Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 354 Wait for me to come back!

5 month 20 day.

A Valentine's Day that only Chinese people celebrate.

In North America, this is just an ordinary day.

But for Clippers fans, it's not ordinary.

Today is Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Clippers and Warriors. Winning this game will put them in a strong position for the NBA Finals.

Similarly, China, with its huge fan base, was met with immense shock and bewilderment after this day.

What followed was a surge of anger, and overnight, Warriors became commonplace.

what reason?
Prince Chen is injured!

比赛进行到第三节，陈王已经轰下35分7助攻5篮板2抢断2盖帽的全能数据。

Furthermore, the Clippers displayed fierce offensive power, with the entire team exploding in a collective burst of energy.

They're leading by 18 points right now, and it looks like they're about to blow up the game.

In one offensive play, Chen Wang backed down Iguodala again, and Green came out from the side to help defend, choosing to position himself in the area where Chen Wang landed after falling back.

Chen Fang landed on his left foot first, stepping onto Green's outstretched foot without any visual assistance.

As if struck by lightning, Chen Fang instantly rolled onto the floor, clutching his left leg and howling in pain.

This scene struck the minds of the 20,000 fans at Staples Center and hundreds of millions of viewers watching on television. The Chinese commentators, including Duan Ran, Ke Fan, Yu Jia, and Zhang Weiping, were all silenced as if their throats had been slit.

The overwhelming sense of shock left their minds blank.

Clippers commentator David, after a few seconds of shock, roared angrily: "Green, Green is killing people! Call the police! Call the police!"

Sandwell was the first to rush forward and grab Green, and the two began to wrestle. Soon, all the players from both sides joined in, and numerous staff members tried to separate them.

Fortunately, there had been several conflicts before, and the staff at Staples Center had already prepared a report.

A few minutes later, the two sides were separated, each occupying half of the court.

Chen Fang was still lying there, surrounded by medical staff. The chief team doctor, Enross, leaned close to Chen Fang's mouth and listened carefully to what he was saying.

"Oh...!" The noise in the stadium, which was usually at a hundred decibels, suddenly erupted in unison.

The big screen was responding, and everyone saw the horrifying scene of Chen Fang's left ankle bending 90 degrees when he landed and stepped on Green's foot.

Not only the fans, but also the commentators and coaches were stunned.

Ballmer, who had been in a state of excitement, was stunned, as if he were a statue.

Duan Ran was speechless. He tried to speak, but found that tears were falling first.

The CCTV host, however, had better composure. Yu Jia took several deep breaths and slowly began to speak: "According to the slow-motion replay, Chen Fang suffered a severe sprain in his left ankle."

"He is still lying on the floor, being questioned by the team doctor."

“This is an unacceptable accident on the field, I…I…” Yu Jia couldn’t continue.

Rivers knelt beside Chen Fang, suppressing all his negative emotions and trying to keep his voice steady as he said to Chen Fang, "It's just a sprained ankle, just a sprained ankle. It'll be fine in a few days, trust me."

Chen Fang covered his face, still lying on his side. He could no longer feel his right foot. A huge sense of fear filled every part of his body. He didn't even have the courage to look at his foot.

Staff pushed a stretcher into the stadium, and upon seeing this, countless fans began to weep.

As if infected, more people covered their faces and sat down, bursting into tears.

Chen Fang was lifted onto the ambulance by countless hands. Just as Chen Fang felt himself being pushed, he opened his eyes.

The first thing I saw was Ti Lung.

As if he had found a lifeline, Chen Fang grabbed Dillon's hand.

"We must win the game, we absolutely must win."

Dillon nodded vigorously: "I swear, I swear on my life."

"We have to win!" Chen Fang saw head coach Rivers and his teammates all around his bed, so he shouted even louder, "Win! Then wait for me to come back!"

"We swear!" Jaren, Zubac, Thornwell, Dillon, Ribery, Rose—every Clippers player swore an oath.

Only Rivers understood what Chen Fang wanted to express.

If they win this game, the Clippers can at least hold on for three more games, which is 12 days from now.

Only in this way can miracles happen.

The atmosphere at Staples Center began to become frenzied, with many irrational fans angrily yelling at the Warriors' bench, and some even throwing objects at them.

The situation improved only after more security police arrived.

Even so, the Warriors returned to the locker room immediately.

The fans were getting restless, and so were the Clippers players.

Rivers had no choice but to send all the players back to the locker room first.

Time heals all wounds, and Duan Ran finally came to her senses.

"The scene from the 17 Western Conference Finals, where the Warriors played the Spurs, is happening again." He said this almost through gritted teeth.

"In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs led by 25 points, and it was in the third quarter that Zaza fouled Leonard, leading to the Warriors' comeback victory. They then swept the Spurs 4-0 to advance to the NBA Finals!"

Duan Ran, abandoning his usual caution, raised his voice: "A shameful scene has occurred once again."

"Almost the same point difference, almost the same dangerous moves."

"In that year's regular season, the Spurs and Warriors played three games, with the Spurs leading 2-1. When Leonard was on the court, the Spurs had a net advantage of 21 points, and when he was off the court, the Spurs had a net disadvantage of 85 points."

Duan Ran knew the data by heart, and he started yelling: "This is not the kind of match we want to see, dirty, shameless, and hurtful actions."

"This is the greatest stain on basketball, and it's not the first time. But if they dare to do this to us Chinese, we Chinese will not stand for it!"

Compared to Duan Ran's madness, CCTV seemed quite normal. Although Yu Jia was trying to be patient, he kept repeating, "This accident is unacceptable. I believe all the fans cannot accept it."

Ballmer had already picked up the phone, and although it was unclear who he was calling, those in the industry guessed it instantly.

Xiao Hua.

Now, Ballmer wants an explanation.

Enraged, his neck turned completely red, his face flushed a deep purple, and his expression was terrifying.

This unexpected incident interrupted the game for nearly half an hour until the referee went to the locker room and called out the players from both sides.

The moment the Warriors walked out, the entire arena erupted in the loudest boos. Fans angrily searched for Green, but unfortunately, they couldn't find him.

The shrewd Kerr had Green leave the arena ahead of time, escorted by a private, to escape the city before the rest of Los Angeles could react with anger.

Curry, Durant, and Klay Thompson all looked extremely unnatural, and the other Warriors players also had stiff expressions, especially Durant, whose eyes looked very confused in front of the camera.

The Warriors' performance was also reflected in the game.

The Clippers' relentless defensive intensity and unwavering sense of mission completely overwhelmed the Warriors.

In the latter part of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, in those nearly 20 points, the Warriors did not replicate their miracle comeback against the Spurs in 17.

Dillon, Jaren, Rose, Beverley, Zubac—every Clippers player on the court transformed into a superman, giving their all on both offense and defense.

Ultimately, amidst boos and cheers from the crowd, the Warriors lost Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals 118-128.

The buzzing sounded, but no one smiled.

This was a game with no winners.

Thornwell was ejected for a tackle and may face further suspension.

Dillon received two technical fouls and was ejected. He also triggered the league's playoff suspension rule, reaching seven fouls and automatically being suspended for one game.

And for every two such instances, there will be an additional one-game suspension.

Due to the intensity of the defense, Clippers players have sustained some injuries to varying degrees, and the specific details of these injuries will only be clear after diagnosis.

In short, this was a game with no winners.

But an even bigger vortex storm is yet to come.

After the game, reporters swarmed to the press conference, where Rivers unusually lost his temper.

"I urge the league's technical committee to examine Green's act of tripping someone with the utmost rigor to determine whether it was intentional."

"This is an unforgivable foul, the ugliest foul in NBA Western Conference Finals history. Green is destroying the NBA!"

“I will never forgive him. If I had a gun back then, I would have emptied his magazine.”

These words caused an uproar in the audience. It was extremely rare for Rivers, who was usually a nice guy, to say something like that.

But then the reporters felt it made sense, especially the Chinese reporters, who didn't see any problem at all.

They were waiting for Kerr to arrive, but the Warriors were very smart this time and chose to mute their microphones.

As soon as the game ended, the entire Warriors team took a bus straight to the airport and flew to San Francisco.

But the monk can run away, but the temple cannot.

That night, the entire United States was in an uproar. This was because in 17, Zaza Pachulia's foot-planting that crippled Kawhi Leonard allowed the Warriors to easily advance to the NBA Finals had already caused a huge uproar.

But the Spurs are a small-market team, and even with so many championships, they don't have enough fans or league influence to make a big splash.

But it's different now.

Los Angeles, the largest city on the West Coast, may not have as many Clippers fans as Lakers, but it's definitely no less than Warriors fans, especially in the last two years.

Moreover, Chinese Americans across the United States are Clippers fans, and social media was already buzzing even before the game was over.

The entire tiptoeing video garnered hundreds of millions of views in less than an hour.

Not only basketball experts, referees, media, and fans are also watching repeatedly, trying to find Green's deliberate intentions.

Given Green's past criminal record, public opinion on the entire incident was overwhelmingly against him, with angry fans and neutral media outlets alike condemning him.

Updates on Chen Fang's injuries are also being broadcast continuously.

The biggest worry right now is the possibility of a torn ligament, which is the most terrifying outcome, and countless Clippers fans are praying for its safety.

It wasn't until 2 a.m. that the Clippers officially announced the preliminary diagnosis.

Team doctor Ennis announced: "After clinical evaluation and imaging examination, the preliminary diagnosis of Chen Wang's left foot injury is negative, which is a Grade I injury."

Upon hearing this news, all Clippers fans cheered. The injury was classified into three levels, with Grade I being a ligament stretch without a tear.

Grade II is a partial tear of the ligament, and Grade III is a complete rupture of the ligament.

In fact, some astute reporters noticed that Ennis's expression changed from smiling to serious the moment he turned to leave the stage.

So they began to speculate that the truth was not so simple.

And that is indeed the case. The best hospital in California for complex sports rehabilitation/return to competition is the Keck Medical Center at USC. After a comprehensive examination, they gave Chen Fang a diagnosis.

Between grade 1 and 2, there is a minor tear in the ligament, an acute peroneal tendon injury, and minor damage to the ankle joint cartilage.

"It will take at least a month before he can walk normally without pain, and at least three months if he wants to return to the field," Chief Physician Wayne said sternly to Lawrence, Rivers, and Wenger.

Seeing that the three were about to speak, Wynter spoke again: "Chen Wang is one of the greatest players at USC. Please do not doubt our professionalism and respect."

The three were dejected. What a great opportunity! Everyone was healthy, and they had made it to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. How could this happen?
"We are currently undergoing emergency treatment. If there is nothing else, I apologize for not being able to stay longer."

After the doctor left, the Clippers' Big Three looked at each other, their faces grim.

“It’s getting late, let’s meet at the base tomorrow,” Wenger said.

The two remained silent and went their separate ways.

This night is destined to be sleepless for countless people, while on the other side of the ocean, it is afternoon.

The fury of the Chinese internet is burning.

Some radical fans even started burning Warriors jerseys and uploading them to short video platforms, garnering countless likes and cheers.

This gave some content creators a golden opportunity to gain traffic, and by evening, short video platforms were flooded with videos that insulted the Warriors.

It's fair to say that if the Warriors were in China, Draymond Green wouldn't be alive today; he would be drowned by the spittle of hundreds of millions of fans.

All Warriors fan support websites on Chinese websites were impacted, including group chats and short video accounts, all of which were forced to shut down, or even forcibly disbanded and deregistered.

Regarding Chen Fang's injury, due to the information cocoon, he couldn't come to China for a while, so rumors spread like wildfire, with outrageous rumors such as a torn ligament and a broken leg appearing.

There was also a special group of people whose dark side, born of twisted humanity, took the opportunity to gloat and mock Chen Fang for being too arrogant. They said he deserved to get his comeuppance.

These people were naturally swiftly eliminated by righteous individuals as soon as they showed their faces, but the negative emotions they generated exacerbated the psychological state of Chen Wang's fans.

It could be said that the entire sky was gray that day.

This sentiment reached a new peak on the 22nd after the league determined that Green had not committed an intentional foul, but only a regular foul.

Conspiracy theories about the league teaming up with the Warriors to take down the Clippers are rampant.

Even in North America, this view is widely held, and on the 23rd, after the Warriors, with several Clippers players absent, slaughtered the Clippers 132-101, a 31-point difference, this quickly became the mainstream opinion among fans.

No matter how the Clippers appealed or how the fans protested, the game continued.

On the 26th, the Warriors won another game, tying the series at 2-2.

But everyone knows that the Clippers' journey to the Western Conference Finals is over; the last two games were just a desperate struggle.

"Without Chen Wang, the Clippers are just an ordinary team. Neither Brunson nor 3J can carry the team. They are incredibly weak against the Warriors."

Two consecutive losses, both by no means surprising, have made it clear to everyone who the Clippers' most important person is.

Rewind four days, and when the Clippers plane landed in San Francisco, a similar group of people landed in Los Angeles from the international airport.

The leader was an elderly man with white hair and beard.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not sure.” The old man shook his head, then said, “If Chen Fang hadn’t insisted that I come, I really wouldn’t have wanted to go abroad.”

Zhang Shaohong nodded, looking haggard, as did Wang Zhen.

The group of eight came entirely at Chen Fang's request.

On the 21st, Chen Fang called Grandpa Zhao to inquire about domestic treatment methods for sprains and strains, and asked if there were any ways to recover quickly.

From any perspective, Old Master Zhao was against it. He tried to persuade him earnestly, but Chen Fang shut him down with a single sentence.

"In my mind, my master is a celestial being on land."

The Basketball Association also disagreed with this behavior, but no one could persuade Chen Fang to stay, so they had to send Zhang Shaohong over, ostensibly to help, but actually to supervise and prevent Chen Fang's injury from getting worse and affecting the World Championships at the end of August.

A private jet picked them up, and the others were either traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who had fallen and sprained their ankles, or fellow disciples of the same generation. Even the government might not be able to invite them, but with Master Zhao's intervention, they all came along.

This was a grand event, but the entire process was kept secret, and only Chen Fang knew the details.

Rivers and Lawrence, Wenger only learned of this at noon and were shocked. Faced with Chen Fang's attitude, they were in a dilemma.

All three of them rationally opposed the idea, but Chen Fang insisted on giving it a try.

With the same sentence, they extinguished any thought of opposition.

"Compared to injections, I have more faith in traditional Chinese medicine."

Chen Fang's swelling has not subsided yet, and his left ankle is immobilized. He learned the fastest possible outcome from his attending physician, which he does not accept.

Based on his trust in traditional martial arts, Chen Fang was willing to give it a try.

I don't want to have any regrets.

That night, after being discharged from the hospital and returning to the Clippers training center, Mr. Zhao practiced his skills repeatedly, then whispered with several fellow trainees before returning to Chen Fang's side.

"Wudang Taoist medicine has four 'one' treatment methods: one furnace of pills, one pair of hands, one needle, and one handful of herbs."

"I brought authentic Daoist medicines from the inner sect: black plaster, wound-healing pills, Shennong blood-stasis-dispersing plaster, and bruise-injury plaster."

Chen Fang's eyes lit up; these medicine names sounded very powerful. (The actual medicine names are available; if you have the means, you can buy them at Wudang Mountain. They're far superior to those on the market.)
"Reducing the swelling is very simple. The medicine we brought will take effect tomorrow. We will use acupuncture to remove the blood stasis and massage your acupoints to clear your meridians later."

"The foreigner's report says you have cartilage damage and ligament sprains, which makes things a bit difficult."

"I got a Xiaoyang Pill from Wudang," Old Master Zhao said in a low voice, patting his chest as if to indicate that he was carrying it close to his body.

"This medicine is extinct; every single one used reduces the remaining supply. It was passed down from the Ming Dynasty. If the previous ones didn't work, use this one."

"What effect?" Chen's heart raced.

Grandpa Zhao blinked and said in a low voice, "As long as the person is still alive, they can be saved. It's extremely nourishing and can remove any hidden injuries in the body."

Good guy!
Chen Fang gasped, surprised that his master was actually quite influential.

Rivers, Lawrence, and Wenger didn't know what Chen Fang and the old man were talking about, but seeing Chen Fang's happy face, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wang Zhen explained to them in fluent English, and expressed that he was unsure whether he could pass the drug test.

"These medicines are all made from traditional Chinese medicine, not painkillers or sedatives."

"Could you give us a copy of the test results?" Lawrence asked.

"No way!" Master Zhao shook his head firmly.

“You can see,” he added.

Wang Zhen relayed his words, and Lawrence then looked at Chen Fang.

"This is my mentor. Only he can get me back on the court within a week."

"Whether you can understand it or not, this is the cultural heritage of China's five thousand years of history."

There's no other choice. The league knows it owes the Clippers something, and even the refereeing is biased towards them.

Wenger went out to make a phone call and returned shortly afterward.

"The boss said we don't need to consider anything else, we should just follow Chen Wang's personal wishes and cooperate fully."

Just as he had expected, Chen Fang knew very well that he was unwilling and wouldn't be so foolish as to get injections, but he would be willing to do it if it would allow him to walk normally again.

Even if you only play for ten minutes, you can still help the team.

Moreover, Chen Fang couldn't swallow this insult. He didn't want to become the second Leonard, and he was even less willing to see the Warriors win three consecutive championships.

He was willing to take the gamble, no matter what.

(End of this chapter)