NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 508 Another Trip to China

After the meal, Jia Fei and Lin Ning exchanged contact information. Jia Fei also gave Zhou Ling'an and Lin Ning each a pair of autographed shoes.

Although it's not the latest "Jaffy 5," his autographed shoes would still fetch a good price at auction. There's no way around it; he's the biggest star in the NBA right now.

After parting ways with Zhou Ling'an and the others, Art Mayor couldn't help but ask, "Jia, what are your feelings for that girl?"

"What do you mean? What feelings could you possibly have? We've only met once, how could we possibly have any strong feelings?" Jia Fei retorted.

"Do you think she's good or not?" Art Mayork changed the way he asked the question.

"Not bad, it looks quite comfortable!" Jia Fei was telling the truth. Deep down, he didn't like girls with heavy makeup. It's not that girls can't wear makeup, but makeup should only be an aid, meant to highlight a girl's natural beauty, not to overshadow her and make people look down on her original appearance.

On his way back, Jia Fei received a message from Lin Ning.

The message read: "Thank you for the autographed shoes. This is the most precious gift I've received this year (adorable)."

(One of the emojis).

Jia Fei's lips curled up slightly. As an idol superstar, he certainly wouldn't dislike having girls idolize him.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it!" Jia Fei replied.

Jia Fei's itinerary for his trip to China has also been scheduled for early August.

Kemba Walker and the others weren't planning to go on this trip to China, but Art Mayok decided to go with Jia Fei anyway.

On August 3, Jia Fei's plane arrived at the international airport in Shanghai.

At the airport's arrival hall, Jia Fei saw countless fans. These fans waved posters and KT boards with his image and photos of the game on them. The fans' enthusiasm was so high that a large number of security personnel had to be deployed at one point.

"Jia, the fans here are really enthusiastic!" Art Mayork exclaimed.

"Yes, they were very enthusiastic!" Jia Fei was very happy. With others liking him so much, he had no reason not to be happy!

In Shanghai, Jia Fei participated in the organizer's programs, various activities, and fan meet-and-greets.

Two days later, he went to the capital to continue his journey through China.

In Beijing, his agent told him that leaders from the General Administration of Sport of China wanted to meet with him.

Jia Fei was somewhat surprised, as this wasn't part of his previous trip to China. However, he still agreed; after all, they were meeting with him, and who knew what they might want to discuss!

On August 6, Jia Fei met with Chairman Yao and other relevant leaders at the General Administration of Sport.

The meeting was relaxed, and the other party didn't make any special requests. After he returned, his agent told him that the Chinese men's basketball team was willing to naturalize him, but would fully respect his opinion and give him ample time to consider.

Sure enough, the meeting wasn't without reason; they wanted to naturalize him. Jia Fei remembered that the Chinese men's basketball team's performance wasn't great at this time. The Chinese men's basketball team's peak since the beginning of the 21st century was undoubtedly the 2008 Olympics quarterfinals led by the chairman, but they faltered at the 2012 London Olympics, and since then, no strong star has emerged to take over the chairman's mantle.

Jia Fei had indeed considered naturalization before, but it was just a thought, because he was struggling to survive in the NBA at the time. He stopped thinking about it after that, until he received a formal invitation.

Since China does not support dual citizenship, he would have to renounce his U.S. citizenship if he wanted to represent the Chinese men's basketball team.

Giving up his American citizenship wouldn't make him hesitate too much; deep down, he still considers himself Chinese. Now that he has the opportunity to return, he shouldn't have much resistance.

But he had to consider something. Although the men's basketball team was better than the national team, it was still a mess. As the current number one player in the NBA, should he wade into this mess?

If his naturalization fails to help the men's basketball team out of its predicament, fans will likely hurl insults at him. In that case, he'll end up doing all the work for nothing, which would be truly disgusting.

Jia Fei told his colleague, Art Mayor, about this.

Art Mayork was very supportive of him: "Jay, I respect your choice. If you want to be naturalized, I will definitely support you!"

"Hmm!" Jia Fei liked his answer.

Art Mayor continued, "Jia, if you really decide to be naturalized as a Chinese citizen, I'd like to be naturalized as well, if possible!"

"You want to too? Where do you want to be naturalized?" Jia Fei looked at him in surprise.

“I’ll join your country too! Wherever you go, I’ll go too!” Art Mayor’s expression was very serious, not at all like he was joking.

Jia Fei was understandably shocked. He and Art Mayor had always had a very good relationship, like brothers, but he never expected that the other party would want to be naturalized in China because of him!

“My hometown is very poor. I don’t think that just because I’ve been naturalized as a Chinese citizen, I’ll stop loving my hometown. I will still go back to help the people there when I make money. Even if I wear the Chinese flag in the future, I will still love my hometown, and my fellow countrymen will support me!” Art Mayor said, his eyes shining.

Jia Fei hugged him tightly. Indeed, just like when he was in the United States and held American citizenship, he would still be among the first to donate to China in the face of any disaster. It had nothing to do with his nationality; he loved that land and its people, and that was what mattered most.

Jia Fei did not immediately accept the General Administration of Sport's planning invitation, nor did he refuse; he needed some time to consider it.

The General Administration of Sport also respected his opinion. Jia Fei is one of the world's top basketball stars. Inviting someone like him to join is something that can't be rushed. Using emotion is much more effective than using money or power.

By August 10th, Jia Fei had concluded his trip to China. Upon his return, the General Administration sent people to the airport to see him off, with the Chairman himself going to see him off, demonstrating a great deal of personal courtesy.

"I hope you will seriously consider our invitation!" Chairman Yao extended the invitation again as Jia Fei was leaving.

"I will, see you next time!" Jia Fei waved goodbye to Chairman Yao and his entourage.

And so, Jia Fei left his dream homeland—China—and returned to America once again.

During his trip to China, Jia Fei didn't have much contact with Lin Ning. Lin Ning didn't take the initiative to contact him either; the two were like ordinary friends, occasionally exchanging a few words, but never going into depth.

After returning to the United States, Jia Fei adjusted to the time difference and began training slowly with Art Mayok. Basketball is his main job; he had barely touched a basketball since the finals, so it was time to gradually get back into the swing of things.