Of course, if you’re not selected, that’s a different story.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hao was looking at the street view outside the car window.

This time, the entire Lakers team was going to the airport together because they had received news that the airport might be congested. Traveling together in a big bus was the only way to arrive on time.

The reason for the congestion, of course, was Zhang Hao’s explosive popularity, much like Grant Hill last season.

The route to the airport for the Lakers’ bus was usually fixed, and they were following the usual path today as well. Their route had long been mapped by fan groups, and at several traffic-light intersections, Lakers fans were holding support signs, most of which were for Zhang Hao.

His surging popularity was obvious!

Not bothered?

Calm?

Not at all!

Zhang Hao was just used to putting on that expression in front of a crowd; that way, he could hide his real thoughts.

It’s like being falsely accused of murder and the browser history could prove innocence, but preferring to plead guilty—people are not eager to reveal their true thoughts.

Even if they do, it’s always beautified and edited, and even if the person isn’t hypocritical, they’ll inadvertently do so—everyone has a sense of self-protection.

Thinking back to 9 a.m. today, after Zhang Hao finished basic footwork and hand movement drills on defense, he took a shower and came out of the locker room to see Pierce excitedly rushing over, talking about the TV news content he just saw in the lounge...

"So many votes!"

Zhang Hao thought about getting more than 500,000 votes, which had directly thrust him to second place among Western Forwards, which was truly unexpected!

At this time, since the NBA hadn’t started the voting in China, Zhang Hao initially thought it’d be difficult, but he didn’t expect to reach this position in the first round of voting.

He really wanted to sing out loud, but decided to wait until he was alone in his hotel room to sing to his heart’s content.

Thinking of other things, Zhang Hao indeed regretted promising to take Pierce on the team’s charter flight. He felt he hadn’t thought it through at the time and should have bought plane tickets for the three of them. Fortunately, he got permission.

Taking Pierce on the team’s charter flight was quite troublesome. Zhang Hao applied a good many days in advance, and the team agreed. Taking a few more people on the charter flight was no big deal, but getting the University of Kansas and NCAA’s approval took some effort. Thankfully, the University of Kansas knew about him being Pierce’s high school teammate, and permission was ultimately granted without causing further issues.

...

New York, Madison Square Garden.

After arriving in New York and having lunch together, the Lakers left the three guests Zhang Hao brought at the hotel for free activities while Zhang Hao joined the team to train at the away team’s arena.

The training wasn’t extensive, just tactical practice against the strong New York Knicks.

One and a half hours of tactical training concluded, and teammates returned to the locker room to shower, chat, and plan where to hang out tonight or the next night... Zhang Hao couldn’t join them; at his age, teammates didn’t want to include him.

Older-looking black players standing next to Zhang Hao looked like two generations together, which made Zhang Hao not feel awkward, yet it embarrassed the teammates.

Moreover, Zhang Hao generally had an aloof expression, and teammates didn’t want to waste their efforts on him.

Yet this was just right; while Zhang Hao usually felt a bit down, today, he didn’t.

After the teammates left, Zhang Hao looked at the empty training court, picked up a basketball, and started dribbling wildly. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Too excited! From knowing he was voted for the All-Star from over 9 a.m., until the training ended, the team was acting collectively. If only Pierce and Aprile Clark were there, he’d celebrate and cheer without feeling awkward, but in front of more people, doing so felt uncomfortable.

Now alone, Zhang Hao was dribbling freely while daydreaming of becoming an All-Star starter... He couldn’t help but sing out loud!

"You are so beautiful... beautiful, beautiful, beautiful..."

The voice was entirely uncontrolled.

In the locker room, a player heard the noise from the training court and poked his head out the door to look.

The scene before him made Jason Williams curse his usual expression.

This scene was too frustrating!

Originally, with the locker room door closed, they couldn’t hear much from inside, but as Jason Williams opened the door, he inadvertently invited a bunch of teammates to peek at Zhang Hao intensely.

Shocked!

Watching Zhang Hao dribble with devilish charm...

Even though the voice was somewhat nice and the sound quality was good, somehow it felt ear-piercing...

Teammates found themselves really wanting to hit Zhang Hao!

Normally, they already felt Zhang Hao was annoying; even acknowledging his talent and skill, they thought he was annoying—now they realized they might not have seen Zhang Hao’s truly punchable side!

Quickly closed the door to avoid being seen by Zhang Hao.

Also, Zhang Hao’s dribbling and singing made the teammates feel like their eyes and ears were about to get pregnant!

...

...

At around 3 p.m., training ended, and after Zhang Hao showcased his talents on the court, he took a shower and arrived at a pre-arranged café where a long-awaited girl saw him arriving, excitedly waving to indicate before eagerly running toward him.

"Aix..." Britney, her cheeks flushed, had many things to say but found herself speechless in front of Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao, on the contrary, greeted warmly, "Hi, Xiaotiantian."