Chapter 38: Is This Arrogant Enough?

This interruption shattered the new defensive formation that the University of Finance and Economics had struggled so hard to build. Charging toward the opponent’s basket without a hint of hesitation, Xia Chiyi used a spin dribble to shake off their center. More importantly, in the midst of his turn, he successfully passed the ball to Zhou Zhexiao. When Zhou Zhexiao was double-teamed on the sideline, Xia Chiyi executed a pump fake before dishing the ball into the paint.

Chen Hao rushed back to defend. He leaped high, his eyes locked on Xia Chiyi, thinking, "You won't make this shot!"

Just as it seemed Chen Hao was about to block him—with Shuai Bei and Du He already positioned on the sides to assist—Xia Chiyi turned sideways in mid-air and, with a beautiful hook shot, sent the ball into the basket.

As he landed, he stumbled two steps, only for Zhou Zhexiao to reach out and steady him.

Xia Chiyi grinned at Zhou Zhexiao, his eyes bright and wide, as if begging for praise.

Zhou Zhexiao simply tapped the back of his head lightly and whispered where only he could hear: "Be even more arrogant. I know you can do it."

Chen Hao stood there, stunned... Was that really a hook shot?

The stands erupted in excitement.

"My god, did Xia Chiyi just go head-to-head with Chen Hao? Chen Hao’s defense looked like he was going to swat his head off, and he wasn't afraid at all?"

"And he just effortlessly lofted the ball around Chen Hao's arm like that... this guy is way too cool!"

"Where did he find the courage to challenge Chen Hao in the paint like that? And he actually scored!"

"Turns out this guy doesn't just shoot threes; his layup game is no joke either!"

Xia Chiyi’s performance forced the University of Finance and Economics to take notice of his slashing ability. The coach called a timeout, and the Finance players quickly gathered around him.

"Xia Chiyi is incredibly fast; he’s not just an outside shooter. I’ve been wondering why Ling Huanzhen hadn't used Chen Chuan, but now it seems he might be planning to use Xia Chiyi as a forward."

Chen Hao disagreed. Hands on his hips, he glanced back at Xia Chiyi, who was busy sucking on an energy jelly. "It was just one layup. It doesn't mean anything."

Jiang Yang and Li Jia exchanged worried glances.

The coach couldn't help but emphasize, "Listen, Chen Hao, don't just think of Xia Chiyi as a guard. This kid has explosive cutting speed and strong dribbling ability. We must not leave our paint empty, or we’re just handing him points."

Chen Hao replied, "Understood, I’ll keep an eye on him. As for him being a guard... he should just stick to playing guard. Not everyone can swing between forward and guard."

Although he refused to admit it out loud, since Chen Hao had promised to lock Xia Chiyi down, the coach said no more.

What Chen Hao didn't anticipate was that when Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao linked up, the two of them were absolute demons.

When Zhou Zhexiao passed, he didn't even need to look for Xia Chiyi; he would just flick the ball out, and Xia Chiyi would always appear at the end of the pass's trajectory.

Before this match, Li Jia, the team's point guard, had prided himself on his unpredictable passing, but Zhou Zhexiao’s passing was making them dizzy with confusion. The kicker was that Zhou Zhexiao maintained a flat, indifferent expression throughout, as if they were all just defenseless elementary schoolers.

Most importantly, Xia Chiyi showed no attachment to the three-point line. Every time he received the ball, he would immediately cut inside. Chen Hao stuck to him like glue—they were practically hugging—but Xia Chiyi’s change of direction and fakes were so fast that Chen Hao began to doubt if there was something wrong with his own brain. Why couldn't he keep up?

At first, Xia Chiyi played it safe with jump shots or layups, but as he got into a rhythm, he became bolder. Facing the double-team of the Finance University's power forward and center, he jumped up with blatant arrogance, stretched his arm out between them, and with a flick of his wrist, guided the ball into the hoop again!

It was a total provocation to the University of Finance and Economics!

"That was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! They were taller and stronger than him, yet he still found the angle to score!"

"This guy Xia Chiyi, he’s got real grit!"

What worried the Finance coach even more was that as Xia Chiyi thrived at the forward position, Chen Hao became fixated on him, neglecting his own scoring for a long time.

Xia Chiyi wasn't just attacking the paint; he was exhausting Chen Hao, their primary offensive weapon.

It was as if an invisible scabbard had wrapped around Chen Hao, sealing all his sharpness inside.

The excited Ningchang University crowd changed their chant again.

"Ningchang University, Xia Chiyi—flowing like clouds and water! Effortless and graceful!"

"Ningchang University, Xia Chiyi—an assassin strikes! A single blow to seal the throat!"

Listening to the wave after wave of chants, Chen Hao’s face grew increasingly grim. He looked toward the stands, where his boyfriend, Xiao Yu, was watching him with a worried expression.

As Xia Chiyi retreated to play defense, he passed by Zhou Zhexiao and whispered, "Was I arrogant enough just now?"

"Not yet." Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was calm, but the faint smile at the corner of his lips betrayed his good mood.

Xia Chiyi’s performance did indeed lead the University of Finance and Economics to assign specialized defense to him, and Chen Hao received a hint from his coach to stop shadowing Xia Chiyi and focus on scoring.

Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi teamed up again, passing back and forth in a game of "guess where the ball is," toying with the Finance University's defense.

Xia Chiyi constantly roamed the paint, drawing their power forward and center away from the basket, which gave Shuai Bei the opportunity to score three consecutive flashy dunks, finally making his presence felt.

On the Finance side, Jiang Yang ran like a madman to chase the score. He linked up with Chen Hao and point guard Li Jia to form a triangle, making it harder for Ye Chaoying to steal the ball, which allowed the University of Finance and Economics to keep the score gap tight.

By the end of the second quarter, Jiang Yang was breathing like a bellows; he was practically carried off the court, hanging onto Chen Hao.

Ningchang University led the University of Finance and Economics by 8 points.

Xia Chiyi sat in his chair, sucking on a jelly, while Ye Chaoying leaned on his shoulder as if he had no bones.

"Let me lean for a second..."

Xia Chiyi knew how hard Ye Chaoying had worked. If he hadn't neutralized the guard duo of Li Jia and Jiang Yang, the Ningchang basket might have been shredded long ago.

"It's fine. Guan Yu allows Zhang Fei to lean on his shoulder."

"Get lost! Where do I look like Zhang Fei? If anything, I'm Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"

Xia Chiyi laughed, "Has anyone ever told you that Zhang Fei was actually a handsome man?"

"I don't believe it. I just want to know... when is that guy Jiang Yang going to collapse? If he doesn't collapse soon, I'm going to!"

He Bin, watching the exhausted Ye Chaoying, felt a deep sense of guilt. If he had the same stamina as Jiang Yang to run across the court like that, he could have stepped in and engaged in a shooting duel with him.

Ling Huanzhen walked over to Ye Chaoying. "Can you hold on?"

Ye Chaoying gave a thumbs-up, signaling he was still okay.

Ling Huanzhen looked at Zhou Zhexiao. "What about the third quarter? Do you still want to focus the offense on a specific person?"

Zhou Zhexiao calmly tightened his shoelaces. "Everyone is a scoring option."

His teammates all looked over.

Ye Chaoying raised an eyebrow. "Even me?"

"Yes, you too."

"I suddenly feel like I've come back to life, like Popeye after eating spinach!" Ye Chaoying sat up straight, but after about three seconds of excitement, he leaned back onto Xia Chiyi’s shoulder.

It was just a final burst of energy.

As Ling Huanzhen finished laying out the tactics, the surroundings fell briefly silent. Ye Chaoying could hear the breathing of Shuai Bei and Du He, but Xia Chiyi’s heart rate had already returned to normal, his breathing steady.

"How are you not tired at all?" Ye Chaoying frowned.

"Huh?" Xia Chiyi realized with a start that he really didn't feel very tired.

If this were high school, he would be panting by now, but he could feel it himself—he wasn't tired.

"Even though you didn't run as much as I did, you were either playing one-on-one against their small forward or being guarded by their twin towers... and you had plenty of sprinting dribbles too..."

Following Ye Chaoying’s question, the rest of the team looked over.

Shuai Bei was considered the one with the best stamina on the team, yet even he could feel that Xia Chiyi’s state was much more relaxed than his own.

"Hey, you've been doing secret training, haven't you!"

"Oh, I've been doing some equipment work and some shooting drills while in a state of exhaustion."

Ling Huanzhen interrupted at the perfect moment. "Alright, if you're interested in Xia Chiyi’s method of increasing physical fitness and endurance, once we beat the University of Finance and Economics, we'll have over three months, including the winter break. I will do my best to satisfy you!"

"I have a feeling... that won't be a pleasant training session..." Du He whispered.

"Training while exhausted doesn't sound like it's for a finesse guard like me." Ye Chaoying now regretted bringing up Xia Chiyi’s stamina.

"If you're talking about a stamina monster, Zhou Zhexiao is one too. As a point guard, his court coverage is probably second only to Ye Chaoying, but look at him..." Chen Chuan gestured with his chin.

Zhou Zhexiao’s expression was detached, as if he had just finished a warm-up.

Everyone silently labeled him in their minds: Super Monster.

The third quarter began. The University of Finance and Economics did indeed bench Jiang Yang to let him rest. The new player brought in was also a good shooter, but lacked Jiang Yang’s big-game experience and was stifled by Ye Chaoying, barely able to get a shot off.

Zhou Zhexiao finally activated his legendary full-court control mode. His keen insight allowed him to find the opponent's weak links in an instant. His dribbling was ruthless, and it felt as if his basketball and shoes could strike sparks against the floor.

In just three minutes, Du He and Shuai Bei completed two dunks in the paint, Xia Chiyi scored 8 points with both long and short-range shots, and even Ye Chaoying managed a three-pointer in the gaps of his defense.

Zhou Zhexiao single-handedly choked the throat of the University of Finance and Economics, creating virtually uncontested scoring opportunities for his teammates and forcing another timeout and substitution from the opposing coach.

Every one of his passes made Xia Chiyi deeply feel that this guy had mastered every tactic and combination; no method of scoring could ever exceed his expectations.

Furthermore, in just two quarters, Zhou Zhexiao had mapped out the choices every opponent would make under pressure. Like a demon, he kept applying pressure, steering everything toward his own predictions.

The more the Finance University struggled, the more errors they made, which only meant more scoring opportunities for Ningchang University.

Jiang Yang was subbed back in.

As he walked past Ye Chaoying, Ye Chaoying smiled, pointed at himself, and then at Jiang Yang, signaling: I’ll keep guarding you.

Jiang Yang’s face turned ashen, but once on the court, he gave his all to chase the score for his team. He became the core of their offense, with all his teammates moving to cover for him.