All the athletes boarded several flights chartered for the Olympics and flew to Tokyo.
As soon as the plane leveled out, girls began coming over to Jiang Siming's seat to ask for autographs and photos.
They were all female athletes from various competitive sports: women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's soccer, and so on.
One after another, Jiang Siming treated them without the slightest arrogance, fulfilling every request.
Their coaches could only watch helplessly and let them carry on.
After they had all finished coming over, Da Yao approached Jiang Siming and quietly said, "I want to discuss something with you."
"What is it?" Jiang Siming asked, puzzled.
"I want to register your name under the Chinese men's basketball team, just to be safe."
Da Yao explained, "Don't worry. As long as the men's team can handle it, I absolutely won't trouble you. Of course, if they can't..."
Jiang Siming naturally understood. He immediately realized that Da Yao wanted him to give the men's team a bit of support.
After all, Jiang Siming had led the Chinese men's basketball team to win the World Cup last year.
If they performed poorly at this year's Olympics, wouldn't they become a laughingstock?
"Since the head coach has asked, what else can I say? But true strength is what matters. You need to supervise their training more closely," Jiang Siming said, effectively agreeing.
Da Yao was delighted. "Don't worry. I've personally been running their training lately. Our men's basketball team has improved tremendously. If we don't run into the USA Team, we're not afraid of anyone."
There was nothing they could do about the USA Team. Their basketball really was formidable, with the NBA's strength far ahead of the rest of the world.
The USA had sent only a few big-name players to last