Compromise

48 minutes on the court, 36 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, plus 11 turnovers—leading the team to a 91-104, 13-point loss against the Toronto Raptors.

Two straight losses, and the fans immediately started hammering him, especially Su Yi's fans.

"36 points + 11 turnovers? Are you a plant sent by the Raptors?"

"Played the full 48 minutes just to pad stats? The team lost by 13, and it's all on you!"

"Su drops 30+ and wins easy; you drop 30+ and lead the team to a loss—the gap's too big."

"For your own stats, you force the ball, and the result is two straight losses? Selfish to the extreme!"

"Su led a five-game win streak; you lead a two-game loss streak, and you still have the face to be the boss and hog the ball? Any shame?"

"Even Mike Brown can't stand it, and you still won't change? You think the Cavaliers are your family business?"

At the same time, Mike Brown mentioned in his post-game interview that he tried to revert to the previous tactics, but unfortunately... Then Mike Brown just let out a deep sigh and didn't finish.

That gave the media plenty of room to speculate.

And right now, LeBron James wasn't just down because of the game on the court—the off-court stuff was driving him crazy too.

To put it bluntly, LeBron James was still just a kid at this point.

Before he fully matured, he was only a player with potential in appearance.

For capitalists, when your value falls far short of expectations, they'll drop you without a second thought.

With the fans raising hell outside, the capital wasn't going to help him—he had to solve it himself.

And the biggest capital, Nike, had already been won over by Su Yi, so Nike wasn't helping anyone, just sitting on the sidelines.

That alone was already the biggest help to Su Yi.

So LeBron James immediately contacted Rich Paul to set up a dinner with a few media reporters he usually dealt with.

But those reporters directly refused, not even answering the phone.

Sure, LeBron James often treated them to expensive meals, but compared to that, they preferred money in their own pockets.

This time, the other side offered too much, so of course they sided with them.

And once again, Rich Paul was at a loss!

As time passed, the public opinion only grew worse. Even the Cleveland Cavaliers' official channels collapsed—phones were blown up, and thousands of fans were protesting outside Quicken Loans Arena, chanting: We need Su!

The next morning, the media started to pile on. Almost every outlet ran the story:

<The Selfish King! LeBron Bullies the Coach for Status, Cavs' Win Streak Turns to Loss Streak>

<36 Points + 11 Turnovers! James' "Dictator-Style" Play Destroys Team Chemistry>

<48 Minutes of Stat-Padding? James Refuses to Delegate and Gets Backlash, Cavs Fans Chant We Want Su>

<Mike Brown Becomes the Scapegoat! LeBron's One Sentence Turns Rookie Talent into Decoration>

As the matter drew more and more attention, mainstream media also joined in.

And while all the fans were buzzing about it, Nike's official announcement dropped:

"The future has arrived!

We are signing Su Yi to a 7-year, $90 million deal.

Welcome Su Yi to the Nike family!

From Cavaliers rookie to phenomenal shooter, he proved with five straight 30+ games: His era has only just begun!"

Not a penny more, not a penny less—just $3 million more than LeBron James' deal.

Su Yi did it on purpose.

He could have waited, but when an opportunity came knocking, Su Yi wasn't about to turn it down!

He gave up quite a bit of money and agreed to a lot of harsh terms to land this contract.

But what others saw as harsh terms, Su Yi saw as easy as eating and drinking.

After all, he was a man with a cheat.

Nike's announcement completely killed the "game."

LeBron James decided to stop stirring things up and just focus on playing ball.

A wise man adapts to circumstances!

But before LeBron James could go find Mike Brown, team owner Dan Gilbert came to him first.

The two talked for a full two and a half hours, and no one knew what was said.

All anyone knew was that LeBron James came out looking pretty grim.

Then LeBron James immediately rushed to find Mike Brown and said, "Coach, I've reflected on the recent situation. Winning is what matters most.

Your tactic of letting Su lead the offense really works. From now on, I'll cooperate with your system."

The media always tries to create conflict between me and Su, but I believe Su and I share the same goal—the championship.

A true leader doesn't always score himself, but brings out the best in the team.

Coach, you arrange the plays however you want. I'll lead by example."

You had to admit, the guy had some smooth talk.

Hearing LeBron James's words, Mike Brown couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder and say, "Good. Let's work hard together and push toward that championship goal."

LeBron James nodded.

Seeing this, Mike Brown finally showed a relieved smile. The farce was about to end, and the team was getting back on track.

He had plenty of confidence in this season's roster!

Right away, Mike Brown was the first to share this good news with Su Yi.

After hearing it, Su Yi's grin was harder to suppress than an AK. He then thanked him, "Thank you, Coach. I won't let your guidance go to waste."

After a few more exchanges, Su Yi ended the call.

He immediately threw himself back into training. Though a lot had been going on these past few days, Su Yi hadn't slacked off—he trained at least twelve hours a day.

As the saying went, as long as life continues, training never stops.

"A Rui, is the money I gave you enough for the media side?"

Su Yi suddenly remembered to ask.

"The money you gave ran out a while ago. I've been diverting some from the studio."

Xu Rui replied.

Then he couldn't help but sigh, "Yi, fighting a public opinion war is like opening a floodgate—money just gushes out."

"True, but it's fine. I'll earn it all back N times over in the future."

Su Yi nodded in response.

Then he continued, "But the studio's operating budget might not be enough."

"Barely scraping by. Plants vs. Zombies is still selling pretty well."

Xu Rui answered.

"Good. Then I'll make a few more mobile games."

Su Yi suddenly remembered that the first-generation iPhone was about to launch. Perfect timing to whip up some mobile mini-games and partner with them.

Huh? Mobile games?

Xu Rui was a bit dumbfounded.

Before Xu Rui could ask, Su Yi said, "Pull two people from each group. I'll check the schedule for some free time and try to finish it in a few days.

Once it's done, I'll hand it over to you. Apple is about to release a smartphone—go negotiate with them."

Xu Rui was stunned speechless by Su Yi's words.

By the time he snapped out of it, Su Yi had already finished his portion of food and was sitting in the living room watching game footage.

Xu Rui looked at Su Yi and couldn't help but shake his head. How was it that he felt completely unable to keep up with Su Yi's pace? Was this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?

Still, Xu Rui never questioned Su Yi's decisions. All he had to do was carry out whatever Su Yi arranged.