Chapter 139: Thanks to Certain Sneakers for the Boycott

Just giving out fan benefits felt a bit too mundane to Lin Feng. Previously, the Basketball Association had thoroughly disgusted him, and now that Lin Feng had some free time on his hands, he simply had to return the favor in kind.

As the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity!

And so, Lin Feng posted the following on Weibo:

"Gratitude and thanks. Thank you to a certain 'Association' for your 'attentive care.' Thank you to that certain 'Association' for the gift of your ban. If not for your ban, I would never have blossomed quite like this here in America..."

"Of course, aside from thanking that certain 'Association,' I also want to thank my fans who have stood by me through thick and thin. The long-awaited fan benefit time has arrived! This round of prizes includes: the game-worn jersey from last night's match against the Cleveland Rapids, and six tickets to Heavenly Queen Qin's Beijing concert next Sunday..."

"Fans who repost this Weibo within twenty-four hours will have a chance to enter the lucky draw."

The moment Lin Feng's Weibo went live, the comment section exploded instantly.

"Holy cow, he finally updated his blog!"

"First! First! I actually grabbed the sofa post, I'm so thrilled!"

"The benefit is actually tickets to Heavenly Queen Qin's concert? So, are you guys really getting married?"

"This benefit is way too awesome. I really want to go to Heavenly Queen Qin's concert, but tickets this time are just too hard to get. They were completely sold out four hours after sales started."

"God Feng is truly God Feng, still just as mischievous. 'Thank you to a certain Association for the gift of your ban'—haha, I'm laughing my pants off!"

"Can my friends help vote this to the top? I just want to ask on behalf of all the fans: when are you going to marry Heavenly Queen Qin?"

"Repost quickly! I want the jersey! I want the tickets! Ahhhhh..."

"God Feng, oh wait, I should call you Linsanity now. Please keep slapping them in the face! It would be even better if you could lead the Knicks to a championship!"

"God Feng, stop playing basketball, hurry back to the country and join *Original Good Songs* again! Playing basketball is such a waste of your musical talent!"

"..."

The enthusiasm of the fans completely exceeded Lin Feng's imagination. In just five minutes, the number of comments under this Weibo post broke one hundred thousand, and the number of reposts reached a terrifying one hundred and fifty thousand.

Mind you, this was only five minutes! What kind of concept was five minutes? It was just enough time for Lin Feng to go take a dump after posting, and he hadn't even finished yet...

It was midnight in American time, which happened to be China's lunch break. Everyone, whether working or studying, was currently idle. Consequently, Weibo instantly blew up. Ten minutes later, Weibo's real-time trending topics and real-time trending posts were entirely occupied by Lin Feng's single post.

And Lin Feng's line, "Thank you to a certain Association for the gift of your ban," rapidly spread across the entire internet.

Inquisitive media outlets quickly picked up on it, using it as a headline to publish news reports.

Lin Feng's post gave people back home enjoying their leisure time a juicy topic of gossip. Honestly, Lin Feng was practically making a contribution to a harmonious society.

After hanging up Lin Feng's call, Qin Ruolin spoke with the staff about reserving the tickets. However, right after she had arranged the matter regarding Lin Feng's six tickets, she saw his Weibo post.

Seeing that Lin Feng was actually using her concert tickets as welfare gifts for his fans, Qin Ruolin was literally laughed to anger by this guy. What kind of person was he?!

The Basketball Association.

Zhu Deli had just concluded a morning meeting, the main content of which was brainstorming strategies for the men's national basketball team to compete in the Olympic qualifiers. Because the national team's warm-up matches had been utterly lackluster, the leadership at the Basketball Association had lost all confidence. They were terrified that the men's team would get eliminated in the qualifiers—if that happened, those Basketball Association leaders could forget about everything else; their professional titles, ranks, and bonuses would all vanish into thin air.

Bound by shared interests, this internal Basketball Association meeting was surprisingly harmonious. The leaders pooled their wisdom and spoke one after another, though when it came down to it, they were all empty clichés with no substantial content. However, one suggestion made by a certain leader did win the approval of a small minority: lift the disciplinary punishment on Lin Feng and temporarily recall him to the national team.

Naturally, this proposal was sternly rejected by Zhu Deli, who also gave the person who suggested it a thorough tongue-lashing.

"Has Zhang Bin's brain been squeezed by a door? He actually proposes recalling Lin Feng? How dare he bring up such a rotten idea! If we recall Lin Feng to the national team, where will the Basketball Association save face? Where will this old face of mine go?!" Zhu Deli complained to Zhao Jian the moment he stepped back into his office.

"Director, please calm down first. Zhang Bin probably doesn't know about your relationship with Lin Feng," Zhao Jian said cautiously, before speaking with a troubled expression, "Director, there is something on my mind, and after thinking it over and over, I still feel I need to tell you."

"What is it? Just spit it out. You don't need to beat around the bush with me!" Zhu Deli plopped down onto the sofa and poured himself a cup of water.

"It's about Lin Feng again," Zhao Jian said.

"What did he do this time?" At the mere mention of Lin Feng's name, Zhu Deli felt a headache coming on.

"He just updated his Weibo," Zhao Jian said.

"What did he say?" Zhu Deli asked.

"He said he thanks the Basketball Association for the gift of their ban!" Zhao Jian made a wry face, handed the phone displaying Lin Feng's Weibo page to Zhu Deli, and said, "Director, take a look for yourself."

Zhu Deli let out an angry "humph," took the phone, and read through it for a few moments.

In the next instant, Zhu Deli blew his top. Not only did he see Lin Feng's post, but he also saw numerous netizens supporting Lin Feng and fiercely cursing the Basketball Association in the comments.

"Well, well, well, Lin Feng! Looks like you're really trying to reach the heavens! Hmph! Lift the ban? Recall you? Don't even dream about it! You can just hole up right there in America, goddammit!!"

Having said that, Zhu Deli furiously slammed the phone down onto the coffee table.

Crunch...

The coffee table had a marble surface, and Zhu Deli used excessive force; when the phone slammed onto it, the screen shattered instantly.

"M-my phone..." Zhao Jian was left speechless. The phone Zhu Deli had smashed was none other than his own.

...

The next day.

The team scheduled two training sessions: physical conditioning in the morning, and tactical team practice in the afternoon.

Lin Feng maintained his good form during training. After the afternoon team practice concluded, Foyle notified him that he would be starting in the evening lineup.

For a rookie who had only played one NBA game, this was an immense honor.

6:00 PM.

The entire New York Knicks team boarded the bus and headed toward the Quicken Loans Arena.

"Lin, you better watch out in tonight's game! Devin has already put the word out that he's going to stick to you with full-court pressure tonight, swearing to suppress your score to single digits!" said Jones, who was sitting next to Lin Feng.

"Another guy who wants to keep my score down..." Lin Feng shrugged numbly. "His mouth is on his face, he can say whatever he wants! As for how many points I score, we'll see on the court. But it certainly won't be in the single digits!"

"Alright, Lin. We all believe you. It's just that Devin's defense is ferocious—he's a member of the All-Defensive Second Team. You must be extra careful when you match up against him," Jones warned once more.

"Rest assured, I'll be careful." Lin Feng nodded gently.