bookbashuk Chapter 31 The Grinch
Chapter 31 The Grinch
2008年12月23日，下午4:00。
New York, Fifth Avenue, Under Armour flagship store.
Fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky, but the cold of Fifth Avenue did nothing to dampen people's enthusiasm.
A long line of people stretched from the entrance of the Under Armour flagship store for three blocks. Young people, bundled up in down jackets and holding hot coffees, had a burning passion in their eyes.
They're not here to buy iPhones, nor are they here to snatch up discounted luxury goods.
They came to buy shoes.
In the shop window, those sharply styled sneakers were placed in the most conspicuous position.
Under Armour Villain 1 "The Grinch" (The Grinch of Christmas colorway).
Unlike the initial all-black colorway, this Christmas limited edition features an extremely bold combination of fluorescent green and purple. The skull logo on the tongue is wearing a crooked Santa hat, which looks both eerie and full of a cult charm.
On the huge LED screen, Christmas videos filmed by Li Xiangbei are playing on a loop.
The scene depicts a snowy night.
Li Xiangbei, dressed in a custom-made green jersey, dribbled the ball alone on the streets of Brooklyn.
"Bang, bang, bang."
The dull thud of the dribble accompanied the rhythm of my heartbeat.
The camera then pans to a chimney covered in gifts.
"Ho Ho Ho" without heartwarming blessings or Santa Claus.
Li Xiangbei raised his foot, wearing those fluorescent green combat boots, and kicked the chimney over with a powerful kick!
The gifts were scattered all over the floor.
The camera zoomed in, giving a close-up of Li Xiangbei's cold face.
He looked at the camera, a mocking smirk playing on his lips:
"Santa's busy tonight. I'm here to reap the rewards of the game."
The game ended, and Under Armour's logo flashed across the screen like lightning.
"Awesome!!" shouted an excited little boy at the front of the line. "I want to buy two pairs! One to wear, and one to keep as a souvenir!"
The media were astonished by this.
An ESPN business commentator wrote in his column:
"Nike's Christmas campaign this year was still playing the LeBron and Kobe puppet show, trying to move the audience with warmth and humor. But Li Xiangbei and Under Armour completely overturned the table! They brought the 'villains' to life! That rebellious coolness is like a poison tailor-made for today's rebellious teenagers!"
……
10:00 AM the next day. Knicks locker room.
After finishing their morning shooting practice, the players were getting ready to go to the showers.
"Hey! Wait a minute, guys."
Li Xiangbei clapped his hands, signaling everyone to stop.
The locker room door opened, and two staff members pushed in a cart decorated with red ribbons.
The car was piled high with exquisite black gift boxes.
"What is this?" Nate Robinson asked curiously as he approached.
Li Xiangbei picked up a box and tossed it to Nate.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Here's a little something.
Nate opened the box and his eyes widened instantly.
Rolex Submariner (Green).
The emerald green dial shimmered with a captivating luster under the changing room lights.
Turn it over, and you'll see a line of small print on the case: "Nate Robinson - Ball Don't Lie".
Everyone has one. Custom-made.
"My God!!" Randolph exclaimed, his hands trembling as he held his watch. "Lee! Are you serious? This is a green Submariner! You can't even get one on the market right now!"
Li Xiangbei smiled, sat down in his chair, and began to untie his shoelaces.
"I can't get it, that's what I say to others. For me, as long as the money is right, anything can be taken care of."
Randolph put the watch on his wrist, looked at it from left to right, and laughed so hard his big face was shaking.
"Li! You're like a brother to me! From now on, if anyone dares to lay a finger on you on the field, I'll sit on them and kill them!"
Nate Robinson was so excited he almost jumped up and kissed Li Xiangbei: "Boss! Even though I'm only 1.75 meters tall, I'm willing to set a screen for you! Even if it's Shaq on the other side!"
The locker room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. This is the power of money, and also the art of leadership.
Looking at his excited teammates, Li Xiangbei's tone suddenly turned cold.
"but."
The entire room fell silent instantly.
"I've received the gift. Tomorrow night, when we play the Magic, if anyone leaves their man open on defense, or lets that guy in the Superman cape dunk in the paint at will..."
Li Xiangbei pointed to the watches in their hands.
"Just return the watch to me."
Randolph immediately straightened his back and patted his chest, assuring everyone, "Don't worry, boss! If Howard scores more than 20 points in the paint tomorrow, I'll swallow this watch!"
……
2:00 PM. The Orlando Magic arrived in New York.
As one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference at the time, the Magic's core roster was truly impressive.
Turkoglu, Lewis, Nelson... Of course, the most terrifying one is the man who dominates the restricted area.
Dwight Howard.
During that period, "Superman" averaged 20+14+3 blocks per game, making him an absolute no-fly zone in the paint and the only man who could be traded one-for-one for LeBron James.
In the hotel lobby, reporters surrounded Howard, who was smiling like a big boy.
"Dwight, Li Xiangbei's been really arrogant lately, calling himself the 'Christmas Grown-Up.' He says he's going to dominate the game on Christmas Eve. What do you think?"
Howard flashed his signature big white teeth and let out a hearty (even slightly mesmerizing) laugh.
"Hahaha! Villain? Grinch?"
Howard fiddled with the Superman doll in his hand.
"Those are villains from comic books. In the real world, I'm Superman."
Howard made a gesture to show off his muscles, his biceps almost bursting out of his tights.
"Superman's job is to put bad guys in jail. Tomorrow night, I'll swatt all his layups into the stands. Hopefully, he won't cry and run to his mom."
"Tell him that the restricted area is my territory. The Grinch had better go around him."
This interview quickly reached Li Xiangbei.
Li Xiangbei was sitting in the physiotherapy room, watching Howard's carefree, smiling face on TV.
"Superman?"
Li Xiangbei sneered.
"You mean that guy who wears his underwear on the outside?"
He said to the reporters beside him:
"Tell Dwight not to laugh too soon. He might laugh his jaw off."
"And what is Superman afraid of again? Kryptonite?"
Li Xiangbei pointed to his pair of green "Greek of Christmas" combat boots.
"Tomorrow night, I'll bring the green kryptonite and go meet this Superman."
Warm-up before the game.
Madison Square Garden.
Dwight Howard, wearing a Superman cape, warmed up with dunks on the court, each powerful dunk eliciting cheers. He seemed relaxed, even joking with Spike Lee on the sidelines.
On the other side...
Li Xiangbei is practicing three-pointers.
[System notification: An S-level interior defender has been detected.]
[Mission Triggered: Kryptonite Project.]
【Target:】
Complete a dunk (or a face shot) over Howard.
It wiped the smile off his face.
[Reward:] Jumping attribute increased by +3.
Li Xiangbei glanced at the big guy who was still grinning foolishly.
"Laugh now, while you can still laugh."