SSD 51. Milestone

When it came to God He, everyone’s opinion had begun to shift in subtle ways.

They had played games together, spent weekends together, and after all these days of getting to know each other, the team’s impression of He Jiang had gradually changed. From the aloof male god they first imagined, he had now become something closer to a hilarious, badass senior. It turned out that He Jiang wasn’t nearly as cold or unreadable as he appeared. Once they got familiar with him, they realized that on the court, he was not only a formidable teammate with a sharp eye for the game, but in daily life, he was easy to get along with too. Chill personality, generous with money, smart but not annoying about it. And when this “immortal” descended to earth to buy them meals or go shopping with them at brand-name stores, he actually came across as surprisingly down-to-earth.

Then there were his spats with Xu Fanming, during which everyone got to witness a much rarer, childish side of He Jiang. The halo around the “god” dimmed just enough to make him feel a little more human, a little more relatable.

Xu Fanming had always been the youngest among them, and everyone instinctively coddled him a bit. But He Jiang had a habit of doing the exact opposite. He poked and prodded until Xu Fanming blew up in frustration—and only then was he satisfied.

But that was what made it feel like real friendship, wasn’t it? Natural, unforced. They might argue and bicker, but the moment they stepped on the court, they moved like brothers in perfect sync. Sharing victory and defeat. Sharing glory and shame.

Gradually, everyone began to let their guard down and genuinely open up to He Jiang. They played ball, shared meals, hung out. And just like that, this once-loner He Jiang found himself surrounded by a noisy group of friends.

The five of them slowly, steadily grew closer.

Along with the growing camaraderie in Qinghuo, another thing that intensified was the flirtation between their power forward Zhu Xuyao and team manager Pan Yuan.

Even before the provincial competition, rumors about their mutual crush had already started circulating. Now that Qinghuo was competing at the provincial level, that ambiguous tension had reached a whole new level—so much so that the rest of the team could barely stand it anymore.

They weren’t even trying to hide it. Public eye contact, constant flirting. They sat next to each other at meals, feeding each other bites and giggling as they ate. During practice, Pan Yuan would hand over a towel with a smile and toss out compliments, while Zhu Xuyao scratched his head and grinned like an idiot, then insisted on stealing the ball from someone else just so he could show off a flashy dunk in front of her. The entire court reeked of couple energy. They were one step away from making it official.

With that level of PDA, the single guys could only watch with tears in their eyes. Woof.

Even someone as dense as Xu Fanming could no longer sit still.

Just once, Xu Fanming failed to keep his mouth shut and blurted out a joke right in front of everyone.

“You two are way too clingy! Just get together already.”

The moment the words left his mouth, it caused a ripple. Like going from quantity to a full-on qualitative change. While everyone silently admired Fan-dad’s guts, they also turned their eyes toward Zhu Xuyao with interest.

Zhu Xuyao looked over at Pan Yuan. Luckily, she was off in the distance chatting with Fang Ruihan and hadn’t noticed anything. His face flushed hot, and he wasn’t even sure himself whether it was out of frustration or pure embarrassment.

“Xu Fanming!” Zhu Xuyao lunged to cover his mouth, looking like he wanted to throttle him. “I’m warning you, don’t talk nonsense! It’s just… it’s not time yet.”

Xu Fanming rolled his eyes. Seriously? After all that, and it’s still not the time?

“So what are you waiting f—mmph, pffft! Let go!”

Zhu Xuyao finally let go of his spit-slick hand. Xu Fanming wiped his nose and glared at him, while Zhu just grinned like an idiot.

“I know what I’m doing, okay? Don’t worry about me, Fan-dad. It’s just… it’s not right yet. I feel like there’s still something missing. Just a little bit. You get what I mean? Never mind, you probably don’t. You’re still a damn kid.”

He broke into another round of goofy laughter. Xu Fanming felt like he had just been hit by a truck. This idiot. Why would he even want to understand something like that?

Men in love were ridiculous. Mushy, dramatic, and hopelessly annoying.

“Alright, seriously, quit poking your nose into my business,” Zhu Xuyao said. “I’ve got a handle on it. Right now, I just want to focus on the matches ahead. Besides… ahem, she feels the same way. We’re on the same page.”

The teammates exchanged glances. Fine. If Zhu Xuyao said it wasn’t time yet and asked them not to butt in, then they could only support him in silence. As for all those sugar-sweet, PDA-filled moments, they would just pretend they didn’t see a thing.

This kind of dog food was just too much.

Who would’ve thought that behind this glamorous team, there was a couple practically drowning in flirtation and still refusing to confess, and another pair that either spent their time playing basketball or fighting like gods?

Fortunately, they still had a solid, dependable leader like Fang Ruihan, and a gentle, lovable, next-door-boy type like Wen Qin to balance things out.

They spent a full week in that busy yet carefree rhythm of training, laughter, and sweat. Then, at last, game day arrived.

The five boys stood side by side in their black jerseys. The captain turned to look at the four teammates behind him, his face glowing with confidence.

“Brothers, are you ready?”

Of course they were. The arrow had already been drawn. They were more than ready to be loosed.

“Three, two, one—”
The roar of battle pierced the skies.
“Let’s go, Qinghuo!”

The five giants marched onto the court.

In the two following round-robin matches, Qinghuo stormed ahead like a black horse riding the wind and waves. They effortlessly controlled the game’s rhythm, and their coordination became smoother with each round. They pulled away point by point, ending both matches in dominant, crushing wins.

Victory, followed by more victory.

Dazzling spotlights, deafening cheers from the cheerleaders, roars from the crowd…
Bathed in that glory, they rode the high all the way to the week’s end.

When the dust settled, Qinghuo’s points had stacked up to an enviable total.
And without even realizing it, they had pulled off an impressive four-game winning streak.

Which meant, from the very beginning of the provincial tournament up to now, they hadn’t lost a single game.

Their record was shiny and brilliant, the kind that made others burn with envy.
But only the Qinghuo boys knew just how much sweat and effort had gone into making it shine.

The practice matches had broadened their vision and laid the foundation for their mindset. The opening games and their clash with the twin-basket threat had earned them confidence and officially kicked off the season. Their third game, the now-classic battle with Yangsheng, had taught them even more, and they had grown because of it.

Now, with two more consecutive wins under their belt, it felt both unexpected and completely deserved. Those who stayed persistent were never left behind. This was their moment to rise, and now was the time to take flight.

Everyone was ecstatic, stuffing themselves at the celebration dinner until they could barely move. During the afterparty, a few of the burly guys nearly drank themselves unconscious in the KTV lounge. Xu Fanming floated as he walked, light on his feet, and the duet he sang with Zhu Xuyao went, “Calling together, no more troubles, nothing matters but the breath I take, everything else disappears except now~~*”

They were practically inflated to the heavens.

But just thinking about how much stronger Qinghuo had become filled each of them with pride.

Qinghuo’s breakout performance this year had begun to attract real attention from spectators. A two- or three-game winning streak might still be brushed off by outsiders as luck. But now, this dark horse team had pulled off an incredible four straight wins. No one could dismiss that as sheer coincidence.

Long-time provincial tournament fans were starting to get confused. If memory served, Qinghuo’s predecessor had always been a rather ordinary team, nothing too impressive in any category. So how had they suddenly risen up to achieve such shocking results this year?

Some fans even began writing analysis articles, sparking a wave of curiosity about this team that had stormed through the ranks and stolen the spotlight.

With all that digging, the mystery surrounding Qinghuo started to unravel. It turned out that this year’s Qinghuo was no longer the team of the past. Not only had they brought in a high school MVP from the courts, but even the previously unknown little king of streetball, and a newly emerging shooting guard prodigy had all delivered impressive performances in the later matches. With such a powerful lineup, how could they not draw attention?

Qinghuo, infused with fresh blood, had finally shaken off its old, battered wings. Like a dragon roused from slumber, it burst forth on the court in a blaze of brilliance.

Their arrival had already left a bold, vibrant mark on this year’s provincial tournament.

Everyone was watching, waiting to see what they would do next.

And just like that, after a week full of busyness and victory, Fang Ruihan gathered the team once more for their usual review meeting.

He gave a brief evaluation of each person’s performance over the last two matches, pointing out strengths and weaknesses. Then he wrapped up the talk and officially turned history into prologue.

“We’ve played four games already, and the round-robin is nearly over. Now, there’s just one last step ahead. At the same time, this is the most crucial one.”

Fang Ruihan’s expression darkened as he switched back into his serious mode. He cleared his throat and made the official announcement:

“Our final match of the round-robin will be against Kongxin.”

The moment he spoke, everyone’s attention snapped into focus.

“Our results so far have been excellent,” Fang Ruihan looked around at the team, “but don’t let the excitement get to your heads. You all need to remember that once the round-robin ends, the real test begins with the knockout stage. That’s where the true heavyweights gather.”

“This last match against Kongxin will not be an easy one,” he continued. “It’s going to be the toughest fight yet. Whether it becomes our stepping stone or a stumbling block will come down to this.”

Everyone unconsciously clenched their fists. At that moment, Pan Yuan began distributing printed handouts prepared by the captain, containing detailed records of Kongxin’s past competitions. There were three full pages in total.

“Kongxin was established a long time ago. By now, it’s become a fully matured team,” Fang Ruihan said.

Xu Fanming flipped through the pages. They included information on Kongxin’s core players and a brief introduction to their coach.

“They’re highly experienced. Their coach is professionally trained and even studied with the national team. Every single member of Kongxin is a serious threat,” Fang Ruihan explained. “These records are based on their performances up until last year. A year has passed since then, and we don’t know what changes they might have made.”

“Oh, right,” Pan Yuan suddenly added, “I also copied a video of Kongxin’s performance in last year’s championship. Anything older than that was too hard to track down.”

“The championship?!” Xu Fanming blinked in surprise.

Fang Ruihan looked at him and gave a heavy nod.“Last year, Kongxin entered the championship as the top seed from our eastern division. They made it to the finals and finished second.”

That was seriously strong. Xu Fanming drew in a sharp breath.

First in the East. Second in the entire province. No wonder they were such a threat.

He looked down at the documents in his hands again. The names on the page were unfamiliar. Tan Ren, Peng Ning… and that one name that did ring a bell, Xing Yunyang.

Facing an opponent like this, so unfamiliar, yet vaguely familiar, made Xu Fanming take a deep breath without even realizing it.

“Let’s watch the video,” Fang Ruihan called them over calmly. “Once it’s over… I want all of you to remember something. The crushing defeat we suffered last year when we faced Kongxin.”

The new team members instantly perked up their ears in attention, while the veterans fell into a heavy silence.

“This year’s match,” Fang Ruihan paused for a moment, licking his lips before continuing, “is not just a key to unlocking our path to the playoffs. More importantly—”

Everyone held their breath.

“It must become the milestone where Qinghuo washes away its past disgrace.”