Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 56: Classic hustle play

Chapter 56: Classic hustle play

Qingran clapped her hands, signaling her team to gather up. As they huddled together, she scanned their faces with a sharp gaze.

"Alright, listen up." Her tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. "I’m a dunker. As long as my hands touch the ball, I will dunk it. I don’t do fancy plays—if I see an opening, I’m taking it." She tilted her head slightly. "Now, tell me how you play and what your strong points are. I need to know how to set this up."

Feng Yuxi rolled her shoulders. "Shooting guard. My three-pointers are deadly, and I can drive in if needed. If you need someone to hit open shots, I’m your girl."

Liang Zhen with his arms crossed, gave a firm nod. "Center. I protect the paint, block shots, and secure rebounds. If you need a screen or an inside pass, I got it."

Takahashi Ren smirked slightly. "Small forward. I move fast, cut through defenses, and finish strong at the rim. On defense, I lock down the opponent’s best perimeter player."

Qingran processed their words quickly, her mind piecing together the best strategy. "Alright. Liang Zhen, dominate the boards and make sure no one gets an easy shot inside. Ren, stay in motion—slash through gaps, and I’ll get the ball to you. Yuxi, be ready at the three-point line. If they collapse on me, I’m kicking it out to you." She cracked her knuckles. "Let’s make them regret challenging us."

Her team grinned, the competitive fire in their eyes burning.

Just as Qingran and her team were about to step onto the court, a loud, mocking voice cut through the air.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A couple of old-timers trying to relive their glory days?"

A group of boys strutted over, their leader—tall, broad-shouldered, and exuding arrogance—crossing his arms as he sneered at them. His teammates snickered behind him.

"Shenghua’s so-called legends, huh? Gu Qingran and Kuroba Anya?" Another one scoffed. "What, did you two get bored of knitting sweaters and decide to embarrass yourselves instead?"

Anya let out a slow, exaggerated sigh, placing a hand on her hip. "Wow, well that’s original. Let me guess, next you’ll say we should be at home taking care of kids instead of playing basketball?"

The boys laughed. "Hey, if the shoe fits! You’re what, pushing thirty? Forty? How are your knees holding up?"

".."

Qingran’s expression remained unreadable, but the sharp gleam in her eyes was dangerous. She rolled her wrist, cracking her knuckles lazily. "You’re really that confident, huh?"

The leader smirked. "Confident enough to take you on. Unless you’re scared?"

Anya let out a slow chuckle. "Alright, since you wanna talk big, why don’t we settle this properly?" She glanced at Qingran, who nodded. "We’ll play against you. Your team against ours. But let’s make this interesting—full court, six-on-six."

The boys looked taken aback for a moment, but then their leader grinned. "Fine. But don’t cry when you lose, Aunties."

Qingran’s lips quirked slightly. "I’ll be sure to remember that when you start making excuses. You’ll see for yourself how our knees hold up."

With that settled, they merged their teams into a solid six-player squad. Before stepping onto the court, Qingran turned to Ren and handed him Lingquan, who let out an annoyed huff.

"Watch him for me. He gets bored easily."

Ren raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the cat. "I’m allergic to cats.."

"..."

"Oh we can’t have that, he’s well behaved, he can stay at the corner and watch. You just have to keep your eyes on him.."

Ren nodded and walked to the bench as Lingquan followed, jumping unto the bench and sitting just far enough to not start up Ren’s allergies and he could still see him.

Qingran, Anya, Yuxi, Mingwei, Rika and Zhen. With their teams combined, Qingran and Anya gave each other grins.

"Alright, we’ll leave defense to you guys and you leave the scoring to us. They look like they come to run you guys down a lot. We will teach them a lesson so bad, they’ll be too embarrassed to show their faces here. We will let them win this first round, make them think we’re bad, and during the second half we show them just how good our knees can get.."

A ripple of excitement passed through their team at Qingran’s words, but no one questioned her strategy. Anya’s grin widened as she cracked her neck. "Classic hustle play? I like it."

Feng Yuxi crossed her arms. "So, we let them think they’re better than us, let their egos inflate—"

Mingwei, their point guard, smirked, catching on. "—And then completely crush them when they least expect it."

Rika chuckled. "Cruel."

Zhen shrugged, rolling his shoulders. "More like well deserved."

Qingran gave a sharp nod. "Exactly. In the first half, just keep it close, don’t show your full strength. Let them get comfortable, start trash-talking more. Then, in the second half, we flip the switch."

She stretched her fingers before shaking them out. "But let me be clear—when I get the ball, I’m dunking. No exceptions."

Anya tilted her head playfully. "As if you’d pass even if we begged."

Qingran smirked. "Now you’re getting it."

With their plan set, they walked to the center of the court. The boys were already waiting, the leader—who had been the loudest earlier—grinning like he’d already won.

The crowd around the court murmured in anticipation. Some of the younger players whispered excitedly, others still looked skeptical.

One of the boys on the other team spun the ball on his finger, smirking. "Hope you brought some muscle balm. Wouldn’t want your backs giving out mid-game."

Anya exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. "You boys talk too much."

The ref, an older player who had taken charge to keep things fair, held up the ball. "Alright, first to twenty-one. Full court, regular rules. Ready?"

Qingran rolled her shoulders. "Let’s get this over with."

The ref tossed the ball up for the jump ball.

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