American Football: King of the Bay Area

Candice studied Lu Ke intently, her crystal-clear eyes openly examining every subtle change in his expression.

Her bold and direct gaze made Lu Ke’s skin crawl. He spread his hands helplessly. ”Two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. It’s been seven months, but I don’t think I’ve turned into an alien yet.”

Candice let out a soft chuckle. ”I knew it. You’re definitely fine. Bambi isn’t so easily defeated.”

Lu Ke was left speechless for a moment before he laughed. ”So, you wrapped up your busy schedule and made a special trip to Los Angeles just to say that?”

For the better part of the past year, Candice’s work schedule had been incredibly packed. First came the Spring/Summer runway shows for the big four fashion weeks, followed by the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show—her first time on that stage. Then there was a heap of invitations for magazine shoots, and after that, the Autumn/Winter runway shows for the big four fashion weeks again...

She was so busy she barely had time to breathe, her feet never touching the ground. The two of them had only kept up with each other’s lives through back-and-forth emails, complaining about the trivial things around them. Despite not having seen each other for a long time, there wasn’t a trace of unfamiliarity or distance between them.

Candice nodded emphatically and said crisply, ”Yep!” Her straightforwardness left Lu Ke speechless again, and he chuckled. Candice continued, ”Remember? The first time I went to an audition, the casting director tore me to shreds...”

”Of course, I remember. It was an audition for Gucci during New York Fashion Week, right?” Lu Ke’s memory was perfectly clear and accurate. ”You were crying your eyes out, snot and all...”

”Bambi!” Before Lu Ke could finish, Candice’s hand shot out and grabbed his neck—though not forcefully—abruptly cutting him off. ”It’s enough that you know. You don’t have to bring it up every single time, okay?”

Candice gnashed her teeth menacingly, then let go and continued, ”Back then, the casting director berated me, said I was worthless. She thought I was too fat and would never find work in the modeling world. Then you told me that giving up is the easiest thing in the world, anyone can do it, but persevering is different. Because perseverance requires ten times, a hundred times the strength to reach the finish line.”

A wide smile bloomed on Candice’s face. She turned her head and looked Lu Ke in the eye. ”So, I believe that for those teams that didn’t pick you, those teams that passed on you, it’s their loss. They have no idea what an amazing player they’ve missed out on. In the future, they’ll definitely be kicking themselves.”

”Just like Gucci?” A smile played on Lu Ke’s lips, and he let out a soft laugh. This year, Gucci had invited Candice to walk in their Paris Fashion Week show.

Candice pressed her lips together and shook her head repeatedly. ”No, no, I accepted Gucci’s invitation. I’m just a minor model right now; I’m in no position to turn down Gucci.”

The contrast between her fierce words and her practical actions made both Lu Ke and Candice burst out laughing.

Looking at the brightly smiling Candice before him, Lu Ke felt as if he could almost capture the warmth of the sun. He said, sincerely, ”Thank you.”

Lu Ke knew that Candice’s schedule was still packed, so much so that she barely had time to sleep. But she had still rushed back to Los Angeles at the first opportunity to show her support.

Candice winked her right eye, a playful glint in her gaze, and joked, ”If you can’t be useful at a critical moment, what’s the point of having a friend like that?”

Lu Ke pressed his lips together, the smile hidden in his eyes, and said with a straight face, ”In that case, I think we should stop being friends.”

”Hey!” Candice bumped Lu Ke’s shoulder with her own, feigning strong disapproval, but the expression lasted less than half a second before a smile graced her features. ”Are you still training every day?”

”Yeah. Not just to maintain my condition, but to improve it. Next, I’m hoping to find a tryout opportunity and then seize it.” Lu Ke explained simply. ”You, of all people, should understand.”

Models and professional athletes are the same; they have to stay on their toes every single day, maintaining their condition at all times. For a model, watching their diet, exercising, and staying in shape is every bit as difficult as it is for a pro athlete.

During Lu Ke’s freshman and sophomore years of college, Candice had lived in Los Angeles for eighteen months, and her apartment was only four blocks away from his house. The most common thing they did was exchange their training schedules and daily diet plans, then train together and complain together.

That continued right up until Candice moved to New York for her career.

The race and competition when they met today wasn’t unfamiliar to them; it felt more like a slice of their ordinary daily life.

”Well then, I’ll cross my fingers for you. Hope you can use a little bit of luck.” Candice raised both hands, crossing the index and middle finger on each one in a gesture of prayer.

Lu Ke also raised his hands, beaming as he made the same gesture. ”What about you? How many days are you staying in Los Angeles this time?”

”One night.” Candice gave a huge stretch, easing the fatigue in her body. ”I have to head to New York tomorrow. Two magazine shoots are waiting.” But then, a big smile spread across her face. ”Still, I can take a good break and relax for now. So, what do you say? Are you ready to start training? I can be your ball boy!”

”Then we’d better hurry. A free ball boy—can’t pass up an opportunity like that.” Lu Ke winked and joked. Then, one after the other, they walked down from the stands, playfully roughhousing as they dove into their training—real training, no joking around.

On the path to chasing a dream, having a companion to walk alongside you, supporting and encouraging each other, means you’re never lonely or alone. That is happiness.

The next day, Lu Ke personally escorted Candice to the airport and watched as she boarded the plane to New York. Afterward, his life returned to its previous track.

Starting from May 1st, Lu Ke had been constantly monitoring news about tryout camps. The subsequent three months became the most arduous, hectic, and grueling period of his life.

The first tryout opportunity came from the Washington Redskins. It seemed the interview he had during the Rookie Training Camp had some effect after all, as they were the first to send him an invitation. So, he crossed the entire North American continent, driving the long journey from San Francisco to Washington, only to be cut after just three days at the Redskins’ tryout camp.

The feeling of emptiness was truly hard to describe. But that was only the beginning. The waiting, the long waiting—that was the most painful part.

With no other tryout opportunities, Lu Ke could only return to Los Angeles. He continued working on his graduation thesis on one hand, while on the other, he kept up his training at the university with Anthony’s help. Day after day, the waiting began to feel like torture. Even when he forced himself not to overthink, the moment he relaxed to rest, or as he was falling asleep at night, his brain would only need to idle for a second before a torrent of chaotic thoughts would surge uncontrollably—

’So what if I have the system? Without enough time, I still can’t become Superman. This isn’t Spider-Man, where one spider bite is all it takes to transform. If I had gotten the system a year earlier, would things be different now? Could I have been drafted on skill alone and be tearing it up on the field right now?’

Lu Ke knew these fantasies were meaningless; there were no ”what ifs” in the real world. But the waiting process was just too long, and controlling his own thoughts was no easy task.

After a full three-week wait, the second tryout opportunity finally arrived. By now, a whole month had passed since the draft. This chance came from the St. Louis Rams, thanks to a message from Adam Klein. Once again, it required crossing half the North American continent, but Lu Ke eagerly jumped into his car and made the long drive without hesitation.

This tryout lasted a bit longer—a full two weeks. Every day, Lu Ke trained with the team’s backup players and went through all sorts of quarterback-specific drills. In a daze, he felt like he was back in his college days as a practice player. His daily life became structured, and it almost seemed like he was a member of the Rams Team.

But the dream bubble was quickly burst. The Rams Team still passed on him, deciding he wasn’t their choice. Dejected, Lu Ke returned once again to Los Angeles.

Calming himself down, Lu Ke threw himself wholeheartedly into the hustle and bustle of his thesis defense. This allowed him to temporarily forget the frustrations of being an undrafted rookie, return to his identity as a student, and hold onto the tail end of his youth, enjoying these last carefree, wonderful moments.

After his defense was over, he waited a while longer before more teams began holding tryouts: first the Kansas City Chiefs, then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and finally, surprisingly, even the Dallas Cowboys.

Before the preseason officially began, teams were all making their final moves. This period became Lu Ke’s busiest time, running back and forth between various cities, but all his frantic efforts ended in nothing. All three teams rejected Lu Ke. The biggest chance, surprisingly, had been with the Cowboys. The team known as ”Team USA” was in desperate need of a third-string quarterback, but after all the back-and-forth, Lu Ke still missed out.

And then... there was nothing.

The so-called preseason is an arena for teams to constantly refine tactics, switch up lineups, and evaluate players. Winning and losing doesn’t matter; what’s important are the concepts in the coach’s mind and the chemistry between the players. Over the four quarters of a single game, the lineup on the field might be different in every quarter.

The whistle for the preseason was about to blow, and an undrafted rookie was still an undrafted rookie. This meant the great ship of the season was slowly pulling away from the harbor, and Lu Ke had already missed his chance to get on board. It seemed as though every little clue was hinting at the same thing: this was it, this was all, this was the end.

’So what if I got the system? In this land, a player of Chinese descent doesn’t get the corresponding opportunities, nor the corresponding recognition. The obstacles are stacked one on top of another; it’s harder than climbing to heaven.’

Another new day, another routine training session. To be honest, Lu Ke no longer knew what the point of his continued training was. But out of habit, he began his daily training tasks once more. It all seemed to have become a part of his body.

After finishing his training and showering, he opened his locker and casually picked up his phone. Only then did he discover he had a shocking fourteen voicemails. Startled, Lu Ke opened the first message, and a familiar yet strange voice came from the other end of the line:

”Hey, Lu Ke, this is Kip Kester...”