Cute Expression

"We won!" Zhu Zhan smiled faintly and flicked his fingers lightly. The basketball flew out with a spin.

"Swish~ Swish~ Swish~ Swish~" The basketball flew through the air. In Zhang Jian's eyes, it seemed to be moving slower.

His body slowly descended. He raised his head and stared intently at the basketball's trajectory through the air.

Zhu Zhan's body fell backward.

He could feel that he might get hurt this time, because he had no strength left to assume any defensive posture. He might hit the ground hard.

Yet the flame-like light blazing in his eyes was exceptionally bright. With a faint smile on his lips, Zhu Zhan closed his eyes and let his body fall.

"Swish!" The spinning basketball went straight through the hoop without touching the rim!

As Zhu Zhan was about to hit the ground, his clenched hand, unnoticed by anyone, finally slowly relaxed when he heard that familiar sound. The corners of his mouth gradually curled up, and at that moment, Zhu Zhan smiled knowingly.

Zhang Jian's eyes trembled incessantly, filled with disbelief.

"Thud!" A body slammed heavily onto the ground. Before Zhang Jian could even turn around to look, a shrill whistle suddenly rang out!

"Tweet! Number 8 of Class 6, Zhang Jian, five fouls!" PE teacher Zhang Jun shouted. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. When he lowered the whistle from his hand, his palm was trembling uncontrollably.

"Zhu Zhan!" Li Ke shouted and was the first to rush onto the basketball court. Only then did the others react, hurrying toward where Zhu Zhan had fallen.

Zhang Jian stood beneath the basket without turning around. He stared blankly at the basketball still spinning on the ground. The noisy commotion behind him did not reach his ears at all.

"Basketball..." Zhang Jian murmured. His hand slowly clenched until his nails pressed painfully into his palm.

"I want to learn how to play basketball..." Zhang Jian said softly, too quietly for anyone to hear.

That tall body simply stood there blankly, as though he did not want to turn around and look at the stubborn, tenacious boy who had still made the shot after Zhang Jian had struck his hand so hard.

The interclass Class League match between Grade 7, Class 5 and Grade 7, Class 6 finally came to an end at that moment.

The score no longer mattered.

Because the true winner was always the one who persevered to the end and never gave up!

"Zhu Zhan, are you okay?" Li Ke helped Zhu Zhan up and asked as he looked at his pained expression.

"I'm fine. It's just... just that I landed on my butt!" Zhu Zhan said, blushing as everyone gathered around him.

"Uh..."

Everyone froze for a moment.

"Hahaha!" Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

"It's good that you're okay. That Zhang Jian really is a bastard!" Li Ke said through gritted teeth.

Rubbing his nose, Li Ke stood up and looked around, only to discover that Zhang Jian was already gone.

After looking around, Li Ke spotted Zhang Jian slowly walking out of the track field alone, looking utterly dejected.

Bastard. I'll make sure to teach you a proper lesson next time! Li Ke thought, biting his lip as he watched Zhang Jian's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

With Li Zirong and the others supporting him, Zhu Zhan got to his feet and dusted himself off. Other than some pain in his tailbone, he found no other signs of injury. Still, having exhausted all his strength, he walked unsteadily.

"Let's go. Let's head back to class!" Zhu Zhan said with a smile as he looked at everyone around him.

"Zhu Zhan, you were so awesome this time! Without you, our class might have lost!" Class monitor Li Xue was still immersed in the intense atmosphere of the match. Her cheeks were flushed red as she spoke excitedly.

"Mm, Zhu Zhan performed very well this time. He was even better than Li Ke!" Li Kejun, Class 5's homeroom teacher, walked over with a smile and patted Zhu Zhan on the shoulder.

"Uh..." Seeing everyone suddenly treating him so well, Zhu Zhan blushed. "It wasn't all my credit. It was the credit of all the boys in our class working together!"

"Deskmate, don't be modest. Your final shot was really cool!" Tian Chen said excitedly, grabbing Zhu Zhan's hand. Her chubby hand was surprisingly strong, nearly pulling Zhu Zhan off balance.

"That's right. That last shot had the bearing of a true superstar—a game-winner!" Li Ke said as he walked over, supporting Zhu Zhan beneath the arm and patting him on the shoulder.

"Ah?" Zhu Zhan was startled by Li Ke's praise, then felt somewhat moved.

Zhu Zhan's heart trembled instantly. His arm shook slightly with excitement, and a ray of confidence shone from his eyes!

"I'll keep getting better. I'll surpass him!" Looking at Li Ke, Zhu Zhan nodded and smiled knowingly. Li Ke smiled too. The two did not need many words, but at that moment, each of them had their own thoughts.

"I wonder what kind of opponent we'll face next. I never expected to run into someone as tall as Zhang Jian in this Class League!" Li Ke said as he slowly supported Zhu Zhan along, while Wen Ting walked quietly beside him.

Li Ke looked around. By now, nearly all the matches had ended, and most classes had begun leaving. The bustling basketball court became instantly lively. As his gaze swept over those wearing basketball uniforms, a thought came to him.

"I have to perform even better in the next match!" Supported by Li Ke, Zhu Zhan also looked over the students in basketball uniforms. These people would undoubtedly be opponents he would face in the future.

As his gaze passed over those walking in groups of two or three with relaxed smiles, happily slinging arms over one another's shoulders, a solemn look appeared in Zhu Zhan's eyes. Clearly, these were the victorious classes.

Judging by them, our future opponents should be pretty formidable, Zhu Zhan concluded after only a brief look.

"However!" Zhu Zhan smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth lifting. He pulled free of Li Ke's supporting arm and began walking on his own. Smiling at Li Ke's astonished gaze, Zhu Zhan let out a deep breath.

"I'll defeat them! Every last one of them!" Zhu Zhan raised his head and clenched his fists tightly.

Suddenly.

"Zhu Zhan! Wait!" A clear girl's voice rang out behind him. When Zhu Zhan turned around, he saw that it was Xuexue and Feifei, the troublemaking girls from his class. With a casual expression on her face, Xuexue hurried over, held out her hand, and offered Zhu Zhan a bottle of water. Zhu Zhan looked and saw that it was a bottle of cola.

"This is?" Zhu Zhan asked in surprise, looking at Xuexue.

"It's for you. You did great today!" Xuexue said with a smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

"Uh..." Zhu Zhan froze, standing there without moving for quite a while. Looking at Xuexue's expression, he realized she truly meant it.

"Take it!" Feifei, who had been walking behind them, came over and said to Zhu Zhan.

"Then... all right. Thank you!" A bead of cold sweat appeared on Zhu Zhan's forehead as he reached out and accepted the cola Xuexue offered him.

"Keep it up next time! I'll come watch again!" Seeing that Zhu Zhan had accepted her drink, Xuexue placed her hands behind her back, made a cute face, and left with Feifei.