"I’m Angelfield, Little Ron’s grandmother," the sturdy old woman introduced herself.

"I’m Buffy, Ron’s father," the elder Artest introduced himself.

Su Xi had heard stories about Artest’s family from Reggie Miller. Miller had said Artest was the weakest one in his family, which was full of boxers. Looking at them now, the elder Artest’s frame was indeed sturdier than Artest’s. Though he was a bit fat, it was the brawny kind of fat. Even Artest’s grandmother was as strong as an ox.

"Hello, I’m Ron’s teammate, Jack. Jack Su." Su Xi said a little sheepishly, "I’m so sorry about breaking your wooden post."

"Nonsense!"

The old woman waved a dismissive hand. "It’s all right, child. I’m very impressed with your skills. Why don’t you join our family? My distant cousin has a granddaughter who isn’t married yet. We need a man with your talents."

Su Xi quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, no. I have a girlfriend."

Su Xi’s refusal was utterly sincere. ’Even if she’s a distant cousin,’ he thought, ’she must have inherited some of those sturdy genes.’ He had no desire to ’drive a tank’—and a Tiger tank at that!

"What a shame," the elder Artest said with a sigh. "Barbara is the strongest woman in our family."

Su Xi wasn’t disappointed in the slightest; he just felt like he had dodged a bullet.

"You know kung fu? Can you teach me some?" the elder Artest asked humbly.

Su Xi quickly said he wasn’t very good, that it was just some choreographed moves.

But he couldn’t resist the elder Artest and the old woman’s earnest pleas, so Su Xi performed the routine one more time.

Then, the elder Artest offered to teach Su Xi some boxing techniques. Su Xi really didn’t want to learn, but he couldn’t refuse their enthusiasm. He sparred a couple of moves with the elder Artest, but one exchange went wrong, and he landed a punch on the old man—and it wasn’t a light one.

The elder Artest clutched his ribs, crying out in pain. A Wing Chun strike to the soft ribs really hurt. Su Xi hadn’t expected his one-inch punch to be so powerful now.

After that punch, the elder Artest was filled with a newfound respect for Su Xi.

When Artest came over, his father even reminded him to be more respectful to Su Xi in the future. "That kid’s the real deal."

Artest was a little bit afraid of his father.

When Artest was young, his father used him as a punching bag. The reason Artest became a famous basketball player was because the domestic abuse gave him mental health issues. He went to see a therapist, who told him to play basketball and focus his mind on the sport to alleviate his pain.

And that "alleviation" turned him into an NBA star. One can only imagine how strong that pain must have been, and just how ’martial’ the Artest family’s spirit was. (By the way, in 2007, Ron Artest’s grandmother, at the age of 87, masterminded a bank robbery and was subsequently incarcerated in the Indiana Women’s Prison.)

Artest heard that Su Xi had punched his dad, making him cry out in pain.

For the first time, he gave Su Xi a genuine smile. He held out his hand for a high-five and said, "Thank you, Jack!"

He couldn’t hide his sincere gratitude.

Su Xi never thought his first friendly, positive interaction with Artest would be because he punched his father.

This...

...

The ever-resourceful New York Media reported on the Pacers’ team-building event that very day. They even published photos of Little O’Neal sticking his hand into someone’s swim trunks, Reggie Miller wrapping his arms around six beautiful women to show off his wingspan, Bender dancing cheek-to-cheek with a woman, and Foster and Pollard each carrying a beautiful woman on their shoulders while having a water gun fight...

Even without any captions, the photos made it clear just how ’debaucherous’ the Pacers’ team culture was.

The criticism and sarcasm from New York were scathing.

The conservative media over in Indiana also criticized the Pacers’ indulgence, but their articles primarily condemned New York, believing its decadent, high-living atmosphere had corrupted the good, honest boys of the Pacers.

Moreover, the Indiana media praised Su Xi, the only one who wasn’t photographed. They said, "Situations like these truly reveal a person’s integrity and self-discipline. Kudos to Jack; he is truly worthy of being the Pacers’ leader."

In the conservative heartland of Indiana, a well-behaved kid like Su Xi was the perfect idol.

It got to the point where Mike O’Connor was complaining to Su Xi, "Back when I was still making films, our sales in Indiana were the worst. People there don’t even watch them. So repressed!"

Su Xi told him to stop talking about his film-making days.

...

The next day, the Pacers headed to Madison Square Garden Arena for their game.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston was at the best private hospital in New York City, processing Scarlett Johansson’s discharge. Scarlett had received the best possible care and showed no signs of any lasting effects. The doctor said, "It’s because she received professional medical attention immediately. If it had been just a few minutes later, there was a high probability of extremely serious consequences."

This made Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. Scarlett Johansson was an up-and-coming Hollywood newcomer. She had a beautiful face, a perfect figure, and... her acting was excellent. The movie she starred in, *Lost in Translation*, had just won a major award in the United Kingdom.

Jennifer Aniston had sought out Scarlett this time to give the rising star a boost. She wanted Scarlett to attend the premiere of her own romantic comedy, discuss their next collaboration, and also get her featured in a magazine.

Who knew something like this would happen along the way? Thankfully, that handsome young man hadn’t let her down.

Right now, besides thanking God, she was full of gratitude for that handsome young man. She was determined to thank him in person.

"Scarlett, are you sure you’re feeling okay? No lingering effects whatsoever?" Jennifer asked with concern.

Scarlett smiled and shook her head, saying everything was fine.

Then, she pointed to her heart. "But... there’s something new in here."

"Hmm?" Jennifer tensed up immediately.

"A handsome young man. When I was in despair, I vaguely saw him. He was like an angel; he saved me. Last night, I tossed and turned. My mind was filled with thoughts of him," Scarlett said.

She wasn’t exaggerating; it was really true.

But Jennifer just laughed and poked Scarlett’s nose. "Oh, you. Always joking. I think you’re just lusting after his body."

"No, it’s the feeling of being in love," Scarlett said.

"You don’t even know what he looks like! How can you be in love? Just because he gave you CPR?" Jennifer said, exasperated. "We women have to prioritize our careers. Don’t get weak in the knees every time you see a handsome guy. Look at my marriage. You should learn something from it."

Scarlett shrugged. As they walked out, she asked again, "Do you know what that boy does for a living?"

"He’s a player for the Pacers. An NBA basketball player," Jennifer said.

"So, he’s in New York for a game?"

"Yes, against the Knicks tonight..."

"Then why don’t we buy tickets? I want to go see him. He’s my savior, after all," Scarlett said in all seriousness.

Jennifer thought about it. That was indeed the right thing to do.

She was very well-connected in New York. She made a phone call and quickly secured two courtside VIP tickets. Although they were expensive, to her, money was just a number.

She had achieved financial freedom long ago.

... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

At Madison Square Garden Arena, Su Xi ran into Anfernee Hardaway.

After arriving at the Knicks, Isaiah Thomas had made some moves. While not all his decisions were necessarily correct, he had managed to trade for Marbury and Hardaway from Phoenix last week.

Going by name recognition alone, the Knicks’ current roster actually looked pretty good.

Hardaway was an old, injury-plagued player now, but his popularity was still very high. Besides, Su Xi remembered that his good friend Reggie Williams was a die-hard fan; his room was covered in Hardaway posters.

Su Xi rarely approached NBA stars on his own initiative, but upon seeing Hardaway, he walked over and asked, "Hi, Anfernee. Could you please sign an autograph for me...?"

Before Su Xi could finish his sentence, Hardaway waved his hand dismissively and walked straight past him.

...