Chapter 380 - 350: Tailed by Paparazzi

John glanced at his colleague and friend, Jason, who was dressed in a denim jacket. Jason was great at everything, but he had one flaw. To put it nicely, he was a white supremacist. To put it bluntly, he was a racist.

In his articles, with the exception of the very top-tier athletes, those of other races were always portrayed as utterly incompetent. White athletes, on the other hand, were praised to the heavens.

Although Jason never used explicitly racist terms, many people could still see the difference in how he treated athletes.

"Jason, you head to the Staples Center first. I’m going to follow them and get some shots! Opportunities like this are rare! This is the first time Emma has been so out in the open!" John lowered his camera, pulled a hamburger from his pocket, and began eating it quickly.

Jason pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and said reluctantly, "What’s so great to photograph?"

John was excited. "Emma got an Asian boyfriend. Isn’t that explosive? If you saw this headline, wouldn’t you click on it to see more?"

This time, Jason didn’t let his personal feelings interfere and answered objectively, "I’d definitely click on it to see what the situation is."

John said smugly, "And then the Asian guy’s identity can be a whole other story!"

Hearing this, Jason gave John a thumbs-up. "Fuck! John, you can milk two stories out of one photo! That’s our John!"

John kept his eyes glued on the situation inside the shop. Seeing Wu Yun and Emma stand up, he immediately yelled, "Fuck! They’re leaving!"

As he spoke, he shoved the hamburger in his hand into Jason’s. "You go to the arena first. I’ll be right behind you."

He discreetly covered his camera with his jacket, stood up, and prepared to follow the couple as soon as they came out.

A moment later, Wu Yun and Emma emerged from the shop.

Just as John was about to follow, he saw two large men fall in behind them. His target even exchanged a few words with the two men.

Then, one of the large men, who appeared to be Asian, walked ahead and began to lead the way.

John was somewhat relieved he was still some distance away. Otherwise, those two bodyguard-like men would have spotted him long ago.

Years on the job had taught John some surveillance skills. Coupled with the heavy foot traffic on the pedestrian street, Wu Yun’s group completely failed to notice John tailing them from a distance.

John followed them to a public parking garage.

Using the cars for cover, John saw that Emma and Wu Yun were heading in the same direction. Suppressing his excitement, he carefully turned on his camera.

The moment the bodyguard opened the car door for the two of them, John rapidly pressed the shutter, taking a dozen or so snapshots in quick succession.

After that, John put his camera away, went to the garage exit, and got into a taxi that was waiting in a line by the curb.

The young Black driver flashed a wide, white-toothed grin. "Hey man! Where to!?"

John first glanced at the exit, then pointed to the black G-Wagen paying at the gate. "Bro! Follow that car, but be careful not to get spotted!"

The young Black man’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t help but ask, "Man! Are you with Fu Bole? This is exciting!"

Listening to the young man’s rap-like question, John resignedly pulled out his press credentials. "I’m a reporter! I’m working!"

As a seasoned Los Angeles taxi driver, the young Black man instantly understood John’s profession. "Tch! So you’re paparazzi!"

"Hold on tight! The name’s Little William, and it’s not for nothing! I’ve tailed gangbangers before! A couple of little celebrities are nothing!"

With that, the taxi immediately whipped into a sharp U-turn and fell in behind them a few cars back.

John’s mind was completely focused on the road, his eyes locked on the black G-Wagen. He didn’t even hear the young Black driver’s constant chatter next to him.

’But the further we go, the more I feel like something is off,’ John thought. ’This doesn’t seem like the route to a hotel.’

Seeing many fans in Lakers jerseys in the surrounding cars, John could confirm that this was the road to the Staples Center.

Disappointed, yet also relieved, John took out his phone and called Jason to tell him he would probably get to the Staples Center first.

After Wu Yun and Emma got out of the car, Emma led the way with practiced ease. The two of them quickly entered the arena through the VIP entrance.

Watching as they got closer and closer to the front, Wu Yun couldn’t help but ask, "Emma, are our tickets for the front row?"

Emma turned back with a smile. "Of course. A friend of mine gave them to me."

Emma didn’t say which friend, and Wu Yun didn’t ask. He assumed it was one of her player friends.

Soon, they found the seats matching their ticket numbers and sat down.

By this time, the arena was gradually filling up and was about half full.

There was no sign of the players from either team on the court; they were probably still in their locker rooms.

Even though the game hadn’t started, the court area was a flurry of activity.

John waited outside the arena for Jason to arrive, and only then did the two of them get in line at the entrance with their tickets.

"What happened? You lose them?" Jason asked curiously.

John shook his head. "Didn’t lose them. They went in first through the VIP entrance!"

"No problem! If they’re in the VIP section, their seats will definitely be up front. We’re not far from the VIP seats, so we should be able to find them easily!" Jason said, patting John’s shoulder.

"I hope so!"

The two of them waited in line for quite a while before finally getting to their seats.

John impatiently sat up straight and cast his gaze toward the VIP seats.

Luckily for John, he looked up and immediately spotted the couple sitting at the edge of the court on the opposite side.

The bad news for John, however, was that many of his colleagues had their lenses aimed at the laughing couple.

"Fuck!" John pulled out his camera and started snapping photos.

News is all about timeliness, so John planned to return to the office immediately after the game, upload the photos he took today, and write up the copy for his editor.

Seeing the gossipy expressions on his colleagues’ faces, the initially nervous John relaxed a little, because he remembered he had photos that they didn’t.

Even if someone else published first or caught them on a live broadcast, he still had more photos that were far more valuable.

The game started right on schedule.

Wu Yun had always been very interested in basketball. He often played with his classmates in high school and watched the NBA in his spare time.

But being there in person today, Wu Yun felt a completely different sensation than watching on TV. The back-and-forth score and the tense atmosphere in the arena were infectious.

After all, it was the Lakers’ home court. Every time they scored a basket, thunderous applause erupted from all around. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch, especially when Kobe got the ball.

With a fadeaway jumper from Kobe, a three-pointer was instantly in the bag.

"Great shot!" Wu Yun sat up straight, excitedly applauding.

Just then, the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the first quarter.

On the other side of Blue Star, during the morning in Huaxia, people watching the live broadcast noticed something interesting. In between the action, the national television camera often panned to a man and a woman sitting courtside.

In front of their TVs or watching the online stream, many people recognized Wu Yun.

"Holy shit! Isn’t that President Wu Yun!?" someone posted in the bullet comments.

Of course, only a minority of people knew who Wu Yun was. Confused viewers started asking questions like, "Who’s Wu Yun?" and "What does Wu Yun do?"

Naturally, many others below were quick to provide the details.

And so, more and more people learned about Wu Yun.

"What I want to know now is, who’s that Western chick next to Wu Yun? Why does she look so familiar? Is she a celebrity?" After all, gossiping was a pastime many people enjoyed.

"User above! Have you never seen Harry Potter? You don’t even recognize Hermione?"

"Gotta say, President Wu has some serious game! He even managed to hook up with a Hollywood star! I wonder if she’s the girlfriend he mentioned before!"

Instantly, the comment section was derailed.

Someone else chimed in, "I just looked her up. I think this Hermione is okay looking, but her chest is too small!"

"I think so too!"

"Come on, guys, weren’t we talking about the Lakers?"

"Eh! The Lakers have this win in the bag! Let’s talk about something else."