Chapter 888: This team… is bound to lose for sure.

If this were a male pageant, it would be a tight competition. Hugo’s team would probably be considered the finalists. Most of the basketball players had towering statures, and this team had that. Above all, they also had the faces of those supermodels. Although Atlas was shorter than the rest, he was still above average.

As soon as they stepped onto the court, cheers erupted from the audience.

"Haha!" Hugo laughed, hands on his hips, eyes scanning the crowd. "I didn’t realize this reunion was so big until now. It’s almost full! It reminds me of the old days."

Atlas, whose expression remained grim, glanced at his second brother before shifting his attention to their bench. "What is Dad doing here?" he mumbled, not caring anymore as he marched toward the bench.

Zoren, also smiling, looked around at the audience and the atmosphere they were creating. "It feels like I’m a gladiator," he commented before following Atlas.

"Gladiator?" Dean murmured to himself, his face as bitter and sour as Atlas’s because this wasn’t what he wanted.

Earlier, Ray had volunteered to be part of the team and even forced Dean to join. Thankfully, Hugo didn’t want either of them. Dean thought he was saved. However, no one else wanted to be part of Hugo’s team. So, Ray immediately raised Dean’s hand again, and for the same reason, Hugo reluctantly accepted Dean onto his team.

Playing basketball wasn’t the problem because Dean was physically fit and had some experience. But what made him even more reluctant was the fact that he would be playing with Zoren, who knew nothing about the game! Not to mention, he preferred observing Jonathan so he could figure out what to do with the guy.

Above all, he didn’t want to play in this team because of Hugo. The guy acted as if Dean should thank him for accepting him!

"Dean~ you can do it~!"

Dean’s frown deepened as he lifted his gaze toward the loud shout from the audience. When he saw Ray holding a banner with his name on it, his face twitched.

"I’ll kill him later," Dean promised under his breath. "I will definitely do it."

With that thought in mind, Dean ignored Ray and walked to his team’s bench, where Atlas, Zoren, and Charles were sitting.

Jonathan’s expression mirrored that of his current teammate. He looked around at the lively audience before his gaze fell on Hugo’s back, and a shallow breath escaped his lips.

’What a strange turn of events,’ he thought, shaking his head and dragging his feet toward the bench. ’Very strange turn of events.’

This entire team wasn’t something one would expect to see playing together. At least, Jonathan knew that. None of the Bennets or Piersons were his allies. If anything, they might fight him to the death if they knew what Jonathan knew.

But here they were, wearing the same uniform and about to face a common enemy.

For him, this was ridiculous—it was beyond absurd. However, he was already in this situation, so he might as well drag them all down with him. Even if he didn’t try, though, he knew nothing about basketball.

"Hey!" As Jonathan made his way to the bench, Hugo jumped to his side and rested his arm over Jonathan’s shoulders. "Oh, wow. I didn’t think you’d be this tall!"

Hugo flashed Jonathan a bright smile, wiggling his brows at him. "Thanks for joining my team, by the way."

"..." Jonathan slowed his pace, glancing at Hugo. "No problem."

"Have you played basketball before?"

"No."

"What?"

"I’ve never played basketball in my life. So, don’t expect anything from me," Jonathan warned plainly, picking up his pace and leaving Hugo behind.

Hugo, on the other hand, kept his gaze fixed on Jonathan’s back. He blinked and then shifted his focus to the rest of his teammates. His eyes first landed on Zoren, who he was sure had no experience with the game. Then on Atlas. Although Atlas had played with Hugo and the basketball team once, that had been twelve years ago.

Atlas had never touched a ball since then, telling Hugo it might break his fingers and affect his writing when signing a document. And then there was Jonathan, who had just confessed to knowing nothing about basketball.

"That guy..." When Hugo’s eyes landed on Dean, his face contorted. "Don’t tell me he doesn’t know how to play either?"

"Max’s team is now here~!" Suddenly, Lily’s voice echoed through the microphone, causing the cheers in the open court to grow louder.

Turning his head toward the opponent’s direction, Hugo’s face twitched. None of his teammates probably knew this, but Max’s teammates had all played basketball in the past. They weren’t part of the team, but they were sporty people. Some of them had even tried out and showed potential. In simple terms, they knew the rules of the game and what to do.

Hugo knew this because basketball had once been his life. So, he was familiar with all these guys’ faces.

"We’re going to lose, aren’t we?" Hugo wondered to himself, now a little worried as he glanced back at his bench.

All his teammates, along with their "coach," Charles, were also looking in the opponent’s direction.

"This is going to be bad," he muttered, finally joining the team, only to hear his father’s comment.

"Hah! They all look so malnourished!" Charles scoffed, looking at his players, who were all in better physical shape. "Don’t worry, guys. I’m sure you’ll win. If you do, I’ll treat you somewhere. It’s a promise."

The corner of Charles’ mouth stretched from ear to ear, his teeth glinting. Aside from Zoren, who smiled back enthusiastically, everyone else looked back at Charles with reluctance in their eyes and doubt on their faces.

Mark, who was on the bench, looked up at his boss and compared Zoren’s enthusiastic demeanor to the rest of the guys.

’This team... is bound to lose for sure.’

They would lose because, at the end of the day, not only because everyone—except Zoren and Hugo—was reluctant to play, but also because these men were the type who wouldn’t want their names mentioned in the same sentence.