Meng Dong nodded vigorously, replying, "You can rest assured, I sleep hugging a basketball. Basketball is inseparable from my life."
Li Feng laughed and patted his head, "Who knew you were such a basketball fanatic!"
Their relationship grew closer, and Meng Dong felt less restrained.
So, they played and chatted, with Li Feng also guiding him on some basketball techniques.
Just then, on the other side of the court, a few young men arrived.
These individuals were all over 1.8 meters tall, with robust physiques, appearing to be skilled basketball players, and quite good at it.
However, their voices were loud and somewhat disruptive.
Li Feng didn't pay them any mind, continuing his conversation with Meng Dong.
After a casual warm-up, the group noticed Li Feng and Meng Dong.
When they saw Li Feng, wearing sunglasses late at night, coaching a high school student, they started to mock them.
"What a weirdo, thinks he's a celebrity? Wearing sunglasses at night? Such a show-off!"
"This city, Beijing, has too many posers, everyone thinks they're someone!"
"Heh, Si Ge, want to go teach them a lesson?"
"Forget it, we'll shoot around for a bit and then go singing. Playing with rookies is a waste of time."
"You're right, haha!"
...
These guys were completely unabashed, speaking loudly without any regard for Li Feng and Meng Dong hearing them.
Li Feng was low-key and didn't want to bicker with them, so he pretended not to hear and continued with Meng Dong.
But Meng Dong, at 16, was in his prime and full of youthful energy.
Coupled with his confidence in his basketball skills, he naturally took offense and shot a glare at them.
The opposing group, already looking for an opportunity to provoke, immediately bristled when they saw Meng Dong glare at them.
"Little brat, who are you glaring at? Looking for a fight?" One of them, with a streak of dyed blonde hair, walked towards Meng Dong.
The others also approached aggressively.
These guys looked to be around 20 years old, likely from a university.
Li Feng didn't want trouble and blocked Meng Dong behind him, saying, "Brothers, there's no need for this. He's just a kid. We'll be leaving soon."
Unexpectedly, another guy with a crew cut retorted disrespectfully, "He's a kid? Are you a kid too?"
"Heh, I'm not a kid. If we've offended you in any way just now, please excuse us!"
As Li Feng spoke, he pushed Meng Dong, intending to leave the court.
"Hmph, you should have left long ago. Daring to coach others with that level of play? What a joke!" The blonde-haired guy was still being obnoxious, muttering incessantly from behind.
Meng Dong could no longer hold back and yelled, "I can beat you easily, believe it or not!"
"Damn, you've got some nerve! You little punk, so arrogant!" The group became incensed and started to chase after them.
Li Feng's temper was also starting to flare.
It seemed that constant yielding wouldn't work; it was time to teach them a lesson!
Li Feng's expression suddenly turned stern, and he yelled, "Listen up, you guys. Let me clarify first: are you unhappy with us and want to challenge us to a basketball game, or do you want to fight? Make it clear, and I'll accept!"
The group was taken aback. They hadn't intended to fight, but with their numbers, they wouldn't care if it escalated to that.
The crew-cut guy snorted and said, "What about playing basketball? What about fighting? Anyway, neither of you is any good!"
"Exactly, as if you guys could win at basketball."
Li Feng nodded, "Alright, if that's the case, then we'll play basketball first. If you lose and are still not convinced, then we'll fight!"
The guys exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
"Wow! That's really arrogant! You think you're something? Us losing? What a joke!"
"Come on, it's two-on-two, first to seven points!"
Saying this, the blonde-haired guy and the crew-cut guy stood inside the three-point line, while the others retreated to the sidelines.
Li Feng smiled at Meng Dong and instructed, "Play well, don't be careless!"
"Don't worry!" Meng Dong rubbed his hands together, ready for a big game.
Li Feng quite admired Meng Dong's temper; young people should have youthful spirit, especially in competitive sports.
As long as the means of competition are fair, they should be encouraged.
The blonde-haired guy's ears perked up at Li Feng's words, and he got riled up again, shouting, "Still being careless? If I don't kick your asses, consider yourselves clean!"
His words were offensive, and Li Feng frowned again.
He had initially intended to teach them a brief lesson and then leave.
Seeing this guy's foul mouth and lack of manners, he decided to raise the stakes.
"Hey, playing like this isn't that interesting. Let's add some stakes!" Li Feng said, holding the basketball in one hand, looking at the blonde-haired guy.
The crew-cut guy beside him chuckled, "Sure, what stakes do you want? Bet some money, or bet houses and land? I'll play along to the very end!"
"Si Ge, be careful. He's wearing those big sunglasses. What if you lose your Porsche sports car, haha!"
"Hahahaha!"
These guys were flaunting their wealth.
Li Feng sneered, an idea forming.
"Do you have a Porsche sports car? Then how about this: if you lose, you let me drive your Porsche for three days. If I lose, you can drive my car for three days, what do you say?"
Li Feng was dressed very casually today, in a Red Star Sports leisure tracksuit.
And Red Star Sports apparel was not expensive domestically in China.
Even though it was now China's top sports brand, it still maintained various price points.
Li Feng's entire outfit, from head to toe, cost less than two thousand yuan.
In contrast, these guys were wearing big international brands with prominent logos.
Any one of them, with their attire, easily cost over ten thousand yuan.
So, when Li Feng mentioned cars, they all burst into laughter.
"You broke loser, what car do you even have? Haha, it's probably some cheap car worth a few hundred thousand? I wouldn't drive it even if you gave it to me for free!"
The blonde-haired guy sneered dismissively.
Li Feng maintained his smile, "I'll make a call, and a nice car will be here soon. It won't be cheaper than your Porsche."
"You're really bragging. If you don't have a car, just say so, you're calling a friend to bring one?"
"It's fine, let him bring it. With your broke appearance, you probably don't have any capable friends anyway."
"Yeah, that's true. Then hurry up and call!"
The group chuckled, anticipating the chance to humiliate Li Feng and Meng Dong.
Li Feng was currently Bugatti's spokesperson. With just one call, the China dealership would eagerly send him the latest model.
After all, in the US, the Bugatti General Manager had personally flown over and waited two hours to meet Li Feng, requesting him to be Bugatti's spokesperson.
Li Feng's popularity was simply too high!
Li Feng dialed the number of Bugatti's contact for the Asia-Pacific region.
After a brief conversation, Li Feng hung up.
"Let's start playing. The car will be here in less than 10 minutes!"
"Alright, alright, let's get started!"
The blonde-haired guy and the crew-cut guy couldn't wait.
They didn't expect to lose at all, as these guys were players from the Beijing University of Technology's campus team.
They had just finished the CUBA league last month.
While Beijing University of Technology's basketball level wasn't top-tier in Beijing, and most of these guys were substitutes, they were more than capable of playing against amateurs.
Li Feng and Meng Dong attacked first.
The blonde-haired guy and the crew-cut guy weren't taking it seriously. They were still chuckling, standing inside the three-point line.
Li Feng passed the ball to Meng Dong and said, "You go one-on-one first!"
Meng Dong grunted, caught the ball, and facing the blonde-haired guy, he didn't drive to the basket but directly took a pull-up three-pointer!
Swish!
This 45-degree angle was Meng Dong's "sweet spot."
Without tight defense, his hit rate from this position was very high.
After scoring, Meng Dong excitedly clenched his fist and let out a yell.
The blonde-haired guy and the crew-cut guy were stunned.
They hadn't expected Meng Dong to be such an accurate three-point shooter, as he had finished his three-point shots before they entered the court, and they hadn't seen it.
The crew-cut guy got angry and yelled, "Defend him properly! This kid's three-pointer is quite accurate!"
The blonde-haired guy also got serious and began to guard Meng Dong closely.
Li Feng signaled for Meng Dong to drive.
Meng Dong used his dribbling skills, intending to get past the blonde-haired guy.
However, the blonde-haired guy, now serious, was still quite skilled, after all, he was a CUBA player.
Meng Dong drove left and right but couldn't get past him.
During one of Meng Dong's crossovers, the blonde-haired guy bumped into him with an almost foul move, pushing Meng Dong aside and stealing the ball.
There was still a gap in physical conditioning between high school students and university students.
The guys on the sidelines started to heckle, "Good play, haha, stolen ball!"
Li Feng's expression was impassive, and he said, "Okay, you guys attack!"
The blonde-haired guy and the crew-cut guy retreated to the three-point line. The blonde-haired guy passed the ball to the crew-cut guy, telling him to guard Li Feng.
It was evident that the crew-cut guy was the most technically skilled among them, and he was also quite tall, around 1.95 meters.
Li Feng was 1.93 meters, and the blonde-haired guy was about 1.85 meters.
To play it safe, they naturally chose the crew-cut guy, who had a height advantage, to guard Li Feng.
The crew-cut guy received the ball and made a triple-threat move outside the three-point line.
Suddenly, the crew-cut guy faked a shot and then drove hard to the right.
His move was quite smooth and fluid. If it were an ordinary amateur, he would likely have been beaten.
Furthermore, with the crew-cut guy's 1.95-meter height and long strides, it would be hard to catch up.
But his skill level was no match for Li Feng.
Forget the NBA, even the slowest players in NCAA were faster than him!
Slap!
Li Feng seemed not to have moved, but the ball in the crew-cut guy's hands suddenly vanished.
"Ah!"
The crew-cut guy and the blonde-haired guy exclaimed in unison. Even the people on the sidelines couldn't clearly see how the ball was lost.
Only Meng Dong knew that it was Li Feng's lightning-fast steal!
Li Feng had stolen Meng Dong's dribble in the same way just before.
The crew-cut guy and the blonde-haired guy changed their expressions, but they looked at Li Feng again, finding it unbelievable.
"Si Ge, you were too careless."
The blonde-haired guy consoled the crew-cut guy and gave the ball to Li Feng.
Li Feng knew Meng Dong couldn't handle the blonde-haired guy, so he decided to score himself.
Facing the crew-cut guy, he made no extra moves, just dribbled once, and went straight for a pull-up three-pointer!
Swish!
Another three-pointer!
The crew-cut guy and the blonde-haired guy were a bit dumbfounded.
However, they comforted themselves, "These two guys have really accurate three-pointers. It's pure luck. We'll defend them tighter next time!"
"Yeah, don't let them get any shots off!"
Li Feng chuckled, "It's 2:0, you guys should be careful!"
"Shut up! We won't let you score again!" the crew-cut guy gritted his teeth and shouted.
Li Feng dribbled the ball slowly, then suddenly straightened up, looked at the basket, and made a catching motion with both hands.
Little Buddha's Embrace!
Since Li Feng had just made a three-pointer, the crew-cut guy naturally wouldn't let Li Feng shoot again. He immediately sprang up, reaching out towards Li Feng's head!
Unexpectedly, Li Feng didn't catch the ball. He immediately changed direction and drove past the crew-cut guy on his left.
The crew-cut guy's heart sank, knowing he'd been tricked again.
The blonde-haired guy reacted quickly, abandoning Meng Dong and charging straight at Li Feng.
He had already decided that since there were no referees, even if he had to foul, he would knock Li Feng down and prevent him from scoring.
Li Feng saw the blonde-haired guy charging at him from the corner of his eye but didn't pay it any mind.
Meng Dong was a bit worried and shouted, but Li Feng seemed not to hear, continuing his unhurried run towards the basket.
Bang!
The blonde-haired guy, putting all his strength into it, rammed into Li Feng's back shoulder.
Thump!
Just as everyone thought Li Feng would be knocked over, the blonde-haired guy was repelled and fell to the ground.
Li Feng, however, was completely unaffected, reaching the basket and scoring an layup!
The blonde-haired guy sat on the ground, looking at Li Feng in astonishment.
With his strength, a tackle from behind like that would prevent anyone, not just amateurs, but even players in the CUBA league, from making a successful layup.
But this person...
After scoring the layup, Li Feng held the basketball and looked at the blonde-haired guy with a smile.
"It's 3:0, are you still playing?"
The blonde-haired guy slowly got up and exchanged glances with the crew-cut guy. They started to murmur amongst themselves.
But they had already bragged so much, and quite a crowd had gathered to watch. How could they back down now?
The crew-cut guy gritted his teeth and replied, "Keep playing! We said seven points, so it's seven points. You guys attack!"
Li Feng shook his head with a smile and slowly walked to the three-point line.
At that moment, the gymnasium door opened, and a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, with perfectly slicked-back hair, rushed in.
He looked around a few times and then ran towards Li Feng.
As the middle-aged man ran, he held a car key in his hand.
"Mr. Li, I've brought the car keys. Feel free to drive it, for as long as you like. Here's the gas card."
The middle-aged man solicitously handed over the car keys with both hands.
Since the crew-cut guy was standing right in front of Li Feng, he was startled when he saw the car keys and blurted out, "Bugatti?"
The middle-aged man glanced arrogantly at the crew-cut guy, then bowed and scraped to Li Feng, saying, "I've delivered the car keys, so I'll be going now."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble." Li Feng took the keys and waved them at the blonde-haired guys. "If I lose later, you can have this car for three days!"
The group exchanged glances, disbelieving it was true.
Li Feng casually tossed the car keys aside, grabbed the basketball, and stood at the three-point line again.
Just then, the blonde-haired guy suddenly ran over, intending to double-team Li Feng with the crew-cut guy!