In these chapters, I will focus more on depicting the protagonist's mental journey, of course, this is not abuse, but a new life, and only after pain can there be nirvana. Gan Guoyang has to grow further because he will face huge challenges in college, not only from basketball. ）

June 1, 1982, International Children's Day, but today it's not just a children's holiday, it's also a holiday for fans in Los Angeles.

In this year's NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers, who won one game in Philadelphia and won a 1-1 home court advantage, will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers from afar at the Great Western Forum Arena today.

The eyes of basketball fans across the United States have shifted from cold and wet Pennsylvania to warm and dry California, and fans in Los Angeles have long been ready.

Gan Guoyang, who queued for two hours yesterday to buy a "reserved ticket", took Gan Guohui and Chen Xing together and took the bus to Inglewood after dinner.

"If the Lakers can win two games in a row at home, it will be 3:1! The championship must be a sure thing, but I don't know who will win the MVP? Gan Guohui held the ticket in his hand in the car, chewed Black Jack gum in his mouth, and discussed the finals with the other two.

"I think it's not bad for the 76ers to win the championship once, they are in the third Finals, and they lost the first two times, which is really a pity. I guess Dr. J should win a championship as well. Of course, Chen Xing had to stand up against the fat man Gan Guohui at this time, and stood on the side of the 76ers.

"You think you're the Monkey King! The emperor takes turns to sit, come to my house today? The championship is not something that everyone is playing, and in the current situation, the Lakers must have a big chance of winning! Of course, Gan Guohui is fighting back, and the Lakers are indeed in a better situation to win back the home court advantage, so he is naturally full of confidence when he says this.

"Hmph, I bet the 76ers will definitely win this Finals! Do you dare to bet? Whoever loses, please eat McDonald's! Although Chen Xing also supports the Lakers in his heart, in order to stand on the opposite side of Gan Guohui, he did not hesitate to choose to support the 76ers - at the cost of a McDonald's.

Gan Guoyang knew that the champion of 1982 in NBA history was the Los Angeles Lakers, and he couldn't remember the specific score.

As long as Gan Guoyang's arrival does not change the general direction of NBA history, then the winner of this gamble is Gan Guohui.

"Bet on it! But let's start betting on this game! I bet the Lakers to win! If you lose... Only... Just treat me to two McDonald's! Gan Guohui thought about it for a while, and the gamble he thought of was to add an extra meal of McDonald's......

"Hmph, who's afraid of whom? Just bet on this one, I bet on the 76ers to win! Chen Xing was very disdainful of Gan Guohui.

"Look at your little bit of interest!" Gan Guoyang listened to what Gan Guohui said, and couldn't help but say.

"Hehe, big cousin, anyway, if you don't participate in the bet, whoever loses will invite you, you are sure to make a profit and not lose money!" Gan Guohui responded with a smile.

However, Gan Guoyang didn't seem to be in the mood to joke with his cousin more, so he reluctantly smiled and didn't make a sound, holding his chin and looking out at the scenery.

Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang, and then at Chen Xing, his face was a little helpless, and Chen Xing also had the same expression.

From the match on April 1 to today's June 1, two full months, Gan Guoyang still does not seem to have completely come out of the shadow of that defeat.

After that comeback on March 28, morale at Palo Alto High School was at its peak.

They were full of ambition and came to Los Angeles, the basketball capital and entertainment capital of the West, and the most charming city on the West Coast, with full confidence and enthusiasm.

They spent three days in this bustling city to experience the fun of modern civilization and enjoy the fun outside of basketball.

And back on the field, on the top stage of the California High School League, they met the champion of the Southern California Division II, Riverside Professional High School.

Everything was perfect from the start of the game, and that perfection lasted until the end of the game, when they were five points ahead and the title was within reach.

Gan scored 37 points and 21 rebounds in the first 39 minutes, and if he wins, he will be a strong contender for California Basketball of the Year, even if he is a yellow man.

But that man appeared.

In fact, Gan Guoyang had long expected that the moment he stepped on the court and saw the opposing player, he reminded himself in his heart, "You must be careful of this person, even at the last second, you can't take it lightly." ”

But Gan Guoyang still failed to prevent the miracle from happening, and failed to change the ending that should not have been changed.

At 64:65, when the game ended, the score was fixed on the two numbers that were only one point apart, but the result was very different.

Being lonely in a sea of people - this is Gan Guoyang's biggest feeling at the end of the game, and until now, he still feels this way from time to time.

"Big cousin! Big cousin! The car arrived, arrived. "The car has arrived at its destination – the Great Western Forum Arena. Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang, who was still there in a daze, and reminded loudly.

In the battle of Los Angeles, Gan Guohui naturally came to watch, and naturally brought his banner of "Ganjia Restaurant".

He was going to find an opportunity to squeeze next to his eldest cousin to take a photo after his eldest cousin won the championship, and by the way, he also took pictures of the big flag of "Ganjia Restaurant".

Unfortunately, the Vikings fell short in the end.

However, winning and losing is a common thing, and for a high school team, losing is normal, and there is no invincible team in this world.

But what worries Gan Guohui is Gan Guoyang's performance after the game.

After the defeat, Gan Guoyang looks no different from usual on the surface, but two changes are obvious:

First, Gan Guoyang no longer likes to say witty things, he is silent a lot all of a sudden, and he always lightly talks about the topics provoked by others.

In the past, Gan Guoyang not only sprayed trash talk on the field, but also had classic quotations off the field, all in English and Chinese.

In Gan Guoyang's words, Gan Guohui is often "fooled and lame" by his eldest cousin.

The second is that Gan Guoyang's basketball training has reached a state of almost obsession and madness, 24 hours a day, from opening his eyes in the morning to going back to the dormitory to sleep, Gan Guoyang's heart is almost all on basketball.

This kind of non-stop practice, day and night, is not so much training as destruction.

Many people, including Bellman, have advised Gan Guoyang, but he always tactfully rejects the reminders of others with a kind smile and continues to torture himself in the stadium.

The rest of the teammates, senior seniors, went to apply for college basketball scholarships or prepare for college entrance exams, while others returned to class and continued their classes, and everything was calm.

Finally one day, Gan Guoyang, who had tortured himself too much, collapsed from exhaustion in the gymnasium, but fortunately Diepenbrock was also there, and he was sent to the infirmary, where he hung up some glucose to get better.

Since then, Bellman has ordered Gan Guoyang not to continue training and must go home to rest.

But Gan Guoyang, who was sent home, didn't seem to be any better.

Looking at Gan Guoyang, who was often in a daze with nothing to do, Gan Guohui, who also went home to wait for news from college, knew that he couldn't watch his eldest cousin lose like this anymore.

So, at the end of May, Gan Guohui, Gan Guoyang, and Chen Xing went to Los Angeles together, and while completing the college application, they came to watch this year's finals.

Gan hopes that the most flashy and powerful team in the NBA league can dilute the pain of defeat in Gan's heart, so that he can return to his old big cousin who is full of confidence, domineering and humor.

"Huh? It's here......" Gan Guoyang looked dazed, and hurriedly stood up and prepared to get off.

"Phew! Oops! Gan Guoyang was too tall, so he hit the roof of the car when he stood up.

Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang's confused appearance, completely devoid of the spirit of the past, and couldn't help sighing.

But soon, the three of them didn't have the heart to think about the mess before, because as soon as they got out of the car, the brightly lit Great Western Forum Arena stood in front of the three of them like a Roman temple.

Although Gan Guohui and Chen Xing have come here to watch the game, Gan Guoyang only came here yesterday to buy tickets, but on the day of the finals, looking at the crowd of people wearing various costumes to cheer for the Lakers, the atmosphere of the finals really came to the face.

"It's a pity that I didn't come to the finals the year before last, which feels so good." Gan Guoyang walked in the hall of the stadium and said with admiration.

The stadium, which looks like a round cake, is full of the festive atmosphere of the finals, although it has a lot less entertainment than the later generations.

The three of them went up the stairs to the second floor and into the heart of the arena – the pitch and the stands.

Although Gan Guoyang has also watched several games at the Oakland Coliseum in San Francisco, he has not been to the NBA for a long time since the start of the high school league, let alone the famous Great Western Forum Arena.

As soon as he entered the stands, he looked at the people around him who were slowly filled, and still felt that the NBA arena stands in the 80s were like old-fashioned movie theaters in some counties in our country, with an outdated smell everywhere, but they were many times bigger.

However, the chairs here are all yellow, giving it a Laker vibe.

As time went on, the number of people in the stands grew, and the players from both teams entered the pitch from the players' tunnel to start warm-up training.

"Wow, the 76ers are worthy of the NBA circus, and even the pre-game warm-up is so good-looking!" Gan Guohui entered the city like a hillbilly, and even watched the players' warm-up with relish. Unlike the other fans around who are sitting in their seats chatting, the time for excitement has not yet arrived.

But the 76ers' warm-up was really exciting, because they had "Dr. J" Julius Irving, and "Chocolate Bomb" Darryl Dawkins, a "barbarian" who smashed rebounds twice.

Even in the pre-game warm-up, the 76ers made no secret of their dunk talent, flying around the floor and dunking the ball into the basket.

The other players of the 76ers also have their own flying dunks, so in the late '70s, the 76ers won the title of NBA circus, and every time they played in a city, they caused a craze for watching the game.

BUT RIGHT NOW, WHAT THE 76ERS AND IRVING WANT MOST IS AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP, AND STANDING IN THEIR WAY IS ANOTHER RISING NEW CIRCUS — THE SHOW-TIME LAKERS.

It's just that judging from the situation this year, it is a little difficult for the 76ers to win the championship.

Gan Guoyang, who knows a little about this history, knows that the 76ers will not be able to win the championship until next year.

"It seems that Moses Malone went to the 76ers to win the championship, right?" Gan Guoyang remembered Moses Malone, who shocked himself in the newspapers and on television when he was injured in the hospital in Santa Barbara.

Unfortunately, his Houston Rockets lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of this year's playoffs, which also started the Rockets' history of suffering against the SuperSonics in the playoffs.

For Gan Guoyang, who already roughly knows the result, this game has lost the greatest fun of competitive sports - suspense.

Therefore, the only attraction of the game to him is the smooth and wonderful performances of the two teams on the field.

Gan Guohui and Chen Xing are very invested in watching it, but this game will affect one or two McDonald's.

Although it was the finals, Gan Guoyang felt that the warm atmosphere of the stadium was still very "simple" compared with later generations.

There are no halftime acrobatic performances to interact with the audience, no funny dunks of mascots, no sparkling lights, and the only eye-catching is probably the Lakers cheerleaders in short skirts.

Only basketball is the real center of the arena.

"Maybe this is a more pure form of basketball, right?" Gan Guoyang still often misses the colorful NBA in the "later generations", but now the more simple and simple basketball games also deeply attract him.

In this game, the Lakers' Norm Nixon played exceptionally and scored a game-high 29 points.

The entire Lakers also won the game 129-108 with the help of the power of the home court, in the familiar yellow arena and the cheering of the fans.

"Hahaha, Chen Xing, you guy also has today! You can't hide from this McDonald's! On the way out, Gan Guohui was like a winning rooster, with his toes high. Who told him to bet that he always lost to Chen Xing before, but today he finally raised his eyebrows.

"Hmph~ It's not that I let you! Originally, I thought the Lakers would win, but in order to make a bet with you, I supported the 76ers. Don't you see that I've been cheering for the Lakers? Although Chen Xing was willing to gamble and lose, he couldn't see Gan Guohui's proud look.

"Willing to lose! Anyway, you can't hide from this McDonald's! There is a big cousin to testify, is it a big cousin, a big cousin, a big cousin? Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang, but found that he was in a daze again.

"Huh? Oh, Guohui, you two go back first, I'll go to Inglewood for a walk, and I'll go back later. Gan Guoyang suddenly proposed to go to Inglewood for a walk, and asked Gan Guohui and Chen Xing to go back to the hotel first.

"Big cousin, Inglewood is a black neighborhood, it's dangerous for you to go alone at night!" Gan Guohui heard that Gan Guoyang was going to Inglewood alone at night, and immediately reminded him.

Inglewood is a well-known black neighborhood in Los Angeles, where bars are lined with gangsters.

In a country like the United States, where guns are rampant, any quarrel and conflict can turn into a homicide.

And in such a dark night, it is really not a wise move for a Chinese to go to a black area like Inglewood.

But neither Gan Guohui nor Chen Xing could dissuade Gan Guoyang, and Gan Guoyang claimed that he was going to a Chinese friend's house, so the two could no longer stop him, so they could only take the bus back to the hotel first.

"Big cousin, do you remember to call the hotel! With a pay phone, I'll copy the number on a slip of paper and give it to you. Gan Guohui gave the phone number of the hotel to Gan Guoyang, and then walked with Chen Xing to the bus stop with the flow of people.

Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, headed east, in this deep dark night, towards Inglewood.

He needs to use loneliness and venting to get himself out of the painful quagmire of defeat and get a new life.