"What's next?" Lu Zheng-ze asked seriously. "What are your plans now?"
Jiang You-ning patted her husband's arm and whispered, "Why are you talking about this now? The game just ended yesterday, and we're not even done celebrating. Besides, our son hasn't even had a bite of breakfast yet. Talking about this now is just going to ruin his appetite."
Lu Zheng-ze cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away, muttering to himself, "I'm just concerned about Lu Ke. We're going to leave after brunch. It's a long drive back to San Francisco. We should leave early so we don't miss dinner."
"I want to enter the draft," Lu Ke said, without hesitation. His mind was made up. He gave his parents a big smile and said sincerely, "Mom, it's okay. Even if Dad didn't bring it up, I wanted to talk to you about it. I'm graduating this year. This is a crossroads in my life. Even if it's not today, I'll have to make a choice sooner or later."
Strictly speaking, Lu Ke had already made his decision before the Rose Bowl.
If Lu Ke decided to give up on professional sports and become a real journalist, he would have to start looking for an internship now. The NCAA season was over, so he wasn't tied down by daily training. All his free time could be dedicated to work. If he missed this window of February and March, he would fall behind other graduating students.
February and March were precisely the time for rookie training camps.
So, he had to choose between a professional athlete's career and a normal one. Deep down, Lu Ke knew he wanted to achieve his dream, to stand on that field and become a top football superstar. The system had given him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he wasn't going to miss it or give up on it.
"I want to enter the draft. I want to become a professional athlete," Lu Ke said with determination.
Lu Zheng-ze and Jiang You-ning exchanged glances. Jiang You-ning lowered her eyelids, hiding her mixed emotions. Lu Zheng-ze held his wife's left hand and met Lu Ke's determined and persistent gaze. "You know what this choice means, right?"
Lu Ke didn't rush to state his resolve. He just looked at his father calmly.
The competition in college sports was incredibly fierce, but the professional league was ten, a hundred, or even more times more intense. The physical confrontation, the mental challenges, and the pressure from the media, fans, and the internet. Being a professional athlete was by no means an easy job, not to mention the injuries they faced and the countless hours of training and fighting. Competitive sports were cruel and bloody.
As a father, Lu Zheng-ze instinctively worried about his son. But last night, he had personally experienced the grandness of the Rose Bowl and had witnessed Lu Ke's brilliant moments on that stage. He knew that this wasn't just his son's dream but his son's life, deeply ingrained in his blood. Perhaps Lu Ke was born for the big stage.
All the words of worry that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. Lu Zheng-ze looked at Lu Ke with focus and sincerity. If Lu Ke had shown even a hint of hesitation or doubt, he would have, as a father, ordered him to stop this absurd idea. But, he failed.
"As long as you know. Once you start down the path of a professional athlete, there's no turning back. All the hard work you put in before might not even be worth mentioning. Do your best!" Lu Zheng-ze said with sincerity in his simple words.
Lu Ke was a little stunned. He thought he would have to argue and persuade his parents. After all, this was a life-altering decision. If it weren't for the football superstar system, he would still pursue his dream, but he wouldn't be so certain and resolute. But things went so smoothly, more smoothly than he could have imagined. In his father's simple words, Lu Ke could feel a deep sense of care.
"Lu Ke, professional athletes often get injured. You must be careful and protect yourself. Staying away from injuries is the most important thing," Jiang You-ning said with worry.
The emotion that had just welled up in him turned into a smile. Sure enough, his mother's focus was unique. "Mom, don't worry about me. I'll take good care of myself," Lu Ke said with a reassuring smile.
Jiang You-ning chuckled and looked at Lu Zheng-ze, her eyes seeming to say, "Our son is now reassuring me." Both parents smiled. Then, Jiang You-ning looked at Lu Ke again and said softly, "Worrying about you is my job. That job started the day you were born and will never stop."
The warmth in his heart swelled up, and Lu Ke couldn't help but laugh. "Mom, are you sure you're not watching too much 'Oprah'?" That's why the life advice was so ready.
Lu Zheng-ze chimed in without a word, "I think so too."
Jiang You-ning looked at her husband and then at her son. The words that were on the tip of her tongue changed. "You know, on the way back, I get to choose the radio station, right? Because you chose it on the way here."
Lu Zheng-ze blinked and said nothing. He just turned to look at Lu Ke, as if to say, "Son, you're on your own."
To his surprise, Lu Ke looked at his mother and said seriously, "Mom, I think you have excellent taste. It's a wise choice for you to pick the radio station for the whole trip."
Lu Zheng-ze's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Lu Ke: You traitor!
Then, Jiang You-ning's voice came from the side, "I think so too. What do you think?" This "you" didn't need a reminder. Lu Zheng-ze knew who she was talking about. He put away his expression and nodded seriously, "I agree."
The family of three sat there, enjoying a leisurely brunch together. However, Lu Zheng-ze and Jiang You-ning had a long drive ahead, and Lu Ke didn't want to delay them too much, which might cause them to speed to get back on time. So, after their chat, Lu Ke walked his parents to their car, hugged them goodbye, and watched them leave.
After the celebration last night, Lu Ke had planned to take the day off and not worry about his daily training or the base points from his missions. But after driving back to his apartment, Lu Ke found that he was too idle. After five months of training, his body seemed to have adapted to that rhythm, and suddenly slowing down felt strange.
Was this what you call a workaholic? Or was he just used to working hard?
Thinking about it seriously, if he decided to participate in the rookie training camp in February and the league draft in March, then every second counted. Although he had won two games and gained confidence, Lu Ke wasn't getting ahead of himself. The reason was simple: these weren't two full games. A brilliant performance in one quarter and a steady performance in an entire game were two completely different things.
More importantly, in his short time in those two games, he had used every trick in the book and barely won. At the same time, he also realized his shortcomings—he couldn't ignore them. The "red" in his skills list was a magnificent sight to behold. He was only an average quarterback at the college level, and perhaps even below average.
So, if he wanted to get into rookie training camp, get into the professional league, or even play in a real game... Maybe he shouldn't skip training today. He should continue with his daily training.
However, before he started training, he needed to check his personal stats. He had just remembered that after the game last night, he didn't have time to check his mission completion, and more strictly, he didn't even know what missions he had received during the Rose Bowl.
He called up the system panel in his mind, and a series of "ding-ding-ding" sounds came through, like a symphony or a concerto. The joy of victory came over him for the second time. Everyone loved winning, and he was no different.
He opened the unread messages and carefully read all the mission options. There were a total of six missions. The requirements were getting more and more detailed, with even requirements for passing completion rate and interception count. This was a step forward, but also an increase in the challenge. But the good thing was, he had completed all six missions!
First pass, completed, one base point added; first touchdown, completed, one base point added; 50-yard pass, completed, one base point added; 65% passing completion rate, completed, one base point added; zero interceptions, completed, one base point added; won the Rose Bowl, completed, five base points added.
Thinking back, that second-to-last pass, where Logan made a tough catch in a triple-coverage, prevented Lu Ke from throwing his first career interception. Not only did he complete the mission, but he also allowed the game to continue, which was absolutely crucial. It seemed that having great partners and teammates was incredibly important in football.
Future missions would only get harder, and he couldn't expect to complete every one of them successfully. It was fine for now, as there was no penalty for failing a mission. But if there were penalties for failing a mission in the future, that would be bad. Lu Ke couldn't predict what the penalties would be, but he was sure he wasn't interested in finding out.
To complete the missions, sticking to the daily training missions was the first step. Good, he had found another reason to continue training today. To complete the missions, he also had to keep improving himself.
Now, he had a total of... ten base points! This was a huge leap forward. Lu Ke just realized that the mission to win the Rose Bowl had rewarded him with five base points, which was more than any other game before. Perhaps, the more important and difficult the game, the more the reward.
So, with ten base points, what should he add this time?
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