Chapter 685 - 610: Full of Flair

Chapter 685: Chapter 610: Full of Flair

At Song Jun’s home.

Snowflakes were falling. Tian Fengxi leaned against the doorframe, watching Song Jun walk out, and quickly wiped away her tears.

Carrying his bag, Song Jun stepped through the courtyard gate, then stopped and turned around.

Tian Fengxi quickly sniffled, forced a smile, then waved, signaling for him to go.

Song Jun suddenly dropped to his knees, facing Tian Fengxi, and began to kowtow.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

His head struck the ground with audible thuds, smearing his forehead with a mixture of slush and grimy water.

"Mom, I’m leaving!"

With a final shout, Song Jun grabbed his bag, spun around, and left.

Behind him, Tian Fengxi couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears streamed down her face.

Song Jun walked away with long, decisive strides, never hesitating. A couple of years ago, some acquaintances had told him to go north. They said lots of people had gone there to do business and struck it rich, and that he should go try his luck, too.

At the time, the mature-for-his-age Song Jun had been fired up by the idea, but seeing his bedridden mother when he got home, he had given up on it.

’They’d long since lost contact with their relatives. If I leave, who will take care of my mother?’

One of the three great hardships in life is grinding tofu, alongside poling a boat and forging iron. There was always this one image in Song Jun’s memory: as a child, he would be woken by the noise, crawl out from his warm blankets, and see his mother under a dim yellow lightbulb, shrouded in billowing steam.

He could also never forget the countless times his mother, after finally selling all the tofu, would ride her tricycle with him in tow, braving the wind and snow to hurry home.

As he reminisced, he felt a familiar sting in his nose.

But there was no turning back.

’He’s a world-renowned miracle doctor. He wouldn’t lie to me.’

"Song!"

Just as he walked out of the alley, Song Jun heard a clumsy-sounding greeting from nearby.

He turned to see a car parked at the mouth of the alley. The rear window was down, and a head poked out. It was Hunter.

He opened the car door and got out. Despite being bundled up in a down jacket, he was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Song Jun didn’t see Chen Yu, but he didn’t care. He jutted out his chin and said gruffly, "Let’s go."

With that, he moved to get in the car.

"Go where?" Hunter didn’t move and asked in confusion.

"You’re the ones who wanted me to play ball, aren’t you? So let’s go." Song Jun glared. ’For his mother’s sake, he had already handed his life over to Chen Yu. As long as he could earn money, he’d do anything—he’d even play soccer, never mind basketball.’

Seeing Hunter still looking baffled, Song Jun’s brow furrowed, and he asked hesitantly, "You’re not backing out, are you?"

He glared and took a few menacing steps forward.

Hunter shook his head. "Song, I was asking about your mother. Are you really going by yourself?"

This time it was Song Jun’s turn to be stunned. He asked tentatively, "Can we bring family along?"

The day before, Chen Yu had said he was taking him to train, that he’d get a salary, and if he played well, he could even join the National Team.

He had assumed he was going to another sports school, and those places had live-in training programs, so it would be difficult to bring his mother along.

He’d already made arrangements. He’d asked his crew to look after his mother. Once he started getting paid, he’d send money home every month. As soon as he’d saved enough, he’d get her the treatment she needed.

Seeing Song Jun in a daze, Hunter shook his head in wry amusement. "All right, we’ll take care of it."

Chen Yu had already left, heading to his next stop.

According to Chen Yu’s plan, Hunter would arrange for Song Jun and Tian Fengxi to go to the Capital, where Chen Yu would personally perform a gastrectomy on Tian Fengxi.

Chen Yu had already reviewed her case. Tian Fengxi’s gastric cancer hadn’t metastasized. A partial gastrectomy, removing two-thirds of the stomach, would be sufficient. As for follow-up treatment, if it couldn’t be managed within the country, he would arrange for her to go abroad.

All costs would be treated as an advance loan to Song Jun.

’With Song Jun’s talent, once he’s properly trained, making money should be easy.’

That very day, after locking their front door, Song Jun and his mother boarded a plane to the Capital with Hunter.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu had already flown to Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province.

"Dr. Chen, welcome, welcome! I’ve heard so much about you." At the Wenzhou City Sports School, Principal Li Yuzhang warmly shook Chen Yu’s hand. After some brief pleasantries, he also thanked Chen Yu.

Chen Yu was curious about the reason for his thanks.

"Dr. Chen, do you remember Zhu Qinan?" Li Yuzhang asked.

Chen Yu had a good memory. After a moment’s thought, he did indeed remember. "I remember meeting him in Athens. He’s a shooter, right? I helped him with a nagging pain in his rotator cuff."

"Yes, yes, yes." Li Yuzhang nodded repeatedly, then said with a proud look, "Xiaozhu is the world champion who graduated from our school! He won a gold medal in Athens this year, and we have you to thank for that in no small part. So, of course, I have to thank you."

Chen Yu smiled, now understanding the full story.

’Having this connection was actually a good thing.’

Chen Yu got down to business.

"Hello, Coach Huang." Chen Yu shook hands with Coach Huang Changqing, who was standing in the back of the welcoming party.

The reason for his trip to Wenzhou was a person the coach had recommended.

Previously, Chen Yu had sent letters to all the sports schools in the country via the Sports Bureau, asking them to recommend talented individuals in basketball and soccer. The instructions were that whether a prospect was currently training or had already given up, as long as the school felt it was a shame to let their talent go to waste, they could explain the situation and submit a recommendation.

This method certainly had its limitations, but it was just one form of selection. At best, it was a preliminary screening.

For some of the most promising prospects, however, Chen Yu would make a personal trip.

Song Jun had been one such case, and so was Han Zhilu, the prospect recommended by Huang Changqing.

Since he was already here, a tour was inevitable. Chen Yu followed Li Yuzhang, listening to him talk about the glorious history of the Wenzhou sports school as they walked.

He spoke of how it was one of the five major sports schools in Zhejiang Province and recounted how many outstanding athletes it had produced for the province and the nation.

Eventually, the conversation turned to the soccer program.

Huang Changqing, a man of nearly fifty with graying temples, jumped in. "Our school’s predecessor was the Wenzhou Junior Sports School. It wasn’t until ’87 that it was upgraded to a secondary technical school."

"Back when it was still a junior sports school, I was the coach of the school soccer team. At that time, we would pick students from various schools in the city and train at the newly renovated Jiushan Stadium."

"Later on, there were too few good prospects and no important competitions, so over the past couple of years, the soccer program was slowly phased out. We started focusing on track and field, gymnastics, and things like that."

"As for me, I’m getting older. To be honest, I just don’t have that kind of energy anymore."

"However," Huang Changqing’s tone suddenly shifted, a glint appearing in his eyes. "It was in ’95, I believe. Teacher Qian from the Experimental Primary School brought me a kid. He was born in ’88, so he was only seven years old, you see, just starting the second grade. Skinny kid, wore glasses."

"At the time, I wasn’t too impressed, because he was so skinny. But when he actually got a ball at his feet and started running on the field... honestly, I’ll never forget that day."

"The ball... it was like it was glued to his feet. I’d never seen a kid with such a natural feel for the ball."

As he spoke of the past, Huang Changqing’s eyes were shining.

"The kid was smart. I mean, *really* smart. He could watch any move once and get it. Practice it two or three times, and he’d have it down pat."

"He loved playing, too. He trained with me for a few years, and his skills improved incredibly fast. Honestly, when he played against adults, it was like child’s play."

"But in ’99, there was an accident. He was at a match, got tackled, and tore a ligament in his left knee."

"Because of that, plus the fact he was about to start junior high, his mom put her foot down and wouldn’t let him play anymore."

"I tried to persuade her, telling her Xiaohan was a great prospect and that he could make it if he trained hard. But you know what his mom said? She said, ’How much money can you make kicking a ball? Even if he becomes a pro and earns a hundred thousand a year, that’s not even what our family makes in a month.’"

"His family’s in business, and they’re big. I heard they’re worth tens of millions."

"There was nothing to be done, so he went back to school. But over the years, every time I think of him, I just feel it’s such a waste. He really was a phenomenal prospect."

"Dr. Chen, you saw the video. You should know. He really has that spark. He’s a great prospect."

Chen Yu nodded, remembering the disc Huang Changqing had sent him.

It was a clip from a youth soccer match. A skinny Han Zhilu was dribbling, doing pull-backs, as agile as a sprite on the soccer field.

That flair reminded Chen Yu of Ronaldinho.

It was because of this very disc that Chen Yu had made a special trip to Wenzhou, wanting to see this kid for himself.

But from what Huang Changqing said, the situation seemed a bit complicated.

He had returned to school in ’99, five years ago now.

Those five years should have been the golden age for developing his skills and building a foundation. He’d let them go to waste. Who knew what kind of shape he was in now.

Plus, his family was wealthy. Whether he’d even be willing to play professionally was a huge question mark.

At its core, professional soccer was about making money. Since he didn’t need the money, he’d be missing that key motivation.

Pursuing a professional career purely out of passion isn’t easy.