Su Feng’s No.1 fan in Pennsylvania, Markson, had been in a fantastic mood recently.
Especially after Lower Merion had fought their way into the state championship finals.
The Philadelphia Evening Post had been selling increasingly well too. With its growing popularity, Markson had even been praised as one with commendable foresight, though his predictions of Su Feng’s performance had been regarded as nonsense at the start.
Before the finals began, Markson’s press had even informed him that he had been promoted to the chief journalist of the Philadelphia Evening Post.
Sometimes, life is wonderful, isn’t it?
Markson was surely having a good time being Su Feng’s loyal fan while enjoying all the benefits that entailed.
“In the semifinals and the match before, Su scored 24 and 31 points respectively. This is an extraordinary feat. However…
“Su has brought us even more pleasant surprises during the finals!”
Markson scribbled on his notebook as he watched the match.
“He’s a tireless fighter. He shoots without hesitation, and not scoring a shot will never thwart his confidence.
“He has all the essential qualities of a top shooter. In my opinion, he is the best shooter in Pennsylvania!”
As a professional and conscientious news reporter, Markson had always had a high requirement for the authenticity of his material and the appropriateness of his word usage.
“Sigh, these words can’t even fully express Su’s talent!
“I wonder if my readers won’t like my comments about Su.
“But he’s a competent shooter and an excellent defender. I really can’t think of any reason to criticize him!” Markson thought, worried. He was careful with his work.
Alright…
There might’ve been some flaws in Su Feng’s performance during the previous two matches, but he was perfect in the finals.
Kobe had been passing the ball to Su Feng non-stop, to the extent where Su Feng had forgotten about his Sun Flame badge.
That’s because Su Feng had almost gotten sick of shooting…
Hmm… Wait, no!
Shooting is so fun. Su Feng didn’t think that he would ever grow sick of that even if he shot 60 times in one game.
However, Kobe was unusually happy about passing the ball to Su Feng over and over again. Su Feng had even started to suspect that Kobe had been possessed by somebody else.
Backward pass, bounce pass, post-break-through pass…
You may not believe it, but on the evening of 26th March, 1995, Su Feng had received the ball from Kobe via all kinds of fantastic passes!
It was as improbable as…
The sun had really risen on the horizon of Los Angeles at 4 AM[1]!
“Su, you hesitated before you shot just now. Be more decisive!
“Su, have you noticed? I’ve confused their defenders. Be more active in moving around and I’ll pass you the ball more often!”
Had it not for his signature “death stare” during the match from time to time, Su Feng would find it hard to believe that the man in Lower Merion No. 33 was really…
Kobe!
Unfortunately, although Su Feng was a walking Kobe Encyclopedia, it was impossible for him to understand Kobe inside out.
At this moment, Kobe was ecstatic over the increase in his assist score.
Most importantly, it had been extremely difficult for Kobe to brush up his assist points in the last two matches.
As a result, he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest today.
“I knew it! Only Su understands me! Assisting is such a fun thing to do!” Kobe thought, his eyes beaming with joy. Before he knew it, he had already achieved more than ten assists.
Lower Merion attacked.
Perhaps Schwartz felt that he hadn’t contributed much that day. Hence, he ran to the side and secured a prime shooting spot at the wing.
However, Kobe was responsible for directing the team strategy on the court. Under his glare, Schwartz retreated aside unwillingly but obediently.
After Schwartz had stepped aside, Kobe suddenly threw the ball to Su Feng, who was under intense defense by Hery Catholic High School.
Swoosh!
Su Feng had shot past the rival small forward again.
“I didn’t know teamwork can be this fun,” Kobe thought.
He congratulated Su Feng for the shot and felt smug, thinking that he was a great leader just like Stockton.
…
…
Hery Catholic High School had given up.
They couldn’t defend against Kobe’s breakthrough.
Nor could they understand what was in Kobe’s mind.
Based on previous experience, Kobe would have shot after he had broken through the free-throw line.
But…
He had passed! What a surprise!
Wasn’t that annoying?
Super annoying, right?
Besides, it would be fine if Kobe had decided not to shoot at all. But sometimes, in the most unlikely situations, he had scored! So should Hery Catholic High split their attention and specifically defend against Kobe too?
And most importantly, the Chinese guy was on fire today!
He was unstoppable!
Literally!
The final score was 80:57 at the end of the fourth period. At that moment, Hery Catholic High School players just wanted to ask Kobe and Su Feng for the ball so that they could all go home!
The Penn State Harrisburg Gymnasium had transformed into a sea of cheering and excitement.
Lower Merion High School had successfully secured the championship of the 94/95 season Pennsylvania High School League!
Moreover, that was the first time Lower Merion had won the state championship in the past 52 years.
In the match, Su Feng had scored 19 out of 30 shots, including six out of nine three-pointers, two out of three free throws, summing up to the high-score of 46 points. He had also obtained four rebounds, one assist, three blocked shots, and three steals.
Meanwhile, Kobe had scored eight out of 13 shots, including one out of two three-pointers, three out of six free throws, for a total of 20 points, the second highest in the game. He had also achieved 14 rebounds, 18 assists, four blocked shots, and three steals.
In addition, Kobe was crowned the MVP of the 94/95 season Pennsylvania High School League with his average performance of 30.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 4.4 steals and 3.7 blocked shots per game. He was also the finals’ MVP.
As for Su Feng, who had obtained an astonishing 46 points in the finals, he was awarded the Top Players of the Pennsylvania High School League together with Kobe. His performance in this season was 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Su Feng had also won the title of the Best Defensive Player of the Pennsylvania High School League this season.
At the end of the game, Kobe wrapped his arms around Su Feng and cheered, “HAHA, Su, we are the champions! We made it!”
Well…
Su Feng’s professional career might have just ended there before it had officially begun.
It was as though Kobe had done it on purpose as revenge.
He had used so much strength in the bear hug that Su Feng was choking for air.
“Cough, cough, cough, Kobe… I know. We are the champions.”
Su Feng said with tears in his eyes after Kobe had finally let him go. He cried because he could finally breathe.
Kobe looked at Su Feng and slapped his back with full strength. “Don’t be so excited! We shall continue our glory next year!”
Su Feng was speechless.
As expected, one should never mess with a Virgo!
It was too scary!
…
…
Before the award ceremony, Gregg led Su Feng, Kobe, and the other members of the team to thank the audience.
This time, Su Feng had had a first-hand experience of the Americans’ enthusiasm.
He walked back to his seat, almost naked.
The Lower Merion girls looked demure in school, but they had almost stripped Su Feng in public, wanting to have a piece of whatever he was wearing…
Luckily, Su Feng’s good friend, Schwartz, stood out for him at the critical moment. His facial expression was almost shouting, “Let him go! Come at me if you want!”
And Kobe couldn’t stop laughing looking at the miserable state Su Feng was in.
“Are you alright?” Kobe asked Su Feng after a while, covering his mouth to hide his laugh.
Su Feng nodded. Thinking about it, it was nothing much, really. He had just been touched by a group of young girls, which was fine.
If it had been a bunch of men, he would surely have been traumatized.
Su Feng tidied his shirt and thought, “Sigh, being handsome brings me worries.”
…
…
After some interaction with the fans, the award ceremony soon began.
Kobe was wearing the white Lower Merion jersey and the state championship cap. Amidst waves of cheering, he lifted the champion trophy high into the air as the representative of Lower Merion.
After that, he received the FMVP [2. Finals MVP] trophy from the deputy mayor of Harrisburg.
There were a few times when Kobe almost cried when he delivered the award acceptance speech.
When Su Feng saw that, mixed emotions welled up in his mind.
Kobe was still young. Apparently, he had lost his usual cool on the court when he was giving the speech.
At that moment, Kobe finally looked like a 16-year-old young man.
Kobe first thanked his parents, his teammates, and his coach…
Yes, he had specifically excluded Su Feng.
That’s because…
“Today, I want to express my gratitude to someone special.
“And that’s my teammate—Su.
“We met last summer. That day, he was playing basketball on my court.
“Having seen his terrible skills, I went forward and told him, ‘Hey, bro, this is my court.’
“But he turned and told me, ‘Hey, you want to prove that this is yours? You’ll have to beat me in a one-on-one first.’
“I was angry. But after he told me about his dream, I realized that we are travelers setting off toward the same destination.
“In the past year, we spent all of our time outside of sleeping and eating on training.
“In my heart, he’s not just my teammate. He’s my best supporter, and my best friend.
“Thank you, my brother, Su!”
Su Feng would have cried if Kobe hadn’t mentioned the “supporter” part.
But anyway, Kobe’s sincerity was clear in his words.
Su Feng wondered whether the speech would bring some people to tears in the future.
Compared to Kobe’s long speech, Su Feng’s was much shorter and simpler.
He only said one sentence, “Hope we’ll be the champions next year.”
“Knew it. This is Su.” Kobe was still feeling emotional. But when he saw Su Feng’s composure, he couldn’t help but feel respectful toward him.
…
…
The award ceremony lasted a total of two hours and 37 minutes before it finally ended.
In Su Feng’s former life, Schwartz had once commented that Team Lower Merion was so popular that they had been treated the same way as the Beatles.
And this time, thanks to Su Feng joining, Lower Merion had become even more popular.
Hence, Su Feng believed that only time could wash away their fame in Pennsylvania.
Moreover, having won the High School League championship, Su Feng had finally added a few lines of achievement to his portfolio.
The Top Players, the Best Defensive Player, and the champion of the Pennsylvania High School League.
But Su Feng understood that his portfolio wasn’t impressive enough for him to skip college and enter the NBA straight away.
That was no big deal, though, because Su Feng still had plenty of time to improve himself.
As he thought about the golden training days during the summer vacation, Su Feng couldn’t help but shoot a few looks at Kobe.
At that time, Kobe was sitting in the corner, laughing to himself with the trophy hugged tightly in his arms. He noticed Su Feng and returned him with a cautious stare.
Su Feng almost burst out laughing by Kobe’s reaction. He had been reminded of a photo taken after the Lakers had won the championship in his former life. In the photo, Kobe was crying in the washroom with the trophy in his arms.
“Now, my next goal is… upgrade the system to version 7.0 and try my best to max out all the potential scores!”
Su Feng was curious about what other new features he would see in version 7.0.
For example, key attributes like speed, agility, and slam dunks hadn’t appeared so far.
Anyway, there was still a long way to go.
“Sigh. Actually, I’d prefer a more gradual way of self-improvement. But…
“I have Kobe! What else can I do?!” Su Feng thought.
…
[1] Reference to Kobe’s quote, “Have you seen Los Angeles at 4 AM?” The sun rises after 4 AM in Los Angeles