the bench stood up and yanked off the towel draped over his head.

The young man revealed a confident, resolute face with a maturity that did not match his age. Though still young, he was already over 1.87 meters tall, and a conspicuous number stood out on his jersey.

Number 24!

"Li Ke, are you rested?" The middle-aged coach's eyes immediately lit up. The instant he saw the young man rise, the anxiety on his face eased considerably, and he wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm ready, Coach!" Li Ke nodded. Then he turned around, patted the somewhat dazed Zhu Zhan on the shoulder, and said, "Zhan, with me here, our First High School won't lose to their Affiliated High School!"

Li Ke's words brimmed with immense confidence. He casually handed the towel to Zhu Zhan, then walked toward the sideline at center court to request a substitution, completely ignoring Zhu Zhan's mouth, which had just opened to speak.

The middle-aged coach let out a long breath. Watching Li Ke slowly walk away, he clasped his hands behind his back, whistled, and paced a couple of steps before casually saying to Zhu Zhan behind him, "Sit down, Zhan!"

Zhu Zhan silently nodded and slowly sat back down. Yet no one noticed that the flame-like light in his eyes had quietly dimmed.

He sat quietly on the bench, watching his good friend in the number 24 jersey race across the court. No one could understand Zhu Zhan's feelings at that moment, twisted like the towel in his hands.

He simply watched in silence as his talented friend tore across the basketball court, unstoppable in every direction.

No one ever noticed how a substitute felt.

Just as no one noticed the green leaves beside the flowers.

Zhu Zhan's basketball career had begun in the third grade of elementary school. Since then, he had always been a substitute for Li Ke, the young man in the number 24 jersey hailed as a basketball genius and surrounded by countless honors...

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" Accompanied by that somewhat sinister sound, Zhu Zhan looked around in confusion.

"This is... a basketball court?" He raised his head and looked around, only to find himself wearing a blue number 1 jersey, slowly dribbling a basketball in an enormous arena.

"Roar! Roar!"

"McGrady, go! Go!"

"Kobe, go! Go!"

Deafening cheers crashed over him like a tsunami. Zhu Zhan looked ahead and saw Li Ke.

Li Ke stood in front of Zhu Zhan, arms folded across his chest, glaring sharply at him.

A provocative smile curled at his lips, while fierce fighting spirit blazed in his eyes!

"McGrady, come on! Let's see who the real MVP is!" A flash of light burst from Li Ke's eyes. He shouted and charged toward Zhu Zhan.

Zhu Zhan froze as he looked at Li Ke.

"McGrady, are you afraid to face me?" Li Ke arrogantly reached out, grabbed his jersey, gave it a shake, and pointed at the number on it in challenge.

On the yellow Lakers jersey, a number stood out brilliantly.

"Number 24!?" Zhu Zhan glanced at the jersey and was shocked!

He lowered his head and looked at the blue number 1 jersey he was wearing.

Orlando Magic, number 1!

"I'm not afraid!" Courage suddenly surged up from nowhere. Zhu Zhan shouted and fiercely slammed the basketball down!

Slap! The basketball bounced off the wooden court!

He raised his head and looked at Li Ke before him. Zhu Zhan was filled with confidence, and blazing flames ignited in his eyes!

He clutched the ball and rose straight up for a jumper!

Li Ke shouted as well, taking a huge step forward and rushing at Zhu Zhan!

The two soared high into the air.

Time seemed to freeze. Zhu Zhan raised both hands in the air, his eyes locked firmly on the hoop.

Li Ke leaped high, his figure like an eagle in the air as he stretched out an arm to block Zhu Zhan.

"I'm the MVP!" Li Ke shouted as his palm viciously came down at Zhu Zhan.

Go in! Zhu Zhan shouted inwardly. With a flick of his wrist, the basketball whistled toward the hoop.

"Haha, you won't make it!" Li Ke laughed loudly, his huge hand brutally swatting at the basketball flying through the air!

"No!" Zhu Zhan cried out in alarm!

In an instant, his body seemed to lose its balance, and he fell toward the ground!

"Ah!"

Zhu Zhan screamed and abruptly rolled over, sitting upright.

"Pant, pant..." He gasped heavily and looked up, only to find darkness all around him.

"Ow, my butt!" He rubbed his backside and looked around. It turned out Zhu Zhan had fallen out of bed!

The surroundings were silent, with only his heavy breathing echoing through the room.

"So it was a dream?" Zhu Zhan let out a long breath. By the moonlight outside the window, he looked at the poster on his bedroom wall. In the poster, McGrady held a basketball in both hands, smiling faintly as he looked ahead, as though he were looking down at Zhu Zhan below.

"Whew..." Zhu Zhan climbed up from the floor, looked at the poster, and recalled the scene from his dream.

"Li Ke really is like a mountain! But no matter what kind of mountain it is, one day, I'll definitely climb over it!" Zhu Zhan murmured softly, his voice echoing through the bedroom.

Jinghai, Second High School.

Founded in the 1920s, the famous school had originally been a church school funded by a German. Ancient Gothic-style buildings and towering plane trees could be seen everywhere on campus, giving the place a captivating aristocratic atmosphere. It later became Jinghai Second High School. What the school was most famous for, however, was its outstanding annual college entrance exam results and its boys' and girls' basketball teams!

Every year, they made it into the top eight of the national finals, and they had once won the national high school league championship for two consecutive years!

In a populous country like China, even at the high school level, winning the top championship was enough to prove the school's basketball strength.