197. Peach Blossom Luck

Li Chen by what happened in the middle of the night, especially after discovering that the man in front of him wasn't a fan, Li Chen became even less polite in his words.

So he coldly questioned, "How the hell do you drive?"

But before he could speak, a very familiar voice drifted into Li Chen's ears.

"Chen, take me away."

Upon hearing the voice, Li Chen was taken aback, because the voice seemed somewhat familiar. As his thoughts wandered, he realized who the voice belonged to.

Then he exclaimed in surprise, "Britney?"

Then it suddenly dawned on him why this man looked so familiar—wasn't he Britney's new boyfriend?

"Quick, take me away." Britney didn't reply but continued repeating what she had just said.

Kevin Federline thought to himself, "This is bad. I hope all my hard work last night won't be for nothing."

So he hurriedly explained to Li Chen, "Britney, she's had too much to drink, don't mind her."

Upon hearing this, Li Chen suddenly realized that Li Chen's voice had indeed sounded muffled, like he was drunk.

But the next moment, Britney struggled to open the car door and staggered out.

"Chen, please, take me away," Britney pleaded, her voice trembling as she tried to suppress her emotions.

At this moment, Li Chen noticed that Britney's voice sounded a little off.

But before Li Chen could answer, Kevin Federline opened the car door and got out.

"Britney, stop fooling around." He said, reaching out to help Britney back into the car.

Li Chen frowned. He felt that today's events were very strange, and Britney was not only a fan of his, but also a good friend.

He certainly wouldn't stand idly by while his friend was in trouble, so he separated the two, stood in front of Britney, and said coldly, "I don't care what happened between you two, but since Britney has said so, I have to take her away."

A moment later, Kevin Federline rubbed his arm, somewhat annoyed. "Fuck, how can that damn Yellow Monkey be so strong?"

After cursing, he felt a surge of resentment, never expecting to encounter Li Chen on the way. He had missed the chance to taste the flavor of today's most popular female celebrity.

He watched the car's red taillights disappear into the darkness, picked up the phone, and dialed Jamie Spears's number. After the call connected, he recounted what had happened.

After listening to Kevin Federline's account of what happened, Jamie Spears paused for a moment before saying, "Kevin, you did a good job. I've decided to give you an extra $500,000 temporarily."

Kevin Federline was somewhat surprised, but he was certainly happy to get more money.

He then praised, "Mr. Pierce, you are a truly generous gentleman."

In Li Chen's car, he asked as he drove, "Britney, what's wrong with you?"

But the next moment, Li Chen was stunned. He saw Britney say that it was hot, and then...

The unexpected romantic encounter left Li Chen conflicted. He wondered how to explain it to Avril, saying it was to save someone? Although that was the truth, it sounded like he was a total jerk.

After much deliberation, Li Chen decided it was best to keep this a secret.

I don't know if the drug was too strong, or Britney is just a warrior.

Four hours later, Britney nestled quietly against Li Chen's chest, enjoying the peaceful moment.

"Britney, what exactly happened?" Although he had some guesses in his mind, he still asked.

Britney pressed herself against Li Chen's chest again, her breath sweet as orchids, and recounted what had happened.

It turns out that Britney was drugged by Kevin Federline while the two were at the nightclub. Well, she didn't even know when she was drugged.

The reason his car malfunctioned was because Britney was driven by desire and interfered with Kevin Federline's driving.

Later, after a chance encounter with Li Chen, Britney suppressed her desires and let Li Chen take her away.

That's human nature; we're rebellious creatures. Knowing she'd been drugged by her boyfriend, Britney was very disappointed, so she wasn't going to let Kevin Federline off easy.

After hearing Britney's account, Li Chen was somewhat surprised, and thought to himself, "I didn't expect that this would end up being my fault again."

Li Chen had initially tricked Britney into believing that if she had any physical contact with men, she would be plagued by nightmares.

Although Britney didn't believe it, Li Chen's words were like a curse, constantly echoing in her mind. And whenever a man proposed to her, she would think of Li Chen's words, so she "didn't" do anything intimate with him.

However, she never expected Kevin Federline to do such a beastly thing. Now she was somewhat glad that she hadn't agreed to his request, otherwise she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.

At this moment, Britney said, "Chen, thank you so much this time. Don't worry, I won't mention this to anyone."

Hearing this, Li Chen rubbed his nose. Although Britney's words struck a chord with him, he felt he was being incredibly awful. But he had no other choice, because this was modern society! So Li Chen remained silent.

Seeing Li Chen remain silent, Britney was furious! That bastard Li Chen was absolutely despicable, even worse than a scumbag. At least a scumbag could at least say a few sweet words to make her happy, but he was different... Humph! I'll make him pay later.

A moment later, the two got dressed in the car, but when Britney saw Li Chen, she was a little doubtful. This was just too much!

At this moment, Britney remarked, "Avril is truly blessed."

Li Chen remained silent, but inwardly he thought, "Yeah! But her fighting ability is practically nonexistent, she's not even as good as you."

After they were dressed, Britney suddenly said, "Honey, look, I've torn all my clothes! What am I going to do?" Britney said with a worried look on her face.

Li Chen scratched his head, and suddenly he remembered that there seemed to be Avril's clothes in the trunk. Why not let her change into them first?

Having made up his mind, he said, "Wait for me a moment." With that, he opened the car door and went around to the trunk.

However, as soon as he went around to the back of the vehicle, he heard the car start.

Li Chen was taken aback at first, then he seemed to realize something, but before he could make a move, his Land Rover Range Rover shot out like an arrow.

Li Chen: "..."

He gave a helpless, bitter smile. He never expected Britney to be so mischievous, leaving him stranded on the banks of the Mississippi River.

At that moment, he thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, "Is this karma for being a scumbag?"

So Li Chen, who had worked half the night, started his morning run again.

Meanwhile, Britney drove off triumphantly, inwardly scoffing, "You scumbag, this is what you get."

Britney drove back to the Madison Square Garden parking lot, and then she happily bought a plane ticket back to Los Angeles.

A day later, the Spurs once again made it to the NBA Finals, just like in history. If Li Chen wins the championship again this year, he will have prevented the Spurs from winning the title twice.

But this wasn't Li Chen's ultimate goal; his goal was...

As Barkley said, the media began to hype up the topic of Li Chen and the Spurs.

On June 10, the 2004-2005 NBA NBA Finals began at the San Anthony Center.

Although San Anthony is a small market, fans in small markets are often the most die-hard fans, and the Spurs fans are a perfect example.

Therefore, the Spurs had 100% attendance for this game.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"Hahaha! Kenny, see? I guessed right," Barkley said with no small amount of pride.

"So, you bought the Spurs' spot in the NBA Finals with the betting company?"

"Ugh... Kenny, you bastard, why didn't you warn me sooner? Now I only feel heartache."

As he spoke, Barkley clutched his chest, looking utterly heartbroken.

Seeing Barkley's obvious pain, fans watching on TV burst into laughter.

Kenny Smith shook his head, then continued, "Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both teams tonight."

First, let's look at the Spurs' starting lineup;

Parker (Point Guard)

Bowen (Shooting Guard)

Ginobili (Small Forward)

Mohammed (Power Forward)

Duncan (center)

It's worth mentioning that Muhammad, a former Knicks player, ended up with the Spurs after many twists and turns.

After being traded to the Bobcats, Muhammad was swapped with Mark Jackson and traded to the Spurs. Mark Jack was eventually waived by the Bobcats and became a free agent, eventually joining the Knicks.

The Knicks' starting lineup is:

Li Chen (Point Guard)

Crawford (Shooting Guard)

JR Smith (Small Forward)

Allan Houston (Power Forward)

Wang Zhizhi (Center)

In this match, Li Chen's random S-rank Skill was [Co-defense Master]. Upon seeing this defensive skill, Li Chen frowned deeply.

Because he had spent a lot of time studying the patterns of the system's random S-rank Skill these past few days.

When the system randomly selects a defensive skill, it often indicates that the team will face a defensive crisis at some point during the game.

Although based on predictions from dozens of previous Playoffs, the probability of this happening was around 45%, Li Chen still decided to bring more defensive skills to this game.

Then...

[Unrestrained] and [Assist Master] are essential skills. [Miracle Shot] and [Iron Wall and Bronze Barrier] are also required. For the last skill, he only thought for a moment and then chose [Prohibit Flight], a defensive skill that also provides some support.

Shortly after, the first game of the 2004-2005 NBA NBA Finals officially began.

Lacking a height advantage, the Knicks lost the jump ball, allowing the Spurs to take the lead.

Parker dribbles the ball and attacks.

Parker is known as the "German Speedster" because of his speed and precise drives to the basket, as seen in his rapid breakthrough of the Knicks' defense.

However, Li Chen quickly stepped in to cover, using his not-so-bulky physique to block Parker's breakthrough attack.

Parker has suffered a lot against Li Chen in the past two seasons, but instead of getting entangled with him, he passed the ball to Duncan.

Even with Wang Zhizhi and Allan Houston double-teaming Duncan, he still managed to score with a standard 45-degree bank shot.

The Spurs lead the Knicks 2-0.

"The Knicks are at a huge disadvantage in the paint due to their lack of height."

Kenny Smith, speaking in the TNT broadcast room, expressed his regret.

"Kenny, are you trying to end the NBA season?" Barkley quipped.

Kenny Smith was momentarily stunned, but then he realized the same thing. The Knicks were already incredibly strong; if they were given a powerful center, they would be invincible.

The Knicks are on offense.

Li Chen dribbled the ball up the court, where he faced Bowen, an All-Star defensive player.

He spread his large hands, applying maximum pressure to Li Chen.

Although Bowen seemed to be playing very aggressively on defense, he was much more disciplined than in the previous two seasons.

Yes, things have to be done right! The Pachulia incident is still fresh in our minds!

As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison; Pachulia's tragic experience made him feel fortunate.

Li Chen forcefully broke through Bowen's defenses.

Bowen's physical talent was inferior to Li Chen's, and coupled with his abandonment of his usual tenacious and dirty defensive tactics, it was only natural that Li Chen would break through his defense.

Li Chen had just gotten past Bowen Ginobili quickly came to help defend.

Li Chen took the Euro step and drove to the basket for a layup.

Duncan arrived at that moment.

Seeing this, Li Chen smiled inwardly; this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

He tucked the basketball he was holding high into his arms, and then made a bounce pass from Ginobili's waist to Wang Zhizhi.

This pass was a huge surprise to Ginobili and Duncan, because in previous games, Li Chen usually started by attacking to open up the game before passing the ball to his teammates.

But tonight, he surprisingly chose to pass the ball right from the start, which greatly surprised them, so it was too late for Ginobili to intercept Li Chen's pass.

After receiving the ball, Wang Zhizhi was about to shoot, but he greatly underestimated Duncan's ability to help defend.

Just as he was about to shoot, Duncan was already right in front of me.

But Wang Zhizhi still managed to throw the ball out of his hand.

"Oh! What a pity about that Knicks attack..."

Before he could finish speaking, Kenny Smith quickly corrected himself, exclaiming, "Oh no! That wasn't a shot, it was a beautiful alley-oop dunk!"

JR Smith, like a Larry Bird spreading its wings, caught the basketball with one hand and slammed it into the hoop.

2 to 2 draw.

JR Smith's dunk annoyed the Spurs fans, who unanimously booed JR Smith.

Who is Jr. Smith? How could he possibly tolerate the bad habits of Spurs fans? He immediately gestured for the fans to be quiet.

This scene sent Spurs fans into a frenzy.

Li Chen was speechless, thinking to himself, "Problem children are always the center of attention!"

At this moment, Li Chen felt a little worried, thinking, "I really hope JR Smith doesn't get ejected after two technical fouls!"

The Spurs on offense.

Parker then broke through and passed the ball to Ginobili.

Ginobili showcased his signature dribbling skills with a snake-like drive.

Ginobili dribbled forward quickly, shifting his weight to the right, using his right ankle to push off to the left, and turning his body to the left while holding the ball with both hands.

He easily fooled JR Smith's defensive focus, and then quickly broke through to the left.

In the blink of an eye, he broke through to the basket, and then leaped high, intending to put the basketball into the hoop.

Just as Ginobili was about to make a layup, Li Chen keenly noticed this. He moved with lightning speed and was right in front of him in the blink of an eye, extending his arm to its limit.

At the same time, he kept a close eye on Ginobili's hand holding the ball, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

As Ginobili jumped, Li Chen seemed to have anticipated his move.

He quickly initiated his defensive move, delivering a decisive block to Ginobili's layup attempt.

However, Ginobili was no ordinary person, and he immediately realized Li Chen's intentions.

So he wanted to opt for a reverse layup in mid-air, so that even if he missed, he would still be fouled twice.

But Li Chen didn't give him that chance; he slapped the basketball away.

However, the basketball did not go out of bounds; Bowen picked up the rolling backboard.

The Spurs' offense was far from over.