Hank Chu turned his head, intending to tell Evan Lin to hurry up and leave.
Jason Jiang still wore a smug smile, looking at Hank and his friends with a gloating expression.
At that moment, everyone's attention was inexplicably drawn to the basketball suddenly thrown by the quiet boy.
The basketball flew from Evan Lin's hand, soaring toward the hoop.
The backdrop was a deep blue sky and a gentle, rising breeze.
The ball spun through the air, tracing a graceful arc above everyone's heads.
Then, in the next instant—
Bang.
The ball shot cleanly through the hoop and dropped crisply to the ground.
A flawless swish!
Selina Shi's lips parted slightly, her long, clear eyes flickering as she looked at Evan Lin again, a trace of astonished admiration in her gaze.
Evan Lin, hands in his pockets, walked calmly across the court, brushing past Jason Jiang, Warren Wu, and Allen Ju. Under everyone's gaze, he reached the still-dazed Hank Chu, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go find Ken and hit the internet café."
Evan spoke blandly, not even glancing at the three standing in the middle of the court.
"Alright!"
Hank Chu snapped out of it at Evan's words, nodded, and grinned. "Damn, Evan, that was awesome! I remember you used to suck at shooting, didn't you? Did you secretly practice at Brightsea No. 2 High?"
Hank's voice was loud enough for the five guys nearby to hear, and their expressions changed slightly.
"You're from Brightsea No. 2 High?"
"Aren't you supposed to be at Whitewood?"
The boys who'd looked down on Evan at first now questioned him, their eyes holding a new respect.
To students at Minghai First High, kids from Brightsea No. 2 were mostly nobodies—country bumpkins with no background or grades.
Students from Whitewood First High looking at those from Whitewood Second High felt exactly the same way.
Yet no matter how highly Whitewood First High students were regarded in Whitewood County, when it came to students from Brightsea No. 2, they still had to look up to them.
So after hearing Hank Chu's words, the five who'd just refused to let Evan play suddenly looked regretful.
Anyone with a sharp eye could see Evan's shot just now was pure skill, not luck.
The strength, the ball's path, the shooting angle—if any of those were off, there was no way that shot would go in.
Plus, Evan was standing at least twenty meters from the hoop. Without serious arm strength, you couldn't even get the ball that far!
"Yeah, my bro goes to Brightsea No. 2, same grade as me."
Hank Chu slung an arm around Evan, looking proud.
"Brightsea No. 2 is legit."
"Bro, can you hook us up with some girls from Brightsea No. 2 sometime?"
The boys all crowded around at that.
The group was about to leave.
Evan's shot had helped them save some face, at least.
"Hey! You there!"
Hank and his friends had barely walked a few steps when Warren Wu called out coldly from behind, his voice low and powerful.
He and Allen Ju both stared at Evan, frowning.
"What? You still want something? We already gave you the court, what more do you want?" Hank turned, annoyed.
"Not talking to you—him!"
Warren Wu pointed, shifting his finger from Hank to Evan, eyes burning. "Yeah, you—the kid. That shot was pretty good. Want to play a few rounds? If you win, you get the court."
"If that shot wasn't just luck, your shooting skills are solid," Allen Ju said calmly, looking at Evan with a steady gaze.
Selina Shi also walked over from the stone bench, looking curiously at Evan Lin.
When Selina first saw Evan sitting there, her first impression was that he was just a benchwarmer who probably sucked at basketball, which was why he stayed on the sidelines.
After chatting a bit, Selina felt like there was a quiet arrogance deep in this boy's bones, though no matter how she looked, he still seemed like just an ordinary kid.
It wasn't until Evan casually borrowed the ball and sank that shot that Selina realized he was hiding something much deeper.
"Not interested."
Facing Warren Wu's battle-hungry stare, Evan spat out those three words and turned to leave.
But before he could take a step, Jason Jiang's face darkened and he shouted, "Hey! Brother Wu's talking to you! Can't you hear?"
"Just asking you to play a game—why so scared? Are you even a man?"
Jason felt frustrated, like this new kid had stolen some of his spotlight. Especially when he noticed Selina paying more attention to Evan, his anger flared even more.
"Jason, what are you saying?" Hank Chu snapped, annoyed at Jason's words about Evan.
"Screw you, Hank! I wasn't talking to you, so butt out! Hey, kid, you got the guts to play? If you lose, strip and run a lap around the court—dare you?"
"Quit acting cool, tossing that shot just to show off before leaving—who are you trying to impress?" Jason shouted, cursing loudly.
Warren Wu and Allen Ju stayed silent, but both stared at Evan.
"Oh? And if I win?" Evan nodded, looking at Jason.
"If you win, I'll give you two hundred yuan!" Jason shouted.
Evan shook his head. "Is your brain a septic tank or something?"
"You're the one with a brain full of crap!" Jason snapped back.
Evan casually took the ball one-handed from Warren Wu, bounced it lightly, and walked over. "I wasn't planning to waste time with idiots like you, but since you want to play, fine—let's play."
"If I lose, I'll strip and run, just like you said. If I win, you don't have to do that—but you will kneel to my bro Hank Chu, kowtow, apologize, and call him 'Dad.' Deal?"
Evan held the basketball, looking at Jason with an indifferent gaze.
He'd originally planned to go find Ken, since it felt like he hadn't seen that jerk in ages. That's why he'd wanted to leave right away and couldn't be bothered with these guys.
But after Jason's rant, Evan felt annoyed enough to stick around and play.