Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

After the game against the Lakers, Yu Fei was invited to Paris Hilton's party.

It wasn't what Yu Fei wanted, but it was the second time the hostess had extended an invitation.

For Paris, whether Yu Fei showed up wasn't that important, as the party had dozens of people ready to kiss her feet.

But the fact that Yu Fei agreed to show up was important to her.

At the party, there were no shortages of Hollywood starlets, wealthy heirs, and children of government officials. But what they had in common was they weren't famous, or rather, they hadn't proven their worth, just a bunch of second-generation wastrels.

Yu Fei was different, though. Young as he was, he was already a top-five-level NBA player, not to mention an Asian face in the North American Big Four Sports Leagues.

An Asian identity was even rarer than an NBA star.

Who's ever seen a tall, strapping, handsome Asian basketball star?

Did his physique differ from other Asians, or more directly, was his unspeakable could be...

The party itself was no different from others Yu Fei had attended. His sole purpose for being there was to expand his social circle, but he didn't think he had anything in common with bad girl Paris Hilton.

Frankly, Yu Fei wondered if there were any young people in the world who could find common ground with Paris.

She grew up in the most comfortable mansions of Beverly Hills, with an actress mother and a father who had amassed a fortune she could never spend in a lifetime. At every birthday, her parents would invite tycoons and celebrities to her parties, all of whom affectionately called her "star."

What Yu Fei busted his ass for, she could get by simply throwing a tantrum.

"Frye, do you think I'm one of those pretentious bitches people hate?"

But Yu Fei was wrong, and he had a great chat with Paris, who turned out to be a talkative sister.

"No, I don't think so," Yu Fei shook his head.

"Liar! If you didn't think so, you wouldn't have turned down my invitation at first!" Paris said nonchalantly, "The truth is, you men are the worst bitches! No matter where I go, I have a pack of men flattering me like dogs, but I know they're just predators in disguise, and I know what they want from me!"

Like your sordid tapes?

"What do they want from you?" Yu Fei asked.

"I don't care! I just need them to follow me like dogs!" Paris said proudly, "Then let the paparazzi take a ton of pictures, that's their worth!"

Yu Fei believed that as an heiress set to inherit billions of US dollars, Paris's parents would prefer to see her in the finance section of The New York Times.

But she continued to appear in the gossip columns of The New York Times.

As the party moved into its latter half, Yu Fei chose to leave.

Although Paris hinted that "the second half of the program is more exciting," Yu Fei excused himself by saying he had "to catch a flight tomorrow."

When Yu Fei got back to the hotel where the team was staying, Lawson and Clark were still up.

"Frye, you made me lose 100 US dollars!" Clark looked at Yu Fei reproachfully.

Yu Fei asked curiously, "What did I do?"

Lawson explained the situation, it turned out they had bet on Yu Fei attending Paris Hilton's party.

Clark thought Yu Fei would get drunk with pleasure and not return tonight.

While Lawson firmly believed that Yu Fei would come back.

"You guys are so boring..." Yu Fei asked, "Got anything to eat?"

Clark expressed surprise, "There's nothing to eat at the party?"

"There was, but I'm not sure if there was anything dirty mixed in."

So, Clark went to call the front desk to order some food.

Lawson then asked, "So what's up? What does the Tape Princess mean to you?"

"She said she's had plenty of sausages, just not sure if Asian sausages taste good," Yu Fei joked.

Lawson was shocked, "OMG, is that bitch that direct? What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, just came straight back here."

"Manly!" Lawson said admiringly, "You're still the Big Fei I remember, that bitch isn't your type at all!"

In truth, Yu Fei didn't like Lawson calling Paris a "bitch," but he didn't feel it was right to correct him at the moment.

Let it be, after all, those two were unlikely to meet. And if they really did meet, Lawson wasn't a retard, he knew the etiquette of bad-mouthing behind someone's back and being polite to their face.

The next day, Yu Fei arrived at the team bus on time, ready to head to the airport for the away game.

In this respect, he didn't lie to Paris Hilton; he really was catching a flight.

Only, Yu Fei never could have imagined that his attendance at Paris Hilton's party the previous night had been captured by the paparazzi.

Although they didn't get pictures of the party itself, they caught Yu Fei's entrance into the club.

If the paparazzi got him going in, they surely got him leaving. Why not release those photos together?

"Frye, did you really go to that woman's party?" Mason asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

Yu Fei didn't deny it, "Sort of."

"Must've been exciting, huh?" Mason said with a suggestive grin.

"It wasn't like what you think at all!" Yu Fei snorted, "Mind your business, why are you so nosy!"

Mason said sarcastically, "I'm just worried that a videotape about you and that blue pool might leak someday… If that happens, man, you're ruined!"

For celebrities, especially male celebrities, even if this kind of thing really leaks, it's hard to be ruined, because it's more likely they become a joke for having a tiny pecker rather than being disgraced.

But Yu Fei was still confident in his self-control and the Sea Dragon King he had consumed.

Not to mention he wasn't interested in Paris Hilton, even if he were, and even if that bitch had actually recorded a video and, due to some technical error like Edison Chen, it became public, his Sea Dragon King had nothing to fear.

Once everyone had arrived, the team bus officially headed to the airport.

The bus grew quiet again.

Every time he played a game in Los Angeles, Yu Fei was struck by the richness of the local nightlife.

Even if he hadn't gone to Paris Hilton's party last night, there were plenty of things to do after the game.

For many people, NBA life equals parties, celebrities, and luxury cars.

That's certainly true for those playing in big cities like Los Angeles and New York.

But if you're playing in a place like Milwaukee, it's much more monotonous.

Hotel, practice. Hotel, practice. That's it.

The so-called standard of a player that Popovich wants—"one who trains on time, plays well, and goes home to sleep honestly"—applies to all players in small cities.

It's just that the experience in places like Milwaukee is a bit worse.

In Ray Allen's words, sometimes they don't even feel like NBA players in Milwaukee.

Even though the Bucks won the championship last season and are still leading this season, with their home court always packed, beneath this glamorous façade, the cold reality remains: Milwaukee and even Wisconsin is still dominated by the Green Bay Packers.

The Bucks' influence is limited to their home court in Milwaukee; on the road, they don't have a fan group called "Milwaukee Nation" cheering for them.

This is also the reason why Yu Fei's team and the people at Reebok have been hinting that Milwaukee is not his final destination.

However, Yu Fei had no intention of considering these distant matters.

All he wanted was to take advantage of the team being competitive and win another championship.

Shortly after, Yu Fei and his teammates boarded the team's charter plane.

Yu Fei chose a seat next to Ratner.

Across from them, Sprewell was looking at a magazine about luxury cars.

"Sprewell, you're not thinking about buying another car, are you?" Ratner asked.

Sprewell nodded and said, "I'm considering it."

"Hasn't anyone told you that you only have two legs and two hands, and can't drive a hundred cars?"

"Not that many." Sprewell laughed. "This would only be my twentieth car."

Yu Fei couldn't help but say, "May I ask how much you pay in insurance for these cars every year?"

"Real men don't look at bills, Frye," Sprewell said confidently. "I know I've got money, who cares about the rest?!"

"Do some investing, old man," Yu Fei said kindly. "You've got to learn to manage your own money."

Sprewell declined Yu Fei's goodwill like a fool: "Big Fei, neither my wife nor you can tell me how to use my money." Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Yu Fei rolled his eyes at him.

If Sprewell went bankrupt in the future, he wouldn't be surprised.

Yu Fei then turned to Ratner, "Chris, are you interested in investing in a Chinese liquor with me? I guarantee you'll make money."

Unfortunately, Ratner also declined.

These short-sighted fools, it seems they're just not destined for wealth.

Yu Fei didn't bother playing the lute to a cow any longer, put on his headphones, and closed his eyes.

Yu Fei caught some sleep on the flight, and when the plane landed at the airport, some teammates left first, while the rest, including Yu Fei, took the bus back to the training facility.

But the bus suffered a breakdown on the way, forcing the players, coaches, and staff to look for transportation on the spot.

Yu Fei saw his own super billboard at the roadside, "Ray-ray, why can't I find your poster?"

Ray Allen gave a sharp reply, "Because you're not looking properly."

The Bucks' number one and number two players wandered around for a while before finally meeting a kind couple willing to give them a ride.

Why say they're kind? They didn't even ask Yu Fei and Ray Allen who they were, they only asked for the destination.

The irony was, Yu Fei and Ray Allen both thought they'd been recognized, until the man driving asked, "You guys are so tall, you must play basketball, right?"

"Of course."

"Are you from Marquette University?"

Yu Fei pointed at Ray Allen, "Forget about me, do you think he looks like a college student?"

"No?"

Ray Allen explained, "We're players for the Bucks."

"Is that right? Well, that's nice."