Chapter Six: The Ping Pong Prodigy

On July 14th, Gan Guoyang woke up early and helped with miscellaneous chores at the Gan family restaurant—scrubbing pots, washing vegetables, prepping ingredients, and cleaning up the trash. Business at the restaurant was still poor, but until the place was either sold or a new direction found, they had to do their best to keep it going.

In the mornings, a few office workers would quickly stop by for breakfast. By noon, phone orders for several dishes would come in, and that’s when Gan Guoyang or Gan Guohui would step out to deliver the meals to the customers’ addresses.

Lately, Gan Guoyang was very enthusiastic about the delivery work. He would head out with a food container in one hand and a basketball in the other, dribbling down the street on his way to the destination.

A two-meter-tall Chinese delivery guy bouncing a basketball through the streets of San Francisco naturally attracted a lot of attention.

San Francisco is a hilly city with winding, uneven roads, making it difficult to navigate. Keeping both the ball and the food container from slipping was quite a challenge.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang’s hands were large enough. Several times when the ball was about to roll away or he nearly tripped over obstacles, he managed to control the ball with one hand and protect the food container with his body balance, preventing a disaster of flying balls and spilled meals.

“At first, my dribbling skill points were low, but if you want to make it on the streets, you need solid ball-handling skills. You have to develop all-around.”

Though risky, Gan Guoyang enjoyed it. Through this training, he was developing his sense of ball control and making up for the lessons he had missed. He was already far behind his peers.

Today he successfully delivered three meals without any trouble. Returning to the restaurant, he tossed the basketball to Gan Guohui, who was sitting at the counter answering order calls, and said, “Guohui, shall we go? At this hour, there won’t be any more orders.”

Gan Guohui looked hesitant. “Are we really going to play the game?”

“Of course! What’s there to be afraid of? I’m with you.”

The three of them had agreed to head to Hunters Point today for a match. If they won, they’d earn money; if they lost, they’d have to pay up.

Gan Guohui was a bit intimidated. Though he loved basketball, he knew his limits and wasn’t confident about competing against Americans.

“Guoyang, maybe I should just lend you the money? I can sell some game cartridges and scrape together 150 bucks.”

Seeing his brother’s lack of confidence, Gan Guoyang patted his shoulder and said, “The best way to face fear is to confront it. It’s just basketball, not war. Losing isn’t shameful. Come on, if you don’t go, Chen Xing will just mock you.”

Thinking of Chen Xing’s mocking smirk that painted him as a mouse scared of its own shadow, Gan Guohui didn’t hesitate. He changed into his sportswear and shoes and went out with Gan Guoyang.

“Hey! Where are you two off to? Playing ball again? Can basketball put food on the table?” Gan Yutang called after them as they slipped out of the restaurant, but they were already a blur of motion, only their backs visible.

—

The two brothers took a bus from Tenderloin to Hunters Point by the bay, a well-known sports hub in San Francisco where many skilled players gathered to play.

Chen Xing was already waiting at the sports center entrance. Seeing Gan Guohui come along with Gan Guoyang, he laughed, “Fat Hui, you really dared to show up.”

Gan Guohui replied, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a game. Losing won’t kill me.”

Their choice of venue wasn’t just because it was close to Chinatown or because of its complete facilities and safe environment, but also because it was the most Asian-friendly sports center in all of San Francisco.

Besides the basketball courts, there were many ping pong tables. In summer, numerous ping pong camps were held here, mostly attended by Asian kids and a few white children.

Ping pong was very popular in San Francisco, with many amateur competitions taking place here.

So when Gan Guoyang and his group entered the center, the staff assumed they were here to play ping pong and even asked if they needed to rent paddles.

When they found out the three were here to play basketball, the staff looked surprised but let them in after collecting a small fee.

Inside the gym, several courts were occupied. Chen Xing led them toward the northeast corner court, where they found a white player named Jason.

Chen Xing had met him at a basketball summer camp. Yesterday, Chen Xing contacted Jason to arrange a paid match, and they agreed to play this afternoon.

Upon seeing Chen Xing arrive with his companions, Jason and his teammates paused and looked over.

Their team was called the “Rippers”: two white players and one Black player. The Black player wore a green vest; the white players’ shorts were quite eye-catching.

Their heights were fairly even, all over 180 cm, with the tallest—the Black player in green vest—close to 190 cm. Combined with his afro hairstyle, he appeared nearly 195 cm tall.

However, in terms of height, they were all shorter than Gan Guoyang, which made the onlookers’ eyes frequently linger on him.

In basketball, especially at the amateur level, height is often the greatest talent—something effort alone can’t make up for.

Jason was puzzled as to why Chen Xing, an unassuming bespectacled Chinese kid, wanted to play a paid game against the Rippers.

It turned out they had brought in a strong ally.

Still, they did not take Gan Guoyang and his group seriously.

In America, basketball was dominated by Black players, with some white players also holding a place.

Asian players, especially Chinese, were almost invisible in professional basketball. A few Asians appeared in NCAA games, but none had made a name for themselves.

Simply put, Asians—particularly Chinese—did not get a crumb of the huge sports cake in America.

They were only fit to play ping pong.

“Guys, are you sure you’re in the right place? The ping pong tables are next door,” teased the tall Black player in the green vest. The other two laughed, not taking Gan Guoyang’s group seriously.

—

Gan Guohui felt nervous, but Gan Guoyang was expressionless. After warming up briefly by the sidelines, he took off his jacket and stepped onto the court.

Basketball was both familiar and foreign to him. He had watched and studied many high-level games but had never truly played one.

He felt like a virgin full of theoretical knowledge—now was the time to put it into practice.

Without a referee, the game began, with Gan Guoyang’s team serving first.

Chen Xing, the shortest and a skilled ball handler, naturally took the role of point guard.

At the start, he dribbled cautiously, observing. Jason, his opponent, didn’t take him seriously, keeping two steps away and simply shadowing him.

The three had done some basic teamwork training at Cameron’s house.

Gan Guoyang stood near the paint, subtly raising his hand toward the sky. Chen Xing caught on immediately.

He lofted a high pass toward the inside.

Gan Guoyang suddenly turned and moved toward the basket.

Neither the green vest player nor Jason defended seriously and were quickly left behind.

Gan Guoyang leapt high, caught the ball midair, and gently laid it into the basket on a fast break.

Turn, jump, catch, shoot, land—all in one smooth, perfect motion.

Looking at the stunned green vest player, Gan Guoyang shook his head lightly and pointed to his eyes with two fingers. “Focus, ping pong kid.”

The green vest player felt deeply humiliated; his dark complexion seemed even darker.

Since this was a paid match, possession switched after scoring.

The green vest player immediately demanded the ball, trying to go one-on-one against Gan Guoyang to regain some ground.

Catching the ball facing the basket, he tried to use momentum to carve out space but was bounced back after contact.

It felt like hitting a steel wall—Gan Guoyang’s seemingly slender frame was solid and tough as iron.

The green vest player forced a shot under the basket but was blocked by Gan Guoyang’s huge rejection!

The ball flew out of bounds—an astonishing block.

“Phew, you’re right. I really am better suited to ping pong,” Gan Guoyang murmured.