Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The guys all turned to Kai, curious about his answer.

Lina, too, was looking at him with big, bright eyes, making him feel like he was caught in headlights.

"Goodness," Kai muttered. "Can I change it to a dare instead?"

"Nope," Shang said, shaking his head and smirking as he was proud of his question.

"Come on, now. Be a man of your word. Besides, anything you say here will only stay here. Right, boys?"

"Right," they agreed.

Kai clicked his tongue. "I highly doubt that."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"We're giving you a minute," Shang said. "If you don't, we'll have to force it out of you."

Kai bit his lips in anxiousness. He glanced at the candle and saw that it was burning low. Even as his gaze was elsewhere, he could still feel the stares of his teammates.

His special someone?

It had always been basketball!

However, Kai knew that there was a particular person who also made his heart feel strange whenever she was around.

But then again, he wasn't sure of what he was truly feeling. He didn't want to say something uncertain and end up regretting it in the end.

"Ten seconds," Shang said, looking at his watch.

However, he felt that Lina was the closest to the answer.

With that, he opened his mouth to utter her name.

However, before he could even get one syllable out, the candle suddenly went out, causing the boys to exclaim in shock.

"What the heck?" Kun exclaimed. "Why did it have to burn out right now?"

Lina clicked her tongue. "I think there's a spare one in the drawer. Let me get it," she said, standing.

However, a loud, rustling sound was heard, causing her to halt.

The boys also halted, suddenly feeling like they weren't alone in the room anymore.

"What...was that?" Shang warily asked.

"I think it's...her," Kun whispered, making everybody turn to him despite the complete darkness.

"Her? Who the hell is she?" Yuze asked, feeling stressed out.

"The ghost," Kun said like it was some kind of forbidden spell.

Meanwhile, Jinping scoffed. "You guys are such scaredy-cats. I told you—ghosts aren't real."

Just as Jinping said those words, a loud, thunderous sound was heard in their housing facility, causing the room to erupt into chaos.

Before Kai knew it, he felt other people's clothes, hair, and even skin against his face and body.

"Oh, goodness! We're too young to die," Kun cried out.

"Please, ghost. Wherever you are, possess Jinping first," Jet pleaded. "He was the one who said that ghosts aren't real."

"Tell my family that I love them," Yuze said in a dejected tone.

It was completely dark, so the chaos ensued further. It seemed like there was a stampede going on inside the room, but with no vision, everything just toppled over each other.

"Who's hair is curly in this team?" Zeren asked.

"Idiot!" Kun exclaimed. "Let go! Your hands are up my shorts!"

"I just hit my balls on something," Shang groaned, pain evident in his voice.

Meanwhile, Kai staggered back, wanting to escape from the scene.

However, before that could happen, he felt something behind him, causing him to topple to the ground and land on his back.

It made a loud sound, which made the other players panic even more.

Just then, Kai felt a light impact on his chest and abdomen, causing him to freeze.

He couldn't find it within himself to speak.

Maybe because he still had no clue what was happening...

...or maybe because there was something covering his lips.

'What is this?' he thought, feeling strangely warm.

With that, he closed his eyes and tried to guess the warm feeling.

"Please end our suffering!" Shang cried out, and just like his prayer had been answered, the lights suddenly came on, illuminating the entire room.

"Oh, the lights are back on," Shang said, acting as if he wasn't crying for his father mere moments ago.

"I told you guys," Jinping smirked. "Ghosts aren't—"

He couldn't finish his sentence when he saw two people on the ground. His eyes widened in shock, and he stepped back and pointed at the two of them.

The other players turned to where Jinping was pointing at, causing them to gasp in surprise, too.

Just then, Kai opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was bright, wide eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light.

However, it was close...

Too close.

Zeren pursed his lips and quickly looked away, feeling something shift within his heart.

At that moment, Lina sat up, her cheeks and lips red from embarrassment.

She didn't dare look at the other players before she stood and ran to her room.

Meanwhile, Kai was still lying on the ground, not knowing how to process the situation.

Then, he raised his hand to touch his lips, which still felt warm.

"That was my first kiss," he whispered.

***

After further investigation, it seemed like the 'ghost' that Kun was referring to was actually a family of raccoons living in the small storage.

With that, the Shizi Dogs were finally transferred to a bigger, neater, and more expensive place without paying the price!

"So...it really wasn't ghosts," Jet muttered, feeling out of it.

They had just woken up after the long, shocking night, and it still felt surreal how they were given the biggest house—one that the Shenyang Sharks stayed in.

Kun smiled. "Sorry, false alarm. However, isn't this a blessing? Now, we can sleep more comfortably!"

Shang groaned. "We should have found those poor raccoons earlier. Now, we only get to have such a luxurious experience for one more night."

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Kai woke up because of thei sound of their conversation, feeling groggy since he tossed and turned in bed last night.

He glanced at the clock, his eyebrows raising in surprise when he saw that it was already 7AM. It was still early in other people's books, but they had been training at 4AM since they came to the training camp, so it was strange that Lina hadn't woken them up just yet.

Just then, Yuze went inside the room.

"Lina told us to explore the city for now," he said, making the team pleasantly surprised.

"So, we have a free day?" Kun asked with bright eyes.

Yuze shrugged. "A free morning," he corrected. "We'll continue with our training this afternoon."

Jet quickly stood from his bed, pointing at everyone in the room.

"Do you know what this means?"

"What?" Jinping deadpanned.

"It's time for us to have some fun!"