Chapter 229 (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets) I Will Never Laugh Again

Hearing this, Jiang Nian was dumbfounded.

Damn, you actually knew I was here?

I thought I was transparent like your dad, like a lonely ghost no one could see, circling around your super-sized Sword Tomb.

“The Seeing Four-Eyes”

However, Jiang Nian couldn’t immediately burst into curses. Cursing only makes oneself lose Face, not the other person suffer.

So, he chose another method.

“You’re awesome.”

Actually, although Four-Eyes Zhang Xiaofan usually pressured his teammates, it wasn’t that intense.

Today, he was purely buffed to the max; his opponent was Big Black Bull, and his teammate Jiang Nian had just sunk a super long-range three-pointer.

Uh oh. Here’s the problem: who’s the biggest coward?

Whoever asks is the coward.

Zhang Xiaofan was a little rattled; lies don’t hurt, the truth is a sharp knife.

He could play on the school’s first team, so his skill naturally wasn’t bad.

He was able to constantly pressure his teammates also due to the inherent dominance brought by his skill and money.

With his persona of being an emotional player on the court but a generous spender off it, he trained his teammates like dogs, making them utterly submissive.

Even if the teammates had Qi in their hearts, the thought that Young Master Zhang would pay for everything later, and that Young Master Zhang would give them special attention, instantly cleared their minds.

They immediately reflected on themselves three times a day.

Can he curse more? Can he give more? Will he curse me again next time?

As everyone knows, bottom lines are broken through little by little, and dog training also happens gradually.

Except for a few members of the first team who hadn’t taken advantage of Zhang Xiaofan, the others either openly fawned over him or simply tolerated his attitude.

He’s so rich and cares about his Face, why argue with him?

Take a step back, and the sea is vast. No, the sky is wide.

As long as they accepted Zhang Xiaofan’s persona as a somewhat reckless person on the court, even if not everyone went along with him, at least no one would openly oppose him on the court.

The principle is similar to what rational peacemakers love to say: although XX likes to hit, curse, and urinate on people when drunk, XX is quite nice when sober. We’re all brothers, let’s just let it go for my Face.

Jiang Nian, however, refused. He hadn’t indulged Four-Eyes even when he was poor.

Moreover, Jiang Nian was no longer on the school team and had money now. While he wouldn’t flaunt his bank balance, he had even fewer reservations.

A single “You’re awesome” instantly put Zhang Xiaofan in a state of paralysis.

He paused for a second, then trembled with anger.

“You’re the awesome one, damn it!”

Jiang Nian remained calm and composed, stating faintly.

“Yes, I’m awesome.”

Before Four-Eyes Zhang Xiaofan could react, Jiang Nian added another line.

“Am I not awesome?”

“Damn it, are you sick?!” Zhang Xiaofan turned red, instantly enraged, and roared, “Can you damn well play properly, if you can’t play, then get lost!”

Most people, when provoked, might just stiffen their necks and walk off.

Zhang Xiaofan’s meaning was clear: the court was his. If you can’t handle the insults, then get lost, don’t play here, because everyone will definitely gossip about you after the game.

A high-EQ response: “Xiaofan, are you speaking in anger or truthfully?” Giving two options for the other party to choose, a normal person would take a step back.

A more rational version: “Xiaofan, don’t let your emotions get in the way on the court. The most important thing now is to play this game well.”

A more idiotic version: lean close to his ear.

“Really, truly?”

A more cowardly version: directly kneel and cry loudly.

“I’ll get lost, I’ll get lost!! Why are you cursing me? You have to give me an explanation today, stop cursing, stop cursing, if you curse again I’ll get depressed and kill myself, hang myself at your doorstep.”

Jiang Nian chose none of these. Did this game absolutely have to be played today?

The answer was clearly no.

The atmosphere throughout the court was tense, everyone was stunned by this interlude. They were involuntarily infected by the anxious atmosphere on the court, their hearts in their throats.

“Is this… an internal conflict?” Nie Qiqi asked nervously in a low voice, “Xiao Qing, they’re so fierce, won’t they fight Jiang Nian?”

Junior and senior high school is when collective consciousness is strongest. Although Nie Qiqi wanted to see Jiang Nian make a fool of himself, she didn’t want to see him getting beaten up.

No matter what, she didn’t want someone from her own class to be bullied by a group of people.

“Probably not.” Cai Xiaoqing watched with her arms crossed; she was calmer. “Fighting isn’t allowed in senior year, and the school team also cares about what the leaders think.”

“What do you mean?” Nie Qiqi didn’t understand.

“It means the school doesn’t actually need something like a basketball school team. Haven’t you noticed that the school rarely organizes large-scale inter-class basketball games?”

Cai Xiaoqing observed with a cold gaze, her tone flat as she stated.

“Most of the school’s basketball courts are concrete. A fall could result in a minor scrape or a major fracture. If you were a leader, would you want to see students get injured?”

“Uh…” Nie Qiqi was speechless, her intelligence lacking.

Cai Xiaoqing crossed her arms and glanced lightly at Fox Qiqi.

“If the school team openly fights, whether it’s a mutual brawl or a group beating, the senior year basketball team will be disbanded at the latest before the second evening self-study session, to deter the first and second-year basketball teams.”

“Oh, oh, I know, that’s called ‘killing the chicken to scare the monkeys’.” Nie Qiqi chuckled.

Cai Xiaoqing didn’t directly respond, but continued.

“The leaders don’t care about the school team. They are starting players, they should know better than us. Unless they’re crazy, they wouldn’t fight in front of everyone.”

Jiang Nian was from the former school team, and a fish that has landed still carries a fishy smell.

How could he not know that these cowards wouldn’t dare to fight? A private fight wouldn’t be a big deal, but if they fought openly during a game, the leaders would be overjoyed.

What! You’re not even afraid of school rules? This is no ordinary bad student! (Serious Face) No hesitation, we must strike hard!

Then they’d disband the entire school team and form a new batch.

So… putting himself in their shoes, would Jiang Nian dare to make a move?

Hehe.

After Zhang Xiaofan roared that sentence, he suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction.

It was back, everything was back, that wonderful feeling of being in control of the whole situation was back.

This was his court, and his school team.

From freshman year to senior year now, he had finally endured the departure of those idiotic seniors above him. Now, on the Zhennan Middle School court, the highest authority was I, Fan King.

Facing Zhang Xiaofan’s roar, Jiang Nian was neither angry nor annoyed.

He didn’t furiously curse, nor did he argue with a flushed Face. He simply pointed at Zhang Xiaofan in front of everyone.

As if telling the people around, look at him.

After a second’s pause, Jiang Nian asked loudly. “Are you getting anxious?”

Zhang Xiaofan wasn’t brainless; he knew that meaningless shouting would only make him lose Face.

“You also know you’re making others anxious, huh?”

Jiang Nian smiled and replied.

“I was so focused on playing that I forgot to hit you, you idiot.”

“Ha, first time seeing someone so bad they get rattled first. If your mentality isn’t good, don’t play basketball. Go screw some screws, what are you barking about here?”

Zhang Xiaofan quickly lost Face, now he was truly a little anxious.

“Who are you calling bad?”

“You haven’t made a single shot in ages, and you don’t like to pass.” Jiang Nian wasn’t afraid at all. “I thought you were holding the ball to give coaching lessons. Do you know how awesome you are?”

Zhang Xiaofan really wanted to curse back, “Are you any good?”

But he couldn’t, because just a few minutes ago, Jiang Nian had sunk a half-court, super long-range three-pointer. It not only put immense pressure on his opponents but also on him.

However, by all accounts, it should have been luck.

In a flash, he decided to take a gamble.

“You’re awesome, you got lucky with a three-pointer and now you’re showing off. Why don’t you go play in the NBA? You’re playing well, but you’re just spouting nonsense here.”

Damn you.

Jiang Nian was almost amused to anger, but he knew exactly what kind of person the other party was.

Zhang Xiaofan was incredibly arrogant in his second year, buying the most expensive sneakers and having an extremely strong desire to perform.

After winning against the third-year school team once, he boasted about it for an entire semester.

This person loved to dominate in his areas of expertise, then pretend to be humble in front of others, creating a persona of being very capable yet low-key.

Jiang Nian looked at Zhang Xiaofan, then suddenly smiled.

He didn’t say a word, turned and walked back, beckoning to Big Black Bull who had the ball. The two used to have a good relationship, just regular friends.

Big Black Bull smiled honestly and threw the ball to Jiang Nian.

Under the gaze of Zhang Xiaofan and everyone on and off the court, Jiang Nian hooked the basketball with one hand. At the same time, he turned his body backward, preparing to gather strength.

But… with one hand.

Big Black Bull Wang Zejun’s eyelids twitched. He was only strong, not truly stupid; how could he not see what Jiang Nian was trying to do?

Is he crazy?

From a personal perspective, he actually appreciated Jiang Nian’s basketball-first approach. After all, arguing back and forth was less effective than letting skill speak.

Zhang Xiaofan also grew nervous, thinking, ‘No way.’

If he made this half-court, one-handed shot, he might as well die.

But on second thought, Jiang Nian didn’t seem this awesome in his second year, which made him relax a little.

“What is he doing?” Nie Qiqi didn’t understand basketball and looked bewildered from afar.

Cai Xiaoqing’s tone was flat, “Shooting.”

“One-handed?”

“Mm.”

Because it was a one-handed shot, Jiang Nian took longer to adjust his feel than with two hands.

About five seconds later.

Jiang Nian finally moved, his waist and stance aligned. The basketball in his hand swished out, drawing a graceful arc in the twilight.

Everyone held their breath, watching the angle of the ball’s descent.

Big Black Bull Wang Zejun, with his sharp eyes and more experience than most people present, knew the ball was going in just by looking at the arc and the falling angle.

Before the ball even dropped, he involuntarily shouted.

“It’s in!”

Wang Zejun’s voice startled more people.

“Holy crap! It really is!”

“Nothing but net!”

Hu Nianzhong was among the crowd at the edge of the court, staring blankly as the ball arced perfectly into the hoop. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard to believe someone could make a half-court, one-handed shot.

This was no longer a matter of skill; too few people dared to throw the ball one-handed in front of so many people. He had only seen it in basketball highlight reels before, but those were under controlled filming conditions, so it wasn’t clear if they were made on the first try.

If it was repeated throws, even a full-court shot wouldn’t be that exaggerated. The difficulty lay in making it on the first try, after an argument, under the gaze of everyone. Could he still maintain shooting accuracy with such a big heart?

The ball thumped, passing cleanly through the center of the hoop. It landed with a heavy thud, the sound deafening, followed by even more frantic cheers from everyone.

“Oh!!!”

“Holy crap, that’s insane! Who is that guy!”

“One-handed!! One-handed! What did this guy eat growing up to be so fierce!”

“When did the school team get such a powerhouse! If I were him, I’d definitely join the university basketball league. He could totally dominate.”

“Which class? Which class?”

Nie Qiqi was also stunned by Jiang Nian’s move. Her sister might not be educated, but she had eyes, and anyone could understand a one-handed half-court shot.

Just two words: awesome!

Although Nie Qiqi didn’t understand basketball rules, in her opinion, shooting was awesome. Shooting from half-court was very awesome, and one-handed was incredibly awesome.

“He’s from our class!” Nie Qiqi exclaimed excitedly.

“Which class are you from?”

Before Nie Qiqi could speak, Cai Xiaoqing pulled her away.

“Let’s go.”

“Hey, hey, hey, I haven’t even said it yet.” Nie Qiqi resisted, turning her head to look at the court. Jiang Nian also seemed to be leaving, saying something.

Wait, was that a spitting motion?

On the court.

Jiang Nian spat on the ground, staring at Zhang Xiaofan and saying.

“Idiot, can you even play properly?”

“It’s boring.”

With that, Jiang Nian took off his basketball uniform, walked towards the basketball hoop, hung his clothes on the side, put on his jacket, and left the court.

Zhang Xiaofan stood dumbfounded in the center of the basketball court, still not having fully recovered.

His only long-standing source of pride had been completely shattered by Jiang Nian today. In his most skilled Domain, he had been subjected to a dimensionality reduction attack.

This feeling was almost as if the sky had fallen.

Even if he was richer than Jiang Nian, and could find a better girlfriend than him in the future, living in a luxury apartment with a river view, holding his girlfriends, drinking red wine, and throwing parties.

But at this moment, he would never smile again.