Didi dribbled the basketball on the court, feeling the spring of the ball as it thud against the ground and bounced back up again into his right hand. He passed the ball effortlessly between his legs and then went in for a layup. Jumping into the air, he aimed the ball towards the magic spot at the corner of the rectangle on the backboard and felt the satisfaction of the ball coming down the hoop and net.
Catching the ball again, he dribbled towards the middle of the court and went in for a layup towards the left-hand side of the court. Once again, he heard the thunk of the ball against the backboard and saw the ball hit against the hoop and fall down the net.
He dribbled the ball outside the three-point line and aimed. Airball.
He caught the ball, went to the same spot and aimed. The ball clanged off the hoop and went to the opposite side of the court.
He caught the ball again, returned to the same spot, lifted the ball up, felt the ball leave his fingertips and soar towards the hoop. Swish.
He nodded his head, picked up the ball, went to the same spot, shot again. Airball.
He heard heckling from the sidelines. He saw a boy who looked about seven or eight years old watching him shoot hoops. The boy was pointing at him and laughing.
He raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Do you want to play?" he asked. He continued dribbling the ball and aimed the basket towards the net.
The boy wrinkled his face and looked at him with contempt. "No. If I play with you, I'll get bad."
"Ey?" Didi asked. What's this kid talking about? "What do you mean? We can do a little one-on-one. I'm just shooting hoops by myself right now."
"Yeah, and you're bad at it. I'm better than you are and my brother is even better."
"Well, why don't you play against me for a little bit? We don't even have to keep score. We can just shoot hoops. Your brother can join us later if he comes, too." Didi had a way with kids and they usually enjoy his company. Didi flashed the boy a welcoming smile.
"No!" the boy said stubbornly. He was rooted to the spot. "You have terrible technique. My brother won't play with you either. He's too good for you." The boy spit on the ground and narrowed his eyes at Didi.
Aiyo, this kid has problems.
"All right, no problem." Didi shrugged and continued to shoot hoops as the boy shot insult after insult at him.
"You suck!" Swish.
"You're terrible!" The ball bounced against the hoop and fell into the net.
"Are you listening to me? You should stop playing! It hurts my eyes to watch you!" A successful layup.
Airball. The boy let out scornful laughter and yelled out: "Just give up already and stop playing!"
Didi dribbled the ball and walked towards the boy. Kneeling down on one knee so that he could be eye-level with the boy, he looked at him with concern, and asked, "Hey, kid, is everything ok?"
"Yeah, everything's fine! It's your playing that's bad!" Now that Didi was close to the boy, he could see that the boy's face was dirty except for two clean wavy streaks down his face.
"Xiao Yao Jing!" Didi heard a voice call out.
From across the court, Didi saw a figure make his way towards them.
Didi saw a guy around his age approach. He was of medium height and build with an affable demeanor. "Hi, is my brother bothering you?" the guy asked. The younger boy suddenly looked ashamed.
