Translator: Re
Editor: Mims
Reece patiently waited for Nie Chuan for ten or so seconds before he finally leaned over and buckled the seatbelt for Nie Chuan.
When Reece lowered his head and leaned towards him, Nie Chuan could clearly see his neck which had a completely different aesthetic compared to the delicate beauty of women.
It was full of tension, as if it could collapse Nie Chuan"s sight at any time.
Nie Chuan took a deep breath and calmly looked away..
They drove away from the school. Nie Chuan was very nervous along the way and really wanted to ask Reece where he was taking him.
This won"t be some kind of destroying corpses in the outskirts ba?
From the school to the city, the scenery was very similar. Nie Chuan quickly began to feel drowsy and fell asleep while leaning against the window.
The afternoon sun was a bit glaring. Nie Chuan licked his lips. In his blurred state, a hand seemed to have reached over and flipped down the sun visor in front of him. Nie Chuan comfortably fell asleep again.
Not long after, his stomach began to make gulu gulu sounds and Reece parked his car at a fast food restaurant on the side of the road.
“Get out of the car, eat something.”
Nie Chuan looked again, they had actually gone on the highway!
Were they going to stage a "Thelma & Louise"?
This time Nie Chuan has nowhere to escape!
Nie Chuan can only follow behind Reece and enter the fast food restaurant.
When queuing up to order, Reece looked down and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Nie Chuan originally didn"t want to make Reece wait for him to choose and was just going to casually order something. He didn"t expect Reece to say, “Look carefully and then choose. Once you choose it, you"ll have to finish it.”
Nie Chuan suddenly had a feeling that the other person seemed to be saying "he has to finish walking the road he chose.”
After nearly twenty seconds, the waiter taking the order was already a little impatient but Reece was still waiting patiently beside him.
“That… bacon and cheese chicken sandwich with c.o.ke.”
He also wants lemon chicken nuggets…
“Is that enough for you to eat?” Reece raised his eyebrows.
“Lemon chicken nuggets.” Nie Chuan suddenly felt that he had really become a child in front of Reece.
After they carried their plates to a table, Nie Chuan silently began to eat.
He bit into the sandwich and some cheese squeezed out and stained his cheek.
Just as Nie Chuan was about to wipe it with his hand, a napkin was pressed on his face by the person sitting opposite him.
When Nie Chuan looked up, he saw Reece opening his mouth with his eyes slightly lowered to bite into his burger.
He could see the tip of Reece"s tongue from his lips but this scene soon pa.s.sed as Reese slowly chewed his burger and tore open a ketchup packet.
He didn"t know why, it was clearly an ordinary movement but to Nie Chuan it looked very stylish.
Although using the adjective “stylish” here feels a bit strange.
After eating the sandwich and finishing only half of the lemon chicken nuggets, Nie Chuan was full. But he remembered Reece"s “once you choose it, you have to finish it" and felt pressure, he could only force himself to eat two more pieces.
“You ate so much, be careful not to throw it up in the car later," Reece frostily said and Nie Chuan widened his eyes.
So he didn"t need to finish it?
Reece got up and Nie Chuan reluctantly followed.
When he pa.s.sed by a mother holding her child, he saw her unwrapping a piece of chocolate and sending it into the child"s mouth, he suddenly felt bitter.
He seems to have not eaten chocolate for two days. No wonder he felt that life was incomplete.
With his hand in his pockets, Reece stopped and turned around. He looked at Nie Chuan"s appearance of wanting to swallow other people"s children, his eyebrow rose slightly, “Go.”
Forced by Reece, Nie Chuan could only keep up.
When they returned to the Land Rover, Reece suddenly extended his hand and took a bag out from the rear seats. When he opened it there was actually a small package of chocolate beans inside.
Although it was already opened, Nie Chuan still felt surprised. “You"re giving it to me to eat?”
“En.”
They are on the road again.
Nie Chuan was eating the chocolate beans while beaming with joy.
As Reese drove, his eyes happened to sweep over Nie Chuan when he looked in the rear mirror.
The corner of his lips slightly rose and he said, “Kid.”
They arrived at a nearby city. Reece drove the car to a hospital. After parking, he took Nie Chuan to walk into the courtyard of the hospital.
Today"s weather was very good and many patients come out for a walk.
Not far away, a teenager sat on a bench listening to music. He wore a baseball cap and had a chocolate complexion, his chin bobbing to the rhythm.
Nie Chuan noticed that Reece was watching him.
“His name is Steven Connor. He used to be a starter of our UDK basketball team, he"s also the best point guard on the team.”
“He"s sick?”
“En, it"s cancer. He"s here for chemotherapy.”
“Oh…” Nie Chuan momentarily didn"t know what to say. Usually in these circ.u.mstances he should say “I"m very sorry”, but these types of words hold no meaning.
“Carlo, Ewing, and Montenegro don"t know Connor"s condition,” Reece said. “They only thought that Connor gave up basketball and went to another country with his parents.”
“Why?” Nie Chuan didn"t understand.
“Because Connor is too outstanding and he has a tacit understanding with us. So if he leaves the court because of cancer, then in everyone"s heart, he will be the best and the most perfect. No one can replace him emotionally. Carlo and them will have a hard time accepting another point guard even if they"re better. But if Connor gave up basketball himself, it would be different. Everyone will want to find another person and prove to him that even without him, we can be just as good.”
“So he"s here alone? Carlo, Ewing, and Montenegro have never come see him before?”
“Yes. So for me, Connor"s position will eventually be filled by other people. But if it"s destined, I hope that even if this person is not the best and most capable, he at least cherishes the position that Connor left more than anyone else.”
At that moment, Nie Chuan"s heart felt heavy.
“Carlo mentioned you on his Facebook. After Connor saw it, he contacted me and he said that he really wanted to meet you.”
Nie Chuan took a step back, frowned, and looked very seriously at Reece. “But I don"t think I should go meet him. He wants to see someone who can be trusted by his teammates, not me. I"m not that kind of person at all, I"ll let him down.”
“He doesn"t want to meet another him. He just wants someone to talk to him about basketball. If it were me, he wouldn"t talk to me about basketball.” Reese paused and said, “It"s ok if you don"t want to go. I will go say a few words to him and then take you back to school.”
“No… let me go.”
“You don"t need to sympathize with Connor. He is stronger than so many people. He doesn"t need the sympathy of others.”
Nie Chuan inhaled, walked towards Connor, and arrived in front of him.
At this time, Connor held an iPad in his hand and opened a basketball game. Nie Chuan quietly sat down beside him and accompanied him in watching the game for ten or so minutes.
When Connor turned and saw Nie Chuan, he was startled, “Oh G.o.d!”
“Sorry to scare you, I"m Nie Chuan. Reece brought me, he said that you want to see me.”
Connor"s eyes are very large, his teeth appeared very white against his skin tone, and his smile made people feel warm.
“Oh! You"re Allen, right? h.e.l.lo, I"m Connor!”
Although Nie Chuan was still not used to being called his English name, he nodded.
The two soon began chatting. When Connor spoke very quickly, Nie Chuan sometimes couldn"t keep up, especially when it"s basketball terminology which is even more unfamiliar.
Through Connor"s gestures, Nie Chuan faintly understood but could not fully comprehend until Reece, who stood in the distance watching them, threw over a basketball.
Connor was very excited about the basketball and showed Nie Chuan a very beautiful and coherent crossover dribble.
That sense of rhythm is like knocking on Nie Chuan"s head.
“Look, just like that!”
Nie Chuan was infected by Connor"s joy of touching the basketball. He took the ball and practiced the movement with Conner on the side.
At first, Nie Chuan"s movements were awkward, but became faster and more flexible.
Connor clapped his hands on the side and said to the rhythm, “Yes! Right! That"s it! Your body will remember! When your body remembers, no one can stop you!”
Perhaps Connor had more affinity than Reece, or Conner"s skill in showing Nie Chuan was too attractive. Nie Chuan accompanied Conner and learned dribbling for two or three hours. Whether it was McGrady"s crossover dribble or Marbury"s behind-the-back crossover dribble, these seemingly smooth and gorgeous moves of the NBA, once deconstructed by Connor to Nie Chuan, became ordinary once decoded.
“Hey! Is it fun, Allen?” Connor asked with a smile.
“It"s really fun!” When Nie Chuan subconsciously answered, he found that something changed.
“Do you know why I like basketball?” Connor asked.
Nie Chuan shook his head.
“Because there are countless combinations. You can do a crossover dribble to shake off your opponent or you can do a behind-the-back dribble to bypa.s.s them. All the defenders are different doors, and you are the key that opens the doors. There is nothing you can"t do, only what you can"t think of.”
Nie Chuan saw a world he didn"t know in Connor"s eyes. It was far away, gorgeous, and unpredictable.
“When you pa.s.s through one door after another, you will feel as if you"re burning. From your toes to your fingertips, from your fingertips to your hair, everything is boiling. Nothing can bind you, nothing can suppress you. There are endless possibilities.”
Nie Chuan stood there motionlessly.
“I know that not everyone will love basketball like I do. But I want to let you know that whether it is Reese, Carlo, Ewing, or Montenegro, they are all really great players and teammates. When you find yourself blocked overhead, Carlo and Montenegro will tear it down for you. When you find that you can"t break through your left or right, Reece can always open up a wider path for you. When you feel that you are too far from the basket, Ewing will jump from behind you and make a long distance three-pointer. I love the feeling of being with them.”
Connor"s eyes reddened.
Nie Chuan"s ear seemed to ring with the boiling shouts of the audience, the sound of sneakers squeaking on the floor, the impact of the basketball on the ground, and the pounding of his heart.
Re: I love this chapter and I love Connor :") He"s such an inspirational cinnamon roll. Reece was rather sweet this chapter too
MadMadamMims: I thought Connor was gonna be a past love interest, little did I expect such a bittersweet backstory TT