Entering the arena, they followed the staff corridor to courtside.
When Chen appeared on the court, he naturally drew the attention of plenty of familiar faces.
"Hey! Chris!"
The first player to come over was the one closest to Chen Xi—Chen's former teammate and tonight's opponent, Aaron Gordon.
"AG, long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Chen Xi let go of little Klein's hand, stepped forward with his arms open, and gave Gordon a light hug.
"Not bad. I've always been good."
Gordon grinned and reached out to ruffle Chen's hair.
"Hey! Klein, do you remember me? Maybe you don't..."
Without any unnecessary pleasantries, Gordon turned around, crouched down, and started greeting little Klein.
At the same time, Jokic, who had arrived with Gordon, also walked over and greeted Chen Xi.
"Chris."
Chen Xi extended his hand, shook Jokic's, then bumped chests with him before, unable to resist, patting his somewhat high-body-fat upper arm.
"Teacher Jokic! Long time no see!"
"Teacher Jokic?"
"It's a nickname some fans gave you. Don't sweat the details. Speaking of which, you guys seem to be doing pretty well lately, huh? You fought your way back to Second in the West?"
"I didn't expect League First to be paying attention to the Western standings. Your form is what's truly frightening. CP3 joining has turned New York into a complete team."
"Hahahaha, we haven't faced each other this season yet. If I remember the schedule right, it should be early March. I'm looking forward to that game."
"Forget it. I'm not looking forward to it at all."
Jokic deliberately put on a disgusted expression and shook off Chen's arm.
"Just like you said before, no one wants to run into you guys this season either."
"Hahahaha, what, trying to jinx me with praise?"