Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 578: You Deserve The Credit

Kai stared at the lit flame and sighed in relief. He then glanced at Fernando and saw that he was being swarmed by the press right after the ceremony ended.

That was another win for him! He still wasn't used to the cameras, so the fact that all of them went to Fernando was a good thing.

There was an incentive he was looking forward to.

[Mission success]

[+100 XP]

[New level: Enigma (485/600)]

There it was.

Aside from the pride and prestige of being part of the torch-lighting ceremony, Kai was looking forward to his level upgrade. It was right on time for their first game tomorrow with the Australian team.

He was about to walk back to his team when he felt a heavy arm around his shoulder. He turned around, startled, and found the rest of the basketball team already there.

He smiled in amusement and shook his head.

"Not going to lie," Jian said with a small smile. "That was awesome."

Kai smirked. "You think you can do something like that, too?" he asked.

Jian scoffed. "Of course," he said. "With someone like Fernando Ching with me, it was bound to happen. I can just shoot the ball toward the ceremonial basket and he'd light it up."

Kai just smiled and didn't say anything.

"It was awesome," Zheng said, giving him two thumbs up. "I know everyone's talking about the shot itself, but it was even more awesome before that. You looked very handsome dribbling the ball that I almost fell for you."

"Uh...," Kai said.

"Don't worry. I'm wearing socks," Zheng said with a wide smile.

Kai didn't know how to react to that.

Jimmy didn't say anything, as expected, but Max leaned in and whispered in Kai's ears.

"Jimmy was the most amazed. He thinks it's all Fernando, though," he said with a teasing smile.

Coach Xu Wei walked forward and gave him a pat on the back. "I was already preparing an apology on behalf of the entire team. However, you did it."

Kai scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, coach?" he said in an unsure tone.

Coach Xu Wei burst into chuckles. Marcus pursed his lips. It was hard to make the old man laugh, but Kai did it effortlessly. It really seemed like everyone around him was warming up the young man.

Even Caleb gave him a nod of acknowledgment. Jaw-Long, of course, was fully ready to smother him with hugs, acting like a proud uncle. Kai clicked his tongue and pushed him away.

"Good job, kid," Dong said with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Muyang clicked his tongue. "It was pretty impressive," he muttered. "But you wouldn't have done it without Fernando Ching."

Just then, Kai felt another presence behind his back. That someone cleared his throat, causing Kai to turn around.

It was none other than Fernando Ching.

There were still cameras lingering behind him, so Kai put on his best smile. The reporters were clearly interested in him, but most people would say that Fernando Ching was the main character of the torch-lighting ceremony.

Fernando stood there for a moment, appearing hesitant about what he was going to do.

"Sir?" Kai asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Just then, the old man offered his hand to the young one. Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise as he looked at his hand.

"Take it," Fernando said.

"Take what?" Kai asked, confused.

The old man sighed in frustration and took Kai's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. The others watched with wide eyes, wondering why Fernando Ching was shaking the hands of someone like Kai Guo.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

Well, to be fair, Kai was surprised, too.

"I was unsure of whether we would be able to do it," he started off. "I shot as usual. I knew I didn't do a good job. But, you changed something in the way you shot."

"I normally would have basked in all of the glory, but I know that you played a big part in this. Congratulations, kid. We did great," he said, a small smile making its way to his lips.

Muyang gasped, placing his hand over his mouth. This was the first time he saw Fernando Ching smiling at someone else rather than his daughter and teammates!

Marcus frowned. What was this? Did Kai Guo manage to crack through THE Fernando Ching, too?

Fernando then glanced behind Kai, where the basketball team wore shocked expressions.

"Good luck to all of you," he said in a lighthearted tone. With that, he walked away, the reporters following him with confused expressions.

Kai smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. Well, it seemed like he actually got a little bit of recognition. It felt pretty good.

He turned around with a small smile, only to see his teammates looking at him with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked, appearing confused.

"What?" Zheng exclaimed. "What was that? Why did Fernando Ching just thank you?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. However, deep inside, he knew the answer.

It was because he was the one who fixed their problem. Fernando shot as usual, but he shot faster than before, making full use of the weighted ball just so it could accelerate when it reached its peak.

He glanced behind him and saw Mr. Liang congratulating Fernando, almost kissing him with gratitude. The relief on his face couldn't be painted. The other performances were perfect, but if the twelfth act failed, then the entire opening ceremony would have been considered a failure.

Therefore, he was extra thankful.

Johnny Wang, on the other hand, wasn't staring at Fernando but at Kai instead. The two made eye contact, so Kai slightly bowed his head.

The next action was something Kai was unsure of. Did he actually see it right?

Johnny had smiled at him? It was small, barely noticeable, but it was there.

Next to him, though, Jimmy noticed it.

How could he not?

This was his dad.

And then, he felt a nagging feeling in his chest. His dad couldn't even look at him the same way.