Chapter 397: Olympics, a New Era Arrives

"You know, because you joined, we are full of expectations for the results of this Olympics. After all, you have achieved unprecedented success in the NBA, you have already won two championships, and you are also a two‑time Finals MVP, and many American superstars have been defeated by you."

The host continued, "We all hope you can help the national team create unprecedented miracles on the Olympic arena."

"Of course, my national team teammates and I have been training in Los Angeles, I understand them more and more, our rapport grows higher, and we increasingly believe that as long as our strength converges, we can definitely create a new breakthrough."

Fan Xi said seriously, "We will not disappoint the domestic fans. After all, this is truly a competition that belongs to us."

Fan Xi is a person with strong national pride; if his ability can help the national team reach higher heights, he will not be stingy at all and will put in two hundred percent effort.

This interview was pleasant.

Although the national team announced the final roster yesterday, which sparked some domestic commentary, the reporter did not make a fuss over this issue at all.

Compared with those American media that fear chaos, the domestic official media focus more on unity.

It's probably due to the long soak in history and culture; they all know what it means to trust the people you employ and not doubt them.

Since the final national team roster has been released and it was Fan Xi's suggestion, we should follow him.

Fan Xi conducts business activities in several major domestic cities; this is unavoidable.

Meanwhile, the national team held several scrimmages in the United States, facing two nbdl teams and two ncaa teams from Los Angeles in closed matches.

Although not open to the public, there are no walls that are completely airtight in the world.

The national team, without Fan Xi, recorded two wins and two losses.

The victories were against two nbdl teams, and the defeats came from the University of Southern California and UCLA.

In those four games, Yao Ming also did not play.

And they were played according to nba rules.

Domestic fans seemed a bit discouraged by this result; they think that if the national team wants an Olympic medal, they should easily beat these guys at least.

However, Mike Brown was quite satisfied.

He thought the national team played with great drive, and he has never considered ncaa teams weak; the USC team and UCLA going to the Olympics might, with luck, even make the group stage.

Moreover... the Chinese team is without its two core players, Fan Xi and Yao Ming.

Being able to play like this is already good.

Moreover, the national team also beat two nbdl teams, which shows what... it shows that the national team's level of confrontation has risen; losing to those college students shows their tactics are still lacking. Winning against nbdl teams shows that after more than a month of training they have become well adapted to a certain intensity of competition.

After all, their sparring partners are nba professionals. Butler, Leonard, Xiao Qiaodan and Huaiti Seda—who doesn't eat defense for breakfast? Although Mili Xiqi's defensive ability is not as outstanding as Xiao Qiaodan's, his defense is still good, and he played very Euro in the training camp.

He is a typical European center. Before Serbia and Slovenia split, they were once the Dream Team's biggest rival, sweeping Europe. Even now, those two teams remain European powerhouses, producing talent continuously.

So, this national team training almost covered all European and American styles.

It's a great preview.

…

Fan Xi's final stop in the country was Shang hai, where he met Liu Yifei, who remains pure, handsome and charming; no wonder her fans call her a fairy descended to earth.

Fan Xi and Liu Yifei filmed three commercials together; the Olympic wave of traffic Fan Xi devoured completely, and he not only ate it himself but also dragged his domestic official partner to eat it too.

Such a divine male‑female pairing is called Jin Feng Yu Lu; when they meet, it's endless money.

Liu Yifei's interest in money is clearly less than her interest in Fan Xi; they stick together almost without restraint, letting the staff around them take photos.

Fan Xi now has so much debt that he doesn't worry.

Moreover, Fan's ladies have formed a strange tacit understanding: no one mentions anyone else's name.

They are in a subtle balance.

This balance looks fragile, but in reality it is unbreakable.

The scene of Fan Xi and Liu Yifei hand‑in‑hand entering the hotel

sparked a frenzy in domestic entertainment media, as they seemed to want to make a big story out of it.

But the audience was a bit skeptical; everyone wore a familiar expression.

As if they have silently accepted many realities.

Fan Xi began to believe one thing: Asian girls have more resilience and endurance.

Although they don't appear as bold or "stormy" as Western girls, in protracted battles they often burst with vigor in the later stages.

Fortunately, Fan Xi is not just a name without substance.

Although, he does have a reputation for being flamboyant.

"If you win a gold medal this time, would you give it to me as a gift? Everyone now says this year's national team is the strongest in history; experts say that if you get the gold, you will be the first in Asian sports history, even the first in world basketball history. I think you can do it."

Liu Yifei lay in Fan Xi's broad embrace, whispering.

Fan Xi frowned, wondering why American girls like rings while Asian girls like medals.

Fortunately, he had already held back.

He said, "I think winning a gold medal is hard. But if I win one, I will definitely give you half. However, you must promise that, besides you and me, no one may know you have my half of the gold medal. That's our secret."

Fan Xi finished speaking.

Liu Yifei was moved to the point that a thin mist filled her eyes. She said emotionally, "I was just being casual, never expected you to love me so much. You even split a whole gold medal into two halves so we could share it. I love this sense of ceremony, the romance of the ancients. You don't want me to tell others because you're afraid those fans and media would criticize me, right? You're so kind!"

Uh...

Fan Xi was silent for a moment, then said, "As long as you're happy, that's enough."

…

When Fan Xi returned to the capital, the national team members also flew back from Los Angeles; they met up with Fan Xi and will then follow the Olympic delegation to London.

Interestingly... the Olympic delegation originally wanted Fan Xi to be the opening ceremony flag bearer, but Fan Xi declined, stating frankly, "My image abroad isn't great. Let Brother Yao go."

That was indeed a sincere statement.

If Fan Xi were to appear, the girls in the London arena would scream in unison, and the heckling European and American fans would shout "nightstand," which would indeed be... absurdly funny.

Fan Xi is the kind of person who always has an agenda in mind.

The delegation thus stopped insisting, and Yao Ming continued as the national team's flag bearer.

He still felt quite moved: "I was already a retired person, never dreamed I'd circle back to the arena, not only win the NBA championship and fulfill the biggest dream of my career, but now become an Olympic flag bearer again, maybe even snag a medal! Fan Xi is truly my benefactor!"

He even at that moment wanted to hug Fan Xi and plant a kiss.

Fan Xi mercilessly refused him.

…

The Olympic Games feature a total of 12 teams.

They are divided into groups A and B, each with six teams; each team plays five group‑stage games, and the top four advance to the knockout stage. The knockout pairings are similar to the NBA playoffs: A‑group first faces B‑group fourth, A‑second faces B‑third, A‑third faces B‑second, A‑fourth faces B‑first.

So the group‑stage record is equally crucial; the knockout round is decided in one game, and who doesn't want to meet a weak team in the knockout?

The national men's team is placed in Group A, alongside host Britain, Brazil, Russia, Spain and Australia.

Group A's teams are relatively balanced—no clear weak or exceptionally strong side. The Chinese team with Fan Xi and the Spanish team with the Gasol brothers believe they have a chance to break out first.

By contrast, Group B is more treacherous. The United States, France, Tunisia, Nigeria, Lithuania and Argentina.

In this group, besides the universally acknowledged top of the Dream Team, Lithuania, Argentina and France are also strong enough to make opponents sweat. Especially Lithuania, whose team is anything but ordinary; tall as a forest, when they face the United States they have to strip a layer off.

Of course, this year most people still predict the United States will win the championship and still see Spain as their ultimate opponent, just like in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Although the Chinese team attracted great attention because of Fan Xi's addition, essentially no one thought they could win the title, and many even thought their odds of reaching the semifinals were slim.

Yet, in Fan Xi's view, strength and weakness can be exploited.

Kuaisuan won the championship by fully exploiting the rules. Now, Fan Xi still thinks he can exploit them.

So after arriving at the Olympic Village, he shut the door and began his research.

Of course, in the Olympic Village he also encountered many athletes running up to greet him, especially female athletes.

Many stories unfold in the Olympic Village; the Chinese team is conservative in this regard, but for athletes from other countries it's practically a grand social party.

That's probably why many super‑star athletes who reap both fame and fortune are reluctant to stay in the Olympic Village.

The Dream Team didn't move in; they simply chartered a cruise ship that docked at London Harbor.

They are that wealthy and extravagant.

Fan Xi was reported by the media as the wealthiest athlete among all this year's competitors, and his nickname is well known, so… it's normal that some people greet him. Some female athletes even deliberately make strange sounds and perform sexy moves in front of him.

But Fan Xi refused them all.

After staying one day in the Olympic Village, he petitioned the Olympic delegation to move out and invited all the men's team players, the team leader, the coaching staff… members.

He spent his wallet on a hotel.

For the sake of cleanliness.

He no longer wanted anyone in sexy clothes knocking at the door.

Fan Xi can endure it, but the little Ding staying with him is a bit overwhelmed, and the other national‑team members are also somewhat restless.

The delegation approved the request.

The national team finally got a breather, and their first opponent arrived.

It was the Brazilian team.

The Brazilian team is widely recognized as strong, with several NBA players and solid strength.

Among them Nene and Valerio are NBA near‑elite players.

This match marks the new men's team's first appearance.

Meanwhile, the London arena was packed with fans, about half of them Chinese—some locals working and living there, but most flew over from across the ocean, showing how much support the men's team enjoys.

There were also some Brazilian fans, but few.

The rest were mostly local female fans.

When Fan Xi entered the court.

CCTV quickly cut to a commercial.

Because once Fan Xi's name was mentioned, the venue erupted in a chorus of chirps and yelps; European women are far more open than American ones. That's probably why, in American teen movies, a boy who wants to mature always has to take a trip to Europe's old haunts.

Europe is the backyard of American boys.

Now, it has become Fan Xi's backyard.

Amid the shrieks, Fan Xi awkwardly scratched the back of his head, especially when he saw the arena's billboards everywhere looking like night‑stand signs.

He recalled Miami's Meihangzhongxin qiuguan.

"Jie Ke, looks like British women haven't stopped listening to your mixtape," Valerio walked over, grinning mischievously as he tossed trash talk at Fan Xi: "You'd better save some energy to deal with those unsatisfied British babes. Anyway, you guys can't win."

Fan Xi shot Valerio a glare.

He truly didn't regard the guy as anyone worth noticing—what a minor character, daring to come over and trash‑talk me?

Your big brother, James, wouldn't dare do that in front of me.

What's this counterfeit "chosen‑two" anyway?

Fan Xi walked away indifferently to the other side.

Tonight's Chinese team starting lineup is: Zhang Zhaoxu, Yi Jianlian, Ding Yuyuhang, Zhu Fangyu, Fan Xi.

Brazil's starting lineup is: Barca, Hurtas, Nene, Valerio and Sprely.

Although Brazil's men's basketball isn't as famous as its soccer, its style is also rather wild.

Teams that can break out from South America are not to be underestimated.

Beep!

With the referee's whistle, Zhang Zhaoxu won the tip‑off against Nene.

Zhang Zhaoxu is an NCAA‑produced center; though he isn't famous in the NCAA, he stands 2.21 m tall and defends strongly.

That's why Fan Xi brought him to the Olympic Games and gave him a starting spot.

Though he's otherwise average, his height alone is enough.

Height can't be taught.

Fan Xi caught the basketball and steadily moved forward.

The Brazilian point guard rushed over to try a steal, but Fan Xi shook him off with an easy change of direction, leaving him completely behind.

The CCTV commentator in the studio was extremely excited, shouting to the domestic audience in front of the TV: "Fan Xi's arrival signals the end of the era when foreign point guards tried to stifle the national team's offense with a full-court press."

This sentence brought many domestic veteran fans to tears.

Yes.

Before this, the national team's point guard would fumble across half court, often hesitant under the opponent's press, and even have to provide cover for the forward before they had crossed half court.

That is, Liu Wei was a bit steadier, or perhaps because he was physically strong, he used his butt to powerfully shove the opponent aside.

Now, Fan Xi shakes off the opponent with an easy change of direction.

Easy and carefree.

The new era has arrived!