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The Staples Center Gymnasium was brightly lit, and people blended into the stadium from all directions, posing for photos with the superstar sculptures at the door, while others lined up to wait for security to enter the stadium. The Clippers and Lakers share www.biquge.info Staples Arena, and whoever plays, the interior decoration of the court, to the court claim, to the floor of the arena must be changed. Today is the home court of the Lakers, the carpet in the hallway has been changed to purple and gold, and people are picking up Lakers' T-shirts, hats, shoes, toys in the specialty store...... All kinds of souvenirs, food stalls are crowded with people waiting to buy popcorn, potato chips, ice cream......

Zhou Jia followed Pierre into the court, her right hand was a big color photo of the Lakers' five main starters this season, and now she recognized the face in the middle of the DLo, and they walked down the aisle to the bottom, and the seats were on the edge of the court.

Although Pierre is not a fan of the Lakers and prefers the Clippers, this hard-won top-level ticket enjoyment is enough to make people happy, and he took Zhou Jia to his seat.

Sitting in a noisy crowd made Zhou Jia uncomfortable, and the distance between people was too close, which made her uneasy. Although she can't understand people's madness about sports competitions, she does know that in the United States, any kind of event is a money-sucking machine, and people will go crazy and spend.

Today's opponent is the Utah Jazz, and the bench players are already practicing their shots on the court, and the main players will not show up until they go through the entrance ceremony.

Zhou Jia's gaze followed the basketball thrown by a bench player across the court. Then, she looked far into the center of the VIP area, where Mark said he would meet the Lakers owner.

A wave of tiredness hit, and Zhou Jia tried his best to cheer up. Working with Mark was the most uncomfortable for her, and Mark felt the same way, they were all putting up with each other for Chris. What happened after coming to Los Angeles, and the strength that Mark showed that he had never been on a regular basis, surprised Zhou Jia very much.

Recalling how Marc dealt with Pierre, she had to admit that the physical punishment, though violent, was extraordinarily effective.

This is Mark's unique ability to act.

As for the clues made by Pierre, she was skeptical.

War financing, conspiracy theories, bizarre deaths...... None of this is my domain well.

This sense of powerlessness made her deeply uneasy.

Zhou Jia looked up and looked at the huge poster of DLo hanging from the dome again, and Mark was able to immediately contact the "key person", which was not a connection that an ordinary security director could have. She realizes that what should have been her own is completely falling into Mark's rhythm, and that's not a good thing.

How to reverse such a trend, she has no idea for a while.

Tonight, in this gymnasium, Zhou Jia's deeper memories were awakened. She remembered the words Mark had spoken to herself before Chris disappeared. He spied on himself, claiming to know about his meeting with Arthur's parents, and threatened to use it. Zhou Jia suddenly felt that a piercing coldness rose along her body, and a sudden sense of fear enveloped her.

She asked herself: Who am I? I have a strong will, and I have long learned to find peace in rational thinking.

Zhou Jia closed his eyes.

The noise around her was gone, and she felt like she was in an empty church.

☆☆☆

Mark walked into the VIP area, and a black bodyguard who was several times larger than him led the way.

Arriving at the door of the luxury box, the bodyguard turned around, took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Smith, it's a pleasure to lead the way." He hesitated, but said what was in his mind, "Can I shake your hand?"

"Of course. ”

Mark stretched out his hand, and the black bodyguard quickly stretched out a pair of big hands, and shook them short but powerfully, his fingers trembled slightly, and he couldn't hide his excitement. In the eyes of these security guards who rely on their fists and feet and skills, Mark is a big star.

He grabbed the doorknob of the box and said, "The boss is waiting for you, Mr. Smith, please come in!"

He then opened the box door, and Mark smiled at him and walked inside.

The box is directly facing the half-time area, which is the best location for the entire stadium. Comfortable upholstered seats are placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and there are multiple LCD screens hanging on the wall next to them, with a separate toilet on the left and a dining table on the right, with ice cubes in a large glass jar and an open bottle of fine champagne inside. Behind the counter is a minibar with drinks.

"Pony Marty (5)!!" said Jim Bass, who walked toward him with open arms.

Jim gives him a warm hug, and Mark is taken aback, he doesn't expect it to be Jimmy (Jim's nickname) and not Jenny waiting for him.

Jim Buss wears a black T-shirt with the Lakers logo on his chest, baggy jeans, and a black baseball cap with half-length blonde hair. He has always been in civilian clothes when he comes to watch the game, and he never spends money on clothing, in order to be different from his father, who wears a white shirt or a suit. But as he grew older, that face became more and more similar to the deceased old Jerry, and no one could escape the bonds of blood.

"You look ......" Jim pulled away slightly, squinting his eyes, and no matter how many times he looked at it, he was confused by Mark's appearance, "you look so good." ”

Mark tried not to shrink back: "Thanks, Jimmy, you look good too." ”

Jim gave him a long-lost Bass family smile—grinning, revealing two rows of white teeth.

Mark said, "What's the matter, Jimmy?"

"You're not just here, and you're not in a hurry, let's talk. Jim patted Mark on the back.

Mark didn't move.

Jim knew his temper, the smile on his face slowly receded, and he cut to the chase, "I heard Jenny say that you came to LA to watch the game and want to see DLo?"

Mark said in his heart: It seems that Jenny is right, this guy is really interested in the life-saving straw in his hand.

Mark didn't buy it all from anyone's account, and his unmoved moments quieted the room.

At this moment, the door behind him opened, and two people walked in, one was Jeanne Buss, the woman who held the final say in the Lakers, was the real Lakers at the helm, although his brother Jim was nominally the owner of the team. She was followed by the team's general manager, Mitch Kupchak.

"Hey!" Jenny walked over and hugged Mark, exaggerating her efforts.

Mark smiled at her: "The figure is still so good, the 'Zen master' is really blessed!"

"Nasty!" said Jenny, "you know he doesn't like to be called that." ”

Jenny's husband, the famous NBA coach "Zen Master" Phil Jackson.

Small talk slowly restored the atmosphere in the room, and everyone was seated. Mark explained his intentions, he made things easier, he said that he represented a friend who made sneakers, this friend wanted DLo to endorse, and he came this time just to build a bridge.

The statement seemed to loosen up Jim, who reached forward and crossed his ankles. Pick up a bottle from a brass trolley at hand, pour a glass of fine Scotch whisky at the bottom, and then hold the glass in your hand and let the golden liquid gently shake in the glass.

D'Angelo Russell's move to the Lakers was prompted by Jim, who had a lacklustre 2014-15 season, and the following year they picked the all-around left-handed point guard from Ohio University's Buckeyes basketball team with the second pick. It's a pity that he only scored four points in the first game of the professional game, which disappointed many fans, or rather, the expectations of fans were too high. The media once said that this new star was really the biggest failure of the Lakers' trade. At that time, all the pressure was on Jim Buss, and a lot of people jumped out to accuse him of incompetence and dereliction of duty, and the team was in trouble for a while, when Kobe Bryant had not yet retired, and he supported his successor and the core of the future team, saying that he also had a bleak low point when he first joined the league.

D'Angelo Russell was slow to heat up, but he slowly proved his worth, and ten years later he was a hot superstar, truly replacing Kobe Bryant as the backbone of the Lakers, and Jim also relied on his excellent draft to retain his position.

Towards the start of the game, Jim took the team manager to say goodbye and went to the sidelines to cheer on his big star.

She let out a long breath when Mark and Jenny were left in the room. At the minibar, she poured herself a glass of wine and asked Mark what he wanted, to which Mark waved his hand and asked for ice water.

"Cheers. Jenny said to herself, taking a sip of the wine in her hand, "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect Jimmy to meet you before me." ”

"Looks like you have his 'spy' by your side!" Mark knew of course that it was impossible for Jenny to tell anyone about herself, even if that person was her own brother.

After the death of Jerry Sr., the media hyped up the sibling feud of the Bass family - the power struggle of the head.

At this time, the large screen above the center of the venue is a picture of the American flag, and the ceremony of singing the national anthem begins. Jenny put down the cup in her hand and walked to the glass window. Mark glanced at Jenny, her hands crossed over her chest, her eyes as calm as a pool.

After the national anthem was anthemed, the lights of the entire stadium dimmed.

The away stars came first, followed by the home stars, and they walked into the spotlight one by one, and when the host announced the name of DLo, the stadium boiled, and he appeared in the spotlight, only to see him lower his body, maintain a unique posture and walk into the field, and make fist movements with his teammates.

This is the ritual of worship.

Jenny sat back and sighed, "The outside world says I'm not suitable for managing the Lakers, and that I haven't made a major decision independently. Decision-making, decision-making means being ruthless!" she turned to Mark, "Am I too cowardly?"

Mark thought to himself: It seems that the rumors of infighting are not entirely groundless, and now it seems that Jenny is just unwilling to fight with her brother.

Jenny didn't wait for Mark to reply, and continued: "Maybe I would have fought at first, but now I finally understand why Jani (6) is so indifferent to the world and devotes himself to the family, I can finally understand that what the family can give you will always last longer than the ambition that can give you!"

Mark asked, "So are you happy now?"

Jenny finally smiled, and she said, "(Feels-F*cking-Good) I'm so tmd happy,"

"Wouldn't that be good!"

Jenny nodded and said, "I really envy your brothers and sisters, it's like a person." ”

Yes, Mark doesn't understand the grievances between siblings, because his relationship with his sister has been good since childhood.

"By the way, Christie hasn't been showing up lately, how is she?"

Aside from his sister, Mark knew that Jenny was one of the few people who insisted on calling Chris.

"She said she was in love and eloped to some Caribbean island!"

“......”

Silent. People close to Chris know that mentioning "love" is never a good thing, so it's only natural that Jenny didn't continue the topic. For now, this is the best strategy to keep the people around him from exploring Chris's whereabouts for the time being.

Jenny leaned forward and fixed her eyes firmly on Mark, "What the hell is going on? I don't know if any of my friends can ask you to match." It's about the future of the Lakers, you have to tell me. ”

☆☆☆

In the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed by the score.

Sitting on the pitch and sitting in the spectator seat are completely different concepts.

D'Angelo Russell sat on the bench and at the moment, he didn't care about the score.

The stadium is a weird space that you can only understand when you sit in the stadium. You will be surprised to find that almost half of the audience is here to play, not to watch the game, they are here to create a lively atmosphere. Buy something to eat, order a big beer, and you're all seated. Look at the man who dragged his family, the son next to him had just noisily called the waiter and added a roast chicken burger, the man didn't see how to score the goal, he listened to the cheers on the field, and shouted along, several women in the back row of the 16th district looked down at their mobile phones, chatting and occasionally pointing to the players on the field, as if commenting on stallions, a group of young men drinking beer, While discussing the matter of pickling girls, the ball can only return their attention to the field after 3 seconds, and some fans are so enthusiastic that they shout and touch and jump in order to attract the attention of the camera so that they can show their dancing on the big circular screen in the stadium......

He glanced quickly at his teammate Rice, who had just come off the field and sat next to him, where a waiter slung his sweatshirt over his shoulder and handed him a bottle of sports drink specially prepared by the team doctor.

The beads of sweat on Rice's face were glistening with the light, and the bottle in his hand was a bright green and somewhat viscous liquid.

D'Angelo couldn't take his eyes off the green liquid.

Picking up the bottle in his hand, Rice took a few sips.

It's disgusting. He felt his stomach stir up instantly.

It's weird. D'Angelo thought to himself: after so many years of things, why can't he get rid of that nightmare?

Rice said, "That raised No. 8 is so dirty to play!"

D'Angelo finally came to his senses and said stiffly, "That's what he's worth in the team!" with a hint of impatience in his tone.

Winking at him, Rice said, "See, I just gave him that little bit, I feel pain myself!"

Rice's impulsiveness was met with a technical foul.

In the eyes of the audience, it is simply not worth it to be provoked by the opposing bench player in exchange for a technical foul.

D'Angelo giggled because he understood that Rice's move was meant to grab the attention of the crowd. The situation on the field is changing rapidly, whoever can grasp the key time point can win the game, believe it or not, the goddess of victory exists, it depends on whether you can catch the corner of her clothes.

It's a pity that the "conflict" created by Rice has no effect, and most of the audience is still in the fugue.

D'Angelo is still waiting.

In fact, the whole audience was also waiting, and it was not like the audience sitting in front of the TV who was watching the game all the time, and the audience who came to watch was looking forward to the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.

"Russell, get ready to play!" the coach turned to call at him.

The corners of D'Angelo's mouth moved slightly, and he got up from the bench, ripped off his coat, and walked towards the halftime scorer's table, feeling his toes jump excitedly, but he still made a nonchalant look.

D'Angelo sat on the billboard, half-biting clear silicone braces in his mouth, just waiting for a replacement.