The Best Point Guard

Chapter 355: Chapter 106: You Will Pay the Price for Disrespecting Jack

With the addition of scoring champion Tracy McGrady, both Houston fans and some Chinese fans alike were starting to think the Rockets were on equal footing with the Pacers—that they were in the same league.

After all, Tracy McGrady himself had said he came to Houston for only three things: championships, championships, and still more fucking championships!

I mean, this was Tracy McGrady. The scoring champion.

The Rockets may have started the season having played four games and lost two, giving them a win rate of only 50%, but Tracy McGrady stressed that he still hadn’t reached one hundred percent.

Once he did...

Weren’t the Rockets about to take off?

The hype was real.

Su Xi was at Yao Restaurant, eating some inauthentic roast duck. The Yao Team liked to run these side businesses to earn a few extra US Dollars, but Su Xi had no need for that. He told Yao Ming, "When you have money, you should invest it. Buy stocks, fund startups. Look at me... see how brilliantly it’s working out!"

"But everyone in the league is calling you a ’genius,’ a real money-waster," Yao Ming said to Su Xi. "They say you’re spending money on thin air. Why not just buy more real estate or precious metals?"

"I’ve bought houses in Los Angeles and New York," Su Xi said, looking at Yao Ming. "Back in China, wasn’t I awarded a few properties? Besides, I spent the summer in China making appearances and doing ribbon-cuttings for those real estate companies. The stack of deeds for my properties in China’s top-tier cities is over a meter high." He then pressed, "Who’s saying I’m a ’genius’ and a money-waster?"

"Isn’t that what everyone’s saying?" Yao Ming relayed what he’d heard. "James and his crew have been spreading your investment stories all over the place. They’re saying you’re investing in the Chinese internet, handing out cash to startups in Silicon Valley, and even buying Apple stock... when Apple can barely sell its computers anymore." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

This rumor was started by James and his posse.

Su Xi was making so much money; who wouldn’t be jealous? Especially since Su Xi was pulling in over fifty million USD from Nike in a single season from bonuses and endorsements alone. It made James so jealous he was losing sleep over it.

Originally, he was the "Chosen One," the holder of Nike’s biggest contract in history.

But then, in a single year, Su Xi earned more than half the value of his entire contract. How could he not be envious, jealous, and driven mad by it?

To console himself, his only recourse was to say that Su Xi was a bad investor, a reckless spender, the "Patron Saint of Silicon Valley."

Such was the coping mechanism of LeBron James.

Su Xi waved his hand, dismissing the topic.

Yao Ming’s concern then shifted. "A leader from the Sports Bureau asked me recently if you were seeing anyone," he said to Su Xi. "He mentioned there are a few single players on the women’s basketball and volleyball teams and offered to play matchmaker for you. The organization is very concerned about your personal life. The fans all over China are also hoping you’ll make a new and even greater contribution when it comes to the next generation."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Su Xi had come to the United States when he was nine, so his mindset on marriage hadn’t quite synced up with the one back in China.

"It means everyone hopes you’ll marry a girl from the women’s basketball or volleyball team," Yao Ming explained.

"Why? I don’t know them, and they don’t know me. Isn’t it a bit early to be talking about marriage?" Su Xi asked, looking as baffled as a child.

Yao Ming gave a good-natured laugh and fell silent. There really was no need for this kind of arranged matchmaking for young people nowadays; that was only for those who couldn’t find a date on their own. And Su Xi... did he look like someone who couldn’t get a date? The line of women after him could probably stretch from Houston all the way to the Los Angeles Walk of Fame. freёwebnoѵel.com

What woman in the entire United States didn’t want to... you know... with Little Sheep Su Xi?

According to the latest Playboy survey, Su Xi was the man most women in America wanted to spend a night with, and he was far, far ahead of second place.

The kind of lead that was a hundred times more secure than Michael Jordan’s status as the GOAT of basketball history.

After that, the conversation turned back to basketball.

Yao Ming asked Su Xi why his style of play had changed so drastically recently. Su Xi answered frankly, "The pressure’s been too much. Bricking a few shots is the only way I can de-stress."

"Bricking shots can relieve pressure?" Yao Ming was surprised.

"Yeah. You should try it tomorrow night," Su Xi urged.

"I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I can actually make my shots; there’s a fundamental difference between us," Yao Ming said, gently twisting the knife in Su Xi.

Su Xi felt a pang. ’Wasn’t Yao Ming supposed to be the honest, good-natured guy?’

’When an honest guy lands a zinger, it really hurts.’

"How’s Tracy McGrady? Did he pay his respects when he got here?" Su Xi asked Yao Ming.

"We’re not fighting over who’s the number one," Yao Ming replied.

Su Xi stretched lazily. "When you need to fight for it, you have to fight," he said. "It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about earning respect. The United States is different from China. If you don’t show an assertive side, people will think you don’t deserve a seat at their table. They’ll treat you like a waiter, you get me? The kind of waiter they can just toss a small tip to and forget about."

Su Xi’s tone was a bit languid, but he was actually being very serious.

Yao Ming fell silent for a moment. His mind raced, connecting Su Xi’s words to various scenes he’d experienced. Then, he chuckled. "You’re just trying to stir up trouble between us because you want to win, aren’t you?"

Su Xi laughed too, looking Yao Ming in the eye. "Yep."

Hahahahaha.

It was a very enjoyable meal.

Su Xi had spent a few months in China, and his Chinese way of thinking was gradually returning. He wasn’t speaking as directly as he used to.

Of course, having been raised in the same culture, Yao Ming understood exactly what Su Xi meant.

He thought a lot that night. Perhaps Su Xi was right. Whether you fought for it or not was a matter of posture. If you didn’t fight, you’d never even get a seat at the table. People would just see you as a helper, a waiter. No matter how hard and uncomplainingly you worked during a game, they would just end up with a dismissive comment like, "The team never gave me the right kind of help," or "I’ve never had the chance to play with another star."

Humility is a virtue, but it has no place in professional sports.