PCJ – Chapter 525 Luck?

“Jiaohua, that Wang Peng is just too shameless. We can ignore him—he was the one who cheated first anyway,” Zheng Wendong said angrily, annoyed that he hadn’t clarified the rules beforehand, allowing Wang Peng to take advantage of a loophole. Now that Wang Peng had actually brought in professional players, it was hard for them to back down.

“No worries. If soldiers come, we’ll block them; if water comes, we’ll use earth to stop it. This is a good chance to see what professional players are really made of,” Zhang Jiaohua said nonchalantly.

But Zheng Wendong was still uneasy. “Wang Peng has been bragging everywhere these past few days. Now the whole school knows about this game. If we lose badly, we’ll completely lose face at Fourth High.”

“What? Getting scared now?” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

“Scared? No way! I just think Wang Peng is despicable,” Zheng Wendong said, fuming.

Xu Chuan’an also slammed the table. “Let them come! Who’s afraid of who? Even if we lose, we’re losing to professional players. But Wang Peng shouldn’t expect me to admit defeat!”

“Actually, you guys don’t need to worry too much. Professionals aren’t unbeatable. Why can’t we win?” Zhang Jiaohua said, glancing at the team.

“Jiaohua’s right. You guys need to believe in yourselves. Even if we lose, we lose the game, not our dignity! No matter the outcome, the cheer squad and I will always support you!” Xu Xiaoting suddenly appeared beside them.

Her words immediately fired up the team, and morale rose sharply.

That afternoon, Wang Peng arrived early at the basketball court. But only a few students from Class Five showed up. Not a single member of their basketball team was present.

From the teaching building, Qi Haoyu from Class Five looked down at Wang Peng smugly standing on the court and sneered, “Wang Peng has completely disgraced our class. He actually invited four professional players to go up against high school students. Even if he wins, he’s already lost in character. Sharing a class with someone like him is the most humiliating thing in my life.”

“Forget it. Wang Peng’s family has influence. Fighting him will only make life harder in this field. He invited starting players from the Beijing team—two of them have even played for the national team,” He Aiheng said as he walked over.

“So what’s left for Class One to do? Zheng Wendong’s an idiot to even try competing with someone like Wang Peng. He agreed to allow external players? He’s asking to get crushed,” Qi Haoyu muttered, confused.

“Wang Peng probably just pestered him too much,” He Aiheng said, curling his lip.

“That Zhang Jiaohua guy in Class One probably won’t be much help this time either. Even if he’s accurate, what use is it if he can’t get the ball or can’t take a shot?” Qi Haoyu continued. “He’s scary though—last time he alone destroyed the sports students from our class. Want to head down and watch?”

“Of course we’re going to watch. But let’s not support the bad guys—we’ll stay off to the side,” He Aiheng replied with a smile.

“Come on, Wang Peng’s hired help is here. Let’s see if Class One dares show up. Imagine how smug he’ll be if they don’t,” Qi Haoyu said.

Wang Peng was growing impatient as he stood waiting on the court. He kept pulling out his brand-new phone to check the time—not because time mattered, but because he wanted to show off. Phones were rare luxuries at Fourth High; few students had one.

“Wang Peng, have those arrogant kids shown up yet?” asked An Hao, a player from the Beijing team.

“Not yet. They probably heard you were coming and got scared off,” Wang Peng said smugly.

“If they don’t show, how do we count the game?” An Hao asked, already growing impatient.

“Of course it counts as a forfeit—we win. Don’t worry, Brother An. I won’t let you guys go unrewarded,” Wang Peng promised.

“I know. We came here sneakily. Don’t tell anyone about this,” An Hao warned. He knew it would be a disgrace if news got out that professional players were playing against high school students.

“Don’t worry. If they don’t show up in a few minutes, it’s a forfeit,” Wang Peng said.

“Wang Peng! Who are you calling forfeiting? Isn’t the time just right?” At that moment, Zheng Wendong appeared beside him. Zhang Jiaohua and the rest of the Class One team followed.

The crowd that had been about to leave gathered again. Most didn’t care who won—the result seemed obvious anyway.

“You still dared to come?” Wang Peng’s eyes were locked on Zhang Jiaohua. Last time, Jiaohua had single-handedly crushed all five athletes from Class Five. But this time was different—Wang Peng had brought four professional players. He was eager to see how badly Jiaohua would be beaten.

Zhang Jiaohua ignored Wang Peng’s taunts. Before the game, he huddled his team together. “Here, drink some water. I added a secret family formula—this will help you keep up with the pros. Just get me the ball. Trust me!”

“Don’t worry, Jiaohua. If I’ve got the ball, it’s going to you. No way the pros are invincible!” said Zheng Wendong.

The four professional players from Beijing looked at the eager Class One players with disdain. In terms of size and skill, they had a clear upper hand.

An Hao laughed to his teammates, “Look at them, still acting confident. Let’s take it easy and not destroy them too badly. Playing high schoolers is bullying, after all.”

“I didn’t even want to come, but what choice did I have? The guy’s family is tight with the head coach,” said Zheng Zhining, shaking his head.

“Don’t be careless. I heard from Wang that their No. 7 is deadly from long range. He destroyed five sports students by himself last time. No athletes on their team either. He’s a bit of a freak. Maybe they’re banking on his shooting again,” said Zhang Yusong, a core player for the Beijing team and former national team member.

“Please. Even athletic students can’t compare to us. They wouldn’t even make starters in amateur leagues,” An Hao scoffed.

This time, Wang Peng even got the PE teacher, Shen Honggang, to act as referee. When Shen blew the whistle, both teams entered the court. The height gap was immediately obvious—adults vs. kids.

Shen smiled bitterly. There’s no suspense here. He had no idea why the pros would stoop to this level.

“You still have time to forfeit, Jiaohua. Once the game starts, it’ll be too late,” Wang Peng said smugly.

“We’ll see who’s embarrassed. The outcome won’t be clear until the final whistle. Your so-called pros aren’t all that,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

“What did you say?” An Hao and the others glared at him. Jiaohua was being way too cocky.

“I said—let’s see if your bark matches your bite!” Zhang Jiaohua shot back.

“Fine! No holding back, guys. Let’s see how ‘great’ this high schooler is!” An Hao snapped, furious.

Wang Peng was thrilled. Jiaohua had just provoked the pros—they’d come at him full force.

Even before the game began, the tension was explosive.

Referee Shen frowned, worried. Jiaohua was too arrogant. He had planned to ease the game so the students wouldn’t lose too badly, but that plan was clearly out the window now.

Shen tossed the ball into the air, expecting the pros to grab it easily.

But shockingly, Class One’s No. 7 jumped higher. Zhang Jiaohua soared like he had springs on his feet and tapped the ball away from a surprised An Hao, sending it to Zheng Wendong.

Zheng quickly passed it back to Jiaohua. An Hao rushed to intercept, but Jiaohua leapt high, caught it in the air, and launched into a fadeaway jumper—from way beyond the arc.

It was an extremely difficult shot. No one expected it to go in.

But to everyone’s shock, the ball soared in a perfect arc and sank straight through the net.

“What the hell?! That actually went in?” someone gasped.

The crowd stood stunned as the ball bounced along the court.

Zhang Yusong was also a shooter, so he naturally recognized how difficult that shot was. He couldn’t help but admire how beautifully it was made. However, he didn’t believe that Zhang Jiaohua actually possessed such impressive skill. A shot like that— even for an NBA player— would rely more on luck than anything else.

An Hao couldn’t help but curse, “…That was way too lucky. I let my guard down.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. That was purely a lucky shot,” Zhang Yusong said dismissively. Even though the amateur players had just taken a three-point lead, Zhang Yusong didn’t think it was anything to worry about. Luck was unpredictable, after all. But luck could never replace real skill.