Even the players from Clinical Class 7 couldn't stand to watch LĂŒ Tian's antics anymore. They crowded around him, all talking at once as they tried to stop him.
"Captain LĂŒ, cut it out! Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Yeah, Brother Tian, this attempt to frame him is just too obvious. It's not like we're all blind. How could anyone believe you?"
"Captain LĂŒ, I can't believe you went that far, slapping your own face until it was swollen and bleeding. But your acting is terrible. The attempt to fake an injury is way too obvious."
The players' words left LĂŒ Tian bewildered. "What are you all talking about? I framed someone? I faked an injury? I slapped my own face until it was swollen and bleeding? What kind of joke is this? I'm not insane! Why would I do something so fucking stupid like hurting myself? It was obviously that bastard who beat me up like this! Are you all fucking blind?"
'Are *we* blind? We saw everything perfectly clear!'
The players from Clinical Class 7 exchanged bewildered glances.
Little did they know, LĂŒ Tian was actually telling the truth. He had indeed been "beaten" into this state by Zhao Yuan. It was just that Zhao Yuan hadn't laid a finger on him. Instead, he had used an Enchanting Talisman to make LĂŒ Tian slap his own face!
"'Don't you think Captain LĂŒ might have slapped himself so hard he scrambled his own brains?' one player whispered."
His words were met with immediate agreement from the others.
No matter how you looked at him, LĂŒ Tian seemed to have lost his mind.
"Quick, get Captain LĂŒ to the hospital!" a few players yelled.
A few students from Clinical Class 7 quickly came forward and half-dragged, half-carried LĂŒ Tian off to the hospital to see if something was genuinely wrong with his brain.
With the farcical interruption over, the game resumed.
On Clinical Class 7's side, four of their five starters were now at the hospital. The substitutes who replaced them were not only leagues below LĂŒ Tian's group in terms of skill, but they also had zero fighting spirit. The game instantly became a blowout.
Zhao Yuan and his team completely suppressed their opponents, dominating them from start to finish.
Liu Zhu, Guo Shun, and the others were having the time of their lives. They started attempting all sorts of flashy moves, and perhaps because they were so relaxed, every single one of them landed, drawing waves of cheers from the crowd.
Meanwhile, the players from Clinical Class 7 grew more depressed and frustrated the longer they played, to the point they felt like crying. In the end, they simply gave up, throwing in the towel and just hoping for the game to end quickly.
Finally, the referee blew the final whistle.
Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Class 3 had demolished Clinical Class 7 with a final score of 97 to 22!
"We won!"
"Haha! Of all the basketball games I've ever played, that was the most satisfying, the most fun!"
"We beat Clinical Class 7 by 75 points! We even granted them their pre-game wish of having a point difference of over 70!"
The players from Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Class 3 embraced, celebrating a massive victory that would go down in school history!
The players from Clinical Class 7, however, hung their heads, their faces blank. They just wanted to get out of there as fast as possibleâaway from the place where they had been so utterly humiliated.
Off the court, Li Bing stared at Zhao Yuan, his eyes filled with admiration.
'He's got the physique, the speed, and the skill. Not just well-rounded, but exceptional in every aspect! Especially his physical conditioningâhe's like a bull! LĂŒ Tian and his crew tried so many cheap shots to take him down, but they ended up taking themselves out instead! I've never seen such a dominant physique before!'
'Besides him, that player named Liu Zhu is also quite good. I can't believe I found two diamonds in the rough in one game! I'm confident that with my coaching, their futures will be nothing short of extraordinary!'
Li Bing had originally come to this game to scout LĂŒ Tian and his teammates. But now, he had completely forgotten about them. His eyes were fixed on Zhao Yuan, only occasionally glancing at Liu Zhu.
Just as Li Bing was about to go over and invite Zhao Yuan and Liu Zhu to join the school team, someone suddenly rushed onto the court, making a beeline for Zhao Yuan.
"Hey, do you remember me?" the man asked, his face plastered with a smile. Seeing Zhao Yuan's blank expression, he quickly added, "I'm a teacher from the Sports Academy next door. You came to work out on our school's track beforeârunning, doing those abdominal circles on the bar. I even called out to you. Ring a bell?"
With this reminder, Zhao Yuan immediately recognized him. "Oh, it's you."
"Yes, yes, that's me." Seeing that Zhao Yuan remembered him, the man quickly introduced himself. "My surname is Ma, name's Ma Jun. I'm a track and field teacher at the Sports Academy..."
Before he could finish, Zhao Yuan cut in, "What do you want with me? You're not still trying to catch me, are you?"
"Catch you?" Ma Jun was taken aback.
Zhao Yuan said, "Last time, after I finished working out at your school, didn't you call a bunch of people to come and catch me?"
Ma Jun hastily explained, "A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding! I wasn't trying to catch you, I just wanted to stop you so I could invite you to join the track and field department! With your physique and speed, it would be a total waste not to do track and field! If you're willing to come to our school to study track, I guarantee that within a few years, you'll be winning medals in national competitions! It's not even impossible for you to place well on the international stage!"
Before Zhao Yuan could say a word, another man rushed in front of him, shouting, "Old Ma, what's the meaning of this? Are you trying to steal people from me?"
Then, the man turned to Zhao Yuan with a huge smile. "Young man, I'm Liu Hong, a basketball teacher at the Sports Academy, and also the head coach of the academy's basketball team. I watched your performance today, and it was absolutely brilliant. Someone like you should be in our Sports Academy's basketball program! I believe that with systematic, scientific training, you could definitely make it to the professional leagues and become a superstar!"
"What the hell, Old Liu, what's your game? Trying to steal him from me? This kid is prime track and field material, how could he go play basketball?"
"You're lying through your teeth! He's obviously a basketball prodigy. It'd be a waste for him to go with you and learn track!"
And so, the two teachers from the Sports Academy began to argue, their faces flushing red and the veins on their necks bulging as they bickered.
Liu Hong had actually made a special trip to West Hua Medical University today to scout the "enemy." The two universities often faced each other in city and provincial college basketball tournaments. Ma Jun had just been dragged along for company. But unexpectedly, after seeing Zhao Yuan, these two good friends threw all camaraderie out the window and started fighting over him.
Seeing this, Li Bing grew anxious. He hurried onto the court and joined the fray. "Both of you, back off! Zhao Yuan is a student at our West Hua Medical University. Don't even think about poaching him!"
Seeing the three of them arguing more and more intensely, looking like they were about to come to blows, Zhao Yuan quickly stepped forward to separate them.
Zhao Yuan turned to Liu Hong and Ma Jun and said, "Teacher Liu, Teacher Ma, thank you for your high regard and your invitations. However, I only want to be a doctor, not an athlete, so I'm afraid I have to apologize."
The two were unwilling to give up and tried to persuade him, talking over one another, but Zhao Yuan's attitude was firm. They could only leave in disappointment. As they left, however, they exchanged phone numbers with Zhao Yuan and urged him, "If you ever change your mind, call us anytime. The gates of the Sports Academy will always be open for you!"
After Liu Hong and Ma Jun left, Li Bing heaved a long sigh of relief.
'It would have been a huge loss if a talent like this got poached.'
He then adopted a serious expression and said, "Student Zhao Yuan, Student Liu Zhu, I'm Li Bing, the coach of the university basketball team. I am here to formally invite you to join the team!"
"That's great!" Liu Zhu exclaimed, jumping for joy.
'Joining the school team... this was his dream!'
But Zhao Yuan shook his head and refused. "Teacher Li, thank you for the invitation, but I'm sorry. I have no intention of joining the school team at the moment."