Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 5 I never expected Senior Brother Chu to be this kind of person!

There's no need to choose at all!
Even before the echo of Chu Zihang's word "challenge" had faded, Lu Mingfei was practically kneeling down before him.

"I'm a newbie, a complete newbie, senior!"

Lu Mingfei stood there trembling, constantly dribbling the basketball to avoid being warned, "I'm just here to practice basketball..."

"Playing basketball?"

Even when Chu Zihang asked a question, his tone was indifferent. However, this time he was no longer expressionless. Lu Mingfei clearly noticed that his face twitched. Was he... trying to laugh or something?

Actually, Lu Mingfei himself found the scene quite funny. What was Chu Zihang's status and position?
We're already grateful that we even let you in to share a basketball court with a nobody like you. Did you expect someone to practice with a newbie like you?

What's the difference between this and having a World Mathematical Olympiad gold medalist practice with kindergarten children on how one plus one equals?
Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei's head drooped involuntarily, and he subconsciously wanted to shrink his body.

"Don't bend over," Chu Zihang said.

"What?" Lu Mingfei subconsciously looked up.

"Keep your back straight."

As Chu Zihang spoke, his usually calm gaze became somewhat unfocused and empty, as if... he wasn't looking at Lu Mingfei in front of him, but at someone else.

"Son, come here, I'll teach you how to play basketball today! Trust me, my skill level is absolutely the best!"

Back when your dad was dominating all the basketball courts in the city, I don't know how many pretty girls were waiting on the sidelines to hand you water and wipe your sweat! Hey, don't tell your mom that.

Ahem, let's begin. First of all, don't just stand there like a telephone pole..."

The middle-aged man's voice echoed in his ears, and Chu Zihang had not forgotten a single word or tone.

That man was the first to teach him how to play basketball.

"You can lean forward slightly, but you must keep your spine neutral and avoid hunching over," Chu Zihang blinked, snapped out of his reverie, and said to Lu Mingfei.

"This can protect your lower back and improve your reaction speed."

Lu Mingfei was so shocked he was speechless—what was going on?
The word count of these two sentences already exceeded the total of all the words Chu Zihang had said before... but Lu Mingfei was more concerned about the content.

Is Senior Brother Chu going to personally teach him how to play basketball?
What have I done to deserve such an honor? This kind of thing can only happen in a dream!
Never mind, it's a fool not to take advantage of a good deal!

Following Chu Zihang's instructions, Lu Mingfei straightened his back and leaned his upper body slightly forward.

"Slightly bend your knees, lower your center of gravity, maintain flexibility and explosive power, and avoid standing with straight legs," Chu Zihang said.

"Feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward and slightly outward, forming an outward V-shape, with weight on the balls of the feet..."

Lu Mingfei felt as if he were listening to a basketball textbook being read aloud automatically... He was too shocked to calm down and control his body to follow Chu Zihang's instructions.

But Chu Zihang quickly noticed his confusion, so Chu Zihang stepped forward and extended his hand, asking, "Is it alright?"

"Okay, okay, of course!"

Lu Mingfei realized what was happening and nodded vigorously, thinking that if it were a girl here, she probably would have started taking off her clothes right away!
Chu Zihang quickly helped Lu Mingfei get into the right posture, "Just like this, first stand still and bounce the ball up and down."

Lu Mingfei obeyed orders, but the perfectly round basketball wasn't so obedient in his hands.

The first two were fine, but the third and onwards they went a bit off course. In his haste, Lu Mingfei tried to pull the ball back in the opposite direction, but he used too much force, and the ball hit his toes, bouncing directly to the side!
But a large hand was already waiting in its path, and the basketball was caught in its grasp and obediently brought back to Lu Mingfei.

"Continue," Chu Zihang said.

The awkwardness and frustration that Lu Mingfei was about to feel dissipated before they even appeared, thanks to those two words.

He didn't have time to think too much, because neither the schedule nor Chu Zihang gave him time to overthink!

"Okay." Lu Mingfei took it with both hands and continued practicing.

After only a few dozen pats, a line of text suddenly appeared in front of Lu Mingfei's eyes.

[Through diligent practice, your basketball skills have improved, gaining 3 proficiency points.]

So fast?
Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that dribbling the ball was much easier, as if the unruly and naughty child had been taught a lesson and become obedient!

"Okay."

Chu Zihang observed very carefully. Lu Mingfei's skill level had only increased not long ago, but he noticed the changes in Lu Mingfei's dribbling and said, "Now practice the one-handed V-shaped dribble."

"Is...that's how it is?" Lu Mingfei asked tentatively.

The obedient basketball began to rebel again, bouncing left and right, trying to escape Lu Mingfei's grasp... It succeeded, but also failed, because Chu Zihang once again reached out in advance, intercepting it and sending it back.

"continue."

What mixed doubles!
If basketballs could talk, they would probably say something like this.

After several dozen more attempts...

[Through diligent practice, your basketball skills have improved, gaining 3 proficiency points.]

That feeling of turning from rebellious to docile returned, and Lu Mingfei couldn't help but smile slightly... This feeling of instant improvement and becoming stronger was too wonderful and too refreshing!

Why didn't I improve my proficiency in subjects like Chinese and math this efficiently when I was learning them before?
Could it be that I have a special talent for playing basketball, which is why my proficiency has improved so quickly?
"Okay."

Chu Zihang continued in the same rhythm, "Next is the two-handed crossover V-dribble..." And so, he practiced, improved his proficiency, changed the subject, and continued to improve... After an hour and a half, Lu Mingfei's basketball skills were skyrocketing!
"Okay."

Chu Zihang paused. "Do you need to rest?"

“I…I don’t need to…” Lu Mingfei shook his head, his body drenched in sweat and panting slightly.

Rest? Forget about it. Whenever Lu Mingfei tries to rest, even just for the slightest thought or momentary distraction, an electric shock countdown begins!
Lu Mingfei also found it very strange. He had run a total of 5 kilometers today, studied intensively for eight hours, and then practiced basketball non-stop for an hour and a half...

With such a huge amount of exercise, shouldn't I be completely exhausted and fall asleep immediately even if there's an electric shock countdown?
But whenever Lu Mingfei felt he was about to exhaust himself, a new force would surge within him, supporting him to continue.

This force is insignificant, perhaps just the last bit of moist soil at the end of a dried-up water source, yet it seems endless; dig away a little, and another little will emerge.

"Is this what they call willpower?" Lu Mingfei thought to himself with a wry smile, like a peddler boasting about his wares. "I really do have an iron will!"

“If you’re tired, you can rest,” Chu Zihang thought for a moment and said, “I’ll come again tomorrow.”

"Haha, I'm not worried about missing this opportunity! Senior brother, I have reasons why I have to continue..." Lu Mingfei said with a wry smile.

Seeing this scene, Chu Zihang's heart stirred slightly. Beneath his eternally unchanging icy expression, his gossipy inner self was activated. He thought that Lu Mingfei's desperate efforts must have been stimulated by something.

Is it because of the girl?

Chu Zihang had been following Lu Mingfei and knew that he really liked a girl, so much so that the whole school knew about it... I think her name was Chen Wenwen?

Given Chu Zihang's current life experience, he cannot understand why Lu Mingfei would go to such lengths for a girl he likes, but he is a man of high character and chooses to respect Lu Mingfei's decision and help him out.

After observing Lu Mingfei for a while and confirming that Lu Mingfei was not overexerting himself, Chu Zihang said, "Start practicing shooting."

Lu Mingfei perked up. For the past hour and a half, he had been practicing dribbling, and he was almost sick of practicing the techniques, but he hadn't actually shot a basket yet!

But Chu Zihang didn't rush to start teaching him. Instead, he stood there for a while, stunned, before asking a question.

"What do you think is the key to shooting?"

"Uh... put the basketball in the basket?" Lu Mingfei was stunned and said something he himself thought was useless.

"wrong."

As Lu Mingfei expected, Chu Zihang shook his head and then gave an answer that Lu Mingfei would never have imagined coming from "Senior Brother Chu".

"He's handsome."

Lu Mingfei: "??!"

“That’s how you shoot.” Chu Zihang picked up the basketball and casually tossed it with one hand. The basketball went straight into the basket from where he was standing at the three-point line.

"That's still a shot." This time it was a standard jump shot with a flick of the wrist.

"That's still a shot." This time it was an incredibly sharp three-step layup followed by a dunk!
"That's still a shot." Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment, then held the basketball with both hands and tossed it upwards.

“I know, I know, this is a chamber pot!” Lu Mingfei shouted.

Even with Chu Zihang's excellent facial expression control, he couldn't help but twitch slightly, but he still maintained a serious expression, "Did you notice the difference?"

"No, senior, you look cool no matter how you shoot!"

Lu Mingfei finally understood the girls' fervent pursuit of Senior Brother Chu back then at Shilan Middle School... Being handsome is really an advantage; everything you do looks cool!
“No, what I mean is, pretty girls don’t care if you make the shot, they only care about how stylish your shooting form is… What’s wrong with you?” Chu Zihang stopped talking.

"I just never expected to hear such words from you, senior brother..." Lu Mingfei tried to close his jaw, which had dropped in surprise.

So, it turns out that beneath the icy, expressionless exterior of Senior Brother Chu lies such a secretly passionate and eccentric personality? They even managed to come up with a theory like this!

I never expected you to be this kind of person, Senior Brother Chu!

“…That’s what my dad said.” Chu Zihang paused for a moment before explaining, “I’m just repeating it.”

"As expected, tiger cubs don't have dog fathers!"

Lu Mingfei gave a thumbs-up in praise, then scratched his head, trying hard to recall, and finally found a scene in his memory.

"Senior, your dad is that middle-aged man who drives a Maybach, right? When I first saw him, I immediately thought he was a dashing young man..."

A gust of wind swept by, and before Lu Mingfei could react, he felt as if his shoulder had been gripped by a pair of iron claws!
Chu Zihang appeared in front of him in an instant without him noticing, grabbing his shoulders!

The two were extremely close, so close that Lu Mingfei could clearly see Chu Zihang's pupils. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that... Chu Zihang's pupils seemed to be glowing.

"Master, senior brother... what's wrong?"

Chu Zihang didn't speak, but just stared at Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard, feeling immense pressure, and instinctively started spouting nonsense, "Um, although you are indeed very handsome, senior brother, I'm really straight..."

Chu Zihang lowered his eyes and spoke, each word distinct and deliberate.

His voice rarely betrayed his barely concealed excitement.

"You...remember...him?"

(End of this chapter)