The longest river

Chapter 185 "Get out of my way! I want to fight Michael one-on-one!"

After the open practice session, Yang Shuai and the other All-Stars sat on the sidelines as VIP spectators.

With nothing much to see this year, Yang Shuai also picked up his phone to play out of boredom.

However, mobile phones in this era have limited functions and not much to offer in terms of entertainment.

After playing Snake for a while, he browsed through the messages but found nothing interesting.

Just then, he remembered something and took out the contact information Richards had left in his wallet.

"where?"

He sent Richards a text message.

After waiting for a while, the other party did not reply.

He could only put his phone away and turn his attention back to the dunk contest.

Why do these people keep being so petty?
Judging from this situation, it really won't be interesting to watch until Carter enters the NBA.

It was at this moment that he remembered Ronnie Fields, who had amazed him back in training camp and surpassed Carter in jumping ability.

He was curious why he had no connection with Fields in his past life, assuming he had simply faded into obscurity in the NCAA.

Actually, around this time two years ago, Fields was in a car accident and suffered a serious neck injury; he almost died.

He actually really wanted to compete against him on the NBA stage, which is a bit of a pity.

Just as he was reflecting on this, Yang Shuai's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Richards replying to his message.

"New York."

Upon seeing those two words, Yang Shuai felt he had something to do that night.

After the individual events were over, Yang Shuai had Ray Johnson drive to the back entrance of a theater on Lincoln Avenue.

During All-Star Weekend, Rondo registered a company in New York and found an office.

Yang Shuai also purchased two commercial vehicles, one large and one small, for the company.

He requisitioned the larger one during the All-Star break.

After all, he's too small to fit in the car.

About half an hour later, the back door of the theater opened, and a figure walked towards the car where Yang Shuai was.

The moment Yang Shuai rolled down the car window, his heart rate spiked.

Because Richards was wearing the military uniform from Starship Troopers!
This time it really wasn't Yang Shuai's request, because when they were chatting earlier, Richards only mentioned that she was attending an event in New York.

It now appears that the event Richards attended was related to film promotion.

Richards got into the car, and Ray Johnson drove onto the main road.

Yang Shuai was pleasantly surprised and very happy. It was also the first time he had asked about Richards' event.

This made Richards open his eyes wide.

She felt she should retract her previous assessment of Yang Shuai as "cold-blooded".

Kobe: I didn't sit down. Yang Shuai is a very considerate person.

Just then, Johnson suddenly slammed on the brakes.

Someone suddenly rushed out from the side of the road.

Nothing is surprising on the streets of New York.

Richards, who was sitting next to Yang Shuai, fell down due to inertia.

Yang Shuai quickly reached out to help her; it would be troublesome if Richards got injured.

When Richards got up, he didn't grab Yang Shuai's hand at first, but grabbed something else hard instead.

She quickly withdrew her hand and stared at Yang Shuai with wide eyes again.

A strange sense of pride welled up within me.

Yang Shuai looked slightly embarrassed.

You can't blame him. When the two of them parted ways last time, he was already thinking about whether he should have the other person wear the military uniform from Starship Troopers when they met again.

He didn't even ask, but the other person put it on, giving him a pleasant surprise.

After the slightly awkward situation, Yang Shuai originally wanted to continue helping Richards up.

To his utter surprise, Richards gave a meaningful smile and then tied his hair up.

Yang Shuai didn't even realize what was happening; they were right there on the street!
He quickly turned to the side to block the view outside the car.

Johnson reacted quickly, turning the rearview mirror to the side and then driving the car onto the path along the New York River.

As the car drove along the busy streets of New York, with cars constantly passing by and Richards, who was engaging in a verbal battle, right in front of him, Yang Shuai felt particularly nervous at this moment.

His face quickly turned red.

About ten minutes later, Johnson drove to a secluded corner by the river where few people passed by, got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and stood guard a short distance away.

A short while later, the car behind him began to shake rhythmically.

A night breeze blew by, carrying faint sounds of insects chirping in the night.

Spring is almost here.

……

On All-Star Game day, massive traffic jams occurred on the streets of Manhattan, New York, forcing police to take to the streets to manage the traffic.

As Anfernee Hardaway said in an interview before the All-Star Game, New York is a basketball city, and Madison Square Garden, the "basketball mecca," is located in the heart of Manhattan.

However, some savvy fans opted for the subway, as Madison Square Garden is located directly above Pennsylvania Station. While they had to endure some urine odor, it was better than being stuck in traffic.

With more than an hour to go before the game, the stadium was already packed with people inside and out.

The All-Stars had already arrived at the arena early to warm up and give interviews.

Yang Shuai was chatting with Kobe Bryant on the sidelines.

He was still savoring the novel and exciting experience he had last night, and he felt great.

He was talking about how the two of them would cooperate later.

This year's Western Conference All-Star starters include two starting centers, Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone, both of whom have a history of conflict with Yang Shuai. Of course, Yang Shuai is not going to set up the ball for them.

The last player in the starting lineup is Payton, whose physical attributes are mediocre. In comparison, Kobe is clearly a better choice.

It was at this time that Kobe made a request to Yang Shuai: that he be responsible for guarding Jordan.

It's been almost two months since Yang Shuai taught him the puppy footwork technique. He's been practicing hard in private, and tonight he'll test it out on Jordan.

After the on-site preparations were completed, the All-Star opening ceremony began.

Because it was in New York, the Western Army was the first to appear.

Kobe was the first to appear. When he came on stage, there were some boos, but mostly cheers.

Just as Yang Shuai said to reporters, Kobe's starting position was chosen by the fans.

O'Neal was the second to last to appear, and the cheers from the crowd reached an overwhelming level.

Shaquille O'Neal's playful and entertaining style has won him a large number of fans.

However, while O'Neal was still savoring the moment, when Yang Shuai finally took the court, the entire Madison Square Garden erupted in a frenzy.

He was the All-Star vote leader in 1998, surpassing even Michael Jordan!
Of course, it's also because this is New York, and Yang Shuai is the mayor of New York City!
Yang Shuai once jokingly asked fans to vote for him when they were running for mayor, and this year they actually did, and not just one vote.

It was evident from Yang Shuai's previous transfer that she was like a goddess to New York fans, as the saying goes, "Even if the goddess torments me a thousand times, I will still treat her like my first love."

Even by comparison, Jordan seemed slightly less impressive when he took the court last.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players from both sides took to the field one after another.

East Team: Anfernee Hardaway, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, Shawn Kemp, Dikembe Mutombo

Western Conference: Payton, Young, Kobe, Malone, O'Neal
Amid cheers from the fans, Mutombo passed the ball back to the East team's half, and the All-Star Game officially began.

After Hardaway brought the ball across half-court, he passed it to Jordan.

Everyone knows Jordan might retire this summer, and these successors are all playing along with his performance.

When Jordan saw that Kobe was guarding him, he immediately accelerated to get past him.

However, once he started, he realized that he hadn't managed to shake off Kobe.

Kobe's delicate sliding steps seemed familiar.

But Jordan is still Jordan. Without completely shaking off Kobe, he pulled up for a jump shot and made the first basket of the game over Kobe.

After making the shot, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Yang Shuai.

Originally, it was Yang Shuai who was matched up against him, but now not only has it been Kobe, but Yang Shuai's defensive style has also been used.

Why does it feel like Yang Shuai was too embarrassed to ruin his performance at the All-Star Game, so she sent a lackey instead?

During the transition from offense to defense, Payton dribbled the ball forward past midfield and then passed it to Yang Shuai.

Payton's emotional intelligence fluctuates, but tonight he seemed to be in a high emotional intelligence phase, as he discerned from the entrance ceremony whose performance the fans wanted to see.

Jordan had also gotten into a defensive stance.

Yang Shuai tried some tricks, and he was prepared to deal with them seriously.

But at that moment, Yang Shuai gave him a sinister smile.

Before he could understand what the smile meant, he heard a gasp of surprise from the crowd.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Shuai tossed the ball over his head.

Behind Jordan, Kobe made a beautiful back cut to shake off Hill and was making a quick cut along the baseline towards the basket.

Yang Shuai's pass fully demonstrated his improved passing skills recently; it was perfectly timed, and the ball even led the man.

Kobe showcased his physical prowess, leaping high, stretching his body in mid-air, and delivering a powerful alley-oop dunk for the score.

The stadium was instantly filled with cheers from New York fans.

An alley-oop connection from the league's genius high school player on the perimeter!

"Positive energy from Kobe Bryant +521".

Kobe found Yang Shuai while retreating on defense and immediately gave him an excited high-five.

Yang Shuai was also slightly surprised, not expecting any surprises at the All-Star Game.

Jordan continues to receive the ball in the frontcourt.

Malone wanted to come up and help defend, but Kobe yelled at him and sent him packing.

"Get out of my way! I want to fight Michael one-on-one!"

The sound was quite loud, and the fans on the sidelines heard it clearly. Ma Long's face turned red with frustration.

Jordan then turned his gaze to Yang Shuai, who was giving Kobe a thumbs-up.

He's now certain that Kobe was definitely sent by Yang to sabotage things.

(End of this chapter)