The young, bouncy fan was jumping up and down, waving his arms, beaming with excitement and joy. His voice was almost uncontrollable. "Lu Ke, God, why are you at our school? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"
As he spoke, without waiting for Lu Ke's response, he started roaring, "Whoa! Whoa!" His clenched fists and tense muscles clearly showed his excitement. Words had failed him, and he could only cheer and shout continuously to vent his excitement.
As the person in question, Lu Ke was caught off guard. He had never encountered such a situation before.
Although the school had been lively for a while after the game against the University of Southern California, that was during final exams, and the excitement only lasted for a few days before it died down. Strictly speaking, Lu Ke's professional career had just begun, and his name recognition and face recognition were still at a rookie level.
Suddenly, a fanatical fan appeared in front of him. Lu Ke was slightly stunned. Then, looking at the delirious fan, he found the humor of the situation more than the touching sentiment. It was really hard not to laugh.
"Sam? What are you talking about? Why can't I understand you?" Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore. He put his hands on the fan's shoulders and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? Calm down, calm down, take a deep breath. What's going on?"
"QB! QB!" The fan pointed at Lu Ke and shouted repeatedly.
"Quarterback!" More than one person answered. Four or five people said it at the same time. The fan's over-the-top actions quietly shifted the attention of the crowd. Even Mark looked over with a confused expression.
The fan nodded repeatedly and continued to say, "The QB." This was only one word more than before and a completely meaningless one at that. There were so many quarterbacks in the league, college, high school, and their own lives.
Suddenly, someone had a realization. "Ah! Sam, are you talking about the 49ers' quarterback?" The fan jumped up and down, nodding his head repeatedly. The others were still confused. The person who had the realization explained for the fan. "He's the quarterback we've been talking about for the past two days!"
"Oh. The quarterback who beat the Seahawks and the Cowboys?" The crowd suddenly understood. It seemed that the recently concluded second week of the regular season was still one of the hottest topics in San Francisco. One of them said, "But isn't that quarterback a Chinese-American? And he looks so thin..."
His words were cut off there. Everyone turned their heads and saw Lu Ke standing in front of them.
"Huh, he is indeed Chinese-American, and he does look like the quarterback on ESPN... Jesus Christ!" The exclamation came to an abrupt halt. The faces of the people twisted in shock, their mouths were wide open as if their jaws were about to dislocate, and their eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
Mark, who was standing at the front, panicked instantly.
More than two-thirds of his friends were in a state of shock, and the other third was also distracted, whispering to each other about what was going on. They were here to cause trouble, but now it seemed that the situation was not looking good.
"Hey, hey! Guys! What's wrong?" Mark turned around in a panic, trying to snap his friends out of it. But before he could, a person quickly ran over, grabbed his arm, and said in a sweet voice, "Mark, let's go dance. I've been looking forward to this!"
It was Jenny.
Mark was a little overwhelmed and didn't even have time to hug Jenny and explain the situation. Then he saw two more people following her, and his expression immediately became serious. He straightened his back, put on a chivalrous pose, and tried to build up his momentum to face the newcomers.
"Julia? I think things here are getting a little out of hand. How about we leave first?" Lu Ke bent down and whispered in Julia's ear.
Julia noticed the helplessness in Lu Ke's eyes and couldn't help but smile. Then she deliberately leaned closer to Lu Ke's ear and whispered, "What, you're not going to watch the show? That's our school's quarterback, Francis, Jenny's boyfriend. They had a fight before the homecoming dance, apparently because Jenny's cheerleading teammate and the quarterback were getting a little too friendly. So Jenny chose Mark as her date..."
As she spoke, Julia noticed Lu Ke rolling his eyes. She couldn't finish her sentence and burst into a giggle.
Lu Ke shrugged. He didn't need to ask or dig deeper. He could figure out the general plot. It was just high school drama, and he wasn't interested at all. "How did I not know you were so gossipy?"
Julia didn't say anything, but she smiled, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous glint.
Lu Ke immediately understood. Julia wasn't interested in the gossip. She was deliberately staying here to make him suffer. "Ha! Ha!" Lu Ke laughed twice. "My lady, don't forget that I'm just helping out tonight. Are you really trying to play tricks on me? I'm leaving now."
"Sorry, sorry," Julia said, grabbing Lu Ke's arm. "Let's leave now. I'm guessing their soap opera will last for a while."
At this moment, Jenny puffed out her chest and said loudly, "Francis, why are you still bothering me? Don't you have a new date? I'm going to dance with Mark now. Please leave me alone, okay?"
Looking at her "ex," Jenny put on a show of superiority, determined to make him look bad. Mark was her trump card. He was handsome, had a good physique, and she heard he was also a good student—otherwise, why would a good student like Julia have chosen him as her date?
She looked at Francis Bailey provocatively, her eyes filled with contempt, ready to enjoy his humiliation. But Jenny was disappointed. Francis looked confused. "This is the only way to the dance floor. I'm not bothering you. Why do I feel like you're doing this just to show me?"
Francis looked tall and strong, a typical athlete, but his mind was very sharp. He cleverly saw through Jenny's scheme, even though the scheme didn't have much strategy to begin with.
Francis shook his head speechlessly and was about to go around the group of people when Jenny's sharp shout came from behind him. "Francis! Stop right there!"
Francis reflexively stopped, not because of Jenny, but because of the two "passersby" next to her. Their surprise was completely undisguised. They stared with wide eyes, then took a step forward. "Lu Ke! You're Lu Ke, right? My God! You really are Lu Ke!"
During a game, players have to wear a protective helmet at all times. For TV viewers, it's rare to see a player's face, especially a rookie's. But as the season progresses, as the name and face, and the name and on-field performance become more and more linked, the player's fame also rises.
At first, Francis had just reflexively called out to him after a quick glance and wasn't too sure. But after he took a step closer, the handsome face and bright eyes overlapped with the image in his mind, putting together the image of the "undrafted rookie quarterback." His emotions instantly surged.
Jenny blinked. The situation had changed so quickly that she couldn't react. "Who is he?" Wasn't he just a nobody? And he looked like a nerd who spent all his time studying in the library.
"Lu Ke! The San Francisco 49ers' quarterback! As an undrafted rookie, he has won two games and scored eight touchdowns! And he's the first Chinese-American quarterback in the history of the league!" Francis rattled off the facts as if they were his own treasures, then ignored Jenny and looked at Lu Ke. "My God, you're amazing! That 'throw' in the last moment of the last game was incredible!"
Jenny blinked, frozen in place, like a wooden chicken. She couldn't believe it. That nerd was the 49ers' starting quarterback?
This made Jenny a little flustered. She quickly tugged on Mark's clothes. "Mark, tell me Francis is lying! He's doing this on purpose, right? He's trying to humiliate me, right?"
But Jenny didn't get an answer. She looked up and saw Mark, who was also frozen, with his mouth slightly open, as if his jaw had been dislocated and he couldn't put it back.
Then, Jenny and Mark got a definite answer.
"Lu Ke, your last game was amazing!" The fan was the first to shout. He finally came to his senses and rushed forward, grabbing Lu Ke's hands tightly. "Can I get your autograph, please? And, and a picture! I really, really love your playing style! You're tough and smart enough! God, you're so great!"
The fan's words were echoed by Francis, who nodded repeatedly. "Exactly! In those two games, the playcalling on so many drives was amazing!"
Then, the other friends surrounding Mark also swarmed forward, surrounding Lu Ke and Julia in a tight circle. There were so many of them that it was impossible to get through. It had become a small meet-and-greet.
A student who had just entered the gymnasium saw the large crowd gathered in a beehive-like cluster and the stunned and confused Jenny and Mark standing on the side. "Hey, what's going on here? Why is everyone gathered here? Is there an event?"
Jenny was trembling with anger. She glared at Mark, but she saw that Mark still hadn't reacted. This made her even more furious. She snapped at the innocent person next to her. "How should I know!" After saying that, she ignored Mark, turned around, and walked away, refusing to be humiliated any further.
It seemed that in just a short while, a sensational piece of news began to spread at the homecoming dance: The San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback, Lu Ke, had shown up!
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