The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 382 - 3 Work and Not Work

Gonzaga Bulldogs were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year again.

Beelman could feel that without true genius players, their current results were already the ceiling.

Even if they fought hard, at most they’d break through the first round to the top 32. Continuing to the top 16 was purely a matter of luck.

Many NCAA championship teams fell dramatically after losing their top talents, some even failing to make it into the national competition.

For Gonzaga, with their student sources and investment, making it to the national competition for two consecutive years was already quite impressive.

Upon hearing Gan Guoyang say this, Beelman couldn’t help expressing his dissatisfaction, "Sonny, why do you always say I’m a traitor? I’ve explained it to you..."

"You’re doing it to showcase your talent on a bigger stage, I get it. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange the interview for you. But let me tell you Bobby, I’ve been on bad terms with Jack recently, so if you go for the interview directly, I’m afraid he might eliminate you."

Beelman was surprised. Could it be true that old man Jack was on bad terms with the team’s star player, Gan Guoyang? Was he not planning to coach anymore?

If Dr. Jack resigns, could there be a chance for him, Bobby Beelman, to go for the head coach position directly?

Bobby Beelman leaned closer to Gan Guoyang, and whispered, "Since Jack and you don’t get along, why not simply..."

Gan Guoyang knew that Beelman had misunderstood, and said, "Hey Bobby, what are you thinking? It’s not the kind of bad relationship you think it is, it’s my fault. Everything will be OK once this summer is over and he cools down."

The wedding was very noisy, so the two found a quiet place to sit down and talk.

Although they had won the championship, as Gan Guoyang said, before they could fully savor the taste of victory, it was already time to prepare for the new season.

In this league rife with drugs, the championship is the most addictive and legal ’drug’. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll want to try it time and time again.

The problem is, regular drugs are easy to come by, a little money, and you can get them. But the drug of a championship has to be earned through hardships, and most people never get a taste.

"Mr. Beelman, I’ve already promised the Portland people at the celebration that I’d bring the championship back to Portland next season."

"I’ve seen the news. You really are brave to boast, kid. The League hasn’t seen a team successfully defend their title for 17 years. Every defending champion has a rough time in the following year. You, my friend, are probably going to be the laughingstock of the whole League next season. Is Dr. Jack angry with you because of that?"

"No, no, it’s not that. Don’t worry about it. If you really want a job with the Trail Blazers, you need to show management and the coaching staff something convincing. Jack isn’t interested in your data approach; not that there’s anything wrong with it, just that the time isn’t right. If you go for an interview next season, put aside your data approach and bring out your college principles about defense and your training methods—that’s your real expertise. Anyway, the first step is to get into a team. Once you’re in the NBA circle, you’ll naturally have the opportunity to display your ideas."

Gan Guoyang gave candid advice. In fact, he was keen to have a strong defensive coach join them for the new season.

Last season, the Trail Blazers were gradually transitioning from an offensive to a defensive team. Even though Ramsay was proficient in defense, at 60 years old, his energy was limited.

Coaching defense is extremely draining physically and mentally, and with Ramsay controlling the overall picture, sometimes the details could be overlooked.

Season after season, the offensive and defensive battles in the NBA got more intense, new tactics and ideas constantly emerged.

If one doesn’t evolve with the times, whether as a player or a team, one would be eliminated in the rapidly changing League.

Beelman nodded, thinking Gan Guoyang made a lot of sense. He should try to get into the NBA circle first.

Beelman remarked with emotion, "Ah Gan, I’m truly grateful to you. If it weren’t for you, I would probably still be an assistant coach at a youth training camp in San Francisco, teaching kids the basics. Although grassroots coaching is very important, it’s not where I truly want to be. College and NBA courts are where I belong and dream of being. Thank you, Ah Gan."

With that, Beelman toasted to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "I should also thank you. When you ridiculed me on the phone back then, it sparked my competitiveness. That’s why I worked exceptionally hard in the training camp and have kept pushing hard to this day, without ever stopping."

Indeed, from the moment he stepped onto the basketball court, Gan Guoyang never stopped running forward, never considering pausing mid-way.

Even though he had temporarily reached a small sense of fulfillment in life, he wasn’t satisfied and continued to move forward, setting aside everything from the past.

As the two reminisced about their high school and college days, Fitz suddenly barged in and, seeing Beelman drinking with Gan Guoyang, pointed at Beelman and said, "Bobby, you’re here sucking up to Ah Gan again. Are you planning to defect?"

"We agreed when signing the contract that I could leave anytime!"

"Forget it, let’s talk about this later. Everyone from the Gonzaga team is going to take a photo with the newlyweds, come on out!"

Hastily, they both rose to their feet and joined the Stocktons on the lawn for a photo to commemorate the grand wedding, which was now drawing to a close.

The next day, the newlywed Stockton couple went to sunny San Diego for their honeymoon, while Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi headed back to Portland together.

When Wang Fuxi graduated from university in June, she answered very decisively when asked what job she wanted to go into, "Not working."

"What? You toiled away at university for four years, even majoring in computer science at the University of Portland, which is quite a promising field. And you’re saying you won’t work?" Gan Guoyang was surprised.

"Yeah, if I work, I’ll have to go to the office every day, busy myself round and round, resting for only two days a week. And you, you’re mostly not in Portland, constantly flying around, spending a lot of time training. I won’t have time to be with you. If I get busy with my job and our relationship fades, and then you dump me, what then? So I can’t work." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Wang Fuxi’s reasoning was solid; she feared that working would reduce the time she could spend with Gan Guoyang and their relationship would suffer.

Gan Guoyang said, "Hey, don’t you know what kind of person I am? If I promised to be with you, I wouldn’t split up casually. I made it clear when we got together that whatever happens, we’ll face it together."

"Am I not handling it well?"

"You’re handling it perfectly, in every aspect, flawless."

Since Gan Guoyang became famous, Wang Fuxi inevitably faced a lot of pressure.

Especially with Gan Guoyang having a super number of female fans, almost every day there were women expressing love for him.

In such a situation, Wang Fuxi dealt with Gan Guoyang with a calm state of mind. Although she occasionally felt a little jealous, it was nothing serious, providing Gan Guoyang with a stable support system.

At school, she was no different from an ordinary college student and even refused the daily protection of a bodyguard, claiming it was too high-profile and unnecessary, as it could cause trouble for Gan Guoyang.

They respected each other and loved each other. Although they inevitably had their bumps and quarrels and moments of pettiness, overall, their relationship was improving more and more.

"I used to think that a woman should have her own career, her own dreams. So I learned to play basketball and to program. But after meeting you, I realized that life is about making choices; wanting everything results in getting nothing. You are the center of my life; I don’t want to be distracted by anything else. As life gets busier for you, especially after winning the championship, I want to stay by your side to help you, to support you. I don’t want to end up like those celebrity couples who are together in name only, drifting apart, eventually splitting. I don’t care if you don’t want to marry me; after all, there are more and more people not getting married nowadays. I just want to be with you."

Wang Fuxi spoke sincerely, tears glimmering in her eyes. In this respect, she was very much like Gan Guoyang; determined about what she wanted to do, not easily swayed by other things.

In fact, Gan Guoyang didn’t really care whether Wang Fuxi worked or not; what was so great about a job anyway? With money, couldn’t you do anything?

One didn’t want to work, the other just wanted to find a tiring job; the differences between people were indeed vast.

"All right, all right, do whatever you want, I support you. Anyway, we’re not going to be short on money."

"Haha, really? As long as you support me. Then can I come with you to Italy this time?"

"..."

After all the talk, turns out this was what she was waiting for.

"Okay! I’ll take you to Italy! We’ll leave next week."