Brian Westbrook slowly pulled over the car and turned off the engine and pulled out the keys as he looked out the window around the block.

San Francisco is a city built on a hill, with a unique landscape of ups and downs, forming a unique landscape of the city, and the undulating street curves create a unique visual landscape, standing on the top of the hill and standing at the foot of the mountain, you can capture the very different aspects of life.

Now Brian is standing on a slope, the shady green trees on both sides of the street rise all the way up in the north-south direction, and the houses with red walls and white roofs are interlaced in the large expanse of green, like Jack's beans in a fairy tale.

Colourful bluestone slabs, eerie oak tree houses, dilapidated canvas canopies, haphazardly parked bicycles, hippie logos in bottles and cans, brightly colored linen squares...... The fragmented blocks of color on both sides of the street create a bizarre scene of cultural convergence, but this is the most special image of San Francisco.

This is the neighborhood where Lu Ke grew up and lived. Unexpected, but reasonable.

In the impression, Asian immigrants are more keen to live in groups, such as Japan's Little Tokyo, Koreans' Koreatown, Chinese's Chinatown, and even Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants with a relatively small number of immigrant groups, each area is filled with its own culture and customs, as if opening up a hometown world in a foreign country.

Lu Ke's parents chose to settle here, which was indeed a small accident.

However, not all Asian immigrants live in the corresponding area, after all, San Francisco is the most culturally diverse and harmonious city on the entire North American continent – not even New York. If they wish to choose a different area, then the Haight-Ashbury district is indeed a reasonable choice.

Just a neighborhood visit, Brian began to sketch the image of Lu Ke in his mind.

It's not the fourteenth quarterback on the court, the young man, wearing a jersey and a helmet, can't see his face, can't see his eyes, it seems to be just a symbol in the team, "fourteen", "quarterback", "undrafted rookie", these labels are all; It's Lu Ke in life.

What kind of person is he? What about his parents? What environment did he grow up in? What's his personality like? What is the style of dealing with the world? What is the difference and connection between the style of the game and the private personality? What are his hobbies off the pitch? What type of player is he?

Countless thoughts, countless questions, boiled in Brian's mind.

That's a bit ridiculous. In competitive sports, only the truly top superstars are curious about his life and image off the court, such as Tom Brady and his world supermodel wife Gisele-Bundchen, such as Ben Rosslisberg's sexual/assault/scandal/scandal.

As for the rookie players, their priority is to prove themselves off the pitch rather than off-court gossip and personal image. No one cares, the rookie is "a good guy or a bad guy"; Everyone is concerned about whether the rookie "can play well".

For Lu Ke, the same is true.

No one cares what the young man under the "No. 14" jersey and helmet looks like and looks like off the pitch; Rather than focusing on these unnutritious hypes, let's discuss whether Alex Smith should be selected for the third week of the game, or whether the rookie quarterback should continue to be used.

However, Brian was intrigued.

Not only because Lu Ke's rise is too magical; is also because Lu Ke's on-court performance is too amazing - not a number such as a quarterback rating, but a brave heart at a critical moment. At that moment, Brian really forgot Lu Ke's "Chinese" identity, and was more of a victorious hero who turned the tide.

Looking around the entire block, trying to find the target building, Brian inadvertently caught the figure of a young man, pushing open the front door of the house, carrying two bags of garbage, and walking out briskly.

A simple white T-shirt with light blue jeans, a pair of ordinary white canvas shoes, a dark blue baseball jacket and jacket casually, and short black hair that looks slightly messy in the wind of San Francisco, can vaguely outline the outline of young and energetic facial features, and there is a little childish youthful temperament.

The young man in front of him was Lu Ke.

Without the strength of killing all sides on the court, without the domineering spirit of leading the team to the Jedi reversal, and without the wit in the face of the media's witty words, it seems that he is an ordinary young man, who is obediently helping the family with housework, babbling and complaining, but what should be done is still done honestly.

"Bambi", that's the first impression that flashes through Brian's mind.

In the eyes of Westerners, Asian faces are always extraordinarily young, and to be more accurate, they simply cannot recognize the signs of age; What's more, Lu Ke is not yet twenty-two years old and has just graduated from college, so for Brian, who has been in the society for many years, he is a young hairy boy.

At this point, the impression is even more profound. If someone said that Lu Ke was a high school student, Brian would believe it.

However, for rugby, this is not a good thing. The strangeness and suspicion of Asian faces have made people full of doubts; And the young and jerky rookie didn't help. It is conceivable that on the road to winning the recognition of fans, Lu Ke still needs to complete many, many challenges.

Opening the car door, Brian didn't chase after him, but stood across the street and watched Lu Ke trot to the corner at the bottom of the street and throw away the trash; Then he watched Lu Ke trot back.

"Good morning, Lu Ke." Then, Brian said hello, "Isn't it garbage day?" ”

In such a community, there are two ways to dispose of garbage.

One is a fixed garbage day, generally four times a week, and the time that passes is also fixed, every household will pack the garbage, put it at the door of the house, the garbage truck will come to collect it, but if you miss the time to collect the garbage, then you must choose another way, otherwise it will be treated as littering.

The other is to carry the garbage yourself and dispose of it in large bins in nearby neighborhoods. Such garbage bins are often only available every few blocks, and the distance is long. So, in the United States, people often joke: drive to the garbage. It's not a joke, it's something that happens in real life.

"Tomorrow is." Lu Ke stopped and said with a smile, "There are guests at home today, so my mother is cleaning." After a slight turn of thought, Lu Ke chuckled, "You look strange, I've never seen you around here." I guess you're the guest you're visiting today, right? ”

"Brian Westbrook, 'San Francisco Chronicle.'" Brian stepped forward quickly and greeted with a smile on his face, "I'm sorry, I hope my arrival didn't disrupt your daily life." ”

Brian expressed politeness, but heard Lu Ke say, "There's nothing to disturb." However, my parents took a day off; Then I cleaned up in advance and prepared lunch; Also, privately, my mother even put on makeup, and then my father found a formal and not too grand outfit. Other than that, nothing bothered. ”

Brian's facial expression couldn't help but stiffen slightly, and he twitched a little, which ...... Is it a joke?

However, Lu Ke didn't mean to joke at all, and took Brian into the house seriously, "Dad, Mom, the reporter is here." ”

Brian's mood suddenly went up and down, and he didn't know how to respond.

Interviewing athletes? There are too many times to count; But visiting the homes of Asian immigrants? This is definitely the first of its kind. Brian regretted it a little, he should have googled it last night, is there any etiquette to pay attention to when visiting a Chinese home? Should he bring gifts? Looking at his empty hands, he wasn't quite sure, was this too rude?

In a moment of thought, a middle-aged man appeared in sight, Brian seemed to get a psychological hint, and involuntarily began to look at the other party's clothing: a light gray vertical striped shirt with navy blue suit pants, I couldn't see a reason, but it was indeed polite and decent.

"Welcome, welcome." Lu Zhengze greeted him with a smile on his face and greeted him naturally, "How is it, is the parking nearby still smooth?" It's just uphill and it's always a challenge to park your first time here. Rear-end collisions occur almost every week. ”

Relaxed and natural, it doesn't look tense at all; And simple and casual topics, it is easy to open up the situation. But Brian was a little unsure, could it be that the opening remarks were also prepared in advance?

Immediately after, Brian saw Jiang Youning wearing an apron, leaned out of the kitchen, and stepped forward with a smile, "I'm Annie, you should be Brian, right?" Sorry, I haven't finished cleaning up yet, so it's a bit rude. Please give me a little time, I'll be right away. Excuse me, do you need any drinks? ”

Brian's eyes were looking at Jiang Youning, but then he heard Lu Ke's chuckle in his ears, and then he realized his faux pas, and quickly withdrew his gaze, "Water, water is fine; If you have one, juice or soda is the way to go. ”

Feeling Brian's nervousness and panic, Lu Ke finally couldn't hold back anymore and chuckled, "It's okay, I just made a little joke with Brian." He seemed to take it seriously. ”

Brian raised his head suddenly, and then saw Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning's suddenly realized expressions, Jiang Youning chuckled helplessly and shook his head, and said to Brian, "He always likes to joke, you don't have to take it seriously." ”

Brian looked at Lu Ke and was full of question marks: So, what he said just now was all a joke?