Please, I'm Trying to Study, Your Highness! - chapter 12

The court was packed, its boundaries sealed off by a crowd of students eager to watch the spectacle.

A human barricade formed a tight circle.

“The rules are simple.”

Xu Hao took off his school uniform jacket, revealing a tight sports vest underneath.

He flexed his wrists as he laid out the rules to Li Yaowen and the others.

“Three-on-three, half-court. First side to score five points wins! If you lose, don’t ever come looking for trouble on Class Three’s turf again!”

“Whatever you say, just don’t cry when you lose.”

Li Yaowen snorted disdainfully and tossed the basketball carelessly to one of his lackeys.

As his underling threw the ball high into the air, the game officially began.

Li Yaowen’s side seized possession first.

Without any hesitation, one of them accelerated fiercely, his shoulder slamming into Xu Hao-who was defending him-like a battering ram.

Xu Hao grunted, stumbling back a few steps.

Li Yaowen had already charged into the paint, scoring an easy layup.

“One to zero!”

He shot a contemptuous glance at the still-unsteady Xu Hao, then turned his malicious gaze on me.

The pace on the court kept shifting.

I blended in, awkwardly following my teammates’ movements.

I always maintained a subtle distance from the ball and the main area of confrontation.

My running was slow, my upper body slightly hunched.

A beginner’s posture, completely out of place among this testosterone-fueled group.

My job was to slack off, but not so obviously that it drew attention.

When Xu Hao tried to drive with the ball, I would run over a beat late.

I’d use my body to set a half-hearted screen, barely impeding the defender’s path-a “pick and roll” with zero threat.

Whenever the ball somehow ended up in my hands, I’d immediately pass it to the nearest teammate with an extremely amateurish two-handed push.

Although Xu Hao and Li Yaowen were both members of the school team, their roles and playing styles were completely different.

Xu Hao favored organizing and shooting from the outside, while Li Yaowen was a pure beast in the paint.

In the cramped space of a half-court, Xu Hao’s strengths were severely limited.

Almost every time he had the ball, he faced Li Yaowen’s brute force and imposing physique.

“Bang!”

Countless body clashes ended the same way.

Xu Hao was knocked off balance, the ball slipping from his hands.

Li Yaowen’s lackey snatched it up and scored an easy layup.

“Two to zero!” The Class Eight cheerleaders erupted in shrill cheers.

Class Three’s students sighed in disappointment.

I watched the scene and quietly moved to my defensive position.

My chest rose and fell from reluctant running.

Sweat trickled down my temple, slid along my cheek, and finally dripped from my chin.

The game was turning into a one-sided rout.

Li Yaowen was unstoppable in the paint, charging like a bull every time he got the ball.

Xu Hao and another classmate, Zhu Peng, were like two sheepdogs trying to stop a rampaging bull.

They were knocked around again and again.

The score quickly reached three to zero.

Class Three’s cheers faded, replaced by increasingly stifled sighs.

“Damn! How are we supposed to play like this!”

Zhu Peng bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath, his tone dejected.

Xu Hao’s face was grim, sweat soaking his hair and sticking to his forehead.

He glanced at me, his eyes flashing with resignation.

There was no blame or reproach-he knew I couldn’t play basketball at all, and just standing here was “good enough.”

On another offensive play, Zhu Peng made a passing error under Li Yaowen’s tight defense.

The ball bounced off the rim and shot high into the air.

Chaos erupted on the court as several players jumped for the rebound.

I “just happened” to be wandering under the basket, watching as the ball-like a meteor from outer space-fell toward me. Instinctively, I raised my hand and “randomly” swatted at it.

The orange ball hit the side of the backboard at a weird angle.

Then it wobbled, spun twice around the rim.

Everyone held their breath.

“Swish!”

The sweet sound of nylon net.

The ball went in.

Everyone stared in shock at this miracle-like scene.

Xu Hao was the first to react. After two seconds of stunned silence, he burst out laughing with joy, running over to punch me hard on the shoulder.

“Holy crap! What kind of god-tier shot was that? Awesome!”

Damn, friendly fire, huh?

Zhu Peng ran over too, his face full of disbelief. “Xiao Huihui, with luck like yours, not buying a lottery ticket is a waste.”

The Class Three students on the sidelines snapped out of their shock and erupted in cheers.

“No way! It went in! It actually went in!”

“Xiao Huihui, awesome! Even a lucky shot counts!”

“Three to one! We still have a chance!”

I put on a look of total confusion, smiling sheepishly. “I… I don’t even know how it happened… It just went in by itself.”

“Damn, just dumb luck.”
Li Yaowen spat on the ground, his face darker than the bottom of a pot.

He couldn’t understand it, nor could he accept it.

The advantage he had painstakingly built was clawed back by trash he didn’t even bother to look at directly, and in such an absurd way.

The game continued.

That unbelievable “dumb luck” goal seemed to inject a shot of adrenaline into the team, gradually turning the momentum on the court.

Xu Hao found his rhythm again. He no longer insisted on going head-to-head with Li Yaowen.

Using more agile movement and Zhu Peng’s screens, he hit two consecutive mid-range shots from the outside.

The score was tenaciously tied, then overtaken.

Three to three, four to three, then the opponent pulled one back.

Four to four!

Both sides reached match point.

The atmosphere in the entire court reached its peak.

The students outside unconsciously held their breath.

Every dribble, every squeak of sneakers against the floor was amplified, echoing in the ears of everyone watching the game.

Possession went to Class Three.

Xu Hao held the ball, his chest heaving, sweat soaking through his vest.

He signaled for me and Zhu Peng to spread out, preparing for the final kill.

Dribbling, one-on-one with Li Yaowen.

Both of their muscles tensed, eyes locked on each other.

Xu Hao suddenly faked left, then accelerated to the right!

He did it!

He shook off half a body’s distance!

Victory was within reach!

But as he passed the ball to Zhu Peng, who was wide open inside, something unexpected happened.

Maybe it was nerves-Zhu Peng fumbled the ball at the moment of receiving, the basketball slipping through his fingertips and out of his hands.

“Mine!” Zhu Peng cried out in desperate regret.

Li Yaowen, closest to the ball, lunged forward and seized control of the runaway basketball.

Like a man in a deserted land, he charged straight for the basket.

He powered off the ground, soaring into the air.

His strong body stretched out in midair, the basketball raised high, aiming at the orange-red rim.

He wanted to end the game with a powerful dunk, to vent all his anger and humiliation!

All the cheers from Class Three students on the sidelines came to an abrupt halt, their hearts sinking to the bottom.

Xu Hao and Zhu Peng’s faces were full of unwillingness.

It seemed like everything was over.

Just as Li Yaowen reached the peak of his jump, his triumphant smile frozen on his face-

A lean figure appeared before him like a ghost.

What the hell?!

I had been “back on defense” with that spaced-out, absent-minded posture.

In everyone’s eyes, I was just a background prop who had already given up, slowly moving toward the backcourt.

But at the instant Li Yaowen jumped, the passive power of [Unyielding] surged up, flooding my limbs and bones.

My knees bent at a speed almost too fast for the eye to catch, gathering strength, then pushing off the ground.

No running start-just a terrifying vertical leap.

About to lose?

Doesn’t matter, I’ll make a move.

“Bang!!”

A heavy, tooth-rattling crash.

It didn’t sound like a block-it sounded like a wall colliding head-on with a speeding truck.

Li Yaowen’s dunk was forcefully intercepted by that seemingly thin arm.

The basketball was swatted away by sheer force, flying out of his hand.

His upward momentum was abruptly cut off, and he crashed to the ground in a mess, losing his balance.

The twisted, triumphant smile on his face was replaced by a look of utter disbelief and shock.

The basketball bounced on the floor, landing in Xu Hao’s hands.

He froze for a split second, but his instincts as a player kicked in immediately.

He caught the ball without hesitation, jumped on the spot, and used the last ounce of his strength to shoot.

The basketball traced a perfect arc through the air.

“Swish-”

Nothing but net.

Five to four.

Game over!

Everyone was stunned into three seconds of dead silence.

Then, a tidal wave of cheers erupted, deafening and sweeping across the playground like a volcanic eruption.

“We won!! We won!!!”

“Oh my god! That block by Xiao Huihui!!”

“What did I just see?! He looked like he was flying!”

Is this basketball anime come to life?

All the Class Three students went completely crazy.

They shouted, cheered, and rushed onto the court, surrounding me and the other two.

In the midst of the wild celebration, Li Yaowen and his cronies looked ashen, like dead dogs.

He got up from the ground, his gaze mixed with defiance and humiliation.

Without a word, he picked up his school uniform and left with his lackeys, not looking back.

“Xiao Huihui, you’re freaking awesome!”

Xu Hao exclaimed in amazement, “That block! How did you do it?!”

Zhu Peng’s face was flushed, so excited he could barely speak: “Bro! You’re my Brother Hui! From today on, you’re my real brother!”

They shook me so hard I was dizzy, and I could only force out a modest smile that fit everyone’s expectations.

“I’ve always had pretty good jumping ability.”

But deep down, I sighed silently.

So tired.

I just want to go study…