A Satisfying Victory

Previously:

Because he was wiping the sweat off his face, he revealed his tight abs, earning squeals from the female students and admiration from the male students.

"I wish I had a body like that dude," one male student told his friend from the bleachers.

"Keep wishing," his friend replied with a chuckle.

The team then huddled together.

"Yeah," Zhou agreed with Luoyang, "But we're doing very well. Let's try not to be hasty, or we'll make unwise decisions. Let's keep up the momentum, guys, and push harder. We can do this. I believe in us!"

"Yes, captain!" the teammates roared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Rong switched some players, but his ace, Zhou, remained on the court throughout the game. You can imagine how exhausted he was. The basketball court was quiet as the last few minutes of the game proceeded.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

The anxiety, excitement, expectations from both teams and students, and burning desire to win radiated from everyone.

'Come on, Zhou,' Teng pressed his lips together, 'You can do it. I believe in you and your teammates.'

With some students unable to sit still due to anticipation, the match was reaching its game point. Zhou dribbled the ball, dodging two of the rival players.

With narrowed, determined green eyes, he threw the basketball from afar. Into the hoop the ball went, causing a cheer to erupt from the crowd.

"Yes!" the crowd applauded.

He then performed an alley-oop. This was a type of assist in which one player threw the ball toward the basket, and another jumped up to dunk the ball.

It's a skillful way to bypass a tricky defense from the other team. He threw the ball toward the hoop, and Luoyang jumped to dunk it. Another point was added to their score.

With time running out, Silverleaf University was feeling the pressure, and it got to them.

Very badly.

A Silverleaf University baller performed an airball in a rush, but the ball didn't make it into the basket. It was a brick shot in which the ball bounced haphazardly off the rim and the backboard.

"Brick!" the action from the opposing team prompted the students to call out.

"That was a brick!" one student exclaimed.

"Silverleaf University must be feeling pressured," another added.

"That's gonna mess up their play."

"Oh, dear. The anxiety."

"Poor them."

During the last thirty seconds, Luoyang caught the ball and threw it to Zhou, who caught it mid-dribble. He continued to dribble it with both hands at the same time.

This is known as double dribbling.

At the last second of the clock, Zhou performed a buzzer-beater.

This is a shot made in the last second of a shot clock and in the last second of a game.

With the ball going into the hoop, it was the game's winning shot.

"YEAH!" the crowd roared, marveling at the victory of Waterfalls University.

"We won!"

"We did it!"

"I can have a great sleep tonight!"

Zhou's teammates ran to him, jumping on top of him in excitement.

"All right, captain!" they cheered.

"We did it!" they exclaimed, hugging each other.

Luoyang clenched his hands above his head.

"As expected from the captain and vice-captain!" one teammate tilted his head back and yelled.

"Meat, here we come!" one pumped his fist in the air.

Luoyang swung his arm around Zhou's shoulder and grinned. Mr. Rong walked to them, clapping his hands in delight.

"You have to keep your promise, coach," Luoyang smiled, looking smug.

"Yes, yes," the coach nodded, "I'm very proud of you all. That was a good game. Your teamwork was impeccable."

The teammates grinned and exchanged glances with each other. Zhou ushered his teammates to go shake hands with the Silverleaf University players.

Both teams shook hands, showing great sportsmanship.

"Not bad, captain," the Silverleaf University basketball team captain smiled at Zhou.

"I could say the same about you," he told the guy.

They laughed together. The other team left. Zhou and his teammates walked to the bleachers, holding a candy box.

They threw the candy to the crowd, rewarding them for their support.

"We love you, Luoyang!" one group of female students cheered.

Luoyang grinned at them.

"You're the best, captain Zhou!" another group cooed.

"Waterfalls University basketball team rocks!" some male students whooped.

As students began to leave the basketball court, it began to get empty. His teammates gathered their belongings and went to shower in the shower room.

When everyone had left, the only people on the court were Zhou, his teammates, Mr. Rong, and Teng. Teng had yet to leave because he wanted to congratulate his roommate in person.

"Zhou," Teng beamed, clasping his hands behind his back, "You were amazing!"

Teng leaned to the side to look past Zhou's shoulder and at the other players who were yet to leave for the shower room, "All of you were amazing!"

Zhou patted him on the head and smiled.

"Was I?" he inquired, to which Teng nodded immediately, "Thank you for coming to watch me."

"Of course," Teng smiled, "Although I was almost late. The professor kept going on and on. I was getting anxious, thinking I might not make it to see you play."

"Well," Zhou moved his hand away from Teng's soft locks, "At least you made it. That's all that matters."

"Mhm," Teng clutched his bag, looking up at his tall roommate.

Teng looked like an ant next to a telephone pole.

'Uh, it must be nice to be that tall,' the little guy pondered, 'I wonder how the world looks from up there.'

Zhou looked at him with a questionable look, wondering what he was staring at him so intently for. Mr. Rong had gone to his car, and the other teammates were showering.

Teng's friends and Anya had already left. So it was just the two of them standing in front of each other.

"What is it?" Zhou raised his eyebrow when Teng kept staring at him with unblinking focused brown eyes, "Is there something on my face? Though, it's probably sweat. I am sweating a lot."

"Huh?" Teng blinked, getting back to earth, "Oh, right. You should go shower. I was going to say we should go out to celebrate, but I heard one of your teammates say Mr. Rong was planning to take y'all out to celebrate."

Zhou pinched his nose, thinking. He didn't want Teng to go back alone.

"Why don't you wait for me to change?" he told Teng, "And then I'll ask Mr. Rong if you can come with me."

"But that's a bit much!" Teng waved his hands dismissively, "I can't possibly join y'all. I'm not part of the basketball team. I'll just wait for you at the dorm-"

"Don't worry about it," Zhou assured him, grabbing his gym bag with his left hand, "The coach won't mind. He's in a great mood. Just sit there on that bench and wait for me. I won't be long."

Before Teng could refute this, Zhou left for the shower room. Teng, with a sigh, sat down on the bench.

He watched as some basketball players strolled out of the shower room and into the basketball court.

"Man, it feels good to be clean," one student exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"Tell me about it," another agreed, heading for the bench Teng was seated on.

The time was currently heading to 7 PM. When they saw Teng, they waved at him.

"Oh, look who we have here," one student grinned, "A fan of mine?"

"No, you idiot," the other student nudged his back.

"Isn't that captain Zhou's roommate?" one asked, raising his eyebrow.

They sat next to Teng and smiled at him.

"You're captain Zhou's roommate, right?" they asked Teng, who nodded.