Before the end of the Adidas ABCD training camp, Kobe measured his height.
It turned out he was 195.8 cm tall.
"Haha, I remember Su is only about 190 cm, right?
Well, I'd better keep a low profile this time.
I have to let him realize I'm suddenly much taller than him."
When he returned to Philadelphia, Bryant had already made up his mind.
…
"How tall are you now?"
Su Feng, who now towered over him, made Kobe grit his teeth.
"197 cm," Su Feng replied calmly.
"Oh, I didn't expect... you've really grown this summer," Kobe said, his voice trembling.
Sometimes, the games boys play are silly and trivial.
Especially when it comes to height.
If you're taller than your buddy, most boys will instinctively straighten their backs whenever they walk together.
"You seem... stronger than before?" Kobe asked in surprise, eyeing Su Feng's elbow.
"Yeah, I'm close to 85 kg now—all muscle," Su Feng said, flexing his arm.
"That's... great! Looks like you didn't waste your summer break.
Come on, let's see if your level is up to par."
Bryant dropped his smile, his expression turned serious as he stared at Su Feng.
Su Feng nodded and tossed him the ball.
Their one-on-one rules were simple: First to 21 points. Twos are worth 2, threes are worth 3.
If a foul is committed, possession continues. If the attacker fails, possession switches. No rebounds allowed.
On the court, Kobe took two warmup shots, then signaled with his eyes that the battle was on.
Thump, thump, thump!
Kobe attacked Su Feng's left side. Su Feng slid with him, staying low and balanced.
Just as Su Feng anticipated.
Kobe switched quickly—pulling back with his right hand to cross over—but Su Feng defended perfectly.
Seeing his initial attempt shut down, Kobe switched tactics, backing in hard, shoulder and elbow first, attacking from a 45-degree angle.
Kobe was already known as a "post-up encyclopedia."
In Su Feng's past life, the Lakers drafted Kobe because the LOGO man was blown away by his offensive toolkit during the trial workouts.
While Kobe wasn't yet the complete player he'd become, the blueprint was clearly forming.
"Su, you've gotten stronger. But watch closely—this is a move I learned from Lamar!"
In the paint, Kobe turned left with the ball, then spun back right with fluid precision.
During the ABCD camp, he'd been fooled by Lamar Odom pulling this trick more than once.
But this time? It was Su Feng's turn to fall to him and sing his praises.
Just picturing Su Feng getting destroyed thrilled Kobe for some reason.
But then—
SLAP!
Kobe's smirk vanished.
"Yo, did you learn that move too?" Su Feng grinned at him.
"This..." Bryant froze.
"Hey, don't just stand there—it's my turn to attack."
Su Feng didn't give Kobe a second to think. He knew once Kobe adapted to his rhythm, beating him would get a lot harder.
This round mattered.
Su Feng charged.
Though Kobe hadn't figured out how he'd just gotten blocked, he relaxed when he saw Su Feng still using his usual driving dribble.
"One summer break and that's all you've got?" Kobe taunted mid-defense.
Su Feng didn't respond. He backed down toward the free-throw line, ready to spin for a jumper.
Kobe lunged.
To him, the ball was dead.
Su Feng couldn't dribble anymore, so he had to shoot.
Same old pattern. Same spin-jumper.
"Cut it out!"
Kobe didn't yell that, but his panicked face betrayed his inner scream.
Except...
In that moment, Su Feng yanked the ball back.
With one hand, he held it steady, spun halfway, switched to his left, and flicked it into the basket with his fingertips.
"Beating you now is like crossing the street in the morning, Kobe."
Hands on hips, Su Feng stared Kobe down—before pulling out the surprise card he'd been saving.
Kobe: "..."
From here on, Kobe refused to back down.
He had underestimated Su Feng's level.
Say Kobe was playing at 80, and Su Feng at 75...
But Su Feng had trained for Kobe to be at 90—or even 100.
To Kobe, Su Feng looked like a 65 at best.
First mistake? Underestimating him.
Second? Asymmetrical intel.
Su Feng had watched footage of Kobe's McDonald's All-American Game and dissected his style.
But Kobe had no clue what Su Feng had built during the summer.
Lastly...
Su Feng knew Kobe way too well.
What began as online admiration evolved into firsthand understanding after a year together.
He knew how to tilt Kobe off balance. And when Kobe got thrown off emotionally, Su Feng's chances skyrocketed.
Most of Kobe's toughest games ended the same way—
Bang! Choke!
21–17!
Su Feng nearly wept after draining the game-winning three.
He'd gone from getting dunked on... to shutting down the Black Mamba himself.
"I've gotten stronger!"
This was Su Feng's first head-to-head win over Kobe. From now on, it wasn't just wins and losses—it was Su Feng stepping out of his shadow.
Well...
New season, fresh start. So past win-loss records? Reset in Su Feng's eyes.
And since Kobe didn't jot them down, they didn't count anyway.
"Alright, I'm done for today—I'm heading to bed," Su Feng said to Kobe.
But Kobe wasn't taking the loss well.
"No way. This match isn't settled!"
Kobe grabbed Su Feng emotionally, refusing to let go.
"I already won," Su Feng teased.
"Now you're not my rival anymore.
But hey, keep working—someday you'll catch up."
He patted Kobe's shoulder with satisfaction.
"If you leave now, we're not friends anymore!"
Kobe's eyes turned red—he was genuinely upset.
Su Feng knew Kobe too well. If he walked away, Kobe would take it personally.
"One more round. But first, just one game," Su Feng offered.
"No way—best of five. First to three wins," Kobe insisted.
"Fine, best of five," Su Feng sighed.
Honestly, some guys can't take a loss.
Game resumed. This time, Kobe turned up the heat—he won 21–13.
"One-one now. Let's go!" Kobe snarled.
Then...
You won't believe it.
Su Feng won the third game again.
Thinking one win was enough, he tried out a playful 'Meddy-style pull-up'—just to test a few things.
But...
Who knew Su Feng would unleash Kobe's entire emoji range during that game?
Look at the sky!
My God!
OMG!
Oh my God!
In short, Kobe was savage. But Su Feng was untouchable.
He nailed three threes. Su Feng WINS.
"Three-two. That's game," Su Feng said, glancing at Kobe, whose face was burning with frustration.
"No! One last match!" Kobe demanded, looking defeated.
"Alright. One last match," Su Feng chuckled bitterly.
…
"Su, you're nothing special—let's play another game!"
"No, no, that one doesn't count! One more!"
"Hahaha, I was tricked! Su, your defense was weak... Alright, another round!"
And so, what was supposed to be Su Feng and Kobe's "final game" stretched on from morning to noon.
Su Feng knew it was time to slow down.
Not because he was physically exhausted, or that he didn't want more 'iron value'...
But because playing like this had no end in sight.
"Let's take a break," Su Feng said, rubbing the chest that had taken a few too many elbows from Kobe.
"What? Are you scared already?"
There was no official record, but after seven or eight hours, it was clear Kobe had probably racked up more wins.
In Su Feng's previous life, Kobe had earned the nickname "King of One-on-One"—not just because of his complete offensive game...
But because when he started winning, he just wouldn't stop. If you happened to steal a round or two, you'd better brace yourself.
Su Feng knew his strengths and weaknesses well—he had no shame in facing Kobe.
In fact, he was happy to battle it out all morning—not just to measure his progress, but for the sake of their bond.
There'd be time to build more 'iron value' later. Right now, Su Feng looked at Bryant and said, "Hey, I was planning to make pizza and pasta for lunch today."
Huh?
Kobe's eyebrows perked up.
At that moment, the Mamba snake looked more like a curious house pet.
"Pizza and pasta?" For some reason, Kobe suddenly felt hungry.
"Yeah, but... forget it. What's more important, lunch or playing ball? Let's keep going!"
Su Feng reached for the ball.
"No, wait—Su, I remember now!
At the Adidas ABCD camp, the coach said we're still growing, so we must eat on schedule," Kobe said, shaking his head adamantly.
"But wouldn't that make me look like I'm backing down?"
I know you wouldn't think that—but if someone else found out...?" Su Feng said, pretending to hesitate.
"What? You already beat me plenty of times today!"
Besides, one-on-one's our thing—no one else needs to know."
After a pause, Kobe swallowed. "Let's go eat."
Su Feng smiled. Of course—what could be more important than a good meal?
Forget mastering English or taking on the world...
Su Feng recalled a story from his previous life: a Chinese team on a work trip to Saudi Arabia didn't bring a cook.
One of the planners took over the role—and by the time the job ended, the Saudis refused to let them go.
They'd gotten hooked on the meals and tripled the cook's pay. The job stayed the same, but cooking became a must.
So really, can you call yourself a basketball player if you can't cook?
If you don't know how to cook, you're not even worthy of criticism.
"Oh, by the way, how did you get so much better so fast?" Kobe asked, walking home with Su Feng.
"This summer, I was training in Orlando with Tracy," Su Feng replied.
"Tracy? That pumpkin head?" Kobe looked surprised.
"Yup, we went one-on-one every day."
"Then... who won more?" Bryant asked.
"Obviously me—otherwise, how could I stand a chance against you?" Su Feng said slyly, trying to patch things up after his earlier trash talk.
Kobe cracked up. "Tracy? He couldn't take you. I can give him three meters of space and still shut him down."
"Hey, Su—want to know what I went through at Adidas ABCD camp?"
Kobe suddenly hugged Su Feng and grinned.
You mean when you dropped the hammer and snagged MVP?
Please. That story will be repeated every time you're on TV—it's basically public knowledge.
"Lamar was way weaker than I expected," Kobe sighed.
"Oh? Didn't you say he was stronger than me?" Su Feng asked.
"No way. Every time we went one-on-one, he bailed halfway through. No challenge at all," Kobe said.
"Same with Tracy. He always gave up halfway," Su Feng nodded.
"So, Su—if you play like this in the new season, I know you'll get selected," Bryant said.
Su Feng: "..."
Bro... are you gassing me up right now?
Su Feng had felt solid before—but after getting hit with Kobe's praise...
"Maybe I should find someone to hype me again... and embrace the negativity," Su Feng thought to himself.