After returning to New York, Lin Yi—still buzzing with basketball on his mind—ended up embarrassing himself a little. After joint practice on the 28th, he reminded everyone that they'd be playing the Cavaliers tomorrow.
A few teammates exchanged confused looks. Klay scratched his head.
"Lin… our game with the Cavs is on March 1st."
Lin answered with full confidence.
"Exactly. And tomorrow is March 1st."
The entire Knicks locker room fell silent.
Paul stared at him, half laughing and half judging.
"Lin, I'm really starting to question whether you actually went to college."
Lin felt personally attacked.
"I got into Davidson on my own, alright?"
Paul spread his hands.
"Fine. Then tell me—how many days does 2012 have?"
"Three-sixty-fi—" Lin froze. His cheeks warmed instantly.
Right. Leap year. February had 29 days.
He'd been so busy chasing records lately that he'd completely forgotten.
Little quirks about leap years slipped people's minds all the time—like how Qingming falls on April 4th instead of April 5th. But Lin Yi's slip-up was enough to lift the mood in a team that had been quietly stressed about the brutal schedule ahead.
…
On the 29th, the Knicks had a rare day off. Lin Yi and Olsen spent the morning on an unexpected mission: hunting for their missing fat hamster, Mr. Wiggles—the same hamster that had witnessed the couple's first meeting.
"Maybe it hates its new diet?" Olsen wondered.
Lin had recently cut his food by eighty percent to help the chubby thing slim down.
"It's too curious for its own good," Lin said. "My guess? The neighbor's fat cat got to it."
Olsen nearly fainted on hearing such a possibility. Lin had to sit her down on his lap, calming her before continuing the search.
Thankfully, they found him eventually. The little thing had gotten itself wedged under the sofa… still stretching desperately toward a stale popcorn kernel just out of reach.
Lin could only stare. "Was it starving in its past life?"
He gave up and restored Wiggles' original food portion. The moment the rodent saw the food, it let out a rapid string of squeaks—as if declaring, "Finally! A real meal!"
Absolutely hopeless.
After spending the early morning wrestling with their pet, Lin Yi and Olsen both spent time in each other's company over some ordered food. In the late afternoon, Lin received a call from Anthony.
After the All-Star Game, Melo had already told him how miserable life in Cleveland had been. He'd been counting down the days to this road game in New York. The moment the Cavs landed, he rang Lin.
He didn't bother with small talk. The call was mostly: Let's go out.
Under Olsen's stern but loving look—one that said she wanted more alone time with him for the interruption—Lin Yi promised and got permission to leave.
…
When Lin picked up Anthony, he nearly laughed. Melo wore a cap and oversized sunglasses, leaning fully into hip-hop mode as if he were protecting the last shred of his celebrity dignity. JR Smith was at his side, equally dramatic. The moment they got into the car, both started complaining about Cleveland like two prisoners on temporary release.
"New York's still the best," Anthony declared after they demolished dinner.
"Facts," JR echoed with a sigh.
Lin genuinely wondered how Cleveland had convinced Melo to re-sign in this timeline. Some mysteries were too deep for basketball.
After dinner, Lin prepared to drive them back to the hotel. Anthony almost choked on air.
"What do you mean by backto the hotel?" his face seemed to say.
You think we came all the way to New York just for dinner?
JR looked equally betrayed.
"Bro, you're really gonna do us like that?"
Lin reminded them that he had a girlfriend at home. That only made the two even more dramatic.
"Come on, man," Anthony groaned. "At least you got a shawty at home. If you send us back now, what are we supposed to do—stare at the ceiling?"
The problem was… Lin didn't actually know much about New York nightlife. Not because he was uptight—he just preferred practicing or spending time with Olsen. He was more of a Curry lifestyle.
So, he called Klay.
The moment Klay heard the word nightclub, he rushed over in his Mercedes like a man escaping a monastery. He'd been buried in training lately and clearly needed a break.
With that, the four of them headed out to 1OAK. As they arrived, Klay eyed Lin curiously.
"Lin, aren't you gonna wear a mask or something? Sunglasses? Anything?"
Klay, Anthony, and JR were wrapped up like celebrities in witness protection.
Lin gently patted Klay's head.
"Klay… do you really think sunglasses will help at my height?"
In truth, Lin Yi avoided nightclubs for a simple reason—he couldn't walk into one without setting off a chain reaction.
But Lin still underestimated just how big his shadow was. The moment he stepped into 1OAK, the place nearly lost control. New York adored him, and 1OAK was already a hotspot for celebrities. Throw him into the mix, and things were bound to get noisy.
"Oh my god, Lin's actually here!"
"Wait—don't tell me he came because of relationship drama?"
"Move, move, I'm getting a selfie with him before security shows up!"
Within minutes, Twitter was melting down. No need for paparazzi—social media did the job faster than flash photography.
Lin didn't bother pretending he wasn't there. Since he'd come, he decided to relax a little. Even so, when it was time to order drinks, he asked for juice. The looks the other three gave him made it clear they felt personally betrayed.
Not that the rest were planning to go wild either—there was still a game tomorrow. Even Melo, who enjoyed a drink or two, capped himself at a few iced whiskey cups. Klay barely finished half a glass before putting it down.
Anthony and JR, meanwhile, were losing themselves on the dance floor, getting twerked on by some big-booty women. Watching them, Lin suddenly sighed, "Honestly… basketball is still more fun."
Klay blinked at him. "Man, you're not even gonna show off a little? You know your Super Bowl dance went viral, right?"
Lin groaned and playfully pushed Klay's head away.
"New York, I love this place!" Anthony announced triumphantly as he strutted back to the table after a very chaotic performance.
JR wasn't with him, but Lin didn't need to ask why. He didn't like nightclubs, but he understood them well enough. JR's skills were clearly on another level.
Sure enough, JR returned five minutes later, chest heaving, grin unbothered. "Amazing. I love New York!"
Lin raised an eyebrow before shaking his head.
JR launched straight into storytelling mode. "Bro, this Latino chick—man got one fine ass. Once I turned up the pressure? She folded instantly."
He said it with all the enthusiasm of someone reporting a playoff win.
An hour later, Anthony disappeared into the restroom. He came back thirty minutes later, wiping sweat off his forehead before downing his iced whiskey.
"Man, this Jameson hits the spot. Yo, NYC got some fine bitches. The shawty—"
Lin tuned half of it out. Melo clearly needed a night out, but Klay was the real surprise of the group—models on both sides, chatting him up effortlessly.
Being handsome really was a cheat code.
They stayed until about 1 a.m. Lin, still sober, drove everyone home one by one—Klay, then Melo, then JR. If nightlife had rankings, Lin knew he'd be benched immediately. His internal clock was too disciplined; he was used to being asleep early and waking up at four to train.
When he finally walked through his door, Olsen—ready to interrogate him—came over, sniffed him, and instantly softened.
"Lin, you must be tired. Want a massage?"
Lin froze. He'd prepared a whole speech. Was this calm the setup before the storm?
But no—he'd overthought everything. No alcohol, no perfume, nothing suspicious. Olsen didn't suspect a thing.
A woman's intuition—and her sense of smell—rarely missed the mark.
...
March 1st, Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks handled the Cavaliers with ease. During the broadcast, Barkley shook his head.
"Didn't the reports say Lin didn't get home until late last night? Why does it look like Melo and JR were the ones who stayed out?"
After the game, Klay got chewed out by D'Antoni—his performance had been rough.
As for Lin?
Forget it. The man was locked in.
He put up 35 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, splashing 6-of-9 from deep. With numbers like that, D'Antoni wouldn't criticize him even if Lin had spent the entire night club-hopping through the city.
Knicks fans exhaled in relief. As long as Lin performed, nothing else mattered.
"Lin is unreal!"
Some media outlets started questioning whether the nightclub story had been exaggerated. After all, his performance didn't look like someone who'd been out until 1 a.m.
But eyewitness accounts were solid. Reporters looked up helplessly.
What the hell. Did Lin train in the nightclub?
Lin didn't mind. He wasn't the one dancing around all night—Anthony, JR, and Klay were the real practitioners out there.
Either way, beating Cleveland gave the Knicks a strong start to the second half of the season. And in that game, Lin noticed something new…
...
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