65: 64.

I really am the one holding everyone back.

65: 64.

I really am the one holding everyone back.

Let’s not talk about grades anymore.

When it comes to money, Hip has a lot to say.

Talking about grades with people from Class B kinda hurts my pride.

Hip asked, “Jack, which college do you want to go to?

You’re about to be a junior, it’s time to think about it.

With your skills, you’ll definitely become a key target for college teams next season.”

Zhang Yang said, “A college in California or Arizona, I guess.

My home is in Hidden Mountain, so I probably won’t choose a college too far from the city.”

Hip said, “Then you should choose USC.

We never got to play together in high school, which is a pity.

We could team up in college.”

Zhang Yang replied, “To be teammates with you and Aaron?

I’ll consider it.

DeMar would probably go by then too, but I’m not sure about Carmelo.

He might go to Saint Louis University.”

Hip said, “Don’t mention Aaron.

He didn’t choose USC.

He went to UCLA.”

Zhang Yang exclaimed, “UCLA?”

This was quite a surprise.

After the season ended, Afflalo was ranked 26th nationwide, setting a new record for the rankings of Compton High School’s male basketball players, far ahead of Hip at 58th.

Zhang Yang read in the newspapers that the predictions said Afflalo would choose USC, where the head coach is Henry Bibby, father of the famous NBA player White Devil Bibby, a defensive-oriented coach.

It seemed to match Afflalo’s impressive defensive talents shown since high school.

Hip said, “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.

Nick Young joined USC, so it’s fine without Aaron.”

Zhang Yang commented, “All the media predictions this year were wrong.”

He really didn’t know where Afflalo and Nick Young were going to college, but given Nick Young’s flashy playing style, his idol being Kobe, and the newspapers predicting that he would definitely choose UCLA to form the strongest backcourt in the nation with Farmar, they had misled everyone.

Both promptly smacked the media in the face.

Hip remarked, “I think Aaron and Nick Young had a pact to contradict the media.”

Zhang Yang suggested, “Is there a possibility that Aaron got tired of being teammates with you?”

Hip laughed, “Haha, I’ve considered that too.

I asked him, but he said he wanted to partner with a better Point Guard.”

Zhang Yang said, “If it were me, I’d follow him to UCLA.”

Hip chuckled, “Haha, I’ll consider your suggestion, but you’d better be ready to be chased after by the coaches at USC if you go there…”

…

After attending Hip’s graduation party, Zhang Yang had a new goal and got to work the next day.

Thomas fully supported Zhang Yang’s study plan.

He wouldn’t recommend it to other players, but Zhang Yang was different.

Being in the top class with all A’s in core subjects, he could indeed save a lot of time, which would greatly help his ranking in senior year.

Thomas had no doubt Zhang Yang would make the national top 100.

If one just wanted to enter the NCAA, being in the national top 100 basically meant you could pick any Division I college.

But Thomas’s expectations for Zhang Yang went beyond that.

DeRozan was the strongest in his grade in California in 9th grade, guaranteed to become a five-star high school player in the future.

Thomas hoped that Zhang Yang could also become a five-star high school player, the first ever at Compton High School’s boys’ basketball.

That very day, Thomas went to the school to get the textbooks and study notes for the 11th grade, 12th grade, and college prep courses.

Before, Zhang Yang just attended classes to get through the exams.

Now, he had an enthusiasm for high school he’d never had before because this time he was working hard for the goals he wanted to achieve.

Classes, training, one-on-ones, street basketball…

Time flew until late May, and after the final exams, Zhang Yang finished his sophomore year.

On May 23, Zhang Yang had arranged a time with DeRozan and Harden, who was back from vacation, to take the bus home to Hidden Mountain.

This time he hadn’t hitched a ride with Thomas because Thomas had entered his summer recruitment mode, traveling all over California, and even going to neighboring states like Arizona, Oregon… to recruit new players from middle schools and poach from high schools.

Although the chances were slim, there were always genius players like Devin Harden and Zhang Yang who emerged mid-high school, and Thomas had already successfully poached one, filled with enthusiasm for this very task.

Having not been home for half a year, Zhang Yang missed his parents dearly as soon as he set foot on the road home; his heart had a place of return as long as they were there.

But as soon as he got home, he was hit with a bombshell.

Zhang Yang looked at his mother and said, “Mom, please tell me you’ve just put on weight around your stomach.”

Yang Jing glared at him, “What are you talking about?

Has it been too long since I’ve beaten you up?

I dieted for half a year to prepare for pregnancy, where have I put on weight…

Yangyang, do you want a little brother or a sister?”

Zhang Yang took a closer look at his mom; she really had lost quite a bit of weight.

Right, she seemed to have slimmed down some at Christmas…

Wait a second, that’s not the point!

He thought of the unlucky Tatum, who had to spend his summer vacation in St.

Louis taking care of kids, and he said vehemently, “I won’t babysit, whether it’s a brother or a sister!

Absolutely not!”

Knowing he would react this way, Yang Jing rolled her eyes and said, “You wish.

If you want to take care of children, go find a girlfriend and have your own.

Of course, your father and I will take care of them ourselves.

It’s a boy.

We wanted a girl since raising a son has been somewhat tiresome…

cough cough, not tiresome, I miss when you were little, when I was still young and slender, and your father was still handsome…”

“…”

Zhang Yang felt stifled, but not because of the news of having a new brother.

If the family was well-off, having a new brother at 16 wouldn’t be a big deal.

Despite refusing to babysit, if the brother wasn’t too annoying, helping out would be fine.

Besides, he was already in high school and would soon go to college, work…

having a brother to keep his parents company was a good thing.

The key was, in his memory, during the years he was at home, his parents were always worried and fretting over various things, many of which seemed to be related to him.

Yet in less than a year since he left, his family’s restaurant had doubled in size, and there were rumors of opening a branch in the Rural District.

To be precise, they’d hired people to keep the current restaurant operating while his parents went off to the Rural District to try their luck.

His home was located in the urban area of Hidden Mountain City, a hub for various industries dropped from Los Angeles like craftsmanship, textiles, food production, and it was home to many companies, factories, workers, schools…

not the ‘Hidden Mountain’ Californians referred to.

The real ‘Hidden Mountain’ was in the suburban Rural District, with a permanent population of less than 2,000, yet the land area was much larger than that of the urban district, which had tens of thousands of residents.

With beautiful scenery, good transportation, several large and small villa communities along the river, leisure farms everywhere, and plenty of luxury stores, it was home to many of Los Angeles’s wealthy, celebrities, and stars.

That their business was thriving was one thing, but even their hobbies were being cultivated!

Zhang Yang didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed he truly was the one holding the family back!

Filled with grief and indignation, he took his books and basketball to the park, where studying brought him joy and playing basketball became an obsession…

The park was beside the river, offering a great atmosphere.

Not long after Zhang Yang arrived, he saw his mother coming with two restaurant employees.

The employees were carrying a large cardboard box, which they set down beside the basketball court.

After some fiddling, Zhang Yang saw standees of Iverson, Kobe, Carter, McGrady, James, Duncan, Garnett, Yao Ming, O’Neal…

an array of cutouts.

Zhang Yang: “Mom, what’s all this about?”

Yang Jing: “Yangyang, don’t you need obstacles when you practice basketball?

These look much better than chairs, don’t they!”

…

…

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