Chapter 110: Regicide’s Morning
The next morning, Xu Ling received a message from the league.
Kobe, who was single-mindedly chasing a championship, refused to go along with Nike’s intentions and insisted on withdrawing, so Xu Ling naturally became the starter for the Western Conference All-Star team.
For Xu Ling, this wouldn’t change his reputation; he was still that finger-shaking bastard, still the villain heavily portrayed by the media.
But becoming an All-Star starter in his rookie season was still worth Adidas going all out in marketing to promote it.
Xu Ling participated in various activities prepared for him by Adidas, but the media soon noticed a stunning woman by his side, and sports reporters easily recognized her—Arianny Celeste, the most popular ring girl in UFC, with a graceful physique, fiery curves, and a pretty face with exotic charm. How did she get involved with the regicide?
This didn’t seem all that important.
But the regicide having a woman by his side was gossip news worth excavating.
Moreover, with Arianny’s nourishment, Xu Ling’s enthusiasm for the activities and mood were clearly much better than before; his smiles increased, his interaction positivity rose, and he even responded to enthusiastic fans.
Is a woman really the best medicine to change a man?
That afternoon, Xu Ling was also invited to serve as a judge for the Celebrity Game during All-Star Weekend.
Generally speaking, the participants in the Celebrity Game consist of entertainment stars, crossover stars from major leagues, singers, actors, plus a few WNBA players and retired NBA veterans, so the game quality was just so-so.
Xu Ling was arranged to sit behind a long table covered with red cloth at the sidelines, next to several local dignitaries and retired players. He idly spun the scoring card in his hand, watching the celebrities from the entertainment and sports circles doing comical warm-ups on the court.
The game began in an entertaining atmosphere. Rapper Master P dribbling mistake led to a dog-eat-dirt fall, drawing laughter from the whole arena; former NFL superstar Deion Sanders completed a steal and then danced a celebration on the court. Xu Ling occasionally raised a “10 points” card as prompted by the director, but his face showed no expression, more like completing a task.
However, this harmonious exhibition game atmosphere was broken by one person’s entrance—Terrell Owens, abbreviated as T.O.
T.O was an NFL star wide receiver, famous for his amazing physique and bad-boy personality, and also a good friend of LeBron James. As a star from another major league, with his friend’s enemy sitting right there in front of him, he had to consider if this was his only chance to help his friend get back at him.
In one offensive possession, he used his physical advantage to power drive past an actor, and after scoring, he roared at the camera, pounded his chest, full of showmanship.
Then, T.O’s gaze turned to Xu Ling in the judges’ seats at the sidelines.
“Hey, Finger Boy!” T.O actually taunted Xu Ling, “How long are you going to sit there pretending? Don’t like this game? Dare to get on the court? I guarantee the intensity will be greater than those crap games you play!”
The people around laughed, and the cameras immediately zoomed in.
Xu Ling lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and originally didn’t want to pay him any mind.
Seeing no reaction from Xu Ling, T.O wasn’t satisfied and stepped forward, shouting directly at Xu Ling: “Hey, Eli! Is being a judge way easier than playing ball? This way you don’t have to worry about getting flattened by a ‘real athlete’ like me! What’s wrong? You wanna shake your finger at me?”
This remark carried obvious provocation; even in an exhibition, it seemed a bit over the top. The on-site audience started jeering, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
Xu Ling looked at Owens’ face full of showmanship and suddenly smiled. It wasn’t a polite smile, but one with amusement and “you’re asking for it.”
Xu Ling slowly stood up, exchanged a glance with Arianny behind him, and nodded lightly.
One of the things men can’t tolerate most in this world is losing face in front of their date.
Xu Ling walked to the sidelines and said to the stunned person in charge: “Get me a jersey.”
The person in charge was stunned: “Wh-what?”
“I said, get me a jersey.” Xu Ling’s tone was calm but unquestionable. “Since this NFL superstar has invited me, I’ve decided to get on the court and play with him personally.”
Was this allowed? A judge getting on the court to play?
And a current NBA All-Star starter at that?
The on-site director heard the request through his headphones, first shocked, then ecstatic! This was a rare hot moment in the Celebrity Game! The Celebrity Game was originally a niche prelim match; while the celebrities had some appeal, few fans paid attention. Now with Xu Ling and T.O clashing, wasn’t this a rare hot moment? He immediately instructed the person in charge via headphones to agree.
Soon, a temporary jersey without a name on the back was handed to Xu Ling. Right there at the sidelines, in front of the entire arena audience and all the cameras, Xu Ling took off his jacket and changed into the jersey.
“!#￥!@￥@!”
The entire arena exploded instantly! Cheers, whistles, screams nearly lifted the roof! No one expected that coming to watch a Celebrity Game would let them see the hot NBA rookie personally hit the court!
In that instant, the satirical and comedic effect of the Celebrity Game reached a peak.
It had a bit of the vibe of Stephen Chow guest-starring in God of Gamblers 2000 but getting edited into the protagonist by that fat bastard Wang Jing.
Xu Ling loosened up his limbs and went straight to the scorer’s table, requesting to sub in. The referee was a bit confused, but under the organizers’ tacit approval, completed the substitution procedure.
T.O was also stunned; he didn’t expect Xu Ling to play for real. But with the arrow on the string, he could only brace himself, forcing a “come on, kid” expression on his face.
The next possession, the team with Xu Ling on offense.
The ball went directly to Xu Ling. Owens came up to defend, in a standard defensive stance, muttering: “Come on, rookie, let me see what you’ve got.”
Xu Ling didn’t do any fancy dribbling, just a small change of direction followed by a swift acceleration, crossing T.O clean in one step! His speed was so fast that this NFL star known for his physique looked like a wooden post!
Xu Ling drove straight to the basket for an easy layup.
On the way back, passing T.O, Xu Ling lightly dropped: “NFL intensity isn’t all that either.”
T.O’s face instantly turned ugly.
The next few minutes became Xu Ling’s personal clinic time. He seemed to be treating this Celebrity Game like the playoffs. On defense, he repeatedly stole Owens’ ball; on offense, he either power-drove with speed or hit a fadeaway jumper after post-up play, even completing a powerful tomahawk dunk in one fast break.
T.O was completely dismantled by him, powerless to fight back.
The scene turned from initial entertainment into a one-sided “slaughter.” The audience watched in stunned silence, then erupted in even crazier cheers!
That dramatic effect reached its climax in just a few minutes.
The on-site director knew this serendipitous drama couldn’t be overplayed for effect, and had to leave some face for the on-site guests, so he made another adjustment.
Several staff and the referee smilingly surrounded Xu Ling, coaxing and persuading him back to the bench, and “ejected” him on the grounds of “violating participation rules.”
Xu Ling didn’t argue, smilingly accepted the outcome, as if the one who had dominated earlier wasn’t him. As he left the court, he enjoyed the standing ovation, applause, and laughter from the whole arena, becoming the biggest star of the game.
However, despite Xu Ling making the Celebrity Game fun and noteworthy for once, this still couldn’t stop the media’s harsh attitude toward him.
The afternoon game had just ended, and news was out by evening: “Madman Xu Ling treats Celebrity Game like the Finals!”
Regicide, Finger Boy, Madman.
Xu Ling felt he might become the player with the most nicknames in NBA history.
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“Vince Carter may be the next star to leave New Jersey.” — The New York Times
“Kobe Bryant’s absence didn’t diminish New Orleans’ star power; Eli Xu follows Yao Ming’s footsteps as the third rookie since the ’90s to become an All-Star starter in his rookie season.” — Los Angeles Times
“After today, people like T.O won’t provoke Eli anymore.” — Memphis Commercial Appeal
“LeBron reiterates he will make no further comment on the finger-shaking incident.” — Associated Press
