Seeing Bill Duffy answer his phone, Li Chen gestured to him and said goodbye.
Bill Duffy nodded politely as well.
Li Chen left first. But he had barely made it out of the restaurant when—
Bill Duffy came running after him and called, "Chen, wait a minute."
Li Chen stopped and turned to look at Bill Duffy. The genial smile Bill Duffy had worn moments earlier was gone, replaced by a gloomy expression and a hint of anger.
Seeing this, Li Chen asked in surprise, "Bill, what's wrong?"
The gloomy look on Bill Duffy's face eased a little. He let out a long breath and said,
"As your agent, I have to tell you about this unpleasant matter."
Li Chen was taken aback again, then nodded and waited for Bill Duffy to continue.
"That call just now was from an executive at Nike. They want to sign you for five years at one million dollars."
Li Chen's brow furrowed slightly.
That offer was a little insulting.
But Li Chen wasn't famous yet, so the offer wasn't entirely unreasonable. Still...
"Chen, as your friend, I don't think you should accept this endorsement. It's just too insulting," Bill Duffy added indignantly.
Li Chen smiled and said indifferently, "What they offer is up to them. Besides, aren't we the ones with the leverage?"
Bill Duffy was momentarily stunned. Li Chen seemed far too easygoing. If it had happened to him, he would have made sure to rub it in their faces.
Just then, Li Chen abruptly changed the subject. "But I'll make them regret it. I'll make them regret it until their guts turn green."
Hearing that, Bill Duffy was momentarily stunned, then silently swallowed his earlier thought.
Li Chen continued, "You can handle these matters. Just let me know when you find a brand with an offer you think is acceptable."
Clearly, Li Chen didn't want to hear any more offers that would make him angry.
Bill Duffy was deeply touched by Li Chen's trust in him.
After saying goodbye to Bill Duffy, Li Chen returned to the Training Gym and began the day's practice with his teammates.
Elton Brand was astonished to see that Li Chen had increased his bench press from eighty kilograms to eighty-five in such a short time.
"Chen, how did you do that?" Elton Brand asked in shock.
Li Chen replied casually, "You train with me every day. You could do it too. Want to give it a try?"
"Whatever." Elton Brand turned and walked away, not bothering to entertain Li Chen.
He grumbled to himself, If all you do is train every day, what's the point of living?
That afternoon, all the players left. Only Wang Zhizhi and Li Chen remained in the Training Gym.
Wang Zhizhi couldn't match Li Chen's physical conditioning, so he only stayed for extra practice in the afternoon.
The two were working on one-on-one physical drills when Wang Zhizhi suddenly realized how much Li Chen had improved over the past few days.
"Damn, Li Chen, you've improved so much. Give it another month, and your skills might surpass mine."
Li Chen grinned. "That's all thanks to you being my practice partner, Brother Zhizhi!"
Wang Zhizhi could only smile wryly.
After two hours of extra practice, Wang Zhizhi left too. Li Chen trained for a while longer before finally stopping.
He let out a long breath. Too slow.
Without anyone to rebound for him, his shooting practice was painfully slow.
But his current finances couldn't cover the cost of hiring a professional training team.
He regretted turning down that endorsement for a moment.
But the feeling was quickly replaced by resolve. Damn it, I'd rather die poor than endorse your products.
Thinking again of Nike's insulting endorsement offer, Li Chen grew even angrier.
For once, he stopped training and decided to go out for a walk.
He left the Training Gym and wandered aimlessly through Los Angeles's busy streets.
He had no idea how long he'd been walking when he spotted a chubby boy around twelve or thirteen practicing shots alone on an outdoor basketball court.
Li Chen stopped, thought for a moment, then walked over.
"Hey, chubby, you play basketball even though you're so fat? Trying to lose weight?" Li Chen said, making conversation for lack of anything better.
The chubby boy wasn't happy to hear that. He hated it when people brought up his weight. He turned around and glared at Li Chen.
But when he saw Li Chen, he froze slightly and asked in surprise, "It's you?"
Li Chen rubbed his nose, a little surprised himself. How did this chubby kid know him?
"You know me?"
The chubby boy nodded earnestly. "Yes, sir. I saw you during yesterday's game. You're the guy from the East who was matched up against Kobe."
Li Chen nodded, finally understanding.
The chubby boy continued, "You got player of the game yesterday, but I don't agree. That award belonged to Kobe."
Li Chen blinked and began to take a closer look at the boy.
He had short, slightly curly hair and big eyes that gave him a sweet, innocent look. He wore a faded Lakers jersey.
Li Chen was suspicious. There was something familiar about the chubby boy.
Li Chen put the thought aside. He couldn't deny what the boy had said.
After all, Kobe had earned it through skill, while Li Chen had only gotten it through luck.
Still, he wasn't discouraged. He believed that with hard work and rigorous training, he could reach Kobe's level—or even surpass it.
Even so, Li Chen asked curiously, "Oh? Why?"
The chubby boy pursed his lips. "You got it through luck. You're not actually that good."
Li Chen thought the boy's innocent, slightly dazed expression was kind of cute.
An idea suddenly occurred to him, and he asked, "Do you want to earn some money?"
The chubby boy froze. They'd been talking about basketball, and now Li Chen was bringing up money?
Wait. Money?
The boy hesitated, then asked, "What do you mean? Even if you pay me, I'll still think that player of the game award belonged to Kobe."
Li Chen: "..."
"I need an assistant who can pass the ball. I'll pay you a hundred dollars a day. How does that sound?"
"Huh?" The chubby boy was momentarily stunned. Then his big eyes lit up.
A hundred dollars! That was more than his mother made in a day.
With that extra hundred dollars, his mother wouldn't have to work so hard.
But then he hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he answered honestly, "Sir, I'm still in school. Could I come after classes?"
"Sir, fifty dollars would be fine too," the chubby boy added, looking at Li Chen expectantly.
Fifty dollars was plenty. That was what his mother earned in a day, he thought.
Li Chen smiled and nodded. "Sure."
When Li Chen agreed, the boy clenched his right fist and exclaimed excitedly, "That's great!"
"Sir, I can start working today. Is that okay?"
"Of course." Li Chen nodded with a smile.
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