Physics Problems

"Good!" Jiang Shi said no more, smiling approvingly as he started the stopwatch.

Zhu Zhan took a deep breath, slowly let it out, raised his head, and looked at the hoop. He began silently counting in his heart.

At the instant he released the ball when shooting, he had a faint feeling. It was a strange, wonderful sensation. By relying on it, he could tell whether the basketball would go in. Even if it missed, he could guess whether it would hit the rim or the backboard.

If he seized that feeling and predicted the ball's direction, he could get to the rebound sooner and save himself some time.

Though that bit of time was small, it could greatly reduce his total time for completing the second hundred once it accumulated!

Those thoughts flashed through Zhu Zhan's mind in only a moment. As he stared at the basket, he suddenly sank into a wondrous state.

It seemed as though all sounds around him had vanished, leaving only his own breathing. His steadfast gaze fixed on the worn, mottled iron hoop ahead, and his bright eyes revealed a rare confidence.

He bent his knees slightly, lowered his shoulders, raised his arms a little, lightly rose onto his toes, and jumped.

His arms moved with his heart. With a gentle flick, his fingertips brushed the basketball.

Every detail of Jiang Shi's shooting form appeared perfectly in his mind, and he executed each one flawlessly!

Swish!

The basketball spun through the air toward the hoop and slipped cleanly through the net with a satisfying swish.

"It went in!"

But Zhu Zhan immediately sprinted toward the basket, caught the basketball before it hit the ground, turned and ran to the free-throw semicircle. Recalling that feeling from moments ago, he bent his knees, lowered his shoulders, made a small jump, and released the ball!

Swish!

It went in again!

Then Zhu Zhan made more than ten shots in a row! Jiang Shi watched in a daze.

"This kid found his shooting form that quickly?" Jiang Shi stared at Zhu Zhan, who looked almost crazed, disbelief filling his eyes!

One had to know that a person generally needed at least three to five years of basketball experience, along with some talent, to finally settle into a shooting form. And a settled shooting form did not merely refer to posture—it was that feeling. Once an athlete with a fixed form got hot, it was easy for his shooting percentage to rise above sixty percent!

Clearly, Zhu Zhan had found his own shooting form and that feeling—the touch, as it was commonly called in basketball!

Right now, his touch was blazing hot!

After making more than ten baskets in a row, Zhu Zhan made several more. He missed only one or two shots now and then, but his shooting percentage remained incredibly high!

Standing nearby, Jiang Shi grew happier the longer he watched. His eyebrows lifted slightly as he widened his eyes and stared at Zhu Zhan.

After a while, he murmured to himself and smiled faintly, his smile carrying an indescribable joy.

He was happy for himself, and happy for Zhu Zhan as well.

Time slowly passed. Before long, the ten minutes for one hundred mid-range shots were up, but Jiang Shi did not call Zhu Zhan to stop.

Because he knew this state was strange. It depended entirely on a person's focus and immersion. If he interrupted Zhu Zhan now, his blazing touch would be affected. The best approach was to let Zhu Zhan keep shooting, remember that feeling, and deeply imprint it in his mind. Then, on different basketball courts in the future, he would only need to shoot a few times to find his touch again.

The benefits of this were enormous!

Especially for a first-year middle school player! What did that mean?

Jiang Shi said nothing and simply watched quietly.

"Huff, huff..."

Zhu Zhan panted heavily, yet his touch remained blazing as he continued shooting at an unhurried, steady rhythm.

Suddenly, as though he had remembered something, he turned his head. Jiang Shi stood nearby, looking at him with a smile.

"Uncle Jiang, is the time up?" Zhu Zhan asked.

"Mm. Rest for five minutes. Next are one hundred long-range shots—three-pointers. You have fifteen minutes. You need to manage your time well. You shot very accurately this round, so I won't punish you," Jiang Shi said with a smile.

"Okay!" Zhu Zhan said nothing else. He set the basketball aside, braced his hands on his knees, bent over, and panted lightly.

What a fine prospect. This endurance is already about the same as kids his age who train hard at sports schools! Jiang Shi thought. But only about the same. Compared with those peers with exceptional physical ability, he still has a long way to go.

Jiang Shi curled his lip. His eye for talent really was...

I picked out a pretty good kid! He's an uncut gem. With proper training, he'll definitely become a dazzling new star in the basketball world! Jiang Shi secretly rejoiced. His raised eyebrows lifted even higher, and the smile at the corners of his mouth deepened the wrinkles around his eyes.

After resting for a while, Zhu Zhan raised his head. Beads of sweat ran down his cheeks and covered his chin.

"Uncle Jiang, shall we begin the third stage?" Zhu Zhan asked.

"Good!" Jiang Shi nodded.

Without a word, Zhu Zhan picked up the ball and walked beyond the three-point line.

After taking two deep breaths, he jumped lightly, and the basketball spun toward the hoop.

Clang!

The ball missed. But Zhu Zhan immediately ran beneath the basket, grabbed the rebound, and began his second shot.

Then came the third, and the fourth.

Not far away, Jiang Shi watched Zhu Zhan with a slight smile, the admiration in his eyes growing stronger.

This quiet, diligent temperament is exactly what a player with ambition needs! Jiang Shi thought.

Zhu Zhan continued shooting.

His eyes were bright. Everything around him gradually faded away, and in his eyes, there was only that hoop: shoot, score, retrieve the ball, shoot!

Go in! Go in! Zhu Zhan silently repeated every time he released a shot.

At some unknown point, Zhu Zhan's confidence had begun to rise slowly. At this moment, whenever he shot the basketball, he seemed like a different person. His expression carried intense confidence, and his bright eyes stared at the hoop.

He himself had not noticed this change at all.

Soon, the fifteen minutes passed, and Jiang Shi called Zhu Zhan to stop.

"You're still twenty-one short of one hundred. Twenty-one push-ups. Get to it!" Jiang Shi said.

Zhu Zhan was drenched in sweat, his jersey soaked through. He leaned on his knees and caught his breath for a while before dropping to the ground and beginning his push-ups.

"One, two, three, four..."

Jiang Shi watched him and nodded silently.

"Zhan, this morning's training is about done. Go home now and get some proper rest. I'll wait for you here at six thirty this afternoon, and we'll continue with the afternoon training. The afternoon session is simple—still three sets of one hundred!" Jiang Shi said when Zhu Zhan was nearly finished.

"Huff, huff..." Zhu Zhan breathed deeply, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and nodded. He picked up his basketball, said goodbye to Jiang Shi, and headed home.

Jiang Shi watched him from behind, an increasingly intense gleam filling his eyes.

Zhu Zhan slowly walked home and opened the door. His mother had not returned yet.

Covered in sweat, Zhu Zhan rubbed his somewhat sore arms, set down the basketball, and took a shower. Once he felt much more refreshed, he began studying.

The final year of high school was especially crucial, because the Gaokao would arrive soon.

In his room, he quietly worked through physics problems.