I Really Didn't Go Easy

Morant drove to the basket, changing direction several times before finishing with his signature tomahawk dunk.

Smack!

The backboard and rim shook slightly from the force of the dunk.

On the sidelines, Holland pulled up his pants, stood, and applauded.

Morant looked over, waved, and nodded at Holland. The two of them clearly knew each other.

The score was now 4–4, and Morant kept possession for the next play.

Before starting, however, he looked at Su Yang and asked, “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Su Yang.”

“Okay. How about taking your shirt off? Let’s have a real man-to-man battle.”

Su Yang found that a little strange. Why did a man-to-man battle require taking off their shirts?

Morant grinned. “I noticed you’ve got some pretty good muscle definition.”

Su Yang wasn’t shy about it. He smiled and said, “Sure.”

He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, quickly pulled it off, and tossed it to the side of the court, revealing an almost perfect upper body to everyone present.

His full pectorals, chiseled abs, defined biceps and triceps, trapezius muscles, and more all came together to form an enviable physique.

He was the perfect example of someone who looked slim in clothes but was muscular underneath.

“Holy crap!”

[Ding! The host has inadvertently shown off and made everyone feel good. Reward: $3 million.]

Even Morant was slightly surprised when he saw Su Yang’s physique. “Not bad, Su. You’re in great shape!”

On the sidelines, Zendaya narrowed her eyes slightly, as if deep in thought.

“Come on, let’s keep going!” Su Yang called out to Morant.

“Alright!”

Morant attacked with the ball while Su Yang stayed tight on defense. The sound of their muscles colliding rang out.

Morant backed him down, dribbled twice in succession, then used a step-back jumper. Su Yang defended the play tightly.

The instant Morant jumped after stepping back, Su Yang jumped as well and reached out to contest the shot.

Bang!

The ball struck the backboard, bounced off the rim, and fell away. It didn’t go in.

Su Yang ran over to retrieve it and smiled. “My turn.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got!” Morant said with a grin, rubbing the sole of his shoe against the floor.

Su Yang brought the ball beyond the three-point line and began dribbling. He pulled off a smooth series of moves. He was eight centimeters shorter than Morant, and once he lowered his center of gravity, it was extremely difficult to strip the ball from him.

Su Yang dribbled between his legs several times, then faked a drive forward. He followed it with a step-back beyond the three-point line and rose for a pull-up jumper.

Morant leaped with all his might, but he was still just short.

Swish!

The basketball dropped cleanly through the net.

“Whoa! Shit! Let’s go, Su!”

Josh seemed to have become Su Yang’s newest fan, cheering nonstop from the sidelines and acting as the game’s personal hype man.

After Su Yang’s shot, the score was 7–4. He now needed only one more three-pointer and either a mid-range shot or a dunk to win the game.

Morant, naturally, had no intention of letting him win so easily.

The two players gave it everything they had, trading baskets and going back and forth.

Seeing such a high-level one-on-one game on a public court had all the basketball-loving guys in the crowd applauding and cheering.

A few minutes later, the score reached 10–9, with Su Yang leading Morant 10–9. One more basket by either player would end the game.

Morant had possession, however.

Su Yang defended seriously. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his body was already soaked through. Most of the sweat on him, though, belonged to Morant.

For the final possession, Morant wanted to end the battle with a powerful dunk. He dribbled quickly before stopping and changing direction, but Su Yang stayed in front of him and left him no room at all.

After changing direction, Morant turned and faked a jump shot, trying to get Su Yang to leave his feet so he could throw the ball off the backboard and dunk it himself.

Su Yang didn’t fall for the fake. Since the rules prohibited a second dribble, Morant couldn’t put the ball on the floor again. When he saw that he hadn’t gotten Su Yang to jump, he had no choice but to force the play.

He threw the ball off the backboard and immediately sprinted toward the basket. Su Yang took off after him.

The ball struck the backboard and bounced back toward the floor. When it was still about two meters above the ground, Su Yang leaped a step ahead of Morant and snatched it out of the air.

“Fuck,” Morant cursed before he could stop himself.

Su Yang dribbled quickly back beyond the three-point line, with Morant rushing after him.

But Morant was a step too late. The moment Su Yang reached the line, he rose for another pull-up jumper.

The ball flew through the air, and everyone turned to watch it.

It traveled on an almost perfectly straight trajectory, with barely any arc, shooting into the net like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Swish!

The ball sliced through the net with a satisfying sound.

The game was over.

As the shot dropped, the spectators on the sidelines erupted as if they had just witnessed a game-winning buzzer-beater. They ran around with exaggerated expressions of excitement.

Morant held his head in both hands, muttering something under his breath.

Su Yang smiled, walked over, and extended a hand. “Thanks for going easy on me. If you hadn’t, there’s no way I could’ve won.”

Morant shook his head with a wry smile and took his hand. “I really wasn’t holding back. You’re good enough to play professionally. Ever thought about going to the United States?”

Su Yang laughed. “Me? No, no, no. I couldn’t handle the intensity of that kind of competition.”

“Don’t be so modest. Your skills are seriously impressive. This is the first time I’ve ever lost a one-on-one game to a random guy. If you can beat me, you can play professionally.”

The two of them exchanged compliments and talked themselves up to each other for a full minute before finally stopping.

At that moment, Holland walked onto the court clapping and said with a smile, “Ja, who’s this handsome guy?”

Ja was Morant’s first name. His full name was Ja Morant.

Morant smiled. “His name’s Su Yang. I only just met him too.”

Holland turned to Su Yang with a grin. “Bro, you actually beat Ja. Nice work!”

Su Yang smiled back. “You’re too kind. You’re Spider-Man—I know you. I’m a fan.”

“Really?” Holland asked with a smile.

“Absolutely. You’re hugely popular in China. You’ve got tons of fans there, and I’m one of them.”

“Oh? You’re Chinese?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been to China before. It’s beautiful, and the fans are incredibly passionate. I really love your country!”

The three of them chatted for a few moments before Morant looked at Holland and said, “Since you’re already here, want to play a game?”

“I came here to play against you!” Holland replied with a grin.

“How about three-on-three, then? The three of us can team up.”

As he spoke, Morant waved toward White, who was on the sidelines. “White, bro, come on!”

White, who had been dribbling around, hurried onto the court. “What’s up?”

“Come on, let’s play three-on-three. You and Lloris take a random guy, and I’ll team up with these two.” Morant pointed toward Su Yang and Holland.

“Okay.” White smiled and turned to find Lloris, the white guy who had gotten out of the vehicle with them earlier.

At that moment, Su Yang said with a smile, “Before we play, could I take a picture with the two of you?”

“Of course!” Holland readily agreed with a smile.

“Thanks.”

Su Yang turned toward Josh, who was standing outside the court with an envious look on his face, and waved him over. “Josh, come here for a second.”

Josh hurried onto the court. “What’s up, Su?”

“Could you take a picture for us?”

“No problem.”

Su Yang slipped his hand into his pants pocket, took a phone out of the system shop, turned it on, and handed it to Josh.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Su Yang quickly walked over and stood between Holland and Morant. The three of them lined up side by side.

Josh quickly snapped two photos, then walked over with a beaming smile. “Can I take a picture with you guys too?”

“No problem!”

After taking the photo, Su Yang put his phone back on the system shelf.

“Josh, we’re about to play a 3-on-3. Want to join us?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that. Haha!”

Before long, White called Lloris over, and the three of them formed one team with Josh.

Su Yang, Holland, and Morant made up the other team.

A Black guy volunteered to referee, and the six of them started a pickup 3-on-3 game.

......

The guys on the other two courts stopped playing as well and gathered around the middle court to watch.

After all, there was an NBA star, Morant, and the well-known actor Holland playing. Everyone wanted to join in the excitement and see how good an actor could be at basketball.

The court was soon surrounded by spectators, and the atmosphere became incredibly lively.

Although Holland wasn’t very tall, he was still quite skilled on the court. He was comfortable with all kinds of between-the-legs dribbles and post-up moves, and his shooting percentage was pretty solid too. Among celebrities, he could be considered an expert.

After ten exhilarating minutes, the 3-on-3 game came to an end.

Su Yang’s team easily won 47–33.

When the game was over, they walked over to the sidelines.

Everyone had enjoyed the game immensely. Holland patted Su Yang on the shoulder and asked with a smile, “Su, do you have any plans later?”

……