Zhao Yuan finally understood why everyone looked so righteously indignant. They were all riled up by the trash talk coming from Clinical Class 7. He chuckled. "Isn't it normal to talk trash before a game?"
Liu Zhu said resentfully, "But they shouldn't have said they'd beat us by seventy points! That's a total humiliation!"
In a basketball game, winning by more than twenty points could be called a landslide. Winning by thirty could be called a complete victory. But winning by seventy? That was, without a doubt, a humiliation.
Zhao Yuan laughed. "Anyone can talk trash. Didn't we say we were going to make Clinical Class 7 cry? Alright, everyone, stop being angry. Since Clinical Class 7 wants to make the point difference seventy, let's give them what they want!"
The basketball team members all froze, staring at Zhao Yuan in stunned silence.
"Of course, the ones winning will be us!" Zhao Yuan finally delivered the second half of his sentence.
Liu Zhu let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest with an exaggerated expression. "You scared me to death! I thought you'd lost your nerve before the fight even started."
"How could I? Right now, my fighting spirit is soaring!" Zhao Yuan let out a cold laugh and thought to himself, 'The fire that the Jinling Zhao Family lit inside me was looking for a place to erupt, and Clinical Class 7 just happened to show up. Fine. I'll vent all of it on them!'
Feeling the competitive spirit radiating from Zhao Yuan, the whole team's morale soared.
"Well said! If Clinical Class 7 wants a defeat that will go down in school history, let's give it to them! We wouldn't want them to say we're not accommodating!"
"Win by seventy points? Just thinking about it is exciting... But can we really win by that much? Our opponent is Clinical Class 7, after all!"
"Beating Clinical Class 7 is definitely not a problem. With a secret weapon like Zhao Yuan, we could even beat the number one seed in this year's freshman tournament, Orthopedics & Traumatology Class 1! It's the seventy-point margin that's going to be tough to pull off!"
"No matter what, since Zhao Yuan said we're going to beat Clinical Class 7 by seventy points, we have to give it our all and try to achieve that goal!"
After some discussion, the members of the basketball team shouted in unison, "Give it our all! Win by seventy!"
The game time arrived quickly. Zhao Yuan headed to the courts with the rest of the team.
The basketball courts were already an ocean of people. Several games were scheduled to be played simultaneously on the various courts this afternoon, so students from every department and class had gathered here to cheer for their respective teams.
The match between Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine Class 3 and Clinical Class 7 was to be held on Court 5. When Zhao Yuan and his team arrived, the court was already surrounded by students from both classes, so packed you couldn't move. The two sides were clearly divided, each occupying one half of the sidelines.
Seeing Zhao Yuan's team arrive, the students from Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine Class 3 erupted into cheers and shouts of encouragement. Not to be outdone, the students from Clinical Class 7 also roared their support for their own team. The official match hadn't even started, but the two classes were already locked in a fierce cheering competition.
The players from Clinical Class 7 also arrived at the court around this time and began their pre-game warm-ups. However, their captain, Lü Tian, didn't step onto the court. Instead, he was standing among the crowd on the sidelines.
Ye Feng stood beside him, pointed at Zhao Yuan, and said, "That's the kid. During the game, I want you to teach him a good lesson for me! Get it done, and I'll treat you guys to the works—food, drinks, and entertainment!"
Lü Tian nodded and said with a savage grin, "No problem, Senior Brother Ye. This kid dared to provoke you; he really doesn't know his own limits. The moment he steps on the court, I'll make sure he gets carried off!"
Ye Feng waved his hand. "Hey, no need to be so violent. Let him stay on the court. Humiliate him a few times, make him look as pathetic as possible. After he's completely lost face, then you can take him out! Also, don't bother with things like broken bones, that's too boring. You'd be better off aiming for his 'little brother'!"
Lü Tian sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively covered his groin.
'Who would have thought,' he mused, 'Ye Feng, who just said not to be too violent, would actually tell us to go for the family jewels... Just how deep does this grudge run?'
But, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. Lü Tian had received plenty of favors from Ye Feng, so naturally, he had to work hard for him now. He nodded. "Understood, Senior Brother Ye. We definitely won't disappoint you!"
Ye Feng patted Lü Tian's shoulder and said, "Go on. I'll be here watching and cheering you on!"
"Okay!" Lü Tian strode onto the court and gathered his warming-up teammates. He appeared to be giving them a pre-game pep talk, but he was actually relaying Ye Feng's orders.
In the crowd, Ye Feng stared at Zhao Yuan with a vicious smile and thought, 'Kid, I'm going to make you understand that the consequences for trying to steal a woman from me, Ye Feng, are very, very serious!'
The next second, his expression turned ugly. He saw Lin Xue on the sidelines, cheering for Zhao Yuan.
"Huh? Lin Xue? What are you all doing here?" Zhao Yuan had also spotted Lin Xue. With her were Yang Zi, Luo Dan, and Qi Xia.
"We came to cheer for you," Lin Xue said with a smile.
She was already sweet-looking, but her smile was even more beautiful, causing all the boys around her to stare, mesmerized. The players from Clinical Class 7 had just been following orders before, but after seeing this, a deep-seated hatred for Zhao Yuan began to grow within them as well.
Public displays of affection are a great way to attract hate!
Zhao Yuan was of course happy that Lin Xue and her friends could come, but he was also a bit puzzled. "Doesn't your class have a game?"
Lin Xue shook her head. "Our class only has two guys. We couldn't even put together a basketball team, so we didn't enter the tournament."
Beside her, Yang Zi sighed. "Too many girls and not enough guys. It's an absolute tragedy!"
Wu Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this. He said with immense envy, "Only two guys in the whole class? Aren't they the luckiest guys alive? Man, if I'd known, I wouldn't have majored in Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine. I would've gone into nursing."
Yang Zi shot him a look and said, "I don't know if they're lucky or not, but we're on the verge of turning those two guys effeminate and gay. Are you sure you want to go into nursing? I hear freshmen have a chance to change their major, you know."
"Ah?" Wu Yan was taken aback and frantically waved his hands. "On second thought, never mind!"
After a few more laughs, Zhao Yuan said a temporary goodbye to Lin Xue and went back to warming up with Liu Zhu and the others.
Just then, a figure suddenly shot out from Clinical Class 7's side of the court. Moving with lightning speed, he charged into the Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine team's warm-up area, leaped high into the air, and executed a beautiful layup.
SWISH. The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
After landing, the man caught the ball, turned around, and made a throat-slitting gesture at the stunned players of Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine Class 3.
It was Lü Tian, the captain of Clinical Class 7.
A provocation!
This was, without a doubt, a provocation!
A blatant provocation!
"Get ready for a slaughter!" Lü Tian declared, issuing his challenge.