On the day before the game, Hansen and Swift appeared together at a café in New York City Center.
Swift was dressed in a beige long coat and wore an orange duckbill cap, her golden, slightly curled long hair hung like two waterfalls beside her fair face.
Her pink lips, tall and delicate nose, and especially those uniquely ice-blue eyes.
The first impression she gave Hansen wasn’t that of a goddess, but rather more like the girl next door.
Having lived in the United States for many years, Hansen had come to understand American culture quite a bit.
The word "date" often implies something between two lovers back home, but here, it could also just mean simply having a meal.
That was also why Hansen had said he would give it a try.
His previous comments had gone viral, and although it was more of infamous popularity, it was still popularity after all.
For a female star, having a buzz was certainly something to consider capitalizing on. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
Especially since Swift, although popular, still had a significant gap from the top few celebrities.
So, letting Thomas contact Swift’s agent, the two of them meeting up for a meal, and stirring up some news while the iron was hot seemed like a possibility.
As for what followed, there were no rules saying that you had to become boyfriend and girlfriend after a date.
Of course, Hansen wasn’t entirely sure if Swift would agree initially because, considering the status of the two, he was the one who stood to benefit more.
Furthermore, a female star of Swift’s caliber usually had a packed schedule.
But now, Swift was right in front of him.
"Have you listened to my songs?" Swift’s voice had a magnetic quality that was different from the sweet sound of her singing.
"Most of them." Hansen actually enjoyed Swift’s music quite a lot.
The closest connection he had to Swift before was that he had purchased a VIP membership on QQ Music for her songs.
"Really?" What Hansen didn’t expect was that such a simple answer would instantly make Swift as happy as if she had eaten candy.
Seriously, were big stars that easily satisfied?
"Love story," "Fearless," "You Belong With Me"...
To prove himself, Hansen started listing some of Swift’s song titles.
He wasn’t speaking quickly, not because he was trying to recall the names, but because he was careful not to blurt out a song that Swift hadn’t released yet, which would have been a bit embarrassing.
Fortunately, at this point in time, there were plenty of Swift’s songs that were popular hits, so he didn’t need to worry about running out of names.
Listening to Hansen list her song titles one by one felt to Swift like he was reading off a menu, her eyes growing brighter until she finally reached out her palm to him.
Hansen caught the look in her eyes and realized she wanted a high five.
It was this brief touch that quickly relaxed Hansen’s nerves, which had been a bit tense until then.
Suddenly, he found Swift to be quite easygoing.
After the meal, Hansen felt a bit of fondness for Swift.
Of course, this fondness wasn’t romantic, but a pure appreciation for her character.
Having a friend like Swift would indeed be a joyful thing.
After the meal, the paparazzi outside also got the photos they wanted, and it was time for them to part ways.
Before sending Swift off in her car, Hansen couldn’t resist asking her the question he was most curious about:
"Why did you accept my invitation?"
In their conversation, Hansen learned that Swift had even pushed back an event to come.
After saying this with a smile to Hansen, Swift bent down to get into her car.
Just before the car started, Swift even rolled down the window and waved goodbye to him.
It wasn’t until the car had driven off that Hansen came back to his senses.
What kind of courage did he show? He had just wanted to ride Swift’s coattails for some negative popularity.
But reflecting on the conversation during the meal, he might understand what Swift meant by courage.
Swift seemed like a simple, somewhat romantically fanciful young girl.
But Hansen involuntarily shook his head at the thought.
Was it really possible to find a pure white lotus in the entertainment industry’s dye vat?
Hansen didn’t know, nor did he need to know.
They probably wouldn’t meet again anyway.
"Hansen’s Private New York Meeting with Swift."
Without needing a lavish title, when TMZ released the news the next day, shockwaves hit both the entertainment and basketball worlds.
That toad really did manage to dine with the swan, can you believe it!
Hansen’s negative popularity predictably soared once again.
Because of the rapid increase, Hansen watched his negative popularity break the two hundred thousand barrier.
And right after breaking that barrier, he immediately exchanged it for the "Fadeaway Talent" he had been longing for.
[Giant Slayer]: A talent that enhances the soft touch of fadeaway shots, balance abilities, and control over abrupt stopping during drives.
Hansen hadn’t paid much attention before, but now looking closely, he could see that the names of these skills in the system were quite meaningful.
[Star Catcher], [Wave Riding Skill] were straightforward ones.
But like [Eagle Eye], an eagle’s eye is a scope for catching prey, which perfectly corresponds to outside shooting.
Or [Giant Slayer], fadeaways are often used when a smaller player challenges a bigger one.
If you’re driving and encounter someone like Redick, who would bother with a fadeaway when you could just dunk over them!
The successful exchange right before the All-Star game settled one of Hansen’s concerns, relaxing his mindset quite a bit.
Having learned the details of fadeaways from Wade, and now with the enhanced talent, what Hansen needed to do was to train his fadeaway shot to its limit.