SSD 38. Qinghuo vs Yangsheng: Tian Yi’s New Move

Xu Fanming stood at the edge of the paint, and suddenly, Tian Yi’s shadow appeared in front of him. The setup felt familiar. The confrontation felt familiar. But Xu Fanming had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

He kept up a steady rhythm of cross-dribbles and turned his back wide to shield the ball. In the split second Tian Yi paused in surprise, Xu Fanming had already blown past him with a burst of speed. Like a wild horse breaking free of its reins, he spun around, launched the ball high from between his legs, and sent it flying straight toward the hoop.

Qinghuo’s first two points landed solidly in Xu Fanming’s hands.

As his feet touched the ground, Xu Fanming felt something unexpected. He was calm. Scoring past Tian Yi did not strike him with the rush he had imagined. Perhaps it was because he had already played this moment out in his mind a hundred times. He had already experienced every feeling in practice, from frustration and pressure to excitement, over and over again. So when simulation turned into reality, the feeling wasn’t overwhelming. It simply felt like something that was meant to happen.

Xu Fanming stood beneath the basket and looked across at Tian Yi. At that same moment, Tian Yi was looking right back at him.

What caught him off guard was not a trace of defeat or frustration, but the steady presence of composure and confidence in Tian Yi’s expression.

That was when it hit Xu Fanming. Maybe this was what he needed to learn from Tian Yi. How to manage the rhythm of the entire game, and not let a single setback cloud his judgment.

2 to 0. The game was far from over.

Yangsheng’s guard took possession and immediately charged toward Qinghuo’s side of the court. Within moments, He Jiang and Fang Ruihan had flanked him on both sides, closing in for a full block. Caught between two towering defenders, the guard broke into a cold sweat.

He struggled past the half-court line, only to find himself completely trapped. He Jiang and Fang Ruihan boxed him in together, leaving him nowhere to move.

He Jiang kept his eyes locked on the ball handler, tracking every twitch and hesitation. Then, the guard glanced slightly to his right, barely noticeable, almost reflexive. But it was enough to give something away.

A pass?

That was definitely a pass. Both He Jiang and Fang Ruihan realized it instantly, and the first name that came to mind was Tian Yi.

Tian Yi was already in position on the right side of the paint, poised and ready to move at any moment. He was the core of Yangsheng’s team, and if they could shut down the pass to him at this crucial moment, it would not only give them a strong defensive turnover but also deal a serious blow to Yangsheng’s momentum.

He Jiang and Fang Ruihan both shifted toward the right, instinctively moving to locate Tian Yi and block him out. But before they could adjust their positioning, the Yangsheng guard with the ball suddenly twisted left and launched a powerful pass into the open space on the opposite side of the court.

Standing on the right, Tian Yi lifted an eyebrow and smiled, a sharp little canine tooth flashing as if he had been waiting for this moment. The image seared itself into He Jiang’s vision, and his brows drew together.

Damn. That had been a fake-out?

He Jiang stopped short and spun around, but it was already too late. The ball had sailed across the court and landed squarely in the hands of a Yangsheng player who had cut in from the far side. He broke past Wen Qin’s defense with ease, took a quick step, and laid the ball in.

2 to 2.

Yangsheng was not going to fall behind quietly.

He Jiang stood still for a moment, thinking quickly, then slowly relaxed his frown. That play had caught him off guard.

They had already been warned about this during the last game they watched.

Their previous matchup with Yangsheng had left a strong impression. It planted a fixed assumption in their minds, the belief that whenever a Yangsheng player had the ball, their first instinct would be to pass it to No. 9, Tian Yi. But that kind of thinking was simplistic and clearly mistaken.

Who knew if Yangsheng had even been playing at full strength during that practice match? Maybe the way they played back then had just been a deliberate misdirection, a setup to confuse their opponents. In the official game they watched afterward, it had already become clear that Yangsheng was intentionally lowering Tian Yi’s scoring share. Whether that change came as a post-game adjustment or was part of their hidden strategy all along, one thing was certain.

Tian Yi was still the anchor of the team, but the rest of Yangsheng’s lineup could not be underestimated either.

He Jiang straightened up, wiped a hand across his face, and steadied himself again. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he could not shake the feeling that someone was staring at him from behind.

The ball flew back and forth between black and white jerseys before landing once more in the hands of a Yangsheng player who had come up to support on defense. He Jiang took a step in that direction, only for a white figure to suddenly close in on him.

A bright smile stretched across the face in front of him, with that unmistakable flash of sharp little canine teeth. He Jiang narrowed his eyes slightly. Tian Yi leaned in and gave a quiet hum.

“Hey.”

He Jiang frowned. For a second, he wondered if he had misheard.

Until Tian Yi said it again.

“Hey. I just picked up a new move. Want to take a look?”

He Jiang looked up. On their side of the court, Wen Qin and Xu Fanming had already surrounded the ball handler, and Xu Fanming was reaching in, trying to steal the ball. But in the next instant, just as the pressure peaked, the Yangsheng player threw his weight forward, forcing a path open with his body. As he fell to the floor, he hurled the ball with all his strength toward midcourt.

He Jiang froze. A sudden awareness struck him. Just as he was about to move, Tian Yi shot forward like a bolt of lightning. He Jiang’s expression darkened.

Tian Yi had reached the center line and caught the ball cleanly.

The timing of the pass and the catch had been flawless. That kind of coordination could only come from absolute trust and a perfect sense of rhythm between teammates.

“Get back on defense!” Fang Ruihan shouted.

He Jiang was already moving, cutting in front of Tian Yi to intercept. But Tian Yi had seen it coming. He stopped short, jumped, and switched the ball from one hand to the other under his legs, completely avoiding He Jiang’s block.

He Jiang adjusted immediately, but he hadn’t expected that Tian Yi still had more to show. Just as he tried to reposition for a steal, Tian Yi pushed the ball backward and snapped his wrist. The ball flew high from behind his body in a clean arc that cut through the air with power and speed.

It soared toward the paint, landing less than a meter from the rim, where another Yangsheng player was already in position to receive it. The pass had crossed nearly half the court with perfect accuracy.

As the ball dropped into range, the Yangsheng player jumped in place, redirected the ball in midair, and slammed it straight into the basket.

For a moment, no one could say a word.

Only the scoreboard spoke as the numbers shifted to 2 to 4. Qinghuo now trailed by two points.

Xu Fanming and He Jiang locked eyes. Neither spoke.

It looked effortless on the surface, but the level of training and coordination behind a pass like that was difficult to grasp. Every movement flowed with clarity and control. The teamwork, the timing, the positioning, had come together seamlessly. At the center of it all was Tian Yi, who had orchestrated the entire sequence from start to finish. From receiving the ball to launching a long-range, pinpoint pass, he had connected every part of the play with the precision of a seasoned pro.

It was bold. It was brilliant. And it was absolutely beautiful.

More importantly, that dazzling sequence made it clear that Yangsheng’s strategy for this match centered on teamwork. Tian Yi’s role as the central pillar was already being deliberately scaled back.

He Jiang turned his head slightly and glanced toward Yangsheng’s bench. The coach sat upright, watching the game with a calm expression that gave nothing away.

He Jiang said nothing. He simply turned his eyes back to the court and rejoined the fierce rhythm of the match.

Qinghuo was quick to respond. They adjusted their formation without delay. Wen Qin passed the ball to Zhu Xuyao, who launched a deep three-pointer. It missed just slightly and hit the backboard. But before the ball could drop, a figure leapt into the air. He Jiang reached out and tapped the ball softly against the rim, pushing it straight into the net.

The score was tied once again.

Xu Fanming steadied his breathing and turned to glance at Tian Yi. The other boy still wore that same calm expression, which only added to Xu Fanming’s growing sense of unease.

Then it was Yangsheng’s turn to control the ball. Tian Yi dribbled along the sideline, pushing up into Qinghuo’s half. Fang Ruihan stayed close behind on defense. In that moment, Xu Fanming shifted his focus to scan the court.

Tian Yi advanced along the sideline with Fang Ruihan close behind. Two Yangsheng players were cutting through the backcourt, but He Jiang and Zhu Xuyao had already locked them down. Inside the three-point line, Wen Qin stood ready, positioned to intercept. Xu Fanming followed from midcourt, keeping pace with Tian Yi. Two players moved in to screen him, but he held his position and stayed firmly between them and their target.

They had formed a tight trap. The ball had nowhere to go.

Tian Yi broke past half court and was about to reach the three-point arc when Xu Fanming immediately tensed. Wen Qin, waiting near the paint, had also prepared himself, ready to go all in.

But just then, Tian Yi suddenly spun around to face Xu Fanming. With one hand, he caught the ball and raised it high above his head.

Xu Fanming froze. What was Tian Yi trying to do? He and the two Yangsheng players near him were all still in motion. With his body caught between them, he would inevitably obstruct Tian Yi’s line of sight. If Tian Yi planned to pass mid-dribble, wasn’t he worried the ball might be thrown off target, or intercepted?

But what Xu Fanming did not expect was that after raising the ball, Tian Yi suddenly slammed it down hard against the floor.

Too late. A sixth sense flared to life just as the ball struck the ground near Xu Fanming’s feet, bounced cleanly between his legs, and landed perfectly in the hands of the Yangsheng player running beside him.

Another flashy, precision pass.

Even though they were playing in Qinghuo’s home gym, and even though Yangsheng had just scored using that same flashy style twice in a row, faint cheers and gasps of admiration could already be heard from the stands, aimed at the opposing No. 9.

Tian Yi lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile and tugged twice at the damp hem of his jersey, letting a bit of air cool the sweat across his taut stomach. Under the lights of the court, the image seemed to shine even brighter.

Xu Fanming stared at Tian Yi, who looked every bit the picture of confidence. A crease began to form between his brows. But after a few seconds, he suddenly tilted one corner of his mouth upward. The light in his eyes had grown even sharper.

From this moment on, he was ready to play for real.