Chapter 914: More than just winning or losing

"Yippee Hooray!"

"Hooray!"

"Yippee Hooray! Hooray!"

The basketball team carried Atlas and Hugo, throwing and catching them in the air as they celebrated their win. The audience, on the other hand, continued to cheer with claps, words of congratulation, and words of encouragement.

"You did great, Team Max!"

"It’s alright, Team! It was fun!"

"Good game!"

"Senior Hugo! We love you! I’m single!"

"Great job, everyone!"

As these mixed cheers echoed across the court, Max glanced at the score. In the fourth quarter, the enemy’s score continued to soar, and the game ended with a twenty-point difference. He knew they had held back, or rather, maintained the gap at that number when they could have done more.

"Senior Max, we’re sorry," one of his teammates couldn’t help but speak up. "If only we were more experienced or at least more physically trained, we could’ve helped."

"You trusted us, but we ended up disappointing you and just dragging you down."

"I’m sorry too that I couldn’t help much."

"I’m sorry, Max."

Max raised his brows as he darted his eyes over his team. Even the one he had let in because another was already too exhausted apologized for not being helpful. Despite the words of encouragement ringing throughout the court from their supporters, they all looked so gloomy.

"Haha!" Max laughed out loud, watching them slowly lift their heads.

The moment their eyes landed on Max, deep lines appeared between their brows. They exchanged confused looks before returning their attention to him.

"Senior Max, is everything alright?" one asked, wondering if this laugh was out of mockery or madness. "I know we failed to help, and you ended up doing all the work..."

"You guys—do you really think I’d win even if I chose someone else?" Max grinned, his face free of disappointment and sadness. "Going head to head with Hugo is going to be hard, but with Atlas with him, I know I would never win. Even if they chose other players, their chances of winning would still be good because the two of them trust and listen to each other."

Max paused and smacked his lips, reaching out to the nearest teammate to pat his hand on his shoulder. "We lost, but it was a fun game, wasn’t it? It was interesting, and it’s been a while since I played a full basketball match. Everything on the line... It’s not a loss at all."

"If anything, we lost with pride because we never gave up until the end," he continued, his eyes softening, his entire body more relaxed than usual. "We had fun, so there’s no need for us to be sad just because we lost a game. Can’t you see?"

Just as he said that, he jerked his chin toward the crowd surrounding the court. His action made his teammates look around, only to see many of their friends and old friends clapping for them. Even those who had bet on the other team couldn’t help but commend them for showing resilience until the end.

"Again, congratulations to Senior Hugo’s team for winning this basketball match against Senior Max’s team!" Lily’s voice was heard through the microphone again. "And I would also like to congratulate Penny for not losing her company over the game!"

"With that being said, all the losing bets will be donated to this club’s chosen charity. For those who won and wanted to donate their bets, we have a booth for that..." Lily went on, announcing everything everyone might want to know. "Again, congratulations to the winning team, and also, congratulations to Senior Max’s team. Thank you all for participating and making more fun memories with us."

"Hey." While Lily was too busy adding more side comments into the microphone, Hugo managed to sneak away from the basketball team to approach Max’s team.

Max’s team, now laughing among themselves and talking about the interesting moments during the match, turned their heads in Hugo’s direction.

"It was a fun game," said Hugo, offering his hand to Max. "Now that I think about it, I forgot why we even argued in the first place. Even so, I’m glad we did because if not, this day wouldn’t have been as thrilling and fun."

Max raised his brows and glanced at everyone. Seeing their smiles, he faced Hugo squarely and clasped his hand.

"To be fair, I also forgot what we were arguing about," Max confessed, laughing. "But I’m glad we got to this point. Now, I don’t regret coming here anymore. If anything, I’m glad I let Ginnie and the Captain threaten me."

"Haha!" Hugo laughed, and everyone joined in, exchanging kind words. "Anyway, I still want to apologize for what happened during the third quarter."

Max shook his head. "Don’t worry about that. I understand."

"Understand...?" Hugo repeated, only to see Max’s reassuring smile. Seeing that, he didn’t say anything else as they withdrew his hand and continued chatting, until the basketball team suddenly appeared around them. Before they knew it, the basketball team was tossing and catching Max and his teammates to celebrate the good game they had played.

---

Meanwhile...

"Renren!" Penny called as she headed to the court, watching Zoren turn in her direction. Her face brightened the moment their eyes met, and he smiled.

Zoren smiled gently as he watched his wife jump over the little fence as if it were a stunt. In no time, Penny reached him and leaped forward the moment she entered his vicinity, throwing herself at him.

"Haha." A soft chuckle escaped him as he caught her, his arms wrapped around her thin waist while her arms draped over his shoulders.

"Hehe." Penny giggled, looking up at him mischievously. "My love, congrats! You saved me again!"

She paused, cleared her throat, and made her voice sound more distressed. "If not for you, I would’ve lost my company and all the years of hard work..."

Those hearing Penny’s lame act couldn’t help but give her a look of judgment. Who bet with her company in the first place? As far as they knew, no one forced her to make that bet. So why was she acting as if she had been forced into it and that Zoren had to fix the problem?

Despite others’ thoughts on Penny’s shameless seduction, Zoren didn’t care much and coaxed her to make her feel better.

"She was better before this!" was what people wanted to shout, but they held back.

The basketball game had started with high tension, but it ended on a light note with no bitterness or unresolved issues. If anything, this game not only entertained but also revealed more respect and understanding among everyone.

Overall, it was a good match that brought everyone back in time, but at the same time reminded them that they had come a long way, seeing this match as more than just winning or losing.