Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 559: Fake Captain Jet

The rumble of footsteps grew louder, echoing off the gym’s high ceilings. Lina straightened, wanting to appear professional when the applicants arrived.

"Alright, here we go," Jet said, cracking his knuckles, staring right ahead, and crossing his arms in front of his chest to intimidate them. Somehow, he decided to embody Yuze, and he even chatted with him for some tips about how to become the best team captain.

The others, too, wondered what the new year will bring. Last year was something nobody of them had ever expected, and with the influx of applicants, it seemed like they weren’t ready either.

They weren’t only known as a great basketball team in Jilin but also in the entire world.

However, as the doors opened, instead of young hopefuls wearing jerseys coming in, there was a sea of eager basketball fans.

Students.

A lot of students.

The gym quickly filled with excited chatter as more and more people spilled in, filling the bleachers like it was a championship game. Some of them waved, others craned their necks, looking around like they were searching for someone.

"Girls?" Jet muttered. "There’s girls trying out? I was never informed about this."

Lina blinked in confusion. "Wait…is this public?"

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Jinping, who had been silently watching at the corner of the table, clicked his tongue. "It’s not."

"Technically," Andy said, drawing out the word, "it kind of is. I mean, everyone knows about it." He gestured at the crowd. "But this? Yeah, this is…different."

Lina threw him an incredulous look. "Oh no, this is a disaster."

Coach Muchen sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "It’s alright," he muttered, although it seemed like he didn’t believe it himself. "Most schools do hold public tryouts. I believe Feng Arts and Yin Yang High have been doing it since before."

"Yeah," Shang said. "Let’s just think of it as extra pressure. We’ll see who cracks first."

As Lina let out a deep breath, a group of students made their way down to the team. They didn’t look like potential players—they were too casually dressed and way too starry-eyed.

"Hey, uh, is Kai going to be here?" one of them asked, a hopeful smile plastered across his face.

Lina sighed, shaking her head. "He’s training for the Global Games. He’s not coming."

"Aw, bummer," another student said, visibly disappointed. "I wanted to see how handsome he was in person."

The group murmured their agreement, and a few nodded vigorously. "Same! I transferred to Shizi High because of him," someone said, earning a chorus of "Me too!" from others.

Just then, another group—now of girls—went to where they were. One of them patted Lina’s shoulder, causing her to glance at them.

"Yes?" Lina asked.

"You’re Kai’s girlfriend, right?" she asked. Lina tilted her head to the side in confusion but nodded nonetheless.

"Well, this is my number," the girl giggled. "Can you please give it to Kai?"

The boys all turned silent as they watched Lina.

"Calm down," Shang said, chuckling nervously.

A small frown made its way to Lina’s face. "Umm, I won’t give a random girl’s number to my boyfriend."

The girl shrugged, looking unfazed. The boys felt that she was amazing—facing off with Lina like this without a care in the world. "Well, if you guys ever break up, then you could give him that. My parents have a house in Beijing! I know that long-distance relationships don’t work, so just consider it, okay?"

With that, she turned around, leaving Lina dumbfounded and the rest of the boys wary.

"Lina," Andy shakily said. Lina let out a ragged breath before turning to them.

"I—I’m fine," she said, although her face said otherwise.

As more and more people poured in, it became clear that a lot of them wanted to get a glimpse of Kai.

"Kai isn’t going to be here?"

"Weren’t you classmates with him last year?"

"Yeah, but he was scary then. I didn’t approach him."

"Kai Guo and I were in the same bathroom once."

"Aww, I really thought he would be here for the tryouts. But then again, the Global Games are starting soon, so it’s just wishful thinking."

The players looked around as more and more people poured in.

Jinping snorted. "What is this? A basketball tryout or a fan meeting?"

Shang crossed his arms. "The principal should be thanking Kai for the enrollment boost."

"Oh, he did," Jet said with a laugh. "You can even see Kai’s face plastered on the school banners. Honestly, I’m pretty sick of it."

Andy raised a brow. "You’re just jealous because they didn’t use your face."e

Jt struck a mock pose. "Can you blame them? I’m a walking billboard."

"Yeah, for bad jokes," Lina muttered, rubbing her temples.

Before the banter could escalate further, the actual applicants began filing in, their sneakers squeaking against the polished floor.

And they just…kept coming.

Shang’s eyes widened as he counted the line stretching out the gym doors. "There are too many of them," he said, his voice filled with disbelief. "I already knew that, but dang."

"Great," Shang said sarcastically. "This is going to take forever."

Coach Muchen grabbed a microphone, already looking exhausted but nonetheless determined. "Alright," he said, his voice booming through the gym. "Let’s line them up."

Jet stepped forward, puffing out his chest like he was on a grand stage. He cleared his throat dramatically, then said in an overly deep voice, "Alright, rookies, get in line!"

Andy smirked from the sidelines. "You sound like Yuze if he tried to be a drill sergeant."

Jet grinned. "That’s the point."

"Oh, I hate this," Lina said, shaking her head.

"Let him be," Shang whispered. "This is the only time these applicants are going to be taking him seriously."

Jinping clicked his tongue, smirking as he noticed a few of the applicants stiffen under Jet’s mock-authoritative tone.

"Line up according to the time you’ve gotten here," he said, reusing Yuze’s old speech. "Do you know how important time is?"

"Look at them," Shang said, amusement heard in his voice.

"They’re already shaking."