On the afternoon of April 14, 1997, DeBoer High School in the suburbs of New York was bathed in a drizzling rain.

In the small classroom, Cheng Fei was sitting in his seat, writing and drawing on a large English book, and muttering something in his mouth. With his extraordinary intelligence, Cheng Fei quickly mastered a large number of English words, and was able to not only cope with daily conversations, but also read some books that even American classmates had a headache for. Even their teacher, Mary, was amazed by this.

"The Chinese are really the smartest I've ever met." Mary often praised Cheng Fei like this.

But Cheng Fei was not complacent, he had long been accustomed to the praise of his teachers, and it was not new for his academic performance to be among the best, not to mention that this was a little-known American high school. He doesn't have any other intentions now, he can only devote all his energy to studying.

As for the defeat of Debull High School Broncos captain Ricky 'Mon' on the court that day, although under Bruce's boasting, it spread around the school and caused many people to be surprised and suspicious. But Cheng Fei didn't care, what can a small basketball game change, what does it bring?

There was a sound of heavy footsteps.

Cheng Fei didn't notice it at all, and Bruce, who was sitting nearby, raised his head vigilantly.

A group of tall guys burst into the classroom, most of them black, dressed in all sorts of clothes, tattoos, nose rings, and so on. This group of people was menacing, which immediately made the atmosphere in the classroom tense. Bruce gasped when he saw the guy in the lead.

Richie 'Mon'! What is he here to do, could it be that he is looking for ......

Bruce wasn't mistaken, and Richie 'Mon' saw the only yellow person in the classroom at a glance. He sneered, walked over and sat down in front of Cheng Fei, his thick arms resting on the desk in front of Cheng Fei, and his thick lips turned up and down: "Hey! Chinese boy, I have news for you. ”

Only then did Cheng Fei raise his head, look at Richie Meng, and then look at the group of fierce guys behind him.

Bruce rushed over and whispered, "Richie 'Mon', what are you going to do?" ”

Richie 'Mon' didn't even look at Bruce and said, "It's none of your business here!" ”

Cheng Fei pressed Bruce's arm and asked lightly, "What's the news, you can say it." ”

"I see you're playing good basketball, so I've found another court for you to play," Rich smiled maliciously, "and it's going to be a very interesting game if you will." ”

"Basketball again?" Cheng Fei flipped through the book in his hand, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested." ”

"You're going to be interested," Rich 'Mon' said, "and that's a good opponent." ”

"Who is it?" Bruce asked nervously.

"James? Livingston. "Richie 'Meng' opened his thick 'lips' and spat out the name clearly.

"Livingston?" Bruce repeated, frowning, "Sounds familiar, but I can't remember it." ”

Cheng Fei smiled slightly, "I defeated you, so I found someone to deal with me?" ”

Richie made an exaggerated gesture and waved his hand and said, "You misunderstood me." You know, my Broncos team often plays in the 'flower' garden in the middle of the street, but recently there was a man named James? Livingston's guy has taken over that field, and we're no match for him, so it's a headache for that. Chinese boy, I see that you play so well, I want you to help me out if I can beat that guy......"

Bruce immediately became excited and patted Cheng Fei on the shoulder: "Hey! Cheng, you can do it! ”

Cheng Fei glanced at Bruce in surprise, and then asked, "What if you can defeat it?" ”

"Then it did me a big favor and did the Broncos a big favor!" Richie 'Mon' blinked and said, "I promise to let Bruce join the Broncos on the first team, and I'll pay you a sum of money." If you can defeat him, I'll give you a thousand dollars!" ”

A thousand dollars! Cheng Fei and Bruce's eyebrows flew! In the United States at the time, a thousand dollars was a considerable fortune for a poor student like them. You must know that Cheng Fei is very tight now, and his uncle's family has allocated him very little living expenses, and Cheng Fei has no intention of asking for it. In his mind, adults are always right.

Bruce let out a "wow" and said, "Richie 'Mon', you're going to talk!" ”

"In front of so many people," Ricky Mont said, shrugging his shoulders, "I never break my word, and if a thousand dollars can get the Broncos to continue playing in the middle of the street, it's worth it for me." Besides, the thousand dollars may not be paid by me, and there will be a lot of people who will bet on Livingston, and I only need to bet on the Chinese kid to make a big profit! ”

Bruce's head was like a 'chicken' pecking rice, and it seemed that there were 'flowers' and 'flowers' green bills in front of his eyes.

Cheng Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "But I may not be able to defeat that guy......"

Bruce hurriedly interrupted him: "Cheng, I see you can do it!" ”

"At least give it a try." Richie's voice was extremely powerful, "Even if you lose, it doesn't matter. You are a Chinese, and in the United States, no one thinks that Chinese can play basketball. Moreover, you have never 'shown' your face, and there is no damage to your reputation......"

"That's good!" Cheng Fei made up his mind, "Tell me the time and place." ”

"At this time next week," Richie 'Meng' grinned, "it's in the 'Flower Garden' in the middle of the street." ”

"Okay." Cheng Fei nodded, "I know, I'll be there on time." ”

Rich 'Mon' stretched out his big hand and patted Cheng Fei on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, then stood up and walked out of the classroom with a group of Broncos players. It was only then that Cheng Fei's American classmates breathed a sigh of relief, and they all looked at Cheng Fei with surprised eyes, as if they were looking at monsters.

Bruce jumped up, sat on Cheng Fei's table, 'exposed' a mouthful of white teeth, and said with a smile: "Cheng, you are so 'good'!" Even Ricky 'Mon' is so convinced of your ball skills and needs to ask you for help! Oh, and it doesn't get much more interesting to make Richie owe you a big favor! ”

Cheng Fei shook his head, closed the book, and said, "Bruce, didn't you see it?" Richie clearly wanted to see me make a fool of myself, and specially found someone to beat me in public. He couldn't stand the feeling of being beaten by me that day, and as the captain of the Broncos, he felt very embarrassed, and if he asked me to play again, he was absolutely sure that he would win me. So, Richie 'Mon' came up with the idea of asking me to play with another guy. ”

Bruce was stunned, and he shook his head: "Wouldn't it?" So complicated, Richie's 'Meng's head wants so much? ”

"So, that person is definitely not an ordinary person, nine times out of ten he is a master invited by Richie." Cheng Fei said solemnly.

"James? Livingston ......," Bruce scratched his head, "I always felt like I'd heard of it somewhere." ”

"Don't think about it," Cheng Fei said with a smile, "I have to think about myself first." I haven't played for such a long time, whether it's physical fitness or ball feeling, I need to recover. A week may not be enough, I need to train intensively! ”

"Cheng!" Bruce asked, "Why did you agree to Richie if it was Richie 'Meng' who wanted to frame you?" ”

Cheng Fei smiled bitterly: "This is Richie's 'Meng's territory, if I don't agree, he will definitely not do it." Besides, he promised to give me a thousand dollars, and if he said it, he would spill water. As long as I play one game, I can get a lot of money, and even if I lose, it will just make him Richie 'blind' laugh a few times. If you win, I'll invite you out every day to eat and buy as many books as I want......"

"Can you give me a new pair of sneakers?" Bruce's big eyes sparkled.

"Of course!" Cheng Fei suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I left the original sneakers in China, and I have to ...... first."

"Just wear mine!" Bruce said generously. He rushed back to his desk and handed over the worn-out sneakers.

Cheng Fei hesitated for a moment, took the sneaker, held his breath (although Bruce was still more hygienic, but it smelled a little), and put it on his foot. He stood up and jumped, and said in surprise, "Bruce, your feet are big enough!" ”

Bruce chuckled and began to figure out what kind of basketball shoes he could buy.

********************

These days, Cheng Fei is either in the school gym or on the basketball court. Bruce was with him the whole way.

In the process of resuming basketball training, Bruce felt more and more that Cheng Fei was extraordinary. The Chinese teenager's bounce, control, and mastery of basketball far exceeded Bruce's expectations. The more he looked at it, the more surprised he became, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that the 1,000 dollars would be in his hands!

However, the more Cheng Fei trained, the less confident he became.

The feeling of ball control recovered quite quickly, and because he was still very young and had not exercised for many days, Cheng Fei found that the basic physical strength such as bounce power did not decline, but increased slightly. Maybe because in the United States, Cheng Fei's eating habits have changed somewhat, such as often drinking cow's milk', and getting used to eating West Snacks in school, his weight has increased, and the density of muscle 'meat' has increased instead of decreasing, and his performance in some strength equipment is better than expected, and his height has reached 1.82 meters!

What made Cheng Fei lose confidence was that his shooting touch was lost without a trace.

This is the technique he relies on the most, and if it weren't for God's accurate shooting, Cheng Fei would never have been able to beat Richie 'Meng'. But that day, the magical feeling completely disappeared, not only that, but he couldn't find the feeling of shooting at all, even if the technical actions such as the shooting posture were the same as before, the basketball just couldn't find the basket, either far away, or close, and then off.

Bruce worked very hard to pick up the ball and pass the ball to Cheng Fei, and Cheng Fei could only hit more than 30 times for every 100 shots, which was still unguarded. Even if the opponent is not Livingston, the king of the street 'flower' garden, but Ricky 'Meng', this kind of shooting percentage will be negligible in the game!

On the evening of April 20, 1997, on the fading basketball court, Cheng Fei, who was barefoot, was still training.

Bruce sweated profusely and passed the ball, Cheng Fei directly received the ball and jumped, his posture was still elegant, and his shooting point was impeccable. The basketball arced, hit the right side of the basket, and bounced out again.

Cheng Fei sat on the ground with his wet hair on his forehead.

Bruce came over panting with a basketball in his arms and said, "That's it!" I've voted a thousand times today. ”

Cheng Fei shook his head, stood up with his hands on the ground, and looked at the basket with a blank gaze, "One hundred more times." ”

"Cheng! You can't do this! Bruce shouted, "It's going to be tomorrow afternoon, you have to keep your energy up!" ”

Bruce is right, the overload of training during this period has already exhausted Cheng Fei's physical strength, and if he doesn't rest, he may not be able to cope with tomorrow's game. Cheng Fei knows this very well, if you don't have physical strength to play basketball, no matter how good your skills are, even if you can hit 100 shots today, you may not be able to score tomorrow.

Cheng Fei sighed, picked up the clothes on the basket rack, and walked with Bruce to the outside of the school 'gate'.

"You'll do it tomorrow!" Bruce cheered Cheng Fei up, "You know, this thing comes as it is said, and it can be left as soon as it is said, maybe tomorrow you will be able to shoot like that day!" ”

"I hope so," Cheng Fei smiled bitterly, "If you ......" he 'wanted' to stop talking.

"What if?" Bruce asked.

"When I was in China, I once picked up a Spalding basketball," Cheng Fei said as he walked, falling into a memory, "it was that basketball that made me start walking on the court, and now looking back, I really have a sense of fate." At that time, I hugged it almost every day when I went to sleep, especially before the game, and when I stroked it, I could hear a heartbeat in it, and I believed it would bring me good luck......"

"You Chinese also believe this?" Bruce 'touched' the pendant on his chest and said, "I believe it too, but not in basketball, but in the cross given to me by my junior high school basketball coach, he is a *** disciple, and I think this cross can bring me good luck." Therefore, I always wear it when I play basketball. ”

Cheng Fei sighed, "But before I left China, I couldn't find that basketball, maybe I forgot somewhere...... If I had that basketball next to me, I thought I might be able to get my feel back. ”

"That's not easy, you take my basketball and see if it's okay?" Bruce handed the basketball over.

Cheng Fei smiled and shook his head: "It's useless, I still have Michael on that basketball?" Jordan's signature, I don't know if it's true or not. ”

Bruce shrugged: "Nine times out of ten, it's fake, and I'm having a hard time getting Jordan's autograph ball in the United States." But," he smirked, "when it comes to Jordan's signature, I can imitate it so much that no one can see it, hahaha......"

*****************

On the afternoon of April 21, 1997.

After class, Cheng Fei and Bruce were packing their things when Richie 'Meng' suddenly broke in with a group of people.

“Hey！ Chinese boy, don't forget to play today! Richie grinned, "You won't be afraid, will you?" ”

Cheng Fei smiled, "I will keep my promise, and I hope you will too." ”

Richie 'Meng' patted his thick 'breast' and said, "Richie 'Meng' has always done what he said!" ”

Under the leadership of Rich 'Meng' and the Mustang team, Cheng Fei and his party soon came to the "Street Heart 'Flower' Garden". The so-called 'flower' garden in the center of the street is actually a dilapidated court, similar to the court in DeBoer High School, that is, a full field, surrounded by barbed wire, except for the location is more eye-catching, there is really nothing special. It is said that in the suburbs of New York, the street 'flower' garden course is the most famous "bullfighting" venue, and many nearby streetball stars will come here to play ball.

At this time, the court was already crowded with many people, most of them were 'hairy' guys who loved basketball nearby, and Cheng Fei also saw many DeBoer High School classmates among them. Today, it's quite lively.

This was expected by Cheng Fei, and Richie 'Meng' certainly hoped that when humiliating him, the more people watched, the better.

He followed Richie 'Meng' and others into the crowd, and when those people saw that it was Richie 'Meng''s Mustang team, they all obediently got out of the way, and some even greeted them warmly. Bruce kept tiptoeing to see who was playing on the field, but he was too short to see.

"He's coming." Someone said.

Richie raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "It's early enough today!" ”

"I've already beaten two," someone said excitedly, "he's so good, completely one-sided!" ”

"Good, good!" Richie 'Mon' nodded in satisfaction, "Let's go to the sidelines, there's a place there." ”

Cheng Fei and Bruce followed. Cheng Fei asked, "Are you talking about James?" Livingston? ”

"That's right, it's him!" "But most people don't know his real name, so they call him 'Black Jack'." ”

Bruce was suddenly shocked, and his face turned pale. "Blackjack!" He repeated in a low voice, "James? Livingston, really, really 'Blackjack'! I remember! ”

Cheng Fei asked as he walked, "What's wrong?" ”

Bruce grabbed Cheng Fei's arm: "Don't go, that Black Jack is not easy to mess with!" Don't go! ”

Richie 'Meng' turned his head and said viciously: "It's all here, how can I go back now!" ”

Cheng Fei silently looked at Bruce, who was obviously frightened, was silent for a moment, and then said: "Bruce, if you don't want to see that Black Jack, you can go back first, and I will look for you after the game." Since I'm here, I'm not leaving, at least to see how good that guy is, right? ”

Bruce shook his head and said, "You can't beat him, Cheng!" ”

Cheng Fei 'revealed' that smile as light as water and walked to the sidelines. He saw a guy in a black shirt, a red tie, and white leather shoes, who had dark skin, protruding cheekbones, a thin face, long hands and feet, and walked shaking his head, always with a mysterious smile on his lips.

Bruce squeezed to Cheng Fei's side and whispered, "He's Black Jack." ”