Chapter 301

On New Year's Eve afternoon, Fan Xi played mahjong all afternoon with Scarlett, Swift, and Selena.

Very competitive.

They all used their full strength at the table to win money; Fan Xi lost about 200 dollars because they weren't playing for very high stakes.

After this game of mahjong, their understanding of mahjong had improved a lot. And they became proficient in the Chinese names for "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine," as well as the terms for dots, bamboo, and characters.

This is a small step for the internationalization of Chinese.

It is also a big step in Fan Xi's life.

Around six or seven in the evening, they went to the kitchen to get busy.

Fan Xi lay on the sofa waiting for dinner to arrive, listening to the lively clattering in the kitchen; Fan Xi suddenly felt a bit sweet and happy.

However, as night fell, he began to feel a bit worried.

…

Adults always drink alcohol during the New Year.

As an athlete, Fan Xi has always strictly controlled his alcohol intake, but tonight, he suddenly wanted to drink some alcohol.

He raised a wine glass with the three Hollywood female stars, and he began to teach them to say Chinese auspicious phrases: "Gong Xi Fa Cai," "New Year progress," "Good luck in the Year of the Dragon..."

Furthermore, Fan Xi also explained to them the difference between Chinese dragons and Western dragons.

Western dragons are symbols of evil; they are greedy and predatory by nature.

But Chinese dragons are a type of deity; they bring clouds and rain, and benefit all living things.

The female stars listened with fascination.

Subsequently, Fan Xi also told some anecdotes about why ancient emperors always called themselves the "True Dragon Son of Heaven," and as he spoke, he talked about the gossip news of the dragon having nine sons.

The son of a dragon and a cow is called Qiuniu; it loves music all its life, so it is often carved on the head of a zither by craftsmen.

The son of a dragon and a jackal is called Yazi; it likes competition and is associated with killing. Therefore, their images were carved on the hilts of ancient Chinese swords, and the weapons of ancient generals and palace guards would also prominently feature their images to show majesty.

The son of a dragon and a bird is called Chaofeng; it likes high places, climbing high to look far, symbolizing auspiciousness, beauty, deterring demons, and clearing away disasters. Therefore, its image is made on the eaves of ancient Chinese buildings.

The son of a dragon and a toad is called Pulao; it can make a loud roar, and its image is on all the great bells in China...

Fan Xi told these Hollywood female stars the stories of the dragon's nine sons, each different, and almost every time he told one, everyone would have a drink.

When he got to Suanni, the child of a dragon and a lion, Selena couldn't hold on anymore; her face was flushed red, all the way down to her neck, and Fan Xi quickly sent her to the room.

Selena was placed by him in the room on the first floor.

After coming out, they continued to chat.

"Disney stars don't have a good tolerance for alcohol, no wonder so many little princesses make the news for alcoholism," Scarlett teased about the embarrassing stories of Disney stars.

Fan Xi didn't know much about this history, so he continued to talk about Baxia, the son of a dragon and a turtle.

Everyone had another drink.

When he got to the son of a dragon and a tiger, Swift couldn't hold on either, and Fan Xi quickly carried her to the room on the second floor.

Then, when he came back down, there was only Scarlett left.

Scarlett, however, didn't want to listen to Jack's stories anymore.

She said: "Jack, you are hinting to us that we will have many different children, right?"

Scarlett wrapped her arms around Fan Xi's arm: "I won this victory, they were all drunk under the table, is there any reward?"

As she spoke, she leaned in.

Her mouth was full of red wine, and Fan Xi's mouth was also full of red wine.

They were like romantic French people...

Stimulated by the alcohol, it was very heady, and inexplicably very exciting.

Fan Xi carried her in a princess carry and went to the third floor.

Then...

Fireworks were set off in Los Angeles Chinatown, lively lion and dragon dances galloped back and forth on the streets, and the atmosphere of a Happy New Year permeated the crowd.

Fan Xi was also striving forward at the critical moment of the turn of the year.

Scarlett was quickly conquered; under the intoxication of the red wine and after her body and mind were strongly satisfied, she slowly drifted into a dream.

In the new year, she had a wonderful beginning.

Fan Xi climbed up; his whole spirit was very excited, not knowing if it was because of the arrival of the New Year or the effect of the alcohol.

He walked outside the door and heard some sounds on the second floor; he walked down worriedly.

Just as he walked downstairs and hadn't reached the room yet, someone locked his neck, and then...

Fan Xi felt unprecedented excitement; he was experiencing the craziest thing in his life.

…

…

Fan Xi woke up on the sofa on the first floor at nine o'clock in the morning.

Four hours before this, Selena in the room on the first floor slowly fell asleep, exhausted, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Fan Xi stretched, feeling refreshed.

Because his brain was at the peak of his life a few hours ago, he felt unprecedented pleasure; this was a great stimulation of spirit and body, and even made him feel true family warmth.

Fan Xi had never thought his New Year's Eve would be so wonderful, even wonderful to a fault.

At three in the morning, crazy brainwaves appeared in his excited mind, and he activated new energy.

He got what he wanted most: Stockton's pick-and-roll passing.

When Selena finally fell into a deep sleep, Fan Xi came to the sofa in the living room; he lay on the sofa, savoring the charm of Stockton's pick-and-roll passing, and instantly he felt what is called true "great skill looks like clumsiness," and he also instantly understood why Stockton had to buy a plane ticket home in advance.

Because his previous self had indeed been going in the wrong direction.

But now, Fan Xi excitedly did a carp jump on the ground.

After obtaining Stockton's full set of career pick-and-roll passing techniques, Fan Xi's understanding of space reached a master-level height, and furthermore, he also possessed Steve Nash's passing ability in the paint.

Passing, cutting, shooting—of these three superstar skills, Fan Xi's passing was the weakest before, but now it is the strongest.

The standard for judging a superstar is that at least one of these three must reach the league's top level, or two must reach the league's first-class level. And to become a historical-level superstar, all three must reach a first-class or even top-tier level.

Fan Xi's current penetration is undoubtedly above first-class level; although his shooting, especially jump shots off the dribble, is a bit weak, overall, it is not bad. Now, Fan Xi's passing ability has suddenly improved, reaching the top level of the league.

In the past, Chris Paul and the others always said that Fan Xi was not a true point guard.

Now, Fan Xi can pat his chest and say to any active point guard: "You guys aren't as pure as me at all; I play the most classic school-style."

There is no one in today's league more school-style than Fan Xi, because Stockton is the pure school-style.

Fan Xi's strength has greatly increased.

Before obtaining Stockton's passing skills, he already had 10 assists per game... because he had the ball for a long time and had a high usage rate; any core point guard who is normal can get seven or eight assists, and offensive point guards like Rose and Westbrook can do it. What Fan Xi has more than them is that he is more willing to pass.

Now, Fan Xi feels he can challenge for the title of season assist leader.

After all, Nowitzki's finishing ability is the best in the league. Why was Stockton able to win the historical assist title? Because he had a super power forward who was in the top two in historical scoring by his side.

Nowitzki's offensive ability is stronger than Karl Malone's.

Moreover, his offensive explosiveness is not something Karl Malone can compare with.

After Fan Xi woke up at nine o'clock, he couldn't wait to change his clothes. After sending a text message to the three sleeping beauties, he hurried to the Staples Center.

Fan Xi couldn't wait to start the game.

New year, new atmosphere.

…

Before even reaching the Staples Center, the roadside was already hung with red Chinese knots, and the huge billboard outside the Staples Center also featured Fan Xi's New Year greeting photo.

Inside the arena, there was an atmosphere of Chinese New Year everywhere.

After becoming the owner of the Clippers, Fan Xi gave Kupchak more power to use funds; he is not a stingy owner. To become a big team and have a big market, the team's performance is important, and the club's pattern is also important.

The Lakers are more generous in many aspects than the previous Clippers.

This time, the Clippers can be considered to have made a comeback in management.

It's different after changing owners.

According to calculations by finance and Kupchak, once the Clippers enter the playoffs this season and reach the Western Conference Finals, they can make a profit of at least 100 million US dollars.

This is a very terrifying number; the only teams in the current league that can make a profit of 100 million US dollars are the Knicks and the Lakers.

The Clippers only made a profit of 11 million US dollars last season. It's equivalent to a tenfold increase.

To a certain extent, Fan Xi only needs less than 10 years to earn back all the money for the acquisition, and in the process, the team's market value will continue to soar.

Thinking of this, Sterling doesn't know how many pillows he cried wet. He lost completely in the basketball business.

Fan Xi entered the locker room and put on his jersey; Chen Ye didn't come tonight, so he asked the team doctor to do some stretching for him.

Then, he ran to the court to prepare for training.

But he found that the arena was full of dragon and lion dance staff rehearsing.

"It's not time for player training yet, Jack," the staff member came over to explain to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi smiled and said it didn't matter, then he sat on the sidelines to watch the lively performance.

He is a kind person.

After a while, Kobe Bryant also came over.

"Happy New Year."

He said to Fan Xi, in Chinese.

Fan Xi reached out to high-five him and said, "Happy New Year."

Kobe sat beside him holding a basketball; they hadn't sat together to chat for a long time.

Kobe also came early to train; they are both very diligent court rats.

If they were still together, the Lakers would really be amazing.

But now, it's impossible to get Fan Xi to go back.

Since defeating the Lakers on Christmas Eve, Fan Xi's hatred for Jeanie Buss has changed. He still hates Jeanie Buss, but he has to admit that it was Jeanie Buss's actions that gave him everything he has now.

If it weren't for Jeanie Buss, Fan Xi might still be working for the Lakers, making active contributions to the Lakers' legendary status, and the Lakers would be greater and have a larger market value because of him.

However, for him, what he would earn would be at most a max contract.

But now it's completely different; he has his own team, and it's the Lakers' city rival. His team is rapidly encroaching on the Lakers' market position and is becoming more profitable than the Lakers.

Fan Xi's goal has now changed from defeating the Lakers to replacing the Lakers.

Who told him to go from player to owner?

"Coming to the court so early, you must have tossed and turned last night, unable to sleep, right? I had this feeling when I was a kid in Italy..." Kobe said to Fan Xi: "After the game today, you can come to my house as a guest."

He was very enthusiastic.

But Fan Xi smiled awkwardly; although he is working hard in a foreign land now, but... he really didn't toss and turn last night, at least not the kind of tossing and turning Kobe understood. He wasn't lonely at all, and even felt it was too lively.

"Uh, I have something to do tonight, and after defeating you, going to your house isn't convenient," Fan Xi teased Kobe.

Kobe raised his eyebrows; he was very confident. He told Fan Xi in a firm tone: "You have no chance; I won't let you defeat us twice."

Fan Xi, however, disagreed; he also looked at Kobe confidently and told Kobe very seriously: "Tonight, this victory is mine. Even Jesus can't keep it, I said so."

Kobe shook his head: "You are blaspheming the gods; young people shouldn't be too arrogant."

"If you're not arrogant, are you still a young person?" Fan Xi replied. After saying this, he frowned himself; how is it that this sounds so familiar?

"Before I retire, you won't have a chance, Jack," Kobe emphasized to Fan Xi again seriously.

Fan Xi also said very seriously: "You're old, Kobe. And you'll soon be unable to control the team internally; powerful kingdoms are always broken from within..."

"Are you playing psychological tactics on me?" Kobe interrupted Fan Xi: "Cut that out!"

"Your reaction tells me my guess is correct," Fan Xi smiled; he was even more confident.

This confidence made Kobe feel very uncomfortable, and he said: "At least within these three years, no one dares to challenge my authority."

Fan Xi shrugged and said: "Actually, it doesn't matter. This season, the Lakers and the Clippers will intersect on the strength parabola; we are going all the way up, and you will be below us. This is a historical trend; the wheels of history are rolling in, and you can't stop them."

"You must have learned Stockton's pick-and-roll technique, right?" Kobe asked another question instead.

Fan Xi shrugged: "Does that matter?"

"Even if you learn the pick-and-roll, you still can't defeat the Lakers," Kobe told Fan Xi.

His momentum was very powerful, like God handing down a judgment.

Fan Xi, however, crossed his legs as if nothing had happened. Fan Xi is one of the few people in the league today who can remain calm under Kobe's powerful aura. He said very calmly: "Relax, a loud voice doesn't solve any problems. We'll talk about the game tonight; watch this dragon and lion dance with me."

…