She Outshines 185
At three in the afternoon, Athena headed out. She first went to the kindergarten to apply for leave
from the teacher and picked Josie up to go to the University of Technology.
On the way, she bought two sets of ppers and reached the stadium of the University of
Technology at around four in the afternoon
When she arrived at the entrance, she was shocked. It was just a warm–up match, but the entrance
of the stadium was filled with people. Most of them were students and girls, but many were
outsiders. Judging from themotion in the stadium, it was probably filled with people.
Athena couldn’t get in, so she could only call ric. ric immediately sent two of his buddies out
to pick them up and led them into the stadium through the passageway reserved for yers.
The gymnasium was really full. Even the aisles were filled with people.
Most of the girls were holding signs and banners such as “I Love ric“. “Good Luck ric, Forever
the Prince of Basketball“, and “nc is the coolest. It was like arge–scale fan meeting
Fortunately ric had reserved two seats for Athena and Josie in the first row. When ric saw
them, he ran over amidst the screams of all the girls. He rubbed Josie’s head through the partition
and chatted with Athena for a while before returning to the court to warm up.
ric was wearing a red jersey while the Hatnd yers were wearing yellow jerseys.
ric was 6.2 feet tall. He was tallpared to ordinary people but did not stand out among
professional yers. One could not see how good ric from his warm–up. They would just think
he was especially handsome and innocent, like a celebrity.
Athena observed the yers on the court while exining the rules to Josie,
Josie did not fully understand what Athena was saying but pped with all her might. Her legs were
also swinging. Before thepetition started, she kept shouting, “ric is handsome, ric is so
awesome!”
ric looked at them as he ran and dribbled on the field, waving at them from time to time. He
didn’t seem focused, as if he was ying around.
However, when the whistle sounded at 4:30 pm. ric seemed topletely change into a
different person. He was no longer aszy and casual as before. His gaze was firm and focused.
He stared at the basketball like a hungry wolf alpha staring at its only prey, not allowing his
opponents to steal his prey away.
Although his height and physique did not give him an advantage, his skills were superb. He ran a lot
and was very agile. His speed and reaction were like lightning. Coupled with his excellent jumping
ability and urate shooting, he was indeed a very outstanding basketball yer.
In the beginning, perhaps because the yers on their side were not in the zone yet, their reactions
were a little slow. The other team from Hatnd scored more than ten points very quickly.
However, ric went all out. He was the fastest runner, the most active ball snatcher, and the e one
who took the most shots.
With ric’s hard work, their team managed to catch up by more than ten points. Their condition
also improved, and soon they were evenly matched with the yers from Hatnd.
The atmosphere in the venue became lively. The fans‘ attention also shifted from ric to the
competition itself. The entire stadium was chanting. “ric, go for gold. Osceiton, go for gold.
Athena was affected by the atmosphere. She also waved her hands crazily and pped, shouting,
“ric, you can do it”
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Just as Arthur had s?d, ric was a natural–bornpetitor. Before the start of thepetition, he
looked as though he was messing around and couldn’t focus. But once thepetition began, he
had one thing in mind: winning.
Throughout the first half of the match, ric did not even look at the audience. It was not until the
whistle at the end of the first half that he looked as if he had just woken up from a dream. He
realized that there were still spectators and his two precious sisters.
ric picked up his towel and jogged over to the stands as he wiped his sweat. He asked Athena
and Josie smugly. “How did I do? Was I cool?”
Athena gave him a thumbs up. “Very cool!”
Josie stood up and jumped around. “You’re the coolest.”
ric stroked her head and said with satisfaction, “Yes, I will be even more cool in the second half
of the match. You must watch me carefully.”
Josie nodded vigorously. “I do, even more seriously than I am in ss.”
Behind Athena and Josie, the students stood up and waved frantically at ric, screaming. ric
smiled at them, waved his hand, and returned to the rest area to listen to the coach’s instructions.
Athena noticed the coach say something to ric after a while. Then, ric followed the coach to
the lounge. They were gone for a long time.
It wasn’t until the start of the second half that ric came out with the coach. No one knew what
the coach said to Abric, but ric hung his head and his shoulders were a little slump. He didn’t
look too good.
After the game whistle sounded, ric was still actively running, but his movements were slow and
hesitant, like when he was ying a game.
Every time he snatched the ball, he would hesitate for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about
who to pass it to, whether to pass it and so on. His hesitation made him miss opportunities, which
benefited their opponents.
Soon, the Hatnd yers‘ possession rate increased. They were shooting and scoring more and
more, leaving ric’s team
behind.
The entire audience was anxious. They kept shouting, “All the best, ric!“, “Win Hatnd!“, “You
must win!”
ric looked down the court several times, watching the distribution cards, the coach, the
audience, and Athena and Josie. His movements were still hesitant.
Athena noticed that there was no light in his eyes. She thought, “What on earth happened? What
distracted him, made him hesitate, and upset him?”
What was even stranger was that the coach did not call for a stop even though they were behind.
Instead, the coach of Hatnd called for a pause and proudly guided the yers on how to score
more points.
The crowd booed, dissatisfied with ric’s performance.
Someone even threw mineral water bottles and support signs at ric and scolded, “If you don’t
want to win, get lost. Don’t embarrass our school and Osceiton!”
Another shouted, “What basketball prince! Who says he’s the rising star of the National Basketball
Team? Pit, he’s a liar and trash. He doesn’t deserve his reputation. How can he fantasize about
joining the national team? We really misjudged him.”
Even ric’s buddies rushed to the sidelines and said anxiously, ric, what’s wrong with you?
Didn’t you y very well in the first half? Why did you be like this in the second half? Are you
okay?”
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“Whether you can enter the national team depends on this match. Pull yourself together and don’t
screw up at this critical moment, another added.
ric raised his head and looked at them. He still didn’t say anything and just stood silently at the
side.
A shoe flew over and smashed into ric’s face.
When Josir saw this, she sniffled and suddenly burst into tears. “You’re not allowed to bully ric.
He is the best. You can’t scold him or hit him.”
Although there were a lot of shouts, Josie’s cries still rang out loudly in the stadium. The female
students beside her quietened down, too embarrassed to argue. Then, the surrounding audience
lowered their voices. They could not bear to see a child cry.
Josie’s cries grew even louder. Soon, her face was covered in tears. “ric, you can do it. You are
the best. You will never lose.”
Athena couldn’t stop Josie’s tears
The entire venue quickly fell silent. Everyone looked at the cute Josie sobbing her heart out, as if
she would suffocate at any moment. Even the referee, who was about to end the pause, put down
his whistle and gestured for the staff to coax Josie.
ric ran over and squatted in front of Josie through the partition. He gently touched her head.
“Josie, be good. Don’t cry anymore. If you want me to win, I will.”
Josie’s face was covered in tears. As she cried, she said intermittently, “R–Really?”
Yes, I will never lie to you.” ric stretched out his little finger. “Pinky swear.”
“You can’t break your promise. Josie’s cries became softer as she sobbed and made a pinky
promise with him.
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ric then looked at Athena and said in a low voice, “Athena, do you want me to win too?”
“Of course, Athena said seriously, “When you only focus on winning, you are the coolest.”
“I will win.” ric stood up. His eyes quickly became clear, calm, and determined. “I will win even if I
have to risk everything
I have.” He hugged Athena tightly, turned around, and strode onto the court with his back straight,
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