Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 57: What was that about my knees?

The ball soared high into the air, and for a brief moment, the court fell silent. Then—

Smack!

Liang Zhen tipped the ball backward, sending it straight to Mingwei, who immediately started dribbling up the court. The boys on the opposing team wasted no time, pressing up aggressively on defense.

Qingran and Anya exchanged glances. Time to sell the act.

Mingwei passed to Anya, who pretended to fumble slightly before regaining control. The boys chuckled, one of them sneering, "See? I knew they were rusty."

Anya didn’t react, instead passing the ball over to Yuxi. Yuxi took a jump shot from mid-range. It was a little short, hitting the rim and bouncing out. The other team snatched the rebound.

The boys wasted no time pushing forward, passing quickly as they rushed toward the basket. One of them—tall and built for power—powered through Zhen in the paint and laid it in for an easy two points.

Cheers erupted from their side.

Qingran barely reacted, jogging back into position with a calm, unreadable expression. The boys, seeing no frustration from her or Anya, smirked wider.

Big mistake.

They continued their hustle play for the first half. Qingran still dunked whenever the opportunity presented itself, but she didn’t go all out. The boys got comfortable, started showboating—unnecessary dribbles, flashy passes, taking reckless shots just because they thought they had it in the bag.

By the time the first half ended, the score was 11–7, with the boys leading.

As they took a short break, one of them laughed, wiping sweat off his forehead. "I thought you two were legends? You’re playing like a couple of washed-up amateurs."

Another one smirked, leaning against his teammate. "Maybe we should go easy on them in the second half. Wouldn’t want to be responsible for sending them to the hospital."

That did it.

Anya exhaled dramatically, shaking out her limbs. "Alright, that’s enough charity work. Time to ruin some egos."

Qingran rolled her shoulders, her usual lazy smirk appearing. "Couldn’t have said it better myself."

They turned to their teammates, eyes sharp on them.

"Second half," Qingran said. "We’re done playing around."

Mingwei grinned. "Finally."

Yuxi cracked her knuckles. "Let’s shut them up."

As the ref blew the whistle for the second half, the shift was immediate.

Qingran snatched the ball the moment it was inbounded, her movements suddenly faster, sharper. She dribbled once, then powered forward with an explosive burst of speed, blowing past her defender. The boy barely had time to react before she leapt into the air—

BAM!

The dunk rattled the rim, the backboard shaking from the sheer force. The court went dead silent for a split second before an eruption of gasps and cheers.

The boys froze, stunned.

Qingran landed lightly, spinning the ball in her hands as she smirked. "What was that about my knees?"

Continue as they were went all out even showing off a little, but Qingran had dunked so hard she left her knees shake when she landed, Anya skipped to her side asking her if she was okay and Qingran said "My knees actually hurt with that one, I’m 26 but it felt like 36 after that dunk.."

"Haha, perhaps we should take the down the notch, my shoulders are beginning to take a toll.."

The game resumed, but at this point, it was clear who the dominant team was. The boys’ confidence had been completely shattered, their movements sluggish and hesitant.

Their leader tried to rally them, barking orders and calling for screens, but nothing worked. Qingran and Anya had already made their statement, and now they were just enjoying themselves.

Anya toyed with her defenders, dribbling circles around them with ease, tossing casual behind-the-back passes just for fun. Rika and Mingwei kept up relentless defensive pressure, forcing turnovers and cutting off every passing lane. Yuxi didn’t even hesitate anymore—whenever the ball reached her hands, she fired from deep, landing three-pointers like it was nothing.

And Qingran? She was hunting for dunks.

Every time she got the ball near the paint, she took off, slamming it down with ridiculous force. The boys had stopped trying to block her. After witnessing her last dunk shake the backboard, they weren’t about to risk getting posterized in front of everyone.

One of the watching kids muttered in disbelief, "Is this what peak basketball looks like?"

Another nodded. "This is beyond peak basketball."

The crowd had fully turned against the boys.

"Yo, just walk off already!"

"You’re embarrassing yourselves now!"

"Old ladies? Nah, they’re cooking you like chefs!"

Qingran smirked slightly, stepping back as Anya dribbled out the clock for the final possession. The score wasn’t even close. It was a massacre.

As the buzzer rang out, declaring their undeniable victory, Qingran stretched her arms above her head, shaking out the tension in her muscles. "Alright. That was fun."

Anya flipped her hair over her shoulder, grinning. "Too easy."

The boys stood frozen, struggling to process their loss. Their leader clenched his fists, clearly humiliated. He opened his mouth as if to say something—but then closed it again. What could he say? They hadn’t just lost. They’d been destroyed.

One of the younger boys on the sidelines, wide-eyed and starstruck, suddenly rushed up to Qingran and Anya. "Are you two really Gu Qingran and Kuroba Anya?"

Qingran arched a brow. "What do you think?"

The boy practically vibrated with excitement, turning to his friends. "It is them! The legends of Shenghua! I knew it!"

Immediately, the mood on the court shifted. The younger kids swarmed them, eyes shining with admiration.

"Can I take a picture with you?!"

"You have to teach me how to dunk like that!"

"Shenghua’s pride! I can’t believe I got to watch you play in real life!"

Anya chuckled, placing a hand on her hip. "Well, well, seems like we still have some fans."

Qingran smirked. "Of course we do."

Meanwhile, the boys they had just destroyed were nowhere to be found. At some point, they had quietly disappeared, probably too ashamed to face the crowd.

Anya turned to Qingran, amused. "So? Knees still holding up?"

Qingran exhaled, stretching again. "Barely. But it was worth it. Though let’s not forget to take pain killers at night, or we gonna feel it in the morning.."