Yang Hongzhi nodded and laughed at Shen Qingyangâs words, but as he approached the basketball court, the smirk on his face told otherwise. He had no intention of showing Xiao Luo any mercy whatsoever and would do his best to make Xiao Luo look like a complete fool.
On the court, Su Xiaobei had just picked up the ball and ran back with it toward Xiao Luo, screaming, âYay! Daddyâs so awesome⦠here, Daddy, throw the ball again.â
Xiao Luo patted her head affectionately as he received the ball.
However, when he turned around to shoot, Yang Hongzhi was right in front of him, waving his arms and poised to block it. He wore a wry smile on his face as he stared confidently into Xiao Luoâs eyes and said, âMr. Xiao, you seem to be quite good at playing basketball, why donât we have a one-on-one match?â
âNo thank you, Iâm not interested!â
Xiao Luo replied curtly and turned away, holding Su Xiaobeiâs hand as they walked to the other corner of the court, where Xiao Luo shot the ball into the hoop from within the three-point arc.
âYay, my daddyâs so great!â
Su Xiaobei was jumping for joy as if she were the one who made the basket. She playfully skipped toward the baseline to retrieve the basketball before running back with it to Xiao Luoâshe was his exclusive ball girl.
âLetâs play another round, and then weâll stop, okay?â
The little girl nodded obediently and replied, âOkay, Daddy.â
Xiao Luo eyed the hoop and aligned the ball to his dominant eye, he jumped and extended his shooting hand straight at the basket as he made the shot. The ball left Xiao Luoâs right hand and sailed in the air with a slight backspin on its way to the hoop.
Suddenly, the ball was slapped out the courtâYang Hongzhi moved like a prowling tiger, dashing swiftly across the ballâs trajectory, and he jumped up high before smacking the ball down with his right hand.
That was, by any standard, a clean and perfect block!
If such a block had been executed during a match, it would undoubtedly have had an impact on the shooterâs state of mind and morale, even sending him into a daze.
âBravo!!!â
Yang Hongzhiâs two bodyguards clapped and cheered loudly.
âThatâs a great block.â
Shen Qingyan, who was standing a short distance away with Su Li, gave an approving nod.
âTaking advantage of others, what a shameless man!â Su Li scoffed.
Shen Qingyan thought for a while and arrived at the same conclusion. âMmm, youâre right, young master Yang surely is a shameless man.â
Su Xiaobei was jolted with shock as the basketball that was aggressively blocked by Yang Hongzhi.
Xiao Luo remained expressionless without even the slightest bit of agitation on his face.
Yang Hongzhi picked the ball up, then walked toward Su XIaobei and smiled at her. âXiaobei, how about Uncle Yang shoots a ball for you?â he said.
Before the little girl could respond, Yang Hongzhi was already dribbling the ball toward the hoop, then in three steps, his body spun 180 degrees, and layed-up with his right hand putting the ball into the basket lightly. His movements were fluid, elegant, and aesthetically pleasing to watch.
Yang Hongzhi picked up the ball again and glanced fleetingly at Su Li to see her reaction. Although it seemed like he demonstrated his basketball skills for Su Xiaobei, he was actually showing off to Su Li.
âXiaobei, now watch Uncle Yangâs next move!â
Once again Yang Hongzhi dribbled toward the basket and layed-up in three steps, but this time changed his movements mid-air, he passed the ball through his legs and sent the ball upwards by the other hand lightly, it cleared the rim and landed inside the basket successfully again.
He then proceeded to performed âreverse windmillâ lay-up, âswitch between handsâ lay-up, and he even layed-up the final one by looping the ball from under his leg. Each technique was harder than the previous one, and his execution was very sharp and precise, which was a stirring sight to behold.
Yang Hongzhiâs two bodyguards gushed and heaped unending praise, and even Shen Qingyan couldnât help but commend his performance. âYoung Master Yang is so dashingâif he had done that in a university, he probably would have charmed a bunch of girls.â
Su Li did not say anything, but although she did not want to admit, she was impressed with Yang Hongzhiâs basketball skills.
After proudly completing his exhibition of lay-ups, Yang Hongzhi was panting and was sweating profusely. He went up to Su Xiaobei with the ball, smiled at her, and said, âXiaobei, was is nice watching uncle Yang play basketball?â
As the saying goes, âkids donât lie,â and reluctantly, she nodded slightly and whispered, âYes.â
âThen, do you want to play with Uncle Yang?â
Su Xiaobei looked up at Xiao Luo, then hugged his thigh and shook her head without hesitation, âNo, I want to play with my daddy.â
Yang Hongzhiâs eyes froze for a fleeting moment, and just a glint betrayed his pique, but he smiled again and said, âThen would you want to know if Uncle Yang or your daddy is better at playing basketball?â
The little girl did not speak as she hid behind Xiao Luo timidly.
Yang Hongzhi straightened his back and looked at Xiao Luo, âMr. Xiao, letâs have a game. It doesnât matter who wins or loses; most importantly, we should have fun.â
âNo, thank you, find someone else.â
Xiao Luo didnât have the time for him, and taking Su Xiaobeiâs hand, they left the court.
Yang Hongzhi clenched his jaw, and the expression in his face turned dark and cold. He wound up and flung the ball viciously at Xiao Luo.
Whoosh~
The basketball was thrown hard and flat and flew directly at the side of Xiao Luoâs head at a searing speed.
Xiao Luo detected the incoming ball in his peripheral vision and instantly reacted. He intuitively raised his hand up with his five fingers splayed open and caught the ball cleanly in one hand like glue.
âWoah⦠youâre pretty quick!â
Yang Hongzhi was quite stunned, but he hid it with a smile.
Xiao Luoâs eyes turned cold, and he emanated a chilling aura that radiated outward.
Even Shen Qingyan shuddered and muttered to herself, âWhatâs with the god damn weather, why is it cold all of a sudden?â
âXiaobei, go to mommy.â
Xiao Luo spoke gently and patted Xiaobeiâs head lightly.
âDaddy, are you playing basketball with uncle Yang?â She looked excitedly at him with her blinking eyes.
âYeahâ¦â
Yang Hongzhi couldnât hold back his smirk, his time had come finally, and he would completely annihilate this catfish and impress Su Li.
âDaddyâs fighting!â
Su Xiaobei cheered for Xiao Luo, then quickly ran back to Su Li.
Xiao Luo held the ball and approached Yang Hongzhi, they had a similar height, both were around one hundred and seventy-seven centimeters.
He looked at Yang Hongzhi calmly and asked, âWhatâs the rule?â
Xiao Luo was not easily provoked when he was subjected to insults or even when he was bullied. But he had his limits, and when he was pushed beyond that threshold, the agitator beware! Yang Hongzhi had certainly provoked himâand had Zhang Dashan been present, he would have said that Yang Hongzhi had hit theâ jackpot.â
âItâs simple, whoever scores ten points first, win,â Yang Hongzhi said, oozing with confidence.
âWhoâs going first?â Xiao Luo asked.
âYouâre a guest, so after you.â
Yang Hongzhi made a go sign, and he looked incredibly calm and confident with his ever-present smile.
Xiao Luo stood outside the three-point line, he passed the ball to Yang Hongzhi, who duly passed it back to him. This was a one-on-one duel, and the match would start after the opponent returned the ball to him.
âF*cking catfish, Iâll destroy you with a 10-0 score!â
The thought flashed in Yang Hongzhiâs mind, and he smirked gleefully, then keeping his feet apart, he bent his knees slightly and stretched out his arms to get into a balanced defensive stance.
However, before he could even react with a block, Xiao Luo jumped up high and made his shot from outside the three-point line.
The ball sailed majestically through the air in a beautiful arc, and Xiao Luo scored his first basket with the ball going through the hoop cleanly. As the ball cleared the net, it bounced several times, and in the silence of the moment, the sound of bouncing ball reverberated across the court⦠BOP, BOP, BOP.
âWhat theâ¦?â
Yang Hongzhi stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Xiao Luo actually scored, and he was at least half a meter outside the three-point line. How could he score the basket so effortlessly?
â¦