"Mom? Mom! I'm back."
Lu Ke pushed open the door of his home, as if he had never moved out, and called out. After waiting for a while, he didn't hear a response, and then he shouted again, "Dad...Dad!"
"Xiao Ke?" Lu Zhengze's voice came from the study, and he quickly walked out, put on his pajamas, and held a pair of reading glasses in his hand, "You are back."
"Dad, where is my mother?" Lu Ke nodded, his eyes still searching.
"Your mother is taking a shower." Lu Zhengze replied quickly, "What's going on with you? Are you partying with your teammates today?"
After looking at Lu Ke's appearance up and down, Lu Zhengze couldn't help but laugh, "There's nothing else to do to call you back. Today is your birthday. Your mother and I were planning to call you back yesterday, but we thought, Today is the game day, so we’d better try not to affect your preparations and just wait until the game is over. No matter what, you still have to eat a bowl of longevity noodles for your birthday.”
Lu Ke scratched his head and laughed twice, "I forgot it myself, and thought you had forgotten it too. If Uncle Li hadn't come to the parking lot specially and gave me a birthday gift, I wouldn't have even forgotten it. remembered."
Lu Zhengze nodded at Lu Ke from the air with the reading glasses in his hand, "I guessed it. In order to prepare for this game, you must have forgotten everything. Come on, go up and take a shower. You are like this. Don't worry about it for a while." Your mother is scared."
Lu Ke nodded repeatedly and took steps toward the stairs.
Watching Lu Ke's footsteps, heaving, leaving wet footprints, Lu Zhengze couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Xiao Ke, you... you guy, you are covered in cream, and you don't even put your shoes on." Take it off, and then go over there. Now that you have made the hall look like a murder scene, your mother will definitely say something about me."
"I want to complain to my mother. You said that your home was the scene of a murder." Lu Ke's voice came from above the stairs, saying happily with a hint of mischief.
Lu Zhengze immediately panicked, "Don't tell your mother about this. Xiao Ke? Ah? Xiao Ke!"
But Lu Ke didn't respond, leaving Lu Zhengze standing alone in the corner of the hall on the first floor, looking at the cream footprints left on the scene, and smiled helplessly, "This guy has always looked like this since he was a kid. Still haven’t grown up.”
…
After taking a shower, my tense muscles finally relaxed a little. I changed into a set of dry clothes and returned to my room while wiping my hair.
The room still looks as familiar as in the memory, without any changes. It can be seen that Jiang Youning is still cleaning the room regularly, keeping it clean and tidy, as if he will come back at any time; there is a thick book on the desk photo album, and a neat stack of handwritten letters next to it.
After browsing briefly, it turned out to be letters from fans. Although we are now in a fully digital era, there are still many nostalgic people who are used to using swan geese to send messages and read paper books. Those retro methods still remember those simple and pure years.
What's even more amazing is that there is letter paper neatly placed next to it, and then there is a small stack of reply letters. Looking at the handwriting on the envelope, you can tell that these are all replies written by Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning, one by one. The top letter had not yet been put into the envelope, so Lu Ke unfolded it and read it carefully:
"Dear Simone,
Hello, I am Jack, Lu Ke’s father. Thank you very much for your letter.
First of all, I hope your college life can get on track as soon as possible. I always believe that dreamers are the driving force behind changing the world and society as a whole. This is the most valuable spirit I learned from Lu Ke. Fortunately, you are also a dreamer.
…
I know you are looking forward to Lu Ke's reply. Unfortunately, he now has to devote himself to busy training every day and go all out for every game; but the support from you, as well as the support from other fans, is always the biggest motivation for Lu Ke to continue to move forward. Lu Ke is realizing his dream, and I hope you can realize yours.
Sincerely,
Jack Lu. "
This is a simple but sincere reply, and every word is full of Lu Zhengze's sincere emotions.
In fact, the interaction between fans and players is relatively limited. After all, the fan base is too vast, and it is impossible to take care of them one by one relying solely on the players themselves; now is the era of social networks, and players can communicate directly with fans through online platforms. , this has become more efficient and more direct, but in the end, taking care of every fan individually is still an impossible task.
At this time, agents play an important role, and they often shoulder the responsibility of managing fans. Lu Ke's social network platform was managed by Laihe, who hired a professional team; as for the handwritten letters, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning took over. The sincerity and kindness of each handwritten letter cannot be compared with the computer's automatic reply. of.
Relying solely on the strength of Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning is too weak, but at least they are still persevering.
This reminded Lu Ke of Juliet's former residence in Verona, Italy.
Because of the classic drama "Romeo and Juliet", Juliet has entrusted countless girls with their expectations for romantic love. Therefore, Juliet's former residence has become the best place for lovers and lovers to make beautiful wishes. At the same time, girls from all over the world wrote letters to Juliet's former residence, pouring out their love troubles and looking forward to waiting for their own love.
To this end, the Verona City Hall has set up a volunteer project to receive letters from all over the world, and reply letters written by "Juliet". These Juliets are all female volunteers, sharing their experiences and mood, build a communication bridge with the letter writer, and sincerely pray for the arrival of love for them.
Now, Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning are maintaining the sincere bond between Lu Ke and the fans. Even the weakest force may change the turning point of life's destiny.
The photo album next to the thick letter contains photos of Lu Ke. Each photo corresponds to every game in the past one and a half seasons, either taken live at Candlestick Stadium, or photos of all friends watching away games at home, truly recording every moment.
Love and commitment in Eastern culture are more restrained, gentle and subtle, but this does not mean weak. Maybe they don't often say it, but the weight and warmth in their hearts are no less. Like a safe haven, they have erected a high beacon, always waiting silently behind them.
After leaving the room and walking down the stairs, there was a strong aroma of chicken soup floating in the air, with a hint of sweetness, lingering under the creamy yellow light, outlining the mist in the kitchen, which could be faintly heard. There was the sound of gurgling boiling and the sound of the kitchen knife colliding with the cutting board.
Lu Zhengze is sitting at the dining table at the moment, wearing his reading glasses, flipping through a thick stack of information, and seems to be studying with concentration; Jiang Youning is wearing an apron and is busy in the kitchen. She has just come out of the shower, her hair is wet. She hasn't dried it yet, but just tied her hair into a bun casually, rolled up the sleeves of her pajamas, and was busy skillfully.
There is no special scene, just such an ordinary moment, but it reveals a feeling of home.
Lu Ke's footsteps couldn't help but stop at the stairs, quietly enjoying the warmth for a moment.
"How's it going? Have you figured out a way?" Jiang Youning asked in a loud voice.
Lu Zhengze shook his head slightly, "Next week's game will be hard to play. The Chicago Bears' defense is in good shape right now, second in the league. Their run defense is about the same as ours. In terms of pass defense, they currently rank first in the league in interceptions. Our receiving players His condition is always ups and downs, and Xiao Ke’s performance this week will be crucial.”
"When Xiao Ke comes down, don't mention these things. He is under so much pressure right now. We laymen, who have only a partial understanding of the situation, are yelling and giving random directions. Isn't that causing trouble?" Jiang Youning didn't say much. What? Instead, he took the initiative to comfort him, "I think Xiao Ke is performing very well now."
Lu Zhengze took off his glasses and waved his hands repeatedly, "I know, I know. I am also worried now that Xiao Ke is too stressed. Alas, it is true that we are old. When no one paid attention to us before, we were worried; now there is too much attention. Yes, we are worried too. We are already under so much pressure, I really don’t know how much pressure Xiao Ke is carrying.”
"What, you still don't give in to your age? Those glasses are taken on and off every day for you to carry around, but you are so stubborn that you still pretend to be a thirty-year-old young man?" Jiang Youning joked with a smile, "I The noodles are all ready. You call Xiao Ke to come down and finish early and ask him to go back early. He has to get up early for training tomorrow. He must be exhausted today. "
"Hey. Okay." Lu Zhengze carefully collected all the information in his hand and put it in the cabinet next to him, and then stood up.
Lu Ke suddenly panicked and quickly took a few steps back and returned to the stairs. Then he deliberately stepped harder, pretending that he had just gone downstairs and saw Lu Zhengze face to face. "Xiao Ke, you are down, just in time, your mother." The noodles are ready, come over and eat quickly."
Jiang Youning also came out with chicken soup longevity noodles at this time. He saw Lu Ke from the corner of his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face, "Xiao Ke, come here quickly. Eat a bowl of longevity noodles. This is your birthday. I know nutritionists I said, try to avoid late night snacks as much as possible, so I didn’t order too many noodles, just take a bite and drink some chicken soup.”
"That chicken soup is made from old hens. Your mother made a reservation two weeks in advance. She found domestic chickens from a farm in Texas and started cooking them after returning from the game today." Lu Zhengze said enthusiastically.
Lu Ke pulled out the chair, sat down, and looked at the bowl of orange-yellow chicken noodle soup in front of him. There was nothing extra. There was a roll of longevity noodles with a few green scallions floating on it, and then there was a fried poached egg. But the strong aroma came to my nose, and the hot temperature swirled on my fingertips, revealing the familiar aroma from my childhood memories, and a dense mist came up.
Caught off guard, tears filled Lu Ke's eyes.
