Chapter 286: Christmas Eve Surprise

Fan Xi didn't just step on that basketball, but on the Lakers' honor and dignity.

On Christmas Eve, Fan Xi killed the high-and-mighty Lakers in the toughest and most straightforward way, stepping them under his feet.

He told the whole world with actual actions: I am the toughest person in the City of Angels, Duke Jack will always rule Staples.

At the same time, he also wrote his own revenge chapter with victory; he stepped on the basketball with his injured foot at the Finals-winning shot point, telling the whole world how treacherous the Lakers were, and also letting everyone know: I can help the Lakers reach the peak, and I can also step the Lakers into hell.

The Lakers lost all face, and Jean Bas was hung up and whipped repeatedly.

Her status was therefore severely challenged; whether it was fans or executives, they would have a rebellious psychology toward her... it was she who made the Lakers become the way they were now, in an unrecoverable situation. If she hadn't traded Fan Xi for personal gain, how could it be like this now?

"My teammates are too awesome; although they are just starting out, or have been looked down upon, or are called past their prime, old, weak, sick, and disabled."

"However."

When Fan Xi said this, he spread his palms and pointed his finger at the scoreboard above his head: "Isn't it obvious enough?"

Victory is the best answer.

This year, the Clippers have consecutively taken down the Heat, the Celtics, and now they have cut the Lakers down from their horses; the championship-favorite teams at the top have all become their defeated opponents.

Those vicious and sarcastic comments before the season have become jokes, and have evolved into slaps in the hands of Clippers fans; those commentators who jumped very high have all been screenshotted and slapped in the face.

Bill Simmons was the victim.

He was the vicious commentator who invented "old, weak, sick, and disabled."

When the game ended, he couldn't say a word; he had been bragging about the Lakers and belittling the Clippers the whole game, he had been saying the Lakers would massacre the Clippers the whole game. But the result now was... the Lakers were killed, and Fan Xi was stepping on their heads.

For a moment, he couldn't find any reason at all.

He could say Howard fouled out, or he could say Kobe Bryant was injured.

However, he knew clearly in his heart that the Clippers' rise didn't happen after they went off the court. It was before they went off, it was Fan Xi who beat them down.

Fan Xi controlled the overall situation at the critical moment of this game; he crushed the cage the Lakers set for him, his passing in the paint was like a glimpse of a swan, miraculous.

He defeated Chris Paul at the point guard position, and hit a high-difficulty jump shot under Kobe's powerful defense.

The Clippers' backcourt gained an advantage because of him, which then drove the paint and activated the overall situation.

In this process, Dwight Howard was crushed by his assists, and Kobe Bryant was injured and left the court during the high-intensity battle.

If it were any other player on any other team, Bill Simmons certainly wouldn't be stingy with his praise; he might even say: Jack Fan dominates the game alone, suppressing Kobe and Paul in the backcourt, already the number one person in the backcourt in the league today.

"I saw Chris Paul's social media before the game, and I saw everything he said."

Fan Xi said calmly when facing reporters asking how he viewed Chris Paul's "clean break theory": "I am a person who is not good at evaluating myself, nor am I good at evaluating others. Hey, what are my stats?"

Fan Xi asked the reporter.

"41 points, 15 assists, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks." A reporter answered him: "This is the only 40+ triple-double in the history of Staples Center, and also the only 40+ triple-double in Clippers team history."

The reporter said honestly.

Fan Xi asked again: "What about Chris?"

"26 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals." The reporter continued to answer.

"Not bad." Fan Xi gave a thumbs up: "It is very rare to get such stats in such a high-level game; this is even better than his season average stats."

There was some laughter from the reporters on the scene.

But Fan Xi still solemnly finished what he wanted to say: "Leave everything to the fans to judge. If Chris thinks this isn't the final clean break, we still have 3 regular-season games this season. If there is a chance, we can even compete again in the playoffs."

Fan Xi spread his palms; although he mocked and ridiculed Paul in his own way.

But for him, this was just a beginning.

A cat catching a mouse never eats the mouse all at once.

Fan Xi ended the interview quickly, saying he wanted to return to the locker room to celebrate with his teammates. But in reality, it was also because the media began to ask him about the Duke Girls, and he didn't want to express his opinion on Scarlett or Taylor Swift.

In fact, a reporter also reminded him that Selena had also come to the arena, but she was sitting further back, and the reporter also said... Justin Bieber had come too.

And asked Fan Xi for his opinion on them.

Fan Xi said in his heart, screw you.

But he didn't show it.

He didn't want others to have any covetous heart for his Duke Girls; he was very selfish in this regard. Just like the ball possession at critical moments, he never let others handle it.

Fan Xi walked into the player tunnel, he was going to find Scarlett or Taylor Swift, or Liu Yifei.

But what awaited him were Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West.

Khloe looked very angry; she said to Fan Xi: "Jack, why didn't you let Blake play? He could clearly help you win faster."

Fan Xi frowned; he looked at Khloe Kardashian, who came to hold him accountable, and then looked at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Kim had high emotional intelligence; she sensed Fan Xi's unhappiness and hurriedly said: "Khloe means that we are like a family, we should help each other. We should become the biggest force in Los Angeles..."

Fan Xi interrupted her. He said: "I remember Khloe's fiancé is Lamar, we also met through Lamar, why..."

Khloe shrugged her shoulders; she said calmly: "I broke up with him. Blake is my new boyfriend, we have long-term plans. Of course, I will always care about Lamar..."

Fan Xi didn't want to care about other people's family affairs; he waved his hand and said: "Okay, I know."

Then, Khloe asked him: "Can we get along more peacefully and lovingly with Blake in the future?"

Fan Xi didn't speak.

He walked straight to the locker room.

"I think Jack is worried that Blake will steal his spotlight; you know, Blake is the Clippers' second biggest superstar." Khloe said to Kardashian and Kanye West after Fan Xi left.

Fan Xi walked into the locker room, his teammates crowded around him enthusiastically; they celebrated Fan Xi's victory loudly.

This game undoubtedly pushed Fan Xi's reputation to the peak; he not only won the victory on the court in this battle with the big family Lakers, but also won the victory in morality.

The Lakers' big family foundation became the nourishment for Fan Xi to become even more famous.

Fan Xi hugged every teammate; he thanked his teammates for their efforts in this game. If it weren't for his teammates fighting to the death before, there would be no god-like descent in the final moments.

This game made Fan Xi feel the unprecedented toughness and strength of the Clippers; he firmly believed the Clippers would get better and better. Moreover, he began to feel that this Clippers team might not necessarily have no chance to enter the Western Conference Finals or even the Finals this season.

Unlike the exciting scene in the Clippers' locker room, the Lakers' locker room atmosphere was terribly oppressive. Before this game started, they were full of confidence, thinking that they, who had formed a super strong lineup, would take the Clippers easily; Howard and Paul had both said a lot of big words.

Now this disastrous defeat turned their big words into loud slaps in the face; the two of them couldn't even lift their heads.

Jean Bas passed by the Lakers' locker room; she didn't walk in. She left the arena directly; for her, this Christmas Eve would be exceptionally long, her phone was already full of questioning voices, including her father lying in the hospital bed who was issuing criticism.

Why would it be like this?

Jean Bas couldn't figure it out; she thought that although her trading of Fan Xi had some personal gain, which of her trades wasn't a stroke of genius? Fan Xi for Paul, was it a loss? Bynum for Howard, wasn't it worth it?

Why was the result still like this?

She was like a powder keg now, ready to explode at any time.

Magic Johnson stood at the door of the locker room; he didn't go in, nor did he leave.

Kobe Bryant stood up after a long silence.

He clapped his hands, stirring up the teammates' attention; after all eyes gathered on him.

He said calmly and firmly: "Cheer up, guys. Don't give this game too much meaning; just like I said before the game, it's just an ordinary regular-season game; whether it's a victory or a defeat, it won't affect us being number one in the West."

"This is Dwight's first game joining us; he played very well. His integration speed is very fast, I like his deterrent power on the defensive end."

"Chris also played his characteristics; his ball handling is as steady as ever."

"And Ron, Pau, Matt... everyone had excellent performances; we just didn't seize the opportunity at the last moment, we underestimated Jack Fan's eruption at the critical moment."

"This is our first real matchup; we need to study this game well. We will soon have the second, third, and fourth duels. One win or loss doesn't explain anything."

"Everyone take a good shower, then go home and sleep; tomorrow is a brand new day."

"Merry Christmas to everyone."

Kobe Bryant concluded his speech.

He encouraged everyone.

He no longer grabbed teammates who didn't perform well and beat them up like before; he had truly matured, he shouldered the responsibility of a leader.

It's just that when he finished these words, he subconsciously looked at the locker next to his; now Paul was sitting there, before it was Fan Xi.

He was thinking: If Jack were in the Lakers, how good would that be? I wouldn't have to do anything, he would solve everything.

No, if he were still here, how could we possibly lose?

Kobe was very sad.

The saddest thing in the world is... once having it.

Donald Sterling thought the same; after watching this Christmas battle, he was even sadder. Now, Los Angeles TV media had been scrolling and playing this unprecedented counter-attack.

Everyone was using the headline "Los Angeles Ushers in the Clippers Era."

This was what Sterling had dreamed of; he was always jealous of the Lakers' market status in the City of Angels. Now, he finally waited for the day of the counter-attack, but he had to sell the team immediately.

So, after the game ended, he made a call to Fan Xi.

It wasn't a congratulatory call, but to tell him: "If you don't raise 750 million US dollars before New Year's Day, I will indefinitely postpone the sale of the club."

This was a way of playing the rogue.

American tycoons were all very good at this; although they touted their contract spirit, they also had ten thousand ways to toss you.

Fan Xi said he would meet with Sterling before New Year's Day.

Interestingly, before he received Sterling's call, Fan Xi received a call from Lu Yuan; Lu Yuan told Fan Xi excitedly that the boss of Nike was willing to invest in the team in his personal name, and gave a valuation close to Ballmer's, and he only wanted 30%.

For Lu Yuan, this was solving an urgent need.

But for Fan Xi, it wasn't that important anymore.

Fan Xi said: "No need, thank him for his support, say we have already found another way."

"What way?" Lu Yuan asked.

Fan Xi smiled and didn't answer.

For Fan Xi, this was a busy Christmas Eve. Winning the game was just the beginning; he still needed to deal with more things.

He saw Scarlett in the arena; Scarlett said she had prepared funds for Fan Xi, and she told Fan Xi that she would go talk to Taylor Swift tonight.

This made Fan Xi nervous.

However, judging from Scarlett's calm expression, it seemed that no bigger things would happen.

So, Fan Xi didn't stop it.

Then, Fan Xi went to another room; he saw Liu Yifei, the staff helped him bring Liu Yifei here, saying it was to give her a surprise.

The surprise was Fan Xi.

This arrangement made Liu Yifei, who had come from afar, very happy; she hopped over, hugged Fan Xi, and whispered in his ear: "This is the best Christmas gift I have ever received."

And at the same time Liu Yifei said this to Fan Xi.

In the Staples Center parking lot, the popular Justin Bieber was also saying similar things to Selena; what he said was: I will give you the best Christmas gift in the world.

Then, he asked his bodyguard to open his car trunk.

Inside was a flashing crystal Elsa princess, and it was in Selena's image.

He knew Selena liked Princess Elsa, and also knew Selena liked crystals, plus this was the world's only custom-made one.

Selena's eyes indeed lit up.

But soon, she expressed: Thank you, I can't accept such a valuable gift from you, because I have a boyfriend.

Justin looked very angry after being rejected; this wasn't the first time he had been rejected. Since he became famous, he had been sought after by everyone, and almost nothing he wanted would be rejected.

However, Selena had rejected him again and again.

At first, he felt this was very romantic, just like a domineering CEO: Woman, you have attracted my attention.

But now, he was finally annoyed, especially after he sat in the arena and witnessed Fan Xi dominating the game with majesty, that feeling of the whole arena prostrating before him stimulated his self-esteem.

He became jealous and twisted.

He finally yelled: Why? Just because of that playboy? He clearly isn't your boyfriend, there are so many women who like him, why do you still like such a jerk? You, like Taylor Swift and Scarlett, why must you be so stupid...

Before he finished his words, he saw Taylor Swift and Scarlett.

The two of them rushed over angrily.