Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Lina stared at Kai's smile, wondering if he ever looked this cute before. He had pearly white teeth, and it seemed like his eyes creased underneath his bangs.

Don't get her wrong—Lina had definitely seen Kai smile before. However, she hadn't seen him smile this close.

It seemed like her heart stopped beating for a moment as he stood from the ground and went to another seat.

"I'll try this on," he said, putting on the shoes.

However, even then, Lina couldn't stop her heart from beating too fast. So, she placed her hand over it and started massaging the area.

"I should visit the doctor soon," she muttered.

Lina's choice of shoes was definitely right up Kai's alley, so they quickly went to the cashier after he tried it on and were surprised to discover that it was only 450 Yuan!

"This is a great deal," Kai muttered as he held onto his new shoes.

Kai knew it wasn't much, but he was still grateful that he was able to buy new basketball shoes without asking his Grandma for some money.

Not only that, but he still had some money to spare!

Then, he saw a popular burger joint just a few blocks away from the shoe store, so he nudged Lina's shoulder.

"Do you want to eat dinner already?" he asked.

"My treat," he said, showing her the 50 Yuan bill.

Lina hesitated to answer since the skies were getting dark.

"I'll walk with you home," Kai said. "I just want to thank you for everything you've helped me with."

Lina chuckled. "What did I even help you with?"

"A lot," Kai said. "More than you know."

Lina shook her head at his ridiculous response.

"Fine," she sighed. "Let's go. But I need to go back before 8 PM."

Kai nodded. "Got it."

The two of them went to the burger place and sat on one of the booths. Then, Kai bought everything he could with the amount of money he had left, making those around him look at him strangely.

He walked past some people with a mountain of burgers and fries on his tray.

"There's no wonder he's so big."

Even Lina couldn't help but be surprised when she saw the amount of food on the table.

"Can we even finish this?" she asked.

Kai shrugged as he opened one of the burgers and popped it in his mouth like it was just a piece of candy.

"It's not too much," Kai said, making Lina scratch the back of her head.

Then, she ate along with him, each bite of hers accounting for one burger for Kai.

Kai always had a great appetite; however, with his aunt's restrictions on his old body, he wasn't able to eat to the extent that he wanted.

Now that his Grandma fed him well, Kai's appetite had increased a thousandfold.

Just then, they saw a couple of students wearing familiar uniforms, standing from their seats after they just finished a meal.

Feng Arts High.

As they passed by Kai's and Lina's table, the two couldn't help but hear their conversation.

"Are you going to watch the basketball game tomorrow?"

"With Shizi Dogs, right? I honestly don't want to go, but I want to support our school."

"True, I was looking forward to seeing the Foxes' play with the Stars, but the Dogs had to intervene."

"Everybody was preparing to watch it, too," another chimed.

"Anyway, we're still going to watch anyway. I can't wait to see the Feng Foxes defeat the Shizi Dogs again like how they did during the practice game."

One of them hesitatingly cleared his throat. "I think the Shizi Dogs is a team to look out for. Honestly, it was a close call in the practice game. Moreover, they've already beat the Xing Stars—a team that even the Foxes have struggles playing with."

"That's because Chunlei and Yiming didn't play," another chimed.

"They'll get destroyed before they even know it."

Kai and Lina suddenly turned serious as the group left the place.

Then, Lina sighed loudly, causing Kai to focus his attention on her.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

She sipped from her soda before shrugging. "I'm worried," she said. "Honestly, I want to win against the Feng Foxes."

"Don't we all?" Kai asked.

"It's different this time," Lina said.

"At first, I was determined to just make the most of the league since I know where our teams' limitations lie."

"We've been in the bottom places for the past year for a reason."

"However, seeing the victories we've gained in the past few weeks made me feel more...greedy."

"I want to win the Winter Cup," she said with determination. "That's my current dream."

Kai wordlessly nodded as he placed the last piece of wrapper on the table.

Then, as it was getting closer to 8 PM, the two of them had no choice but to leave despite their initial hesitance.

They once again walked in silence, now enjoying the cool night breeze.

Thoughts continued to race in Kai's mind, wondering what would unfold in tomorrow's game. However, as he walked, the appearance of his system suddenly distracted him.

[Individual shooting skills: +8]

[Unofficial win: +5]

[TOTAL: +13 XP]

[Current rank: Intermediate (34)]

[You have earned a new skill!]

[Freethrower. You are now able to shoot with 85% accuracy from the free-throw line.]

He waited for his weekly mission to come, but before that could happen, he heard Lina groan beside him.

His eyes widened when she saw her crouched on the ground, holding onto her left knee. Kai quickly went closer to her and kneeled just right beside her.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she said, trying to play off her pain. However, it was obvious that she wasn't fine at all.

"Is it because of what happened in the shoe store earlier? Did you pull a muscle?" Kai asked.

"No," Lina firmly said. "I just become like this whenever I get tired. That's why I don't stand for long during games, too."

"Yeah, I noticed," Kai said. "It seems like Yuze, Kun, and the rest of the team are concerned about you too."

Lina nodded. "They know of my problem."

Kai frowned in confusion.

They knew of her problem? Does that mean that he was the only one who didn't know?

Lina wanted to stand, but it appeared like she was still struggling.

With that, Kai clicked his tongue and placed one of his arms under her knees.

"Wait, no!" Lina exclaimed, even squirming underneath him

However, that still didn't make Kai stop. Instead, he persisted and fully lifted her from the ground.

"I told you not to do it," Lina said, her cheeks and eyes red from embarrassment.

That was when Kai felt a strange material on her legs.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Metal?