Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Brief Appearance

“Pass me the ball!” Geng Haoshi called out to his teammate.
His teammate cooperated, passing the ball to him.
Geng Haoshi clutched the ball with both hands and glanced toward the stands… The goddess Mimi is watching me… I have to give my best performance! He made a silent vow, determined to play the best game of his life.
Facing the opposing players, Geng Haoshi shouted, “Come on, you weaklings! Prepare yourselves to be destroyed by me!”
The opposing players stared back in utter confusion.
A shrill whistle pierced the air.
“Game over!”
Geng Haoshi stood there, holding the ball, utterly bewildered… What? It’s over?!
“We won! 86 to 41! We totally crushed them!” He Zhikun shouted excitedly.
Zhang Zhaolong saw Geng Haoshi standing dazed and waved his hand in front of his eyes. “Hey, Second Brother, what’s got you so spaced out?”
Geng Haoshi erupted in frustration, “Damn it! I was only on the court for a few seconds?! And it’s already over?!”
It’s over… what will Goddess Mimi think? Will she believe I’m just a benchwarmer? It’s over, it’s over! My heroic image is ruined! The more Geng Haoshi thought about it, the more agitated he became.
“Second Brother.”
A clear, pleasant voice snapped Geng Haoshi out of his frenzy. He turned to see Yang Mimi standing behind him.
“Second Brother, you guys won by so much!”
Yang Mimi smiled at him, and Geng Haoshi’s face turned goofy with infatuation all over again.
“Everyone, back to the school gym!”
It was Yu Manman’s voice.
“Mimi, that’s our school’s demon coach,” Geng Haoshi whispered in Yang Mimi’s ear.
“Demon coach?” Yang Mimi asked, puzzled. “Does that mean she has a devilish figure?”
“That’s not the reason,” Geng Haoshi replied, recalling with a grimace the pain of his teammate being lashed by her whip. “She has a terrible temper—she’s a real she-devil!”
“How can that be? She doesn’t look it.”
“Mimi, you’re fooled by her looks,” Geng Haoshi sighed. “Besides, our coach is a man at heart. No matter how good her figure is, what’s the point?”
“Oh?” Yang Mimi tilted her head. “Second Brother, you sound a bit disappointed.”
“Well, who wouldn’t be…”

Geng Haoshi instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth. Oh no, I said too much! Could Mimi have misunderstood me?
“Hey, number two, what are you doing just standing there? Get over here!”
Yu Manman’s voice again.
“See? What did I tell you? She’s losing her temper again,” Geng Haoshi seized the chance to change the subject.
“Then you’d better hurry and go with them,” Yang Mimi said.
Reluctantly, Geng Haoshi bid her farewell and followed his teammates after Yu Manman back to the Chen Zhi Gymnasium.
Inside, the entire school basketball team lined up. Yu Manman stood before them, whip in hand.
“Do you know why you won today?” she asked.
Captain Meng Lang thought: Because of my heroic leadership.
Power forward Sun Peng thought: Because of my dominance on the boards.
Small forward Zhu Di thought: Because of my unstoppable drives.
Shooting guard Xu Gaofeng thought: Because of my hot shooting hand.
Point guard Zhou Xiaoshan thought: Because I’m good-looking. (Seriously? That counts?!)
A silent narrator: What a bunch of self-important fools.
Though each guessed at the answer, none dared to say a word. (Afraid of getting beaten.)
Geng Haoshi sulked: I only touched the ball for a few seconds…
“It’s because your opponents were too weak—that was the key factor in your victory,” Yu Manman declared, mercilessly trampling their pride.
The players looked for a hole to crawl into.
“Do you know what a mental set is?”
The players shook their heads.
Yu Manman sighed, exasperated. “Unbelievable! And you’re college students? Did you spend all your time on other activities?”
The players hung their heads in shame.
Yu Manman continued, “A mental set is a fixed way of thinking formed from repeated use of past experiences and established thought patterns.”
The players stared back, confused.
Yu Manman wanted to lash them all with her whip. “To put it simply, a mental set means your thinking becomes rigid if you’re stuck in the same situation for too long.”
“The reason you kept losing before is directly related to the mental set you developed from constant defeat… Of course, it’s also because your basketball skills are terrible!”

The team shrank further in embarrassment.
Yu Manman fixed her gaze on Captain Meng Lang. “You—how do you feel after this win?”
Though unsure why the coach was asking, Meng Lang dared not hesitate. “I feel… great!”
Yu Manman looked at the rest of the team. “And you all?”
“Great!” they answered in unison.
Facing them all, Yu Manman said, “So, do you want to keep on winning?”
“Yes!” they replied with determination.
“Good!” For once, Yu Manman smiled. “Remember this feeling of victory. When you wake up in the morning, think about it. When you’re eating, think about it. When you’re training, think about it. When you go to bed, think about it.”
“In short, never forget this feeling of winning!”
“From now on, during matches, you must focus only on winning! If I catch anyone distracted or lacking spirit, you’ll pay for it!” As she spoke, she cracked her whip with a thunderous snap, making the team flinch in unison.
“Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear!”
Yu Manman glanced at the clock. Four twenty-three.
“Now, back to training!”
The team groaned inwardly. Didn’t they deserve a little rest after a game?
Seeing them hesitate, Yu Manman scolded, “What, you win a game and think you can slack off?”
With a murderous look in her eyes, she sent them scrambling into their drills.
Exhausted, the team barely made it to six o’clock, when it was finally time for dinner.
As usual, they gathered in groups to head to the cafeteria—but Geng Haoshi walked toward Yu Manman instead.
Seeing him approach, Yu Manman smiled and said, “Number two, you did well today.”
“But I was only on the court for a few seconds,” Geng Haoshi thought, exasperated. What was so good about that?
“Your teammates passed you the ball, and you caught it and held onto it until the game ended, preventing the other side from scoring again. That shows the training has paid off. Keep working hard and practicing.”
Geng Haoshi sweated inwardly. Was she joking?
“Coach, could you let me play earlier next time?” Though he was annoyed that Yu Manman only put him in at the very end, he dared not show it—he could only feign a pitiful look, hoping for sympathy.