The Girl They Ignored Returned as the Woman Seven Men Would Die For novel Chapter 175

The boy's eyes went wide. "Do... do you know how to play?"

"I used to," Julian smiled. "But in a wheelchair... I'm not so sure."

"I'll go ask the teacher!" The boy cheered, spinning his wheels and darting onto the court.

The teacher quickly halted the game and reorganized the teams.

Julian and the eager boy were placed on opposing sides.

At first, Julian struggled entirely.

The speed, steering, and braking of a wheelchair operated on a completely different logic than running.

He tried to drive to the hoop like he used to, only to nearly tip his wheelchair over.

He went for a pull-up jumper, only to remember he couldn't jump.

A sloppy pass bounced right off his knee, drawing good-natured laughter from the sidelines.

But Julian didn't stop.

Slowly, he found his rhythm.

Controlling the wheels with both hands, he leaned his weight forward, feeling the friction between the tires and the concrete.

He started reading his teammates' movements, learning to use his wheelchair to box out and set screens.

When he successfully blocked an opponent's drive for the first time, a long-lost thrill surged through his chest.

The ball was passed to him.

He took a deep breath, shoved the rims hard, and sent his wheelchair flying forward.

Two defenders closed in to trap him. He hit the brakes, carving a sharp arc and slipping right between them.

The hoop was right in front of him. He stopped, brought the ball up with both hands, aimed—

The basketball spun through the air.

Clang, it bounced off the rim and dropped into the net.

It went in!

Julian sat frozen, his heart pounding against his ribs.

He had almost forgotten this feeling—

Sweat dripping down his forehead, breath ragged, muscles aching, but something scorching hot awakening in his very bones.

It was the feeling of being alive.

She waited while Julian played two more games with the kids before finally taking him home.

This time, Mika didn't want to make Julian suffer on the bus, so she hailed a ride-share straight away.

The driver was much kinder this time, eagerly helping Julian into the car without a hint of impatience, and chatting with them naturally the whole way.

That was just how the world worked.

There were good people, bad people, and people somewhere in between.

You couldn't control who you ran into, but you could at least control your own mindset.

Mika watched Julian's expression through the rearview mirror.

Having not done any intense cardio in two years, he looked exhausted.

While playing basketball, he had pulled his wavy brown hair back into a messy half-knot.

Two loose strands of sweat-soaked hair framed his face, making his striking features look even deeper and more flawless, like God's most perfect sculpture.

The miraculous thing was, despite being more exhausted than when they arrived, the suffocating aura of death that had clung to Julian was completely gone.

His pale skin was flushed from the workout, and his starry eyes were bright.

He looked like he was savoring the memory of something wonderful.