Basketball miracles

Chapter 24 [Mystery]

Jennifer asked curiously, "Don't you like being too tall? Why?"

"If I were shorter, I could not only play basketball, but also consider becoming an actor during holidays. I love movies and have dreamed of becoming a movie star, but unfortunately I knew I couldn't be an actor after I entered high school."

Jennifer understood his idea and nodded. "If you're under 190cm tall... you seem like a good fit for acting."

“I think so too.” Xiao Tu looked at her and smiled. “That way we might have a chance to work together on the big screen. With your looks, if you were to enter the film industry, you might become famous in no time.”

Jennifer blushed slightly, her upper teeth showing as she smiled, but she waved her hand and said, "I'm very ordinary."

Xiao Tu suddenly thought of Chopper from the Straw Hat Pirates—even if you praise me like that, I won't be happy.

"You call this ordinary? Then I've seen far too few people. I've never seen anyone prettier than you in my entire life." Since transmigrating, Xiao Tu had indeed never seen many beautiful women; he only saw Super Girls on television.

Jennifer has long, straight black hair and doesn't wear makeup, yet she's much prettier than those "fashionable" people. If you don't believe me, go watch "Once Upon a Time in America".

This film was released this year and flopped at the box office. The director died in despair, but the film was hailed as a classic ten years later, all because of a single scene where Jennifer Lawrence, playing the 13-year-old Deborah, dances gracefully.

Jennifer blushed even more. "Don't compliment me like that, I... I'm so embarrassed."

“But what I said is the truth,” Xiao Tu said earnestly.

Jennifer was just being modest; of course she knows she's beautiful. If her appearance is considered average, how high must the overall attractiveness of American women be? Did elves wipe out the Native Americans and take over this land?
Jennifer was genuinely embarrassed by the compliment from the handsome man, especially since his eyes looked so sincere.

She had never seen a man more handsome than Xiao Tu, including movie and television stars. In real life, she had never seen one either; her classmates were all too ordinary, just a bunch of kids.

Everyone is attracted to good looks, especially before their teens; it's just that girls tend to be attracted to good-looking men for a much longer period. In Europe and America, most girls in their teens to their thirties only want to date handsome men. You could say that many European and American girls are love-struck; as long as the guy is handsome enough, they're willing to be dumped afterward.

In the US, if a beautiful white woman dates a Black man when she's young, there's only one explanation: she's brain-dead. The interracial marriage rate between Black men and white women is less than 5%, only skyrocketing to 10% after the Black Lives Matter movement.

Jennifer was precocious; she was brought into the entertainment industry by her father, Gerald Connery, when she was 10 years old.

Gerald met an advertising executive who came to his house. When the executive saw Jennifer, he was immediately struck by her beauty and felt that she would be very popular in the advertising industry. So he suggested to Gerald that he send her to a modeling agency for an audition.

Gerald had Jennifer audition casually, and to his surprise, a modeling agency immediately signed her. She became a model, her photos appearing constantly in magazines and newspapers, and she also filmed numerous television commercials. She became one of the most dazzling child stars, innocent yet possessing a detached maturity.

She also became an actress thanks to her stunning looks, and although her role in "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​was small, it was extremely memorable.

Gerald was a basketball fan and watched the Lakers' nationally televised opening game. Xiao Tu's performance left his whole family speechless; they couldn't believe there was such a skilled white player.

Jennifer was brought to Los Angeles by her father to look at schools. The family is considering moving to Los Angeles for work convenience and wants her to transfer schools there. Living in Los Angeles also has its advantages for Jennifer; she can attend more film auditions.

In a parallel world, Jennifer didn't want to leave New York and soon received an invitation from an Italian director to film abroad, ultimately choosing to stay. Now, Xiao Tu has triggered a butterfly effect; Jennifer went to Los Angeles and auditioned for an advertisement, where she was chosen as the lead actress.

She felt that Xiao Tu was even more handsome than on TV. His eyes were too fierce when he played basketball, which didn't look good on camera. Now his eyes were gentle, and his voice was more pleasant than she had imagined.

During the game, Xiao Tu remained silent, only letting out a roar when celebrating his dunks.

The two talked about advertisements and then about basketball. Connery said that Xiao Tu's dunk looked cool.

Director John and producer Harry stood to the side, hesitating whether to stop the two. They both had a feeling the ad was going to be a hit, and just watching the two chat was so pleasing to the eye.

They didn't forget their business, though. After chatting for a while, they started listening to the director "explain the scene." Jennifer was the main listener, as her role required acting skills, while Xiao Tu's didn't.

TV commercials are usually only 30 seconds long with very little dialogue; Xiao Tu only has one line. However, his role is the most important, as the highlight of this commercial is his fancy dunks, something no one can do for him.

John asked, "Could you design a few spectacular dunks, preferably the kind that can be played in a dunk contest?"

"No problem, I'll do three dunks after warming up, you guys can take a look." "Okay."

Xiao Tu quickly finished warming up, picked up a basketball, dribbled it a few times, and began his performance. His first shot stunned the audience.

Xiao Tu executed a remarkably fluid windmill dunk, leaping from a 45-degree angle on the right side with his head almost level with the rim, delivering a powerful performance. This dunk alone would win him the dunk contest championship; he had no rivals.

His second move was a counter-clockwise 360-degree one-handed dunk, something he couldn't do like Carter's clockwise 360-degree windmill dunk. In the 80s, even a regular 360-degree dunk was astonishing; nobody had ever seen one before.

His third dunk was unpredictable; he jumped with his right foot on the free-throw line, glided through the air, and then slammed it in with his right hand.

With his height and explosiveness, it wouldn't be difficult for him to complete a dunk from the free-throw line; he could even add some leg movements.

Larry Nance Jr., the Black player who won the Slam Dunk Contest, had some really ugly moves; his only redeeming quality was his incredible jumping ability. His only fancy move was dunking with two balls, which looked like a juggling act.

Xiao Tu's most striking features are his good looks, his beautiful dunking moves, and finally, his high jumps.

Harry, the person in charge, believes that Xiao Tu winning the dunk contest is a foregone conclusion. He even believes that Xiao Tu has already won half the battle just by standing on the court without even having to dunk.

Everyone was stunned for a few seconds. Jennifer led the applause for Xiao Tu, her eyes sparkling.

John exclaimed, "My God, if you dunk like that in the commercials, aren't you afraid it'll lose its mystique during the dunk contest?"

After finishing his activities, Xiao Tu remained calm and relaxed, saying casually, "No, these three dunks are no challenge for me. I have other moves to show in the dunk contest."

Harry's eyes widened, and he asked curiously, "Can you perform something today?"

Xiao Tu refused. "Forget it, I do need to maintain a bit of mystery. In the dunk contest, I want to do dunks that no one has ever done before, and there's one where I even need Magic Johnson to pass the ball to me."

He's already planned his moves for the first dunk contest, but only his Lakers teammates have seen him practice; he has no intention of showing them to others. He intends to make a splash and win the championship with a perfect score on every dunk.

Michael Jordan's dunk from the free-throw line shocked the world? That was just a trick Xiao Tu used in the preliminary rounds. He can't even do a regular windmill dunk; it's too easy.

Director John excitedly said, "Let's just do these three moves in a bit. I'll adjust the camera position to make you look as cool as possible. I can hardly believe it's real; it's like you can fly."

Jennifer obediently handed over a bottle of mineral water, her eyes fixed on Xiao Tu.

Xiao Tu took the water and drank a couple of sips. "Thank you. Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Jennifer asked blankly, "Are you Superman?"

Xiao Tu laughed: "Obviously not. Superman usually wears glasses, and he transforms into Clark, a bespectacled office worker, to work at a newspaper. I don't look like Christopher Reeve either."

The blonde female staff member interjected, "I think you have a Superman-like aura, that kind of confident and strong feeling."

Jennifer nodded. "Superman" is currently the most famous film series in Hollywood; almost everyone knows it.

Jennifer asked, "What does it feel like to dunk?"

“Everyone’s feelings are probably different. I think you can experience it for yourself.” Xiao Tu suddenly had an idea.

Jennifer shook her head: "Me? I can't jump."

"You don't need to jump very high; you can dunk with the basketball in both hands. I can lift you up; want to try?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)