In February, during the penultimate game of the regular season in the ACC league, Wake Forest hosted the Maryland Terrapins.
This was supposed to be an ordinary college game.
But before the game, Paul was unusually excited.
The reason was...
The man adorned with titles like "Chosen One," "The King," and "Hammer of Akron" had carved out precious time from his busy NBA rookie season journey to be a guest at this game.
According to Paul himself, his friendship with LeBron James began at the 2003 McDonald's All-American Game.
"Actually, we heard about each other long ago.
In that game, I delivered several brilliant assists to him, and he ignited the entire arena with one explosive dunk after another."
In the locker room before the game, Paul excitedly shared with his teammates the story of how he met James.
"It's unbelievable, I never expected him to come watch me play today."
Indeed it was unbelievable — upon entering the court and seeing that remarkably mature face on the sideline, Qin Yue had this to say in his heart about the just-turned-19-year-old James.
As someone who had been through it, Qin Yue understood well what the name LeBron James would mean for the NBA in 20 years.
Generally speaking, future basketball enthusiasts would describe him as "the longest river in the NBA."
And at this moment, his true portrayal was that of high spirits.
Qin Yue noticed that even wearing casual attire today, James exuded an aura of kingly dominance visible to the naked eye.
No wonder he was the man who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 17 — Qin Yue thought to himself.
Inside the arena, as they were about to approach and chat with James, Paul suddenly grabbed Qin Yue and said, "Come with me."
Then, after a pause, Paul looked up and added, "With you here, I feel more confident."
Clearly, this was not yet the Paul in Qin Yue's memory who was known by James as "our friendship transcends time, starting with our mutual appreciation in the game."
Regarding James' visit today, Paul felt both excited and a little nervous inside.
Yes.
Even though freshman Paul had already learned how to stay calm in the face of changes...
At this moment, he was still just a young man who would only turn 19 in three months.
In sharp contrast to Paul at this moment, however, was James' subsequent proactive and warm demeanor.
His words gave Qin Yue the illusion that he and Paul were already friends of many years.
But in the next moment, inadvertently, he would use his words, skilled in the ways of the world, to remind Qin Yue that today, he took time specifically to cheer for Paul.
In just a few minutes of small talk, Qin Yue knew that James had most likely already won Paul over.
Because while giving Paul enough face, James also used what seemed like casual yet perfectly timed reminders to make Paul owe him an unspoken great favor.
"LeBron, I'm truly amazed that you could come today, thank you for taking the time to watch my game." After another heartfelt embrace with James, Paul said.
From attraction at first sight to speaking from the heart, if Qin Yue remembered correctly, the friendship between Paul and James entered a period of rapid development in the following year.
At this moment, feeling somewhat redundant, Qin Yue originally wanted to leave the stage to James and Paul...
But unexpectedly, James turned the topic to him in the next second, "Are you the 'Principal'? I've heard of you, I heard even the 'Landlord' has to pay rent in your defended area."
A truly heartwarming comment — meeting James' gaze, Qin Yue realized that His Majesty the King had evidently come well-prepared today.
"Don't be nervous, brother, I consider Chris a good brother, and since you are his closest teammate, you can totally consider me one of your own." Patting Qin Yue's arm, as hard as steel, James laughed.
Clearly just a small talk opener to close distances, but paired with James' warm actions and his current status...
For a moment, Qin Yue felt that even he was almost won over by James.
This opening, James first elevated his and Paul's relationship to good brothers.
Then, he made himself out to be one of Qin Yue's own.
His Majesty the King's intention to recruit the Wake Forest twin stars was crystal clear.
In fact, if you know James well, you would realize that he had started laying plans for his future early on.
Whether it was the business empire he would one day establish...
Or the vast network of "LeBron's brothers" in the future, every time Qin Yue flipped through the autobiographies of contemporaneous NBA stars, he was surprised to find that LeBron James always appeared just at the right moment, like a fated benefactor.
Like Paul at this moment.
Qin Yue remembered clearly that James would not only offer Paul various suggestions from an experienced perspective in the upcoming year but also play the role of a psychological counselor when Paul hit setbacks on the college court, helping him out of the shadow of defeat.
Regarding the friendship between Paul and James, Qin Yue wouldn't choose to doubt it, but he also didn't want to get involved.
So, upon noticing the figure of Rachel Carrell appearing in the arena, feeling that he had found a savior, Qin Yue quickly found an excuse and sprinted over to Rachel's side.