By the time they arrived at the court, quite a few people were already seated on the sidelines.
Some had heard about the event and came to watch the excitement, while others were specifically invited by Flash to cheer him on.
Seeing such a lineup, Gwen and the others couldn't help but look at Meng Ran.
Meng Ran, seeing this, merely looked at these people calmly, listening to their shouts, his expression steady and composed.
Seeing his calm and collected demeanor, Gwen and the others were also influenced by his aura and began to cheer him on.
"Meng Ran, go for it! I believe you can definitely beat Flash," Gwen encouraged Meng Ran earnestly.
Meng Ran smiled when he heard her. "Originally, I was a bit unsure, but with your encouragement, I feel full of power now!"
With that, he gave a thumbs-up, looking sincere and deeply moved.
Gwen covered her mouth and chuckled, "Then you'll have to work hard. If you don't win, you can't say my cheering wasn't enough."
Meng Ran also smiled at Gwen's words; friendly banter is a good start to a relationship.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind. He cleared his throat lightly, then walked over to Gwen.
Gwen, feeling Meng Ran's approach, turned to look at him.
Looking at Gwen's beautiful big eyes, Meng Ran smiled and said, "How about we play a game?"
Gwen's interest was piqued by his words, and she asked curiously, "What game?"
Meng Ran looked at the pretty girl, whose eyes were now full of curiosity, and said, "Let's bet on how many baskets Flash will make. We'll play ten shots. How many do you think he'll make?"
Gwen raised her beautiful eyebrows and asked, "Why don't we bet on who wins? Usually, these games are about guessing the winner, aren't they?"
Meng Ran, hearing Gwen's question, confidently replied, "There's no point in guessing the outcome of the win or loss, because I'm the only one who will win."
"So you just need to guess how many baskets he'll make. How about a dinner for the stake?"
Gwen was a bit surprised by Meng Ran's confidence. "He's that confident? I feel like I'm getting a free dinner."
"In that case, I'll guess he makes three," Gwen said after a moment of thought.
She figured that no matter how good Meng Ran was, it was impossible for Flash not to score a single basket. Her bet of three baskets was already quite risky.
"You're betting on three? Thank you for your trust."
"But I'm more confident in myself. I bet he won't make a single one," Meng Ran said with a smile after hearing Gwen's decision.
Gwen was a bit surprised by this, after all, Flash was the team's ace. Even if Meng Ran could win, it was impossible for him not to score a single basket, right?
"You're underestimating Flash too much, Meng Ran. I already feel dinner calling my name," Gwen said, shaking her head.
She believed Meng Ran could win, but a ten-to-zero score was indeed a bit exaggerated.
Flash, who was warming up, now saw Meng Ran chatting with Gwen on the sidelines.
He tossed the ball to his subordinate and then walked towards Meng Ran.
"Oh, ho! The ridiculous yellow-skinned monkey actually showed up. I thought you were scared shitless and ran home to your mommy."
Flash walked up to Meng Ran, provoking him with exaggerated gestures and foul language.
Meng Ran looked at him indifferently, not saying a word. Seeing this, Flash began to yell loudly again, "You wuss, what's wrong? Are you too scared to even speak?"
Meng Ran looked at Flash expressionlessly, then suddenly burst out laughing.
Everyone around was stunned, Gwen and the others were stunned, and Flash was even questioning reality.
No one knew what was wrong with Meng Ran; why did he suddenly start laughing?
"Sorry, sorry, I just suddenly thought of something."
Meng Ran suppressed his laughter and said, "I once read an article that said when a person shouts loudly, his butt hole also opens and closes with his shouts."
"As soon as I thought of that, I couldn't control my laughter. I'm really sorry."
After speaking, Meng Ran looked at Flash again. At this point, his face was so dark it looked like he was about to be shot by the police.
"Sorry, Mr. Flash, I didn't mean to interrupt your performance. Actually, I'm usually very polite; no matter how funny it is, I won't laugh, unless I really can't help it."
Meng Ran said, looking at Flash's dark face with a sincere expression.
Everyone around had heard Meng Ran's words, and then thought of Flash's shouting just now.
"Pfft~" Someone couldn't suppress his laughter and covered his mouth, giggling. Soon, the entire venue erupted in continuous laughter.
Gwen, standing next to Meng Ran, was now laughing so hard she couldn't stand straight. She hadn't expected Meng Ran's mouth to be so venomous.
Flash, listening to the laughter around him, suppressed his anger and said to Meng Ran in a deep voice, "I hope your basketball skills are as good as your mouth."
Meng Ran smiled at this and said, "I hope your basketball skills aren't as foul-smelling as your mouth."
After the trash talk, it was time for the one-on-one game to begin.
Flash took the first shot, with Meng Ran defending.
Flash held the ball, dribbling it continuously with both hands, while his feet also moved constantly.
Meng Ran spread his hands, defending tightly.
Flash dribbled and tried to break through, constantly pressing closer to the inside.
At this moment, Meng Ran seemed to have missed Flash's rhythm, and a flaw appeared in his defense.
Flash seized the opportunity and changed direction to get past him.
After getting past Meng Ran, he held the ball and jumped, wanting to vent his anger with a powerful dunk. He had already shouted, and the next step was to slam the basketball into the hoop.
Flash did not see the smile on Meng Ran's face, nor did he feel the shadow approaching behind him.
Slap! A crisp sound of the ball being swatted echoed through the arena.
Flash's fantasy was shattered by Meng Ran's big hand blocking the shot.
The two landed, and Meng Ran looked at Flash, smiling, "That was a good shout just now. Keep it up later."
"Damn it!" Flash cursed under his breath. This damn Chinese guy could jump so high. Flash clearly knew that to block his shot, Meng Ran's vertical leap and strength were definitely not inferior to his own, perhaps even superior.
Flash now became serious and began to secretly ponder a countermeasure: "His speed wasn't very fast just now, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten past him. I should be able to defeat him with speed."
Flash's offense was unsuccessful, now it was Meng Ran's turn to attack.
Meng Ran held the ball, dribbling with both hands.
He dribbled and said to Flash, "That was your first offense, and it will be your last. You've run out of chances, poor Flash."
For the last sentence, Meng Ran even deliberately used a tone like coaxing a baby, fully maximizing the mockery.
Listening to Meng Ran's trash talk, Flash, though angry, couldn't retort.
He feared that if he spoke, his distraction would be exploited, and he'd be bypassed.
The more trash talk, the more it proved that Meng Ran's speed was indeed not good, otherwise he wouldn't have so much nonsense.
As soon as Meng Ran finished speaking, he suddenly lunged to the front-left. Flash immediately followed suit.
Who knew he then quickly retreated and made a deadly change of direction? Flash was played like a monkey; with his dribbling moves, Flash was directly faked to the ground.
Flash, faked to the ground, thought that Meng Ran was going to break through now. Not only him, but everyone present thought Meng Ran was going for a layup.
But that was not the case.
After Meng Ran faked Flash to the ground, he didn't go forward but retreated to mid-court, where there was a large Midtown High School LOGO.
"God, what is he going to do?"
"He's not going to shoot a LOGO three-pointer, is he?"
"Does he think he's an NBA superstar? How ridiculous!"
The people on the sidelines started discussing Meng Ran's actions, some even began to curse him, calling him ridiculous and overestimating himself.
Flash also stood up, but he didn't go forward. He just stood there, waiting for Meng Ran to make a fool of himself. He also didn't believe Meng Ran would make the shot.
Meng Ran stood at the LOGO, without the slightest hesitation, and directly jumped up to shoot.
His posture didn't deform at all due to the long-distance shot; this amount of strength was not difficult for him now.
The basketball arced gracefully through the air, flying towards the hoop.