Time is a strange thing. When you've got nothing to do, it speeds past like a car on the highway.
In the blink of an eye, two months had already gone by.
"I really didn't want to come."
Chen Yilun sneezed, sniffled, then pulled his thick down jacket tighter around himself.
This year's All-Star Game was in Toronto, marking the Raptors' 20th anniversary—and the first time in league history the event was held outside the U.S.
Sitting across from Chen Yilun, smiling warmly at him, was his mentor—Popovich.
This year's choice of All-Star coaches was unusual.
Normally, the All-Star coaches are the head coaches of the first-place teams in each conference. In the West, the Warriors still led the standings, but since Kerr had already coached the All-Star Game last year, and the same coach can't do it two years in a row, the honor went to the second-place Spurs.
That's how Popovich ended up as the West's coach this year.
The East was even stranger.
After a year of growing together, the Cavaliers' Big Three were finally showing their dominance, taking Cleveland to the top of the conference. But for reasons everyone already knew, the Cavs fired their head coach David Blatt before the All-Star break and promoted assistant coach Tyronn Lue.
And so, our beloved Coach Lue stepped into the spotlight at this peculiar moment.
After just three games as head coach, he had a 2–1 record—and was already named the Eastern Conference's All-Star coach.
That set a remarkable record: becoming an All-Star head coach after only three games of experience.
"You always like getting lucky and then pretending it's no big deal, huh?"
Popovich grinned mischievously as Chen Yilun shivered in Toronto's freezing wind. As his mentor, he knew Chen was from southern China—where winters are mild—and that he couldn't handle the cold at all.
That was exactly why Popovich had chosen an outdoor spot for their meeting.
"I mean it," Chen Yilun said, sniffing hard. "This year's All-Star Game is all hype. You guys go enjoy yourselves! What's it got to do with us in Sacramento?"
Compared to last year, when both he and his teammates had made the All-Star roster, this year's event felt dull to him.
CJ had been left out. Butler had managed to make the reserves, but after a calf injury last month, he had to withdraw.
The only one left participating was Booker in the Rising Stars Game.
"It's still worth coming to see," Popovich said, brushing back his wind-blown white hair. "You don't know how many people wanted tickets for this year's All-Star and couldn't get them."
The biggest draw this year was that it would be Kobe's final All-Star appearance. The legendary 24 vs. 23 showdown would take place one last time.
"But you, kid—you've really been quiet. Two whole months without a sound." Popovich's eyes gleamed as he looked at Chen Yilun. "If you say you've just been coasting, that's nonsense. How's your secret weapon coming along?"
"Coach, you can't ask me that."
Chen Yilun grinned. "We're not on the same side anymore. My trade secrets stay with me."
"Heh, sly little fox."
...
The next day, Chen Yilun sat in his seat, curiously scanning the scene. Since this was the first All-Star Game ever held in Canada, nearly all the country's celebrities had shown up.
As he tried to figure out who was who, a man in a Raptors jersey with a thick beard sat down right in front of him.
The man looked around, then froze when he noticed Chen Yilun sitting behind him. A wide smile spread across his face.
"Chen Yilun, right? Hello, welcome to Toronto!"
Chen Yilun blinked. No way!
It was none other than Drake.
As one of Canada's biggest rappers, Drake was also a die-hard Raptors fan.
"It's me. Drake. You know me?" Chen Yilun hadn't expected Drake to start a conversation. He quickly shook his hand.
"You're pretty famous among our fan circles," Drake said with a playful wink.
"Especially with all the female celebrities who've got their eyes on you."
And he wasn't exaggerating. With his tall, lean frame and sharp features, Chen Yilun stood out by mainstream standards. Add to that his youth and influence in the league, and plenty of starlets were indeed drawn to him.
Hearing that, Chen Yilun's eyes went wide.
If you're interested, then say something! I've been single forever—just come forward! Who knows, I might even say yes!
After a bit more small talk, Chen Yilun's eyes were drawn to something at Drake's waist.
Clipped to his jeans like a keychain was a small glass bottle, half-filled with bright red liquid.
"What's that?"
Drake followed his gaze. "This? Oh…"
He unclipped it casually. "Hot sauce. Just a little hobby of mine—I like carrying it around."
Before he even finished, Chen Yilun realized what it was. His face flushed as he tried to hold back his laughter.
Hot sauce? Of course—that makes sense now.
(If you know the meme, you can start laughing here. If not, go look up the Drake hot sauce incident! I'd be really sad if you missed it.)
As Chen Yilun struggled not to laugh, the Celebrity Game players began warming up. This year's matchup was Team USA vs. Team Canada.
And then, when a tall Asian face with a buzz cut, wearing Team Canada's jersey, stepped onto the court—
Chen Yilun completely lost it. He ducked down, curling up like he wanted to crawl under the seat.
But his shaking shoulders gave him away—he was laughing uncontrollably.
Drake, the so-called Greek god of hot sauce, was already too much—
But how did I forget you were here too, Kris Wu!