Then he saw Leonard Brooks slowly raise his hand and give the middle finger. The gesture lasted only a moment, and it was unclear who it was directed at.

There was still nearly a month until the basketball game.

The basketball tournament at No. 2 High School wasn’t very formal; to save time, the duration of the games was shortened.

To prepare for this basketball game, Logan Wright intensified the training. Not only during PE class and lunch break, but even during the ten-minute class breaks, he would lead the team out to practice.

Although Henry Howard and Ethan Young weren’t participating, they would still accompany the team as “opponents” to practice whenever they had time.

“Haozi, I’ve noticed that not only is your movement on the court amazing, but your shooting skills are also quite surprising,” Henry Howard stopped, wiped his sweat with his collar, and continued, “Yesterday you were hitting every shot, but today you suddenly can’t make any?”

Although their class had big dreams, the overall strength of the team wasn’t high.

Especially since Luke Carter’s performance was unstable—when he was in good form, everything was great, but when he wasn’t, he just couldn’t score. Class 3 had originally prepared themselves for a first-round exit.

Unexpectedly, they narrowly won the first round and advanced to the second.

Ethan Young also stopped and casually asked, “Did they draw lots for the second round? Who are we up against?”

Logan Wright said, “Not yet, we’ll draw before the game tomorrow.”

Class 3 wasn’t lucky—they drew Class 4 for the second round.

During the drawing, Mad Dog was repeatedly announcing over the broadcast: “—All students participating in the basketball game, gather at the court at twelve noon.”

Logan Wright opened the stack of neatly folded slips of paper, and there was a bold number on it: 4.

The students from Class 3 were all sitting on the sidelines, cheering them on. The stands were packed, and even students from other grades had come to join the fun, chattering noisily.

The referee took the slip and announced Class 4’s name. Leonard Brooks and his team got up and walked to the center of the court.

As the referee blew the whistle, Ethan Young vaguely felt his right eyelid twitch a few times.

Immediately after, that uneasy feeling grew stronger and stronger—

At the start, Class 3 clearly had the advantage. After Logan Wright grabbed the ball and was about to pass to Luke Carter, the player in Class 4 wearing the number 6 jersey stuck to Logan Wright like glue.

Out of the referee’s sight, he deliberately tripped Logan Wright.

Then Wanda got the ball and was about to make a layup, but Leonard Brooks not only blocked his shot, he even deliberately bumped into him while blocking, causing a so-called “accidental injury.”

There were a lot of people on the court, and both teams were playing aggressively, constantly squeezing and clashing on offense and defense. Ethan Young almost thought those two subtle actions that happened in the blink of an eye were just his imagination.

But it wasn’t just those two times.

When fighting for a rebound, he saw Leonard Brooks’s elbow clearly and deliberately aim for Luke Carter’s eye.

Luke Carter cried out in pain, loosened his grip, and slowly squatted down, covering his eye.

The referee blew the whistle urgently.

Their dirty tricks were extremely well hidden, always behind the referee’s back, and they even covered for each other. Ethan Young’s mind was filled with just one word: “Shit,” and his temples throbbed hard twice.

He’d heard from Henry Howard before that this team played dirty, but he didn’t expect them to be this shameless.

In front of Class 4, all the preparations Logan Wright and his team had made over the past month for this basketball game seemed like a joke.

“Referee, they’re breaking the rules again! Is this how you play basketball? What’s the meaning of this?”

In just ten minutes, so much had happened. Logan Wright had held back again and again, but he really couldn’t take it anymore.

Leonard Brooks shrugged innocently and said, “Sorry, it was really an accident.”

Although Leonard Brooks wasn’t well-liked and many people found him annoying, in a class activity like a basketball game, collective honor was easily stirred up. The students from Class 4 all spoke up for him, and one girl said especially loudly, “Where did we break the rules?”

Quinn Shaw exploded on the spot, turned her head and said, “Are you blind or what?”

Ethan Young couldn’t sit still either. Before he could get up, he saw Henry Howard sitting on the side, calmly screwing the cap back onto his water bottle, then suddenly hurling it out with a backhanded throw.

There was still more than half a bottle of water inside. It hit the edge of the steps with a loud “bang,” then finally landed on the rubber floor.

The two classes, who had been arguing, were instantly silenced by the noise.

Henry Howard looked terrible. Ever since Logan Wright drew the number four, his expression had grown darker and darker.

After throwing the water bottle, Henry Howard stood up, took off his school jacket without a word, leaving only a T-shirt underneath, and casually tossed the jacket aside: “—Haozi, come back.”

“Substitution.”

The other spectators in the stands only knew that Ethan Young from the East Building was rumored to be ruthless, but Henry Howard was supposed to be easygoing. Now, seeing this, he didn’t look easygoing at all.

The title of school bully wasn’t just talk—his presence was overwhelming, making people afraid to even breathe.

Luke Carter had been hit so hard by Leonard Brooks just now that he was still squatting on the ground, not recovered yet. He covered his eye with one hand, looking a bit blurry as he watched Henry Howard step over the steps and walk onto the court.

Luke Carter felt like he was seeing the old Henry Howard, the one full of aggression, the one who once rubbed Walter Smith’s face into the bathroom floor. But this time, his mood was completely different.

Henry Howard took a couple of steps, then stopped and shouted without looking back, “Old Young, you in or not?”

Then Luke Carter saw that the guy in their class who hated trouble, refused to compete, and swore he wouldn’t cooperate, also stood up.

Ethan Young rolled up his sleeves and replied with a single word: “In.”

Looking at this scene, anyone who didn’t know better would think they were about to fight.

The people from Class 3 were the first to react.

A surge of hot-blooded pride swept over them, and the morale that had just been crushed by Class 4 soared again, their hearts pounding uncontrollably.

Luke Carter, infected by the atmosphere, couldn’t help but throw out a harsh line before leaving the court: “Class 4, you’re asking for it.”

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95. Chapter Ninety-Five

“Aren’t you guys fond of breaking the rules?” Henry Howard walked halfway across the court, bent down to pick up the ball that Wanda had accidentally thrown out earlier, dribbled a few times with a flick of his wrist, and spoke in a tone that betrayed no emotion. He added, “Go on, keep breaking them.”

Ethan Young said nothing.

He jumped straight down from the stands, hands on the railing, leaping over in one smooth motion. Amid the uproar, he walked unhurriedly toward the Class 3 team.

The two teams stood face to face.

After speaking, Henry Howard tossed the ball backhanded to the Class 4 team, and it landed right at Leonard Brooks’s feet.

It would be a lie for Leonard Brooks to say he wasn’t afraid of these two school bullies.

Although he usually acted tough in his own class, he only dared to bully the weak—a typical coward. But now, with so many eyes on him, his rapidly swelling pride and desire to win made him throw caution to the wind.

The referee blew the whistle several more times, standing between the two teams to keep them apart, afraid they’d start a fight. Especially with the people in the stands fanning the flames and making a racket.

The Class 4 team was completely riled up, standing and shouting, “Go, Hui-ge!”

The referee was getting a headache: “Calm down, all of you! What are you doing, playing basketball or fighting? Sportsmanship first, competition second.”

At first, Leonard Brooks didn’t really understand what Henry Howard meant by telling them to “keep breaking the rules.”

It wasn’t until Henry Howard’s reorganized team huddled on the sidelines for a quick strategy session and then returned to the court that he realized what those words meant: So what if you want to break the rules?

You won’t even get the chance.

Henry Howard had spent ten minutes in the stands observing and had pretty much figured out Class 4’s tricks: “In a bit, you guys coordinate with Old Young—he’s great at breaking through and fast breaks, but when he plays, he doesn’t care about anyone, so don’t expect teamwork. Be careful not to get hurt by him. And PE rep, you mark number 6, I’ll take Leonard Brooks, shut them down.”

The referee was blind and couldn’t do anything about it, so the only way was to keep Class 4 from grouping up and covering for each other’s fouls, and try to catch up in the second half.

Logan Wright was amazed by Henry Howard’s ability to read the game, stunned for two seconds before nodding repeatedly: “Okay, I’ll be careful, I won’t let Yu-ge hurt me.”

Ethan Young was a bit annoyed and frowned, “Me?”

“Yeah, you,” Henry Howard put his hand on Ethan Young’s neck and leaned in, “You, solo player, forever a lone wolf, don’t even think about it.”

As soon as Henry Howard got on the court, he organized a fierce fast break, giving the home court entirely to Ethan Young. The Class 4 team had never faced such a wild style of play and were caught off guard.

Leonard Brooks, being marked by Henry Howard, could only watch as Ethan Young got the ball and broke past two people in a row, not giving anyone a chance to get close.

The attack was too fierce—two people couldn’t stop him.

“Hui-ge!”