At the entrance of the medical center.
"Dr. Chen, I know I’ve said thank you more than once, but before I leave, I want to formally thank you one more time." Liu Yudong, with his arm linked through his wife’s, bowed to Chen Yu in gratitude.
It was no exaggeration to say that if he hadn’t met Chen Yu at the World Championships, and if Chen Yu hadn’t generated so much attention for him back in China, his knee would have continued to be neglected, and he certainly wouldn’t have received the best treatment.
For the rest of his career, he would have likely continued to suffer from the pain of his injury until retirement.
But now, setting aside his career, he at least had two healthy legs.
Chen Yu quickly waved his hands, gesturing that it was unnecessary, and added, "Actually, you could really stay a while longer and see if any other teams have an opening."
The treatment phase was over.
But Chen Yu had once told Su Jun that Liu Yudong had a chance to play in the NBA.
Of course, the Phoenix Suns didn’t have a spot for him.
But other teams might have an opening.
Although the trade deadline had passed yesterday, Liu Yudong was a free agent and could be signed to play in the playoffs.
As the second half of the season progressed, injuries would become more common, and perhaps a team would give him a chance.
"Forget it." Liu Yudong waved his hand with a calm expression and said with a smile, "As the old Chinese saying goes, ’If you get it, you’re lucky; if you lose it, it’s fate.’ At my age, what is there to be hung up about?"
Chen Yu had come across this phrase while reading and understood its meaning. He paused for a moment before saying, "Alright, then. I won’t press it. I wish you a safe journey."
Liu Yudong nodded, then shook hands with Liu Xiang, who was standing beside him, telling him to train hard with Chen Yu.
"We’re off."
With a final wave, Liu Yudong got into the car with his wife.
Watching the car drive away, Liu Xiang couldn’t help but say, "I really think it’s a shame. He actually had a chance to stay in the United States and play."
Standing behind him, Sun Haiping sighed and patted his shoulder.
Chen Yu also let out a soft sigh. Things like this were all too common in the world of sports.
Since he didn’t have to do his rounds, Chen Yu returned to his office to organize some materials for the afternoon.
A number of newspapers were laid out on his desk.
Every day, someone from the clinic would place the subscribed newspapers on Chen Yu’s desk.
Chen Yu glanced at them casually.
It was rather amusing that even though ten days had passed since the All-Star Game, the media was still endlessly debating who the true successor to Jordan was.
Chen Yu casually picked up the Los Angeles Times from the top of the pile.
The Los Angeles media was constantly portraying Kobe as the next Jordan, hoping he could bring a glorious dynasty to the Lakers, just as Jordan had.
The accompanying photo in the paper was one Chen Yu had seen many times: Kobe, body fully extended, trying desperately to block Jordan’s final game-winning shot.
The Los Angeles media, in particular, called this photo the "passing of the torch" between the old and new gods of basketball.
’How ridiculous.’
After the All-Star Game, Kobe himself had said that he agreed with Jordan; he would rather surpass Jordan than just be satisfied with being his successor.
Of course, there was no shortage of hype for Hardaway either.
Chen Yu remembered that on the third day after the All-Star Game, the Arizona Republic had published a long-winded analysis. It concluded by pointing out that when Jordan walked off the stage, he had hugged Hardaway from among the crowd of potential successors, while only high-fiving Kobe and the others.
From this, they concluded that Jordan’s chosen successor was still Hardaway.
All Chen Yu could say to that was they were reading too much into it.
Chen Yu was certain that at that moment, Jordan had no such complicated thoughts.
’If you’re going to read into it like that,’ he thought, ’then you might as well say something about how Jordan specifically held Little Curry and waved to the stands at the end.’
’Wouldn’t that be an even greater sign of favor?’
In the afternoon, Chen Yu drove to a villa in the suburbs of Phoenix.
The villa was huge, surrounded by green trees, with a massive lawn, a swimming pool, and even a standard basketball court.
When he arrived, a large crew was bustling in and out, preparing various pieces of filming equipment.
His reality show was fully prepared and ready to start filming.
Today was February 20th. Filming would officially begin tomorrow when the cast moved in, and the first episode needed to be shot within a week.
Then, on the evening of Saturday, March 1st, it would have its test broadcast on CBS Television.
This air date was also specially designed.
The show’s title mentioned one hundred days.
Counting from March 1st, one hundred days would land exactly on June 10th, the day of the NBA Finals.
Mark Burnett hoped to infuse the show with a bit of a self-redemption arc through weight loss, adding to the drama, with the climax being the successful weight loss followed by winning the championship.
He was the professional, so Chen Yu had agreed.
When Chen Yu found Burnett, he was directing a cameraman, shooting exterior footage of the villa.
He was quite young, only 43 this year, with deep-set eyes and a large, imposing frame. The muscles were clearly visible under his shirt. It made him look less like a seasoned producer who had fought his way up in the film and television industry and more like a ruthless bodyguard.
And in fact, that wasn’t far from the truth. He was British and had been an elite member of the British Parachute Regiment. Only after retiring from the military did he come to Los Angeles to build his career.
His first job in Los Angeles was working as a bodyguard and driver for someone in Beverly Hills.
Later, he entered the television industry and, thanks to his professional skills, created many adventure and competition shows.
Then, in ’01, *Survivor* became a massive hit across the United States, and he instantly became a top-tier producer.
"Chen, are you ready?" Seeing Chen Yu, he quickly stood up and gave him a hug.
Chen Yu nodded.
He had come over today to pre-record an interview, talking about the original intention behind the show, his expectations, and things like that.
"I’ve already written a script for the interview. Do you want to take a look?" Chen Yu asked.
But Burnett just waved a hand and shook his head. "No need. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think you need to say all that rubbish. The audience wants to see the story behind it all. So, you should talk about how O’Neal got so overweight, what difficulties he faced because of it... You’re on the same team, you’re in charge of his training. You should know all this stuff, and it’s what the audience is most curious about."
’What the fack,’ Chen Yu thought.
’If you changed your mind, you could have said so earlier! Do you have any idea how many brain cells I killed writing that script?’
But Burnett was just that kind of guy—he never played by the book.
From their previous interactions, Chen Yu had already sensed it. The guy loved changing plans at the last minute. To put it nicely, he was imaginative, constantly coming up with new ideas. To put it bluntly, he was asking for a punch in the face.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Yu nodded in resignation. "Fine, we’ll do it your way."
Professional matters should be left to the professionals. Under normal circumstances, Chen Yu would still listen to his advice.
Of course, when it came to core issues of the show, it wouldn’t matter who was asking; he wouldn’t budge.
After all, he was the one who had paid to fund the show.
After several bad takes, they finally stumbled their way through the interview.
Just as they finished, O’Neal arrived at the villa.
He would be staying here for the next period of time. According to the plan, he had an early start tomorrow, so he decided to just move in tonight.
Of course, "staying here" only applied to filming days. He was newly married, with a wife and kids, and he naturally needed to spend time with them.
However, the weight loss aspect had to be real.
From diet to exercise, everything would be strictly controlled.
This was a show that would air while it was being filmed. If O’Neal didn’t lose weight by the end, it would become a total joke.
"Don’t worry, Chen. I’ll definitely follow your weight loss plan strictly," O’Neal promised, patting his chest as Chen Yu was leaving.
Starting today, he had to rest on a set schedule and couldn’t stay up late anymore.
"By the way, what’s for breakfast tomorrow?" O’Neal suddenly asked after making his promise.
Chen Yu was speechless. Not wanting to answer, he simply turned and left.
Early the next morning, just after five o’clock, Chen Yu arrived at the villa.
When he got there, O’Neal was already up.
He had gone to bed early, so naturally, he woke up early too.
Besides, during the season, players like them normally woke up very early.
Sleeping in was generally not an option.
Unless they had a late game the night before.
Some players were incredibly self-disciplined, like Kobe. The media always said he woke up at four in the morning.
The cameras were already set up. Chen Yu laid out all the ingredients and began preparing O’Neal’s breakfast in the kitchen.
"Eggs are an excellent choice for a high-protein ingredient..."
Facing the camera, Chen Yu explained how to combine the various ingredients as he cooked.
"The key is intake."
Chen Yu had actually done a lot of preparation for this show. He combined theory with practice, researched a ton of information, and could pull out facts and figures effortlessly. Everything he said was solid, practical advice.
O’Neal, having finished washing up, leaned against the kitchen counter and complained with a pained expression, "Chen, I am so, so sick of eating this kind of stuff."
Naturally, this complaint was also recorded.
Since it was a reality show, they filmed everything and would edit it down later.
"Well, I haven’t seen you lose any weight," Chen Yu retorted bluntly.
Behind the camera, Burnett’s eyes lit up.
This exchange obviously wasn’t in the script. Then again, the whole show didn’t have a complete script; it just followed Chen Yu’s weight loss plan.
Soon, a nutritious meal, lacking in color, aroma, and flavor, was placed in front of O’Neal.
"Not a single bite left, now," Chen Yu said with a wide grin.
He suddenly felt a strong sense of vindictive pleasure. ’Eat up. Eat it all. This is for not listening to me before.’
O’Neal rolled his eyes but was completely helpless.
He had chosen this himself.
Meanwhile, Chen Yu started over, boiling fresh water, frying an egg, blanching some greens, and then adding a handful of his own homemade fresh noodles.
He had rushed over early in the morning to cook for O’Neal and hadn’t even eaten himself.
As for this kind of diet food, Chen Yu wanted no part of it. At his weight, he should be trying to gain, not lose.
He took some pre-simmered soy sauce, added a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of lard, then poured boiling water over it. In no time, a bowl of plain noodle soup was ready.
Influenced by his mother, Chen Yu’s personal dietary habits still leaned towards Chinese food.
He’d had more than his fill of all kinds of burgers and pizzas back in his school days.
Last year, he had visited Shanghai and had fallen in love with this kind of plain noodle soup. He later discussed it with Liu Xiang and Yao Ming’s mother to learn the correct way to make it.
It had since become one of Chen Yu’s regular breakfast choices.
Chen Yu carried his bowl of noodles and sat down opposite O’Neal.
O’Neal, who had been listlessly picking at his vegetable leaves while waging a mental battle, suddenly looked up. He took a long, hard sniff and fixed his gaze on the bowl of noodle soup in front of Chen Yu, unable to look away.

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