The loss affected Sun Hao's mood, but not too much.
After all, this was only the UEFA Champions League Opening Game.
Losing now was better than losing in the playoffs.
Or rather, this game had exposed quite a few problems for the team, himself included.
If they had won, those problems would have been covered up instead.
Sometimes, losing was not entirely a bad thing.
Besides luck, Ginobili had also shown enough Big Heart with his late-game shots.
Although his set shot was still lacking, he already had the makings of a superstar.
These were things one could only understand after truly matching up against him on the court.
Especially in this era of limited information, it was understandable why Ginobili had been drafted so late.
Perhaps NBA General Managers of this era all believed the basketball here was not even as good as the NCAA.
When the game ended, Sun Hao had made five Three-pointers and scored a team-high 17 points, but it ended up being an Empty Score.
Prigioni began acting as the leader of the locker room, gathering the players and offering some encouraging words.
By the time he finished, the celebration on the other side was nearly over, and the two teams began their final handshake line.
Sun Hao came face-to-face with Ginobili again.
Having played so well in his first major game with his new team, Ginobili's mood was the complete opposite of what it had been at the opening tip.
The complicated look in his eyes when he looked at Sun Hao was gone as well.
After all, what was in the past was in the past. He had a new beginning now.
In competitive sports, performance was the most convincing thing of all.
Sun Hao did not pay much attention to Ginobili's change in mood. His eyes had been fixed on Ginobili's head.
Perhaps because he was in such a good mood, Ginobili's hair seemed to be standing up.
Sun Hao reached out and gave it a rub before he could stop himself.
He had thought it would prick his hand, but instead it made his palm itch pleasantly. It even felt rather nice!
But he immediately felt Ginobili's murderous glare.
Only after pulling back his hand did he realize how rude that had been.
Come to think of it, whenever he had touched Fernandez before, it had been to encourage him. But this time...
Could habits really be formed just like that?
"Confetti. There was confetti in your hair."
Sun Hao pointed at the confetti on the floor and said with an awkward smile.
After a game, if the home team won, the arena would usually spray some confetti in celebration.
That was a fairly reasonable excuse.
Ginobili clearly did not believe him. Even if there was confetti, one would just pick it off. What was with running a hand through someone's hair?
Still, aside from his expression, he said nothing else.
He even turned away soon after, acting as though nothing had happened.
It was not that he was scared. It was just that Sun Hao was the only person who had seen him at the police station.
After the game, the players from both teams returned to their Locker Rooms one after another.
As soon as Laso returned to the locker room, he summed up some of the problems from the game.
Just as Sun Hao had thought earlier, losing at this stage might not be a bad thing for the team.
After Laso left, Sun Hao began thinking about his own problems as well.
Ginobili's basketball IQ was undoubtedly high.
But even in the NBA, his defense would only be considered average.
Yet even against that level of defense, Sun Hao had felt severely constrained tonight.
If not for those two ultra-long shots, he might have scored only a little over ten points.
He needed to hurry up and train his First Step.
That was the only way he could ensure he had more options in the games ahead.
Just as he was considering how to intensify his training, Prigioni, who had said goodbye and left earlier, came back and said someone was looking for him.
Sun Hao was full of confusion.
He did not know anyone in Italy.
But when he cautiously poked his head out and saw the profile of the person waiting for him in the distance, he instantly ducked back inside.
"Pablo, tell him I'm not here."
Sun Hao grabbed Prigioni.
"Huh?"
Prigioni looked at Sun Hao in confusion.
Why say he was not here when he clearly was?
"Just tell him I already left. Go on, hurry."
Sun Hao urged him.
When he had first arrived in Sicily, he had prayed that he would not run into Lartigue. He had not run into him, but who would have thought the man would come looking for him at the locker room?
Prigioni still did not know why Sun Hao was saying this, but he did as asked.
Sun Hao kept peeking through the doorway. Only after he saw Prigioni persuade Lartigue to leave did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"You owe him money?"
When Prigioni returned and saw Sun Hao's expression, he could not help being curious.
"I... did borrow money from him when I came here as a tourist before, but I paid it back long ago. He insists I never did, so..."
Sun Hao casually made up an excuse.
"Then you're in for a headache. Who told you to become famous? If it comes to it, just pay him again. I'll be there to testify for you."
Prigioni actually did not suspect a thing.
Sun Hao nodded vaguely in response.
After packing up his things, he slipped away quickly.
When he left, he was extremely cautious. Once he made sure Lartigue had gone, he paid for a cab back to the hotel.
The next morning, Sun Hao heard a knock at the door.
Their flight was in the morning, and the Assistant General Manager would notify them to gather in the lobby, but this was far too early.
Puzzled, he walked to the door and looked outside through the peephole.
Lartigue.
He had come all the way to the hotel!
Still, it was not strange that he had found this place.
After all, this was Italy. It was easy enough for the police to find out which hotel a foreign team was staying at.
And the other side had his name and identification information as well.
But in private, Sun Hao was not so concerned anymore.
He was merely curious about why Lartigue had come looking for him.
"Officer Lartigue."
"Sun."
After opening the door, Sun Hao smiled and shook hands with Lartigue.
During the Offseason, when he had handled Sun Hao's case, the man had been quite diligent.
"Your case has been solved."
The moment he entered, Lartigue explained why he was there and patted his Briefcase.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Sun Hao spoke politely.
After inviting him in, he also made him a cup of coffee.
Though inwardly, he could not help complaining.
The case had remained unsolved while he was not in Italy, yet it had been solved the moment he arrived.
Lartigue opened the Briefcase. There was a bag inside marked Stolen Property.
After opening the seal and pouring out the contents, Sun Hao saw his and Fernandez's phones and passports.
As he handed Sun Hao the documents for signature, Lartigue explained the case.
"That Angela—oh, her name should be Vignali—was a local from Sicily and a repeat offender. She often waited around tourist attractions, then tried her luck at nearby bars whenever she spotted a suitable target. You got lucky."
Not only was Lartigue a chatterbox, he also had quite a sense of humor.
"She committed several more crimes afterward, but eventually got caught after slipping up. She confessed to all her previous cases."
If you walked by the river often enough, your shoes would eventually get wet.
No matter how clever a thief was, they would eventually be caught.
"The money couldn't be recovered. It had already been spent. They had kept using the phones, and they hadn't thrown away the passports either."
Sun Hao nodded. It was unrealistic to expect everything to be recovered in a case like this. Getting the phones back was already quite good.
Besides, this outcome was more or less what he had expected.
"Who is Jocelyn?"
Just as Sun Hao was thinking that, Lartigue suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Jocelyn?"
Sun Hao stared at Lartigue in astonishment. He did not know how Lartigue could possibly know Jocelyn existed.
Lartigue nodded.
"When I interrogated Vignali, she said you had left a deep impression on her."
The confusion in Sun Hao's eyes deepened.
Could it be... because I'm handsome?
"She said that among all the targets she had picked, you were the easiest one to rob. After waiting for you to fall asleep, she succeeded in just one minute."
"..."
So she was not saying he was handsome. She was saying he was fast?
Sun Hao could not help giving a bitter smile.
"But during that one minute, she said you muttered someone's name ten times."
"That name was Jocelyn."
P.S. Shui Qie actually posted an extra chapter! Please vote with recommendation tickets! Please leave chapter comments!
Thanks to Buyu Weixiao, Duyi Wang Jiaren, and Lin Pengpengpeng for the rewards! Thank you, bosses, for your support!
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