Chapter 479: Chapter 144: The Competition Always Has Surprises

Knowing her son couldn’t go, Mrs. Pierce expressed her sympathy, then grabbed her wallet and went shopping for clothes, planning to dress up nicely to watch the All-Star weekend in person.

Last time she went to Madison Square Garden to watch a game, she appeared on the live broadcast, but she dressed very plainly that day. When she later watched the recording and saw herself, she regretted it immensely, so this time she’s even planning to wear a big gold chain.

Zhang Hao dragged his suitcase from the room to the living room, looked at Aprile Clark fiddling with the alarm clock, and asked, "Why are you setting an alarm at 9 o’clock?"

"Britney just called, said she’s on the bus, and I’ll have to go pick her up in a bit. Miss Buss agreed to let her come with us on the private jet."

"Couldn’t she just fly over from Berkeley herself?"

"She’s just a 15-year-old girl, and she’s so good-looking, it’s not safe for her to fly alone. It’s safer to be with us."

"Since when did you guys become so close?"

This remark made Aprile Clark’s ears turn red with annoyance. She retorted, "What do you mean by suddenly close? I’ve always liked Britney!"

"..." Zhang Hao felt like saying—am I blind?

The two clearly couldn’t stand each other before... Zhang Hao didn’t want to think too much about it, so while he had time, he took out his notebook and continued summarizing his performance over the first 45 games of the season.

Summarizing, analyzing, thinking, making plans... Although it’s a hassle, Zhang Hao decided to do so after last night’s game against the Utah Jazz.

Once he made up his mind, he was going to do it right!

Watching Zhang Hao’s serious demeanor, Aprile Clark felt her heart fluttering...

She made a firm decision!

There’s no way to stop Zhang Hao from interacting with Britney, no legitimate reason, but she can minimize Zhang Hao and Britney’s chances of being alone together.

For example, if Britney flies to San Antonio alone, Zhang Hao will definitely go pick her up, and she would be embarrassed to tag along... 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Half an hour later, April Clark had just left when Zhang Hao’s cell phone rang while he was working on his halftime summary.

Zhang Hao picked up and asked, "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, Zhang, it’s Bryant."

This unfamiliar tone, overly polite choice of words, made Zhang Hao ask, "Kobe?"

"Ah, yes, it’s me."

"..."

"..."

After a long silence, Kobe on the other end of the line said, "There’s something I’d like to ask for your help with."

Little Blacksmith asking for a favor? Zhang Hao felt the fun coming and said, "What is it? Go on, brother can help if he can."

At that moment, Zhang Hao felt like he heard the sound of grinding teeth. After a while, Kobe finally spoke, "I want to buy tickets for the All-Star game. I have the money; I hope you can help me buy them. I can’t get any myself, and I hope the seats are as close to the front as possible; I want to watch the game up close."

Zhang Hao felt like asking, "Why not ask your dad for help..." but upon careful thought, Kobe’s dad was just a role player in the NBA, unlikely to have extensive connections, just slightly better than the ball dad. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be on TV making big claims every day to gain attention for his son.

The difference is that Kobe was able to achieve all the boasts his dad made for his future.

At this point, Zhang Hao remembered the extra ticket package he had...

"Kobe."

"What is it? Is it inconvenient?"

"No, I can invite you to watch the game."

"No need, I can afford the tickets."

"My tickets are given by the NBA."

"..." Kobe on the other end of the line felt deeply hurt!

At the same time, he thought this guy must have some catch if he’s offering tickets for free; otherwise, he’d directly say he’s giving them away instead of inviting him to watch the game.

"What’s your condition?"

Upon hearing the voice on the phone, Zhang Hao felt that Little Blacksmith was indeed savvy!

"It’s simple, just call me brother... Hey, hey, hey, why hang up!"

Zhang Hao couldn’t help but laugh out loud; teasing Little Blacksmith was so much fun!

After laughing for a while, sure enough, the phone rang again.

"I don’t want your free gift, sell me your ticket package!"

"How could I do such a thing like a ticket scalper? Just call me brother... hey, hey, hey, don’t hang up, alright, alright, I see, you’re in a hurry, I’ll give you the ticket, brother will be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel Southern City from tonight."

After saying that, Zhang Hao immediately hung up the phone, not giving the other party a chance to lose his temper.

Haven’t contacted Kobe for a while, this occasional contact, felt so refreshing!

...

At two in the afternoon, Zhang Hao, Aprile Clark, Mrs. Pierce, and Britney arrived at the airport.

Zhang Hao’s occasional glance of acknowledgment made the three women of various ages very satisfied.

Mrs. Pierce felt herself a fashion leader; she had meticulously dressed up today just to catch eyes while walking on the streets and sitting courtside.

Aprile Clark and Britney, on the other hand, were simply dressing up for Zhang Hao.

It’s just...

Zhang Hao was already familiar with Mrs. Pierce’s sense of style: leopard prints + big gold chain, shining and glittering, even though he knew it, he couldn’t help but glance a few more times.

But Aprile Clark... why was she dressed like she was back in high school today?

And Britney, today she had on heavy makeup...

No matter which one’s outfit, Zhang Hao couldn’t comprehend, but he dared not ask.

He felt asking why any of them dressed the way they did would end badly for him.

Once aboard the Lakers owner’s private jet, meeting the person responsible for taking them to San Antonio—Jeanie Buss—Zhang Hao’s eyes brightened instantly...

The once-socialite Miss Buss, her attire, and makeup were just right.

"Auntie, I don’t feel like working hard anymore..."

The private jet was significantly different from the usual chartered ones. Upon reaching the seating area, it felt more like a bar, and the Magician’s family was already there.

Zhang Hao hadn’t had the chance to greet anyone when he noticed an intense gaze fixed on Mrs. Pierce.

It was a young boy! His eyes... seemed to be filled with admiration?