On the way home in a taxi with Harden, Xu Yong was thinking about a question in his mind: Is death considered a type of injury?

When he finally came to the conclusion that it didn't count, he looked around with great vigilance.

Because this was the first time since his rebirth that he had a strong sense of crisis about death.

All because the streets around them looked so chaotic.

There were always those thugs wandering around the streets from time to time. When driving through hidden alleys, he could see people trading "Daqing Pills" inside. He could even see the "walking dead" wandering around in some corners.

He had seen descriptions of chaotic neighborhoods in the media before, but those words were far from enough to describe the scene he saw at this moment.

He looked back at Harden, and didn't expect that Harden also grew up in such an environment.

"Relax, they know I'm a good basketball player and they won't do anything to me." Harden comforted Xu Yong after seeing his reaction.

Xu Yong nodded. People in the neighborhood would subconsciously protect someone who might become famous and bring them benefits.

And he seemed to understand something at this moment.

In those news reports at the time, we often saw that many NBA players would have many "bad friends" when they grew up. The most famous one was Iverson, and then the "Gun King" Morant.

But think about being born in these places. After becoming famous, they will inevitably encounter life safety issues, and even their families will inevitably encounter them. Without the help of so-called bad friends, it is questionable whether they can live to the moment of becoming famous.

Soon they arrived at Harden's door.

Harden made a phone call before going home. At this moment, there was a man who looked somewhat similar to Harden but older than Harden, greeting them at the door.

"My sister, Anik Giles," Harden introduced.

"Welcome, Xu." Giles took the initiative to extend his arms to Xu Yong and hug him. Harden should have introduced him on the phone.

After entering the house, Xu Yong looked around and soon discovered that Harden's home conditions were very poor.

The only advantage of the simple furniture and crowded clutter is that it is tidy enough, which shows that the owner of the house is usually quite diligent.

After we sat down, a slightly fat black woman came out. She looked somewhat similar to Harden. She should be Harden's mother.

"Mom." Sure enough, when Harden saw the woman, he went straight up and hugged her.

The woman's eyes were full of love when she hugged Harden.

After hugging Harden, the woman walked up to Xu Yong and introduced herself: "I am Mona Willis, welcome, Xu, my little lucky one hasn't brought friends home for a long time, oh, by the way, I bought steak tonight."

"Thank you." Xu Yong stood up and hugged Willis, then began to thank him.

Willis quickly went about preparing dinner, while Harden took Xu Yong into his room.

The house was small and crowded, but Harden did have his own room.

Although there are some women's clothes in the ** of his room now.

"Anik sleeps in my room when I'm not around," Harden said, covering the clothes with a blanket.

Xu Yong nodded, and then his eyes were drawn to the poster above his head.

That is the commemorative poster of Kobe's 81-point night.jpg.

Pointing to the sky with one hand, he is so handsome.

He couldn't help laughing.

Because there was also a huge poster of a football star above the bed in his previous room.

It’s just that it wasn’t Kobe, it was Jordan, the “last shot” scene.

Then, he was attracted by several group photos on the wall.

One of them should be a group photo of the school team when I graduated from high school, then a photo with Scott Pera, and there is another one.

Hey, is that DeMar DeRozan?

When he saw DeRozan, he was stunned for a moment. He realized that his understanding of Harden was really limited.

"That's DeMar. He's still at Compton High School and is averaging 30 points per game. He's a natural basketball star." Harden said with a smile.

"He lives in this neighborhood too?" Xu Yong asked curiously.

"Yes, he lives two blocks over there. We can go find him after dinner," Harden said with a smile.

Xu Yong nodded, but he had a strange feeling in his heart.

Harden and Westbrook have known each other since they were very young, and they are childhood friends with DeRozan. The NBA circle is really small.

Harden then sat down and talked to Xu Yong about his high school stories, which was also a very classic past.

As a Compton native, his best option was to go to Compton High School with DeRozan, but they didn't like him.

Later he could only go to the suburban school Lakewood Ardisia High School, where he met Scott Pera and staged a "Revenge of the Black Prince".

In his junior and senior years, he led the team to defeat Compton High School for two consecutive years and won the California High School League championship.

"Kids, it's time for dinner." As we were chatting, Willis came into the room with a smile.

Xu Yong and Harden got up and went to the living room together.

There were three large plates of pasta on the table, and some boiled but unpeeled potatoes.

In the middle of the table was a steak that had been cut into many small pieces.

After Xu Yong sat down, he only ate some steak symbolically, and then concentrated on eating pasta and potatoes.

They are really filling.

After dinner, Harden took the initiative to clear the dishes and wash them.

Children from poor families have to grow up early, so Harden must have been very sensible when he was young.

Willis did not go to help, but said to Xu Yong gratefully: "Thank you, Xu."

Xu Yong was a little confused by this sudden gratitude. He quickly smiled and said, "Aunt Willis, I want to thank you for your hospitality."

Willis shook his head and continued, "Lucky has no other friends except that little DeMar guy. You being his friend must have helped him a lot in school."

Xu Yong was stunned.

He realized that Willis, as a mother, knew Harden very well and that Harden's intelligence was inherited from her.

Xu Yong felt a little embarrassed, so he simply changed the subject: "Aunt Willis, why do you call James 'Lucky'?"

"Because he is really a lucky child." Willis turned his head and looked at Harden who was busy in the kitchen, and said with emotion, "His father went to prison very early. I was pregnant and had to work at the time. The two children before him were both miscarried..."

Xu Yong was stunned when he heard this and looked at Harden. He suddenly felt that it was not easy for Harden to get to where he is today, and he also understood why Harden had that kind of personality.

"Aunt Willis, you are a great mother." Xu Yong praised after retracting his gaze.

According to Willis, Harden's father went to prison early, and they lived in such a chaotic neighborhood, but Harden was still able to pursue a career in basketball. As a mother, Willis not only had vision and wisdom, but also must have paid a lot.

Willis looked back at Xu Yong, his eyes turning red uncontrollably.

Only she knows the efforts she has made along the way, but this is the first time she has heard someone say she is "great", and it was a child like Harden.

"I'm sorry." She realized her mistake and turned away.

At this time, Harden had finished washing the dishes and came out. After seeing Willis's expression, he asked with concern: "What happened, Mom?"

Willis shook his head and said with a smile: "It feels like my little Lucky has grown up. I'm very happy."

Harden grinned, then touched his chin and said with a smile: "Mom, I haven't cut my beard since I went to school. This makes me more mature."

When Xu Yong heard this, he unconsciously looked at Harden.

Just like two people who have been together for a long time don’t notice that the other person has gained weight, he then realized that the "Jike Junyi" he first met has now grown into a big bearded man.