Basketball miracles

Chapter 52 [The Unknown Secret]

That evening, after watching the sports news, President David Stern was so excited that he wanted to immediately invite Xiao Tu to dinner for a chat.

However, the timing of their meeting is crucial. If the president goes to Los Angeles to see Xiao Tu, the other stars will inevitably have second thoughts. It would be reasonable for them to meet when Xiao Tu is in New York.

Stern thought Xiao Tu was very clever; he not only knew how to promote himself but also how to leverage his strengths. He could tell that Xiao Tu had sensed the change in the whistle.

Xiao Tu increased his drives to the basket and played very aggressively, earning eight free throws in this game. If he had continued to drift around the perimeter shooting, the league would have been less inclined to award him free throws, even if they wanted to promote him.

It's not that it's impossible, but Stern doesn't want to make it too obvious, as it would be controversial. If a player spends most of his time on the perimeter shooting jumpers, yet averages more free throws than others, not only opponents but also fans will be dissatisfied.

Xiao Tu is very good at talking after the game and always manages to create news to attract fans' attention.

This is the first time in history that an NBA player has dated a top female celebrity. Stern wants to give Xiao Tu a big compliment; he's so cool.

What kind of women were NBA stars rumored to be dating? Almost all of them were either women from nightclubs or predatory girls who actively flirted with them. Many couldn't see that the other person was after their money, truly believing they were incredibly charming!

The NBA has braggarts who boast about sleeping with 20,000 women; thugs who do drugs and throw orgies; and mentally challenged men who have fathered many illegitimate children and are facing bankruptcy...

Stern was truly exasperated with those people. He could run an anti-drug campaign in the league, but he couldn't control the players' private lives.

Xiao Tu's style is completely different from other star players, and Stern saw hope for the NBA's resurgence in him. Perhaps the NBA will soon no longer be at the bottom of the four major sports leagues, as long as this charismatic young talent is properly promoted.

Magic Johnson is currently the Lakers' leader, but Stern firmly believes that Xiao Tu has a brighter future and will surpass Magic Johnson soon.

Everyone knows that Magic Johnson is undisciplined and doesn't work hard to improve himself; he relies purely on talent.

This season, the league is still promoting the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. Stern is giving Xiao Tu some time to improve; he doesn't want to overhype him. If Xiao Tu is strong enough and can master his ball-handling and offense to become the scoring champion, Stern will promote him as the league's best player within three years.

Stern's goal was to make the NBA a global super sports league. He didn't dare to think about surpassing the NFL for the time being, but he felt that hockey and baseball were incredibly boring, and how could the NBA, being basketball, be inferior to those two sports?

Especially in ice hockey, a sport that's clearly rougher than basketball, players often just take off their gloves and start fighting. Stern felt that if the NBA's influence couldn't surpass that of the NHL in the short term, he wouldn't be a qualified commissioner.

The league had already started promoting Xiao Tu as the "Slam Dunk King." During the All-Star Game, Stern would also give Xiao Tu a lot of playing time and ball possession, allowing him to showcase several spectacular dunks.

This season, barring any serious injuries, three Lakers stars are guaranteed a spot in the Western Conference All-Star Game, and all three will be starters.

After the All-Star voting began, Xiao Tu stood out in the number of votes for the Western Conference forward position, and he will share two starting positions with Sampson of the Rockets.

It's worth mentioning that he received more votes than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and is currently second only to Magic Johnson in popularity within the league.

It's possible that Xiao Tu will surpass Magic Johnson in votes later on; his playing style is unparalleled and incredibly appealing. Lakers fans might vote for Xiao Tu while voting for Magic Johnson, and casual fans who enjoy watching dunks tend to prefer Xiao Tu.

Xiao Tu drove his Chevrolet Impala to Madonna's house. He really liked the muscle car and made a special trip back to his apartment.

As soon as he entered, Madonna greeted him. "Seb, what variety of lychees do you have? Do you have any more?"

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "That's all, that's all for now... You didn't eat it all at once, did you?"

Xiao Tu only brought Madonna one pound of lychees, which he placed in a delicate plastic box. Since lychees are rare, his lychees were exceptionally precious; he couldn't possibly give away ten pounds at once.

The lychees rewarded from the treasure chests can only be kept fresh in a special space, so Xiao Tu usually doesn't take them out. He and Chris finished the watermelon from last time in two days; it would only last three days in the refrigerator before the taste deteriorated.

The United States does not produce lychees, nor do neighboring countries. If Americans want lychees, they have to import them. However, lychees are very difficult to preserve, typically only lasting three days. Therefore, Americans don't get to eat lychees, and even if they do, they are usually wrinkled and have a sour smell.

"I didn't eat it all. I ate some because I was tired from dance practice today. What kind of fruit is this? How come it's even more powerful than energy drinks and Snickers? I only rested for a short while and my energy was restored."

Madonna is known for her high level of physical activity and often uses food and drinks to replenish her energy. She frequently eats Snickers, not because she likes the taste, but simply to boost her energy. She was astonished when she discovered that Snickers wasn't as effective as the lychees Xiao Tu gave her. "I'll ask my friends when I meet them; there should be more in the future. This is the effect of premium fruit; don't tell anyone else."

Madonna asked, "Can't I just pay a higher price to buy more? I can offer a price higher than the market price."

Xiao Tu shook his head. "Forget about it. There's no market price, and you can't buy it even if you have the money. You can't just eat this as much as you want. Even if we go to China, where it's from, it'll be hard to find lychees of the same quality."

As for the treasure chest rewards, how would he know when he'd get another premium lychee? He did have a watermelon in the treasure chest that he hadn't taken out, but it didn't restore his stamina.

Madonna nodded; she wouldn't easily share good things with others. "How did you come to know this kind of friend? Is he one of those Chinese people with magical powers? He'll make you starve."

Xiao Tu thought for a moment and then made up a story: "He is indeed a bit mysterious, so I can't introduce you to him. But I promise I'll share anything good with you."

Xiao Tu didn't want to lie, because it would be troublesome to cover it up later. The fruit from the treasure chest was of such high quality that it couldn't be bought anywhere else, so he had to come up with a reason to explain the fruit's origin.

A mysterious white-bearded old Chinese man? Was it because an NBA fan gave him a magical fruit?
It's all pretty far-fetched no matter how you look at it, so let's just leave it vague.

Xiao Tu could keep all the good fruit for himself without letting others know, but only if he did it secretly and selfishly.

That would be too despicable; he didn't want to live that kind of life, nor was it necessary. He wasn't a selfish person; he was willing to give some benefits to those he liked.

Xiao Tu will meet more and more people here, forming a circle.

People in the internet age don't need to meet many people in person; they can communicate online. People in the 80s, however, had to meet frequently, otherwise they would feel bored. It's also popular to have pen pals now; people who live far apart write letters to each other simply to confide in one another.

Madonna sensed that Xiao Tu was hiding something but didn't ask further, believing that Xiao Tu would tell her later.

China is one of the oldest countries in history, with many moving legends and stories that shroud this ancient land in mystery. Many foreigners believe that China holds untold secrets.

Kung Fu is one of them, Madonna believes it's like magic. Having high-quality fruit is perfectly normal.

Xiao Tu and Madonna chatted for a while, but didn't go into the bedroom to make love; they didn't have that much time.

The Lakers have a back-to-back game against the Suns tomorrow, and he will be traveling with the team to the away game tonight.

Tonight, Xiao Tu received a bronze treasure chest reward. He regretted not being able to put up another 30+20 stat line; he only had a slight advantage against the Rockets' twin towers, and couldn't completely dominate them.

He took the game against the Suns very seriously and was eager to put up better numbers. The Suns' interior strength is clearly inferior to the Rockets', and even less so to the Lakers.

The flight was short, so the players didn't have to sleep on the plane; they could just get together, play cards, and chat.

Xiao Tu also participated. Although the Lakers players gambled, they gambled very little; they simply enjoyed playing Texas Hold'em.

After checking into the hotel in Phoenix, Xiao Tu opened the brass treasure chest.

The reward is a bottle of special-effect shower gel that soothes and conditions the skin, enhances body fragrance, and removes unwanted hair.

Everything before that was normal, but when Xiao Tu received the last piece of information, he shuddered.

What the heck is hair removal? Is this something I can use?

No, I absolutely cannot use it.

Xiao Tu dared not try it; if something went wrong, it would be a huge mess. Imagine an NBA player with no body hair—wouldn't his teammates laugh themselves to death if he went to shower with his teammates?
He decided to let Madonna try it out and gave it to her.

(End of this chapter)