The next day, at 10:00 a.m., the NBA officially announced the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for the first week of the new season.
In the East, LeBron James took the award after averaging 27.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks while leading Miami to a 4-0 record.
The player who came closest to challenging him was Chicago's Derrick Rose.
Rose averaged 25.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks, with the Bulls opening the season 3-0.
Both teams remained undefeated.
In the West, there was even less suspense.
The award once again went to Blake.
Over the first week, he averaged 43.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.3 blocks while leading Phoenix to a 4-0 record.
An 82-point explosion.
Three consecutive triple-doubles.
Three straight games in which he and the Suns were effectively done after three quarters.
The numbers were absurd.
With a week like that, if Blake was not Player of the Week, who else could possibly deserve it?
Kobe had been incredible too, averaging 35.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks.
Kevin Durant had also been outstanding for Oklahoma City, putting up 31.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game.
But compared with Blake, even performances like those were forced into the background.
"Tsk, tsk... Players who reach the top the moment they enter the league usually end up in one of two situations.
"One type stays at that level and keeps playing like a superstar.
"The other peaks immediately, falls into mediocrity within a short time, and eventually disappears from the public eye.
"Blake is clearly the first kind.
"He came back for the new season just as dominant as before. He is still the Suns' strongest player, their unquestioned leader, and almost impossible to match."
"Exactly."
"True, but the defending champion Suns aren't the only team that still looks strong. The Heat, Bulls, Thunder, Lakers, and the stars leading those teams are all dangerous.
"The Lakers and Thunder in particular have been terrifying offensively.
"Outside of their opening-night loss to Phoenix, the Lakers' star duo has cruised through the other three games, including one against a strong Mavericks team.
"Oklahoma City has looked just as impressive.
"Their three young stars plus Ibaka, the Thunder's four-star core, are becoming even stronger. Their talent is really starting to show this season.
"Their offense has been overwhelming everywhere they go.
"This Thunder team is stronger than last year's. It feels like they're destined to make serious noise in the West."
"Hey, don't forget the Heat Big Three. They're still the strongest team in the East."
"That's right."
"I can't wait to see these powerhouse teams go at each other."
"Same here!"
...
Phoenix had two days off after its first four games before facing Sacramento.
Blake still went to the training facility early to complete his scheduled work.
That included his weight-gain program.
Until he had added the full 10 kilograms in a controlled and scientific way, that part of his training was not going anywhere.
At 5:00 p.m., Blake headed home early.
Mia had also taken the day off from streaming, which immediately filled her chat and comment section with disappointed fans.
In only a few months, her popularity had exploded.
She had genuine gaming skill, more than enough looks for the camera, and a beautiful singing voice.
Despite still being a newcomer, she had already climbed into the top 50 on Justin.tv's subscription rankings.
In followers, she was already the most popular female streamer on the platform.
In income, she had broken into the top 20 overall.
The speed of her rise was remarkable.
Of course, Mia's success had everything to do with how talented she was herself.
At this rate, it would not be long before she became Justin.tv's undisputed top female streamer, and perhaps even the biggest streamer on the entire platform.
Once her popularity climbed even higher, better opportunities and resources would naturally follow.
"Blake, rest for a little while. Then let's go over to Mom and Auntie's place. They're waiting for us to have dinner with them tonight."
"Sure."
After Blake rested for a bit, the two headed out.
That evening, the four of them had a happy dinner together.
Afterward, they went for a walk, then bought some fruit and snacks on the way home.
That night, the four played mahjong, ate snacks, and chatted together.
There was nothing extravagant about it.
Just a simple life and simple happiness.
And somehow, that made it all the more wonderful.
...
The next day, Charlotte, who had a strong legal background, had already found a suitable job in the United States and returned to working in her old field.
Dolores had not stayed idle either.
She began offering private lessons to foreigners who wanted to learn Chinese, which was close to the work she had done before.
She never taught more than a handful of students at once, so the job stayed relaxed and comfortable.
With Blake and Mia both doing so well, neither woman cared much about how much money she earned.
They simply wanted something to do so they would not become bored or let their minds go dull.
As for Blake, he spent the day out with Mia, walking around, eating, and enjoying themselves.
At 8:00 p.m., the Suns were back at US Airways Center for a home game against the Kings.
Sacramento had opened the season 1-3 and was still sitting outside the top ten in the Western Conference.
Their record was ordinary.
DeMarcus Cousins was not.
Through four games, Cousins had already posted one 30-point, 20-rebound game, another 30-point, 10-rebound game, and two more 20-point, 10-rebound performances.
For a second-year player, the production was extraordinary.
So even though there was a clear gap between the two teams, the idea of "Boogie" Cousins trying to challenge the defending champions almost by himself still drew plenty of attention.
Warm-ups soon ended, and the starters took the floor.
Phoenix opened with Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, Paul George, Blake, and Yao Ming.
Sacramento started Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, Donte Greene, Jason Thompson, and DeMarcus Cousins.
"Jump ball!"
Blake went up against Cousins.
Both were exceptionally talented centers from the same draft class.
But Blake was already recognized as the league's top center.
There was no question who had the advantage.
"Snap!"
Blake easily tipped the ball over Cousins and gave Phoenix the first possession.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Nash brought the ball up and found Curry in the left corner.
Curry fired from three.
"Clang!"
No good.
Cousins secured the rebound and gave the ball to combo guard Tyreke Evans, who pushed it across half court and set up the offense.
Evans then lobbed the ball inside to Cousins.
Yao Ming was waiting for him.
"Thud!"
Cousins took one hard step into Yao, spun, then exploded upward from a standstill.
"BOOM!"
He powered through Yao's defense and slammed down a vicious two-handed dunk.
On the very next possession, Cousins attacked from almost the exact same spot.
Once again, he forced Yao backward.
Once again, he hammered the rim with a dunk.
Two brutal slams to open the game.
"Boogie" Cousins was putting his frightening physical talent on full display.
On the next trip down, already feeling unstoppable, Cousins tried to attack Yao one-on-one yet again.
This time, before he could get to Yao...
Blake stepped directly into his path.