Chapter 12 Corners and Centers

Fourth Middle School, the sun was still scorching today, making the students of the class suffer indescribably.

Instructor Li had no mercy in training, and some students privately said that Instructor Li was practically training them to death. There were even students who went to Shan Qingrong to complain, but Instructor Li remained unchanged in his ways.

The students were at a loss, their only choice was to find joy in their misery. The happiest time for everyone was during the breaks, where small groups would gather and chat.

During the military training period, Jiang Ning continued his cultivation. Being a cultivator, he only needed to circulate his spiritual power to regulate his body temperature and maintain a comfortable state at all times.

He easily used a fraction of his energy to get through the military training. That morning, he was even specifically praised by Instructor Li, who held him up as an example for the other students. This caused quite a few boys to scoff.

In their view, Jiang Ning's frail frame, even if he stood at attention and marched with perfect standards, what of it? Wasn't he still just a weakling?

There were two boys with rather defiant personalities, planning to find Jiang Ning for some practice after the military training ended.

They didn't dare to vent their frustration on Instructor Li, so they transferred it to Jiang Ning.

Facing Instructor Li's praise, Jiang Ning didn't feel complacent at all. His essence of life had changed compared to ordinary people. If he couldn't even do the basic military postures properly, that would truly be a laughingstock.

As for the opinions of these classmates, he didn't care. If someone were to really provoke him, Song Sheng would serve as a lesson from the past.

Class 8's formation was close to the basketball court; during their break, students sat on the concrete ground of the court, gathering in small groups and chatting.

One of the boys, getting into the conversation, pointed at the backboard and said, "Do you guys believe I can touch the backboard?"

The boy's name was Hu Jun, who looked a bit old for his age and was about 175cm tall.

Ma Shicheng, who often played basketball, was about the same height as Hu Jun; he had tried many times before but was always a bit short of reaching the backboard.

"You're just bragging without drafting it first. Maybe if you were one eighty, it'd be close."

Hu Jun said, "Wanna bet a bottle of Coke?"

Ma Shicheng was not the least bit afraid of him:

"If you can touch it, I'll treat you to a can of Red Bull."

Their bet attracted other classmates.

Guo Kunnan, with a somewhat rascally face and tanned skin, said:

"Hu Jun, you really can't do it."

"I'm one seventy-eight, and I could barely touch it after brief sports training in junior high."

Stimulated by their words, Hu Jun immediately became excited:

"A bottle of Coke on it."

Guo Kunnan pointed at him and challenged, "Go and try now; if you can touch it within three jumps, I'll go to the convenience store and buy it for you right away."

"Fine, I'll show you," said Hu Jun as he stood up. The few boys nearby stepped aside, watching the three make the bet and they all began to jeer.

During high school, boys with good physical fitness and strength were indeed quite enviable. They enjoyed competing and defeating their peers.

Hu Jun stood on the basketball court, looked around both sides, and seeing everyone who had been sitting resting now standing up to watch his attempt, he felt like the center of attention.

He backed up some distance, took a few running steps, and with a leap, his fingertips grazed the backboard.

"Awesome!" Ma Shicheng, keeping his word, praised Hu Jun.

Guo Kunnan looked a bit embarrassed; he hadn't expected Hu Jun to actually touch the backboard.

With so many people watching, it was not good to go back on his word, so he said simply:

"Nice vertical leap, we should play basketball together sometime."

Then he and Ma Shicheng went to the school's convenience store.

A few students tried to touch the backboard like Hu Jun, but after jumping up, they were at least ten centimeters short. After several attempts, they finally realized how powerful Hu Jun's jumping ability was.

A few boys crowded around Hu Jun, asking him how he trained his jumping ability. It seemed that curious gazes from the girls' side were also directed at him. For a moment, Hu Jun couldn't help feeling a bit cocky.

Ma Shicheng and Guo Kunnan returned with drinks, and Hu Jun opened the cold can of Red Bull, sipping it with great satisfaction, feeling refreshed.

Jiang Ning watched from the side, knowing that Hu Jun's moment of glory wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

The discussion started amongst the girls in their formation, and some used this opportunity to get close to Huang Zhongfei, asking if touching the backboard was difficult.

Huang Zhongfei said it was quite tough; although he was one eighty, he didn't exercise much and couldn't touch it.

Not far away in Experimental Class 1's formation, the chubby boy looked at the boys around him and jovially said:

"Brother Hui, someone's showing off over there, why don't you give it a try?"

The boy known as Brother Hui had a striking presence, tall and handsome, he laughed and said,

"Sure, I'll show them something today."

The chubby Lin Zida ran to the edge of the formation and found a black bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a high-quality-looking basketball.

He cradled the basketball and tossed it to Zhuang Jianhui, who caught it with a smooth arc into the palm of his hand.

Lin Zida shouted to the nearby crowd,

"Ever seen a dunk? I'll show you one today."

He shouted several times, as if he were the one about to dunk.

Zhuang Jianhui found Lin Zida's flattery amusing, probably making outsiders think Lin was his lackey. In reality, Lin had grown up in the same compound as him and was definitely a genius, just one often mistaken by his appearance.

Zhuang Jianhui was naturally handsome, especially with that special noble air about him that left a good impression on many girls. Lin Zida shouted enthusiastically, and even though the girls didn't really understand what a dunk was, they followed Zhuang Jianhui to the basketball court.

The girls went, and naturally, the boys followed, each with their own reasons, eager to witness the spectacle, which led to a large crowd trailing behind Zhuang Jianhui.

Other formations resting on the field, seeing such a procession, couldn't help but be drawn over, while those in the midst of normal training also threw occasional glances.

Thus, the students of Experimental Class 1 saw a tall and handsome boy followed by a bustling crowd, instinctively making way for them.

Hu Jun hadn't even finished his Red Bull when he saw someone coming over with a basketball, so he found a spot to see what the kid was going to do.

In no time, two to three hundred people had gathered around the basketball court.

An instructor, seeing the state of the basketball court and how his own formation was distracted, waved his hand,

"Dismissed right here!"

The crowd around the basketball court grew larger and larger, with Shen Qing'e, Chen Siyu, and other girls from Experimental Class 1 seizing a prime spot in the front because they were close to the field, their eyes blinking steadily at Zhuang Jianhui at the center.

Zhuang Jianhui was calm, his demeanor unaffected by the crowd's attention and extremely composed.

He dribbled the ball, warming up and finding his feel for it.

Guo Kunnan wondered, "Is this kid really going to dunk?"

Ma Shicheng was shocked, "Are you kidding me? I've never seen anyone who can dunk in my life."

Guo Kunnan had seen it before, but usually those who dunked were starting at 1.9 meters tall. The boys on the field were roughly 183 cm or so, how could they dunk?

Zhuang Jianhui performed several flashy moves, then dribbled and suddenly accelerated.

Approaching the backboard, his calves tensed up, and he suddenly leapt into the air, cradling the basketball that easily soared over the rim. Then with a flick of the wrist, "Slam!" the ball was dunked into the hoop. He grabbed onto the rim with both hands, his body swinging, full of primal beauty, like he was soaring through the air.

"Whoa!"

"Wow!"

Surprised exclamations rose wave after wave around him, especially from the girls, with that dazzling figure reflected in their eyes, their hearts beating faster, probably never to be forgotten in a lifetime.

"Brother Guo, what level is that dunk?" Ma Shicheng asked.

Guo Kunnan replied, "Whether it's up to level or not, hard to say, but it's definitely the impressive kind of strong, mainly because the way he dunks is... pretty handsome."

He felt an admiration he couldn't quite describe; as someone who often played basketball, he knew how hard dunking was. He probably couldn't dunk in his lifetime, and even if he did by some fluke, it wouldn't be nearly as handsome.

Lin Zida shouted, "Do another one!"

The surrounding girls echoed, "Another one, another one!"

"Handsome, do another one!"

Zhuang Jianhui just smiled. He dribbled again, but this time he didn't go straight for the dunk. Instead, he threw the basketball far toward the backboard, leapt up to catch the returning ball, and performed a reverse dunk into the hoop.

An astonishing cheer burst from the crowd, the girls screaming wildly.

This set, compared to the previous dunk, was full of showy beauty that made people want to watch again and again.

Instructor Li, who had joined the crowd at some point, exclaimed,

"Each generation outdoes the last, this kid's physical fitness is really impressive!"

Despite the crowd's strong demands for Zhuang Jianhui to repeat his performance, he remained unmoved and left the court to the enthusiasm of the audience.

The next day of military training, Zhuang Jianhui became the main topic among the girls in the first year.

Handsome and charismatic, an Experimental Class 1 student, capable of dunking—these qualities converged in him, winning the fondness of countless teenage girls.