VARSITY 9 | BL

FIVE | YOU MISSED ONE

The sound of the whistle blowing acted like the breaking of a damn, kickstarting the game between Wen and Kean's teams. With the whistle blowing went the ball in the air. Being about the same height, Kean and Wen's hands met the ball at the same time. But, being trained in the sport, Kean hit the ball with more force and was able to toss it back toward his teammates.

The moment Wen landed on his feet, he spurred into action. Stryke, Kean's co-captain, had received the ball and was driving it down the court to their goal hoop. Stryke was the same height as Kean, but his broad shoulders made him appear much larger. The students watching on the sidelines cheered as Stryke maneuvered around Wen's teammates and dunked the ball through the hoop.

Being the scorekeeper, Lay added one point to Kean's team before cheering when Wen was able to catch the rebound. Seeing Kean charging toward him, Wen passed the ball to one of his teammates. The teammate successfully received the pass, but the moment the ball was in his hands, a flash of red whizzed past him. Realizing his teammate no longer had the ball, Wen focused his vision on the boy in the red shirt running back toward the opposing team's goal hoop.

After successfully achieving a 2-pointer, Kean turned around to lock eyes with Wen and winked at the brown-haired before joining his teammates in running after one of Wen's teammates who had been able to catch the rebound. Not being fluent in sports, Wen barely knew the rules of basketball, which were usually taught before the games began, but he was catching on fairly quickly.

After seeing the way Kean stole the ball from his teammate, Wen waited for Kean to steal the ball once more before running up behind the raven-haired and implementing the same maneuver.

Nice! Contact with the ball spiked Wen's adrenaline rush as he began running toward his team's hoop.

Not bad, Kaihan. Kean immediately turned and began running after Wen when he felt the ball leave his control.

Not used to throwing 2 or 3-pointers, Wen opted for the safest way to goal, so he ran up to the hoop and dunked the ball, earning the first point for his team. Lay burst out into cheers as he added one point to Wen's team.

The whistle blowing caused the ten players on the court to stop running and turn to see Kean gesturing for them to gather in the center. Those on the sidelines fell quiet as they waited for Kean to speak.

"Great learning point here!" Kean began as he caught his breath. "Wen was able to score a point by watching and observing. While the game is hustle one hundred percent of the time, it is important to always be watching your opponent's every move. Wen demonstrated this quite well."

Wen stood with his hands on his waist as he watched Kean through slanted eyes. What are you getting at, Li?

It was out of character for Kean to compliment something Wen had done well, so he was on guard around Kean when the raven-haired gave the signal to continue the game.

Pain shot through Wen's shoulders and back as he took a step toward his position on the court. Sucking through his teeth, Wen set his hands on his knees and stood still for a moment, waiting for the pain to pass. The aftereffects of the fight with his father were beginning to get irritated. The many, unseen bruises painting his back and shoulders were not happy with the amount of physical activity he was doing.

Noticing Wen standing still, Lay stepped to run toward him, but the moment he took a step onto the court, Wen stood back up straight and made his way to his spot. Shooting Wen a worried expression, Lay returned to stand beside the holographic scoreboard as his friend prepared to continue playing.

Since Wen's team was the last one to score a point, Kean's team received the ball upon the game resuming. Stryke, who had received the ball, quickly passed it to Kean upon getting a hand signal from the captain. Receiving the ball, Kean ran to the 3-point line and flawlessly threw the ball into the air. The moment the ball left his hands, Kean turned and locked eyes with Wen. A smirk came to Kean's lips as the ball flew through the hoop and Kean landed back onto his feet.