American Football: King of the Bay Area

”Are you sure it’s okay? Don’t professional teams require you to be disciplined? Aren’t there strict curfews and travel rules? You’ve been out on your own for so long... if your coach finds out, that can’t be good. And this is only your first year in the Alliance,” Candice said, her face etched with worry.

Lu Ke’s smile vanished. He put on a straight face and said solemnly, ”A little late to start worrying now, don’t you think?”

Candice blinked, her eyes filled with concern. But then she caught the mischievous glint in Lu Ke’s eyes and realized he was teasing. She couldn’t help but grind her teeth and glare at him in protest.

Lu Ke quit while he was ahead, his serious expression softening. ”We have two hours of free time. As soon as you get to your worksite, I’ll grab a taxi and head right back. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I seriously doubt Logan even noticed I was gone.”

”Haha, he can’t be that clueless, can he?” Candice burst out laughing. Both of Lu Ke’s college roommates, Logan and Jay, knew Candice; they had even grabbed a meal together a few times.

”This is your stop, girlie,” the taxi driver’s gruff voice interrupted their conversation. ”But there’s a huge crowd up ahead. It’s gonna be a pain to park if I go any further. Is it okay if I stop here and you two walk the rest of the way?” he asked amicably.

Lu Ke and Candice both turned to look through the windshield and saw a bustling, noisy crowd ahead.

It was an ordinary street, flanked by buildings with a vintage European architectural style. They could vaguely make out signs for coffee shops, but there were no particular landmarks. Right now, however, the intersection was teeming with people—a lively crowd of what looked like four or five hundred—all gathered to watch something.

”No problem. We can get out and walk,” Candice said, snapping out of her daze and nodding in confirmation.

Lu Ke handed his credit card to the driver, marveling, ”Are you sure this is where you’re working? Why are so many people gathered here? I thought it was just for a pictorial.”

”Uh... I’m not really sure what’s going on either. But the notice I got said the shoot was here.” The boisterous scene before them was certainly unfamiliar, and Candice hesitated. ”If the driver didn’t bring us to the wrong place, then this has to be it.”

”That’s right, girlie!” the driver’s voice rang out in protest. ”No mistake about it! Trust me, I know every street and alley in Philadelphia like the back of my hand. I’ve lived here my whole life, there’s no way I’d get lost. This ain’t New York, where every street looks the same and has zero character.”

Everyone assumes the East Coast cities are all buddy-buddy, but in reality, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia have more of a love-hate relationship, constantly roasting and looking down on each other. In contrast, the West Coast cities—San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle—are much friendlier with one another.

”I believe you, with all the trust a man from San Francisco can have for a man from Philadelphia.” Lu Ke took back his credit card and patted the back of the driver’s seat. He and Candice then got out of the car, closed the doors, and walked off.

The driver, still in his seat, paused for a moment, mulling over Lu Ke’s words. A spark of realization flashed in his mind. He immediately scrambled over to the passenger seat and yelled through the window, ”Hey, you’re that kid of Chinese descent from the San Francisco 49ers! Right? Right! I listened to the game on the radio today, you played great! The game was really amazing!”

The driver’s random shouting earned him strange looks from passersby on the street. Just then, he saw Lu Ke raise his right hand and give him a thumbs-up. This made the driver roar with laughter. ’What an interesting guy.’ He then settled back into his driver’s seat, released the handbrake with satisfaction, and drove off.

Strictly speaking, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers weren’t bitter rivals.

What’s more, in Week 2 of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers had defeated the Dallas Cowboys—the absolute arch-nemesis of the Philadelphia Eagles. To Eagles fans, that made the 49ers a perfectly likable team. Of course, the most important thing was that the Philadelphia Eagles had won their game today.

Lu Ke and Candice walked side by side. The closer they got to the swelling crowd, the louder the din became. A cacophony of chattering and bustling voices rose and fell, and they could clearly feel the excitement and elation radiating from everyone. Even if you weren’t curious, you couldn’t help but quiet your own conversation to see what all the fuss was about, which was how the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.

Lu Ke shot Candice a confused look. She just gave him an innocent look back and spread her hands, indicating she had no idea either.

”Candice!” A voice called out from not far behind them. Candice and Lu Ke both turned to see a delicate woman approaching gracefully.

Her figure was stunning and her posture poised. She wore a simple white t-shirt and sky-blue jeans, with a light brown suede jacket draped over her shoulders. Slender, royal-blue high heels accentuated her long, shapely legs, and her long hair was tied back in a high ponytail, revealing a sweet, lovely face.

”Hey, Miranda!” Candice broke into a wide smile and jogged over to greet her. They exchanged cheek kisses and a warm hug. ”What are you doing here? Am I late?”

”No, no, I was just grabbing a coffee. God, I slept terribly last night.” The woman raised her right hand to rub her temples, her fair, slender fingers elegantly poised. Every little gesture exuded a unique and captivating feminine charm.

By comparison, Candice was frank and direct, her free-and-easy demeanor giving her a cool, sunny, tomboyish air. This kind of overt feminine charm was something Lu Ke rarely saw from her, at least.

Candice seemed to sense Lu Ke’s inner monologue immediately. He was always telling her to be ”more ladylike.” Whenever he met one of her more distinctly feminine friends, he’d always make some crack about it. Candice was long used to it, so she shot him a look that clearly said, ’Shut up!’

Lu Ke put on an innocent expression, as if to say he had no idea what she was talking about.

The woman standing nearby immediately caught their silent exchange. With a charming smile, she asked, ”Candice, and this is...?”

”Oh, this is Lu Ke, my friend. Lu Ke, this is Miranda Kerr, my colleague,” Candice said, making the introductions.

Miranda Kerr was one of the most high-profile models for Victoria’s Secret. Last year, she had married Orlando Bloom, the Elf prince from *Lord of the Rings*, and had given birth to a son at the beginning of this year. In less than eight months, Miranda had somehow already gotten her figure back and returned to work.

”Luke?” Miranda said, her pronunciation a little uncertain as she gave him a polite and friendly, questioning look.

Lu Ke shook Miranda’s right hand. ”It’s Lu Ke. Just drop the pitch on the last part, and that’s the correct pronunciation.”

”Lu Ke,” Miranda repeated. Her pronunciation was still a little off, but she was much closer. Lu Ke spread his hands in a gesture like an exploding firework. ”A pleasure to meet you.”

Miranda gave a little ladylike dip of her chin and smiled brightly. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

”Miranda, what in the world is going on here? Why is there such a huge crowd?” The noisy din interrupted their conversation again, and Candice turned her attention back to the scene, asking curiously.

Miranda just chuckled. ”Because Adam Levine is visiting the set. You know how crazy Maroon 5 fans can be. He came specially to see Anne. She’s on this shoot too, you know?”

Anne Vyalitsyna, the Russian supermodel, was also a Victoria’s Secret model. She was dating Adam Levine, the lead singer of the pop-rock band Maroon 5, and their relationship was very public and widely known. It was worth noting that the two had met at a *Sports Illustrated* swimsuit party—

The very reporter who had been giving him a hard time earlier today worked for *Sports Illustrated*.

Lu Ke and Candice both had looks of dawning comprehension. Candice, however, was clearly used to it. She shrugged and mouthed a single word: ”Constantly.” Lu Ke got the message. It seemed Adam visiting Anne on set was a frequent occurrence, one they had all grown accustomed to.

”Erin is on this shoot too, but thankfully *her* special someone didn’t drop by, or it would probably be even crazier here,” Miranda said meaningfully, winking at Lu Ke and Candice. But she didn’t gossip any further, leaving it at that. ”I’m heading in. You coming?”

”Yep, I’m heading in too.” Candice patted Lu Ke’s arm. ”Take care! Keep crushing it in the next game! I believe in you!” After speaking, she gave Lu Ke a playful wink, then hurried to catch up with Miranda. The two stunning women walked off, eventually disappearing into the swelling crowd.

After watching Candice and Miranda leave, Lu Ke didn’t linger. He turned back toward the street and, after a brief wait, hailed a taxi. Just as he opened the door, someone shot out from the side, trying to snatch the cab with lightning speed—

—or what he probably considered lightning speed. To him, he must have seemed incredibly fast.

But to Lu Ke, the guy was moving in slow motion. He simply reached out his right hand, gave a gentle tug, and caught the man by the shoulder. ”Hey, pal. This is my cab. If you need one, wait for the next.”

The man whipped his head around, ready to argue, but then he saw a tall, powerfully built giant standing beside him like an iron tower. An overwhelming sense of pressure washed over him, leaving him dumbstruck and flustered.

”Ryo! Ryo!” A burst of passionate, frantic shouts erupted from behind, closing in like a thunderclap.