Chapter 492: Unexpected Events, Reconciliation with Taylor Swift
Just as fans were joking that Chen Yan had become stronger after leaving women behind, his relationship with Taylor Swift suddenly thawed.
And strangely enough, Katy Perry played a big part in it.
After the game against the Rockets, Chen Yan flew to New York for a series of brand events. He had too many endorsements now, and recently he had added several more, including Kraft, TAG Heuer, and Apple computers.
At this point, Chen Yan sometimes forgot which brands he even endorsed. Fortunately, he had a reliable agent in Bill Duffy, who handled all of his appearances properly and constantly reminded him what to say and what not to do in public. Ronaldinho had once lost millions just for casually taking a sip of Pepsi.
At one of the brand events, Chen Yan ran into Taylor Swift's good friend, Katy Perry. The two had already met at the Grammy Awards, so they were not strangers. This time Katy Perry greeted him first, and the two chatted for a while about music and sports.
The media noticed everything.
After the event, reporters deliberately asked Katy Perry whether she liked a man like Chen Yan. Katy Perry answered with surprising honesty. She said Chen Yan was very charming, that she admired men like him, and that she looked forward to him asking her out.
The moment that news broke, Taylor Swift exploded.
She immediately posted on social media that Chen Yan was her boyfriend, that they were still together, and that they had not broken up.
That was not all.
While declaring her claim, Taylor also took a shot at Katy Perry, implying that she was the kind of woman who coveted her best friend's boyfriend.
Katy Perry fired back without hesitation.
The two began throwing barbs at each other across social platforms.
In this timeline, they still turned against each other, but the man at the center of it all had changed from the one in Chen Yan's previous life.
Now it was him.
Once again, Chen Yan found himself making headlines in the entertainment section. He felt helpless. These days, he could become headline news without even doing anything, while other celebrities exhausted themselves chasing attention and still failed to get a mention.
He did not enjoy it.
What he wanted people discussing was the Suns, his game, and what he was doing on the court, not endless celebrity gossip.
What truly repaired things between Chen Yan and Taylor Swift, however, was not an argument, a statement, or a scandal.
It was an accident.
Half a month later, on March 26, the Delta Air Lines flight carrying the Suns to Portland suffered a severe bird strike in midair.
Bird strikes are one of the major hazards in aviation.
Statistics show that since 1988, bird strikes have caused 219 deaths.
Fortunately, this incident ended without disaster. Even so, when the Suns players got off the plane, every one of them was still shaken. The nose of the aircraft had been badly damaged and was caved in so badly that it looked terrifying.
Still unsettled, Jordan immediately posted on social media:
"This is definitely one of the most thrilling moments of my life. We got hit in the air, but thankfully everyone is safe and sound. Thank God."
Compared to Jordan, Azubuike was more grounded.
"I felt the plane drop for a second," he wrote. "That sudden weightless feeling might be exciting on a roller coaster, but I definitely do not want to experience it again."
When Taylor Swift heard the news, she called Chen Yan immediately.
It was the first time she had contacted him on her own since their fight.
She cried on the phone, and she cried hard.
The two did not speak much, but they could both feel the other person's emotions through the silence.
After that call, their relationship suddenly returned to its honeymoon stage. It was almost surreal.
For Chen Yan, that was a huge relief.
And for the Suns, it was also good news. With the emotional mess behind him, he could finally focus completely on basketball again.
…
The Suns were not heavily affected by the incident.
Before the game, they sat in the locker room watching the live broadcast of March Madness.
Reporters were paying attention to every little detail. Nash sat in the middle of the room, and nobody bothered him, because everyone knew he had a habit of refusing interviews before games.
The players casually discussed the college prospects on screen, offering their own opinions.
One undersized guard kept hitting 3s on the broadcast, but the Suns players were not very impressed.
"His body is too thin," Raja Bell said. "Shooting has to survive contact. With that frame, it's hard to adapt to the NBA."
Barnes added, "He still looks like a kid."
Diaw nodded. "Maybe he can dominate in college, but the NBA is a different sport."
At that moment, Nash disagreed.
"I do not think so," he said. "His handle is good. He can control tempo. And all of those shots are coming after he gets past people."
The locker room fell silent for a moment.
The boss was still the boss.
Chen Yan spoke up after Nash.
"Some things are natural, like touch. Look at his release, look at his range. No team would turn down a shooter like that. He looks skinny, but his core is strong, and his form does not collapse under pressure. I'm optimistic about him in the NBA."
Chen Yan was not trying to flatter Nash. He meant every word.
Because the skinny kid on the screen was Stephen Curry.
Compared to Curry, however, the reporters were much more interested in the Suns' recent near disaster.
Before the game, Chen Yan accepted an interview and said, "This is the kind of thing that would scare anyone once they really think about it. You cannot take anything for granted. We are grateful the plane landed safely. Everything is fine now. But something like this reminds you to cherish life and to understand what truly matters."
Life is a process of constant growth and understanding.
That incident had taught Chen Yan something new.
The Suns then proved with their play that they had not been rattled at all, crushing the Trail Blazers 119 to 89.
After beating Portland, Phoenix followed it up with wins over the Jazz and the Kings, closing out March with victories in its final 2 games of the month.
The Suns finished March with a 13 and 3 record.
It surprised nearly everyone.
Most outsiders had assumed that after losing their interior core, Stoudemire, Phoenix would inevitably stumble during the final stretch of the regular season.
Instead, the Suns absorbed the blow, weathered the storm, and continued leading the entire league.
Chen Yan, unsurprisingly, won Western Conference Player of the Month.
By this point, many around the league believed his chances of winning regular season MVP had climbed above 90 percent.
Five months into the season, Chen Yan had already won 3 Player of the Month awards.
Fans genuinely could not think of anyone more deserving of the MVP than him.
.....
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