Reputation is quite important

"Ah—"

"Hahaha—"

Seeing his little ruse uncovered, Carlos covered his embarrassment with a smile, while Cindy laughed along, thinking Carlos was just teasing her and didn't think much of it.

But the speaker was unintentional, and the listener was intentional.

Cindy's statement about not being blood-related to Carlos was not lost on him—he heard every word and remembered it well. First, he was startled by Cindy's call; second, chatting with her dispelled the ambiance for watching "The Ring 2." So, he decided to stop watching the movie and talked on the phone with Cindy for a while before hanging up.

As someone who had crossed over into this parallel world, Carlos knew that it was broadly similar to his original world but with some variations and differences. Therefore, he wouldn't foolishly question why Cindy said they were not blood-related, though he could now confirm there was no blood relation between them.

After his conversation with Cindy, Carlos called his mother Shirley to learn more about Cindy's past and understand more about this future star whom he was fond of.

"Hello, mom."

"Is that my Carlos?"

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"I just finished teaching my morning classes and am resting in the office. You're calling me while I'm in the tea room."

"Oh... that's good that you're resting. By the way, mom, you know Cindy came to visit me for Christmas, right?"

"Mm-hm, did you take good care of your Cindy?"

"Of course. Cindy is getting prettier as she grows up, even though we're related by blood. How come our looks are so different?"

"Hehe!"

Shirley laughed, "Your cousin Cindy is indeed pretty, a true beauty from art school. But my son is no less. Carlos, you are tall and handsome. Also, don't forget, you two are not blood-related, so what you said is not correct."

"Ah! Right, right."

Carlos laughed and nodded, "I've been calling Cindy for so long, I almost forgot. But it seems like the acting path isn't easy. Cindy, being so beautiful, still can't get good roles."

"Yeah..."

Shirley agreed and continued, "But it's also because Cindy has her principles. She doesn't have the resources and connections and doesn't want to start with eye-catching dramas to quickly boost her popularity. She wants to rely on her talent. That means waiting for opportunities. Every industry is deep, and without connections, even with looks and talent, it's not easy to get noticed. But I have to say, she is indeed good and excellent. I wish I had such a daughter."

Shirley was very fond of Cindy and talked non-stop about the past: "Your father and Cindy's father were best friends since their school days and remained very close friends even after they established their families. Unfortunately, both passed away early in an accident, and Cindy's mother and I decided to take care of each other's children, like relatives. That's why you have such a beautiful and talented 'cousin.' Also…"

Shirley, who had no classes in the morning, talked about a lot, and Carlos learned that Cindy's mother, Himena, was a lawyer with a decent income. That was why Cindy could afford to attend an expensive art school.

From these two calls today, Carlos learned many things he didn't know before, and he was delighted to have confirmed that he and Cindy were not blood-related. Earlier in the conversation with his mother, he had vaguely heard that there was no blood relation between him and that Cindy he had yet to meet, but he was uncertain. Now it was completely confirmed, and he felt free to pursue Cindy with a clear conscience.

Beep beep beep...

After hanging up the phone with his mother and with the time approaching midnight, Carlos, in a good mood, prepared to rest. But then... another call came in.

From Austin, his agent.

"Hello, Austin!"

"Carlos, sorry if I disturbed your rest. But I need to tell you, if you have time tomorrow, let's talk about a car endorsement."

"Car endorsement?!"

Austin hadn't mentioned this before, and Carlos, already eager for a car, was immediately excited.

"Yes…"

Austin chuckled, "At first there was only one offer, but now there are several dealerships who want you to endorse their cars. Tomorrow we'll check them out and choose one.

After all, it's your first endorsement.

And you are at a time when your popularity is rapidly increasing.

Reputation is quite important. So… I suggest you choose to endorse just one car brand, which would be better. Of course, if you want to take them all, theoretically there's no problem."

"Uh…"

Carlos thought it over and agreed with Austin's suggestion.

...

The next day…

Today is the first day of the New Year 2011, and also New Year's Day.

At 10 a.m.

While Carlos was still asleep, the NBA, on this festive day, when everyone else was resting, announced the Player of the Month for the previous month.

Who could it be?

This instantly sparked interest among fans, who flocked to see, and it immediately stirred up a lot of discussion!

"wow—Western Conference Player of the Month goes to the Suns' rookie center… Carlos!"

"amazing!"

"my god, a rookie season Player of the Month, how dominant is that?"

"Since the 79/80 season, only 'Larry Bird' has won the Player of the Month during his rookie season in the recorded NBA history.

Remember…

It's Player of the Month, not Rookie of the Month. Carlos, who won the Western Conference Player of the Month, became the second player in NBA history to receive this extraordinary honor. It's indeed a remarkable achievement."

"Fake… It must be fake, right? How could a rookie like Carlos?"

"Yeah, why didn't Deron Williams, who won last month's Western Conference Player of the Month, continue his streak? Why didn't Kevin Durant, who had great individual stats this month, get chosen?"

"Why not? As everyone knows, Player of the Month is judged based on individual stats and team record. So... even though the Lakers and Thunder had decent records last month, and Kobe and Kevin's stats were okay.

When put together.

Deron Williams of the Jazz was the best player, that's why he was chosen for Western Conference Player of the Month, and although the Spurs were first in the standings, the 'GDP' did not stand out enough individually, so none of them received it.

In the East, there was no suspense, given to LeBron James of the Heat, who started with ten straight wins.

And Carlos, actually played very well last month, but the team record was too bad, although it wasn't much related to him, it still made him lose in the awards.

This month is different.

Carlos averaged 41.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.8 steals, and 4.2 blocks per game, not to mention leading the team to an unbeaten record for the month.

I want to say… with these stats and records, rookie or not, Carlos is without a doubt the Western Conference Player of the Month!"