Chapter Two: The Red Line Painted Green

“Whatever happens in the fourth, don't take yourself out early.” Qiao's expression changed. In the original game, Qiao had taken her fifth foul late in the third. Du benched her until the final two minutes, and Yunzhou went on a 16–2 run. The foul had come from a mistaken switch. “Number twelve slips screens after timeouts,” Xinglan said. “After the first official break in the third, she'll bait the switch. Don't reach. Let me fight through.” “You know when she'll use it?” “A guess.” The entrance music cut off further questions. The opening looked ugly. Zhou forced two drives, suffered a block, then threw the ball out of bounds. Yunzhou scored five in transition. On the third possession, however, the Blaze guard jumped the strong side.