Chapter 297: Chapter 76: You Can’t Imagine Jack’s Pleasure
Facing off against Adidas and its star-studded roster, Nike had primarily focused its efforts on promoting James.
He alone took up at least seventy percent of their promotional resources.
And James did bring handsome returns for Nike. He had a pristine image. Although he didn’t make the playoffs, his talent was widely recognized, he had plenty of highlight-reel moments, and he became only the third player in history to average 20+5+5. Most importantly, he was exactly what American basketball fans wanted.
But once the playoffs began, Su Xi started to shine brighter and brighter. His fame also skyrocketed thanks to the public rivalry over him between Jessica and Scarlett.
Most importantly, his team’s record was on a historic run, and Su Xi’s individual performance was both crucial and dominant.
Add to that his handsome looks and powerful charisma.
How could they not heavily promote a star like this?
In Asia, Su Xi’s marketing resources had long since left James in the dust. Now, in North America and Europe, Nike’s investment was visibly increasing. Su Xi had already built enough momentum to rival James.
James was very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do.
He could only accept this co-flagship situation.
After all, all he could do was sit in front of the TV and watch the games. What more could be expected of him?
He had asked Goodwin to voice his opinion to Nike: Jack was relying on the Pacers’ overall team strength; his individual on-court talent wasn’t that outstanding. If they invested too much now, and the situation changed next season, it would all be for nothing.
Nike didn’t take his advice.
As if they didn’t know better than James whether the investment would go to waste.
If James ever found out that Su Xi’s Finals MVP award came with a 20 million USD bonus, he’d probably burst into tears.
The Chosen One had entered the league showered in endless adoration. But by the end of the season, his honors couldn’t compare to Su Xi’s, his mainstream appeal couldn’t compare to Su Xi’s, and he was even getting fucking left in the dust when it came to making money.
This was so cruel to the 19-year-old James.
...
"...I’m not here to conquer anyone. I’m here to reclaim my place."
"...I come from the East. I am the King of Indiana. My DNA is hidden here."
"...Basketball is war, and I happen to be the God of War."
"..."
As Su Xi browsed the web, he saw all sorts of ad copy from Nike.
After reading them, Su Xi’s first reaction was that they were a bit cringey. But then he puffed out his chest. ’Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be?’
...
Before Su Xi even boarded the plane to Los Angeles, he received a call from Jessica. She hoped Su Xi would stay at her house during the away games.
She even swore, "I promise I won’t make a move on you. I know how important the Finals are to you all. I will not drain your stamina, even though my dad keeps hinting that I should."
Jessica’s father was a die-hard Lakers fan who was on the verge of crying in front of his daughter. He begged her to swear that she would get Su Xi to join the Lakers next season to form a "Super Big Five."
At the same time, he also suggested that Jessica invite Su Xi to stay at her house.
He wanted Su Xi to lose his stamina, and he demanded that Jessica work hard at it.
It all sounded rather absurd.
But for those die-hard fans, they really would stop at nothing.
This also proved one thing: Su Xi had truly pushed the Lakers to the brink.
The entire Los Angeles fan base was in a panic, like stock investors during a market crash.
They all knew very well that if the Lakers lost the championship for two consecutive seasons, all the internal problems that had been accumulating would erupt at once. The Lakers would lose the motivation to keep the OK Combination together.
It was very likely they would trade one of them, or even both.
If that happened, the Lakers would lose their ability to compete for the championship for a long time to come.
This was not what the Lakers wanted to see.
The Lakers are a dynasty team. Their fans were born to chase championships. If they weren’t constantly surrounded by glory, it would be more painful than death for them.
Su Xi said he would stay at Jessica’s house for a day, if the game situation was good.
However, as the plane flew toward Los Angeles...
A recording of Jessica Alba was played on TV, immediately sparking collective excitement in Hollywood.
It had been secretly recorded while Jessica was chatting with her female friends at a party, likely back in March.
But for it to be leaked when the Finals between the Lakers and the Pacers were at their most intense, it was undoubtedly the Hollywood entertainment media giving the Lakers an assist.
The content of the recording was Jessica Alba and her best friends talking about Su Xi.
She described Su Xi as flawless: "...He’s not just handsome, strong, and commanding. He also has this ability to make people feel incredibly, incredibly happy. When you see him, you can’t help but feel joyful from the bottom of your heart. You want to get close to him, to smell that faint scent on him... It’s a unique scent that no woman can resist."
"His skin is so supple, smooth, and firm. When you touch it, you just... hehe."
In the five-minute-long conversation, the most explosive line was: "You all think sleeping with Jack is the kind of happiness you can imagine? No, the happiness of sleeping with Jack is something you can’t even begin to imagine...!"
This sentence ignited the collective imagination of women everywhere.
Women are naturally drawn to mystery, and they have rich imaginations.
Jessica said it was unimaginable, so just how happy could it be?
’Could it really exceed the limits of my imagination?’
Instantly, public opinion was in an uproar.
When Su Xi arrived at his hotel, he was still in the middle of checking in. A professionally trained female receptionist took the initiative to hit on him. "Jack, will you be in this room tonight?"
She risked being reported and fired to say to Su Xi, "I want to experience that unimaginable happiness."
Su Xi didn’t quite get it at first, but he politely replied to the beautiful receptionist, "Then you should go to Disney. That’s where you’ll find unimaginable happiness."
Su Xi cracked a joke, took his key card, and got into the elevator with his teammates.
At that moment, the beautiful receptionist muttered to herself, "Disney? Could it be true?"
Women’s capacity for gossip is extraordinary.
She quickly made the connection and shared it with her colleague. "Could what Lindsay Lohan said be true? Did she really date Jack?"
"Jack just mentioned Disney, did you hear? Lindsay Lohan is the little princess Disney has been heavily promoting lately."
"But how old is Lindsay Lohan?"
"She’s not small, I’m talking about *here*... hehe."
"And besides, with a neck that long... hahaha..."
"..."
When they started gossiping, the content was truly "sensational."
This kind of gossip was spreading like a virus. Everyone was talking about "unimaginable happiness."
This made more and more women want to get in on the action.
Who wouldn’t want to experience it?
Even the receptionist just now couldn’t control herself. So how could those arrogant socialites and Hollywood starlets not want to get a taste?
...
It was already four in the afternoon when Su Xi saw the report on TV.
He even saw it on a sports channel.
He was completely stunned.
’Jessica, oh, Jessica. You always manage to cook up some new surprise for me.’
’What... what the hell is all this?’
ABC’s *Sports Watch* program harshly criticized Su Xi. They believed that his close contact with Hollywood would ruin the Pacers’ excellent momentum, and they even expressed particular pity for him.
They especially said that a playboy like Su Xi playing an away game in Los Angeles would get destroyed both on and off the court. On the court, he’d be decimated by the OK Combination; off the court, he’d be screwed senseless by those crazy female stars.
Su Xi was upset.
He decided not to go to Jessica’s house.
He needed to lay low.
"These people are just jealous." Ron Artest stood next to Su Xi and suddenly said with great seriousness, "Jack, with our relationship... if I were a woman, would you let me experience that unimaginable happiness?"
Su Xi subconsciously took a step back. "What are you doing? Put your hands down. Don’t get any funny ideas. Stop dreaming."
Artest quickly explained, "I said *if*! I didn’t mean it like that, my orientation is normal. If you don’t believe me, I’ll call a woman over for you to see..."
"No no no, don’t don’t don’t." Su Xi was scared of him. With Artest’s way of thinking, he would actually call a woman over and prove his straightness right in front of Su Xi.
Su Xi wasn’t ready to get that wild.
Just as Su Xi was starting to believe Artest, Artest’s phone rang. It was a call from his cousin.
His cousin yelled into the phone in a rough voice, "Cousin, you’re Jack’s best friend, right? Can you ask him for a favor? Let me get a taste of that happiness too..."
’Go to hell!’
...
