Chapter 36

When Yang Mo and Lu Xueman arrived in Miami, Lu Xueman immediately began negotiations with Pat Riley. Yang Mo decisively did not participate, as he really couldn't stand Lu Xueman's aggressive and domineering style during negotiations, although he knew that Lu Xueman was fighting for his own interests.

Yang Mo rested in the hotel for two hours, and then Lu Xueman returned with a contract.

Yang Mo took the contract and saw that the contract amount had indeed become ten million, but the protected amount was still eight million, with the additional two million as a bonus. Yang Mo continued to read the bonus clauses: an additional $500,000 would be added if he entered the Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend, $1,000,000 if the team made the playoffs, and another $500,000 if he won Rookie of the Year.

Yang Mo carefully examined the contract. The first $1.5 million was still within reach, but the last $500,000 was completely out of the question. He knew the strength of Rose, Beasley, and Westbrook, and they were all scoring types. In a certain sense, Yang Mo was still just a blue-collar player, so he felt his stats wouldn't be as good as theirs, and the last $500,000 would definitely be unattainable.

"Also, I told Pat Riley that your contract is a 1+1+1 format, meaning you have a player option every year. In other words, if you perform well in the first year, you can demand a max contract in the second year. Moreover, your salary decreases annually: $4 million in the first year, over $2 million in the second year, and over $1 million in the third year," Lu Xueman continued to explain.

After hearing this, Yang Mo smiled bitterly and said, "You really have confidence in me."

"Of course, you're my player. How can I not have confidence in you?" Lu Xueman raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you have confidence in yourself?"

"If you sleep with me once, I'll definitely have full confidence," Yang Mo said with utmost seriousness.

Yang Mo spoke from the bottom of his heart, but Lu Xueman took it as a tease, rolled her eyes, and changed the subject: "Your first-year salary will be transferred to you as soon as you sign the contract. At that time, you need to give me 3% as a commission, and I need to take the money back to China the day after tomorrow."

"Okay," Yang Mo nodded vaguely and then asked, "No, I'm serious. By the way, are you still a virgin?"

"If you keep this up, I'll sue you for sexual harassment!" Lu Xueman pointed at Yang Mo and warned him. Yang Mo chuckled, grabbed her finger, kissed it, and quickly changed the subject before she exploded: "What are you going back to China for?"

Lu Xueman was almost in tears from Yang Mo's antics but wasn't angry. Through the past few days, she knew Yang Mo wasn't a bad person, even though he liked to tease her. Deep down, she secretly enjoyed being teased by him, which troubled and embarrassed her.

"To bring my mother and sister over. With this contract, I'm now a moderately wealthy woman," Lu Xueman said.

"Great, work hard!" Yang Mo reached out and touched Lu Xueman's round, firm buttocks, then quickly ran off to find a pen to sign the contract.

Lu Xueman glared at him but knew it was useless; she couldn't scare him anymore.

After signing, Yang Mo handed the contract back to Lu Xueman. As he did, he tried to take advantage, but Lu Xueman skillfully dodged and patted his buttocks, saying, "Fun, huh?"

"Fun!" Yang Mo, after being slapped on the buttocks, actually felt a strange pleasure.

"I give up on you," Lu Xueman shrugged and quickly left, saying before the door, "Tomorrow at noon, I'll bring you your salary card. I'll take out $300,000 myself. I'm flying to China tomorrow night and won't be back for half a month. Take care of yourself. By the way, there's a rookie training program in New York next week, a three-day course. Don't forget to attend."

After finishing, she quickly left.

Yang Mo watched her graceful silhouette and licked his lips, smirking, "Lu Xueman, I'll get you in my hands one day."

The next noon, Lu Xueman brought Yang Mo a bank card and said that all the taxes had been deducted, leaving about $2.5 million. Yang Mo was taken aback and asked if the U.S. taxed so heavily. Lu Xueman rolled her eyes and said, "Miami is considered lenient. If you go to other states, you'd be lucky to keep half."

"Damn, capitalism is a bloodsucker!" Yang Mo cursed.

"Okay, stop complaining. I'm leaving. Take care of yourself," Lu Xueman waved to Yang Mo and walked out. Yang Mo quickly rushed over, held her head... smack!

He kissed her cherry lips.

After the kiss, he cowardly ran into the bathroom, fearing Lu Xueman's wrath.

But Lu Xueman didn't get angry; instead, she stood there for a few minutes, touching her lips. Yang Mo's kiss seemed to break something hard in her heart, and a flood of emotions surged out. Gradually, a smile appeared on her face.

Looking at the closed bathroom door, she muttered, "You pervert."

Then she raised her voice, "Don't cause any trouble in the next half month, or you'll be in big trouble."

"Uh, okay, you should go, or you'll miss your flight."

Lu Xueman couldn't help but laugh and said, "Take care of yourself," before leaving.

After Lu Xueman left, Yang Mo came out of the bathroom, patting his chest and saying, "Scared me to death, thought she'd explode. Looks like... I can push a bit further!"

As he spoke, a happy expression appeared on his face. He felt that if he took the initiative, he might be able to win Lu Xueman over. The excitement grew, and the six-pointed star on his chest glowed brightly.

That afternoon, Miami announced the signing of the eighth pick, the first rookie signing of 2008, which again sparked media debate. Everyone discussed whether Pat Riley was making a mistake by signing an unknown player for ten million, and some even viciously attacked Pat Riley, saying he was senile.

The entire American media, less than 10% were optimistic about Yang Mo. Everyone thought this short forward would ruin Pat Riley's hard-earned reputation.

Only Michael Jordan supported Pat Riley in the media, constantly praising Yang Mo and even offering to trade any player from the Charlotte Bobcats if Pat Riley wanted.

Michael Jordan's words only indirectly confirmed that Yang Mo was useless, as everyone knew Michael Jordan's judgment was a joke. It was unexpected that Pat Riley's usually accurate judgment had fallen to the same level as Michael Jordan's, losing his reputation.

In response to the criticism, Pat Riley confidently stood before the media and said, "Time will tell."

When Pat Riley said time would tell, Yang Mo returned to New York to attend a rookie training program. The training was essentially a financial management seminar where the league invited experts to teach players how to manage their money, so they wouldn't go bankrupt before retiring. Financial management might be a problem for black players, but for Yang Mo, it was not an issue. The Chinese people's traditional virtue is thrift, preferring to keep money in the bank rather than spend it recklessly.

On the second day in New York, Yang Mo received a call from Kim Tae-hee: "So you're an NBA player! You lied to me last time, saying you were going to rob a bank. I even thought about lending you money. Where are you now? I'm in New York, attending a fashion gala, and there are many girls here."

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