Chapter Twenty-Seven: Girlfriend?

“I was right, wasn’t I, Michael!” The young woman recited every detail of Wu Rui’s early NBA career as if she were recounting her own experiences. When she finished, she gestured at Wu Rui and added, “You can’t just wander the streets of Orlando without any cover, you know.”

“Wow, beautiful lady, you certainly know a lot about me.” After her enthusiastic monologue, Wu Rui was genuinely surprised. “May I ask who you are?”

“Hey, are you asking my name? Michael Wu actually asked for my name! I must brag to Andre about this tomorrow!” The young woman burst into excitement the moment Wu Rui spoke, then looked at him and answered, word by word, “I am Willy Gaddo, a player on the University of Central Florida women’s basketball team!”

A player on the University of Central Florida’s women’s basketball team?

Hearing her introduction, Wu Rui finally understood why she was so tall. It made perfect sense—a college women’s basketball player couldn’t possibly be short.

“But I’m surprised you even recognize me,” Wu Rui admitted, glancing at the fair-skinned, beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed college student before him. It baffled him—he hadn’t played much, except for the extended garbage-time minutes against the Washington Wizards today.

Even then, he hadn’t put on a performance to make a lasting impression on Orlando fans.

Was it because of those few rebounds?

Wu Rui thought he was overthinking it.

But Willy Gaddo’s answer shattered any doubt.

“Of course I know you!” At the mention of Wu Rui, Gaddo’s expression turned admiring. “Your performance in the air was just spectacular. Our coach replayed your clips over and over in practice!”

As she spoke, Gaddo abandoned all pretense of ladylike composure, crouched in front of Wu Rui, and pinched his thigh with her nimble hands.

“That’s it!” She exclaimed with excitement after giving his thigh a squeeze. “It’s those explosive legs—you grabbed those rebounds so dashingly because of them!”

“Hey, that’s enough!”

Contrary to Gaddo’s satisfied demeanor, Wu Rui jerked his leg back and retreated several steps, staring at the girl crouched before him as if she were some sort of creature. “Willy Gaddo? University of Central Florida?”

“Nice to meet you, but I’m sorry—I have to go. Today’s game left me physically and mentally exhausted; I need to rest.”

With those formulaic words, Wu Rui didn’t spare the crouching girl another glance. He dashed off, and halfway home, recalled what Gaddo had said earlier, quickly covered his face, and checked to make sure no one followed him before finally sprinting all the way to his apartment.

“Orlando women are terrifying!”

The moment he returned to his rented home in Orlando, Wu Rui tore off his jacket, his heart pounding wildly.

This was the first time in his life he’d had such “close contact” with a strange woman, and the first time anyone had ever touched his legs.

Recalling the sensation of a stranger’s hands on his thigh, Wu Rui felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, his whole body uncomfortable. In that instant, only one thought flashed through his mind: get away!

“Are American college students really all this open these days?”

Even after sitting at home for a while, Wu Rui couldn’t calm down. To steady his nerves, he turned on the TV and replayed ESPN’s summary of today’s NBA games.

But even that wasn’t enough to restore his peace. It was clear he wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.

As a result, by the time Wu Rui arrived at the Magic’s training facility the next day, Coach Frank Vogel had already been waiting for quite some time.

“Michael, you’re here early today?” Vogel had expected that, after keeping Wu Rui back for a chat yesterday, he’d show up first thing in the morning. But unexpectedly, he waited over an hour before Wu Rui appeared.

“Ah, Coach Frank, you’re the early one,” Wu Rui replied, but he looked listless. After all, he’d watched every ESPN recap of the season’s games before finally closing his eyes, netting barely two hours of real sleep.

“Michael, what’s wrong?” Seeing Wu Rui’s lack of energy, Vogel was puzzled. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Among NBA players, many enter the draft after just a year in college, and most already have girlfriends before they go pro. After games, plenty like to relax with their girlfriends—a good way to unwind, but a major drain on their physical stamina.

Of course, Coach Vogel didn’t want Wu Rui’s career to go off track because of girl trouble just as he was getting started.

“Of course not, Coach Frank! What are you thinking?” The moment Vogel mentioned women, Wu Rui’s drowsiness vanished. Memories of Willy Gaddo’s ambush on his legs crashed over him like a tidal wave. He quickly denied it and snatched up a basketball from nearby, throwing himself into today’s shooting drills.

Let’s hope I’m just overthinking it.

Watching Wu Rui wordlessly dive into a hundred sets of drills, Vogel merely took note and went off to prepare scouting reports for the next opponent.

With their recent win over the Washington Wizards, the Orlando Magic had racked up three straight victories. Although they’d started the season with three losses, they were now at fifty percent—three wins, three losses—ranked eighth in the East, neither high nor low.

As fate would have it, their next opponent had an identical record and was also in the Eastern Conference. The difference was that Orlando had lost three straight, then won three, while their opponent—the Chicago Bulls—had started the season with three wins, only to lose the next three and fall to three and three.

Playing at home, the Bulls would be eager to end their losing streak. After all, they’d made major moves in the offseason—trading away the youngest MVP in NBA history, Derrick Rose, to the Knicks for Robin Lopez and others, then signing three-time champion Dwyane Wade and former Celtics champion point guard Rajon Rondo in free agency.

From their offseason actions, it was clear the Bulls had high ambitions.

Now, stuck in a rut, the team was desperate for a long-overdue win—and the Magic, neither weak nor strong, looked like the juiciest target on their schedule.