Zhang Hao, after seeing her a few times, has become quite familiar with Britney, who’s still merely a tall little lolita... Mainly because she’s good-looking, and everyone loves beautiful things.

Upon hearing the nickname, Britney’s face turned red like an apple, but thanks to early exposure to society, she quickly found a topic and pulled Zhang Hao by the arm to her seat.

"Aix, sit here. The drinks and snacks at this place are really tasty. I come here every time I’m in New York... Ah!" Britney exclaimed softly, showing regret: "I forgot you’re an athlete. You’re so disciplined, you probably don’t eat sweets. We should have gone to a fitness restaurant."

Zhang Hao looked at Britney and couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s okay. I exercise a lot every day, need to eat a lot, and can have sweets. I’ll burn it off in no time."

Britney immediately got excited, "Really! That’s great. You have to try the black truffle baumkuchen at this place. It’s on me! I just did a commercial."

What does it mean to have a youthful beauty?

When Zhang Hao saw Britney’s blissful smile, he realized this description wasn’t an exaggeration but realistic... Damn! She’s still just a 15-year-old little girl!

Thinking about age, Zhang Hao nearly let his thoughts veer off track but quickly brought them back.

Zhang Hao couldn’t resist patting Britney’s head like he did with Le Lin: "I’ll treat you instead, I just got an endorsement."

This affectionate gesture made Britney’s recently fading face turn into a red apple again. Upon hearing Zhang Hao’s words, Britney quickly responded, "Oh! I heard you just signed an endorsement deal with Nike, like Hill!"

Zhang Hao could hear the envy in Britney’s spontaneous words. He didn’t say much because one day this little girl would become the hottest female singer; by then, this money wouldn’t mean much to her.

Zhang Hao changed the topic, "Are you going to study music in New York after New Year’s?"

Britney shook her head, "No, I’m not going to school here. Can you guess where I’ll go?"

"I remember you said last time your mom was helping you contact schools in New York, did I get it wrong?"

"I was going to come to New York, but I changed my mind, I went to Berkeley for an interview..."

Privately, Zhang Hao talks a lot more than when in a crowd; his future memories of those social skills are evident now, making the chat quite lively.

As they were chatting, Zhang Hao’s phone rang. He apologized and went to a quiet place to answer it.

It was Antoine Kael, the team’s press officer, calling.

On the 4th, Zhang Hao had asked the team to contact the Knicks for tickets, and it seemed they agreed too. After today’s afternoon training, the press officer specifically told him to go to the Knicks for the tickets and deliver them to his room in the evening.

As the call came in, Zhang Hao sensed something might have gone wrong...

"Aix, I’m sorry, they didn’t give me tickets. They said they reserved courtside seats for us, but you’ll have to pay for them yourself. They said if you request tickets as ’Magician,’ they’d be willing to give..."

The press officer’s words were already quite tactful, but the meaning was clear: the Knicks didn’t take Mr. Zhang seriously.

After a brief silence, Zhang Hao regained his usual tone and replied calmly, "Just help me buy the tickets, I’ll give you the check when I’m back at the hotel."

After hanging up, Zhang Hao returned to his seat.

Britney, sensing Zhang Hao’s mood change, whispered, "Aix, what’s wrong?"

Seeing such a pretty face, Zhang Hao’s mood instantly lightened up, shaking his head and smiling, "Nothing important... By the way, since your band disbanded, are you planning to go solo or form a new group?"

Talking about this, Britney felt a bit troubled too, "I don’t know yet. Mom wants me to focus on studying, learning singing basics, but I really want to start earning money soon..."

"Why is there another little financial whiz."

"Another?" The term stirred Britney’s nerves, even raising her tone.

Zhang Hao teasingly asked in a sour tone, "Yeah, my partner has a 6-year-old daughter, and she’s just like you, thinking about how to make money all day long..."

This... Britney’s face flushed again, firmly denying, "I’m no money-driven person! I’m grown up, I should work and earn my own money!"

This little girl... So amusing!

Casually overlooking the unhappy phone call, Zhang Hao and Britney resumed their chat...

...

That night, Zhang Hao entered study mode again, preparing meticulously for the upcoming game against the Knicks. Gaining even a slight edge is worth it.

Thinking of the sweet and lovely little sister, thinking of the beautiful, cheerful, and down-to-earth Aprile Clark, thinking of Pierce and the landlady... Can’t embarrass myself in front of these folks!

"The New York Knicks... Who cares if they’re a championship contender, who cares if they have a super big man, tomorrow I’m going all out!"

"Special signed player Zhang Hao encountered humiliation from the New York Knicks management. Reputation as an athlete is crucial. Mission: Trigger Crazy Birthday Night."

"Crazy Birthday Night: The host needs to help special signed player Zhang Hao get revenge on the Knicks during his birthday night.

Goal 1: Zhang Hao needs to set a new personal scoring record against the Knicks.

Goal 2: Zhang Hao needs to help the Lakers beat the Knicks.

Reward: Bronze Level lottery chance 1 time.

Optional Advanced Goal 3: Zhang Hao actively challenges the Knicks before the game.

Advanced Reward: Complete Goal 1 and Goal 2 after actively challenging, gain an additional Silver Level lottery chance 1 time."

This mission, Zhang Hao really wants to complete, but...

"This is way too hard! Damn! Why did I score 45 points earlier? Why?"

Just when Zhang Hao was about to curse for accidentally scoring 45 points, another prompt came.

Seeing the latest prompt, Zhang Hao’s heart shook!

"Happy 19th birthday to the host, congratulations on receiving the birthday gift pack. This pack is unique, only available for the host’s first birthday after receiving the system.

Birthday Gift Pack: Top ability evaluation experience card, medal advancement card (Gold), 90 days lifespan.

Remaining lifespan 685 days, usable lifespan 684 days."