135: Chapter 135 Debut

The second half began, and Chen Fan subbed in.

His first touch was on a defensive possession. The point guard from Marketing Class 2, who was just over 1.7 meters tall, dribbled across half-court. Seeing Chen Fan standing in front of him, he was visibly stunned—Chen Fan was nearly a head taller than him. He hesitated for a second and passed the ball away.

The pass was wobbly, intercepted midway by Zhang Yuhang, who then passed it to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan received the ball with no one in front of him. He glanced at the hoop, raised his hand, and took a mid-range shot—the ball traced an arc, and with a "swish," it went straight through the net.

The people from Commerce Class 1 on the sidelines cheered.

For the next few possessions, Chen Fan focused primarily on rebounding on the defensive end.

His height and vertical were too dominant among this group. Whenever the opponents missed a shot, he would gently jump to grab the rebound and pass it to Zhang Yuhang to advance the ball.

His movements were clean and efficient, with no unnecessary flair.

That short guy on the other team once tried to force his way to the basket, likely thinking that Chen Fan was just tall and might not be able to keep up.

As soon as he started his drive, Chen Fan shifted laterally and raised his hand for a gentle block—the ball deflected away, not even touching the rim.

After playing for seven or eight minutes, Chen Fan received the ball again. This time he was near the free-throw line, and the opponents still didn't come up to defend—likely thinking his previous shot was just luck.

He took another shot, another mid-range jumper, another swish.

The score gap widened, eventually stopping at 52 to 36.

When the referee blew the whistle, the players from Marketing Class 2 didn't look dejected; instead, they had a sense of relief, as if saying, "Finally, it's over."

They patted each other on the shoulder, packed their things, and left.

Zhao Zitong walked over and handed him a bottle of water: "Not bad, Chen Fan, you played well."

"It was alright."

To be honest, Chen Fan found this game a bit boring.

In the short time he was on the court, he barely used any effort before the opponents fell apart. Throughout the entire game, he hadn't even broken a sweat.

The skill gap between the opponents was too large; there was no need for him to show his true level.

"How about you play the whole game next time?"

Chen Fan tilted his head to look at her: "Didn't you say I should be a substitute?"

"That was because I didn't know your skill level," Zhao Zitong smiled, her dimples appearing and disappearing, "After watching you play for a few minutes today, I feel like you're actually quite impressive. It's a waste to have you on the bench."

"Alright, I'll listen to the class monitor's arrangement."

Only then did Zhao Zitong clap her hands with relief and turn to call the others: "Let's go, let's go."

Chen Fan draped his jacket over his shoulder and walked to the sidelines. The people from Marketing Class 2 were still packing up, and most of the girls on the sidelines had already dispersed.

He glanced inadvertently in the direction where Shen Qing had been standing, but she had already turned and was walking towards the girls' dormitory.

She was still holding that book, her steps unhurried, walking alone at the front, as if the surrounding hustle and bustle had nothing to do with her.

Chen Fan took one look, then retracted his gaze and walked towards the outside of the school.

Since winning the first game against Marketing Class 2, the basketball players of Commerce Class 1 walked with a bit more swagger.

It wasn't because they had beaten a particularly strong opponent—everyone knew the level of Marketing Class 2. But a win is a win, and who doesn't like that?

...

The next afternoon.

For the game between Commerce Class 1 and the Accounting Class, the sidelines were noticeably livelier than yesterday.

Zhao Zitong was the same as always, arriving half an hour early, holding the sign that said "Go Commerce Class 1," and calling the girls from the class to come and show their support.

About a dozen girls came today, a bit more than yesterday, sitting in small groups on the sidelines. Some were chatting, some were looking down at their phones, and occasionally they would look up at the players warming up on the court.

There were also seven or eight girls sitting on the Accounting Class side; although they didn't have signs, they were chattering away, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

During warm-ups, there were occasional cheers from the sidelines, but most were collective chants like "Go Commerce Class 1," with no one shouting specific names.

A few girls from the class shouted a few times, but their voices weren't very loud and were drowned out by the noisy background sounds of the court.

On the other hand, a girl from the Accounting Class shouted "Go Accounting Class," her voice shrill, but it scattered as soon as the wind blew.

"Come on, gather up!" Zhao Zitong clapped her hands on the sidelines and shouted to Chen Fan and the others, "Play well, don't underestimate the opponent!"

The game began.

There really weren't many boys in the Accounting Class; it was hard enough for them to scrape together five players. The tallest one was estimated to be around 1.8 meters, still a bit short when standing in front of Chen Fan.

There was no suspense in the jump ball; Chen Fan extended his arm and tipped the ball to Zhang Yuhang.

On the first possession, Chen Fan established position in the paint. After receiving the ball, he backed into his defender, forcing the boy guarding him to retreat a step. Chen Fan turned and banked the shot in—the ball went in.

The girls from Commerce Class 1 on the sidelines clapped a few times, someone shouted "Nice shot," and then it went quiet.

The Accounting Class attacked, but their guard, dribbling across half-court, got a bit flustered by the tight defense from Chen Fan's teammate. His timing on the pass was off, and the ball was intercepted midway by Zhang Yuhang.

Zhang Yuhang passed the ball to Chen Fan, who was sprinting down the court. After receiving the ball, Chen Fan didn't rush; he waited a moment for his teammates and then passed it to the trailing teammate.

The teammate went for a layup, the ball bounced on the rim twice, and rolled in.

"Nice shot!" Zhao Zitong shouted from the sidelines and clapped her hands.

Over the next few possessions, Commerce Class 1 played very smoothly. Chen Fan passed when he should pass and shot when he should shoot; he wasn't trying to show off, just scoring the points he should score and grabbing the rebounds he should grab.

The Accounting Class's defense posed basically no threat to him, but Chen Fan didn't play too aggressively either. After taking a double-digit lead, he focused more on setting up his teammates.

By the second quarter, the atmosphere on the sidelines slowly started to heat up.

It wasn't because the game was intense—the score gap had already widened to over ten points, and the Accounting Class basically had no way to fight back.

The gazes of the girls on the sidelines fell one after another on that tall, handsome figure in the white jersey on the court.

Chen Fan received the ball in the low post, backed into the defender, then turned, jumped, and flicked his wrist gently.

The ball went swish through the net.

"Chen Fan—so handsome!" A scream suddenly exploded from the sidelines.

The voice was crisp and bright, piercing through the noise of the entire court, and even Chen Fan, who was running back on defense, paused for a moment.

The one who screamed was a girl sitting next to Zhao Zitong, wearing a ponytail, with an oval face—not exactly pretty, but quite cute.

After shouting, the girl blushed first, and was pushed by her classmates nearby, laughing in a group.

Chen Fan glanced at this girl; it was a girl in his class named Sun Yue.

She usually seemed quiet, but he hadn't expected her to be able to make such a loud noise.

Sun Yue noticed Chen Fan's gaze and froze, the blush on her face instantly spreading to her earlobes.

Chen Fan retracted his gaze, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, and turned to run back on defense.