Heavy Breathing

Wang Cheng obediently shut up. Zhu Zhan respected the coach greatly and did not dare talk back to him, but Fang Shan's words had stirred up the pride of Li Ke, the elementary school basketball prodigy!

"No, our elementary school coach never taught us that!" Li Ke shouted. He raised his head, his eyes flashing as he looked at Fang Shan. Fang Shan immediately turned to Li Ke. Their gazes met, but Li Ke did not yield in the slightest and stared straight at Fang Shan.

"Good!" Fang Shan laughed instead of getting angry.

"If you're late, you have to accept punishment!" Fang Shan looked at them, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes as he shouted.

"I accept!" The moment he finished speaking, Li Ke immediately answered. Zhu Zhan hurriedly reached out to tug at Li Ke, but Li Ke dodged him at once.

"Li Ke, you've offended the coach. You won't have an easy time from now on!" Wang Cheng, who stood nearby, was overjoyed when he saw Li Ke talking back to Fang Shan. The obvious tension between the two delighted him.

Fang Shan shook his head faintly and said, "Now, the three of you will run one lap around the track. My requirement is simple. Whoever finishes first gets to rest first. The other two, second and third place, will keep running. The next one to finish can rest, while the last one will run one extra lap!"

Fang Shan loudly announced his method of punishment. Zhu Zhan, Li Ke, and Wang Cheng were instantly dumbfounded. Meanwhile, the school team members standing in formation quietly covered their mouths and laughed.

They're in for it now! They all thought the same thing. Fang Shan was quite pleased by the three boys' expressions and shouted, "Start running now!"

After saying that, he waved them off.

"Huh?" Zhu Zhan froze.

Whoosh! A faint sound rang out. Zhu Zhan saw that Wang Cheng beside him had already spun around and taken off like a wild horse breaking free of its reins. After exchanging a glance with Li Ke, the two of them hurriedly started running after him!

Despicable! Zhu Zhan thought as he watched the figure running hard ahead of them.

Wang Cheng, who was running about five meters ahead, glanced back at Zhu Zhan and Li Ke and grinned.

Zhu Zhan clenched his teeth and chased after him, while Li Ke jogged behind at an unhurried pace.

As Wang Cheng ran ahead, he occasionally looked back at Zhu Zhan and Li Ke. Seeing Li Ke far behind, a cold smile curled across his lips, and he secretly reveled in it.

What an idiot. You actually dared talk back to the coach. Fang Shan is notoriously petty. When the time comes for the National Tournament, he might not even pick you. Don't think being a starter will save you! Wang Cheng panted heavily as he ran.

When that time comes, I'll definitely be selected! A gleam flashed in Wang Cheng's eyes, and he was overjoyed.

Damn it, my stamina's not holding up today! Wang Cheng cursed inwardly, his pace slowing. Behind him, Zhu Zhan kept running and gradually closed the distance.

This guy is seriously annoying! Zhu Zhan looked at Wang Cheng with unconcealed contempt in his eyes.

He and Li Ke had the best relationship on the team. Although everyone trained together on the school team and got along reasonably well, for some reason, Wang Cheng always targeted Li Ke!

Targeting Li Ke was the same as targeting Zhu Zhan indirectly. Because of that, Zhu Zhan had never thought much of Wang Cheng.

Seeing him actually jump the gun today, Zhu Zhan instantly thought even less of his character and once again felt that he was utterly shameless.

I wonder when we'll face their class. Probably the day after tomorrow. When that happens, how will Li Ke teach him a lesson? Zhu Zhan turned to look at Li Ke behind him.

Because the venue was limited, the second match was usually held a day after the first one ended. It was only a matter of time before Class 5 faced Class 1.

Zhu Zhan believed that would be a fierce battle.

The match against Class 6 had made him keenly aware of his class's shortcomings. If the opposing class had three or four people who could play basketball and worked well together, Class 5 might very well lose.

Ah, I wonder what kind of result we'll get...

As the first basketball competition his middle school had held involving so many classes, Zhu Zhan attached great importance to it. He especially hoped his class could achieve a good result.

But he knew that he did not yet have scoring ability as strong as Li Ke's.

So everything would depend on Li Ke's performance.

Li Ke jogged slowly behind Zhu Zhan, his face expressionless. He only occasionally glanced at Wang Cheng.

I wonder what this guy is thinking... Zhu Zhan looked at Li Ke's cold expression.

His pace gradually slowed until he stopped where he was and waited for Li Ke.

After a while, Li Ke ran up. Seeing Zhu Zhan waiting for him, he asked, "Xiao Zhan, why are you waiting for me?"

Zhu Zhan panted lightly and said to Li Ke, "Let's run together. At worst, the two of us can run a few extra laps. If the coach wants to punish us, then let him!"

"Xiao Zhan..." Li Ke felt warmth rise in his heart, and a touched glimmer flashed through his eyes, but he shook his head.

"I have a plan!" Li Ke grabbed Zhu Zhan, and the two began jogging slowly. As they ran, Li Ke spoke.

"What plan?" Zhu Zhan asked suspiciously when he saw Li Ke acting like this.

"You see Wang Cheng running ahead of us, right?" Li Ke looked at Wang Cheng about ten meters ahead, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.

Seeing the hostile gleam in Li Ke's eyes, Zhu Zhan's heart tightened. He had no idea what Li Ke intended to do.

Li Ke paused, then asked, "Xiao Zhan, do you still have any stamina left?"

Zhu Zhan nodded uncertainly.

"Good!" Li Ke smiled.

"In a moment, I'll make Wang Cheng stop. You finish first, and that way you'll be in first place. Your punishment will be over!" Li Ke grinned, his eyes carrying a hint of mischief.

"And then?" Zhu Zhan was shocked, nearly missing a step.

"And then? Leave the rest to me!" Li Ke said calmly. With one stride, he swiftly overtook Zhu Zhan and chased after Wang Cheng.

Zhu Zhan stood there in confusion, blankly watching Li Ke. Only after a long while did he come to his senses and immediately chase after him.

Wang Cheng, who was running ahead, panted heavily. He had gone all out in the match at noon in order to score more points, and the result was that he had no stamina left now. Normally, he only needed around a minute to sprint a four-hundred-meter lap, but now, after a full minute, he had only run a little over three hundred meters.

With only a few dozen meters left before he finished, Wang Cheng cursed Fang Shan viciously in his heart and dragged his increasingly heavy steps onward.

"Wang Cheng!" A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Huh?" Wang Cheng turned his head and saw Li Ke.

A trace of shock flashed through his eyes before he smiled faintly. As he ran, he said, "What do you want with me?"