I forgot to post the chapter last night! 
My apologies for the wait u_u
Nonetheless, EFU’s one-on-one did greatly curb DK’s offensive. This stalemate reflected their formidable defensive ability.
Nie Chuan dribbled the ball. He had to create an opportunity to score every time he went on the offensive which was very draining.
However, it wasn’t impossible to break through as long as the one defending was human.
Nie Chuan breathed out as he glanced at Peter on his left. Although there wasn’t much interaction between him and Peter as he had always felt somewhat embarrassed because of the one-on-one at the pool party, Peter had been on Nie Chuan’s flank throughout the game, constantly restraining his opponent to create room for Nie Chuan to maneuver.
Nie Chuan felt that the earnest Peter that didn’t haggle over gains and losses also became cuter.
EFU’s defense became increasingly tight and the pace of the game slowed down as a result. Nie Chuan had become the focus of the opponents’ defense, deliberately cutting off the paths that Nie Chuan could use to pass to his teammates. The area under the basket became Montenegro and Carlo’s battlefield once more while the situation continued to get tense. Once close to the basket, Nie Chuan knew that it would be difficult to find an opportunity to score.
Furthermore, the tacit cooperation between the opposing small forward and shooting guard was gradually emerging. Whether it was scoring from within the three-point line or a mid-to-long range shot, they all took DK by surprise. The score gap was chipped from the double digits down to single digits by EFU.
Holding the camera, Mr. Lyndon couldn’t help speaking, “If we substitute in a player with Reece’s offensive style and had a strong outer support like Ewing on the outside then resisting EFU’s main lineup should still be…… impossible……”
The opposing shooting guard took off again. If this three-pointer makes it in then it’d be a fatal blow to DK’s morale.
In that instant the opponent was about to push the ball out, Nie Chuan disregarded everything and rushed in front of him desperately, taking off with all his might.
Everyone was amazed at his speed. EFU’s Coach Bush thought: It’s too late, kid.
But the height of that jump exceeded their expectations. His fingertips managed to make contact with the ball, altering it’s arc and causing it to hit the edge of the basket.
As soon as Nie Chuan jumped, Montenegro had already made preparations to receive the rebound. He instantly blocked in front of the opposing center, letting out a huge roar when he jumped and imposingly taking possession of the ball.
“Montenegro!” Nie Chuan came to provide support. Montenegro passed the ball to Nie Chuan before getting caught in a pincer attack by two opponents. Even though the one that was being urgently defended against was DK, it was clear that the rhythm was also controlled by them.
When Nie Chuan received the ball, the opposing point guard was already in front of him. He glanced over his opponent’s shoulder and saw Peter who was in a very close position from the corner of his eye. Nie Chuan made a jab step before immediately retreating and pulling away to create distance, then took off on the spot. Despite knowing that Nie Chuan may just be feinting, he was still very likely to make the shot from this distance so EFU’s point guard could only jump to intercept. Sure enough, it was a feint. Nie Chuan didn’t even try to jump with all his strength. With a turn and a behind-the-back dribble, he bypassed him and rushed in Carlo’s direction.
Carlo had already prepared himself to receive the ball. EFU wanted to sever the connection between them but Nie Chuan was quicker. Two of their players came up to defend but he had already transferred the ball when passing by Peter. The others hadn’t reacted yet and ended up following him a couple more steps.
In that instant EFU’s attention was occupied by Nie Chuan, Peter quickly cut under the basket and scored with a layup.
Their coordination was so exquisite, stunning Mr. Lyndon. “I didn’t expect that DK’s tacit understanding would be this high!”
Old Bush squinted his eyes as he watched Nie Chuan’s back. In fact, the person with the greatest merit in this play was neither Carlo nor Peter, but Nie Chuan.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It seems like DK has found someone very difficult to handle to replace Connor……”
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“And he’s super fast too!”
“His feints look just like the real ones!”
“Weren’t you the one that said there won’t be anything worth seeing after benching Reece and Ewing? How come I’m finding it more interesting than the first quarter?”
Lily watched Nie Chuan on the court and sighed with emotion, “Are you seeing how dazzling he is?”
Celine smiled faintly. “Yeah, he’s very dazzling.”
“Are you regretting not accepting his feelings?” Lily asked half-jokingly.
Celine shook her head. “I don’t regret it, because the one who made him dazzling isn’t me.”
Facing the defense of two people, Nie Chuan turned his body while dribbling so that he could pay attention to the two at the same time.
Coach Gordon nodded and said to Reece who was on the side, “I was originally worried that because he practiced one-on-one the most, he could only see one opponent. I didn’t expect his vision to be so very broad, it’s not limited to one person at all.”
At this time, the corners of Nie Chuan’s eyes swept across the benches on the sidelines where he seemed to see Reece wearing a faint smile on his lips.
Everyone believed that being defended by two opponents would greatly limit Nie Chuan’s ability. However, three seconds later, Nie Chuan made them realize just how arbitrary their thinking was.
His Euro step was like a storm, surpassing his opponents’ expectations as he directly flashed past two defenders before instantly accelerating, rushing towards the basket.
Everyone thought he would pass the ball to Zack in the rear and Zack’s shooting path was instantly sealed by EFU but, as he had anticipated it in advance, Nie Chuan didn’t pass and jumped with the ball.
With that jump, he soared so high that it was as if he was making a dunk!
The spectators watched with their mouths dropped, waiting for the sound of the basket.
The opposing power forward and small forward both jumped to block the basket.
Just when everyone was feeling that it’s a pity the ball couldn’t make it in, Nie Chuan flipped his wrist, turned slightly sideways in midair, and sent the ball into the basket from under their elbows.
The basketball fell smoothly into the basket.
Nie Chuan’s posture didn’t give the slightest feeling of being out of place and even his landing was smooth.
With the clattering sound, the entire stadium was suddenly engulfed in silence.
The referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the game.
Nie Chuan exhaled and lifted the collar of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his chin.
Suddenly someone clapped from outside the court. Nie Chuan turned and saw Reece.
His expression was indifferent, as if he had already guessed that Nie Chuan would definitely make the shot but this was still the first time Nie Chuan saw him express his appreciation for someone so openly like this.
Immediately afterwards, applause rang from the audience.
“My God! Did you see how he made that shot? I thought it’d be a dunk……”
“But it’s more exciting than a dunk! He jumped so high too! And he can still adjust his posture in midair, really awesome!”
“Wherever this year’s basketball league takes place, I’ll definitely be there!”
Nie Chuan was so happy that he only just realized that that final shot was actually made by himself! He ran to Carlo who was the closest, his entire body practically hanging onto him.
“Haha! Carlo! I scored! Did you see it!”
“I saw! I saw! Originally, I was wondering when you’d be able to jump high enough for a slam dunk! I didn’t expect to get fooled by you again. It wasn’t a dunk from the start!” Carlo happily hugged Nie Chuan back and jumped in place.
The EFU players were silent. Even in a situation without Reece and Ewing, DK was still able to maintain the lead until the end of the game. They understood very clearly how huge of a disparity there was in strength.
Moreover, Nie Chuan’s last shot was already on another level.
Looking at the replay, Mr. Lyndon sighed, “This reminds me of his skyhook. Not only is he able to handle the ball, he’s also fully capable of assuming the role of a small forward. I thought he was the type to show off his ability but I was wrong. He hid his sharpness, then broke our expectations time and time again.”
Coach Gordon remained taciturn and didn’t speak.
This made Ewing next to him curious. “Coach, Allen’s performance was really good, don’t you have any comments?”
Coach Gordon turned to Reece, “Are they still in his wrist guard.”
“Yes. It’s only a practice match, there’s no need to take them off,” Reece replied.
Coach Gordon smiled. “You are really a scoundrel, hiding Allen’s edge so carefully. But unfortunately it’s not that easy to hide.”
In fact, with the game having gone on for so long, after putting all his heart and soul into it, Nie Chuan already couldn’t remember what was on his wrists.
The coaches from both sides commented on each other’s performance.
Coach Gordon expressed his appreciation for EFU’s defensive ability, especially the particulars of their mutual cooperation, which Coach Gordon revealed in detail.
Old Bush patted Reece on the shoulder and said, “It’s a pity that you didn’t stay from start to finish.”
“If you’d shown your strength from the beginning, maybe I would have stayed on the court till the end.” Reece was still very respectful towards Old Bush.
“Actually, what I want to know is how formidable DK will be with a sharp, offensive blade like you and that kid’s ability to control the ball,” Old Bush’s line of sight swept towards Nie Chuan.
At this moment, Nie Chuan was searching everywhere in his jacket for chocolate.
“Eh, this isn’t right! I remember putting it here! How did it disappear?”
“Allen, what are you looking for? You’re flipping around like a groundhog,” Ewing said in amusement.
“I’m looking for my chocolate!”
“Really…… I seem to remember Reece giving Mr. Lyndon a chocolate……”
“That’s mine…… I saved it to eat after the game……”
Aggrieved, Nie Chuan looked in Reece’s direction. Reece seemed to have felt his gaze and turned, he mouthed: What is it?
It’s nothing…… nothing at all……
“Hopefully there will be a few more practice matches like these before the intensive training in October,” Ewing stretched, “I only got on for ten or so minutes, it feels so bad man!”
“Really? I thought I was pretty cool though!”
Whether it was running with all his strength or devising every possible way to create opportunities, Nie Chuan felt himself liking basketball even more.
MadMadamMims: celebratory cuddle session please! 🥳
Drea: Did Reece really just yoink this boy’s chocolate…
Wow I love how nie chuan is oblivious to how everyone is talking about how great he was .. he is just a cute baby only wanting to munch on his stolen chocolates 🤭🤭
Thanks for the chapter ❤❤
Celine shook her head. “I don’t regret it, because the one who made him dazzling isn’t me.”
No line this line is kinda powerful 👁👁! Also that final basket he made?! chefs kiss I still find it funny that Reece has to teasingly bully NC though. Reece do you feel uncomfortable if you don’t bully Nie Chuan for even a second?! Tsunderes never prosper, use your words!!!
As always thanks for the chapter!
My oh my~ We have another supporter here!~ “I don’t regret it, because the one who made him dazzling isn’t me.” That’s a very good line dear
And Reece seriously giving away our boy chocolate to Mr. Lyndon? what a cute move~
Thanks for the chapter<3
suddenly having nostalgia of watching KnB anime…
nie chuan so cool with basketball yet so cute searching his chocolate :3 Reece did you just steal this cute baby’s chocolate? please get him proper substitute, also his reward, like kiss or hug?? (◡ ω ◡)
Baby, I have tons form of chocos in my fridge, choco ice creams, choco cakes, choco muffins, choco bars, choco candies, etc.
Go ahead and grab it. No actually please help me finish it up 😑
I like Celine more now. That was a good line. But. Reece! Stealing food from others is not cool! Nie Chuan earned that chocolate with his fantastic performance! You had better make it up to him afterwards. Thanks for the chapter!