Yao Ming opened his eyes and woke up from his sleep. He looked at the sky outside the window, and it was pitch black.
The digital clock by his bed showed that it was 8 PM, while the watch next to it also showed 8, but it was 7 AM.
He hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet. From Shanghai to New York, there was precisely a 12-hour time difference, with day and night reversed, because he was in a country on the other side of the globe.
This place was not unfamiliar to him; it wasn't his first time in America. Due to training and competitions, he had come here every summer since joining the national team, to this basketball kingdom.
He used to frequently go to Portland, which is the holy land of Chinese basketball and the home team of Chinese fans. Yao Ming and his companions grew up watching the Trail Blazers' games. After he started playing basketball, his dream was to play for the Trail Blazers in the NBA; he wanted to wear Portland's jersey.
