Chapter 159 Confessing to Yifei?

As soon as the small trophy was secured, Ryan He was immediately surrounded by reporters.

"Ryan, I heard that adding performance elements to this game was your idea. How did you come up with such a brilliant concept?"

A reporter asked in an astonished tone.

"Brilliant? I just didn't want to actually play hard during my vacation; that would be too exhausting. So I casually mentioned it to everyone: 'Let's just mess around and have fun,' and then everyone agreed."

Ryan He said indifferently.

Naturally, the reporters didn't believe such nonsense.

However, since this was Ryan He's time to show off, no one felt like challenging him.

"Ryan, the ratings for this Rising Stars Challenge have broken historical records. Do you think this will go down as the most successful Rising Stars Challenge ever?"

"Probably not."

Ryan's answer took everyone by surprise. After all, this guy never knew the meaning of modesty; this answer just didn't sound like him at all.

Fortunately, Ryan He continued to elaborate.

He said, "After all, I'll still be a rookie this time next year. If I still can't make the main All-Star roster, I might just have to play in the Rising Stars Challenge another time."

Good grief, everyone finally realized they had jumped to conclusions.

He was still the same old Ryan, delivering that familiar flavor.

What he meant was clearly that as long as he participated one more time, he could definitely break the record again.

In the past, reporters actually loved such arrogant remarks because they could seize the opportunity to question him and then sit back and wait for him to be proven wrong.

But this time, they hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Because none of them doubted that Ryan He could actually pull it off.

"Ryan, you've shown unparalleled talent in basketball, dancing, music, and even scriptwriting. May I ask why you are so smart?"

A reporter asked.

"I am very smart, but I don't know why I'm very smart. So, am I still considered very smart? But if this isn't considered smart, then I..."

Ryan He immediately launched into a tongue-twister, repeating the word "smart" nearly ten times in a single sentence.

Good grief, now it would be hard for anyone not to associate the word "smart" with him, yet he hadn't even explicitly admitted he was smart. Apart from cursing the player for being shameless in their hearts, the reporters could only blame the interviewer for asking such a completely deranged question.

"How does it feel to participate in the All-Star weekend for the first time and win the Rising Stars Challenge MVP?"

"Among your fellow rookies, who do you think is the strongest, and who is the most comfortable to play alongside?"

...

Next came a few more conventional questions, which Ryan He answered in a conventional manner.

Of course, he would have loved to answer every question with his signature flair, but that required too much impromptu reaction, and even he couldn't manage it every single time.

Still, even so, his interviews undisputedly produced the most memorable quotes and variety among all the players—period.

Having fended off these people, Ryan He still had to face interviews with the domestic media.

Meanwhile, those reporters turned their microphones toward other rookies, trying to dig up some different news from them.

"Ryan is an amazing player, witty and humorous. I imagine playing basketball with him must be a lot of fun."

Nate Robinson transformed into a little fanboy.

"Ryan is fantastic. I really want to play with him because our philosophies are the same: happy basketball."

Howard was equally straightforward.

"Ryan is the strongest among this rookie class."

Paul said helplessly. Since everyone else was praising him, it wouldn't do for him to be an outlier.

On the other hand, the number one draft pick Bogut said sourly, "This game was spectacular? So-so. The persona I had in the game was absolute nonsense; my rebounding ability is very strong, and it doesn't rely on luck."

The reporters were dumbfounded upon hearing this, as nobody had even asked about that.

Besides, did something like that even need explaining? Everyone knew that persona was just for comedic effect. What was the point of deliberately explaining it?

By this point, reporters had already mentally slapped a "brainless" label on Bogut.

On the other side, Ryan He was accepting a live interview with CCTV.

"Ah-Xing, share your secret to success with the domestic fans. For example, how did you manage to get players from different teams to listen to you and cooperate with you to pull off this performance in the Rising Stars Challenge?"

Asked Zhang Heeli, who had also traveled to the venue.

After all, this All-Star weekend was in Houston, Yao Ming's home turf.

Moreover, as Ryan He and Yao Ming played better and better, the NBA's influence back home was growing larger by the day, and the sports channel was even considering stationing permanent staff in the United States.

"It's simple."

Ryan He's first sentence amused the fans in front of their televisions; they all loved Ryan's unconventional answers.

Ryan He continued to elaborate, saying, "As long as your strength is greater than theirs, you just beat the unconvinced into submission."

Zhang Heeli paused for a moment. He realized that while Ryan's answer seemed somewhat unhinged, it was actually logical and reasonable.

If they aren't convinced, you just beat them until they are—simple as that.

The reason Yao Ming hadn't been able to rule the roost on his team was, to put it bluntly, that he just wasn't arrogant enough.

"This Rising Stars Challenge was a huge success. How did you manage to let go so completely during the game? Do you have any secrets in this regard that you can share with Da Yao?"

Zhang Heeli asked.

Yao Ming's performances during All-Star games often left fans disappointed, giving the impression that he couldn't let loose.

Thus, Zhang Heeli posed the question.

"It's simple."

The signature Ryan-esque prefix.

The audience chuckled and began anticipating the upcoming Ryan-esque twist.

Ryan He said, "You just have to be shameless. At worst, the performance fails, and everyone gets a good laugh—there's nothing wrong with that. In comedy movies, there are even specific clowns whose job is to make fools of themselves for laughs."

Having said that, he didn't seem satisfied yet, and continued sharing: "It's the same in life. Never care about saving face; human beings in this world will inevitably be mocked. What's the big deal? Caring too much about other people's perceptions will only make you lose yourself.

"When you see a girl you like, you must confess boldly and leave no regrets. Look, I'm like that—I like Yifei, and I can say it right now in front of countless people. You can laugh all you want, I won't lose a single pound of flesh..."

"That's all for today, Ah-Xing still has many activities to attend to. We'll have an exclusive interview after he wraps up, so fans can look forward to that."

Zhang Heeli hurriedly cut Ryan He off. This interview couldn't go on; what kind of nonsense was he talking about? It was practically corrupting the youth, absolutely unacceptable.

China valued subtlety; they couldn't afford to adopt that uninhibited Western style.

Confessing love to a girl during a live broadcast interview was simply too outrageous. Besides, who was Yifei? Was she some female athlete?

"Damn, Director Zhang is going too far. Why did he only ask two questions?"

"Hahaha, Director Zhang must have been embarrassed by Brother Xing and hastily cut the interview short."

"I reckon Brother Xing didn't say anything wrong though. Caring too much about other people's evaluations is just living for others."

"Since you don't care, why don't you go streaking down the street right now?"

"Turns out Brother Xing is just like me, falling for the Fairy Sister. Crap, now I've got competition."

Some viewers were making jokes, while others began engaging in philosophical reflections on life.

When the last fan brazenly declared that he wanted to compete with Ryan He for the Fairy Sister, everyone else gave him a collective thumbs-up.

One had to admit, that mysterious confidence was very much in Ryan He's style.

With the broadcast ending, Chinese fans were quite satisfied.

Not only had they witnessed Ryan's spectacular performance in the game, but they had also seen an alternative dramatic interpretation—altogether, their plates were full.

The only small regret was that the interview with Ryan He was too short; everyone wanted to hear what other jaw-dropping remarks he might come up with.

Regrettably, CCTV was too serious and actually cut the interview short.

Although there would be an exclusive interview afterwards, fans tended to look down on edited content; what they really loved was the uncut version.

However, from that brief snippet of an interview, the audience had also managed to pick up a juicy piece of gossip.

Ryan He liked the Fairy Sister.

At this time, the Fairy Sister had already starred in *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* and *Chinese Paladin*, placing her right in the middle of her meteoric rise to fame with countless domestic fans and rave reviews.

It wouldn't be until many years later, when audiences grew accustomed and numb to her beauty—when her looks could no longer easily stir audience emotions and attention—that the media would begin digging into her nationality to stir up controversy and watch her public reputation plummet.

At present, quite a few viewers actually thought Ryan He and the Fairy Sister made a great match.

The sharp-nosed media also tracked down Yifei, who was busy promoting *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, at the very first opportunity.

"Is this fake?"

Yifei asked in a daze, having had zero interaction with Ryan He.

He liked her? That was far too hasty.

"It's real, we even have video evidence here. Facing Ah-Xing's public confession, what is your stance—do you accept or reject?"

The reporter asked.

"..."

Yifei was left speechless.

After weighing her words, she said, "Ryan He is an outstanding player, and I sometimes watch him play. However, I don't know him well, and I think he's just joking."

This kind of answer made Big Mimi, standing off to the side, burning with envy.

At this time, her fame was still far below Yifei's. If Ryan He had said he liked her, she would have gladly accepted and used the gossip to hype herself up thoroughly.

Played right, achieving overnight fame would be a walk in the park.

After all, Ryan He's domestic popularity at this moment was blazing like the midday sun; even ordinary citizens who didn't follow entertainment knew his name, knowing he played ball in a foreign land, brought glory to the country, and was the pride of Chinese basketball.

The fan base of such a sports superstar was vastly larger than that of any film or television star.

Perhaps the reporter heard her inner voice, or perhaps the reporter simply hadn't gotten an explosive answer from Yifei.

So, the reporter threw a parting question to the minor extra Big Mimi: "Are you a fan of Ryan? If Ryan confessed his love to you, would you accept?"

"Of course I am, he is my idol. Confess to me? No, no, no, that's impossible, I'm not worthy of him."

Though Big Mimi didn't directly say she accepted either, the implication in her words was already crystal clear.

Her response was still quite endearing to the community of Ryan's fans.