I Can't Believe This

Kai quickly finished his lunch, his cheeks puffed up with food, as he followed Bao to the school's bulletin board. 

From his perspective, he appeared like a squirrel storing his nuts inside his cheeks. In fact, he might even consider himself pretty cute!

However, for the people who watched him pass, it only added to his intimidating aura. Kai looked like he had just devoured one of his enemies whole! 

Kai couldn't help but crack his knuckles out of nervousness. He knew he wasn't able to do his best during the tryouts, but he definitely wasn't the worst player in the bunch. 

Moreover, when Bao stated that he had been chosen, hope bloomed inside Kai's heart. 

On his way there, he saw Zeren, who wore a wide smile. It didn't take a genius to know that he got into the basketball team. Out of everyone who tried out, he was definitely the player with the most shots, rebounds, and assists. 

Zeren, however, was smiling widely for an entirely different reason. 

With his current skills, he already knew he was going to make the team. His smile was because he was finally going to see Lina every day during practice! 

As he got closer to the bulletin board, Kai saw another familiar person. Jinping turned around with a smug smirk, and when he locked eyes with Kai, his expression became even more smug. 

However, Kai quickly evaded his eyes, not wanting to entertain the annoying player. 

Instead, he walked over to the bulletin board to finally see the results of the basketball tryouts. 

Jinping, on the other hand, bumped shoulders with Kai before whispering—"Congrats." 

Kai paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

Congrats? 

It was strange for Jinping to compliment Kai out of the blue, so that led to the latter becoming more suspicious. 

Kai also recognized some of the players looking for their names, some slumping in defeat. 

Then, Kai finally reached the bulletin board, where he saw a single piece of paper with the words—'New members of Shizi High's Basketball Team.' 

At the very top, he saw Zeren's and Jinping's names. He had guessed right. They were the first two to be recruited into the team. 

Then, after a couple more names, he finally saw his name, causing his eyes to slightly go wide. 

He internally celebrated but halted when he saw the words right above his name. 

'Second-string players' 

Kai pursed his lips as he saw two other names beneath his. One of them was Alen, who didn't even get to play that much because of the spoiled milk incident. 

"See, you made it!" Bao innocently exclaimed by his side, not knowing that Kai barely made it to the team. 

"Yeah," Kai whispered before turning back around, his fists unconsciously clenching in frustration. 

Kai walked away from the bulletin board with Bao trailing behind him. The shorter boy tapped his friend's shoulder and frowned. 

"You don't look happy," Bao said. 

Kai clicked his tongue before sighing in defeat. 

There was no use crying over spilled milk. In the end, he was still on the 'noob' level, so he really shouldn't have expected too much. 

With that, he turned to Bao with a calm expression. 

"That's just my face," he bluntly replied. 

***

Flashback—Discussion of accepted players into Shizi High's Basketball Team. 

The gym was now empty except for two people. The skies had turned dark, yet for some reason, they were compelled to stay and talk more about their decisions. 

"Are you sure he's unreadable?" Yuze asked, looking at Kai Guo's application with furrowed eyebrows. 

Lina sighed and started playing with her hands. 

Then, she nodded. 

"No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to read his potential." 

"This hasn't happened before," Yuze remarked. 

"I know," Lina responded. "That's why I'm not sure whether he'd be an asset or a distraction to the team." 

"So, what you're saying is his potential may be the best or the worst you've ever seen?" Yuze clarified. 

Lina sighed as she leaned against her chair. 

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know. I'm stumped," she honestly responded. 

"I know I've made a lot of decisions for this team, but I think it's best if you get the final decision on whether we accept him or not," she added.

Yuze sighed deeply before staring at Kai's application once more. His picture was badly taken—like he was in a rush. He also looked like a complete troublemaker with his piercings, unkempt stubble, and long hair. 

After a few seconds, Yuze finally lifted his head. 

"I don't think he's fit for the team," he said. 

Lina didn't know how to respond, but somewhere in her heart, she wanted to give the first-year student a chance. 

"Are you sure?" Lina asked. 

Yuze nodded before placing Kai's application on the roster of new second-string players. 

"If he's unreadable, then that might be because he doesn't have any skills to begin with," Yuze said. 

"You know I can't take any more chances this year…" 

"...because this is my last chance."