Dad, Please Try a Little Harder

Chapter 30 Basketball Is Really Interesting, and So Is Chinese Chess

There were six players, including Qian Quan, five of whom were from the school team, so it was 3v3, half-court.

According to the convention, they were supposed to rotate and form teams, but the tall guy who invited Qian Quan said, “Qin Zhao, you and Liu Yu need to be in different teams; can’t have you in the same one.”

The others agreed, “It won’t be fair if you two are on the same team.”

This was quite common on the campus court – when a few friends played, the two strongest players couldn’t be on the same team.

“How about Liu Yu and I pick teammates through passing the ball?” Qin Zhao suggested.

“Okay,” everyone was fine with it.

They began selecting players in turns.

Although neither Qin Zhao nor Liu Yu knew Qian Quan’s skill level, the fact that no one recognized him meant he couldn’t be from the school team. Even though he looked tall enough and seemed decent on the court, his basketball skills were likely limited.

Especially when his girlfriend reminded him of something just before he joined in, indirectly confirming this point.

So, when Qin Zhao and Liu Yu chose the first player, they skipped him.

“Let’s pick someone familiar first. It’s easier to coordinate.”

They explained this thoughtfully, giving Qian Quan a way out since he was there to help them out.

During the second round of choosing teammates, Qin Zhao went first. He waved at Qian Quan with a friendly gesture and said, “Bro, come over here. Let’s be on the same team.”

This way, he gave this stranger a face while appearing graceful and not taking advantage of Liu Yu.

Qian Quan looked nonchalant, as if he hadn’t even noticed what had just happened, and happily headed to Qin Zhao’s side.

With the teams set, they started the game – a match of ten points.

Qin Zhao’s team gained the ball through a free throw.

They sent another player from their team to take the free throw, but as expected, they just passed it directly to Qin Zhao. Qin Zhao was modest and passed it to Qian Quan, saying, “Let our new friend warm up.”

Without hesitation, Qian Quan received the ball and went for a standard jump shot.

Swish!

It went right through the net.

“First shot, just warming up, doesn’t count,” Qian Quan quickly said, considering that the opposing team hadn’t even had a chance to defend.

“Yes, the first shot doesn’t count.”

Both Qin Zhao and another person on the team agreed, feeling somewhat surprised. They had noticed his recent shot; he must have practiced before.

Then, they moved on to the second shot.

Qin Zhao was the one to take it, and he passed it to Qian Quan again. Liu Yu motioned to his teammate to guard closely this time.

Qian Quan waited for the defender to position himself and then, with a simple dribble move to fake him out, took another shot.

Swish!

The ball went in again.

“Just warming up,” Qian Quan humbly remarked.

“Man, you’re good, pretty accurate,” Liu Yu said.

“Lucky shots,” Qian Quan chuckled.

Qin Zhao continued to send the ball to Qian Quan for the next shot.

Qian Quan didn’t hold back, taking another jump shot.

Swish!

Block shot triple-double.

“D*amn, man, you’re so on point!” Liu Yu was amazed.

“Just warming up.”

Qin Zhao found it amusing and passed the ball to Qian Quan for the fourth shot.

This time, the defenders were on him closely.

Qian Quan turned his back to the defending player. After a couple of feints, he suddenly spun around, left his defender behind, took a few steps, and executed a quick stop jump shot.

It went in again!

This time, the other five players on the court were a bit dumbfounded.

Even on the sidelines, Ding Linlang was staring in disbelief. When did this guy become so strong?

“Just warming up…” Qian Quan said with a smile.

On Liu Yu’s side, the three of them couldn’t help but laugh. They thought, “Buddy, you’ve warmed up while our hands are still cold, almost freezing.”

“Keep going. Let’s see how many you can string together.”

Qin Zhao was in good spirits as he went to the center to inbound the ball.

“I’ll guard him.”

The 1.9-meter-tall Liu Yu walked up to Qian Quan, his face earnest, reaching out to assist him and fixing him with a fiery gaze, observing his movements.

Qian Quan didn’t perform any fancy moves. He played back-to-basket, using his rhythm and speed to outmaneuver Liu Yu’s defense and smoothly make a jump shot.

A professional-level player can play on such a court without the need for any fancy moves.

The gap is so massive that ordinary people can’t even imagine it.

Simply put, a professional team benchwarmer could effortlessly dominate on such a playground.

Today, Qian Quan was facing the school team. Add to that, it was his first time using this new skill, so the scene didn’t look too brutal. The opponents could manage to put up a bit of resistance.

However, that was pretty much it.

By the time Qian Quan hit his tenth shot, he hadn’t even broken a sweat on his forehead, and the opponents hadn’t even touched the ball.

10-0!

“Hey, buddy, are you a freshman? Didn’t you sign up for the school team?” Qin Zhao, who was filled with questions, asked Qian Quan.

“I’m from Seacoast Normal University. I came over to hang out with my friend,” Qian Quan replied.

“Oh, no wonder. I was wondering how our school had such a skilled player, and I’ve never heard of you before.”

“Today happens to be a good day for me,” Qian Quan said. “Are we playing another round?”

“Of course! Let’s reshuffle the teams.” Qin Zhao suggested, “How about me, Liu Yu, and Dacheng in one team?”

Evidently, the three of them were the strongest among the five buddies.

“That’s fine by me,” Qian Quan agreed.

“Sure thing! We’ve got a powerhouse on our team,” the other two classmates were equally amazed by Qian Quan.

The second round began.

This time, Qian Quan slightly toned down his performance, starting to dribble and pass the ball, involving everyone in the game.

They eventually won the second round with a score of 10-3.

“It seems like this is the first time Qin Zhao and Liu Yu lost on the same team.” One of Qian Quan’s teammates happily remarked. He had just savored the taste of victory, having won against both main players simultaneously.

“Buddy, you’re at a level where you could play professionally, aren’t you?” Liu Yu said, a mix of frustration and admiration in his voice.

“That’s too exaggerated to say,” Qian Quan chuckled.

After chatting for a while, Qian Quan said, “My friend and I have something to do, so we’ll head out.”

“Sure, bye-bye. We’ll have another chance to play next time,” Qin Zhao, Liu Yu, and the others were quite disheartened. Clearly, they didn’t want to continue playing against Qian Quan.

“Goodbye,” Qian Quan nodded to Ding Linlang.

“What happened to you today?” Ding Linlang was also puzzled.

“I had a good feel for the game.”

“Maybe you should get a drug test.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“When you used to play one-on-one with me, did you…” Ding Linlang stared at Qian Quan, hesitating in her words.

“Don’t overthink it. I really just had an exceptional performance today… Maybe it was inspired by my dad.”

“How did Mr. Qian inspire you?”

“He made a game-winning shot in today’s staff basketball match.”

“Mr. Qian is impressive!”

“Yes,” Qian Quan smiled. “Basketball is really interesting.”

The two of them left the basketball court and walked out of the school.

They were going to have dinner outside and then watch a movie tonight.

This was the first time they truly hung out since they came to study in Azure Bay.

Even in such an international metropolis, as they walked side by side, they still attracted quite a number of glances.

While on the subway, Qian Quan even noticed someone sneaking a photo of them.

However, Ding Linlang, with slightly longer hair, was no longer mistaken for a boy, so no girls came up to ask for contact information.

“I used to think I’d reject big cities, but after visiting Hangzhou and coming to Azure Bay, I found that big cities are also quite suitable for people with social anxiety. In some ways, they might be even more convenient.”

Ding Linlang remarked after coming out of the movie theater.

“Yes, as long as food delivery and express services are smooth, it’s no problem to stay at home for a month without being seen as strange.”

“I also have to make sure my daily step count on the social app reaches 1000 steps, or else my mom will call me,” Ding Linlang said with a smile.

“Haha, they’re concerned whether the step count is too high or too low.”

“So, do big cities make people more open or more closed?”

“Well… probably more inclusive.”

As they chatted like this, Qian Quan dropped Ding Linlang off at the school and then took a bus back to Seacoast Normal University.

“Send me a message when you’re dormitory,” Ding Linlang reminded her.

“Okay.”

On his way back, Qian Quan saw that “One Nine Equals Nine” was inviting him to play Chinese chess again. They had already tied in 25 games, and the opponent hadn’t given up.

So Qian Quan accepted the invitation and tried with him again.

Since downloading the “Journey of Chinese Chess” app, Qian Quan hadn’t experienced a win or a loss.

His points were increasing.

+1, +1, +1…

Chinese Chess was also quite interesting.

Speaking of which, it seemed that the freshmen tournament in Minhua District would start next week.