The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 1929 - 18: Horror Story (2)

The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 1929 - 18: Horror Story (2)

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Being a team owner is different; if the team has been running smoothly for over a decade or two, the owner can sit back and relax.

But the Glory Team was rushed into the spotlight, and if compared to a game, the Glory Team took only a year from preparation to launch, relying on a major event to get approved.

Then it only took a month and a half from launch to official, paid operations, and on opening day, the server exploded as users rushed in.

It can be predicted that no matter how well the game is made, it will inevitably be full of bugs, and programmers will have to work overtime for maintenance, balding from stress, while various trivial matters and unexpected events sap every minute of a person's energy.

As a team owner, dealing with various emergencies and problems daily, from major aspects like team strategy, and signing contracts with partners and suppliers, to minor details like the color of the seats in the arena and the hues of promotional posters, Wang Fuxi had to handle it all personally, striving to establish a strong team culture from the first season.

Gan Guoyang understood Wang Fuxi's struggles, so he agreed to skip the training plan the next day to attend his daughter's school event.

Born in '92, Gan Wenyi is in third grade this year. After attending school in Portland for two years, she had to transfer to Portland with her parents this year.

Her older brother, Gan Wenshan, is already in fifth grade and didn't want to leave Portland, insisting on finishing elementary school there.

In Portland, he was good friends with Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, and others, all attending Oswego Lake Park School.

After much consideration, the couple decided to let Gan Wenshan stay in Portland, lodging at Klay Thompson's home.

After graduating from elementary school, he would transfer to a middle school in Las Vegas, especially since he was getting older.

If he insisted on staying in Portland to continue his studies, it wouldn't be impossible, but he'd have to attend a boarding school.

As for the little daughter, Gan Guoyang was absolutely uneasy about leaving such a small child in Portland, so they took her to Las Vegas.

For children, moving and transferring schools is a painful experience; they have to leave a familiar environment.

They have to part from old friends and classmates and then adapt to new surroundings and new friends.

When leaving, kids always think they'll one day return to their old friends and reunite with them.

But in most cases, they'll forget each other, and others will forget them too.

Thus, they learn for the first time what true separation is, understanding how emotions are diluted by time.

For Gan Wenyi, not only did she have to leave familiar Portland and friends, but also her brother with whom she grew up.

Although they often quarreled and fought, in reality, being separated from her brother, losing his protection, left a void in the girl's heart.

However, Gan Wenshan, carefree as ever, talked about "distance creates beauty," saying "I'll call you every day," and then happily and freely settled at Klay Thompson's house, like a tiger released back into the wild or a dragon swimming the vast ocean.

He would often stay over at Stephen Curry's house for a couple of days and had a great relationship with both families; without parental supervision, he was practically uncontrollable.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi were busy with the new team, so busy that they were barely ever seen at home.

Gan Wenyi spent most of her time with her grandfather, while Gan Youwei, being ill, had inconsistent memory.

Of course, there were maids and housekeepers at home, ensuring food, clothing, and safety were not an issue, but Gan Wenyi felt strange and lonely.

This led to her poor mental state during the first few weeks of school in Las Vegas.

At school, she was unwilling to interact much with new teachers and classmates, wasn't active in class, and lost interest in many things she once loved.

She went to school every day in a bad mood, though no one bullied or targeted her.

Gan Guoyang, always busy with the new team and games, had not paid much attention to his daughter's growth for a long time.

Upon learning of the situation, he felt very guilty and went to his daughter's room at night to tell her stories.

Gan Wenyi found the fairy tales other kids liked boring; she preferred quirky, bizarre, even scary stories.

Of course, Gan Guoyang was reluctant to tell horror stories to a third-grade girl, fearing they'd leave a psychological scar.

But Gan Wenyi persistently demanded them, saying, "Brother has told me many already, I'm not scared at all. Those things are fake, just for fun, not scary."

Since 1999, due to the impact of a spy case, Gan Guoyang hadn't properly spent time with his daughter in over two years.

Various incidents had put considerable pressure on the two kids, even threatening their safety at times, and the siblings had supported each other through those days.

Faced with his daughter's request, Gan Guoyang found it difficult to refuse and could only say, "Alright, I'll tell you one. If you get scared halfway through, just tell me, and I'll stop, okay?"

"I can definitely listen to the whole thing, I won't be scared."

"OK, I'll tell you about... the story of the Dead Boyfriend."

"I know what a boyfriend is, someone you marry in the future."

"Not necessarily, don't think nonsense at a young age, just listen carefully. This story happened in 1988, in Portland. Back then, neither you nor your brother were born, and Dad was playing for the Trail Blazers. On a ramp leading to the Holiday Inn off Oregon's Interstate 5, a pair of young lovers went out on a date. They parked their car under an oak tree along the ramp; it was already late at night, and the girl, being a student, was supposed to return to her dorm to rest."

"But the car wouldn't start, so the boyfriend said to her, you stay in the car and don't move, I'll go to the nearby Holiday Inn to make a call for help. There weren't mobile phones back then, only landlines. So the boyfriend left, locking the car door. The girl waited and waited in the car, but the boyfriend never came back, and suddenly..."

Gan Wenyi clutched Gan Guoyang's strong arm for some comfort, and Gan Guoyang chuckled, "What, are you frightened? How about I stop here, and you sleep?"

"No! I want to hear the end, hurry up, I'm just a bit chilly."

"Alright, I'll continue. Suddenly she heard a 'screech, screech, screech' sound from above, as if something was continuously scratching at the rooftop. She was terrified but couldn't leave because it was too dark outside. She curled up in the car and fell asleep until dawn when she was rescued from the car by a crowd gathered outside."

"When she was rescued, she almost fainted because she saw... her boyfriend hanging dead from the oak tree, and the 'screech screech' sound from the night was made by his shoes scraping the car roof. Since then, the road's been known as Hangman's Road~ It's finished now, time for bed."

Gan Wenyi pouted and asked, "Why did he…"

"Oh, no specific reason, it's just a strange urban legend, don't overthink it. If you're scared, dad will stay with you a bit longer."

"No, nothing to fear, I'm going to sleep now, Dad."

Gan Wenyi insisted she wasn't afraid and ushered Gan Guoyang back to the master bedroom to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later, she opened the door to her parents' room and climbed into the big bed, saying she wanted to sleep with her parents.

Wang Fuxi was puzzled, asking why, saying that starting from third grade, she was supposed to sleep alone.

Gan Wenyi said she was frightened by the story her dad told her.

Upon discovering that Gan Guoyang told horror stories to their daughter before bed, Wang Fuxi angrily banished him to the sofa to sleep, while she slept with the daughter. πšπ—Ώπ—²πžπš π•–π›π—»π—Όπ―π•–πš•.πšŒπ—Όπ—Ί

Gan Guoyang rolled his eyes at his daughter, saying, "You're the one who wanted to hear it!"

Wang Fuxi threw a pillow at him, "The older you get, the less disciplined you are, regressing each day!"

The next day, on the way to school, Gan Wenyi told Gan Guoyang, "Dad, tell me another scary story tonight."

"Spare me, darling, you'll lose sleep, and these stories are so dull; listen to enjoyable, meaningful ones instead."

"No, I like them."

"But you get scared."

"Even then, I like them; the more scared I am, the more I want to try. And it's not truly frightening; as long as I don't get a boyfriend, everything's fine."

"Oh~ That works."

Afterward, at the school event, Gan Guoyang donated a modern gymnasium to the elementary school, named after his daughter.

From then on, Gan Wenyi's mood about school improved greatly.

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