Chapter Four: Two Species

In San Francisco, July was bright and clear, yet beneath the sun the Tenderloin district reeked of decay and rot, its filthy streets lined on both sides with shacks pieced together from cardboard boxes.

The homeless, beggars, and people who looked like addicts lay curled up or stretched out, basking in the free sunshine—the rare warm thing in America that cost nothing.

Guan Guohui had long since grown used to it. Seeing that Guan Guoyang seemed to feel pity for a long-haired drifter, he quickly tugged him away and said, “Don’t feel sorry for them. They’ve got food and drink; they just don’t have a place to live. If you’re going to pity anyone, pity us instead... Come on, save your money for the bus.”

Guan Guoyang was not pitying the drifter at all. What caught his eye was the green army coat the man wore, the medals pinned across his chest. He might have been a veteran of the Vietnam War, and now he was reduced to this life on the streets.

It was so different from the America Guan Guoyang had imagined and known, and this was San Francisco of all places, one of the biggest cities on the West Coast.

The two took the bus north to Chinatown, and Guan Guoyang asked in confusion, “Do we really have to go this far just to play ball?”

Guan Guohui said, “Most of the other places are full of black guys. Too dangerous. Like the other day—you don’t want more trouble, do you?”

Guan Guoyang “remembered” what had happened two days earlier. They had simply been passing a basketball court when a ball flew their way. He had picked it up and was about to throw it back when a black man started shouting at him and then rushed over. He himself had almost been hit by a car while standing at the roadside.

After taking his ball back, the man had kept cursing under his breath. Guan Guoyang remembered his shirt: a brown T-shirt full of holes, shorts, and a bandage wrapped around his left calf.

“I don’t want trouble, but what if trouble comes looking for us? I thought I heard someone come by yesterday demanding rent. If you can’t pay, they’ll close the shop.”

“Hah, the one who came for rent yesterday was the landlord, Chen Yaoming. He’s the father of the friend I’m meeting today. His old man won’t let us live easy, so I’m going to squeeze some profit out of his son.”

Guiding Guan Guoyang through street after street, Guan Guohui brought him to a nonprofit community center on Joyce Lane in Chinatown, Cameron House.

Downstairs, people were lined up to receive relief food: Chinese, black, white, Latino.

San Francisco was a true melting pot, where every ethnicity could find its corresponding face.

The two bypassed the long queue and went up to the roof. Guan Guoyang muttered to himself in confusion: why did playing basketball require going upstairs?

Could the court really be on the roof?

It really was on the roof.

The top floor was enclosed on all sides by tall wire fencing, and the hoop was fastened to a steel pipe frame attached to the fence.

From the court, one could look out over the high-rises of San Francisco’s Chinatown.

And the blue-sky white-sun flag standing before the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Francisco.

Looking at the court, and at the buildings and sky in the distance, Guan Guoyang kept feeling an odd sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

“Whoa, so this is your cousin who’s over two meters tall? Hey there, I’m Chinatown’s fastest hands, Tiny Chen—Chen Xing. Fat Hui, did you bring the goods? If you didn’t, then I’m not letting you play on this court.”

Chen Xing, Guan Guohui’s friend, was lean and sharp-featured, with the look of someone from the south and a pair of large dark sunglasses. There was a faint air of a scholar about him.

From the shoulder bag he carried, Guan Guohui took out several small black plastic cases with colorful covers and handed them to Chen Xing. “Here you go: Table Tennis, Ghostbusters, Battle Tank, and the newest one, Yars’ Adventure. These are the hottest sellers—people can’t even buy them lately. It took me a lot of trouble to get these.”

Chen Xing’s eyes lit up. He took the little black cases and examined them lovingly in his hands. “I-I’ll check them first. Last time you fooled me with fake cartridges, and I haven’t settled that with you yet.”

Guan Guoyang asked, “What are these?”

Guan Guohui leaned close and replied, “Game cartridges. For the Atari 2600. But I stopped playing them ages ago—kids’ stuff. This guy likes them...”

“How about it, no problem, right? Last time was an accident. I put them in the wrong box. Four cartridges, ten dollars each—forty dollars total. I’ll give you a bargain price: thirty-five.”

“What? Thirty-five dollars for four cartridges? You might as well rob a bank! Twenty! Besides, I even let you use my court!”

“This court isn’t even yours. If you won’t let us play, then forget it. We’re leaving!”

“Fine, fine, forget it. Thirty-five it is. But I didn’t bring that much cash. Can I pay next time with everything together?”

“What? Next time? Money first, goods second. You pay next time, I give you the cartridges next time.”

“Fat Hui, everything can be discussed, right? When did you get so heartless and cold-blooded?”

Inwardly, Guan Guohui cursed: if you want to talk about heartless and cold-blooded, who can compare to your old man, Chen Yaoming? He changes his face faster than anyone.

“How about this: you play a couple of games one-on-one with my brother, five dollars a game. If you win enough, I’ll give you these cartridges. How about that?”

Chen Xing glanced at Guan Guoyang, who stood there tall and still, and said, “Oh, so you brought a helper today. Your big brother here is clearly a pro. At that height, if I play him, I’m dead for sure. I’m not that stupid. If it’s you, Fat Hui, I might consider it.”

Guan Guoyang said, “I’ve never played basketball. This is my first time.”

Guan Guohui chimed in from the side, “I can testify to that. As soon as he arrived, I asked whether he could play, and he said no. First time for real.”

Chen Xing shook his head, repeatedly saying he didn’t believe it. He would only play one-on-one with Guan Guohui.

With no other choice, and seeing that the fish would not bite, Guan Guohui had to step up himself. After warming up, the two faced off on the rooftop.

Chen Xing was lean, while Guan Guohui was somewhat chubby. Though he had the advantage in weight and strength, he suffered badly in agility.

Chen Xing called himself Chinatown’s fastest hands, and it was no empty boast. His hands were lightning-quick, and his steals were superb. One after another, he stripped the ball from Guan Guohui.

When he dribbled, his center of gravity was low, his speed quick, his footwork light. He blew past Guan Guohui with ease and finished at the rim.

Before long, he had crushed Guan Guohui 5 to 0. Chen Xing laughed uproariously. “Fat Hui, five dollars a game, twenty-five dollars total. These cartridges—I can buy them for ten dollars.”

“Damn it, when did your dribbling get this good? And how are you so fast now? What kind of medicine are you on?”

“Heh heh, I didn’t spend the summer for nothing. Fat Hui, come on, a few more rounds. If I score a few more, I can take the cartridges home for free.”

Watching Chen Xing’s arrogant expression, Guan Guohui was filled with irritation, but the kid had improved a great deal and was clearly getting special training. For the moment, he was no match.

Seeing this, Guan Guoyang said, “You’ve improved so much. Why not spar with me, a complete beginner? I really have never played basketball before.”

Because of his extraordinary height, Guan Guoyang had once been noticed by the local sports bureau in middle school. He went for a trial, only to discover that his limbs were terribly uncoordinated and that he simply was not cut out to be an athlete. So basketball training was abandoned.

Now, the soul that had crossed over was desperate to find out whether the player model from 2K11 had been perfectly transferred onto this body.

If it had...

“Exactly, exactly. My cousin is just tall—he’s been here for three weeks and I’ve never seen him play. We’re only out here for fun today. You’re just a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. All you can do is bully a fat guy like me.”

Guan Guohui fanned the flames from the side, though in truth he was somewhat uneasy.

When this cousin first arrived in San Francisco, he had truly been surprised. Such a towering frame, such long arms—a natural for basketball.

But after spending time with him, he found that this cousin was dull, timid, and generally muddled. His uncle said that when he was little he had fallen and had never quite been sharp afterward.

A few days earlier, he had taken him to Margaret Hayward Playground, intending to borrow his size and swagger a little. Who would have thought a black guy could scare him so badly he came down with a fever?

Now the fever had broken, and he seemed changed quite a bit: his eyes were clear, his speech nimble, and most importantly, he had found his nerve.

Chen Xing took the bait. Add to that his own sudden surge in skill lately, and his spirits rose high. “Fine! Let’s play then. Who’s afraid of who? Watch yourself, big guy—don’t let me fake you out and make you fall.”

With that, he threw the ball to Guan Guoyang.

Guan Guoyang caught the ball in one hand.

The texture of the leather felt familiar.

His enormous hands made the basketball look much smaller. He tossed it lightly in his palms, glanced at the hoop, and estimated the distance at about seven or eight meters—not close.

He tried a shot. His form was slightly stiff, and the ball left his hand fast, striking the backboard and bouncing away.

Chen Xing laughed as he picked up the ball. “Ha! I knew it—you really are playing for the first time! You put too much force into it!”

Seeing this, Guan Guohui grew anxious and stepped forward. “Cousin, are you really no good, or are you just pretending?”

Guan Guoyang said, “Of course I’m serious. Why would I lie to you?”

“Hey, hey, hey! You two are just messing around. It doesn’t count, it doesn’t count, and it has nothing to do with my cartridges!”

“You’re talking nonsense. We already agreed—no backing out. Come on, enough talk, your turn to attack.”

Chen Xing tossed the ball to Guan Guoyang. After taking it, Guan Guoyang paused for a beat, then suddenly dribbled and accelerated straight at Chen Xing.

The instant Guan Guoyang charged in, Chen Xing suddenly realized how badly he had underestimated the gulf created by height and size.

One was two meters tall, the other only one hundred and seventy-four. They were practically different species.

His idea had been to strike when the other least expected it, to swipe the ball from Guan Guoyang’s hands.

Then he would use his own speed and dribbling to get past this big man—and if he could make him stumble, all the better.

Then a pretty left-handed layup—that was a move he had just learned.

But with his short reach and short legs, he never got the chance.

It was a beast hurtling at him with the force of wind.

At the moment of contact, Chen Xing felt as though the ground had vanished beneath his feet. He staggered backward uncontrollably and landed flat on his backside.

Above him, a massive black shadow rose into the air and, with one hand, slammed the ball through the hoop. The steel pipe and wire fence rattled with a shrill metallic shiver.

The rooftop sun blazed so hard it made Chen Xing dizzy. A dark figure stood against the light, looking down at him, and extended a hand.

“Sorry. Did I hurt you?”