At seven o'clock in Beijing time, Beijing, no matter how long the days are in summer, it is almost over at this time, the sun goes down, the sky gets dark very quickly, and the city is full of lights.

At the Wukesong Gymnasium, the 20th NHBA National High School Basketball League will start in half an hour, and the scene is already full, NBA-standard headlights illuminate every corner of the arena, and 24 cameras are aimed at the center of the court, at this time the opening ceremony before the game is underway.

As in every level of competition, there will be speeches in the national finals, there will be a flag-handing ceremony, and all the members of the previous champion Huaqing High School stand near the middle circle, and in front of them is the founder of the NHBA, the undisputed superstar of Chinese basketball, Gan Guoyang.

The lights went out all at once, and only one spotlight hit the court.

Gan Guoyang stood in the center of the court, the light shining on him, and every year in the NHBA Finals, he had to speak at the opening ceremony, long or short, a habit that never interrupted.

He was tall and tall in a plain and dignified brown suit, and the years had taken away his strength, bounce, speed, and agility, leaving deep marks on his face, but it did not make him bend his back, and he still stood on the court forever as he had then.

He raised the microphone with his left hand, and pressed down lightly with his right hand, just a simple small movement, the scene was quiet, he looked up and glanced at the audience, he was not looking at anyone, this was his habit.

He was in his sixties, his temples were a little gray, and his hairstyle had not changed from a few decades ago, a little longer to hide the receding hairline.

On the big screen above the stadium, the close-up shot was given to Gan Guoyang's front, his eyes were no longer so attentive, slightly cloudy, his eyelids drooped downward, but the glance that glanced towards the audience still made countless people breathless.

Unlike those athletes who are clumsy with words, Forrest Gump is not only a great basketball player, but also a great orator, whose eloquence comes from the endless, improvisational trash talk on the basketball court, and the verbal rambling in the courtroom and business arena after leaving the basketball world. Of course, the more important source is his legendary rich life experience and unparalleled on-site momentum.

After the scene was quiet, Gan Guoyang didn't say a word, stood there, and fell into a long silence.

There was no more than ten seconds of silence, but every second was a double torment for the audience at the scene and in front of the television, all waiting for his voice, the speech for the NHBA's 20th anniversary.

"Guys. ”

When the extremely quiet wait slowly began to turn into a stumbling anxiety, he finally spoke, his voice as mellow as old wine, touching everyone's eardrums, the anxiety of waiting was swept away in an instant, and his words seemed to be really talking to his old friend.

"Forty years ago, I entered the NBA, and many people say that it was the year that changed Chinese basketball, and there was a Chinese who established their own kingdom in the country of basketball, but being a king is lonely and lonely. ”

Gan Guoyang's speech speed is slow and melodious, if others say that he has been a king, he will definitely be laughed out of his big teeth, but Gan Guoyang will not say this, it is normal for him to say such things.

"Twenty years ago, I returned to China and founded the NHBA League, and some people say that this is the year that changed Chinese basketball, because Chinese have their own basketball talent training system on campus. I've become a king again, but a child king, and this time, I'm happy. ”

As soon as Gan Guoyang said this, many people at the scene laughed, Forrest Gump pressed his hand down gently, the laughter stopped, and he continued: "But I think that many people ignore one thing, saying that I have changed this and that, but they have forgotten that basketball has changed me." ”

At this time, Gan Guoyang stopped, he walked to the sidelines, grabbed a basketball with one hand, held him to his chest, and said: "More than 100 years ago, an American invented this game, and more than 100 years later, many people have played this game into their lives, and I am one of them." Many people are crazy about it, and they put their all, career, feelings, sustenance, everything, it is this little ball. I think a lot of people have thought about it, what is it about basketball that is worth investing in? Twenty years ago, before I founded the NHBA, it was the same question that bothered me. Back then, I had five NBA championship rings, an Olympic gold medal, eight MVP trophies, four Defensive Player of the Year trophies, and I put them in front of me, looked at them, and I thought, 'Is this what I'm getting?'"

In the opening ceremony of the finals in the past ten years, Gan Guoyang has never made such an in-depth speech, and the Wukesong Stadium fell silent, and everyone was listening.

Gan continued: "One morning, I was walking in the park and saw a very small child holding a basketball about his size, trying to throw the ball into the basket under the basket rack. But he was too young to throw it in. I went up and asked him if he wanted to help, and he said no, saying he could. Later, I didn't help, I watched him keep throwing, throwing for a long time, still unsuccessful, and finally he left. A month later, I saw him again in the park, and he grew a little taller, a little stronger, and threw it for a long time, and finally threw the ball in, and he was very happy, and he smiled happily. But then, he started shooting again, didn't score, shot again. ”

At this time, Gan Guoyang put the ball on the ground: "At that moment, I figured it out. Human beings have come to this world aimlessly, and to embark on a road that is destined to end, is like fighting a game that is destined to end. The basket is there, the ball is in your hand, you have to throw it out, throw it in, go in, you have to continue, if you don't go in, you have to continue. Until the referee blows the whistle, the game is not over, and life is not over. You choose basketball, basketball chooses you, it can be your life, it can be your life, it can be a game, it can be a battle. It's there, in our culture, just as humans exist in this world. From basketball, I got everything. ”

"So, the next year I founded the NHBA, and now, twenty years later, how many lives has it become, how many lives has it become? I don't know, I don't know, when the final whistle will blow, but the ball is here, please throw it in. ”

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang picked up the basketball from the ground again, slowly walked to the basket on one side, and at a position about three meters away from the basket, he gently hooked one hand on the spot, an elegant arc, and the ball hollowed into the net.

Thirty years later, his hook is still perfect.

……………………

At the moment when the lights of Wukesong Gymnasium went out, Lu Yuan, who was sitting on the bench, felt that he was in boundless darkness.

In the afternoon, he went to the address given to him by Shiraba, a café, where he met Dr. Walter, who had been absent for a long time.

"You... You are... Dr. Watson?"

"Walter, it's Dr. Walter, and your brain is still not very good. ”

As soon as Dr. Walter saw Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan gave her a greeting gift - a new surname.

Bai Ye sat next to him and gave Lu Yuan a roll of the eyes, just now Gao Jing called and asked if Bai Ye had been kidnapped, Bai Ye knew that Lu Yuan's IQ had entered a fluctuating period again.

Lu Yuan was quite happy to see the old man from the United States, but unfortunately Dr. Walter had no contact with the people at Wilson High School, and he didn't know how they were doing.

But after chatting with Dr. Walter for a while, and after the doctor asked him about the current situation, what he said made Lu Yuan startled.

"Lu Yuan, after this competition, I want to have a good chat with your parents and suggest that you go to the United States for treatment. ”

"Treatment? What is cured?"

"Schizophrenia. ”

"I'm not mentally ill! I've remembered, I've remembered, I'm Lu Yan, I... I'm my brother......"

Dr. Walter suddenly shook Lu Yuan's hand and said, "I'm sorry, I was too reckless when I was in the United States, and I came to China this time to see you again." Judging from the symptoms described by your friend, as well as your answer just now, you have been in a memory and cognitive error for a long time, and you have begun to have a precursor to schizophrenia. So...... I have to see your parents, after tonight's game. ”

"But... But... I'm not mentally ill...... I'm not ......."

"I know you're not, relax, Lu Yuan, relax ......"

"Relax... Just relax... Just relax...... It's so dark, why is it so dark, where is Mom... Mom... Where is this, don't lock me up here, don't, what about the lights? lights, I can't reach them, I can't reach the lights, what about the bench, bench, bench...... Bench ......"

At this time, a light suddenly appeared in the darkness, and Lu Yuan's disordered thoughts disappeared at once, and he looked up and saw that in the light, there was a tall, very tall person standing.

He seemed to have seen this person somewhere, somewhere he was very familiar and familiar.