I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Chapter 87: Another Headline

Blue-collar workers —

Upon landing in Orlando, Lin Bei once again encountered blue-collar rhetoric.

He really wanted to retort – "Who's ever seen a center averaging 16.1 points and 3.3 assists per game called a blue-collar player?"

Unfortunately, his problem remains: he lacks a voice that can speak for him at any time.

At the airport exit, reporter Xiao Zhang, who had arrived in Orlando ahead of time, rolled down his car window and waved to Lin Bei with a smile. Standing next to Lin Bei was Curry, who had landed at the same time as him.

The two then got into reporter Xiao Zhang's car, which, strictly speaking, was sent by CCTV.

Lin Bei's successful selection for the All-Star Weekend this year caused a huge sensation in China.

This marks the first time since Yao Ming that an NBA All-Star player has appeared on the court as a genuine All-Star, drawing significant attention from the official level.

Therefore, in addition to reporter Xiao Zhang who followed and reported on Linbei throughout the entire process, CCTV also specially assembled a complete broadcasting team, with Director Zhang and Yu Jia all personally present in Orlando.

CCTV-5 has a segment about a basketball park, and Coach Zhang plans to take this opportunity to interview Lin Bei and incorporate the interview into the basketball park segment. Reporter Xiao Zhang came to discuss this matter.

On the bus, reporter Zhang hesitated before finally bringing up the topic: "The incident where Windhorst criticized you for being a blue-collar worker has really excited domestic fans—"

Lin Bei shook his head. What's the use of domestic fans getting excited? The important thing is the American fans.

In truth, reporter Xiao Zhang is essentially Lin Beiyang's mouthpiece in China. With her around, he certainly has far fewer troubles on that land across the ocean.

Take his rivalry with Jeremy Lin, for example. At first, domestic fans didn't quite understand why they would fight each other when they were both Asian.

Later, thanks to reporter Xiao Zhang's continuous articles analyzing the inside story, domestic fans began to overwhelmingly support Lin Bei.

However, domestic players can't help with this battle for Rookie of the Year between Lin Bei and Irving.

Currently, Tencent has not yet acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights for the NBA at a hefty price, and there are no official journalists in China who hold voting rights for regular season honors. Even with overwhelming fan demand, it cannot shake the judging standards of North American media.

Curry, who was watching the two's conversation in Chinese the whole time, couldn't understand a word and his heart was pounding.

He frowned slightly, wondering to himself: Could it be that Best has cheated on me?

But with reporter Xiao Zhang right in front of him, he had to suppress his curiosity and held it in the whole way.

Only after getting off the bus and watching reporter Zhang drive away did he nudge Lin Bei with his elbow: "Tell me honestly, did you hide a girlfriend in China and start dating another one in the US?"

Lin Bei rolled his eyes helplessly and explained with a wry smile, "What are you guessing? You should remember this reporter Zhang. She's the CCTV5 reporter stationed in the Bay Area. She's at Oracle Arena for every one of our home games."

Curry suddenly realized what was going on, and then waved his hand apologetically: "Oh, I see. Sorry, I'm a little face-blind when it comes to Asians, I didn't recognize you."

Lin Bei immediately became interested and joked with a smile, "You can't even recognize faces? Next time I bring a group of Chinese friends, will you even recognize me?"

Without even thinking, Curry shook his head: "Absolutely not."

"Oh? Why? Is it because I'm handsome?" Lin Bei raised an eyebrow, waiting for his praise with a smile.

Curry scrutinized him for a few seconds, then said with a hint of reluctant honesty, "Although I hate to admit it, you do have a face that's exceptionally blessed with natural talent."

Seriously, has anyone ever told you that you look like Chris Evans?

"Chris Evans? Who's that?" Lin Bei asked blankly.

Curry rolled his eyes: "You don't even know Captain America?"

"Oh, it's Captain America. I recognize him."

Lin Bei understood instantly.

He frequently watches Hollywood blockbusters and is very familiar with the classic characters on screen, but he can't remember the actors' specific names.

"The more I look at it, the more it resembles him, and the temperament matches perfectly," Curry remarked sincerely.

Lin Bei stroked his chin thoughtfully: "So, in your American eyes, Captain America's looks are top-tier?"

Curry nodded emphatically, giving an affirmative answer.

At this moment, Lin Bei finally understood all the causes and consequences.

No wonder Khloé Kardashian was willing to cross any line to get close to him after meeting him;

No wonder Kendall Jenner has been so enamored with him lately, showing him nothing but affection.

And the Kardashian sisters will naturally not miss this high-profile spectacle at the Orlando All-Star Weekend.

However, their schedule was a bit late, and at this moment they were still stuck in the business class waiting area of ​​New York Airport, not yet having departed.

Kim Kardashian didn't bring Kanye West this time. She turned to Kendall beside her, her eyes full of shrewd calculation, and smiled sweetly: "Kendall, on this trip to Orlando, could you bring your boyfriend out more often?"

Kendall had never seen her second sister act so deliberately ingratiatingly, and felt a little uneasy. She asked softly, "Why are you showing yourself?"

In her opinion, the more she appeared in public, the better to go back to her room and sleep. She hadn't seen Lin Bei for several days.

"This is all about generating buzz, Kendall—"

Kim Kardashian's eyes lit up; every word she uttered was a business savvy tactic.

Kendall hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.

But Khloe felt that Kendall was using Lin Bei to manipulate her and Kim, so she grumbled twice to express her dissatisfaction.

This expression of dissatisfaction instantly ignited Kendall's temper, and she immediately changed her tune, her tone becoming somewhat sarcastic: "Never mind, it seems like Khloé isn't too keen on it, so let's just forget about it then."

Last time, Lin Bei set a trap, hoping that Kendall would expose Khloe's attempt to make a move on him.

As a result, Khloe didn't cause Kendall any further trouble, and the matter was dropped.

But in reality, after Kendall returned to Los Angeles, Kim Kardashian organized a gathering, called her girlfriends together, and thoroughly discussed the matter.

Kim is the core of the former Kardashian sisters, after all, her boyfriend Kanye's status speaks for itself.

At the time, Kim suggested that Kendall Jenner's ability to hook up with Lin Bei was due to her own skill, and Khloe shouldn't keep harping on the fact that Kendall stole a man.

Kendall certainly had no objection to this, but Khloe looked displeased. However, as a married woman, she had no choice but to accept the situation.

But Jin didn't expect that Lin Bei could directly enter the NBA All-Star Game.

This is something that neither her ex-husband Chris Humphries nor Khloe's current husband Lamar Odom could do.

Khloe's dissatisfaction prompted Kendall Jenner to speak up, and Kim quickly comforted her: "Ignore that useless woman, listen to me, Kendall—"

These words instantly enraged Kohler. She looked up abruptly, her voice trembling with anger: "What makes you think you can call me trash?!"

Jin raised an eyebrow and retorted without hesitation: "If you're not trash, then who is? Your Lamar is getting on in years, has he ever made an All-Star game in all these years?"

She then pointed at Kendall Jenner, her tone full of envy: "Look at Kendall again, with her first move, she landed a top-tier asset like Best Lin!"

Kohler subconsciously compared Lin Bei's talent and popularity with Odom's mediocrity, and instantly lost his confidence.

His arrogance completely vanished, and he lowered his head dejectedly, muttering softly, "I want to divorce that bastard Lamar—"

As night falls, Orlando is ablaze with lights.

Kendall and her group flew to Orlando, and Lin Bei met with her immediately. Kim and Khloé also joined them.

At Kim's suggestion, the four of them sat down at a top-notch restaurant in Orlando for dinner.

Unsurprisingly, the photo of the four of them together was quickly captured by paparazzi who had been lying in wait, and it spread rapidly throughout the major entertainment tabloids.

Lin Bei didn't care about this.

During this dinner, Lin Bei also finalized something.

When he travels to Los Angeles for away games, he will take time to appear on the Kardashian family's hit reality show to boost his popularity.

After dinner, Kendall, who could no longer contain her longing, dragged Lin Bei straight to the hotel room she had booked in advance, under Khloe's extremely jealous gaze.

More than an hour later.

With his body and mind relaxed, Lin Bei leaned against the headboard, entering a state of post-coital bliss, and casually scrolled through his phone.

The fight for Rookie of the Year continues, with Kyrie Irving's side putting up a counterattack.

Following Brian Windhorst, ESPN's Marc Stein, BR's Chris Fedor, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer's new editor Joe Varden all spoke out, publicly supporting Kyrie Irving.

This coordinated public opinion attack was entirely within Lin Bei's expectations.

"Those who sign with Nike definitely have a head start in terms of public opinion; you have to admire them."

As the number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Kyrie Irving secured a lucrative shoe contract with Nike even before the draft, giving him a significant advantage in terms of resources.

There have been rumors that "signing to Nike will get you preferential treatment from the NBA league," but this is actually a misconception.

However, it is undeniable that players who sign with Nike are more likely to control public opinion and win personal honors; this is an open secret in the NBA.

As a die-hard LeBron James fan, Lin Bei still needs to use James as an example—

In the 2015 NBA Finals, James was able to get 4 Finals MVP votes despite the Cavaliers losing 2-4, thanks to Nike's efforts.

At this time, the three authoritative media outlets, ESPN, BR, and Yahoo Sports, or more accurately, these three journalists, spoke out for Irving despite the facts, which was also due to Nike's behind-the-scenes efforts.

Nike has offered Kyrie Irving the biggest shoe contract of this year's rookies, and naturally, they will not allow the Rookie of the Year honor to fall into the hands of someone else.

If the person who beats Irving also signs with Nike, then perhaps we can discuss and weigh the options.

However, Lin Bei was signed with Under Armour, a direct competitor of Nike, so the latter naturally had to do everything in its power to suppress him.

Lin Bei thought for a moment, then edited a tweet.

"Don't rush things. Tomorrow's rookie game will be my chance to prove I'm the best rookie in this draft!"

After posting the tweet, he turned to look at Kendall beside him.

Although unremarkable, that face was indeed very alluring. He felt that his period of spiritual enlightenment had ended, so he mounted his horse again.

But almost an hour later, while he was still frantically driving the pile, a clear system notification sounded in his mind: [Valid headline +1]

He was stunned for a moment, thinking that his competition with Irving for Rookie of the Year had completely ignited public opinion.

He then accelerated rapidly, eager to end the battle before him.

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