Chapter 112: The Strongest Opponent

The crowd in the gym gradually dispersed, leaving only a few cleaning ladies behind. Ming Han and the others stood outside the gym waiting for their ride, also anticipating the results of the draw held by the coach nicknamed “the Black Coach.”

By this point, it no longer mattered who their opponent was—no team was weak. It could very well be the county’s basketball powerhouse: Longhua High School.

The Challenge Cup had been held for ten years, and Longhua High had claimed seven championships. Their dominance over the tournament was akin to the Chicago Bulls’ reign over the NBA in the 1990s.

Many fans on the forums often said, “Fan Zenghui is Longhua’s Michael Jordan.”

Since seventh grade, he had played alongside ninth graders in the Challenge Cup, securing an unshakable position as the starting small forward on the school team.

In both seventh and eighth grades, he led the team to consecutive Challenge Cup titles. This year, as the team’s leader, he was determined to clinch the championship again, striving to create an unbeaten three-peat legend.

After a while, the Black Coach emerged and revealed the draw results: Longhua High School.

With luck like this, it was a good thing the Black Coach didn’t play the lottery; otherwise, he might have lost everything by now.

Shrugging, the Black Coach said to the group, “You’ve probably heard a lot about this school’s basketball legend. To sum it up in one word: ‘strong.’ They’re far stronger than any team you’ve faced so far.”

“Coach, do you know how good this year’s team is?” someone asked.

The Black Coach nodded. “They’re probably the strongest in the last three years.”

Longhua had already been champions for the past two years, and now they were even stronger? Everyone wondered what that could possibly mean.

He continued, “Most of their players have maintained their strength compared to previous years, but their small forward is in his best form in nearly three years. When I watched their game, their middle school team faced off against the reigning sophomore champions, and that small forward scored 40 points all by himself.”

“What?” Lin Wei exclaimed.

They all knew well that when your teammates are already excellent, a good scorer hitting 20 points is considered an explosive performance.

“So, Lin Wei, your real challenge has arrived!”

Lin Wei nodded eagerly, burning with the desire to face Fan Zenghui head-on and defeat him decisively.

“Students, in the past few games, I’ve seen your hard work and fighting spirit—that’s enough! You’ve all grown through these matches, becoming more united, more...” The Black Coach surprisingly launched into a long, eloquent speech.

Everyone felt amazed—this usually rough-and-tumble man could be so poetic when he wanted to be.

Ming Han patted the Black Coach’s shoulder, saying, “Coach, don’t get so sentimental. I still prefer the tough guy image you usually have.”

“Yes, yes!” everyone chimed in.

The Black Coach shook his head in mock sorrow. “I spent so long coming up with these encouraging words for you all, and now you’re rejecting them. I’m really hurt.”

No matter what, the semifinals were still two weeks away. Worrying now would do no good.

Fan Zenghui was strong, but did that mean Jin Hua was weak?

...

That night, the Black Coach treated the players to dinner out of his own pocket.

Lin Shan had somehow caught wind of a rumor: the Black Coach’s salary was managed by his wife, and he only received about 400 yuan a month as pocket money.

Everyone felt sorry for him—marrying a shrew like that must be terrifying.

When dinner was over and the coach went to pay the bill, the players all scrambled to offer to pay for him.

“Coach, let us treat you!”

“Coach, thank you for all the effort you’ve put into us.”

“Coach, you’ve worked hard...”

The Black Coach gave a wry smile, watching his players argue over who would foot the bill.

The waiter, familiar with such scenes, knew that the louder they argued, the less money they probably had. He finally said, “Stop fighting—you’re the biggest here, so you pay!”

He was pointing to the Black Coach.

The coach nodded, walking out of the private room while muttering, “Why are these kids suddenly so nice to me?”

From Ming Han’s perspective, the Black Coach’s retreating figure looked so helpless and lonely.

Lin Shan sighed sadly, “That meal cost the coach two months’ pocket money! Without that money, he won’t have any cigarettes or drinks for the next two months. Poor guy!”

Wu Jianhao nodded vigorously. “From now on, if I have a Red Wolf cigarette, I’ll never let our beloved coach smoke White Wolf.”

They spoke with such sincerity, nearly brought to tears.

At that moment, the Black Coach returned just after paying the bill and overheard their conversation at the door. His face went pale, almost fainting.

How did such a trivial matter spread throughout the whole school?

...

After the basketball tournament ended, Ming Han’s days became a dull routine of studying and training at the Qianyang Club.

When the results of the first monthly exam came out, Ming Han ranked third in the class. It seemed that all the extracurricular activities hadn’t affected his academic performance.

What surprised Ming Han even more was that Chen Li ranked ninth overall—second only to Huang Ying among the girls.

Her English score was especially impressive: 149, top of the grade.

“Chen Li, I’m starting to suspect you went to America to study English,” Ming Han said enviously, especially after he had put the most effort into English but only managed 131 points.

Chen Li smiled. “Ming Han, you could come with me! Your English would definitely improve.”

Ming Han waved his hand. “No, no. Compared to big hamburgers, I prefer pig kidneys. Not only nourishing but also good for the kidneys...”

Seeing Ming Han’s mischievous grin, Chen Li rolled her eyes in exasperation.

She knew how much Ming Han craved those foods now. Previously, his favorite was barbecue with Sprite, but he hadn’t touched it in months.

Whenever classmates invited him out, Ming Han would force himself to say, “Haha! I prefer green vegetables and healthy food.”

As soon as his classmates left, Ming Han would slump over Chen Li’s desk like a deflated balloon. “Chen Li, I want grilled chicken wings, lamb skewers, beef skewers...”

At times like these, Chen Li would pityingly hand him a stick of gum. “Ming Han, who told you to sign with a devilish company?”

Although Ming Han was a real man’s man, his diet was so healthy that his skin condition was exceptionally good.

“When I earn enough money, I’ll make up for all my losses by eating everything I missed,” Ming Han vowed.

The Qianyang Club had begun to see Ming Han and Yu Hang as promising talents. Not only did they actively upload videos of their performances online, but they also worked hard to secure spots for them on various television programs.

According to Sister Fang’s plan, if these two could appear on even a second-tier variety show, it would greatly boost their popularity.

Of course, spots on major variety shows were reserved for the parent company, Tianqi Entertainment Group, which owned Qianyang Club.

So Sister Fang was now dedicating herself entirely to nurturing the two, hoping to catch the attention of the headquarters.