Chapter Ninety-Eight: Let Me Go Up and Play For a While

Hearing Geng Haoshi take all the credit for the victory, Zhu Di, standing to the side, almost wanted to give him a good smack on the head. Still, considering the presence of the young female reporter, he decided to let Geng Haoshi save face for now and wait until they returned to Chen Zhi Gymnasium after the game to teach him a lesson.

“A super rookie?” The young reporter checked the information sheet in her hand, which had photos of the players from Tiancheng Polytechnic University’s basketball team, and nodded. “No wonder you aren’t listed.”

“Wait, are you saying that the main reason Tiancheng Polytechnic University has such a strong start this year is because of your addition?” The reporter’s eyes widened in excitement, as if she had discovered a new continent, and she stared at Geng Haoshi.

Noticing the unusual gleam in the reporter’s eyes, Li Shishi clung even tighter to Geng Haoshi’s arm.

“Haha, you’ve seen right through it! You really have a sharp eye!” Geng Haoshi put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily.

Watching Geng Haoshi’s usual shamelessness, Zhu Di broke into a sweat beside him: Damn, it’s not that she figured it out—it’s because you said it yourself!

“All right, all right, it’s time for the pre-game warm-up, let’s get inside!” Yu Manman saw that it was getting late and urged the team to head in. If today’s opponent weren’t the team that ranked 612th last year, she would have sent them in much earlier.

As the players from Tiancheng Polytechnic’s basketball team filed into the gymnasium, the young reporter hurried to catch up, coming to Geng Haoshi’s side. “My name is Qin Mengmeng. I look forward to working with you in the future!”

Geng Haoshi was momentarily taken aback, then smiled and said, “I’m Geng Haoshi…” He wanted to say more, but Li Shishi forcefully dragged him away.

Watching Geng Haoshi’s retreating figure, Qin Mengmeng made up her mind: from now on, she would follow him and do a long-term feature, documenting the rise of a super rookie!

Qin Mengmeng, twenty-two years old, had just graduated from university and was currently an intern reporter for Tencent Sports News. Until now, she hadn’t had a clear plan for her career. But just now, she had found her purpose.

…

Inside the gymnasium of Huanyu Media University, apart from the university’s own students, a dozen or so reporters sat in the stands.

These reporters were all there for Tiancheng Polytechnic University, and the reason was that yesterday, on the Tencent Sports News platform—specifically the National Collegiate Basketball League section—there had been heated discussions about the elimination match between Tiancheng Polytechnic and Deyi Medical University. People were amazed that a team that had always ranked at the bottom could utterly crush last year’s 269th-ranked team by a score of 109 to 53. Some speculated there was a hidden story, others claimed it was the rise of a new power… In short, opinions abounded and the buzz was tremendous.

Since the public was so interested, how could sharp sports reporters not seize the chance to dig deeper?

In Huaxia, no sports news attracts more attention than football and basketball. In recent years, the national football team’s performance had been abysmal, with news only about their endless defeats, so sports reporters had increasingly focused on basketball. Although Huaxia’s basketball strength was only middling compared to the world’s top teams, it was at least far from hopeless like football. There was still hope for Huaxia to break into the ranks of the world’s basketball powers.

As for the “conspiracy theory” surrounding Tiancheng Polytechnic’s victory over Deyi Medical, the reporters didn’t really buy it. While the teams that make the national league’s top ten do receive considerable prize money, it’s much harder to reach the top ten by scheming than by relying on real skill.

So, in their view, Tiancheng Polytechnic must have found a way to dramatically improve their players’ abilities in just one year. That was the truth they had come to uncover.

The beautiful intern reporter, Qin Mengmeng, was also seated in the stands, a notebook on her lap and a simple pocket camera in hand, always ready to record anything of value.

…

A shrill whistle sounded.

Soon after, the second elimination match for Tiancheng Polytechnic in the National Collegiate Basketball League began.

“Huh? None of their main players are on the court?!”

Comparing their notes, the reporters in the stands realized that Tiancheng Polytechnic’s starting lineup consisted entirely of substitutes.

“Although Huanyu Media University only ranked 612th last year, Tiancheng Polytechnic finished dead last. Now they’re starting the game with all substitutes… Could they really have gotten that strong?”

This was the question on every reporter’s mind.

But their doubts were soon mostly dispelled.

As the game progressed, Tiancheng Polytechnic’s all-substitute lineup, with their aggressive fast-break offense and defense, completely dominated their opponents.

…

At the end of the first quarter, Tiancheng Polytechnic led by a wide margin, 31 to 12.

“With a full substitute lineup, they’ve already achieved such a gap in the first quarter… Looks like Tiancheng Polytechnic might be the biggest dark horse of this year’s league!” an experienced reporter asserted.

…

Soon, the second quarter ended, and Tiancheng Polytechnic led Huanyu Media University 68 to 21, the gap widening to 47 points.

…

At the end of the third quarter, the gap had grown to 63 points, with a score of 102 to 39.

In the stands, most of Huanyu Media University’s students had already left. The reporters began reviewing their cameras for the best shots to use as material for their articles.

“Coach, let me play for a bit in the fourth quarter?” Geng Haoshi looked at Yu Manman with anticipation.

“They’re even worse than Deyi Medical yesterday—what’s the fun in that?”

“I just want to try a few more alley-oop dunks… It might be useful for future games!” Geng Haoshi explained.

“Well, all right.” Since the outcome was already decided, Yu Manman let Geng Haoshi start warming up.

“And Zhu Di—I need his cooperation.” Geng Haoshi signaled for Zhu Di to join him on the court.

“No way…”