Chapter Sixteen: The Divine Right Hand Forged Through Years of Practice

Geng Haoshi swung his whip, and with a gentle “snap,” the whip barely touched the basketball in Yu Manman’s hands, as lightly as fluff bouncing off a cotton plant.

The air seemed to freeze for several seconds…

“You lazy fatso! Take it seriously!” Yu Manman clenched her fists, glaring at Geng Haoshi.

“Reporting to the beautiful coach, I did exactly as you said—my eyes on the ball, my heart on the ball, and I struck the ball with the whip. Report complete!” Geng Haoshi stood straight as a soldier, speaking with an air of bravado.

Yu Manman shot him a glare, then turned to the other teammates. “Listen up! Not only must you hit the ball, you have to knock it away!” Finishing, she fixed her gaze on Geng Haoshi and shouted, “Continue!”

Geng Haoshi swallowed, thinking, Looks like I can’t bluff my way through this.

He drew a deep breath and focused again on the basketball in Yu Manman’s hands… How should I swing the whip to hit the ball without missing? He pondered… Oh right! That tall guy! I only hit him once, but he struck me twice and humiliated me in front of everyone!

“I’ll smack you!” Geng Haoshi shouted, raised his hand, and swung with force. “Snap!” The basketball fell to the ground with a loud, crisp sound.

Yu Manman hadn’t expected Geng Haoshi to get in the groove so quickly—it caught her off guard. She hurried to pick up the ball. “One more time!”

That lash felt, to Geng Haoshi, as if it landed squarely on the tall guy, relieving much of his pent-up frustration.

“Take that!” … “Take that!” … “Take that!” Geng Haoshi pressed on, hitting another dozen balls in a row.

Though Geng Haoshi’s constant shouts of “Take that!” made Yu Manman roll her eyes, she let him carry on, since each strike was sharp and precise.

The other players on the court practiced their one-on-one whip training with utmost care, fearful of accidentally striking their own teammates. Hearing Geng Haoshi’s fervent shouting as he hit ball after ball with uncanny accuracy, they could only stare at him in dumbfounded awe.

Yu Manman noticed all eyes were on them and barked, “What are you looking at? Are you finished practicing?”

Startled, the players quickly resumed their drills in earnest.

…

“Take that!” The basketball landed with a thud—Geng Haoshi had hit his hundredth ball.

“Ha ha! I did it!” Geng Haoshi threw his arms up in triumph, feeling a rush of satisfaction. He thought, If only I could whip that tall guy for real, it'd be even better!

Geng Haoshi mused: See, see, all thanks to my habit of taking notes and meditating while watching those island videos. Only then could my SM whip technique reach such heights—so ingenious, so divine it could move heaven and earth! And my right hand, my golden hand blessed by the gods, it’s honed through countless days and nights of relentless self-training with those videos. That’s how I achieved today’s speed! … Perfect!

As he let his thoughts wander, his attention gradually shifted to Yu Manman…

Yu Manman glanced at her wristwatch. “Only twenty minutes. Not bad.” She was about to say more when she noticed Geng Haoshi staring wide-eyed at her chest… Her anger flared again as she yelled, “Who said you’re done? Hit another hundred!”

“Fine, I’ll practice, but why so fierce?” Geng Haoshi muttered under his breath, reluctantly shifting his gaze away from her chest.

He refocused on the basketball. “Take that!” His voice was full and forceful, his whip swift and resolute. “Snap”… “Snap”… “Snap”…

“One hundredth! Take that again!” With another crisp strike, Geng Haoshi finished.

At this point, most of the other players had only managed eighty or so.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, these players this year are no good,” Geng Haoshi shook his head, sighing as he looked at the others.

Seeing his disappointed expression, Yu Manman rolled her eyes and shouted at the team, “This fat guy who just joined yesterday has already finished two hundred! Are you veterans really worse than a rookie? Are you all useless?”

“Coach, please stop calling me ‘fat guy’—that’s not nice. My name is Geng Haoshi, or you can call me Second Brother.” Geng Haoshi grinned slyly at Yu Manman.

“Square root four? Second Brother, is it?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Heh…” Geng Haoshi giggled foolishly.

“My Second Brother is lying in the hospital right now! Want me to send you there too?” Yu Manman threatened, tightening her grip on the whip.

Geng Haoshi swallowed hard, not daring to reply, only shaking his head vigorously. He thought, “Second Brother” is a nickname bestowed by Goddess Mimi herself—if not for your beauty, I wouldn’t let just anyone call me that.

“Hmph!” Yu Manman glared at him, then turned and berated the others. “Hurry up, or get out!”

Five more minutes passed, and at last, all the players finished their training under Yu Manman’s relentless pressure.

…

“Line up!” Yu Manman commanded.

The entire school basketball team quickly formed a line.

“I forgot to have you introduce yourselves first… State your name, year, and position. Start from you, one by one!” Yu Manman addressed the player furthest right. Geng Haoshi was at the far left.

“He Zhikun, sophomore, substitute shooting guard.”

“Zhang Zhaolong, sophomore, substitute small forward.”

…

The first six were all substitutes. As Geng Haoshi listened, he nodded, saying, “Still on the bench, huh? Keep working hard.” He carried himself like a seasoned veteran.

“You lazy fatso! Shut up!” Yu Manman gave him a withering look, then turned to the captain Meng Lang. “You! Next!” Poor Meng Lang found himself caught in her misplaced anger.

“Meng Lang, junior, center.”

“Zhu Di, junior, small forward.”

“Sun Peng, junior, power forward.”

“Xu Gaofeng, junior, shooting guard.”

“Zhou Xiaoshan, junior, point guard.”

Finally, Geng Haoshi’s turn arrived. He stood tall and declared, “Geng Haoshi, sophomore, …” He thought: I’ve never played basketball before. What position should I say? If I don’t say anything, I’ll definitely get looked down on! … Then a word flashed through his mind, and he shouted loudly, “All-rounder!”