American Football: King of the Bay Area

”What’s next?” Lu Zhengze asked seriously. ”What are your plans now?”

Jiang Youning patted her husband’s arm and chided him in a low voice, ”Why are you bringing this up now? The game just ended yesterday, and we haven’t even finished celebrating. Besides, our son hasn’t had a single bite of breakfast. You’re going to ruin his appetite talking about things like this.”

Lu Zhengze coughed awkwardly, avoiding her gaze as he muttered, ”I’m just concerned about Ke. We have to leave after brunch, and it’s a long drive back to San Francisco. We should probably leave early, or we won’t make it back for dinner.”

”I want to enter the draft.” Lu Ke didn’t mind at all. His resolve had never wavered. He gave his parents a big, sincere smile and said, ”Mom, it’s okay. Even if Dad hadn’t brought it up, I wanted to discuss it with you both. I’m graduating this year. It’s a crossroads in my life, and even if it wasn’t today, I’d have to make a choice sooner or later.”

Strictly speaking, Lu Ke had already made his decision before the Rose Bowl.

If Lu Ke had decided to give up professional sports and become a full-time journalist, he would have had to start looking for internships right now. The NCAA season was over, so without the commitment of daily training, all his free time could be devoted to work. If he missed the window in February and March, he would fall behind other graduating seniors.

And February and March happened to be the time for the Rookie Training Camp.

So, he had to make a choice: continue pursuing a career as a professional athlete, or get a normal, everyday job. Deep down, Lu Ke knew he yearned to achieve his dream, to stand on that field and become a top Rugby Superstar. The system in his head had given him this chance, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wouldn’t miss it, and he certainly wouldn’t give up on it.

”I want to enter the draft. I want to become a professional athlete,” Lu Ke said, his voice firm.

Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning exchanged a look. Jiang Youning lowered her eyelids worriedly, hiding her conflicted emotions. Lu Zhengze took his wife’s left hand, then met Lu Ke’s firm and determined gaze. ”You know what this choice means, don’t you?”

Lu Ke didn’t rush to declare his resolve, but simply looked at his father calmly.

The competition in the college league was incredibly fierce, but the intensity of the Professional Alliance was ten times, a hundred times, or even more severe. The physical clashes, the mental tests, the pressure from the media, the fans, and the internet—being a professional player was by no means an easy job. That wasn’t even mentioning the injuries they faced, or the countless hours of training and struggle. Competitive sports are cruel, even brutal.

As a father, Lu Zhengze was instinctively worried about his son. But last night, he had personally experienced the grand spectacle of the Rose Bowl and had seen with his own eyes the moment Lu Ke shone brilliantly on that stage. He knew that this wasn’t just his son’s dream; it was his son’s life, deeply etched into his very being. ’Maybe Lu Ke was born for the big stage.’

All the words of concern swirled on the tip of his tongue before he swallowed them all. Lu Zhengze just looked at Lu Ke with focused sincerity. If Lu Ke had shown even a trace of hesitation or doubt, he would have used his authority as a father to command him to abandon this absurd idea. But he found none.

”Good, as long as you know. A professional player… once you start down this path, there’s no turning back. All the hardships you’ve faced before might seem like nothing compared to what’s ahead. Go for it, and do your best!” Lu Zhengze said earnestly. Though his words were simple, they were filled with wholehearted support.

Lu Ke was slightly stunned. He had thought he would have to go through a whole debate with his parents. After all, this was a major life decision. ’Without the Rugby Superstar System, I would still have pursued my dream, but I might not have been so certain and decisive.’ But things had gone so smoothly, unbelievably so. In his father’s simple words, Lu Ke could feel a profound sense of love and protection.

”Ke, professional athletes get injured often. You have to be careful and protect yourself. Staying injury-free is the most important thing,” Jiang Youning said, looking at Lu Ke with a face full of worry and concern.

The wave of emotion that had just washed over him quickly turned into a smile. ’Mom’s concerns are always so unique.’ ”Mom, don’t worry about me. I’ll protect myself,” Lu Ke said with a reassuring smile.

Jiang Youning chuckled softly and glanced at Lu Zhengze, her eyes seeming to say, ’Can you believe it? Our son is trying to reassure me.’ A smile appeared in both the husband and wife’s eyes. Then, Jiang Youning looked back at Lu Ke and said gently, ”Worrying about you is my job. It’s a job that started the day you were born, and it will never end.”

Warmth swelled in his heart, and he couldn’t help but laugh. ”Mom, are you sure you haven’t been watching too much of the Oprah Talk Show?” ’No wonder you’re so quick with the sappy lines.’

Lu Zhengze quietly chimed in from the side, ”I was thinking the same thing.”

Jiang Youning looked at her husband, then at her son. She thought for a moment about what she was going to say, then changed the subject. ”You know, on the way back, I’m the one picking the radio stations, right? Because you picked them all on the way here.”

Lu Zhengze blinked. He didn’t say anything, just turned to glance at Lu Ke, his expression seeming to say: ’Son, you’re on your own now.’

Unexpectedly, Lu Ke looked at his mother and said with a completely serious face, ”Mom, I think you have excellent taste. Letting you pick the radio stations for the whole trip back is definitely the wise choice.”

Lu Zhengze’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Lu Ke. ’You traitor!’

Then, Jiang Youning’s voice came from beside him. ”I think so too. What about you?” Without needing any reminder, Lu Zhengze knew exactly who she was talking to. He schooled his expression and nodded seriously. ”I agree.”

The family of three sat together, harmoniously enjoying a leisurely brunch. However, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning still had a long drive ahead of them, and Lu Ke didn’t want to delay them too much, fearing they might speed to get home on time. So, after their chat, Lu Ke walked his parents to their car, hugged them both goodbye, and watched them drive away.

After last night’s celebration, Lu Ke had originally planned to take the day off, ignoring his daily training tasks and the basic points he’d get as a reward. But after driving back to his apartment, he found himself feeling a bit too idle. After five continuous months of training, his body seemed to have adapted to the rhythm. Now that the pace had suddenly slowed, he felt out of sorts.

’What is this… Am I just a workaholic? Or a glutton for punishment?’

’Thinking about it seriously, if I’ve decided to participate in the February Rookie Training Camp and the March Alliance draft, then every second really does count.’ Although he had won two games and gained some confidence, Lu Ke didn’t let it go to his head. The reason was simple: they weren’t two complete games. An outstanding performance in one quarter was completely different from a stable performance throughout an entire game.

More importantly, he had used every trick in the book just to narrowly win those two games with his short bursts of performance. At the same time, he also became aware of his own shortcomings—it was impossible to ignore. The sea of red on his personal skill list was far too spectacular. Right now, he could only be considered an average college league quarterback, maybe even below average.

’So, if I want to get into the Rookie Training Camp, get into the Professional Alliance, and even play in a real game… maybe I shouldn’t skip training today. I should stick with the daily routine.’

But before starting his training, he needed to check his personal panel. He just remembered that after the game last night, he hadn’t had any time to check his mission completion status. To be more precise, he didn’t even know what missions he had accepted during the Rose Bowl.

He summoned the system panel in his mind, and sure enough, a series of DING DING DING sounds rang out like a symphony, a concerto. The joy of victory washed over him for a second time. Everyone loves to win, don’t they?

Opening his unread messages, Lu Ke finally read through all the mission objectives carefully. There were six missions in total. The requirements were getting more and more detailed, even including demands for pass completion percentage and number of interceptions. This was a sign of progress, but also an increase in the challenge. The good news, however, was that he had completed all six missions!

First pass, complete, +1 basic point; first Touchdown, complete, +1 basic point; 50-yard pass, complete, +1 basic point; 65% pass completion rate, complete, +1 basic point; zero interceptions, complete, +1 basic point; win the Rose Bowl, complete, +5 basic points.

Thinking back now, on that second-to-last pass, Logan had tenaciously made the catch while surrounded by three players. That had saved Lu Ke from throwing the first interception of his career. Not only did it complete the mission, but it also allowed the game to continue. It was absolutely crucial. It seemed that having outstanding partners and teammates was indeed incredibly important in the sport of football.

’Future game missions will only get more difficult. It’ll be impossible for me to complete every single one smoothly. For now, it’s fine; there’s no penalty for failure. But if there are penalties for failing missions in the future, that would be terrible.’ Lu Ke couldn’t predict what those penalties might be, but he was certain he had no interest in finding out.

’To complete the missions, sticking to my daily training is the first step. Great, now I’ve found another reason to train today. To complete the missions, I also have to keep getting stronger.’

’Right now, I have a total of… ten basic points!’ This was a huge leap. Lu Ke only just realized that the mission to win the Rose Bowl alone had rewarded him with five basic points, more than any previous game. ’Perhaps the more important and difficult the game, the greater the reward.’

’So, with these ten basic points, how should I allocate them this time?’