Chapter 118: I’m Taking the Field!

If it were Xiao Er, perhaps he could outpace Wu Yan in speed... With this thought, Yu Manman suddenly slapped her thigh. "That's it! Exactly like that!"

As long as Geng Haoshi could run faster than Wu Yan, he might disrupt Wu Yan’s offensive rhythm and prevent the star player from continuing to score for Wuyan University of Technology!

With this in mind, Yu Manman realized the most urgent matter now was: how to snap Geng Haoshi out of his daze?

"I'm so clever!" Yu Manman slapped her thigh again, having come up with a perfect way to fully revive Geng Haoshi.

She tore a page from her notebook and quickly scribbled a message on it.

Looking at the note, written in a handwriting she had painstakingly mimicked from Yang Mimi’s style, Yu Manman thought, “Hopefully this will fool him.”

While Yu Manman was engrossed in writing, Wu Yan, the star player from Wuyan University of Technology, scored another basket, pushing the score to 0-9.

Less than a minute into the game, they were nearly ten points behind? The new strategy had to be implemented immediately!

Turning to Geng Haoshi, Yu Manman said, “Xiao Er, this is a note from Mimi for you...”

Geng Haoshi, who had been in a dazed state, seemed to come back to life the moment he heard the name “Mimi.” He turned his head sharply toward Yu Manman.

When he saw the note fluttering in her hand, as if a dying man had found a lifeline, he swiftly moved beside her and snatched the paper.

Gently unfolding the note, Geng Haoshi read:

“Second Brother, by the time you see this note, I might still be on the plane to America, or I may have already arrived. I’m sorry I couldn’t watch your debut in the finals.

Second Brother, I really like the way you play basketball — confident and handsome.

So, I hope you keep playing well!

I look forward to you being selected for the national team or a club.

I look forward to the day you enter the NBA.

I’ll be waiting for you in America...”

Geng Haoshi held the note, his eyes fixed intently on the words.

Seeing this reaction, Yu Manman began to doubt herself: Why was he dazed again? Was this trick useless? Or did her imitation of Mimi’s handwriting fall short, and he had seen through it?

She started regretting not having thought of this earlier—if only Mimi had personally written a few motivational notes for Geng Haoshi to boost his morale.

“Coach,” Geng Haoshi said without turning toward Yu Manman, his eyes still locked on the note, “I want to go on the court.”

When he said this with firm conviction, Yu Manman almost didn’t respond in time.

Composing herself, she crossed her arms and crossed her legs. “Oh... okay... go warm up first. I’ll put you in soon...”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Geng Haoshi stood up and headed to the sidelines to warm up.

Watching him panting as he warmed up, Yu Manman breathed a long sigh of relief and clutched her chest.

First, she needed to inform Mimi to avoid any slip-ups later. Yu Manman pulled out her phone, opened WeChat, and began messaging Yang Mimi.

“Beep—”

Yu Manman called a timeout.

“Next, Xiao Er will replace Xu Gaofeng on the court.”

Hearing this, Zhu Di and the others exchanged doubtful glances: Has Xiao Er really come back to life?

“Xiao Er, once you’re on the court, you’re responsible for guarding number 3.”

“Coach, is that really a good idea?” The usually quiet captain, Meng Lang, suddenly spoke up.

Meng Lang didn’t distrust Geng Haoshi. It was just that knowing how much Geng Haoshi missed Yang Mimi, who had just boarded the plane to America, and imagining that Geng Haoshi might not yet be in his best condition, it seemed risky to have him face off against last year’s third-ranked star player from the national college basketball league.

Moreover, everyone had witnessed Wu Yan’s performance—his speed and skills were such that even three defenders might struggle to contain him alone.

Now, putting this still somewhat dazed Geng Haoshi on defense against Wu Yan—was that tantamount to giving up on defense?

Zhu Di and the others shared these concerns.

Yu Manman looked at Geng Haoshi. “Xiao Er, what do you say?”

“...” Geng Haoshi didn’t answer, seeming to fall back into his daze.

Yes, with his current state, even if he went on the court, he’d probably be distracted... More motivation was needed!

“You all know, during the final stage of the national college basketball league, many scouts from national teams and clubs attend the games. Those who perform excellently attract their attention and may be selected for national teams or clubs. Then, if they continue to excel, NBA scouts might notice them, and they could go to America.”

Yu Manman’s words seemed addressed to the whole team, but her main intention was to speak to Geng Haoshi.

After this long speech, she deliberately added, “Xiao Er, your condition isn’t great today; maybe you shouldn’t go on yet?”

“Coach, I want to go on!” Geng Haoshi’s gaze was unwavering, driven by Yu Manman’s mention of “going to America.”

“But your condition...” Yu Manman feigned hesitation.

“Coach, I will stop him!” Geng Haoshi’s eyes blazed with determination.

“Uh~” Yu Manman played along. “Alright then, I’ll watch how you do on the court. If you can’t guard him, I’ll take you off immediately.”

Geng Haoshi looked at her resolutely and nodded seriously.

Now, the only thing on his mind was—play more, perform better, win the scouts’ favor, get selected for the national team or a club, catch the eye of NBA scouts as soon as possible, and get to America early!

Everything felt so urgent! How could he calmly zone out on the sidelines?

So, I want to play!

“Beep—” The game resumed.

In the stands, a middle-aged man with a small mustache brightened when he saw Geng Haoshi enter the court. “This kid’s finally playing.”

There was another person in the stands whose eyes lit up upon seeing Geng Haoshi—the beautiful intern reporter Qin Mengmeng, who had written several articles centering on Geng Haoshi.

Seeing Tiānchéng Polytechnic University already trailing Wuyan University of Technology by nine points less than a minute into the game, Qin Mengmeng’s heart clenched.

As a journalist, she shouldn’t favor any team, but she couldn’t help but worry for Tiānchéng Polytechnic University since her first few sports reports had focused on them. Deep down, she hoped they wouldn’t lose.

Now, as Geng Haoshi took the court, Qin Mengmeng couldn’t help but eagerly anticipate the performance of this “super rookie.”