to 84.

As expected, the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team lost by a full 30 points.

At the edge of the court, Su Jun let out a sigh. He could tell the United States Team had intentionally held back in the final quarter; otherwise, the point difference could have been even greater.

Still, there was no shame in losing to the United States Team. It was only to be expected.

"Old Zhang," Su Jun said, turning his head to call out to a colleague not far away.

Zhang Pingping, a senior reporter for China Sports Daily.

"I’ve got something good to show you." Su Jun pulled Zhang Pingping over and showed him a photo on his camera.

In the stands, a white man in plain clothes held a drink cup, completely inconspicuous among the fans.

"This is... what’s-his-name, right?" Zhang Pingping couldn’t quite place him, but he definitely looked familiar.

Su Jun smiled and prompted him, "Think again. The Suns."

It hit Zhang Pingping in a flash. "He’s a scout for the Suns! John Schumate, yes, that’s his name. What’s he doing here?"

Scouts are so busy, especially during the off-season—that’s their busiest time. For him to show up in the stands, he must be here on a mission.

The thing was, the Suns had already traded Yao Ming.

"Let’s go, we have to corner him," Su Jun said, tugging on his arm.

Zhang Pingping smelled a big story and hurried to follow.

John didn’t leave in a hurry. Instead, he stayed in the stands, took out his work notebook, and started jotting something down.

When he looked up, he found Su Jun and Zhang Pingping standing in front of him.

"Hello there."

John put down his notebook and greeted them with a smiling nod.

The warm-up game was over. As the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team returned to Denver for their final training, a piece of news was already spreading like wildfire throughout the world of Chinese Basketball.

「Downtown Denver, in the hotel where the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team was staying.」

A series of urgent knocks echoed.

After a good while, the door finally opened.

Li Nan, his face alight with excitement, opened his mouth to speak but saw that Liu Yudong, who had opened the door, had beads of sweat on his forehead. He was leaning against the wall, grimacing in pain.

"Old Liu, is your leg hurting again?" Li Nan hurried forward and helped Liu Yudong sit down.

He opened the fridge, grabbed two ice packs for Liu Yudong, and then asked, "After we got to the hotel yesterday, didn’t Uncle Du drain the fluid for you? Is it still hurting?"

After the game the day before yesterday, everyone had set out and arrived in Denver yesterday.

After checking into the hotel, Liu Yudong’s knee had been in severe pain, and the National Team’s doctor, Du Wenliang, had already helped drain the fluid and treated it.

Liu Yudong shook his head slightly, pressing the ice pack to his knee. He gritted his teeth and said, "It’s no use. It was back again when I woke up this morning."

His synovitis was severe. Sometimes, even after draining the fluid, he would sleep for a night, and it would just come back the next morning.

Li Nan sighed. He figured Liu Yudong probably hadn’t gotten much rest last night.

But given the situation, what else could be done? All he could do was endure it.

"Oh, right, I have some good news for you." Li Nan, remembering why he’d come, changed the subject. "When I got up this morning, Uncle Sun from the Capital Evening News gave me a call. He said that a scout from the Suns was at the warm-up game the day before yesterday to watch. By the way, why didn’t you answer your phone?"

Liu Yudong was still grimacing from the pain. He explained, "International calls are too expensive, so I turned it off. Right, you mentioned a scout from the Suns? What do you mean?"

Li Nan grinned. "What else could it mean? The guy admitted it himself. He was there to scout you and Hu Weidong. Old Liu, the Suns are interested in you! They want to sign you! Think about it, if that wasn’t the case, why would their head athletic trainer be so nice and offer to treat you before the game?"

His face was filled with excitement, wearing an expression that said, ’You’re about to make it big!’

Liu Yudong was a little stunned.

He had no idea the Suns had sent a scout to watch him in person.

Thinking back on it now, Chen Yu had indeed been a bit overly enthusiastic, not only offering to treat him but also offering to reduce the treatment fee and everything.

’So they want to sign me, huh?’

For a moment, even someone as calm as him couldn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat.

’The NBA... I’ve actually wanted to go, too.’

’If for no other reason, I’d want to go just for that salary.’

「That afternoon, the men’s basketball team had a scheduled practice.」

Liu Yudong had rested all morning and recovered some strength. He prepared to head to the training facility with his teammates.

The moment the group stepped out of the hotel, CLICK, CLICK! A barrage of camera flashes nearly engulfed them.

"Da Liu, over here!"

"Coach Wang, are the Suns really planning to sign Liu Yudong?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Da Liu, have the Suns contacted you?"

A swarm of reporters rushed forward, bombarding them with a babble of questions.

This startled Kuang Lubin and the others.

Once they finally managed to get on the bus, Wang Fei first reminded everyone to focus on their training and the games, and to worry less about things off the court for now.

The situation with Wang Zhizhi was still up in the air.

And Liu Yudong was Wang Zhizhi’s teammate, in a situation not so different from his.

Only then did he sit down next to Kuang Lubin and ask in a low voice, "Director, what do you make of this?"

Kuang Lubin had his arms crossed, lost in thought. Hearing Wang Fei’s question, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said, rather cryptically, "Now this makes sense."

During the game the day before yesterday, Kuang Lubin had found it strange. Why would a head athletic trainer like Chen Yu suddenly be so kind as to diagnose Liu Yudong? And he seemed to know every detail of Liu Yudong’s condition. He was even willing to cut the treatment fee by half later on.

’Five hundred thousand US dollars... waived just like that?’

Now he understood. The Suns had probably been eyeing Liu Yudong for a long time and knew his situation inside and out.

Seeing Wang Fei still looking at him, waiting for more, Kuang Lubin chuckled. "I know what you’re worried about. Da Zhi and Xiaoliu’s situations are different. As the saying goes, once you let one sheep out, you might as well let out the whole flock. Since Yao Ming was allowed to go, then of course others can too."