Rebirth of wealth and freedom starts from the World Cup

The Imperial Capital Airport was crowded with people. Zhao Zixuan and Zhang Lei walked quickly through the bustling crowd and finally found Yuan Shiwei at the scheduled meeting point.

The scene before them surprised them a little - next to Yuan Shiwei stood a beautiful girl with an outstanding figure. Her presence was like a bright landscape, instantly attracting the attention of many people around.

This woman is not only beautiful, but also exudes a unique charm in her every move. Even compared with the Song Qiuya in my memory, she is no less beautiful.

When Zhao Zixuan first saw her, he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had met her on some occasion before, but he could not remember the specific situation for a while.

It was not until Yuan Shiwei introduced the identity of this woman to them with a somewhat smug smile that Zhao Zixuan suddenly remembered that she was Jiang Qian, the top student from Peking University and Tsinghua University, and He Jieyu's roommate.

"Mr. Zhao, you are such a forgetful person."

Jiang Qian opened her red lips slightly, with a hint of playfulness in her smile.

Zhao Zixuan now remembered where he had seen each other. When Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian first met, he remembered that Jiang Qian was not interested in Yuan Shiwei. He did not expect that these two people would actually get together.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Zixuan couldn't help but look at Yuan Shiwei with admiration. A high school student actually made an appointment with top students from Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Niubi!

"Are you guys... together?"

Zhao Zixuan had a playful smile on his face, his eyes jumping back and forth between the two of them, and he directly asked this sensitive question.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qian quickly shook her head to deny it, with a hint of panic in her tone, and she was obviously worried about causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

"No, no, Mr. Zhao, you misunderstood. We are just good friends."

Yuan Shiwei smiled awkwardly and did not add any explanation, his silence revealing a hint of helplessness.

Zhao Zixuan saw this and couldn't help feeling a little sorry for his brother.

In his opinion, Yuan Shiwei seemed to have fallen into unrequited love again. Was he ultimately unable to escape the fate of being a "dog-sucking"?
However, this is understandable.

After all, Yuan Shiwei had never experienced a true love relationship so far, and he didn't know how to get along with girls.

In Yuan Shiwei's heart, probably every girl is a beautiful, kind and noble goddess, worthy of his admiration and pursuit.

"Let's go in first, so we don't miss our flight."

Zhang Lei reminded at the right time, glancing at the time on his watch, with a hint of urgency in his tone.

Everyone then calmed down and walked into the security check channel together, ready to embark on the journey that was about to begin.

On the long flight to Los Angeles, the plane flew smoothly through the clouds, leaving the busy city far behind.

Jiang Qian seemed to have seized this rare opportunity and took the initiative to approach Zhao Zixuan, trying to break the sense of distance between them.

Her voice was soft and full of curiosity. The topic always revolved around He Jieyu, asking about everything about her - from her daily preferences to her academic pursuits, from interesting things in the past to her aspirations for the future.

Yuan Shiwei tried to join the conversation several times, but found that he was always a beat late. Before he could say anything, he was already covered by Jiang Qian's fluent questions.

Zhao Zixuan was not surprised by Jiang Qian's active approach, because before this, Jiang Qian had clearly expressed her affection for him, and even chased him to the bathroom to intercept him.

Although this girl was the top female student in Peking University and Tsinghua University, Zhao Zixuan was not very interested in her, mainly because she and He Jieyu were classmates.

The rabbit hasn’t eaten the grass beside the nest yet!
Moreover, even a blind man could see that Yuan Shiwei was very interested in Jiang Qian, otherwise he would not have brought Jiang Qian to play abroad without Zhao Zixuan's consent.

On the plane, Yuan Shiwei's feelings of loss and frustration gradually accumulated, and he found himself a marginal character in the conversation between Jiang Qian and Zhao Zixuan.

Whenever he tried to interject a few words, Jiang Qian's attention was always attracted by Zhao Zixuan's answers, as if there was an invisible magnetic field pulling her tightly.

Zhao Zixuan maintained a polite but distant attitude towards Jiang Qian's proactive advances. Although this female top scorer from Peking University and Tsinghua University was indeed outstanding, in Zhao Zixuan's heart, her close relationship with He Jieyu became an insurmountable obstacle.

For him, respecting friends' feelings and boundaries is far more important than pursuing momentary pleasure.

Zhao Zixuan keenly noticed Yuan Shiwei's emotional changes and secretly thought of a countermeasure in his heart.

"Shi Tou, let's change seats. I'll take a nap for a while."

Zhao Zixuan proposed to Zhang Lei, and Zhang Lei readily agreed to his request to change seats.

Zhao Zixuan stood up swiftly and exchanged positions with Zhang Lei, ensuring that he maintained an appropriate distance from Jiang Qian and cleverly creating an opportunity for Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian to have a private conversation.

However, the disappointment in Jiang Qian's eyes was hard to conceal. Although Yuan Shiwei tried to talk to her many times, she just responded absent-mindedly with "umm and oh".

After an eleven-hour flight, the plane finally landed smoothly at Los Angeles Airport.

Before boarding the plane, Zhao Zixuan informed Mao Yourong of the flight information and asked her to arrange a vehicle for pick-up.

He thought Mao Yourong would come to greet him in person, but he did not expect that the person who appeared at the airport exit was Mao Yourong's new secretary.

Even Zhang Lei's old lover Stella did not show up.

At the exit of Los Angeles Airport, Zhao Zixuan and others were dragging their luggage. Although they looked tired, they still looked around with anticipation.

At this time, Mao Yourong's new secretary, a well-dressed and gentle lady, was holding a sign with "Zhao Zixuan" written on it, waiting for their arrival.

"Hello, I'm Zhao Zixuan."

He took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with the new secretary.

The latter politely returned the handshake and introduced himself with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhao, I am Mr. Mao's new secretary, Evelyn. Mr. Mao had an emergency meeting and was unable to come to the airport in person. He asked me to convey his apologies to you and wish you a pleasant journey."

Zhao Zixuan nodded to show his understanding.

He turned to look at Zhang Lei and found that a trace of disappointment did flash across his friend's face, but he quickly returned to normal.

Zhao Zixuan thought to himself that Zhang Lei's longing for Stella might not have disappeared because of the breakup, and he obviously still cared about Stella.

The group followed Evelin to the parking lot, where a luxury business car had been waiting for a long time. The interior of the car was spacious and comfortable, and the air conditioning just dispelled the fatigue of the journey.

On the way to the hotel, Zhao Zixuan had a brief exchange with Evelin and learned some information about Mao Yourong’s recent work.

Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian sat quietly aside, occasionally exchanging glances and chatting awkwardly. The atmosphere was not very harmonious.

After arriving at the hotel, everyone checked in and returned to their rooms to rest.

The next morning, the Los Angeles sun arrived as promised, and its warm light awakened the sleeping city.

After Zhao Zixuan and his party had a hearty breakfast at the hotel, they could not wait to set off for the NBA Oracle Arena to watch the much-anticipated Game 2016 of the Western Conference Finals. Outside the NBA Oracle Arena, the crowd was bustling, and the fans were wearing the jerseys of their favorite teams, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

Zhao Zixuan and his group mingled among the crowd and felt the unique and warm atmosphere of a basketball game.

Entering the stadium, the huge LED screen is playing the players' warm-up scenes. Every accurate shot and every agile jump can draw cheers from the audience.

Zhao Zixuan, Zhang Lei, Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian sat in the front row, enjoying an excellent view of the game.

Before the game started, Zhao Zixuan deliberately observed the progress of the relationship between Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian, but found that the atmosphere between the two was still a little awkward, as if the interaction on the plane last night did not bring them closer.

When Curry came on the court, Zhao Zixuan called out Stephen from a distance. The 30-meter-tall baby-faced boy wearing the No. jersey smiled and waved at him as a greeting.

"Oh my god, you actually know NBA players?"

Jiang Qian looked at Zhao Zixuan in surprise and said.

Yuan Shiwei explained proudly: "What's so strange about this? Zixuan even took a photo with Curry when the Warriors won the championship last year."

Zhao Zixuan waved his hand and said calmly: "Don't be stupid. Just watch the game."

With the referee's whistle, the game officially began. The two teams' players fought fiercely on the field, and every attack and defense touched the hearts of the audience.

As a senior basketball fan, Zhao Zixuan paid attention to every detail of the game and exchanged views on tactics with Zhang Lei from time to time. Yuan Shiwei stared at the court closely. He was obviously also a basketball fan and could not help but exclaim at every wonderful moment.

Although Jiang Qian's knowledge of basketball was not as deep as the other three, she was also infected by the atmosphere on the scene and applauded and cheered from time to time.

In such a high-level game, even a basketball novice can feel the charm of the sport.

As time went by, the communication between Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian gradually increased. Perhaps it was their common interests and hobbies that allowed them to find resonance in the topics.

The game entered a white-hot stage, with the scores of both sides deadlocked and every score made the audience's heartbeats accelerate.

"Durant and Westbrook played very steadily in this game. Can the Warriors win?"

Sitting on the sidelines, Zhang Lei asked Zhao Zixuan with a skeptical attitude: "By the way, how much did you buy for this game? If the Warriors win Game 5, how much can you earn?"

After hearing this, Jiang Qian interrupted with a curious look on her face: "You also bought a ball!? How did you buy it? Can you teach me? I want to participate too!"

Zhao Zixuan ignored her and said to Zhang Lei, "The odds for the Warriors' home games are very low. I bought a small amount of money for each game. The winnings will be used as the funds for our overseas trip this time."

He was not in a position to say how much he bet on the Warriors' 4-3 comeback, after all, he bet too much and it might scare them.

But Jiang Qian was still very curious and asked, "How much is the small change? Ten thousand or twenty thousand?"

She thought Zhao Zixuan was rich and would definitely buy a lot.

Zhao Zixuan winked at Yuan Shiwei, who immediately pulled Jiang Qian and said, "Don't you want to play ball? I'll tell you how to play. I'll place the bet for you. If you win, it's yours, and if you lose, it's mine."

Jiang Qian blinked and thought, is there such a good thing?
She said, "How can this be so embarrassing? I'll just pay for it myself."

Yuan Shiwei patted his chest generously and said: "It's okay, I just bought a little to play around, a little gambling to amuse myself, I don't buy a lot."

Jiang Qian thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she agreed: "Okay, then what should we buy? Is Mr. Zhao buying the Warriors to win? Why don't we just follow him and buy it?"

Yuan Shiwei thought it was feasible. Although the Warriors were behind now, fans who had watched the NBA knew that the Warriors' famous tactic was the "Warriors Three Crazy" tactic - they would not go crazy until the third quarter, and once in the third quarter there was a great chance that they would score a high point in a single quarter and thus reverse the game.

Zhang Lei personally witnessed the Warriors' terrifying third quarter last year, so he analyzed: "The Warriors' third quarter was indeed fierce. However, the most important thing about betting on sports is fun and rationality. Don't let a temporary win or loss affect your mood or life. Since you want to participate, we can analyze the game together and make a more reasonable judgment."

Yuan Shiwei and Jiang Qian listened carefully. Zhang Lei continued, "Although the Warriors fell behind in this game, they are back at home, and the support of the fans will give them extra motivation. Although Durant and Westbrook are in stable conditions, the other players of the Warriors also have enough strength to play a role at critical moments. So, I think the Warriors have a chance to make a comeback in this game."

Jiang Qian listened with great interest. She didn't know much about basketball, but Zhang Lei's professional analysis gave her a deeper understanding of the game.

Yuan Shiwei also nodded in agreement. He was an old football fan and often watched NBA games. He knew that what Zhang Lei said made sense.

In the end, they decided to follow Zhao Zixuan's footsteps and bet on the Warriors to comeback and win.

$500.

A little gambling for fun.

The game was extremely intense. In the third quarter, just as Zhang Lei predicted, the Warriors, led by the Splash Brothers, launched a scoring frenzy and gradually narrowed the gap.

The atmosphere on the scene reached a climax, and every time the Warriors scored was accompanied by deafening cheers.

Even though the Thunder's Dewey and Oklahoma City Thunder combined for 71 points, the united Warriors still managed to win 120-111, changing the score to 2-3 and retaining hope of advancing to the finals.

全场比赛，勇士队库里31分7篮板6助攻5抢断，汤普森27分5篮板，格林11分13篮板4助攻4盖帽。

As the final whistle sounded, the Warriors won the game by a narrow margin and the entire stadium was boiling.

After the game, Zhao Zixuan used his relationship with Warriors owner Lacob to arrange a meeting with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Led by the staff, they walked into the team's locker room, where many reporters and photographers had gathered, and everyone was waiting for Curry to appear.

Soon, Curry and Thompson walked in wearing jerseys with their signature smiles on their faces. He waved to everyone present and then walked straight towards Zhao Zixuan and others.

"Hey guys, nice to see you!"

Curry shook hands with them warmly, and his friendliness made people feel very comfortable.

Zhao Zixuan spoke first. He expressed everyone's admiration for Curry and congratulated him on his wonderful performance tonight.

Curry smiled modestly and said, "Thank you for your support. Without you enthusiastic fans, our games wouldn't be so exciting."

Then, Yuan Shiwei plucked up the courage to ask Curry some questions about the game strategy, especially how the Warriors stayed calm in the face of adversity and ultimately achieved a comeback.

Curry patiently answered his questions and shared some valuable practical experience, which benefited Yuan Shiwei a lot.

Zhang Lei praised Curry's leadership and team spirit on the court. He asked Curry how, as a leader, he motivated his teammates and led the team forward.

Curry shared some of his own experiences, emphasizing the importance of communication and trust, and the need to always maintain a positive attitude as a leader.

Finally, Zhao Zixuan made a request to shoot a video with Curry to record this unforgettable moment.

Curry readily agreed, and they stood in front of the camera and took a precious photo. This video was later uploaded to Zhao Zixuan's Tianlai APP social media, causing quite a stir and becoming one of the best memories of their trip to Los Angeles. (End of this chapter)