The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 811 - 810: Becoming Famous in One Battle

"Oni!"

Holding the basketball and trapped between two Rockets players in front and behind, Oni instinctively looked in the direction of the voice when he heard someone call out his name, discovering it was Zhao Yun.

Seeing that there were no opponents defending Zhao Yun next to him, he felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

Just as he raised his hand to pass the ball over, he immediately remembered the incident where Zhao Yun had mistakenly passed the ball to the opposition, scoring points for them, and his hand drew back again.

At this moment, only ten seconds were left in the match.

"Oni!"

Zhao Yun, undeterred, called out once more.

Perhaps it was the unyielding determination on his face that touched Oni, and with a firm resolve, he tossed the basketball his way. freewebnσvel.cøm

"Catch!"

The basketball traced a beautiful parabolic arc in the air, landing steadily in Zhao Yun’s hands.

Seeing this, the Rockets players, like hungry beasts catching the scent of meat, pounced frenziedly towards him.

Zhao Yun flashed a wicked smile at his adversaries and the next second, he hurled the basketball with one hand.

The ball flew over half the court, heading straight for the backboard.

Along with the basketball’s fall through the hoop, the final whistle of the match blew.

The entire stadium erupted in fervor.

Shouts and cheers nearly lifted the roof off the building.

The players on the court all turned to look at Zhao Yun, their expressions a mixture of shock, disbelief, and confusion.

From such a distance, a one-handed three-pointer, are you even human?

Over on the Seal Team’s side, although they had witnessed Zhao Yun’s one-handed three-pointer during tryouts, no one believed he could pull it off in his first game.

Three-point shots inherently have a low success rate, requiring a bit of luck, even the capable veterans like Oni and Ma Long couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent success.

Captain Oni was the first to approach Zhao Yun, giving him a hug.

"Well done."

With Oni’s lead, the other Seal Team members also stepped forward, each in their own way offering their congratulations and encouragement.

The team has always been a place where performance speaks, score the points and you’re the hero.

Only Ma Long stood in place, an expression of willful defiance on his face, evidently still dwelling on Zhao Yun’s earlier mistake of giving away the ball.

Zhao Yun proactively approached Ma Long, "I promise I won’t make that mistake again, please believe me."

Captain Oni also walked over, clapping Ma Long on the shoulder, "Be nice to our new teammate."

With Zhao Yun showing humility and Oni offering a way out, Ma Long finally stretched out his hand for a shake, but not without a warning, "If you lose the ball again, don’t expect me to be nice."

Zhao Yun grinned, "If I lose the ball again, I’ll punch myself."

Soon, Coach Harris and Manager Jerry also came over to express their affirmation and appreciation for Zhao Yun.

Especially Jerry, beyond the joy brought by the club’s victory in the first game, he was more delighted at his own sharp eye for recognizing talent, discovering a "dark horse" like Zhao Yun.

Returning to the locker room, the teammates also gave their blessings, and together they shouted Zhao Yun’s English name "Bayer."

For Zhao Yun, this night was bound to be surrounded by flowers and applause.

And the name Bayer was officially getting the attention of fans all over the world.

Half an hour had passed since the game ended, and Ren Jingshu had also gone to bed, but her heart was still thumping violently.

Pride in Zhao Yun’s excellence swelled within her, and she was genuinely delighted by Zhao Yun achieving his dream.

"Master Ziheng, it’s two o’clock, why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?"

Aunt Mei, getting up in the night and seeing that the lights were still on in the living room, couldn’t help but express her concern.

"I’m waiting for a call."

Hearing this, Aunt Mei thought it must be an important call, so she turned and went into the kitchen to heat up a cup of milk to bring out.

The milk had barely been sipped twice when the landline on the little coffee table rang.

Pei Ziheng picked up the phone, and just as he said hello, Zhao Yun’s booming voice came through like rapid-fire:

"Ziheng, you haven’t gone to bed yet, have you? You’re not waiting for me, are you? I played today, and I even scored a three-pointer, helping our team win the opener. I’m awesome, aren’t I?"

"That’s pretty awesome, and you even helped the other team score two points."

Zhao Yun was embarrassed, "You watched the game? That was just nervousness, a mistake. Did you see how steady and awesome I was after that?"

"Not bad."

To outsiders, Pei Ziheng’s comments might seem casual and reluctant, but those who knew Pei Ziheng were aware that for someone as critical and exacting as him, to say "not bad" was already quite rare.

Especially for Zhao Yun, all the flowers, applause, and praise from tonight didn’t weigh as much as this single acknowledgement from Pei Ziheng.

He felt a twinge in his nose, the bittersweet emotions welling up in his eyes, "Ziheng, I didn’t let you down, I did it."

Hearing his voice choking up, Pei Ziheng chuckled lightly, "Crying? That’s all the spirit you have?"

"I’m not crying!"

Zhao Yun wiped away his tears and stubbornly said, "I’m not crying! This is happiness, tears of joy, get it?"

A faint warmth appeared in Pei Ziheng’s dark eyes, "Zhao Yun."

"Huh?"

"You are now a great NBA basketball player."

"Ziheng, I wish you were here right now, I’d definitely give you a big kiss."

"Get lost!"

...

The next morning, Ren Jingshu returned to school for classes.

Just as she reached the classroom door, she heard several male students passionately discussing last night’s NBA game.

"That was damn cool, a one-handed three-pointer, not more, not less, just scored right before the whistle. Absolutely brilliant!"

"In the beginning when he was giving points to the other team, I was thinking who the hell this guy is, embarrassing himself all the way to his grandma’s home. Who would’ve thought he’d pull such a stunt at the end, amazing!"

"From now on, I’m all for the Seal Team. It’s not for anything else; we Chinese have to support our own."

"I’m betting next month’s living expenses on the Seal Team winning. I hope Bayer puts up a fight; don’t want to end up without a dime."

Hearing the male students’ fondness and admiration for Zhao Yun, it was hard for Ren Jingshu not to feel a sense of pride.

She, who was always meticulous with her studies, found herself distracted for the first time, counting the minutes until the end of class.

At this time, Zhao Yun should have finished his duties and returned to his dorm.

She wanted to congratulate him herself.

Finally, the class ended, and Ren Jingshu packed up her things as quickly as possible, but as soon as she stepped out of the classroom, she was stopped by the counselor, Mai Yufeng.

"Jingshu, why didn’t you return to the dormitory last night?"

"There was a social event with the troupe. Dinner went a bit late, so I stayed outside."

The matter of being a dancer in the Dreamsong Dance Troupe had been reported to the department in advance by Ren Jingshu; rehearsals and performances took up a lot of time, often requiring her to ask for leave.

But Mai Yufeng initiating this talk clearly wasn’t just because of her absence from the dorm the previous night.

"Ren Jingshu, you are excellent in many aspects and are an outstanding person. I hope you value your strengths and virtues, keep yourself pure, and don’t fall into depravity."

Sensing the hidden message in the counselor’s words, Ren Jingshu felt a slight heaviness in her heart, "Teacher Mai, did someone say something?"

"You went to the Red Maple Hotel last night, didn’t you?"