Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 893: Betting pool

Charles watched his team march back to their bench as the first quarter of the game ended. They had a few minutes to talk, and probably time for a fight, but Charles didn't care about the latter. Just watching the first quarter drained all his energy, like a fruit being squeezed dry.

"I'm sorry," Zoren said as soon as he stopped in front of Charles. "I thought it'd count for our score as long as I made a basket, no matter which one."

He knew their basket was on the other side, but Zoren had thought to work smart, not hard. So, he just shot the ball toward the nearest basket. Who would have thought that doing so would end up helping the other team?

Dean secretly smirked, shaking his head. 'How funny. Who would've thought Mister Know-It-All doesn't know basketball?'

Jonathan, on the other hand, stayed quiet. Whether they won or not didn't matter to him. It was why he hadn't bothered trying to improve. Though he'd still run when needed.

Charles looked at the dejected Zoren and sighed. "Don't mind that," he said, rising to his feet and then gazing at everyone. "Ugh... my head is aching."

Looking at all these men surrounding him, Charles was at a loss for words. Atlas and Hugo already knew basketball, and even though Atlas looked like he was just counting his steps and closing his ring, he understood the game. Charles believed that even if Atlas hadn't played in years, he was smart enough to know the mechanics.

Atlas wasn't just a quick learner and a hard worker; he was also amazing because of his muscle memory. In other words, Charles could see that his eldest son was doing his best and making critical decisions, even though he was always guarded by the enemy.

The problem, however, lay with the other three guys.

Charles let his gaze sweep over Zoren, Dean, and Jonathan. The more he stared at them, the more hopeless he felt.

'Zoren might be enthusiastic, and he does have good form when he made that shot, but...' His thoughts trailed off. '... he doesn't understand the game.'

Charles blamed himself for being lazy and just summarizing the game mechanics without explaining them properly.

"You three are hopeless," Atlas said bluntly, earning the attention of Zoren, Dean, and Jonathan. "How come you don't understand the game mechanics? Dribble the ball, don't let it get stolen, pass it if necessary, guard the enemy, and score a point. Easy."

come you haven't scored a point?"

indifferently. "I'm being guarded by two. You, on the other hand, are always

muttered under his breath. "I've

first for

the mood to play along. He didn't even want to be here in the first place. He was only here because Slater had nudged

Charles was surprisingly calm as he intervened in the growing tension between Atlas and Jonathan. "You two are on the same

irritation

soon as everyone heard that, they realized they had a sixth member. Turning toward the bench, Mark

while. But Charles kept shushing him, insisting Zoren was having

first quarter, Charles didn't want to replace anyone—it was still too early. However, now that they'd seen the result of the first quarter, he couldn't help but reconsider. The

have a problem with that," said Atlas. "Let this

but this time his eyes were

mind."

this together, and I also want a sub. If

selfish now?" Jonathan scoffed. "This is for

smirked, taking advantage of the situation to test Jonathan's limits. "That's what

look. He hadn't looked at him before and had given him no attention, even though

agreed. "You

smile twisted as he looked back

Mark. "You're looking in the wrong direction,

think it's about time to sub someone in.

only want to sub my boss..." Mark trailed off as Charles ignored him, while Zoren glared at him. 'Miss Penny, I don't think your plan to get him out of this

going to decide who will..." Just as Charles began to decide who would be