Chapter Two: The Red Line Painted Green

Du understood at once. “The center helps on the cut, leaving rookie Tang Li open on the weak side.” Tang Li startled. “Me?” “You,” Xinglan said. “Don't hesitate tonight.” At midday practice, Xinglan did not shoot five hundred threes as she once had. She stopped at two hundred, checked her landing every ten attempts, and watched Yunzhou's last ten games during breaks. She knew what had happened before, but forced herself to study why. Rebirth's greatest temptation was treating memory as certainty. The future had already changed when she refused those shuttle runs. “You really think I'll be open?” Tang asked. “Yes.” “What if I miss?” “Shoot the next one.”