Chapter 37: The Master of Crowd Control (Part Two)

"I forgot to mention, this is still part of my troop training. I believe we will definitely advance to the Southeast Division, where we will encounter various strong schools and all kinds of situations. Having Zhou Zhexiao play point guard is also to prepare for unexpected circumstances." Ling Huanzhen walked over and patted Shuai Bei on the shoulder. "Don't worry, the Zhou Zhexiao you admire isn't just a great forward; he's also a world-class point guard."

Shuai Bei's face suddenly flushed, and he muttered, "Who admires him! I only admire myself!"

Everyone else lowered their heads, struggling hard to hold back their laughter.

"Ye Chaoying, you will also be in the starting lineup this time."

Ye Chaoying was stunned and pointed at himself. "Me? I'm still starting? Isn't Zhou Zhexiao playing point guard?"

"Your role is crucial. I need you to be responsible for severing the connection between their point guard, Li Jia, and their shooting guard, Jiang Yang, to completely silence the backcourt duo of Finance University. At the same time, limit Li Jia's passing ability."

"Aggressive defense, ramping up the disruptive steals?" Ye Chaoying asked.

"Exactly!" Ling Huanzhen pointed at Ye Chaoying and said with great confidence, "You are the Steal King of Jin Province, after all!"

"Speaking of which, can't I break out of Jin Province and head to the national stage?" Ye Chaoying crossed his arms and said with a huff.

"The national stage? As far as I know, there's someone named Lu Yingnan, isn't there?" Ling Huanzhen looked toward Cheng Qing.

Cheng Qing nodded. "Indeed, Lu Yingnan of Southwest Aviation University was one of the top five university players last year."

"Humph, he won't be this year." Ye Chaoying tilted his head to the side.

"With our current configuration, the offensive end feels quite fragile. Are we just going to rely entirely on Shuai Bei and Du He?" Chen Chuan looked at He Bin with some concern.

Having He Bin play shooting guard in this lineup would be a struggle. But if Chen Chuan were to play small forward, he himself felt he wasn't sharp enough.

"Xia Zhiyi, you are the primary scoring option this time. Whether it's long-range shooting or driving to the rim, don't hold anything back."

The weight of the words "primary scoring option" bore down on Xia Zhiyi's heart.

On Saturday and Sunday, Ling Huanzhen arranged tactical training specifically against Finance University to counter their defensive zone.

By nightfall, Xia Zhiyi's equipment training was paused, but the 9:00 PM shooting drills continued. Considering the game was on Monday, Jiao Yingfeng appropriately reduced the intensity and let Xia Zhiyi leave an hour early.

However, Xia Zhiyi sidled up to Jiao Yingfeng. "Master, Master, I want to ask, have you ever played small forward?"

Jiao Yingfeng, who was packing up his gear, smiled and ruffled Xia Zhiyi's hair. "Oh? Your coach asks you to swing between forward and guard, and you're already nervous?"

"Sigh, my reverse layups and hook shots are decent, alright? It's just that I'm not as flashy as those big-time players with their fancy dunks and mid-air adjustments. I mean, I haven't practiced protecting the ball with my left hand enough during layups. I'm not as good as Chen Hao from Finance University in that regard."

Looking at Xia Zhiyi's earnest expression with his slightly pouting lips, Jiao Yingfeng tapped him on the forehead.

"You're only thinking about practicing it now; it's too late for Friday's game. But Old Fan and I do agree you need to strengthen that training. In your 9:00 PM shooting drills, while performing the layup, you need to block the bouncy balls we throw at you with your left hand."

"Oh, oh, oh, I know that drill!"

"Mm, and your 9:00 PM speed might slow down as a result."

"I'll get faster with practice." Xia Zhiyi leaned in, resting his chin on Jiao Yingfeng's shoulder. "Master, I want to learn defense. If an opponent uses their left hand to protect the ball during a layup, how do I block it?"

Jiao Yingfeng smiled and looked toward the doorway. Zhou Zhexiao had just finished his equipment training and was heading down to use the shower.

"Zhou Zhexiao, come demonstrate for Xia Zhiyi."

"Demonstrate what?" Zhou Zhexiao had a towel draped over his shoulders. It was unclear if he had just doused his hair with water, but droplets clung to his strands, sliding down the bridge of his nose and the edges of his brows.

Xia Zhiyi was drinking a sports beverage. When he looked up and saw this, he suddenly thought of the night this guy had been leaning against a lamppost. Xia Zhiyi silently lowered his head. He always said he was easy to fool, but someone like Zhou Zhexiao was the type to make people develop other kinds of thoughts, right?

Jiao Yingfeng began, "I'll perform a layup while protecting the ball, and Old Fan and Zhou Zhexiao will be the defense. Zhou Zhexiao, show Xia Zhiyi how to block someone when they're protecting the ball during a layup."

"Aren't you afraid of being knocked flying?" Zhou Zhexiao said calmly.

Jiao Yingfeng immediately flared up. "What's that supposed to mean? Is my physicality that bad? Even if I'm not a brute like Ling Huanzhen, I can still dunk, alright!"

"Then let's go."

Old Fan, hearing their argument, walked out with a chuckle, loosening his shoulders as he walked.

"This is interesting. Little Xia, you'd better watch closely! Jiao Yingfeng dunking is a rare sight."

"I'm not dunking; it's a left-handed protected layup."

Zhou Zhexiao nodded. "So, you still don't dare to dunk in front of me."

Jiao Yingfeng exhaled, giving up. "Fine, whatever you say is right."

Xia Zhiyi stood at the sidelines, exhaling, his eyes locked on Jiao Yingfeng.

Jiao Yingfeng started quickly, rushing to the rim. Zhou Zhexiao and Fan Qingliang followed him closely. When Jiao Yingfeng jumped under the rim, he raised his left hand high, effectively blocking Fan Qingliang's attempt. Impressive!

*Bang!* The ball was swiped away by Zhou Zhexiao. Jiao Yingfeng's shot amounted to nothing.

Zhou Zhexiao landed, dribbled forward two steps, and stopped to look at Xia Zhiyi. "Did you understand? Even if the opponent raises their left hand to protect the ball, it's not unsolvable."

Xia Zhiyi twisted his waist and moved his shoulders in place. "I think I get it. You deliberately jumped at an angle behind Jiao Yingfeng and swiped the ball from between his head and his arm, but that… that's so easy to foul!"

However, Zhou Zhexiao’s control over power and distance was masterful. Not only did his arm not touch Jiao Yingfeng, but his body didn't even make contact after the jump. Xia Zhiyi didn't think he could have that kind of control in the heat of a game.

"Let's go again." Zhou Zhexiao looked at Jiao Yingfeng.

"Sure." Jiao Yingfeng received the ball and told Xia Zhiyi, "You go opposite Zhou Zhexiao; you'll see it more clearly."

So the three of them demonstrated it for Xia Zhiyi once more.

This time, Jiao Yingfeng's protective arm remained strong, and Fan Qingliang had no chance to block it in the air.

Zhou Zhexiao's angle of jumping was still behind Jiao Yingfeng, but this time, Xia Zhiyi clearly saw every detail of how Zhou Zhexiao hooked the ball away. It turned out the most important thing was the position of the jump.

"Did you get it?" Zhou Zhexiao asked.

"Mm," Xia Zhiyi nodded.

Jiao Yingfeng smiled. "Just don't let it be a case of 'learning it at a glance, but failing at the first try.'"

Xia Zhiyi scratched the back of his head and said to Zhou Zhexiao, "Come on, practice a few rounds with me?"

Zhou Zhexiao retorted, "Oh, what's in it for me?"

"You play with my phone every day; don't you have to pay a rental fee?"

"…I've already paid."

"Monetary payment doesn't count."

Zhou Zhexiao: "…"

Jiao Yingfeng stifled a laugh. It was his first time seeing such a helpless expression on Zhou Zhexiao.

Xia Zhiyi went to the center line. Zhou Zhexiao dribbled the ball in front of him, then suddenly accelerated toward the hoop.

During recent training, Xia Zhiyi's sprint speed had improved significantly. When Zhou Zhexiao jumped under the rim, Xia Zhiyi braked instantly, mastered the distance, and jumped as well. He tilted his body slightly and extended his arm, but it ended up brushing against Zhou Zhexiao's cheek.

Zhou Zhexiao switched from a layup to a dunk. At that moment, his body tightened, resisting all interference. Xia Zhiyi even had the illusion of being bounced away by his back.

Upon landing, Zhou Zhexiao said calmly, "Foul. One free throw."

Fan Qingliang, standing on the sidelines, kept his eyes on Zhou Zhexiao and murmured, "Too similar."

"Huh?"

"I said Zhou Zhexiao… is too much like Sheng Xingming," Fan Qingliang said meaningfully.

Jiao Yingfeng lowered his eyes and smiled. "So you want to focus on cultivating Zhou Zhexiao?"

"The flaws Sheng Xingming had when he was young, he doesn't seem to have any of them. Because of that… I have nothing I can help him with. Compared to Zhou Zhexiao, I enjoy the feeling of digging for treasure more; under every layer of soil, there's a new discovery." Fan Qingliang looked at Xia Zhiyi and smiled.

At this moment, Xia Zhiyi failed to steal the ball again, his chin slamming into Zhou Zhexiao's shoulder.

"Oof…" When he landed, Xia Zhiyi's eyes welled up with tears from the impact.

Zhou Zhexiao was perfectly fine, wiping the corner of his eye with his fingertip. "Hey, do you want me to buy you a transparent mouthguard?"

"No, thank you…"

Who would have thought that Jiao Yingfeng and Fan Qingliang on the sidelines would nod in unison.

"Right, almost forgot. Buy a mouthguard."

"Back then, Sheng Xingming had a molar knocked out. For two whole weeks, he could only drink blended broccoli juice."

Zhou Zhexiao lifted his chin. "Don't wear a mouthguard, and be careful not to be able to chew even boiled fish slices later."

Was it that serious?

Xia Zhiyi compromised. "Buy… it then…"

By the Sunday night training, Fan Qingliang and Jiao Yingfeng had reserved another two hours for Xia Zhiyi to practice rim defense.

"This requires such precise control. A step forward is a defensive foul; a step back is completely useless." Although Fan Qingliang believed Xia Zhiyi's practice was futile, he wouldn't stop any attempt the young man made.

"Indeed. Sheng Xingming was an expert at this back in the day. Asian athletes simply can't compete with the muscular European and American players in terms of strength under the rim. But that guy wasn't satisfied with that. Even as a guard, he would occasionally go to the opponent's rim to provoke them. He played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses, trying to avoid physical collisions with those big guys by using mid-air adjustments, changing hands, and so on to score."

So, Xia Zhiyi couldn't steal the ball in the air from Zhou Zhexiao, not because he was a slow learner, but because Zhou Zhexiao was an expert at protecting the ball in mid-air.

Zhou Zhexiao knew exactly what angles and postures could avoid being ambushed from behind.

In that hour and a half, Xia Zhiyi failed countless times.

Every time, he would close his eyes to reflect, even circling Zhou Zhexiao to gesture.

Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes, watching his slightly pouting lips, and murmured, "You could hang a keychain on those."

"Huh?"

Two seconds later, Xia Zhiyi realized what Zhou Zhexiao was referring to. He rubbed the tip of his nose in embarrassment. "I can't help it. When I was a kid and encountered a problem I couldn't solve, I liked to rest my pen on my mouth. Over time, it became a habit. As long as I'm thinking, my mouth will pout. Hanging keys won't work, but holding a pen is fine."