Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 575: The Pressure Is On

As they waited for their country to appear, the Shizi Dogs engaged in conversation—one that mainly revolved around their teammate, Kai.

"Man, look at this!" Shang said, bouncing on the couch. "Kai's really doing it—he's representing the country."

"It's real now," Andy muttered, his voice filled with awe.

Jet shook his head with a half-laugh, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, and he's only been playing for what, a little over a year? That's shorter than the rest of us. That's even shorter than Caishen's playing time!"

He paused and let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in disappointment.

"I knew he had some hidden talent in basketball, but we thought he was our homie in looks. Turns out he's handsome, too. What a scam."

Lina sat on the edge of the coffee table and couldn't help but grin. She flipped her hair smugly. "That's my boyfriend."

A collective groan was heard around the room.

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"Oh, come on!" Jet cried dramatically.

"Here we go again," Jinping muttered, tossing a pillow at her.

Andy cupped his hands around his mouth, pretending to shout at the screen. "Kai! If you're hearing this, your girlfriend's embarrassing us again!"

In the corner, Mr. Huang sat with his arms folded, his expression sour. His chopsticks stabbed into his bowl of spicy stew with unnecessary force. "My only daughter," he muttered under his breath.

Lina rolled her eyes, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. "You guys are so dramatic."

Caishen, sitting lazily in a chair by the window, clicked his tongue loudly enough to cut through the chatter. "Is he really going to come back to the team after the Global Games?"

"Yeah," Lina replied, turning to face him. "He'll come back sooner if they lose."

"Good," Caishen said, tilting his head with a shrug.

Shang groaned. "What now, kid? You've asked that a thousand times now."

Mingze, always curious, leaned in. "Yeah. Why do you care so much, huh? You've been talking about Kai a lot lately."

Caishen smirked, his gaze snapping to Mingze, whom he believed shouldn't have passed the tryouts. "Because I want to see how good he actually is. Everyone's talking like he's the second coming of basketball. I don't buy it. He's overhyped."

The room went quiet for a moment before Mingze snorted softly, shaking his head. "You can only wish, man. You weren't here when he started playing well."

Caishen ignored him, some mischief in his eyes. "Why do you guys act like he's perfect anyway? I'm convinced he's not as great as he seems."

Jet chuckled, shaking his head as he tore open a bag of chips. "Careful, man. You sound a little obsessed."

Caishen didn't reply, but his smirk deepened as he looked back at the screen.

***

Meanwhile, the parade of athletes was in full swing. Country after country filed into the massive arena.

The camera panned across smiling faces, each group receiving applause from the crowd.

But the basketball team, waiting for their turn to enter in their official team jackets, couldn't pay much attention to the others.

They were too busy talking about Kai's upcoming role in the ceremony. It was actually a blessing in disguise. They were more nervous for him than they were for themselves!

"There's no way he can make that shot," Caleb muttered.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Even I can't do it," Jaw-Long admitted. "I highly doubt Marcus would be able to do it, too."

That earned him a glare from Marcus, but he didn't say anything to counter his words.

Zheng sighed. "Let's hope they have some kind of back-up plan. The pressure on him is insane."

"I can do it," Marcus suddenly said, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know why they chose him in the first place."

"It's simple," Jian said. "He's the youngest. I heard that the sponsors want him, too, because he's handsome."

Marcus shook his head. "Looks are useless when one does not have skills."

Coach Xu Wei overheard the comment and shot Marcus a look. "Are you questioning him already?"

Marcus pursed his lips. "I'm just saying. What if it doesn't work? Everyone's counting on him. If he chokes…"

The coach smiled. "Then we'll pick up the pieces. But I don't think he will."

The conversation fell into silence, their eyes turning back to the athletes entering the stadium.

Suddenly, the announcers' voices boomed louder, and the crowd erupted into an ear-piercing cheer.

"And now, introducing China!"

The arena vibrated from the applause, a roar of pride echoing through every corner. The Chinese team entered in synchronized steps, their red and gold uniforms gleaming under the lights.

"Man, it feels good to be the host country," Max muttered.

However, what came with that was the pressure of everybody's expectations. The crowd was cheering so hard, so the team knew that they were expecting them to bring home a medal.

Anything less than that would be considered a failure.

"Pressure's ten times higher for us," Marcus murmured.

No one disagreed.

***

Back in the Shizi Dogs' living room, the cheering from the television speakers overwhelmed the room. Jet clapped loudly, shouting, "Let's go! That's our team right there!"

"Where's Kai?" Andy asked, squinting at the screen. "I don't see him."

"Yeah, where is he?" Shang added, leaning so far forward he almost fell off the couch.

Mr. Huang, who had been sulking quietly, finally chimed in with a huff.

"Maybe he's one of the main characters of the opening ceremony."

The room fell silent for a moment as the team turned to stare at him.

Lina blinked. "Wait, what? He didn't tell me anything about this!"

Andy's eyes widened. "You think he's the one doing the big opening shot?!"

Shang searched the large crowd of athletes and covered his mouth, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I think Mr. Huang is onto something. Kai really isn't there. He wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"Well, there have been rumors that a young player would be accompanying a legendary athlete for the opening ceremony. I just didn't realize it could be Kai," Lina muttered.

Caishen clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes at the television.

"Let's see."