The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 440 - 58 Good Dad

When Gan Guoyang saw nothing in Barkley’s garage and did not find the other two Dodge Rams, he knew he had been duped.

He reproached himself for earnestly advising Barkley on the way there to manage his finances wisely instead of fooling around, wondering how his words had fallen on deaf ears.

Now he realized that the chubby fellow was just "pulling his leg," and it seemed that the young man had indeed made some progress.

He had sold all the surplus cars he had bought and kept only the two of more value for collection, paid off the loans in advance, and bought this Dodge Ram suitable for himself.

Barkley knew that Gan Guoyang did not like socializing with too many people, and while he was very professional and enthusiastic at business and NBA events, he valued his privacy in private and preferred to stay with his closest friends.

This time in Washington, Quentin Stephenson hadn’t come along; being with Barkley made additional bodyguards unnecessary.

Gan Guoyang no longer wanted to be a chef, so the two went out to find some fun. Barkley asked Gan if he wanted to go to a strip club, to which Gan replied, "Let’s just go to a comedy show, I’m already married."

In response to Gan’s sudden decision to get married, Barkley surprisingly expressed understanding, saying, "When you meet someone who makes your heart flutter, you must act promptly."

As for women, NBA players would never be in shortage, though most of the time they were moved by lust rather than by heart.

Barkley frequently called Gan to talk about issues with women.

Gan was always chaste, while Barkley played the field, but in fact, he always harbored a longing for pure love.

He openly envied Gan, who could have a stable college romance with two people loving each other sincerely.

Since college, he had been surrounded by all sorts of girls, and after joining the NBA, the number of exotic women he encountered was countless.

In big American cities, there are many "strange women," who are not prostitutes but rather female players; they like to pursue athletes who are full of testosterone and physically vigorous.

Especially for visiting teams, in places like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, and Dallas, there are many such female hunters who hang around stadiums, hotels, and locker rooms, beckoning players, handing out their phone numbers, and making suggestive glances.

Or they straightforwardly make date requests, asking the players to tell them their room numbers.

Most NBA players off the court are not very different from dogs in heat, and men pursued by women are only separated by a thin curtain, which can easily be pierced.

Barkley had encountered many such women, with some of whom he’d had relations and established some sort of connection.

In his home in Washington, he often received gifts from these women, including cake, roses, cookies, candy, and even lingerie, and occasionally they called to say hello.

But the problem is, they were only interested in Barkley’s strong body, and as for the rich inner life of this rough beast, nobody cared.

And when Charles Barkley got emotionally involved and didn’t get a response, or when he had to end a short-lived intimate relationship, it made him feel terrible.

Then he would share these stories with Gan Guoyang, who practically became Barkley’s emotional therapist for some time, though recently the situation had improved somewhat.

Gan guessed that the guy might have met someone he genuinely liked.

After wandering around outside, they finally found a high-end pool hall and played pool, while drinking something and chatting.

Just like with bowling, Gan played pool with a "go big or go home" approach, smashing into the cluster of balls with great force from the get-go and hoping for the best.

Barkley wasn’t exactly a technical player either, and the sound of balls clinking and clattering filled the air as the two played; the owner worried they would break the balls.

Of course, Barkley had more than just dinner and pool in mind when he invited Gan; he had an important question to ask him.

"Sonny, I’ve got a question I wanted to ask you," Barkley said, leaning on his cue like a cane and watching Gan play.

Dallas hit the ball into the hole with force and said, "What’s the problem? Are you in love or something?"

"Oh, no, no, it’s not that, it’s unrelated. I wanted to ask you, what does it feel like to have a good dad?"

"Just call me a good dad, and you’ll feel it right away."

"Fuck you, I’m serious. I know your dad was good to you, wasn’t he? I saw the Avia advert, it was really well done."

The Avia commercial directed by Ang Lee for Gan Guoyang had recently been launched across America, and as a member of Avia, Barkley felt envious seeing Gan Guoyang and Jordan have their own sneaker advertisements.

But he envied even more that both Gan Guoyang and Jordan had good fathers. Barkley didn’t; he knew who his father was but the man had abandoned his family early on.

"Why are you asking this question?" Gan Guoyang was curious.

"I just wanted to ask, you answer me first, then I’ll tell you why," Barkley said.

Gan Guoyang thought for a moment and replied, "Having a good dad feels like...when you score 8 points in the finals, miss the crucial buzzer-beater, leading to your team losing the seventh game and the series, the whole world curses and mocks you. Then, if you have a good mom, she’ll constantly comfort you, telling you it’s okay when actually it’s not okay, it’s salt in the wound. But if you have a good dad, you’ll know there’s someone in this world who makes you feel like nothing happened. He’ll quietly be there with you, saying nothing, acting as usual, until it all passes, until you pick yourself back up."

Barkley pondered and finally said, "Seems nice."

"What’s up? Did your dad come back to find you?" Gan Guoyang guessed.

This kind of scenario was not uncommon among black athletes including some black singers and actors.

And it wasn’t just black people; in other countries, among other ethnic groups, similar things happened, but they were more prevalent in the African American community.

They had children in their youth for the thrill, didn’t want to take responsibility and left; the mothers struggled to bring up the child alone. Eventually, the child showed talent in sports, acting, or singing.

Then one day they shot to fame, becoming young celebrities and millionaires, and that’s when the long-lost dads would suddenly show up, wanting to reconnect and renew their father-son or father-daughter relationships.

The situation was similar for Barkley. Recently, his father, Frank-Barkley, had begun to write to him in an attempt to explain why he had had to leave. Now residing in Los Angeles, he hoped his son would meet him when he came to play in Los Angeles.

During high school, Barkley’s father had attended his graduation ceremony, back when Barkley was already a somewhat famous basketball star in Alabama.

But Barkley had not been there because he had failed Spanish and didn’t receive his diploma, making him ineligible to attend the ceremony.

Now unsure of how to handle their relationship, Barkley felt lost and troubled; asking his teammates was useless, as their situations were similar to his own and they could offer no better advice.

"Yesterday he said he was in Washington and wanted to watch the Bullets and Trail Blazers game tomorrow. He might come to the locker room to find me, and I don’t know how to face him. Should I punch him?"

Barkley said it as a joke, but neither of them laughed. Gan Guoyang said, "Let him come. If there’s genuine emotion between you two, no difficulty will stand in the way, but you’ve got to face it first. And hey, don’t think just because your dad is coming to watch, I’ll go easy on you. I’ll play you so hard you’ll crap yourself."

Barkley was displeased and said, "Hey! We agreed not to mention that! It’s all in the past!"

The last time Barkley had pretended to be injured halfway through a game against the Trail Blazers because he needed to relieve himself was something neither of them would ever forget.

But Gan Guoyang was trustworthy; he hadn’t mentioned the incident to anyone else, and so far only the two of them knew.

"I’m just making a comparison. I didn’t bring up that incident; you’re too sensitive. Hey, it’s your turn to play," Gan Guoyang said.

Peeved, Barkley picked up the cue stick, aimed at the cue ball, and struck it hard. The cue ball missed the other balls and hit the edge of the pool table, bouncing up and smashing the ceiling light, plunging the room into sudden darkness.

"Shit! Are you playing pool or breaking lights?"

"That’s gonna cost us, let’s go, let’s get out of here!"