Chapter Two: Kobe Is Angry

The Clippers were on the attack. Shaun Livingston dribbled across half court, and then witnessed a scene that defied belief: Xinghui He was reaching out, calling for the ball. A rookie, making his debut, daring to demand the ball on his very first possession. And standing before him as defender was Kobe Bryant, a member of the All-Defensive First Team.

Livingston struggled to find words. Was Xinghui He arrogant, or simply ignorant?

"Hey, that rookie is calling for the ball. Maybe Kobe's trash talk just now riled him up and he wants to respond. It's gutsy, I’ll give him that, but not very rational," said Barkley, who admired Xinghui He for confronting Kobe head-on, but doubted his ability.

On the CCTV broadcast, Zhang Helix saw Xinghui He asking for the ball and remarked, "Xinghui is calling for it, but this might not be the best choice. He faces Kobe, the premier defensive player, and as a rookie, he’d be better off following the coach's tactical plan."

Chinese viewers watching the live broadcast had a range of reactions.

"Xinghui’s got guts, facing Kobe head-on."

"This isn’t great. If he misses, the coach might blame him. He should treasure this rare chance to play."

"Ha, a fringe player daring to challenge Kobe. Truly, ignorance is fearless."

...

Xinghui He was picked very late and had never gotten playing time, which had exhausted the patience of fans back home. Some who once had high hopes for him had now, inexplicably, begun to dislike him.

Fine, give him this one chance.

Livingston decided to let Xinghui He have an opportunity. After all, the main stars, Captain Brand and the others, were resting on the bench; there was no absolute scoring threat on the floor.

The ball reached Xinghui He, who didn’t hesitate at all. He unleashed his signature move, the "Summer Princess Shot," almost as if tossing a hot potato aside. Whether it would go in was left to fate; he didn’t bother to care.

What the...?

Livingston nearly lost it. I hand you a chance and you squander it like this?

Kobe was amused, too. He’d never seen such a style of play and assumed Xinghui He was just overly nervous.

Rookies, after all, always have their quirks.

But then the unexpected happened: the basketball landed in the hoop, a perfect swish.

"I heard you’re All-Defensive First Team?" Xinghui He asked Kobe, thinking that at this moment he ought to be smoking a big cigar, wearing a thick gold chain and black sunglasses, and letting some fitting background music play.

Kobe, rather than anger, broke into a smile—a sign of excitement. He’d seen countless rookies, but Xinghui He was the most distinctive among them. He appreciated that.

"From now on, I won’t let you score again." Admiration aside, the trash talk wouldn’t stop.

At the commentary table, Barkley’s jaw dropped. "Oh, holy shit, this rookie just dunked on Kobe. He responded to Kobe, and even threw trash talk back at him. His name is He, and he’s not bad—I like him."

"He’s a confident player, but provoking Kobe is never a wise move. He’s about to get blown up," said Kenny Smith.

On the Chinese side, Zhang Helix was exclaiming as soon as Livingston passed the ball, "Whoa, Xinghui’s teammate passed to him, so it looks like he’s on good terms with the team. Oh, he shoots—forces it against Kobe, that’s unreasonable. The ball...went in! Amazing. The choice was reckless, but perhaps Xinghui has practiced this, so it makes sense after all."

Many viewers were amused by Zhang’s commentary—indeed, it was perfectly reasonable.

"Xinghui looks pretty strong. Now our country finally has a superstar guard. Teaming up with Big Yao, they’ll surely do well internationally."

"Brother Yao finally has some help."

"Taking on Kobe directly—I like this Xinghui."

Online opinions change in a heartbeat. Someone can be disliked one moment, liked the next, with not a hint of embarrassment.

The game pressed on. The Lakers attacked, Kobe with the ball.

This time he didn’t post up, but used a crossover to break through. It wasn’t a move he often used, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t good at it. Against a rookie, it was more than enough.

A quick change of direction, and Xinghui He was exposed—Kobe drove past him.

Barkley: "Kobe broke through, he’s about to dunk! What’ll rookie He do? He...he...he slapped Kobe’s butt as he trailed!"

Barkley was stunned. In all his years on the court, he’d never seen such a defensive move.

Even pulling down someone’s shorts would make more sense than this.

Getting beat on a drive is normal—everyone experiences it. But the usual responses are to foul aggressively or watch the dunk. What was this butt slap supposed to achieve?

It didn’t stop the basket, and earned a foul for nothing.

Moreover, from the perspective of unnecessary actions, it could have warranted a technical foul.

Luckily, the referee was feeling sympathetic toward the rookie and only called a regular foul. Kobe converted the three-point play.

On the bench, Dunleavy patted his forehead.

Xinghui He had just ignored the playbook, which had Dunleavy on the verge of anger, but then he cleanly hit a three, which brought him unexpected joy.

But barely had the happiness settled when Xinghui He committed a bizarre foul, leaving Dunleavy speechless.

Fortunately, he wasn’t Larry Brown, or Xinghui He would’ve been benched immediately. Dunleavy decided to give Xinghui He a bit more time to observe.

Xinghui He himself was embarrassed. Having been beaten, he felt lost, unsure how to stop Kobe, yet doing nothing seemed too passive.

He was just a rookie, without the privilege or skills of someone like Harden, so he decided to do something—thus, he slapped Kobe’s butt.

Damn, this is probably going to become part of my infamy.

Xinghui He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Having black marks on his record wasn’t necessarily bad; at least, they could become stories for the future, something to reminisce about.

After slapping a man’s butt, Xinghui He flashed a mischievous smile, which startled Kobe. This guy, could he have some special interests?

The thought made Kobe’s skin crawl, and he decided to keep his distance from Xinghui He.

The Clippers attacked; Xinghui He reached out again.

Of course, Xinghui He knew that as a rookie, he had no right to demand the ball repeatedly.

But his Curry three-point shooting card only lasted three minutes. After that, he’d revert to a nobody, managing the water cooler.

So, regardless of whether it was appropriate, Xinghui He didn’t care—he’d keep reaching out while the clock ticked.

Livingston was exasperated. At this point, he wasn’t yet the championship puzzle piece he’d later become, and as a second-year rookie, he didn’t have many ways to score. His season average didn’t even hit double digits.

Even going one-on-one against Smush Parker was tough, so he decided to pass to Xinghui He again.

If the coach complained, he could always shift the blame to Xinghui He.

Xinghui He was oblivious to Livingston’s internal struggles. All he cared about was shooting as much as possible during these three minutes; nothing else mattered.

Upon receiving the ball, Kobe didn’t immediately close out, so Xinghui He seized the chance to taunt, "You should call a teammate over to double-team me. That way, the commentary will say Number 60 scored against a double-team, not just over Kobe."

Kobe was incensed. He swore he’d never seen such an audacious rookie.

He thought his own All-Star moment telling Malone to get out of the way was the height of arrogance, but today a rookie shattered that peak.

"Shut up. You won’t score again."

Kobe realized he was starting to really dislike this rookie’s trash talk.

Xinghui He didn’t hold back. He rose for the jump shot. Kobe, perhaps cautious about Xinghui He’s supposed "gay" status, didn’t defend too closely.

And Xinghui He scored again.

"Shut up. You won’t score again."

Xinghui He mimicked the accent of women from Southern California, repeating the phrase in an exaggerated, nasal tone, full of sass and distinctiveness.

Livingston was nearly doubled over with laughter. If this weren’t a serious game, he’d have lain on the floor to laugh.

Kobe’s already dark complexion turned even darker.

If Xinghui He weren’t a rookie, Kobe might have lost control and thrown an elbow, just to teach him the consequences of provoking him.