Three-on-Three

Zhu Zhan had been immersed in his own world. It was not until his twelfth shot that the ball slammed heavily into the rim, breaking his streak of makes.

11 out of 12.

After retrieving the ball, Zhu Zhan could not help feeling excited. He stared blankly at the hoop for a while.

Sure enough, when he was in that rhythm, his shooting percentage improved dramatically.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Zhan thought, If I could stay in that rhythm throughout a game, wouldn't my shooting percentage be just as terrifying?

But after thinking it over, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

That was practically impossible. It was nothing more than wishful thinking.

In an official game, an opponent's defense would be there every second, and key players would generally receive even more "special attention." Physical contact ran through both offense and defense from start to finish.

Maintaining a perfect shooting percentage while under pressure was simply impossible.

The reason his percentage had been so high just now was that there had been no physical contact at all, and he had had enough time to find his shooting rhythm. That was why he had shot so accurately.

"It looks like I need to set aside time every day specifically to practice shooting. Only by shooting continuously, turning the shooting motion and rhythm into instinct—into muscle memory—can my shooting percentage truly improve. But I'll need to discuss it with Uncle Jiang first and come up with a reasonable training plan."

With that thought, Zhu Zhan looked into the distance again, but still did not see Jiang Shi or Zhang Yuqing.

Turning back, Zhu Zhan prepared to continue practicing his shot. He wanted to completely master that shooting rhythm.

But just then, a voice rang out behind him.

When he turned around, he saw that it was the five people who had invited him to play three-on-three earlier. All five were walking toward him now.

The short, sturdy young man who had pulled him over earlier approached with a look of admiration and quickly said to Zhu Zhan, "Brother, you've really been hiding your skills. No wonder you didn't want to play with us. So you think we suck!"

Zhu Zhan shook his head and said softly, "No. I really needed to warm up first."

The short young man immediately nodded. "Brother, your shooting is so accurate. You're not from some professional team, are you? But you look about our age, so you should still be a student. How are you this good?"

As soon as the short young man finished speaking, the slightly taller youth behind him, wearing a yellow basketball jersey with the number 24 on the back, frowned and snorted. "With no one defending you, anyone can shoot that well if they practice enough. What's so surprising about it? If he's really that good, he needs to show it in a real game!"

Hearing the tall number 24 say that, the short young man quickly turned around. "Xiao Ke, don't talk like that."

Then he turned back to Zhu Zhan and said with a smile, "Brother, don't mind him. He's just got a shitty temper. So? You're warmed up now. How about playing a game of three-on-three with us? Don't refuse, or we'll really think you believe we're too lousy to play with!"

Zhu Zhan hesitated. Jiang Shi and Zhang Yuqing still had not arrived, so they had probably been delayed by something and would not be coming today. Playing a game with these people would be good too; he could test that feeling he had just begun to grasp.

With that in mind, he looked at them and nodded in agreement.

The young men all showed excited expressions when Zhu Zhan nodded, except for the tall youth in the number 24 Kobe jersey.

The short young man said, "Let's play on this half court. First, let's split into teams. Xiao Ke, Old Wu, and Old Ma, you three are together. Yuan'er, this brother, and I will be on the other side... Brother, I still don't know what to call you. My name's Fang Wei."

Zhu Zhan said softly, "My name is Zhu Zhan."

Fang Wei nodded. "Alright, Yuan'er, Zhu Zhan, and I are a team. This way, the heights on both sides are about the same, so nobody gets an advantage. Come on, let's start."

Zhu Zhan and the number 24 youth who was not too pleased with him each had a ball in hand. They put their balls at the edge of the court, leaving only the one in Fang Wei's hands. Once they were ready, the game was about to begin.

Fang Wei dribbled the ball twice and said with a smile, "We've got an expert on our side, so we'll let you have possession first. That way, when you lose, you can't say we bullied you. First to ten baskets. Let's begin."

The five of them had been rotating through two-on-two games earlier, so none of them had gotten their fill. Fang Wei had been itching to play for a while now.

As he spoke, he passed the ball to the youth named Xiao Ke.

Xiao Ke caught it, dribbled twice, and glanced at Zhu Zhan, who was inside the three-point line some distance away. Then he snorted and said, "Don't get so confident yet. We still don't know who'll win or lose. You won't know whether it's a mule or a horse until you take it out for a run."

Fang Wei grinned. "Xiao Ke, looks like you're still not convinced. How about this? We'll play to ten baskets, and the loser buys drinks. What do you say?"

Xiao Ke said, "Sure. It's more fun when there's something at stake. It's settled. Alright, enough nonsense. Let's start."

The other side had the first possession. Zhu Zhan was guarding the young man called Old Ma, since he was the only one close to Zhu Zhan's height, just about half a head shorter.

Xiao Ke moved outside the three-point line. On the other side, the young man called Old Wu immediately ran over to receive the pass, and the ball was quickly passed into his hands.

Fang Wei was responsible for guarding Old Wu.

But as soon as Old Wu received the ball, he immediately passed it back to Xiao Ke, who had moved inside the three-point line. The young man called Yuan'er immediately pressed up against him.

The five of them had known one another well for a long time and were thoroughly familiar with each other's strengths and specialties. So the moment Xiao Ke caught the ball, Yuan'er stuck tightly to him, turning his body slightly sideways and raising one hand. He guarded against both Xiao Ke's shot and the possibility of his drive.

Seeing Yuan'er's defensive stance, Zhu Zhan could not help nodding slightly. He had to admit that it was quite standard. It seemed Yuan'er watched a lot of basketball.

But Yuan'er was too thin. Even if he could disrupt Xiao Ke's shooting, he definitely would not be able to stop his drive. So as soon as Zhu Zhan saw this, he moved around to the front side of the player he was guarding, positioning himself with his back to the basket.