Chapter 107: No One Believed

The moment those words were spoken, Johnson and the others were stunned. They never expected that He Xinghui, who had clearly won the argument, would dig such a huge hole for himself. It was completely unnecessary.

Some reporters even replayed the recording on their pens, thinking they must have missed or misheard a crucial word. But no—He Xinghui’s statement was crystal clear: in the next game, he would score 82 points.

They couldn’t understand why He Xinghui would do such a thing. But that didn’t matter; what mattered was that he had set a flag again. And this flag wouldn’t take long to be tested. Very soon, the truth would be revealed. Or rather, very soon, He Xinghui would be exposed to ridicule because there was no way he could score 82 points in the next game.

Johnson stared blankly at He Xinghui, seeing only unfathomable depths. The first time he encountered He Xinghui, he thought the man was just a player who had sacrificed his intelligence, an easy target to toy with. But soon he realized that He Xinghui was actually quite clever.

What puzzled him even more was that sometimes He Xinghui did things that appeared foolish. Even more baffling was that despite these seemingly foolish acts, no negative consequences followed.

So now, Johnson no longer dared to underestimate He Xinghui. He knew there must be some deeper meaning behind He Xinghui’s seemingly foolish words, but he just couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t his fault; after all, everyone is bound by their own perceptions. He couldn’t even imagine that He Xinghui had a system backing him.

...

That evening’s sports news was completely dominated by Kobe’s 81-point game; all other news took a backseat. Joking aside, 81 points—something even Jordan never achieved—was the highest individual score in modern basketball.

Compared to Kobe’s 81 points, news of other players’ wins or losses seemed insignificant.

Only one player managed to carve out a small space amidst the overwhelming praise for Kobe, showcasing his flair for grabbing headlines.

[He: In the next game, I will score 82 points.]

If this had come from some unknown rookie, no one would have paid attention. But since it was He Xinghui, a player with equally high popularity, countless eyes were immediately drawn.

Shock, confusion, ridicule, insults—every kind of reaction could be heard, but support was pitifully scarce.

Even his staunchest fans dared not openly back him this time; He Xinghui’s flag was just too outrageous. Scoring 82 points in a single game was nearly impossible. Over many years, only Kobe had come close, and that was largely due to the Lakers’ concentrated ball possession and the Raptors being a weak team.

Now He Xinghui had openly declared it in advance, and the Cavaliers, a strong team, would surely pay more attention.

In short, even the most loyal fans didn’t believe He Xinghui could accomplish this feat. Some newer fans, not yet firmly committed, chose to quietly abandon their support.

One must have limits to arrogance. He Xinghui was practically acting like a madman—how could anyone continue to support him?

This stunt cost He Xinghui countless fans. The outside world was baffled by this mysterious move.

Even Mark Collins came rushing over immediately to ask.

He didn’t care that it was late at night, that he was alone, or that he had to share a room with He Xinghui.

“He, why are you doing this? You won’t be able to make excuses this time, and this will seriously impact your image. Reebok is already unhappy,” Mark said sorrowfully.

Reebok had complained to him about some of He Xinghui’s behaviors before, but he had managed to hold them off. More importantly, He Xinghui’s performance had been improving, so Reebok had tolerated it.

But this time, Reebok found it hard to remain calm and wanted Mark to provide an explanation.

He Xinghui smiled, twisted open his water bottle, took a sip, and said, “Drinking water is easy; just open the cap. Doing something like this—can it really gain fans?”

“Everyone now thinks I can’t do it, but if I do, the psychological impact on ordinary people will be immense. Many bystanders will become fans, some may even worship me as a god…”

“But the difficulty is enormous; it’s almost impossible.”

Mark interrupted, “I understand the reasoning, but the premise is that you have to actually do it. If you’d scored 63 points in three quarters against the Mavericks before, you’d have gained countless fans. But look at the reality.”

“The harder the challenge, the greater the sense of accomplishment once it’s done. Drinking water is simple—what achievement can that bring? Mark, you can rest assured, those behaviors you don’t understand simply mean you’re on a lower level. You don’t need to understand. Just do your job well.”

He Xinghui didn’t want to explain further. After speaking, he stood up and patted Mark on the shoulder.

Mark shuddered.

Incomprehensible behavior? What he found most incomprehensible was why a very wealthy man liked other men.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll go handle the negative fallout right away.”

Mark hurried off, afraid He Xinghui would confront him with more revelations.

“You don’t have to rush, Mark. It’s just a small matter. It’s late; just rest here for the night and deal with it tomorrow,” He Xinghui kindly suggested.

“No, no, no. It’s no trouble at all. It’s my responsibility…”

By the time he finished speaking, he had already stepped out the door.

“What a good employee,” He Xinghui mused.

...

“Mad fucker.”

Kobe cursed upon hearing of He Xinghui’s stunt.

Even he wasn’t confident he could replicate his own 81-point feat. It had taken a lot of effort to achieve once and it was a prime opportunity for publicity.

His team had done well; the news almost went viral.

The only flaw was He Xinghui’s bragging.

If He Xinghui had kept quiet, Kobe’s 81-point achievement would have dominated the headlines.

“Kobe, don’t worry. This is just a desperate act to quench thirst—he might have grabbed a little attention now, but after his game against the Cavaliers, he’ll pay the price. This stunt was very foolish. You won’t need to worry about him threatening you anymore; no fan likes a madman.”

Kobe’s agent explained.

Hearing this, Kobe felt somewhat relieved.

But deep down, he couldn’t help but harbor a faint doubt and unease.

“But what if he actually does it?”

Kobe asked.

“How is that possible?” the agent scoffed.

“True enough,” Kobe said with a self-deprecating shake of his head.

How could it be? That was everyone’s thought except He Xinghui’s.

Still, despite their doubts, on the 25th, these people didn’t hesitate to watch the Clippers’ home game against the Cavaliers.

They wanted to witness He Xinghui’s impending embarrassment with their own eyes.