Chapter Twenty-Three: Clepsydra

Gan Guoyang launched a surprise attack on Chen Yaoming. He still had a vivid memory of the look on Chen's face at the shop the day he first arrived in this time. With Huang Shaohua present, Chen Yaoming found it hard to refuse and had no choice but to grit his teeth and offer a thirty-percent discount on the rent for the Gan Family Restaurant. It was clear that Chen Yaoming truly loved basketball; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Chen Xing to a basketball summer camp.

As per Mr. Huang’s suggestion, a banquet was held the following day at the restaurant to host various guests, and the business finally got on the right track. Surprisingly, the star of the banquet was not Gan Guoyang, but the head chef, Gan Youwei. Mr. Huang’s grand banquet gave him the perfect opportunity to show off his skills. Dishes like Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck, Pagoda Meat, Wensi Tofu, and Braised Yellow Croaker in Soup were all world-class. With just one outing, he stunned the local Chinese community, who hadn't tasted authentic Chinese cuisine in a long time, as well as several Americans. They realized that Chinese food was far more than just sweet-and-sour pork, cheap Yangzhou fried rice, or various stir-fry medleys; authentic cooking was truly profound and vast. After this success, both Gan Youwei and the Gan Family Restaurant made a name for themselves, and they no longer had to worry about business.

On August 17th, the high school semester began in California. Gan Guoyang continued his high school career at North Overseas Chinese High School in San Francisco. Located on Sacramento Street in Chinatown, the school was founded in 1921 and celebrated its 60th anniversary that year, comprising elementary, middle, and high school divisions. The architecture was distinctly Chinese, featuring a two-story pavilion with white walls, green tiles, and red pillars at the entrance, with the characters for "Chinatown Charity Hall" carved into the wall and a plaque reading "North Overseas Chinese School" above the main gate.

On the first day, Gan Guoyang became the center of attention for the entire school; it was hard not to notice him given his height. Although it was a Chinese school, there were students of other ethnicities, including Vietnamese, Mongolian, and Japanese, as well as a few Black students, though there were no white students. Once Gan Guoyang arrived in his classroom, he didn't even need to introduce himself; the students and teachers already knew who he was. For the first time, he experienced what it felt like to be a celebrity.

The school’s curriculum was bilingual. From elementary to high school, Chinese was a required subject, using textbooks compiled by Jinan University for overseas education. As a university student who had once passed the rigorous 985 entrance exams in his previous life, Gan Guoyang found the American 12th-grade curriculum quite easy, aside from the minor language barrier and the initial unfamiliarity. Everyone, from the teachers to the principal, was friendly toward him. During breaks, students from other classes would occasionally drop by to "scout" him, much like girls in a teen romance drama flocking to see the school heartthrob. When school ended, Gan Guoyang opened his locker and found several letters, one of which was even sealed with a kiss.

After the women’s liberation movements of the 60s and 70s, girls in the 80s were quite proactive and open-minded. It wasn't rare for girls to pursue boys, and the local Chinese girls were no exception. However, Gan Guoyang had no interest in these young girls. He tucked the letters into his bag without ever opening them; his mind was entirely focused on the basketball team practice.

Because land in Chinatown was incredibly valuable, the school occupied only a limited plot, leaving no room for a gymnasium. Consequently, the basketball team trained and played at the Chinatown YMCA Sports Center, located four blocks away. The YMCA had deep roots in basketball—Dr. James Naismith invented the game while working at a YMCA in Springfield, and many early basketball games were organized by the association. The Chinatown YMCA had a long history; while the facilities were a bit dated, they were comprehensive, featuring a court, a pool, a gym, and a martial arts dojo. The Zhi Rou Martial Arts School, founded by Chen Weiming—a disciple of the renowned Republic-era master Sun Lutang—had once operated a branch there. Legend had it that in the 60s, they were involved in the private duel between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, a fight whose mysterious outcome remained a subject of controversy to this day.

Chen Xing told Gan Guoyang these stories on the way to the sports center, but Gan simply took them as interesting anecdotes. He was more concerned with who his teammates and coach would be. He already knew two of his teammates: Chen Xing and Gan Guohui. Thinking of them, he couldn't help but worry about the team's future and performance. As for the coach, Chen Xing didn't know, guessing it might just be a PE teacher or the athletic director.

When they arrived at the sports center, the basketball court was already surrounded by students from North Overseas Chinese High School, all there to see Gan Guoyang play. They wanted to see exactly what level this Chinese basketball star from San Francisco was at. Gan Guoyang wasn't stage-frightened. He used the opportunity to warm up, and after changing into his training gear, he opened with a graceful dunk that drew screams from both the boys and girls on the sidelines. In this era, TV broadcasts and recordings weren't widespread, and the internet didn't exist, so many people had to see games in person to appreciate them. For a high school team, having a player who could dunk truly made him a one-in-a-hundred star. Gan Guoyang’s dunking style was fluid and elegant, and his raw power made his dunks look both effortless and forceful, possessing a sense of composed beauty. Unlike some players who could jump high but dunked stiffly—relying only on two hands or needing to hang on the rim to maintain balance—his style was far superior.

After a series of dunks, not only were the students watching intently, but his teammates stopped their warm-ups, leaving the court clear for Gan Guoyang to put on a show. Just as Gan Guoyang finished a self-pass-off-the-backboard dunk, bringing the atmosphere to a climax, a sharp whistle cut through the excitement.

"Everyone not on the basketball team, get the hell out! Now! Immediately! Cover your asses and leave without looking back! Move!"

Following the thunderous shout of "Get out," the students scattered instantly. In an instant, only the eleven team members remained in the gym. Gan Guoyang noticed that the person blowing the whistle was none other than Bobby Bellman.

"Coach Bellman, what are you doing here?"

"I’m here to learn how to cook from you, believe it or not."

"Then you should go see my dad; he’s the one who’s good at that."

"To hell with that, I’m good at basketball. From today on, I’m the coach of the Chinatown North Overseas... fuck, what’s the name of your team again? Someone tell me!"

One player shouted, "Clepsydra!"

"What? Clepsydra? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It’s a water clock, a traditional Chinese timekeeping tool. It symbolizes precision and punctuality, and water also represents flexibility and wisdom."

Bellman put his hands on his hips and grumbled, "Why not call it the Dragons, or the Pandas, or Tom Yum Goong or something? Clepsydra! God, what a word..."

Gan Guoyang replied, "Mr. Bellman, Tom Yum Goong is Thai food, not Chinese."

"Fine, I got it. Stop lecturing me on Chinese elements. Water Clock—the name’s not bad! Precision and punctuality, those are things I live by. Ladies, I assume it’s time for practice."

"You have ten seconds to line up in front of me!"