Fast-Forwarding

41 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists. James Harden put on a stellar performance and thoroughly embarrassed the Thunder.

The so-called League's best—was that all he had?

Harden was no longer the Thunder's former Sixth Man of the Year. Since Kobe's retirement, he had become a serious contender for the title of the League's best shooting guard. He was even playing at an MVP-caliber level. Clearly, the Rockets had made the right bet back then.

Any lapse in defense against him was immediately punished. He tore through it with ease and left his opponents in tatters.

The Thunder had clearly made a mistake they shouldn't have.

Over the course of the game, Harden single-handedly torched the Thunder's backcourt.

By comparison, Westbrook had a poor game, making just 6 of 18 shots for 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Chen Xi also struggled, shooting 4 of 11 for 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. D'Antoni had Ariza guard him, and the tall, long-armed, speedy Ariza easily contained Chen Xi, whose breakthrough ability was still lacking.

With just over half of the fourth quarter gone, the game entered garbage time. Zhou Qi, who had been stuck on the bench, finally got his chance to play. In five minutes, he put up 2 points and 4 rebounds, satisfying some fans back home. The Great Demon King had a bright future ahead of him! He had the makings of an Emperor!

Soon, teams around the League began following suit and trying bigger wings on Chen Xi. Of course, it didn't always work. Size alone wasn't enough; they needed quick feet, too. Thanks to his excellent Off-Ball Pest and accurate three-point shooting, Chen Xi could still reliably deliver in most situations.

What really hurt the Thunder was the failure of their five-out offense. The lineup had always been a double-edged sword, and with Oladipo and Grant's shooting falling off, Chen Xi's shot alone clearly wasn't enough to create the space they needed. Their opponents even began deliberately leaving one player open so they could double-team Chen Xi and block his routes, causing the team's Offensive Efficiency to plummet.

At the same time, the three-guard lineup's size disadvantage put pressure on the defense. When the offense stalled, it dragged the defense down with it.

With the five-out lineup no longer working, Donovan had no good solution at hand. In the end, the Thunder's roster simply didn't leave much room to maneuver.

Over the next half month, Westbrook and Chen Xi continued to play efficiently, but the team's record took a serious hit. They went 4–4 over eight games and quickly slipped back to fourth in the Western Conference.

The media predictably changed its tune, turning its criticism on the team and its coach once again.

"False prosperity: the Thunder are no better than this."

"The truth is finally out. This is still the same Thunder team that even KD couldn't carry."

"Russell Westbrook has become the king of empty stats once again. Besides Chris, not a single Thunder player made a three-pointer. It's astounding that a team like this can still exist in today's League. The Thunder's front office deserves all the credit."

The negative talk grew especially grating when the team lost three straight on the road. Just four losses had been enough to set off the media, who were reading far too much into things. If the team went on another long losing streak, the online backlash would be impossible to imagine.

The good news was that after beating the Wizards on November 30, thanks to Westbrook's monster triple-double of 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 15 assists, the team had three days off.

The announcement that followed lifted the team's spirits once again.

Russell Westbrook was named Western Conference Player of the Month for November, averaging 31.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 12.1 assists—a near triple-double.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi beat out a host of promising young players to win Western Conference Rookie of the Month, averaging 16.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.

That meant the team would present two awards to two players before tomorrow's home game against the Pelicans, which would be a big boost to their pregame morale.

After Chen Xi got the news, another system notification appeared before him.

[Congratulations, Host! You have earned Rookie of the Month for the first time. Rewards: 10 Free Attribute Points and 1 Random Bronze Badge]

"Great, great. Let's draw the badge."

[Drawing a Random Badge]

[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the Giant Killer (Bronze) badge]

"Not bad. A badge for finishing at the rim. It should come in handy for now."

Chen Xi looked at his new badge and began thinking about the future.

"Looks like I'll need to focus on training my ability to drive. System, put all 10 Free Attribute Points into Breakthrough Attribute."

[Points allocated. The Host's Breakthrough Attribute has increased to 65] (5 points gained through training)

"Barely a drop in the bucket~"

Chen Xi looked at his pitifully low attribute and sighed. Still, with Silver First Step and two badges for finishing at the rim, it was just about usable. At least, with Dodge Finisher and Giant Killer, he wouldn't usually end up getting blocked into oblivion.

"Whatever. Back to training, back to training! If I don't work hard on the court now, no one will pay attention to me at the clubs later. If I master my handles now, I'll be living it up in hotels later~~ skr~~ When I get back home, I'll line up at Sister Zhou's place like a good boy (crossed out)."

That evening, after practice, Chen Xi returned home and got a call from Moon.

"Chris, there's an endorsement deal that looks promising. Want to consider it?"

"What kind of endorsement?"

"A Chinese sportswear brand called Anta."

"Holy crap?"

"They're offering five million over two years. By contrast, brands like Li Ning, Nike, and Adidas aren't willing to sign short-term contracts, and their offers are nowhere near as good. I think Anta is the most sincere of them."

"Okay, then Anta it is. I'll support domestic brands."

"Great. I'll bring the detailed contract over tomorrow so you can look it over. Then you can confirm whether there's anything you want changed, and I'll take it back to discuss with them."

"Okay. We have a game tomorrow, so come to the arena."

The Thunder went on to beat the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks in consecutive back-to-back games, then enjoyed another four-day break.

During that time, Chen Xi officially signed a sneaker endorsement deal with Anta and shot a few posters, completing his first promotional assignment. He now had an income stream outside basketball.

After taking care of his odds and ends, Chen Xi finally gave himself a day off and went to a party Westbrook was hosting at a mansion.

Americans seemed to love this kind of gathering. A whole lot of people, some familiar and some strangers, got together to chat, drink, dance, and swim. Some who hit it off even let loose together.

"I'm not going! Don't stop me!!! A gentleman like me would never take part in this kind of awful paaar-ty!"

Chen Xi put on a show of protesting as he ran into Roberson and the others at the entrance. His feet had already carried him straight into the mansion.