After Leaving the Spotlight, I Played Basketball for My Country

Blurb: Shi Ke is a handsome, gifted basketball player with exceptional court vision, polished skills, and a freewheeling, daring style. At twenty, he was promoted to the national team's starting lineup ahead of schedule. His one shortcoming was his height: only 180 centimeters. Shi Ke has bled and risked his life for his team. He'd willingly charge into the free-throw lane full of two-meter giants to fight for a rebound, yet the commentary he hears most often is, "A short guy like Shi Ke could get wedged under a big man's armpit when he goes for a rebound." Shi Ke wants to prove himself with a championship, but he still loses the game. To make matters worse, he transmigrates. He wakes up in the body of a minor actor in a melodramatic danmei novel. The actor is an illegitimate son of a wealthy family. His father suspects he's a bastard and throws him out. Then his ex-boyfriend, the protagonist's love interest, whom he'd once agreed to pursue their acting dreams with, dumps him. With his love life, career, and family all in ruins, the actor loses hope and kills himself. Fortunately, although the actor has achieved nothing, he's 190 centimeters tall. Fans call him a "walking height-measuring stick," because all the male stars who lie about their height are exposed when they stand beside him. Shi Ke couldn't be happier! After transmigrating, Shi Ke cheerfully pays his contract penalty and leaves the company with nothing. He picks a basketball club at random, planning to reclaim his former glory and win a championship. Instead, on his very first day of training, the captain beats him one-on-one until he loses all confidence. At twenty-eight, Rong Jun is the number one player in the domestic basketball league, coveted by every club. Yet he's a tragic figure who's never won a championship. He's willing to stay with his underpowered home team out of gratitude for the opportunity they gave him, carrying four teammates on his back as they chase the title every year, only to fall short every time. Rong Jun has been both mother and father to his team, all while battling injuries. Just as he thinks he might never win a championship in his lifetime, twenty-year-old Shi Ke bursts into his life like a beam of light, bold and unstoppable. Shi Ke tells him, "We're going to win the championship!" From the provincial league to the national league, then on to international competition, Shi Ke and Rong Jun rise like twin stars. At an astonishing, unstoppable pace, they lift the trophy on the highest podium, shattering the prejudice that people of East Asian descent can't win championships. The news reaches China and electrifies the nation. In an instant, everyone knows the names Shi Ke and Rong Jun. Shi Ke's scumbag father: Son, Dad was wrong before. There's always a place for you in this family. His scumbag ex: Shi Ke, I was too impulsive before. The truth is, I've always loved you. Can we start over? His former agent: Shi Ke, would you be interested in coming back to the company? It was all a misunderstanding back then. Don't hold it against us. Shi Ke: Get lost! The only person he loves, the only family he has, is Rong Jun! On the highest podium at the international basketball championship, the Chinese team raises their trophy high. In a livestream watched by tens of millions, amid cheers from tens of thousands in the arena, Rong Jun drops to one knee and reverently kisses the ring finger of Shi Ke's right hand. "I'll offer this glorious championship victory as my bride-price. Shi Ke, will you marry me?" "No." Shi Ke pulls Rong Jun to his feet, rises on his toes, and kisses his reddened eyes. Choking up, he says, "I want to marry you!" Shi Ke's fan: I never thought my love story would start on CCTV5... [Blurb written on 2021.8.27] Thesis: Step beyond our borders and take on the world.