Are You a Professional Player, Kid

“Then let’s have some fun with him,” Josh’s friend said with a laugh.

“Okay.”

“Come on, kid. Let’s see what you’ve got.” Josh took the basketball his friend handed him and began dribbling.

Su Yang quickly stepped in front of Josh. By then, everyone else had left the court and was standing outside, waiting for the show.

On the other half of the court, Morant was dribbling between his legs as he watched Su Yang and Josh.

Su Yang glanced at the ball in Josh’s hands. “You start.”

Josh gave him a disdainful smile, tossed the ball to Su Yang, and walked out beyond the three-point line. “If I start, you won’t even get a chance.”

“Let’s see if you can back that up.” Su Yang passed the ball back to him and moved to the opposite side.

The group of Black and white guys watching from the sidelines began cheering loudly.

“Josh! Wreck this Asian kid!”

Josh smiled faintly. “Easy.”

Su Yang ignored the noise. He rolled his neck and lowered himself into a defensive stance. “Enough talking. Let’s start.”

Josh cradled the ball and lowered his center of gravity. “Let’s see if you can keep up with my rhythm.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Smack.

Josh stopped talking and began dribbling backward. Su Yang spread his arms and stayed tight on him.

Whoosh!

A grin tugged at the corner of Josh’s mouth as he suddenly exploded forward. He crossed over, intending to blow past Su Yang and finish with a dunk at the rim.

But the instant Josh lowered his body and changed direction, Su Yang reacted with lightning speed. His left hand shot out and cleanly stripped the ball from Josh.

Su Yang quickly secured the ball, dribbled out beyond the three-point line, and grinned. “That’s it?”

“You!” Josh had been careless and never expected Su Yang’s hands to be so quick.

“It was a fluke. Again!” Josh shouted as he rushed forward to defend.

Su Yang was about two meters outside the three-point line. Before Josh could get to him, Su Yang smoothly rose up and fired a long three-pointer.

Swish!

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air and dropped cleanly through the net.

Josh and the Black and white guys on the sidelines stared in stunned silence.

“Shit! This kid can actually play!”

Su Yang raised the corners of his mouth and looked at Josh. “Well?”

“Well what? It was just one shot. Don’t get cocky.”

“Didn’t you say I’d win if I scored two points on you? I just scored three.” Su Yang held up three fingers and waved them in front of Josh.

“That doesn’t count. I was just saying that. Keep playing! First to eleven!”

Josh caught the ball tossed in from the sidelines and passed it to Su Yang beyond the three-point line. “Come on!”

As he dribbled, Su Yang said, “Fine. What you said doesn’t count, but I’m still keeping my word. If you score two points on me, I’ll leave immediately.”

“Quit talking and get on with it!” Josh yelled impatiently.

However, all traces of his earlier carelessness were gone. He was now playing at one hundred percent.

Su Yang nodded with a smile and said nothing more. He copied Josh’s earlier move, dribbling backward.

Josh bent over, tugged at his shorts, and hurried after him on defense. The instant Josh closed in, Su Yang dropped his center of gravity and crossed over, driving past him.

Josh reached out, hoping to strip the ball, but Su Yang’s dribble was not that easy to disrupt.

Before Josh’s hand could even touch the ball, Su Yang rolled his shoulder and made a sharp change of direction the other way. He blew past Josh and charged toward the basket.

Everyone assumed that, at only 1.8 meters tall, he could do nothing more than lay the ball in. But to their surprise, after taking two steps, Su Yang took off with the ball in his right hand and threw down a powerful tomahawk dunk.

The backboard trembled slightly with a sharp crack, and the ball slammed through the rim.

“Holy shit!”

The moment Su Yang threw down that tomahawk dunk, Josh and everyone on the sidelines screamed. Their eyes went wide as they jumped straight up on the spot.

Even Morant and White stood there stunned for two seconds.

Professionals saw things differently from ordinary basketball fans. Su Yang’s two consecutive crossovers, his drive past Josh, and the dunk had all flowed together seamlessly, and his speed had been astonishing.

Morant was slightly surprised. In his eyes, there was a very good chance this Asian guy was a professional player. He turned to discuss it with White.

Meanwhile, on the court, Su Yang dribbled toward Josh. “I’m still six points short. Keep it up!”

He tossed the ball to Josh, then stepped back beyond the three-point line.

Josh took a deep breath and slapped the ball a few times before turning to Su Yang. “Are you a professional player?!”

“Who told you that? I’m just a basketball enthusiast. Shall we continue?”

“Whew! Fine, let’s continue.”

Josh passed the ball back to Su Yang and immediately lowered his center of gravity, defending with complete focus. He was already down by five points. If he let Su Yang score easily again, the game was over.

His eyes locked onto the basketball in Su Yang’s hands.

Su Yang smiled and began to dribble. The instant the ball hit the ground, Josh lunged forward.

Su Yang immediately turned sideways and shielded the ball on the outside. Josh pressed tightly against him, refusing to let him make a move.

But for Su Yang now, defense at Josh’s level was practically meaningless.

Although Su Yang had no actual basketball skills, his extraordinary physique, terrifying core strength, speed, and other physical attributes were enough to deal with most people.

He used his body to lean into Josh, steadily backing him farther and farther inside the three-point line.

Josh was shocked. How could someone so much smaller than him be this strong?

After dribbling three times, Su Yang suddenly drove right. Josh’s concentration was razor-sharp, and he quickly stayed with him.

But after taking only two steps, Su Yang came to an abrupt stop, nearly sending Josh stumbling. He changed direction and went left. Josh pushed off with both feet and managed to stay attached once again.

Su Yang stopped sharply one more time, then added a convincing spin fake that sent Josh flying.

Swish!

Standing just behind the left side of the free-throw line, he pulled up and knocked down another shot.

The score was now 7–0.

“Holy shit! This guy’s pretty damn good!” a white guy shouted from the sidelines.

“It’s 7–0. Josh is probably going to lose.”

“Not probably. This guy’s on another level. Josh isn’t even in the same league.”

“Whew!”

Josh had been beaten three straight times by Su Yang and had yet to complete a single offensive possession.

Although he was taller, he was slower and weaker than Su Yang, and his technique was far inferior. He simply had no way to defend him.

Next, Su Yang deliberately allowed Josh to steal the ball. Finally getting a chance to attack, Josh dribbled quickly toward the basket, hoping to throw down a dunk and save some face.

But just as he rose into the air and was about to slam the ball through the hoop, Su Yang suddenly appeared beneath the basket. He leaped high and delivered a solid block, swatting away both Josh and the ball and sending them crashing to the floor.

“Oh my God!”

The people on the sidelines were once again stunned by Su Yang’s move. Their expressions turned exaggerated as they stumbled backward.

The players on the other half of the court stopped their game and ran over to watch as well.

The rest of the game was completely one-sided. Su Yang ended it with two three-pointers.

11–0.

Josh had failed to score even a single point.

The moment the game ended, the crowd erupted into applause, thoroughly won over by Su Yang’s basketball skills.

No matter what you did, strength was what ultimately earned respect.

Su Yang clasped his hands toward the crowd with a grin. “You’re too kind.”

Josh was still a little frustrated, but he was not the kind of person who refused to acknowledge a loss. He walked up to Su Yang. All traces of his initial arrogance were gone.

Looking at Su Yang, he sighed. “I lost. I apologize for what I said earlier. Sorry.”

Su Yang smiled. “I just got lucky. Mostly because you’d already been playing for a while, so your stamina had started to drop.”

“Hey, don’t make excuses for me. If you’re not as good, you’re not as good. I’m willing to accept the loss. From now on, whenever you come by and we’re here, you’re always welcome to play with us.”

“Haha, sounds good!”

The two exchanged smiles, putting behind them that tiny bit of unpleasantness from earlier.

Actually, most guys were like this. They preferred to let their abilities do the talking.

You put a mule or a horse to work and see what it can really do. If you were good, they respected you. If you weren’t, then you moved on. It was as simple as that.

Just then, Morant said a few words to White before stepping onto the court. He quickly made his way toward Su Yang and Josh and called out, “Hey, man! You’re good! Want to play me one-on-one?”

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