He Xi Meng was stunned for a moment, then understood. Shirley might have misunderstood and thought he also went dancing last night. But He Xi Meng had no intention of clarifying. He pretended not to catch the implication in Shirley's words and replied with a smile, "I'm used to this rhythm; it feels uncomfortable if I don't run! Are you done with your run?"
"Yes, the run is finished, but I still want to go for a swim! Interested in joining me?" Shirley invited.
"No, thank you! You go swim! I still prefer jogging! I'll see you at the training ground later..." He Xi Meng waved his hand quickly, putting distance between himself and Shirley.
This girl, the way she looked at him, clearly had some "unintended intentions." Being away from home, Kayla had repeatedly warned him to be careful of women, and He Xi Meng was indeed being cautious...
After breakfast, as He Xi Meng strolled to the stadium, he was surprised to find that His Airness had already arrived first!
"Michael, you really have good stamina!" He Xi Meng genuinely gave His Airness a thumbs-up!
His Airness knew He Xi Meng was teasing him. "I didn't go dancing last night. After arranging everything, I came back! I also saw you jogging with Shirley..."
Uh, the way His Airness said it made it sound like He Xi Meng and Shirley had planned to run together.
"How about we warm up first, and then you play a few rounds with me?"
"Just us?"
"That's right! No one else is here now, so it's just a one-on-one, isn't it?"
"But I'm not good at one-on-one! I'm a point guard, a pure point guard!"
"Oh, come on! In this year's playoffs, you almost single-handedly took down the OK combination!"
"It was luck! Pure luck. If I had to add one reason, I think it was mainly because my teammates cooperated well..."
"Don't give me that nonsense! Hurry up and warm up, and then let me see your one-on-one skills!"
Ten minutes later, after warming up, He Xi Meng was forced onto the court to play one-on-one with His Airness.
His Airness, wanting to be gracious, offered the ball to He Xi Meng. He Xi Meng shook his head and returned the ball to His Airness.
His Airness didn't hesitate. He caught the ball, turned his back, drove, spun, and faded away for a jump shot. Swish!
His Airness used his unparalleled core strength and invincible mid-range shooting touch to easily score the first basket.
"This won't do, you need to be more serious and give me some pressure!"
"Brother, Legend, I am being serious!"
Facing His Airness's doubt, He Xi Meng replied with a wry smile.
"Really? You're not tricking me, are you?"
For the second basket, His Airness didn't go with a post-up. Instead, he faked a drive from the front, feigned a breakthrough, stopped abruptly, and pulled up for a jump shot. Swish again!
"Come on! You're an All-NBA Second Team player, how can you only have this much defensive ability?"
"You might not believe me! I'm really doing my best..."
"I don't believe you!"
Fine! Since that was the case, He Xi Meng had to change his defensive style. For example, during His Airness's third shot attempt, he made a risky steal!
Frankly, He Xi Meng didn't really like using such gambling defensive strategies in regular games.
But this time, he managed to steal the ball unexpectedly, taking it away from His Airness.
"That's more like it! You should defend me like this..."
"I... Whatever makes you happy!"
Possession changed. It was He Xi Meng's turn to offense.
For his first shot, He Xi Meng chose a step-back three-pointer after faking a drive. In reality, He Xi Meng could have stopped and shot directly, which would have been a long two-pointer. He didn't want that, so he added a step-back, moving back behind the three-point line! His Airness couldn't close out in time, and He Xi Meng made the shot easily.
For the second shot, He Xi Meng dribbled back to the three-point line. His Airness, wary of He Xi Meng driving, deliberately gave him space, maintaining a one-step distance. He Xi Meng adjusted his movements, pretending to be ready to attack. His Airness bent down, and He Xi Meng suddenly pulled up for a quick shot.
His Airness's reaction was not slow. Instinctively, he lunged forward to attempt a block. However, although He Xi Meng's release point wasn't high, the arc of his shot was quite high! The prime His Airness might have been able to interfere with this shot with his incredible vertical leap, but the current His Airness was at least half a hand's length short.
The ball traced a beautiful arc, and the shot from two steps beyond the three-point line also went in!
"Damn! Your shot looks casual, but it's quite hard to contest!"
"It might look casual to outsiders, but it's not casual to me! I adjusted my shooting motion while dribbling, and if the rhythm wasn't right, I could have driven instead..."
"Then show me a drive then?"
On the next possession, He Xi Meng obliged His Airness's request. He faked a drive, pulled back, faked a three-point shot, then drove again, forcing his way past His Airness's defense, and finished with a reverse layup in the air. Swish, a sure basket...
"That's great! You have a stable outside shot and a sharp drive to the basket. If you can also master the mid-range fadeaway jump shot, you'll basically become an all-around scoring threat with terrifying offensive capability from any position and any distance... So, want me to teach you the essence of the fadeaway jump shot?"
Uh oh, unintentionally, His Airness's old habit of wanting to teach others had kicked in again!
He Xi Meng didn't mind learning the fadeaway jump shot from His Airness, but other players started arriving at the stadium. Seeing He Xi Meng and His Airness playing one-on-one, they sat down with great interest to watch.
His Airness had to temporarily abandon his teaching intentions and focus on defeating He Xi Meng in this game.
Without an audience, His Airness didn't care much about winning or losing. Now that there were spectators, His Airness's damn competitive spirit immediately surged.
Finally, after relentless defense, He Xi Meng, after scoring five consecutive baskets, saw His Airness successfully contest his three-point shot, which bounced off the rim. Possession switched to His Airness.
At this point, the score was 2:5, with His Airness trailing.
To ensure victory, His Airness didn't play fancy. He unleashed his signature move, the post-up fadeaway jumper, hitting seven consecutive shots to push the score to the brink of 9:5!
Just as He Xi Meng thought the game was over, His Airness missed his eighth fadeaway jumper!
"My apologies, it's been a while since I've finished a game, my touch is a bit rusty!" His Airness chuckled at himself and returned the ball to He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng got the ball back and scored four consecutive baskets, tying the score at 9:9, then "missed" a shot, returning possession to His Airness!
On His Airness's final possession, He Xi Meng's defense seemed diligent, but it didn't actually hinder His Airness much. After "fierce resistance," His Airness successfully drove to the basket and hit a hook shot off the glass for the game-winning basket, leaving everyone happy.