The Way of the Center

The distance from Moda Center to Portland City Hall used to be less than ten minutes by car. But today, the Trail Blazers parade has been driving for an hour and has only gone halfway.

Like last year, the Trail Blazers' championship parade was very lively today. More than 1.5 million fans flocked to the streets, and the parade route was congested by the excited crowd. The police in the entire Portland city were on the verge of an enemy. Today, the safety of the whole city is in their hands. As long as there is a little carelessness, this group of fans is likely to be a safety hazard.

On top of the parade bus, four or five helicopters tracked and filmed the entire process of the parade. Looking from the top down, the crowd is densely packed like ants, and the scene is very spectacular. And CCTV, for the first time this year, also broadcast live the parade. After all, the protagonist of this parade is a yellow-skinned guy from China.

An Jie stood at the front of the car holding the O'Brien Cup, and he received the loudest cheers. Red and black confetti representing the main colors of the Trail Blazers continued to fall from the sky, paving a "championship road" for the parade bus.

An Jie was wearing a black championship commemorative T-shirt. On the big logo of the Trail Blazers, the championship occupied An Jie's entire torso. Lillard put on a white commemorative T-shirt with the words "End the Heat" written on it.

Indeed, the Trail Blazers defeated James and his Heat to win the championship for two consecutive years. Lillard wears such a T-shirt, which can be described as full of confidence.

The double-decker open-top bus used for the parade was also painted dark red, and besides the Trail Blazers logo and the portrait of the O'Brien Cup, there were two big "00" on both sides of the bus.

There is no doubt that these two "00" represent Anjie's jersey number. There are no numbers on the entire bus, only An Jie's number is printed on it. This point is enough to show how lofty Anjie's status in the team, and even the entire city of Portland, is.

Aldridge is holding a dv, and he intends to record all of this unforgettable day. Everyone else is enjoying the moment in their own way, who doesn't love the feeling of being a hero?

After walking for an hour and a half, the parade bus finally stopped at the gate of Portland City Hall. An Jie picked up the O'Brien Cup and the fmvp trophy and got off the car first, and the atmosphere on the scene exploded instantly.

At the entrance of the city hall, a temporary stage has been set up. In this scorching afternoon, everyone will listen to the speeches of their heroes quietly under the high temperature.

The players were happily interacting with the fans on the stage one by one. Even Meyers Leonard has cultivated a lot of fans in Portland.

An Jie was naturally the finale, and this yellow-skinned guy gave two speeches in English and Chinese.

Trail Blazers fans listened tirelessly, and they even wanted Anjie to say it a few more times.

After the parade, the police evacuated the fans and left in an orderly manner. All members of the Trail Blazers will continue to stay in the City Hall to participate in the celebration dinner hosted by the Mayor of Portland for them.

During the dinner, Anjie received a text message from Meslav. It seems that An Jie's Steak House is hard to find tonight. It is said that every branch has customers queuing up, and the longest one has a crowd length of more than 200 meters!

An Jie attended the dinner at the city hall, and An Jie's steak house is the "city hall" for fans.

Undoubtedly, Anjie's Steakhouse made a lot of money this evening. Moslav is already considering whether to start opening branches in other places.

With this good news, An Jie's performance at the dinner party was also quite relaxed and happy. In the past, An Jie hated this kind of overly formal dinner the most, but now he has been able to handle such occasions with ease.

After the Blazers team and the mayor raised champagne for a group photo, this expensive dinner officially ended. Many people suggested that everyone go to a nightclub for another night. But this time, An Jie politely refused.

"You guys go, my boss and I have to go home to take care of our family." An Jie walked to Ricard and put his hand on his mentor's shoulder. Unexpectedly, within a few years, he and Ricard were on the front line of "having a family and a family".

The teammates also knew that Catherine was pregnant, so they did not drag An Jie away forcibly. In this way, Ricard parted ways with Anjie and others. Others need carnival, but Anjie and Ricard need the warmth of family more.

"Is your birthday next week?" Sitting in An Jie's car, Ricard suddenly asked.

"Hehe, the boss actually remembers. I plan to notify everyone in a few days." An Jie was surprised that Ricard actually clearly remembered the month and date of his birthday.

"Of course I remember, I don't remember what's wrong with you. On November 13, 2007, you made your debut on the ncaa field for the first time. In the first game, you met the damn Michael Beasley. God Hey, the No. 1 high school student in the United States, it's fucking terrible." Ricard stared at the starry sky, as if he had returned to the past.

"Hahaha, didn't we run into each other a few days ago?" An Jie smiled, unable to tell that this usually grumpy and swearing guy really cares about these things.

"To be honest, Ann. I didn't expect us to win that game. But you, let me know that on the basketball court, there is no compromise, only hard work!" Ricard withdrew his gaze, and he turned to look at Ann. Jie, his expression became serious.

"It's you who let me know that as long as you work hard, anything is possible." An Jie patted Rickard on the shoulder. It's hard to say who made the other of these two guys. But what is certain is that neither of them will be successful without either of them.

"How are Mike Taylor and Morris?" Speaking of his college days, Rickard naturally thought of his other two favorite students.

"It's not bad. Taylor is already a big star in the European League. Morris, although the kid is not as famous because of his defensive style of play, he is still an inseparable part of the Thunder team. My birthday is on the 23rd That day, I have called them, and they will all be there. Then, you can talk to them face to face."

"It's just right, we haven't had a good get together for a while..."

The two men chatted without saying a word, and before he knew it, An Jie sent his coach to the door of his house.

"Ann." Before getting out of the car, Ricard lit a cigarette and called An Jie's name.

"Um?"

"Have a good rest this summer, after that, we will win more championships!" Ricard smiled, but the guy's tone didn't sound like a joke at all.

"As long as your body can hold it, sir!"

"Don't worry about me kid, as long as you can still play, I'll fuck you to the end!"

"Haha, are we going to be the next **Vitch and Duncan?"

"No, we are going to be the first Anjie and Ricard!"

An Jie stopped smiling, he knew that this was a serious agreement between Rickard and himself!

The two said goodbye, but this casual agreement became the goal that the two men fought for for many years afterwards.

A few years later, when a reporter interviewed An Jie and asked him why he was able to overcome many difficulties and get to where he is today. This ordinary night today is one that An Jie has to mention.

Watching Ricard walk into the door from the rearview mirror, An Jie stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

"Don't go back on your word, boss." An Jie said to himself, more championships, so what's the problem! ?

With this goal in mind, continue on the road. If we want to do it, we will do our best!

greedy? No, it's not greedy at all. An Jie has worked so hard, and he deserves the richest reward.

Leisure holidays make people lazy, even Anjie is no exception. He needs a long-term goal to restrain himself, so that he will always be under pressure and always motivated.

Now, he has it all. Keep fighting, keep fighting one after another, keep fighting...

One day, An Jie couldn't move anymore, and Ricard couldn't yell anymore. This alliance will escape from the grasp of these two people.

But before that, An Jie's era was far from over.