On the last day of 1992, Gan Guoyang decided to spend New Year’s Eve with his family and friends at home.
In the living room of Gan Guoyang’s house, a brand new CD player was installed.
This was a birthday gift from Charles Barkley to Gan Guoyang in September.
As 1992 was about to end, the sound system played Luo Dayou’s album "Bright Days".
Luo Dayou was Gan Youwei’s favorite singer. He said he loved to listen to his songs when he felt homesick.
In 1992, according to American media statistics, sales of CD products officially surpassed cassette tapes.
The era of recorders and tapes was passing, and the era of CDs with better sound quality was beginning.
A large number of singers would determine their status in the music world through CD sales.
During this time, Gan Guoyang saw many things from his father that he hadn’t noticed before.
His hobbies, his likes, his temper, made Gan Guoyang feel his father was becoming more genuine.
Their relationship became increasingly close as they listened to songs and chatted.
Gan Youwei also had his own understanding of basketball. He always thought Gan Guoyang’s style was too aggressive.
"Be a bit softer, use softness to overcome toughness. Being too rigid can easily lead to breaking."
"What do you mean ’too rigid can easily lead to breaking’? I’ve already won six championships."
"That’s because you’re still young, strong, and lucky. But what about in the future? When you get older?"
"What do you mean by ’lucky’?"
Gan Guoyang never expected his father to consider his six championships as luck.
"You’re really lucky. Look, before the Trail Blazers picked you, they were already a playoff team, second in the Western Conference. With you as the second pick, they became a championship contender and won the championship the next year. Look at your friend that Joe... what?"
"Jordan!"
"Right, Jordan. He joined a crappy team, teammates changed over and over, fought for many years before reaching the finals. It’s not easy."
"He has poor leadership skills."
"Later, your team picked Little Sa, Pete, both European players. That’s called picking up bargains. With their talents, if they were American players, you definitely wouldn’t have been able to pick them. Isn’t that considered luck too?"
"How can that be luck? There’s nothing stopping other teams from picking them. That’s the success of management. Dad, what magazines have you been reading recently? Where did you get these ridiculous theories?"
"Hey, I just read casually. I just wanted to tell you, being lucky is naturally a good thing, but you also have to withstand times when luck is bad. Fate is always unpredictable; it doesn’t follow any logic. You need to be cautious."
As Gan Youwei spoke, Luo Dayou’s "Time Story" played warmly through the speakers, making Gan Guoyang feel the care in his father’s words.
But there was also a slight uneasiness. His father’s behavior during this time always seemed a bit off.
At this moment, the doorbell rang, and the surveillance equipment at the front door showed guests had arrived.
Gan Youwei turned off the sound system, saying, "The guests are here; I’ll go make dinner."
Tonight, the Curry, Mychal Thompson families, and others were coming to Gan Guoyang’s house for a gathering.
Gan Youwei decided to show off his skills by making a fusion dinner combining Chinese and Western cuisines.
The dishes were already prepped in the kitchen, just waiting for the guests to arrive for him to start cooking.
Since coming to Portland, Gan Youwei hadn’t cooked.
Today was his time to shine.
The Thompson family, the Curry family, and some other friends came with their families.
After retiring, Mychal Thompson worked as a basketball commentator for a Portland TV station.
In March 1991, Thompson and his wife had their third son, Trice Thompson.
The Curry family also welcomed another son; Seth Curry, Dell Curry’s youngest, was born in the summer of 1990.
Apart from the Thompson and Curry families, there was also the Love family.
Stanley Love, who played for the Baltimore Bullets, Lakers, and Spurs in the 70s.
After retiring, he lived in Oswego Lake Park and was well-acquainted with the Trail Blazers players.
He got married in 1986 and had a son, Kevin Love, in 1988.
Love grew up in Oswego Lake Park, and at just five years old, he was already being groomed by his father to love basketball.
Among all the kids, Stephen Curry and Kevin Love were the oldest.
As soon as they arrived at Gan Guoyang’s house, the two immediately led Gan Wenshan, the Thompson brothers, and a bunch of little kids to play wildly across the second floor, third floor, and attic.
Gan Wenshan, with his curious nature, explored the house every day and discovered a passage from the house leading to the outdoor glass pyramid basketball court.
He led these little kids through a hidden passage in the study into the court, where they started playing with basketballs.
When Gan Youwei had finished preparing a table full of dishes and called the kids to eat, the adults realized the sound of the children had been gone for a while.
Everyone was startled, fearing the kids were missing.
Gan Guoyang immediately suspected they had run to the court through the secret passage.
The security checked the monitors, and sure enough, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Gan Guoyang went to the court to bring the little rascals back.
These little guys were barely bigger than the basketballs.
But they already showed an interest in basketball.
Among them, Curry, Gan Wenshan, Thompson, and Love were able to dribble with some form.
The remaining little ones just ran around, playing joyfully.
Gan Guoyang carried two in each hand and tucked two under his arm, bringing the group of little rascals back into the house.
At dinner, everyone marveled at Gan Youwei’s excellent cooking skills.