A week later, Kayla continued filming on the Caribbean beach, while He Xi Meng returned to San Antonio with Ginobili's signed contract to report.
At the entrance of the Spurs club, he happened to encounter Brad Miller, who had completed his trade and was reporting to the Spurs!
"Welcome to the Spurs, Brad! I'm sure you'll have a brilliant career here."
"Thank you, Xi Meng! I believe under your leadership, I'll spend a few enjoyable years here!"
Brad Miller was also somewhat intimidated by He Xi Meng. Although he knew that He Xi Meng, like him, had just joined the Spurs this summer, signing less than a month before him, Brad Miller already treated He Xi Meng as a senior figure in the Spurs.
Brad Miller was also very curious: after the Spurs officially started training together, how would David Robinson, Duncan, and He Xi Meng decide the pecking order in the Spurs?
After assisting the management in completing these two trades, He Xi Meng was content to have used up his "partial management authority" and pondered whether to return to Los Angeles to continue training with Kobe during the offseason, or to stay in San Antonio and train with Ginobili and Duncan.
As he was pondering, Popovich called, saying he wanted to invite He Xi Meng to his home for dinner.
Foreigners generally don't invite friends over for dinner at their homes. Those who are invited are usually people with a deep relationship.
Of course, He Xi Meng used to have a permanent room at Popovich's house. So, this time when Popovich invited him over for dinner, He Xi Meng agreed without a second thought.
However, before attending the dinner, He Xi Meng carefully selected gifts for the members of Popovich's family.
He Xi Meng prepared two bottles of Maotai from '83 for Popovich. Well, the old man's wine cellar was never short of red wine, and it was time for him to experience the charm of Chinese Baijiu. Of course, he wasn't sure if the old man would appreciate the taste of Maotai.
For Eileen, He Xi Meng prepared a large bouquet of fragrant lilies. He Xi Meng knew that Eileen's favorite flower was lilies.
For his good partner, Sister Jill, He Xi Meng prepared an LV handbag. For women, a bag can cure all ailments.
Finally, for Mickey, his future personal financial advisor, He Xi Meng prepared the latest version of the Apple iBook laptop. How could a good financial advisor not have a good computer for Excel?
Eileen initially had conflicted feelings about He Xi Meng, the "son of an old acquaintance" of Popovich. However, upon seeing the large bouquet of fragrant lilies, all negative emotions vanished. Because Eileen thought that Popovich had asked He Xi Meng to buy these lilies. Otherwise, how would He Xi Meng know her preferences?
Jill was stunned the moment she opened the door and saw He Xi Meng: "What are you doing here?"
"I was invited for dinner!" He Xi Meng replied.
Jill was even more bewildered: "But I didn't invite you? Today my dad invited some friends' children to our house... Oh, my God! Are you the son of that seductive woman my mom was talking about?"
"You silly child, what nonsense are you talking about!" Eileen quickly slapped Jill's arm, signaling her to shut up.
Popovich quickly changed the subject and asked, "Have you two met before?"
"Of course! This guy is the co-author I told you about! 'Pirates of the Caribbean', which is currently being made into a movie, was co-authored by us..."
"Wow! This is truly... a coincidence... Mr. Xi Meng!" Eileen was clearly a bit overwhelmed by the complicated relationships.
He Xi Meng was the son of Gregg's "suspected youthful crush," a talented player the Spurs had just acquired from the Lakers, and also daughter Jill's co-author. She had heard that her daughter had a boyfriend in Los Angeles... Could this boyfriend be He Xi Meng?
Women tend to overthink things, and once they start overthinking, their minds tend to freeze.
Just as Eileen was starting to get a headache, Popovich said, "Dear, in Chinese, the surname comes first, then the given name. If you must call Xi Meng 'Mr.', you should call him Mr. He, not Mr. Xi Meng!"
"No, no, no! Aunt Eileen, can I call you Auntie? I'm Jill's friend and Mr. Gregg's junior. You can just call me Xi Meng..."
"Oh! Look, he's calling me Auntie and says he's Jill's friend..." Eileen thought to herself, then gave Jill a meaningful look.
Jill was startled by her mother's gaze: "What are you thinking, Mom?"
"Me? I'm not thinking anything!" Eileen said, but the smile on her face clearly betrayed her thoughts.
Jill didn't understand why her mother was smiling, but she wasn't interested in probing further. As she ushered He Xi Meng into the house, she asked him how he ended up on the Spurs: "Weren't you a Lakers player?"
"That was last season! Next season, I will be playing for the Spurs."
"Ah? You left Los Angeles?" Jill asked in a lowered voice, "What about Kayla?"
"What about her? Where I play doesn't affect our relationship. I'll just go back and forth between Los Angeles and San Antonio!"
...
Eileen didn't hear Kayla, but she heard "doesn't affect our relationship" and "go back and forth between Los Angeles and San Antonio"...
Jill was now working in Los Angeles, and He Xi Meng would likely be settling down in San Antonio.
Then, Eileen saw He Xi Meng give Jill a gift, and judging by the packaging, it looked like an LV bag... If they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, who would give such an expensive gift?
While He Xi Meng and Jill were chatting, Eileen quietly pulled Popovich into the kitchen: "Could this young man be the boyfriend Jill mentioned before?"
"Ah? No way! As far as I know, Xi Meng has a Hollywood girlfriend?"
"Hollywood? Isn't our daughter working in Hollywood?"
"No, no, no! When I say Hollywood, I mean a Hollywood actress, the kind who acts in movies!"
"Really?" Eileen, who had guessed He Xi Meng's identity wrong, was still a bit reluctant.
"Real or not, we'll know if we ask Jill later!"
"Then... alright!" Eileen's burning curiosity was half extinguished by Popovich's rationality. So, Eileen, suppressing her curiosity, stared at He Xi Meng with an odd gaze for the rest of the dinner.
He Xi Meng thought Eileen's "oddness" stemmed from the past friendship between his mother and Popovich.
In fact, Eileen had long forgotten about Mrs. He Fengting. Her sole focus now was to determine one thing: was He Xi Meng Jill's boyfriend or not?