Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Beautiful Reporter

If the bench is not strong enough, then in the decisive stage a team can very well lose because the starters run out of stamina, suffer injuries, or are forced off the court.

The reserves on Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team had also gone through the same half-year of brutal training as the starters, so their stamina, speed, and skills had all improved greatly as well.

And, as expected, they kept stretching the lead.

...

Beeeeeep. The referee blew the final whistle.

In the end, Tiancheng Polytechnic University crushed Deyi Medical University, 109 to 53.

When the game ended, inside the entire gymnasium of Deyi Medical University, only Li Shishi, Yang Mimi, and Lin Ling were still cheering; the rest of the spectators sat in a silence as dead as a grave.

The audience seated along the sideline were all students of Deyi Medical University. They had witnessed with their own eyes their school team losing in the first knockout round of this year’s National College Basketball League, and losing by a staggering fifty-six points at that. For the moment, that was not something anyone could easily accept. No one could have believed that Deyi Medical University, which had finished 269th in last year’s National College Basketball League, would be defeated by a team ranked dead last, 2836th.

After the game, Yu Manman led the players straight back to Chen Zhi Gymnasium. In the afternoon, practice continued as usual.

That evening, Yu Manman announced that during the tournament, the night training sessions would be temporarily suspended. They would only do some light, basic, recovery exercises, and then everyone would be in bed by 9:30 p.m. and up again at 6:30 the next morning.

The next day, after breakfast, the players still set off at exactly eight o’clock aboard the luxury bus and headed for the day’s venue.

Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s opponent in the second knockout round was Huanyu Media University.

According to the customary rule of the National College Basketball League, by which the higher-ranked team from the previous year chose the venue, the game would be played in Huanyu Media University’s gymnasium, the school that had finished 612th last year.

At 8:21 a.m., a luxury bus bearing the Feizhi Group logo pulled up outside the entrance to Huanyu Media University’s gymnasium.

As soon as the bus doors opened, a crowd with microphones swarmed forward.

The first person to step down from the bus was Meng Lang, captain of Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team.

“You must be the captain of Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team, right?” A young man, glancing between the player information in his hand and Meng Lang, held a microphone with the Tencent News logo up to his mouth. “Could you talk about how you managed, in just one year, to defeat a team that had ranked far above you last year? And to do it with such a decisive score, 109 to 53?”

Meng Lang was startled by the microphone thrust so suddenly in front of him. For a moment, he did not know how to respond, nor whether he should move or stay where he was. Though Meng Lang looked tall and sturdy, broad and rough in appearance, at heart he was a shy boy.

Seeing Meng Lang so at a loss, Zhu Di deliberately called from behind him, “Excuse me, please make way in front. There are still lots of people who haven’t gotten off yet!”

At that, the players behind them could not help laughing.

No one knew where these reporters had come from, but Geng Haoshi wanted to join in the fun too. “The handsomest player on our team is here. If you have any questions, you can ask me!”

The instant he said “the handsomest player on our team,” the air seemed to freeze for a few seconds... Very quickly, the reporters came back to themselves and shifted every microphone toward Meng Lang instead. “Student Meng Lang, could you talk about the journey your team has been through this past year?”

Zhu Di put an arm over Geng Haoshi’s shoulder. “Heh, Little Second, you’ve been ignored.”

“They just have no taste,” Geng Haoshi said indignantly. “Just wait until I become a megastar. Then if they want to interview me, I still won’t give them the time of day!”

“Student, are you also on Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team?” Beside Geng Haoshi stood a young woman who looked a little timid. She was also holding a microphone bearing the Tencent News logo, and seemed to be a fresh intern reporter who had only recently joined the company after graduating.

Only then did Geng Haoshi realize that a fair-faced, round-cheeked woman was standing beside him. Though she had a bit of baby fat, she was still a beauty.

As long as she was beautiful, Geng Haoshi would feel an instinctive fondness for her. In other words, he was simply a lecher.

Since the beauty had sincerely asked him a question, how could he not answer her with equal sincerity? Geng Haoshi lightly stroked his own “fine hair” and lowered his voice. “Beauty, you have excellent eyes. I am Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s handsomest player.”

“She only asked whether you’re on Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team. She never said you were the handsomest player,” Zhu Di quietly exposed him from the side.

“Don’t get hung up on the details.” Geng Haoshi waved a hand and went on, “Beauty, go ahead and ask whatever you want.”

Standing behind Geng Haoshi, Li Shishi heard him calling her “beauty” again and again, and a nameless fire rose in her heart.

“You can ask me anything too,” Li Shishi said as she walked over to Geng Haoshi, wrapped both arms around his right arm, and addressed the young female reporter. “I know everything about him!”

The young female reporter seemed to realize that Li Shishi was trying to stake her claim, and hurriedly waved her hands. “Please don’t misunderstand. I just wanted to ask him a few simple questions.”

Whether Li Shishi heard her or not, no one could tell. All that was visible was that her hands only tightened further around Geng Haoshi’s right arm.

The young reporter gave an awkward smile, but still held the microphone up to Geng Haoshi’s mouth. “Yesterday, you defeated your opponent by such a wide margin... How did you do it?”

“Oh, they were just too weak,” Geng Haoshi said with complete disdain, thinking of yesterday’s game against Deyi Medical University.

Clearly, he had misunderstood the young reporter’s words, so she continued, “Uh... what I mean is, their ranking last year was slightly higher than yours... so how did you manage to improve so quickly in just one year?”

Slightly higher? This young reporter was being far too polite. With Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s last-place finish last year, ranking 2836th in the nation, compared with Deyi Medical University’s 269th place, that was hardly something that could be described as merely “slightly higher.”

“Oh, so that’s what you mean.” Geng Haoshi understood at last and winked at the young reporter. “The reason we won, of course, is because we have me, the super rookie!”