Chapter 5: Real Combat—A Crushing Defeat

After school, Ming Han borrowed a basketball and headed to the court with Yu Hang and the others. A group of people approached them. “How about it? Three-on-three,” one of them called out.

It seemed that Yu Hang knew these guys well and had played against them before. He leaned over and whispered to Ming Han, “They’re from Class Three. We played some team games with them a while back—Zheng Yuan and I completely dominated them.”

One of the darker-skinned boys eyed Ming Han and said, “You’ve got a new big guy today. Never seen him before.”

“A rookie, haha…” someone else replied.

Their team was Yu Hang, Ming Han, and Da Xu. On paper, it was a solid lineup: a point guard, a small forward, and a center. However, aside from Yu Hang, Da Xu’s fundamentals were shaky and his shooting unreliable, while Ming Han was really just there for the experience.

Their opponents weren’t over 180 centimeters, but their heights were about the same—around 172 each.

After Yu Hang hit a free-throw line jumper, his team got the first offensive possession. Facing a defender, Yu Hang performed a quick crossover, then exploded past him. The player marking Ming Han rushed over to help, but Yu Hang reacted instantly, passing the ball to Ming Han, who was waiting on the left.

Ming Han, unfamiliar with the spacing and off-ball movement in street ball, was momentarily confused. But he remembered Yu Hang’s advice: always keep some distance from each other.

Catching the ball two steps outside the paint, Ming Han froze. Even though it was just a casual pick-up game, his mind went blank. The shooting form he’d learned just days before vanished; the three-step layup was completely forgotten.

“Shoot!” Da Xu shouted.

With an awkward motion, Ming Han threw up the shot. It clanged loudly off the rim. Embarrassed, Ming Han gave Yu Hang an apologetic wave.

Yu Hang smiled reassuringly, telling him not to worry.

Their opponents grabbed the rebound and quickly passed beyond the three-point line. The player there immediately gave the ball to Ming Han’s matchup. With a feint, he pretended to shoot. Ming Han took the bait and jumped. Instantly, his opponent drove past and scored an easy layup.

From then on, Ming Han was outmatched, getting scored on repeatedly.

These games usually went to six points. Now they were trailing 5–0.

Of course, if Yu Hang had played seriously, this wouldn’t have happened. Ming Han had seen him go one-on-one before—Yu Hang was unbeatable. But today, Yu Hang kept passing after each drive, clearly trying to help Ming Han get a feel for the game.

At last, Da Xu pulled down a rebound and passed to Yu Hang. Yu Hang spun, dribbled, and delivered a behind-the-back pass to Ming Han under the basket. The defenders scrambled to contest, but Ming Han released the shot quickly—off the glass and in.

Yu Hang clapped excitedly. “Nice one, Han!”

They lost in the end, and it was a crushing defeat. Yet all three of them were in high spirits as they walked along the campus path, sipping cold, refreshing sodas and chatting.

“Yu Hang, putting the ball through the hoop feels absolutely amazing!” Ming Han exclaimed.

He realized then and there—he might have fallen in love with this game.