In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 159 Philly’s talented athlete; take her back to Los Angeles
Singapore, Changi International Airport.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back with me?" Catherine asked repeatedly.

"Yes, I need to go directly to Philadelphia. The school's athletic director is waiting for me in Philadelphia." Ethan explained.

This was something Ethan had promised Grace before. The school's sports director went to recruit people. Although it had nothing to do with football this time, he decided to bring him along.

During the second half of the trip here, he stayed in the room all day long. Apart from eating, drinking, and defecating, he had no freedom at all. He was locked in a small dark room.

As for Catherine, she looks very energetic and radiant at the moment. She is even more ruthless than Lisa!

"Then I'll wait for you at home." Catherine blinked, a smile forming on her lips, obviously not ready to let Ethan go.

The look in his eyes made Ethan feel a little scared. In the past few days, he finally realized how exaggerated Catherine was. It was probably not even enough for ten Lisas combined.More than any woman Ethan had ever met before.

Maybe, she is his natural enemy!
As for Lisa, Ethan never found a chance to speak.

After sending Catherine away, Ethan embarked on a journey to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia can also be regarded as a representative city in the New England region of northeastern America. With a large population and developed brokerage, it can be called the face of Pennsylvania.

Ethan arrived in Philadelphia in the evening and met Grace at the airport. The two went to eat at a local unique Italian-style restaurant.

At the dinner table, Grace handed Ethan a pile of information.

Ethan took a look and found that they were introductions to some players, and they were all basketball players.

Tim Thomas, Lester Earl, Michael Bradley, Matt Harpring…

"Which one is your choice?" Ethan put down the information in his hand and looked around but found nothing he recognized.

"Everyone is. I've sent someone to get in touch with them. It's going smoothly so far..." Grace held her chin with one hand and could see the bright diamond bracelet on her wrist.

"Then you still asked me to come over." Ethan was eating a cheese and beef sandwich, a unique local delicacy.

"I'm bored traveling alone." Grace said confidently.

"Anyway, the expenses are borne by the school. Shouldn't we go out to play during the holidays?"

"You'd better not let John know about this, or he'll start nagging again."

"So what if I'm nagging? Your jersey has created so much revenue for the school, why don't I spend some money on you?" Grace put down her hand.

"Come out more and see what other young athletes are doing. Don't stick to women's bellies all day long." She glared at Ethan and warned him sourly.

"Let's get down to business. When I come to Philadelphia this time, I want to personally visit a young player. His talent is almost the same as yours on the football field. His name is Bean. He is only one year younger than you. He will break through next year. The high school scoring record in the Pennsylvania area, and the last person to set the record was Wilt Chamberlain."

"What's the specific name?" Ethan asked.

"His information is at the bottom of the pile of information in your hand." Grace stuffed the cornflakes into her mouth, and you could see that her wrists were white and slender.

"Kobe Bryant?" Ethan raised his head, looking a little surprised.

"How did you find him?"

"ABCD training camp selects the most talented high school basketball players from across the country every year, and he is the one who gets the most attention this year." Grace said.

Ethan also thought that Lao Da was from Los Angeles, which also exposed his shallow understanding of the basketball circle.

It turned out that I was staying here.

"He is currently in the tenth grade at Lower Merion High School and will enter the eleventh grade next year. I have contacted his family and will be visiting his home tonight. You must follow me there." Grace reiterated.

"Are you scared?" Ethan said.

"A bit." Grace nodded directly.

A woman who comes to a strange city alone and runs into a black family, especially if she doesn’t know the black family well, will indeed feel scared.

But Ethan's presence was different.His huge size gave Grace a sense of security.

After paying the bill, Grace and Ethan left the restaurant.Ethan was walking behind Grace. From the back, she could see that she was wearing a pair of white slim-fitting trousers today. The trousers had a flared design. Generally, women with short legs would look very ugly wearing such trousers, but Grace Differently, years of dancing practice has allowed her to stay slim while also making her slender legs more beautiful. There are thin golden metal chains as decorations on the waistband of her trousers. They sway with her steps, as if waving to Ethan. .

"You're afraid of others, aren't you afraid of me?" Ethan said in his heart.

Grace rented a car for the convenience of traveling, and Ethan sat in the passenger seat, and the two headed towards their destination.

It was Kobe's father who opened the door. He was taller than Ethan, and his height must have been more than two meters.

This is not a traditional black area, but a suburb of Philadelphia.As we all know, the black gathering areas in big cities are all in the city center, while the suburbs are dominated by white people.

And Kobe's home is relatively spacious and bright.Kobe's parents are also dressed very smartly, especially Kobe's mother, who has fluffy curly hair and is dressed fashionably.

The couple was also very polite, and Kobe's mother even asked Grace and Ethan what kind of coffee they wanted to drink.

There are indications that Kobe grew up in a relatively wealthy black family.

During the chat, Ethan learned that Kobe's father also played in the NBA and later moved to Europe. His father is now a basketball coach at a prep school.

"You have to know that we are not the kind of idle black parents, but middle-class people with serious jobs. Compared with scholarships, I am more concerned about my son's life and education, and whether he can get proper and adequate education. Training, let him continue to grow." Joe Bryant mentioned the key point.

"Of course, we will hire a first-class basketball coach, and all the facilities will be better than the school where Kobe is now. The only problem may be a little further away from home."

"Then I still prefer to keep my son by my side." The mother said immediately.

Ethan and Grace looked at each other, and it was obvious that the negotiation was not going well.

When the negotiations reached a deadlock, the door was pushed open again.

Kobe and his two sisters went home, still talking about the party.

Kobe's mother let her two daughters into the house and asked Kobe to sit alone.

"This is Ethan O'Connor, he is an outstanding athlete representative of the school." Grace specifically mentioned Ethan.

"With your size, you should play basketball. Basketball can make more money." Kobe looked at Ethan, his face had not completely faded away.

Among the four major professional leagues, basketball players have the highest average salary, but for top players, the salary situation is actually similar.

In fact, it doesn't matter to Ethan what kind of ball he plays. He can achieve success in any sport where his body's talents are put.The significance of him choosing rugby as a track is that rugby league has a higher output value.

"Then you want to try playing basketball?" Ethan suddenly said.

"Why not?" Kobe became interested.

So Ethan asked Grace to deal with Kobe's parents, while he dealt with Kobe alone.

"You are not the first high school student to come to my home and return without success. My mother is very controlling. She doesn't want me to be too far away from home." Kobe held a basketball and said to Ethan.

"And the only thing that interests me about you guys is that you're from the West Coast, from Los Angeles, and the Lakers are my favorite team. My girlfriend goes to school in Hollywood and she's a singer."

"What's your name?" Ethan asked immediately.

"Brandy Norwood, an R&B singer, signed with Atlantic Records the year before last. This is so cool, isn't it?" Kobe said with some pride.

Ethan thought he would pronounce another name.

"My girlfriend is also at Atlantic Records. Maybe she knows your girlfriend." Ethan tried to say.

"This world is really too small." Kobe sighed, and then asked: "What's her name?"

"Jennifer Hewitt."

"I have heard of this name. Just yesterday, Brandi told me her name. She is very popular now." Kobe responded immediately.

"Listen, Bean..." Ethan said his middle name.His middle name comes from his father's youth nickname "Jellybean".

"When you come to Los Angeles, you will be able to see your girlfriend often. You don't want to endure this kind of long-distance relationship across the east and west coasts, and you can also go to Lakers games and watch them in person!" Ethan reminded.

Ethan knew very well what boys of this age were thinking. He was just like Cooper, who had been seduced by a certain woman and wanted to meet her in his dreams.

There was no doubt that Ethan's words attracted him, and Douzi asked in detail.

"The school is not far from the home court of the Lakers, and it is also very close to your girlfriend's workplace. The school is next to Hollywood, and it only takes 15 minutes to drive. If you want, you can even have lunch with your girlfriend every day. You feed her a bite, and she feeds you a piece." Ethan said it vividly.

"The most important thing is that you can make more money in Los Angeles. We have a full set of business development plans. Of course, the premise is that you have to keep a low profile. Sneaker sponsorship. You should understand what I mean. You want to know what Wilson will give me in one year." How much? Seven figures!" Ethan threw out the last temptation.

If he could sign Peter Pan from a young age and continue to cooperate with him, Ethan would be equivalent to grabbing a cash cow!

"Fuck." Kobe looked particularly surprised.

Seven figures a year is still an unreachable figure for him.

"The premise is that you can perform well enough for the price. As long as you can kill everyone on the court, there will be countless money waiting for you. Has any university tried to contact you?"

"Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova have all contacted me," Bryant said.

"Maybe you don't need to go to college at all? You should directly enter the draft!" Ethan gave advice.Why is it recommended that Kobe directly participate in the draft? Naturally, in order to make money early.

"This sounds a bit risky. What if I perform too poorly? I need a buffer time." Kobe seemed hesitant.

"Then let's not talk about this matter for now." Ethan was going to slowly do some ideological work for him.

Although Kobe came out with the ball, the two always sat on the edge of the public court chatting. Kobe expressed his yearning for the life in Los Angeles that Ethan talked about vividly.

Until he went back, Kobe was still asking.

"If my mother can agree, I will choose BHHS without hesitation." Kobe assured.

But saying this is tantamount to not saying it.

"No, Douzi, you have grown up, why do you still need to be helped by your mother to walk like a three-year-old baby? For example, what if your mother doesn't like the girl you like? You have to learn to refuse to obey arrangements." Ethan drilled into him.

Kobe has mentioned before that his mother is relatively strong, and I don’t know if he can come out of it this time.

"How did you talk with the kid's parents?" Ethan asked on the way back.

"I doubled the price to get his parents to let go. No matter what, this arrowhead must be taken down." Grace showed firm determination.

Hearing this, Ethan wanted to applaud. The school brought together sports elites from various sports to help him get started.

"Tomorrow we go to Virginia. My target is David Wright, a baseball player."

Ethan’s understanding of basketball is shallow enough, let alone baseball. Knowing that he can’t be of much help, Ethan said:

"I'm not going to Virginia."

"Where are you going?" Grace immediately turned her head and asked.

"Look at the car!" Ethan reached out and turned the steering wheel.

The car swerved and hurriedly avoided a black man riding a bicycle to exercise.He blended into the night, and if it weren't for Ethan's good eyesight, he would have bumped into him.

Grace's breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling.

"Can't wait? Or do you want to run away after just one day with me?" Grace sneered.

"If the school football summer camp wasn't about to start, I would go to Virginia with you. I really like going on business trips with you, just like traveling." Ethan looked out the window.

"No need, just go to the villa for vacation with your rich woman." Grace muttered.

"I'll call you when the time comes, and you two will come together."

"Screw you."

·
In fact, Ethan did not return to Los Angeles directly, but made a time difference and went south to Miami.

This year's All-Star Games will be held soon, and last year's trophy is still sitting in the cheerleader's house.

It has been a year since I last met Ellie (it was indeed Ellie, there were two or three clerical errors before and it was written as Eileen. I guess I watched too many live broadcasts of Eileen). Compared with the last time I met , she seems to have grown taller.

"I've wrapped the trophy for you." Ellie opened the door and took out a carefully wrapped gift, like a Christmas gift.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded and took the box.

"So, goodbye?" Ellie continued.

"Actually, I came here to do one more thing." Ethan continued.

"Ah, what's the matter?" Ellie glanced down, simply not daring to look at Ethan.

The two have been keeping in touch over the past year, about two to three times a week, and they all communicate through text messages.

However, in this era, it is very difficult to send emails online, so there is no such thing as "online dating".

Ellie herself doesn't know how to define the relationship between the two.

It seems more like a simple friend.

But they are closer than friends, at least that's what Ellie thinks. Ethan has pointed out more than once that the boys from the same school who are close to Ellie have evil intentions, so that Ellie has never had a boyfriend.

"Why don't you invite me to come in and sit down? What can I say if you stand at the door?" Ethan said.

"Oh." Ellie nodded belatedly and let Ethan in.

"Where are your parents?"

Ellie chuckled: "My parents are not on summer vacation. They are at work. My brother and sister are not at home. They have to wait until they can come back at night."

"What do you want from me?" she asked in a panic.

"I, I want you to transfer to another school and spend your last school year in Los Angeles." Ethan extended the invitation.

"How can this work?" Ellie seemed a little at a loss.

"There's nothing wrong with it. The school can accommodate boarding, and you're a cheerleader. You deserve a bigger stage." Ethan tried.

This time, getting back the trophy was secondary. He still wanted to kidnap Ellie to Los Angeles. Although the possibility was very slim, he was still prepared to give it a try.

"What kind of stage can the cheerleading team have?" Ellie didn't know why.

The cheerleading team is just a student group. Even if it is more beautiful, it is still fundamentally different from the stars who can actually stand on the stage.

"Who said cheerleaders can't become stars? There are already stars in the BHHS cheerleading team, plus the competition in the new school year. Maybe you will get attention and even go directly to Hollywood. I know an agent and I think you are fully qualified. ." Ethan said.

"With your current grades, you can only go to a school of health care or community college next year. This is an opportunity for you." Ethan continued.

Ellie's achievements are not many, and this is a new attempt for her.

"I just have one question." Ellie looked up.

"Put aside all these problems, will you still let me go?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to ask if you simply want me to go to Los Angeles."

"If there weren't these reasons, I would have made up another reason." Ethan said.

"So my answer is, of course, I want to be with you."

Ellie stopped talking, lowered her head and clasped her fingers.

disagree?
Ethan felt bad.

But she heard Ellie say: "Why are you still standing there? Shouldn't you hug me after confessing your love?"

Ethan immediately stood up and carried Ellie up.

"Where is your room?"

"Turn left at the end of the corridor on the second floor." Ellie said, lying on Ethan's shoulder.

Ellie's room was full of pink decorations, and Ethan actually saw several posters of himself in the room.

Ethan put her down gently, and the two intertwined their fingers.

Ellie took the initiative to unbutton her buttons.

Clothes fell to the ground one by one.

·
Ellie cried as expected. As for the expression on her face, she couldn't tell whether it was because of pain, emotion, other reasons, or a combination of several emotions.

"I made a decision last night. If you leave after taking the trophy, I will no longer contact you." Ellie pressed her head on Ethan's chest and looked at her and Ethan's intertwined hands.

"I won't let you leave me." Ethan's fingertips ran through the ends of her golden hair, and then he saw her snow-white neck.

"I have to wash the sheets again tonight. I have new ones. I don't know if the blood stains can be washed away. It would be too embarrassing if my mother saw her. By the way, your trophy is still in the living room. Go get it back now." Ellie suddenly road.

"There is actually a breakup letter I wrote to you."

Ethan felt very dangerous, but fortunately he was decisive enough.

He got up and walked out of the room and went straight downstairs.As soon as I got the trophy, the door suddenly opened and a middle-aged woman stood at the door.

After looking at Ethan who was treating him sincerely, she took two steps back, thinking she had gone to the wrong door.

Then there was a loud scream!
　Two chapters today

　　
　
(End of this chapter)