American Football: King of the Bay Area

”Bambi, check out the hottie!”

”No, there’s a handsome guy too!”

”Looks like Bambi is casting a wide net, what an appetite!”

...

The teasing and jeers were endless, but Lu Ke wasn’t flustered at all. He just turned back and shouted to his teammates, ”I think instead of worrying about other people, you should be worrying about your own asses.”

That comeback immediately sent everyone into roaring laughter. From the crowd, Logan’s voice could be heard piling on, ”Marcus, you’ve got the best ass on the team, better watch out.” At that, the laughter exploded completely. Having just won the most important game of the year, everyone was joking, everyone was messing around, everyone was celebrating.

Lu Ke left his teammates and walked to the side. Jay came right up and punched him hard on the shoulder. ”Dude, what an incredible game! What an incredible pass! Wow! Amazing, all of it was just amazing! You’re the man, the man leading the Bruins forward!”

Lu Ke studied Jay earnestly, then said with a look of resignation, ”Alright, spit it out. What do you want? Did you get in trouble again?” The implication was clear: he and Jay weren’t close, and Jay only ever sought him out when he needed help with some mess he’d made.

This wasn’t the reaction Jay had expected. He froze, then stammered, ”Hey... bro, wha... what’s up? I just, uh, just came over to interview you. You know, since, well, you just, just now...”

Seeing Jay’s flustered and helpless state, Emily noticed the glint of amusement in Lu Ke’s eyes and instantly understood. Their gazes met for a second, a silent ”I know that you know” flashing between them, and involuntarily, they both burst out laughing.

Jay was completely dumbfounded. He looked at Emily, then back at Lu Ke, and it slowly dawned on him: this was all a prank by Lu Ke, and he had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. He had taken it seriously and ended up the butt of the joke. Rendered speechless, Jay rolled his eyes. ”Great. You and Logan are two of a kind. The second you see a pretty girl, you ditch your bro.” After saying that, he even feigned a hurt expression.

Unfortunately for him, Emily wasn’t buying it. She extended her right hand toward Lu Ke. ”Hi, I’m Emily, the editor-in-chief of the school paper.”

Lu Ke ignored Jay as well, shaking her hand. ”Hello, I’m Lu. A nobody.”

”Haha. If you’re a nobody, I think every fan in the Rose Bowl would disagree.” Emily gave a charming smile, looking at the tall young man before her.

His frame was slender, a bit lean for a football quarterback, but he stood tall and straight like a young pine. He had a head of damp, black hair, with well-defined brows and clear eyes, like a crystal-clear lake. His light gaze was full of wisdom and spirit, as if you could see stars falling within them.

Then Emily saw him shrug, a nonchalant expression on his face. ”Alright, then. Who am I?”

Emily’s mouth fell slightly open. She hadn’t expected that she, a reporter, would have the tables turned on her so deftly. It made her lift her chin slightly, a stubborn glint appearing in her eyes as if her competitive spirit had been ignited. She had to admit she’d lost the first round, but she wasn’t ready to surrender.

”I know you’re number eleven. You’re the team’s backup quarterback. In the game just now, you threw for four touchdowns and led the Bruins to victory over the Trojans! I know that right now, you’re the biggest hero on campus! And you’re only the second quarterback to do that in the last ten years.”

Emily rattled on, laying out all the information she had, then blinked. ”Right now, the entire campus is trying to figure out who this superstar hero is! What has he been through? Why has the team kept him hidden until now, only letting the whole school get to know him today! That’s why Jay and I came over.”

Lu Ke pressed his lips together, tucking his chin slightly. ”So, what you’re saying is, I’m a nobody. Which means my self-introduction just now was accurate.” Lu Ke could see Emily’s brow furrow slightly, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Then he raised an eyebrow, as if lost in thought. ”Wait a minute, don’t tell me you still don’t know my name? I just introduced myself.”

Emily could taste the mischief in Lu Ke’s words. She opened her mouth, trying to spit out the answer and refute him sharply, but... she couldn’t.

It seemed like a trap. His introduction was just ”Lu,” not his full name. So, even if she answered with his surname, it would still be a failed response—because she truly couldn’t remember number eleven’s first name. She’d been rushed into this without having time to do her homework, a cardinal sin for a reporter.

But, how had she gotten herself into this predicament? Emily couldn’t quite remember. A smile involuntarily spread across her face. ”Mister, you should quit while you’re ahead. Don’t push your luck, or you’ll be destined to be single for life.”

Lu Ke raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, wiped the smile from his face, and said in a completely serious tone, ”Alright then, throw whatever questions you have at me. I’m ready to answer.”

Looking at Lu Ke, Emily had a strange feeling. He was the one who had surrendered, so why did she feel like she was the one who had lost? ”Fine. First question...”

The interview began, but it lasted less than ten minutes. This was just an article for the school paper, not a feature for ESPN or the Los Angeles Times. They needed a story, an introduction, and a piece of the miracle. That was enough.

A Chinese-American quarterback, when UCLA had never even had an Asian quarterback in its history. A practice squad quarterback, and a player who only barely made the team in his third year after being cut for two consecutive years. A backup quarterback who only got his spot on the depth chart before the start of his fourth year because two other quarterbacks were unexpectedly absent from training camp. A relief quarterback, thrown into the game as a last-ditch effort by a helpless coaching staff after the starter was injured...

Any one of these descriptors would have been enough to rock the entire campus. Now, all of them had collided and converged on a single person.

This was Lu Ke! This was the answer to the question on everyone’s mind—who on earth was he? The rookie who had appeared like a comet, the backup who had thrown four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback, the hero who had defeated the school’s archrival. His very existence was a legend, a myth, a miracle, like something out of a fairy tale!

Watching Lu Ke’s retreating back, Emily couldn’t help but sigh, ”Who on earth is he?” After saying it, she couldn’t help but laugh. ”I don’t mean his name, his identity, or his history... but where in the world did he come from? Jesus Christ, he’s like a genie out of Aladdin’s Lamp!”

Standing beside her, Jay grinned smugly. ”Emily, remember? At the beginning of the season, you said no one would pay attention to that Chinese-American backup player, that no one would care about that news report.”

”What?” Emily’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. She grabbed Jay by the collar, her voice fierce and urgent. ”He’s *that* Chinese-American backup?”

That news story from five months ago hadn’t made a single ripple. Emily had long since forgotten about it. Now, suddenly connecting the dots, the tidal wave of shock in her heart was impossible to contain. After getting an affirmative answer from Jay, a curse slipped out before she could think. ”God! God! God!”

Seeing Emily’s utter shock, Jay felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

It was the end of the semester. Predictably, starting tomorrow, the entire campus would be in an uproar over this game. Every student would be buzzing with excitement, and Lu Ke would be at the center of the storm—the first Chinese-American quarterback in the history of the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins, had made his spectacular debut!

Jay gave Emily a slight smile and lifted his chin. ”I forgot to tell you, Lu Ke is a journalism major too.” After that, Jay turned and swaggered away.

After so many shocking blows, Emily actually started to laugh. At least one piece of the puzzle had fallen into place: why his comebacks were so quick, why he was so eloquent, why she had been so easily talked in circles.

The main thing was, Emily’s memory was coming back now. The fragments in her mind were fitting together. They were both seniors; they had been in several classes together. She even had a rather strong impression of him. He was frequently late to certain classes, looking for all the world like a foreign student who wasn’t serious about his studies, but his end-of-semester reports were always outstandingly brilliant. She had even asked about his name back then.

Lu Ke.

Now Emily finally remembered his name. At the time, she had even remarked to herself how those students from China were so smart, seemingly able to complete their coursework without breaking a sweat.

Karma. Payback. It had all come back to her now. Emily couldn’t help but chuckle, and the more she thought about it, the funnier it became, until she was laughing brightly. Life was a funny thing. Maybe today’s article wasn’t the end of the story; maybe it could continue. It was just that the NCAA season was over, and his four-year college football career had come to a close. If the story were to continue, it would have to be in the professional leagues!

At that thought, Emily’s mood brightened. She had a hunch that maybe, just maybe, she’d see that guy in the professional leagues someday. Who knew?

Back in the locker room, all his teammates had gone into the showers. Lu Ke didn’t rush to join them. Instead, he sat down on a bench, savoring the victory he had just achieved—a hard-won victory. Then, he summoned the system in his mind—

The game was over. The mission was complete. Now it was time to reap the rewards! The moment he summoned the system, a series of DING! DING! DING! notifications chimed incessantly, like a beautiful and moving symphony. He loved winning, and he loved moments like this.