The lights in the dormitory were gently turned on by the boys, casting a halo on this quiet space.

Addison's dormitories were all double rooms, and Addison had a white roommate, but the roommate had rented an apartment off campus two months earlier, and since then the dormitory room has been owned by Addison alone.

Except on the court, Addison likes a quiet atmosphere, which is enough to compress his eardrums and heart, but it can relax his mind and cleanse his soul, including the memories of the past.

Putting two chicken burgers bought from the student cafeteria on the table, the boy lay down on his bed in disarray, his streamlined eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

It is absolutely impossible to imagine how the inability to speak can affect a person's life without experiencing it firsthand. All the joy, sorrow, anguish or excitement cannot be expressed in words to the surroundings of life, and one can only bury everything in the bottom of one's heart and let it eventually decay and disappear.

Addison is accustomed to this kind of forbearance, accustomed to not showing his feelings on his face, accustomed to being alone, accustomed to the incomprehensible and meaningless eyes of others.

As long as you can find the life of your dreams, these forbearances are worth it.

When he was 12 years old, Addison's single father, who owned a Chinese restaurant in Harlem, was shot dead by a violent debt collection organization there.

There has been no police investigation, no prosecution announcement, and no protest complaints from any charitable organizations...... It's all too common to die a person of color in a place like Harlem, and I'm afraid the self-proclaimed white police officers in New York City will be glad that yet another 'human dregs' has been removed."

Deprived of adult protection and financial resources, Addison had no idea how to live, and at the age of 12, he had to follow the street activists in Harlem, Queens, and even Brooklyn to do illegal things, picking up leftovers for them to eat and drink.

Addison's weight loss and physical dysfunction were on the verge of collapse due to months of wandering, and if it weren't for his natural physical toughness, the boy would probably have died on the streets of New York's black neighborhood.

Until one day, the boy, who was about to go crazy with cold and hunger, saw a middle-aged man walking by the street, this man had the same skin color as the men and women who discriminated against him. This familiarity and hunger forced him to make a crazy move, and the 12-year-old rushed out with the scissors that had long been dulled, stood in front of the middle-aged man, and aimed the tip of the knife at the other party.

Addison was speechless, and could only stare at the man's coat pocket with a look of intimidation and longing, which he knew must be a wallet or credit card or something. As long as you get those, you can buy food and drink, you can buy thick clothes to keep out the cold, and you can survive the colder and colder winter.

The boy whose brain was filled with this desire could no longer see that the other party was a middle-aged man who was physically healthy and much taller than himself, and he could not see that his body had already been weakened due to long-term malnutrition, and he could hardly even hold the scissors in his hand.

When a middle-aged man suddenly encountered such an absurd situation, his first reaction was naturally to be extremely surprised. But when he looked at the little boy in front of him, the wariness in the man's eyes melted completely, and it was replaced by a color that Addison couldn't understand, as if his own father had seen such a color at one time.

"This damn New York City...... Look what they make a kid look like??!! The middle-aged man muttered to himself, and then walked quickly towards Addison with an eager expression.

Addison thought that this man was annoyed, his mind suddenly went blank, and the scissors in his hand fell to the ground trembling in extreme fear, and his small thin body couldn't help but stumble backwards and fall to the ground at once.

But what awaited him was not a punch and kick, nor an angry scolding mixed with saliva, but a burst of warmth, a warmth that Addison hadn't tasted for a long time.

The middle-aged white man took off his trench coat and wrapped it around Addison's body, while pulling the boy closer and gently wiping the dirty marks on his young face with his rough palm.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, child......" the man said softly to Addison, with a warm smile, "Come with uncle, okay?" Let's go eat, go eat something good, okay? ”

Addison, who was extremely confused in his mind, stared blankly at this man he didn't know, his small body couldn't help shaking, and even his dry and cracked lips were trembling.

After a few seconds, the 12-year-old boy could no longer hold back the emotions rolling in his chest and began to cry in the arms of the middle-aged man...... This boy, who saw his father being shot and killed, did not hold back his tears, and finally shed tears, tears full of pain, unwillingness and accusation to the world......

***

Since then, Addison has been adopted by middle-aged men and brought him back to San Francisco, California.

This white man is Addison's father, Joe. Grylls, the boy's second father in his life. Joe used to have a family, but his wife and two children died in a car accident a few years ago. It may be precisely because of this that Joe, who is extremely eager for family after grief, will choose to adopt Addison, adopting a Chinese child who is completely different from skin color and blood, but can depend on each other.

Joe gave Addison all the tolerance and love that a father could, and the boy loved to play basketball, and he gave his full support. When the boys' basketball talent was revealed and discovered, Joe carefully chose the right school for Addison, trying to find a school that could play in the first division without leaving Addison's cultural grades too far behind.

Addison's ability to be accepted as a Chinese-American to Duke University, a prestigious basketball school, and guaranteed a sports scholarship is due to everything Joe has done for him.

Addison cherishes his current family and is even willing to give everything to protect it, the one that gives him the motivation to live again.

This home was the starting point for him to pursue his dreams, and now he is on the path to them.

Even if it's just for that, he's going to win the last game of his college career...... He wants to bring the championship back to his campus, to his hometown......