On December 1st, when Gan Guoyang stepped out of New York City Hall once again, snowflakes were already falling from the sky.
From summer to fall, and now with winter approaching, the spy case clung to Gan Guoyang like a shadow.
It was still the same repetitious questioning without much significance; the FBI had run out of substantial questions and was just fixating on certain issues.
Congressman Christopher Cox never relaxed his interrogation of Gan Guoyang, personally attending the hearings to question him.
However, Cox couldn’t find any breakthrough and quickly lost stamina in the battle of endurance and energy.
In his youth, Cox had a severe car accident in Hawaii, leading to paralysis of his lower limbs. After treatment, with reinforced steel plates, he regained the ability to walk.
But he couldn’t sit for long periods and needed a special chair to work standing up.
During the hearing, Gan Guoyang kept engaging Cox in conversation, denying him the chance to stand and move around.
Eventually, Cox succumbed to his back pain, and security personnel had to carry him out of the hall, forcing the hearing to a halt.
Gan Guoyang’s remarkable psychological resilience and physical stamina left the FBI and the committee exasperated.
Yet, they were reluctant to give up easily, for a simple reason: the 2000 election was approaching.
Gan Guoyang’s case implicated Clinton and the Democratic Party, while Cox was a Republican Congressman.
He had served as a staffer for Reagan and was currently closely connected with George W. Bush, who was running in the 2000 election.
The Levinsky case had already died down, unable to inflict more damage on the Democratic Party.
America’s economic situation was thriving, with December’s unemployment rate hitting the lowest since 1970.
With Clinton’s term nearing its end, the Democratic Party was bound to receive favorable evaluations, leaving Gan Guoyang’s case as the Republican’s chance to make the Democrats continuously suffer and increase their chances in the 2000 election.
So, regardless of uncovering any issues, they tried to stall, dragging it out to make the wound bigger and bleed more, preventing easy healing.
As for the relations between the two countries behind the case, they weren’t all that bad. Significant progress was made in the WTO negotiations in November, and both sides signed a bilateral agreement.
This would be a major opportunity for development across the Pacific Ocean, and Gan Guoyang’s spy case, instead, diverted much of the adversarial forces’ attention, with the Clinton administration making concessions in negotiations.
In any case, Gan Guoyang already realized that the hearings were an unavoidable obstacle for him this season.
Fortunately, once things stabilized, everything proceeded as routine, and as long as there was no groundbreaking evidence, Gan Guoyang wasn’t worried.
Because the hearing took place in the afternoon, by the time it ended, it was already dark, making it impossible for Gan Guoyang to return to Portland for the game.
For safety and rest reasons, Gan Guoyang decided to stay in New York for the night and return to Portland the next day.
On the 2nd, he planned to rest and adjust, with the Trail Blazers set to play the Phoenix Suns at home on the 3rd.
Tonight, the Trail Blazers would take on the Houston Rockets at home, a tough game without Gan Guoyang or Sabonis.
Gan Guoyang lay in the hotel room, turning on the TV to watch the game broadcast on the pay channel. To his surprise, during the starting lineup introductions, he didn’t see himself, Sabonis, or even Kobe.
"What? Rick left Kobe out of the starting lineup too? Did he put him on the bench?"
The starting shooting guard for the Trail Blazers in this game was Chris Mullin, whose condition this season was quite poor.
In previous games, he hadn’t seen much playing time, with his three-point shooting percentage quite low, and Carlisle wanted him to adjust his state first.
Soon, Gan Guoyang spotted Kobe on the sidelines through the camera—framed in close-up by the TV station—dressed in sportswear, his right hand bandaged.
"Shit, did Kobe break his hand jacking off?"
Gan Guoyang immediately called the team’s medical department to inquire about the situation.
It turned out Kobe went to Los Angeles for a date with his girlfriend, got overly competitive, and played streetball on a local court.
During a confrontation, he injured his right hand. Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but back in Portland, his wrist swelled up.
After examination, Kobe’s wrist had a mild sprain, requiring two weeks of rest and observation.
Hanging up the phone, Gan Guoyang was at a loss for words; the kid just doesn’t learn from his mistakes.
In his rookie season, he played streetball recklessly and ended up with a fractured hand, missing several games at the start.
Now in his fourth year, and already an All-Star player, he’s still out playing streetball and injures his wrist.
It was obviously to show off in front of his girlfriend; he hit the court without proper warm-up to showboat, and ended up hurt.
With three key players missing, the Trail Blazers’ combat power significantly decreased, while the Rockets were in good form.
Steve Francis quickly became the new core player for the Rockets after arriving, teaming up with another young player, Mobley, to form the backcourt duo tasked with the Rockets’ rebuild.
The youthful Rockets against the depleted Trail Blazers lineup were initially expected to spell trouble for the Trail Blazers tonight.
To everyone’s surprise, Rick Carlisle, facing insufficient personnel, boldly expanded the rotation, utilizing every usable player on the bench.
Barkley replaced Gan Guoyang as the starter, Little O’Neal took on the role of starting center, and substitutes like AC Green, Porter, and Dell Curry took turns on the court, each making contributions.