Bad Girls

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhan got up ten minutes earlier than usual. At 5:20, he got up and washed up.

Although he had lost 6–2 to Jiang Shi yesterday, Zhu Zhan was exceptionally happy.

Even if someone told him to play Li Ke one-on-one now, he would not be afraid.

Zhu Zhan discovered that deep inside him, a sense of confidence was steadily growing.

Confidence was something a player could not do without. When facing an opponent, one had to face them confidently and challenge them!

After breakfast, Zhu Zhan grabbed a broom and quickly finished sweeping the building assigned to him, then hurried to school on his bicycle.

The students in Class Five, Senior Year Three, varied greatly in character, and there were even a few troublemakers among them.

Zhu Zhan usually did not talk much with them. His best friends were his buddy and teammate Li Ke, as well as his deskmate, Little Sweetie Tian Chen.

When Zhu Zhan arrived at school, locked his bicycle, and entered the classroom with his backpack, Tian Chen—nicknamed "Sweetie"—was sprawled across their shared desk, sleeping soundly.

Tian Chen was very fat and weighed more than two Zhu Zhans. With her head buried on the desk, her plump body occupied both desks. Her two fair, fleshy arms, round and full like a baby's arms, lay across the desktop, leaving Zhu Zhan nowhere to put his books.

He stood beside her helplessly and sighed. Glancing to the left, he saw that Li Ke's desk was empty. Sure enough, he had not arrived yet.

That guy must still be sleeping, Zhu Zhan thought. Li Ke, the king of tardiness, was always fashionably late and sometimes even missed the first class.

However, their homeroom teacher, Li Kejun, was a huge basketball fan and liked Li Ke very much, often smoothing things over for him. Besides, even though Li Ke skipped class, his grades were not bad, so the other teachers usually turned a blind eye as well.

Zhu Zhan and Li Ke both sat in the last row, with Li Ke sitting alone. There were only three seats in the last row, and the remaining seat belonged exclusively to the two bad girls in the class. Naturally, Zhu Zhan did not dare provoke them. He put his things on Li Ke's desk and sat down.

Just as he sat down, the class sports representative, Liu Yong, walked over wearing glasses. "Zhu Zhan, after school at noon today, our class is playing Class One. Don't forget to come to the basketball court. You and Li Ke both have to be there."

Liu Yong was 1.75 meters tall. Though he was not as tall as Zhu Zhan or Li Ke, he had practiced taekwondo since childhood and was very solidly built. In his T-shirt, his figure looked well-proportioned, and he was a friendly person. Still, with his glasses on, he had a trace of scholarly air about him.

Liu Yong had excellent endurance and had once placed second in the elementary division of the Around-the-City 10,000-Meter Run, so he was qualified to be the sports representative.

"Sure. What time at noon? The Class League is starting already?" Zhu Zhan asked quietly as he looked at Liu Yong.

"12:30, Court Five. This Class League is being organized by the school Youth League Committee. We'll play a round-robin, and the class with the highest points will face the winners from the other groups in the finals. And this time, first place comes with a pretty generous prize. You and Li Ke are both on the school team, so our class has to fight for that prize!" Liu Yong grew excited as he spoke.

"But our class only has seven boys left this semester. Ji Yuyang and Yang Yi—one dropped out, and the other transferred away. Apart from you two, the rest of us aren't much good at basketball, so it'll still be difficult." Liu Yong adjusted his glasses, concern written across his face.

"With me here, we don't need them!" At that moment, an extremely confident voice came from behind them.

Zhu Zhan and Liu Yong turned around to see a handsome young man slowly approaching, his backpack slung over one shoulder, a lazy smile on his face, and both hands tucked into his pockets.

The young man was over 1.8 meters tall and exceptionally handsome. As he walked over, he seemed to radiate a powerful glow, drawing every gaze toward him.

"Li Ke! You're here!" Liu Yong exclaimed happily.

Li Ke nodded slightly, tossed his backpack onto the desk, stretched lazily, and said, "The class basketball league has started?"

"Yeah! Our class only has you two who can play. Bringing glory to our class depends on the two of you this time!" Liu Yong said.

Jinghai No. 2 High School had a very strong basketball culture. Even many people who did not play basketball loved watching games. The annual "Class League" was a tradition the school had maintained for many years and an important stage. Most members of the school team joined only after displaying their strongest abilities on this stage.

Jinghai No. 2 High School had fifty-six classes, with sixteen classes in Senior Year Three. They would battle one another in pairs to determine the champion.

The annual class basketball league was a major event for all of Mingshu Middle School.

It could be said that at this school, where basketball fever ran high, the annual Class League was the school's "NBA League"!

If someone performed well, Black-Faced Fang might notice him and select him for the school team.

Although Zhu Zhan and Li Ke were already key players on the school team, the new school year had just begun. Besides showing Coach Black-Faced Fang their improvement and condition, they also needed to let the newly enrolled younger students get to know them. Both of them were looking forward to this Class League.

Li Ke smacked his lips, sat down in his seat, patted Zhu Zhan on the shoulder, and looked up at Liu Yong. "With Zhu Zhan and me here, the rest of you just need to play normally. Let's eat first at noon, then we'll head to the court together. We'll explain our tactics to you!"

"Alright!" Liu Yong nodded. Class was about to begin, and more and more students gradually entered the room. Liu Yong returned to his seat, while Zhu Zhan sat beside Li Ke.

"Why did you come so early today?" Zhu Zhan asked Li Ke. A faint smile played on Li Ke's lips as he shrugged lazily. "I came with Wen Ting. I had to get a good sleep!"

After saying that, he lowered his head onto the desk and stopped talking to Zhu Zhan.

Zhu Zhan looked at Li Ke, then at his deskmate on the other side, who was still breathing sweetly in her sleep, and could not help giving a bitter smile.

He took out the textbooks for the morning classes and prepared for class.

"Ring-ring-ring~"

At that moment, the class bell rang.

The few students still outside dawdled into the classroom.

Two tall girls in school uniforms, their faces covered in exaggerated heavy makeup, also entered with backpacks on their shoulders.

Both girls wore thick smoky eye makeup and bright lipstick, concealing their innocent, youthful faces. Though they wore school uniforms and carried backpacks, they gave off a strong delinquent-girl vibe.

They swaggered toward the other desk beside Zhu Zhan.

These two bad girls were the class's famous big sisters, the rebellious girls Xuexue and Feifei!

Wherever they went, everyone fell silent, secretly glanced at them, then lowered their heads and went back to what they were doing.