N-A-A Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Lin Feng slung his travel bag over his shoulder, grabbed a ball, and got into the car. Cheng Yuxin stood outside the window, watching him through the glass. The car window was covered with a dark sun-protective film, making it difficult to see inside from the outside.
Lin Feng found a seat by the window, placed his travel bag at his feet, and held the ball in his arms.
He turned his head and looked at Cheng Yuxin outside the window.
She stood there, her hands hanging at her sides, her hair blowing in the wind, gleaming brown in the sunlight. She didn't wave or speak; she just stood there.
The car started, the diesel engine was very loud, and the whole car was vibrating.
The car slowly pulled out of the station.
Lin Feng turned around and saw Cheng Yuxin still standing there through the rear window of the car. Her figure grew smaller and smaller until it became a dot and disappeared around the street corner.
He turned back and looked ahead.
The car entered the highway, and the fields on both sides rushed past. Cornfields, rice paddies, vegetable gardens—an endless expanse of green. In the distance, a television tower stood on a hill, its iron frame gleaming in the sunlight.
He looked down at the ball in his arms.
It's brown with cracks on the surface; those tiny cracks are still there, extending from next to the Spalding logo.
He touched it with his hand.
Three months ago, he bought this ball for twenty yuan. At that time, he didn't know how to shoot, and even standing still felt unfamiliar.
Now he's going to take this ball to the provincial capital, to the provincial youth team.
Go to a place he has never been before.
He closed his eyes.
The image of Cheng Yuxin standing in the station flashed into my mind—head down, looking at the tips of her shoes, ears red.
And then there was that sentence she said: "You cut it for me."
He smiled and opened his eyes.
The car continued driving.
The scenery outside the window is changing, but the road keeps going forward.
Chapter 47 Provincial Capital
The provincial capital is much larger than Beichuan.
Lin Feng got off the long-distance bus and stood in the station square, looking at everything in front of him.
The high-rise building, over thirty stories high, had glass curtain walls that shone blindingly in the sunlight. The streets were bustling with traffic—taxis, buses, motorcycles, and a few imported cars—driving past, kicking up gusts of hot air. GG logos were everywhere—Coca-Cola, Motorola, Haier, Changhong—all brightly colored, each one bigger than the last.
He stood there, looking like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city.
But that stunned expression only lasted a few seconds. In his previous life, he had lived in Hangzhou, Beijing, and Shenzhen, and had seen much larger cities. He was stunned not because the provincial capital was big, but because—Beichuan and this place were from different eras.
He took a deep breath, slung his travel bag over his shoulder, and walked toward the bus stop.
The provincial sports training center is located in the east of the city. Take bus number 5; it takes about 40 minutes.
The bus was packed with people. Lin Feng held onto the handrail with one hand, carrying a ball in the other, his travel bag slung over his back. Next to him was an elderly woman carrying a basket of eggs, weaving through the crowd, the eggs making soft cracking sounds as they bumped against each other. Lin Feng stepped aside to make room for her. The old woman glanced at him, nodded, and said nothing.
Forty minutes later, we arrived.
The gate of the Provincial Sports Training Center was much more imposing than that of the Beichuan Sports School—marble pillars, wrought iron gates, and two stone lions with open mouths and bared teeth, looking majestic. There were security guards in the guardhouse, dressed in uniforms and wearing peaked caps.
Lin Feng walked over and gave his name.
The security guard made a phone call and then let him in.