score maniac

Chapter 2: I’d Rather Lose My Head Than Mess Up My Hair

“…What the hell do you mean?!” The sound of a basketball slamming against the floor rang in my ears. Moments later, it seemed someone had thrown the ball hard onto the floor, followed by a constant stream of arguing. “Damn my head…” Gu Yu slowly opened his eyes. The lights were blinding. Looking closely, he realized he was on a well-equipped basketball court. “Say that again, you son of a bitch?!!” Near the basket on one side of the court, two groups had clearly gotten into a fight. The basketball had long since been tossed aside, and the two most heated players were glaring at each other, while several others rushed over to break it up. Huh…?? When Gu Yu came to, he was completely bewildered. Where the hell am I?? “Beep beep beep beep! Technical fouls—technical fouls for both teams!!” The referee rushed over to the players who were grappling and shoving each other. As soon as the shrill whistle blew, someone on the sidelines immediately shouted, “Timeout!” “…Damn it!” As the two players were pulled apart, they continued to trade insults, and waves of boos echoed through the arena. “Boooooooo—! You Chinese sure can’t handle losing!” What the hell?! Has this even made it to the international stage??? Gu Yu snapped fully awake. He looked around—well, there were quite a few spectators seated around the court, and the words “Nike Basketball Summit” were written in English on the floor in the center of the court. What the heck? Didn’t the Nike Basketball Summit already take place back in April? Back then, Chinese rookie Sui Ran played for about 20 minutes, scoring 6 points and dishing out 3 assists. Since the coach of the international team was his idol Chen Mu, Gu Yu had even gone out of his way to read the news reports about it! What on earth is going on… “Gu Yu… Gu Yu!” A somewhat familiar voice rang out beside him. Gu Yu turned his head and his mouth dropped open—he couldn’t close it again. “You, you, you’re…” “Take Sui Ran out—he’s not in the right frame of mind.” Chen Mu, an NBA superstar and Nike’s top endorser for the Jordan-tea line, was frowning as he watched the court, shaking his head repeatedly. “Boss—!!!” Gu Yu couldn’t believe his eyes. This was the first time he’d been this close to a legend—holy crap, he was going to take a photo with him, get an autograph, and snap a million posed shots! “…Haha, you didn’t have to shout that loud, did you?” Startled by Gu Yu’s sudden enthusiasm, Chen Mu laughed awkwardly and said, “Sui Ran’s lost his composure. Go take his spot at shooting guard. Hurry up, go!” “Me… okay, okay!” Gu Yu’s mind was in complete disarray. He immediately jumped to his feet, ripped off his jacket, and sprinted onto the court like Superman. What’s going on right now? Why is this happening? What time is it, anyway? How did I end up at the Nike Basketball Summit arena? Who cares! The boss told me to play—he personally told me to get out there and play! And on an international stage, no less! So I’m going in! “Come on, come on, hahaha… Oh, wait, there’s something I need to do first.” Halfway there, as he watched Sui Ran get pulled off the court by his teammates on the international team and sit on the bench looking displeased amid the boos from the crowd, Gu Yu suddenly stopped in his tracks. “I’d rather lose my head than mess up my hairstyle!” And then, right there on the spot, he actually started fixing his hair… “Oh, here comes another Chinese guy.” On the sidelines, the American fans seemed to look down on Gu Yu as he entered the game. Even though Chen Mu—a Chinese legend—was sitting right there on the sidelines, the Americans, who never held back from expressing their true feelings, spoke their minds bluntly: “Chen’s using his position for personal gain—he’s deliberately giving the Chinese player more playing time!” “Exactly! He actually thinks winning one championship makes him a big shot. Here in Oregon, we’re not buying it! Just wait until the Portland Trail Blazers come into their own in a couple of years—then we’ll see how cocky he can be!” “Haha, look at this guy coming onto the court—he’s only about 193 to 195 tall, right? He’s fixing his hair first? What kind of ridiculous hairstyle is that? A slicked-back look? That style went out of fashion years ago—why’s he still doing that? How tacky is that!” What the hell…?! “Hey…! You over there, the fat guy eating a hot dog! Yeah, that’s you!” Gu Yu wasn’t happy to hear that. With his hair mostly fixed, he immediately turned around, reached out toward the stands, and pointed at the fan shouting the loudest, yelling, “What’s wrong with my hair…? You’ve got the guts to come down here and say that again???” “Are we playing or not??” Just as Gu Yu was about to get into a heated exchange with the fans, the altercation on the court was resolved. A tall man with Middle Eastern features turned to Gu Yu, furrowing his brow in impatience and said, “Stop embarrassing us on the international team! Chinese people really have no manners…” “…Who are you calling uncivilized??” Gu Yu was notorious for having a temper that flared at the slightest provocation. It was one thing when the fans said whatever they wanted, but now this big guy had hit a nerve with just one remark, and Gu Yu’s anger flared up instantly. “Gu Yu…!” Fortunately, Chen Mu, watching from the sidelines, was quick to spot the trouble. With a sharp rebuke, Gu Yu forced himself to swallow his anger. He bared his teeth and made a face at the big guy, managing to avoid another brawl. “All right, let’s go on offense!” Both teams were called for technical fouls; neither was awarded free throws, and possession remained unchanged. The International Team took the ball, and before Gu Yu had even taken a few steps on the court, he heard the entire arena chanting one name over and over. “Ennes! …Huh? That name doesn’t sound American! Gu Yu was a little surprised. Looking around, he saw that everyone’s gaze was clearly fixed on the big guy who’d just been trash-talking him. Ennes? Is this guy that good? Has he even made the American fans switch sides?? “Get into position!” The point guard ran past Gu Yu, barking the order. Gu Yu took a deep breath, swallowed his frustration, and ran up to the frontcourt to take his position. “Ding” Just past the half-court line, something felt off. “Is this… a holographic projection??” On the court floor right before Gu Yu’s eyes, something resembling the tactical movement indicators from video games suddenly appeared. But the instructions were incredibly simple: an arrow appeared at Gu Yu’s feet, pointing in one direction. He tried running forward two steps, and the arrow jumped ahead, pointing in another direction. “Ding” Following the arrow, Gu Yu paid no attention to what tactics the others were running. He ran around the field for a little less than half a lap, and not far ahead, his destination finally came into view. A green circle was flickering on the ground. The space inside the ring was tiny—barely enough to stand with both feet side by side. The slightest shift of his feet would send him stepping outside the circle. Is that all I have to do? Gu Yu looked up and saw that his teammates were completely ignoring him. Everything was proceeding according to plan; sure enough, the ball was passed to the big man, who initiated a post-up move. The offense revolved around him—yeah, I get it. Gu Yu nodded to himself and quickly walked over to take his place inside the circle. “Whoosh—!!!” A sudden gust of wind shot skyward! Holy crap, my hair! Gu Yu was taken aback, but when he reached up to touch his hair, it hadn’t been affected in the slightest. It seemed as though the wind had only blown within his mind. None of his teammates, opponents, or fans seemed to notice any of this. After regaining his footing, before Gu Yu even had a chance to figure out what was going on, Ennes was double-teamed under the basket. “Pass it out to Ennes!!” As Chen Mu’s shout rang out from the sidelines, just as the big man was about to have the ball stolen, his eyes swept toward Gu Yu’s position—and his expression instantly betrayed a hint of surprise. Great cut! “Whoosh!” Reluctantly dishing out the pass, the big man watched as Gu Yu caught the ball, jumped, and—amid the relentless boos from the crowd—sank a mid-range jumper with a solid form. “…Swish!” The ball went through the net. A quick update for my new friends: Chen Mu, who appears in this story, is the protagonist of *The All-Around Rebound Obsessive*. Brothers and sisters, if you’re getting impatient waiting for the new book, feel free to flip through the old one for now! And to my old friends—our boss is back!