Chapter 376 Rising Popularity!
Each three-pointer shot made everyone’s heart tremble once, and the same was repeated yet again. The Stick Nation’s players were all in despair.
A total of ten three-pointers made the score 136:136—a tie!
Ye Lingchen did not rush to shoot the last shot. He dribbled around randomly and left everyone on the edge of their seat. In the final second, the basketball left his hands.
Under everyone’s attention, the ball sliced through the air in a beautiful arc and entered the hoop!
Wow!
The Chinese cheered and everyone stood up with their bodies trembling.
Bureau Chief Fang and others tried to control their breathing but were barely able to calm their excited heart down.
The Stick Nation’s people sat on the chair and marveled at Ye Lingchen’s prowess.
“Ye Lingchen! Ye Lingchen! Ye Lingchen!”
Someone from the crowd took the lead to cheer, and at that moment, everyone shouted Ye Lingchen’s name and many even shed tears too.
Click! Click!
Countless reporters aimed their cameras at Ye Lingchen and fired their flash continuously.
Seeing a lot of reporters coming toward him, Ye Lingchen waved to everyone and left by sneaking through the crowd like a fish.
The reporters could not catch Ye Lingchen, so their attention was diverted to the Bureau Chief.
Faced with those reporters, Bureau Chief Fang’s face glowed with pride as he gave a long-winded speech. He also narrowed his eyes at the Stick Nation’s embarra.s.sed coach. “You were giving out a rather proud speech earlier. Do you want the microphone so you can continue expressing your thanks?”
At the end of the morning, Ye Lingchen received a call from Zhang He, who invited him to have a meal together. On that occasion, Ye Lingchen did not refuse.
During lunch, Bureau Chief Fang expressed his grat.i.tude to Ye Lingchen repeatedly, and in that period, he held Ye Lingchen’s hand and said while weeping. He truly regarded Ye Lingchen as the savior of China’s basketball. In addition, he also gave Ye Lingchen a RMB500,000 bonus as a reward for defeating the Stick Nation.
Regarding Ye Lingchen’s treatment, there was a RMB600,000 sports allowance given every year. On top of that, Ye Lingchen belonged to a completely otherworldly existence, and there was no need to partic.i.p.ate in training. All he had to do was play in national games.
As for the players of the Capital City Basketball a.s.sociation, they each gave Ye Lingchen a toast with words of reverence and admiration. In the end though, Ye Lingchen did not get drunk at all. Instead, they were the ones who got drunk and were sprawled out on the ground.
Soon, the basketball game went viral throughout the internet!
The reporters were flush with excitement, and at the exact end of the basketball game, they all delved right into writing their press release.
Big news! It was undoubtedly one of the biggest news that history had ever seen!
Once they reported that news it would certainly spark worldwide attention!
Tencent News, Sina News, and Jinri Toutiao all reported at once, sending push notifications directly to everyone’s mobile phones. Weibo’s Trending Searches also exploded at once, while the official website for China’s sport and basketball experienced heavy traffic.
At the same time, many people who were watching the game on-site uploaded videos to the Internet from time to time, attracting countless broadcasts.
As a basketball enthusiast, Little Ding’s greatest hobby was playing basketball. Whenever he was free, he would round up three to five friends and play basketball together. He usually paid more attention to news involving basketball.
At that point, he was watching an NBA basketball game.
‘It would be nice if there are good basketball players in our country. Then I wouldn’t have to watch foreigners play basketball every day. It’s such a pity…’
He lamented in his heart. However, at that moment, his computer screen vibrated and a piece of news was delivered.
[Surprise! There’s hope for China’s basketball!]
That was the news link that popped up.
It was the same trick again.
Little Ding pursed his lips and was too tired to curse at it.
Such clickbait was truly repulsive. Every day, they would use some famous person’s name to try and attract people’s attention. It was so pointless.
He had already seen at least eight or nine similar headlines.
After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and clicked it curiously.
Hmm?
It was a game between China and Stick Nation?
Little Ding froze for a moment before coming to a sudden realization. Indeed! China played a friendly match with the Stick Nation at the same time last year. Was it already over that year?
His heart skipped a beat and he looked at it intently.
However, as the game progressed, Little Ding’s face became redder and redder due to anger.
It was rubbis.h.!.+ They were completely crushed by the Stick Nation!
Little Ding could no longer stand it, especially when seeing the Stick Nation’s players making a mockery of the Chinese players.
What the h.e.l.l was that? Hope? ‘Hope, my foot!’
He cursed in his heart and became increasingly disappointed with China’s basketball scene.
Just as he was about to close the video however, he saw Ye Lingchen coming onto the court. Little Ding’s hand movement stopped for a moment and he continued to watch.
In the next room, Little Ding’s excited shouts could be heard constantly.
“Oh f*ck! Awesome interception!
“That block is beautiful! So skilled!
“Scored, a resounding dunk, incredible!
“They’re catching up. Finally, the score is overturned! China actually has such a powerful trump card, bwahahaha…”
Little Ding’s heart was beating fast, and he was never as excited as he was that day. It was the first time China’s basketball team made him feel so proud.
Then again, his brow furrowed slightly. It was far too unusual. Could it be a fake? News made just for showing-off was rampant that year.
It was only when he went to Weibo that he had a smile on his face. The trending searches about China’s basketball’s victory over the Stick Nation had risen to the top!
The Chinese team really did win!
That comments on that article had already exceeded 50,000!
[Reasonably speaking, I’m stating that this is China’s No. 1 prince charming. No objections, right?]
[He’s really handsome! Much more handsome than the stars on the Internet!]
[With that skill, I think it’s 100% comparable to people in the NBA. I have a strong hunch that our Chinese basketball players will be able to enter the NBA soon!]
[Please be quiet, don’t stop me from licking the screen!]
[So handsome! So handsome! It’s hard to imagine that there are people who are more handsome than me in the world. RESPECT!]
[I’ve never had any idols since I was young, but today, I hereby solemnly announce that I will have an idol in the future!]
[I’ve got no blinking idea how many times I watched the video. It’s amazing to watch. So chic and elegant. Playing basketball seems to turn into an art in his hands.]
…
On that occasion, regardless of whether the sports bureau was pus.h.i.+ng this matter or whether it was the public opinion of the ma.s.ses, it was definitely a feat of the epic proportions for China’s sports. Publicizing it was a must.
Ye Lingchen looked at the soaring popularity of his system interface and could not help but feel shocked. He was mentally prepared to become a famous sports star, but he never expected it to cause such a sensation.
The popularity almost made him a household name overnight! His fame even surpa.s.sed the average star!
In fact, China had been suppressed in the sports world for far too long. Pride and brilliance were a rarity, so it was only natural for his popularity to explode!