125: Chapter 125 Physical Fitness

After Ma Qiu finished speaking, he started letting everyone try one by one.

The students with some foundation were fine; dribbling, starting, and laying up were done in one go. Although their movements weren't exactly standard, at least the ball went in.

For those who hadn't played basketball before, their layup movements were bizarre—some started their steps too early, some tripped over their own feet when jumping, and others flailed around and threw the ball behind the backboard.

One guy missed the shot, and the ball bounced back and hit him squarely on the head. He covered his head and let out an "Ouch," causing everyone nearby to laugh.

When it was Chen Fan's turn, he dribbled the ball a few times.

The ball felt a bit unfamiliar in his hands, and the touch wasn't quite right.

The bit of ball sense he had developed back in middle school had long since been lost after three years of neglect in high school.

He took a deep breath, started from outside the three-point line, went for a layup, and flicked his wrist—

The ball hit the front rim and bounced out.

It didn't go in.

Chen Fan's basketball skills in middle school weren't great to begin with; his dribbling was barely enough to get past people, his shooting form wasn't standard, and on top of that, having barely touched a basketball in three years of high school, he was very rusty.

He picked up the ball, went back outside the three-point line, readjusted his breathing, and started again. This time, he had better control of the rhythm; his steps were even, his jumping timing was right, and he flicked his wrist—

The ball hit the backboard, bounced once, and stumbled into the hoop.

It finally went in.

However, the movement was still a bit ugly, like a slow-motion replay; compared to Ma Qiu, the gap was visible to the naked eye.

But he didn't mind. Basketball was just a hobby for him; whether he practiced well or not had no impact on his studies, and he wouldn't be relying on this to make a living after graduation.

Maybe one day the store would refresh with a basketball-related skill—then he could learn it with one click, and things like layups, jump shots, and dunks would all be a piece of cake.

Thinking of this, his mindset relaxed even more. He picked up the ball again, lined up at the back of the queue, and waited for the next round.

After practicing for half an hour, Ma Qiu blew the whistle to assemble everyone, gave a few instructions, and then let everyone have free time.

"Buddy, want to play?"

Chen Fan turned his head to look. It was the boy who had been practicing with him earlier. He looked unfamiliar, not from his class.

He looked at Zhang Yuhang beside him: "Are you going?"

Zhang Yuhang shook his head: "I won't play; I'll just watch from the sidelines."

Chen Fan didn't force him. He turned to the boy and nodded: "Sure, let's go."

A group of ten people was quickly gathered, and they divided into teams for a 5v5 game. At 1.85 meters, Chen Fan was surprisingly the tallest on his team and was pushed to the inside by his teammates.

"Buddy, you stand under the basket; the rebounds are up to you." The boy who had called him earlier patted him on the shoulder.

Chen Fan didn't decline and stood under the basket.

After the teams were formed, they played rock-paper-scissors to decide possession, and the opposing team started with the ball.

The ball was passed to the perimeter. After a short guy received the ball, he dribbled towards the basket.

This short guy had clearly practiced; his dribbling technique was very solid. He crossed two people with continuous crossovers, rushed to the basket in a few steps, and rose up for a layup.

As the tallest on his team, Chen Fan unhesitatingly went up to defend.

The moment the short guy jumped, Chen Fan also jumped hard, stretching his arms out—

He jumped too high.

He had originally thought it would be just an ordinary jump, but he ended up soaring up a significant distance, his palm extending half an arm's length above the rim.

He didn't block the ball, but he nearly slapped the backboard.

Only now did Chen Fan realize that ever since his bones developed and he gained the Fitness Saint Body talent and Five Viscera Strengthening, not only had his strength and endurance increased, but his jumping ability had also improved significantly.

Although the short guy who made the layup scored, he didn't feel any joy at this moment.

He stared at Chen Fan in a daze, seemingly unable to believe that Chen Fan could jump so high.

"Holy crap, brother, is your jumping ability this insane?"

Chen Fan hadn't expected himself to jump so high either. He coughed dryly: "...It's alright."

The short guy didn't say anything else and ran to inbound the ball.

After realizing his jumping ability, Chen Fan simply stayed under the basket, specializing in grabbing rebounds.

The opponents soon discovered the problem—although Chen Fan's basketball skills weren't great, he had great strength and excellent jumping ability.

They couldn't push him, and they couldn't outjump him; they couldn't grab rebounds at all. Even when they sent two people to box him out, he still managed to snatch the ball right over their heads.

On the other hand, the ones on Chen Fan's team were quite happy. With him grabbing rebounds, the few on the perimeter started shooting recklessly, throwing from outside the three-point line because they knew someone had their back.

After playing for half an hour, the other side completely lost interest.

"Stop, let's stop," the short guy waved his hand. "Playing against you for rebounds, this game is impossible to play."

Chen Fan smiled: "I didn't do anything, I just stood under the basket."

"It's exactly because you stood under the basket that it's impossible to play." The short guy rolled his eyes, picked up his water bottle and took a gulp, then looked Chen Fan up and down. "Buddy, did you practice before? This jump doesn't look like a normal person's."

"Never practiced, it's natural."

The short guy opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back. Finally, he forced out: "...Alright, talent freak, can't mess with you."

Chen Fan didn't respond, turned around, walked to the side of the court, bent down, and picked up his jacket from the base of the backboard.

Just as he was about to stand up, a bottle of mineral water still emitting cold air was handed to him.

Along with it came a faint, very pleasant scent of perfume.

He looked up. A pretty girl with slightly permed hair was standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.

She was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, with her collarbone slightly visible at the neckline, paired with light blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers. She looked clean and refreshing.

"Tang Tian?"

The person who came was none other than the girl from the finance class he met during military training. Later, they added each other on QQ, chatted a few times, and then he had forgotten to keep in touch.

Come to think of it, they hadn't seen each other for almost a month, but Chen Fan recognized her at a glance—that face was too recognizable. During military training, she stood in the front row, her skin so fair it seemed to glow; it was hard not to notice her.

"Why are you here?"

"I was just walking around the sports field and happened to see you playing basketball, so I came over."

Tang Tian shook the mineral water in her hand; fine water droplets were still condensing on the bottle, clearly just taken from the freezer at the nearby small shop.

"Oh."

"Drink it. Are you afraid I poisoned it?" Tang Tian said, pushing the mineral water forward again. The corners of her mouth curved, and her eyes held a hint of playful amusement.

Chen Fan smiled, didn't decline again, took it, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to take a few gulps. The water was very cold, sliding down his throat and washing away a trace of heat from the exercise.

"Thanks."

"Why didn't you reply to the message I sent you earlier?" Tang Tian tilted her head to look at him, her tone carrying a little bit of complaint, but not serious.

"Sent me a message?" Chen Fan looked puzzled.

"Yeah, the night military training ended, the QQ message I sent you; you never replied."