Strong Offense And Defense Chapter 26

Translator: Re

Editor: Mims

    He was finished. It was too abstract…… he was completely unable to understand……

    "Your elbow should be naturally sent forward and upward. Also, don't stick your palm to the ball! Your thumb, index finger, and middle finger are the ones that really exert force." Ewing  looked into Nie Chuan's eyes, capturing his complete attention. 

    "En en!" Nie Chuan nodded. 

    "Pay attention to my movements after I jump."

    Ewing jumped up, his legs gave off a feeling of strength. His posture while in midair was very elegant and harmonious. The moment the ball was sent out, Nie Chuan knew that the ball would go in. 

    "Did you see it?"

    "I saw!" Nie Chuan nodded vigorously. 

    "After throwing the ball, your arms should be naturally extended straight up and the target that your fingers are pointing to should be the basket that you're aiming at."

    "En."

    "You give it a try." Ewing threw the ball to Nie Chuan. 

    Nie Chuan was inexplicably nervous. He made his posture according to Ewing's instructions.

    "En, it's very standard. Pay attention to how much strength you exert, Nie Chuan."

    Nie Chuan jumped and sent the ball out. The curve of the ball was smoother than any Nie Chuan had ever made before; unfortunately, it still hit the rim of the basket. 

    "Don't worry! Don't worry! Your posture in midair just now was very good!" Carlo came to comfort him. 

    Ewing stood on tiptoes and pushed Carlo away by his face. "It's no use no matter how good your posture is in midair. Allen, do you remember what I told you? Pay attention to the way you exert force. Especially in your arms."

    "I…… can't understand what you mean by the way I exert force," Nie Chuan had no choice but to admit.

    He waited for Ewing to scold him, but Ewing did not. He only patted Nie Chuan. "I used to be the same; no matter how many times the coach taught me, my body couldn't feel it. But Nie Chuan, if you succeed one time, you must be sure to capture that feeling. Once your body remembers that feeling, you'll be able to shoot as you please."

    "En."

    Ewing's considerate att.i.tude once again refreshed Nie Chuan's favorable impression of him.

    Today's practice wasn't over until half an hour before dinner time. The four of them met with Zhou Bin at an Asian restaurant and had a sumptuous meal. 

    Nie Chuan was surprised to find that Carlo, who had been struggling to jab at the meatb.a.l.l.s with chopsticks and then repeatedly failing was really funny. Ewing, on the other hand, was a huge eater. He can eat three bowls of fried rice and one bowl of stir fried noodles and then complain that the spoons provided by the restaurant are so small that they're practically meant to feed children. As for Montenegro, although he speaks very little, he is really a very attentive person; for example, when he already expected Carlo to jab at the meatball till it rolled off the table into his lap and had reminded him in advance to put napkins on his legs or when, as Ewing was happily eating fried rice and the plate was getting closer to the edge of the table, he would reach out and push Ewing's plate back towards the middle of the table.

    "I think they will make you very happy," Zhou Bin said with a smile. 

    "…… it seems so ba ……"

    Carlo looked up discontentedly, "Allen and Bin, you guys aren't allowed to speak Chinese in front of us in the future!"

    "Why?"

    Ewing curled his lips and said, "Because this fool is afraid that you will use Chinese to call him stupid."

    Nie Chuan and Zhou Bin couldn't help laughing. 

    After dinner, Ewing took Montenegro to study while Carlo also said that he had to prepare for tomorrow's cla.s.s. Although they are all on the DK basketball team, their most important position is still a college student. If their course performance is too poor, they won't be able to partic.i.p.ate in the basketball league. 

    "What about you? Nie Chuan, do you want to go back to the dormitory to play games or do you want to go to the library to study?" Zhou Bin said with a smile, "I'm going to go accompany my girlfriend."

    "You're such an *unfaithful person!"

[T/N: jiàn sè wàng yì (见色忘义) was used here and it's basically "hoes before bros" xD]

    "I'm already very righteous ah! In order to see clearly what kind of people you are a.s.sociating with, I specifically gave up an opportunity to be with my girlfriend to accompany you instead. After seeing that they aren't bad, I can finally hand you over to them!" Zhou Bin wore a melancholic "my son has finally grown up" expression. 

    As if that counts ah!

    In the end, Nie Chuan didn't go to the library or return to the dormitory, but instead took the basketball to return to the school's public basketball court. 

    At this time, there aren't many people still playing so Nie Chuan was able to practice without worry.

    He shot again and again just like how Ewing taught him. In most cases, the ball just hit the rim of the basket. 

    "The way you exert strength, the way you exert strength……"

    Nie Chuan continued to emphasize what Ewing had said to him but was never really able to understand it. 

    Unknowingly, it was already nine at night. Zhou Bin should also be studying ba.

    Nie Chuan also felt exhausted at this time. He shook his arm and went to the bag he used to carry his basketball only to find that his mineral water had already been drunk.

    He sighed regretfully. After trying so many times, although there were occasional hits, Nie Chuan still couldn't find that feeling that will let his body remember.

    "Mineral water or chocolate?"

    An icy voice suddenly mixed in with the cold lights of the basketball court.

    Nie Chuan turned and saw a tall figure coming over carrying a bag on one shoulder.

    With the other's back against the light, Nie Chuan couldn't see his face clearly. But from his walking posture, he was able to determine who the other person is. 

    "Reece?"

    When Reece's figure appeared completely under the light, Nie Chuan couldn't help freezing.

    Today, Reece is wearing a striped shirt with a thin woolen coat, on his lower body is a pair of white washed jeans. With his elegant temperament, he really deserves to be the talent of the Mathematics Department.

    That pair of long legs that let Nie Chuan feel envy and hate made him turn his head away. "I want them both, do you have any?"

    Standing not far away from Nie Chuan, Reece threw over a bottle of mineral water which Nie Chuan caught steadily.

    Just when Nie Chuan was feeling proud from receiving Reece's "pa.s.s," a piece of chocolate hit him on the head.

    "Ouch! Can you say something before you throw it over?" Nie Chuan was dissatisfied but he knew that his dissatisfaction is meaningless to Reece.

    "If you can't catch it then don't eat it."

    See, sure enough. 

    "Your shooting posture is okay but you need to pay attention to the arc of your shot and the way you move your fingers. Your shoulders are also very important."

    Reece took the basketball from Nie Chuan and, without any preparations, directly jumped and shot the ball. Nie Chuan, who was watching, was stunned. 

    Under the bright light, only Reece's silhouette was left.

    His hang time is longer than the average person's, which makes his positioning when taking a shot slower than Ewing's. 

    As Nie Chuan looks at the angle between Reece's wrist and the ball, he seemed to hear the sound of air dragging on the basketball in that moment before it fell gently into the middle of the basket.

    "And rhythm. Every shooter has his own rhythm."

    "En, " Nie Chuan nodded.

    Reece came up to Nie Chuan and said to him, "Stand on the chair."

    Even though Nie Chuan didn't know what they were doing, he did it anyways. 

    Reece knelt on one knee in front of Nie chuan. At that moment, Nie Chuan's heart almost came out of his throat. 

    This …… why does this look so much like the scene of a marriage proposal in a movie ah！

    "Step on it. You just have to keep your balance, don't use force."

    Nie Chuan was stunned. Reece actually told him to step on him? How could he dare to? 

    "Ah…… my soles are dirty."

    "It doesn't matter."

    "I…… I'm pretty heavy. You won't be able to support me……"

    Reece raised his eyebrow at Nie Chuan, in his eyes was a coolness that Nie Chuan is familiar with. 

   Those words "you won't be able to support me" seemed to be looking down on Reece.

    But no matter how strong Reece is, it's impossible to support him with his hands ba?

    "Come up." Reece's voice dropped an octave.

    Nie Chuan felt that if he continued to refuse, he might get beaten so he accepted his fate and stepped up. 

    When his left foot stepped onto Reece, he didn't dare use force until Reece's voice sounded again, "Hurry up!"

    Nie Chuan hurriedly stepped on with both feet and the palm under his feet suddenly lifted him up. Nie Chuan felt a force surge from the soles of his feet to his knees, then from his waist and along his spine to his head. His whole body felt as if it was flying but he was not prepared at all. When he fell, he lost his balance.

    At that moment, a pair of hands suddenly supported his lower back and then firmly caught him. 

    By the time Nie Chuan reacted, his eyes actually met with Reece's. They were so close that Nie Chuan could clearly feel Reece's warm breath. 

    His heart seems to suddenly rush beyond the clouds, but the process of falling felt very long.

    Reece's arms were circled around Nie Chuan's waist. Being hugged like this was something that Nie Chuan has never experienced even as a kid. 

    Nie Chuan wanted to stand up but found that his toes couldn't touch the ground. 

    "I…… you can put me down……"

    Reece loosened his arms and Nie Chuan finally fell to the ground. 

    "Do you remember the transfer of strength in that moment? If you don't remember, then close your eyes now and remember it."

    Nie Chuan swallowed, finally having understood Reece's intention. 

    He closed his eyes and recalled how it felt to be held up. 

    "Nie Chuan, the focus isn't being held up by me but picturing how my strength reached your spine and how it even affected your arms when shooting."

    Reece squatted down. When his palms touched Nie Chuan's calf, Nie Chuan's breath hitched.

    "Strength starts with your calf muscles which is the most important starting point when you kick off the ground. This is 'one'."

    Reece's fingers trailed along the back of Nie Chuan's knee and up his thigh. The blood in Nie Chuan's whole body rushed to the places where Reece's fingertips touched, he didn't even dare breathe.

Re: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) yes, step on him

MadMadamMims: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) are we really ending it there… *bites nails* >