American Football: King of the Bay Area

A graduation yearbook. That was certainly an interesting idea. Gradually, Lu Ke became less resistant to the special mission; thinking about the reward made him even more proactive.

”Buddy, either you’ve been trying to avoid me, or I look so repulsive that you refuse to be my friend.” A deep, resonant voice buzzed by his ear. Lu Ke turned his head and saw JJ Watt with a wry smile, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

Lu Ke was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. ”I’ll chalk it up to quarterback instinct. After all, not long ago, you were trying everything you could to take me down.” This time, Lu Ke didn’t avoid him, instead walking over and sitting diagonally across from Watt.

”Come on, you jumped over my head,” Watt said, sitting up straight. He wore an expression of deep resentment, seemingly still hung up on the final offensive play of the Rose Bowl.

”Guilty as charged.” Lu Ke raised his hands in surrender, crisply admitting his ”mistake.” After all, he was the one who had the last laugh at the Rose Bowl.

Watt was stunned for a moment, then shook his head slightly and broke into a laugh. Losing the Rose Bowl, and by such a slim margin, had left a lingering sense of defeat. But seeing Lu Ke, so poised and magnanimous, Watt couldn’t help but let it go. ”What were you up to just now? I think you must be the man of the hour at the Rookie Training Camp today!”

A Chinese-American quarterback was already a center of attention, and Lu Ke had taken the initiative, warmly and kindly making friends. Some people liked it, some didn’t. Some accepted it, some resisted. Not everyone could get along with Lu Ke amicably, but regardless, Lu Ke had certainly made his presence known.

”And here I thought the Rose Bowl was enough to put me in the spotlight.” Lu Ke’s humor made Watt laugh out loud. Lu Ke then brought the topic back, ”I’m conducting a little experiment to see how many new friends I can make at the Rookie Training Camp, given that I’m Chinese and also a quarterback. I’m guessing this might be the worst possible combination.”

Watt couldn’t stop laughing. ”So how many friends have you made so far? What’s the number?”

”Uh…” Lu Ke opened his phone and looked at the data on his photo wall. ”Eighty-three. Whoa, that’s a bit more than I expected. I thought fifty at most. So, how about it? Want to take a picture with me?”

”I was starting to think you’d never ask,” Watt said eagerly. ”I’m still looking forward to getting into the Alliance and either intercepting your pass or sacking you.” The beaming smile, paired with the threatening words, gave off a kind of friendly menace.

”Clown.” A disdainful, mocking voice came from the side. Turning his head, he saw a conspicuous head full of dreadlocks.

”Then that makes you the circus monkey?” Lu Ke retorted immediately, not backing down. ”I thought you weren’t interested, but you followed me all this way? Trailing behind a clown... I guess a monkey is the best choice. Or would you rather be a duck or a little white rabbit?”

Richard Sherman, a cornerback for the Stanford University Defense Team. In the season opener that had just ended, Stanford University thrashed UCLA with a shutout. Richard was one of the key players in that game.

A few minutes earlier, Lu Ke had been having a pleasant conversation with Prince Amukamara, a cornerback from the University of Nebraska. Richard had interjected himself into their conversation, disdainfully mocking Lu Ke as a ”nobody.” He’d also said, ”I never even heard your name during the game, but then again, the entire Brown Bear Team had no names worth remembering.” He believed Lu Ke’s actions today were nothing but contemptible grandstanding.

Lu Ke couldn’t be bothered to talk to someone like that and retorted powerfully, ”If you don’t like it, you can get lost. If there’s no room in the hotel lobby, there’s plenty of space in the parking lot out back. You should be able to find your place there.” Faced with Richard’s incessant trash talk, Lu Ke simply replied, ”Sorry, who are you?” It was a casual remark, but it dealt Richard a fatal blow.

Faced with Lu Ke’s powerful attack, Richard flew into a rage from the humiliation and nearly rolled up his sleeves to start a fight. Even though a fight didn’t break out, it came close. He got forehead to forehead with Lu Ke, roaring and spraying spittle as he yelled.

”I’m the best cornerback in this sport! If, and I mean if, you dare to throw a ball in my direction, I guarantee you’ll pay! Don’t test the best, ever! Or I’ll shut him up real quick! Right, what am I even talking about? You’re just an undrafted player, here as a fan. We’ll never have a chance to play against each other in the future. Really, why am I wasting my time?”

After saying his piece, Richard ignored any rebuttal from Lu Ke and turned to leave on his own, just as inexplicably as he had appeared.

To his surprise, Richard circled back and approached him again. Lu Ke was utterly baffled, unable to understand Richard’s train of thought at all. This time, he didn’t hesitate or back down, firing right back at him.

Words were barely exchanged before Richard clenched his fists and lunged forward. Lu Ke, however, didn’t back down. He shot to his feet to meet him, his own presence just as intimidating.

Lu Ke was actually a bit taller than Richard, but Richard had a stronger build, and his thuggish, street-gang-like aggression came crashing down. Lu Ke, however, didn’t show any weakness. He clenched his fists, poised and ready for a fight at any moment.

Just then, Watt, who had been sitting nearby, also stood up. His towering, sturdy frame planted itself in front of Richard like a wall—imposing and unstoppable. The entire dynamic of the confrontation shifted.

Richard sized up the situation and took a small step back. He looked at Watt and muttered, ”He’s just trash. The guy standing next to you, he’s a nobody, trash, a grandstanding clown! A clown!” He kept backing away as he spoke, finally raising both hands high and shouting, ”TRASH!”

Everyone in the hotel lobby turned to look at Richard in confusion.

”What’s with that guy?” Watt asked, hands on his hips, confusion written all over his face. He clearly didn’t understand what had just happened.

The problem was, Lu Ke didn’t understand what happened either. ”You know, the side effects of being the center of attention? Some people love you, some people hate you. I guess I’m already starting to experience the life of a top superstar.”

”You’re saying he’s jealous?” Watt’s question made Lu Ke pause. When he realized Watt was serious, Lu Ke couldn’t help but laugh. ”Although I have no idea what he has to be jealous of me for... yeah, I guess he’s jealous.”

First Cam Newton, now Richard Sherman. The Rookie Training Camp hadn’t even started, and there was already constant friction. Lu Ke originally thought he’d just fly under the radar, but it looked like he was already a powder keg. Lu Ke increasingly felt that the special mission wasn’t meant to make him universally loved, but to turn him into a hedgehog.

”Now, where were we?” Lu Ke brought the conversation back on track.

Watt caught the amusement in Lu Ke’s tone and snapped his fingers. ”The picture!”

Lu Ke and Watt stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Just before the shutter clicked, the on-field tough guy actually stuck out his tongue and made a face, making it hard not to laugh.

Sitting on the sofa after uploading the photo, Lu Ke casually opened the system in his mind and looked at the mission page. The completion progress had now changed to ”22/30.” He obviously still had a ways to go to finish the mission, but the key point was that the progress had just been ”21/30.” What did that mean?

Lu Ke looked up at Watt. ’So, Watt is a future potential superstar recognized by the system?’

”What’s up?” Watt noticed Lu Ke’s strange look and asked in confusion.

Lu Ke opened his mouth, then the corners of his lips curved up in a slight smile. ”I was just thinking that you’re probably going to be the man of the hour at the training camp in the next few days. I’m just seizing my last chance before the reporters surround you.”

’Thinking back to the Rose Bowl game, to that final pass... I actually managed to complete it under Watt’s relentless pursuit. That was absolutely phenomenal! Maybe I still have a chance at the Rookie Training Camp, even if my physical conditioning still needs work.’

He patted Watt’s shoulder. ”I’m going to continue my photo mission. What about you? Any plans?” Lu Ke couldn’t wait to complete the special mission.

”Uh, the hotel has a gym, and there’s a training field next to it. I was thinking of doing some simple basic drills in a bit,” Watt said seriously. His dead-serious expression showed he wasn’t joking in the slightest.

Lu Ke paused for a moment. ”You know what? I was also planning to head to the training field for some basic drills in a bit. Could you wait for me? You know, some quarterback drills need a partner; I’m sure some Defensive End drills need a training partner too.” Lu Ke hadn’t neglected his daily training mission, sticking to it every day. He had just been worrying about how to complete today’s session.

”Really?” A genuine smile appeared on Watt’s face, and he nodded repeatedly. ”Of course! Of course! Anytime. Training with two people is always more fun than training alone.” Watt looked left and right. ”Uh, I’ll just sit here. How about you come find me after you’re done?”

”No need, you can head to the gym first. I’ll meet up with you there after I’m done.” Lu Ke shrugged. ”I can guarantee my workout load isn’t as big as yours. Maybe you need a little more time.” The teasing tone made Watt laugh cheerfully.

After a busy afternoon of going around, he had taken and uploaded photos with a total of one hundred and thirty-three players, finally completing all the requirements of the special mission. But Lu Ke didn’t even have time to check his reward. He jogged all the way to the gym to meet up with Watt and start his daily training mission for the day.