Shan He had dreamed countless times of standing on a basketball court, winning a game, and then hearing tens of thousands of fans cheer for him.
Of course, he had led his team to victory many times. He had even hit buzzer-beating game-winners and helped his team turn things around when they were behind.
But those games had either been on someone else's home court, or at his own school, whose gym was so small it didn't even have bleachers. There hadn't been many spectators.
So he had never been able to fulfill that dream.
He hadn't expected that today, on someone else's home court and after losing the game, he would receive cheers and applause from more than five thousand people in the stands.
How could Shan He not be moved to tears?
At the Shan Shan Ming Supermarket, the biggest supermarket in Chang'an Province, inside the third-floor office.
Watching the scene on the screen, seeing more than five thousand people cheering for his son and his son moved to tears, Shan Zeming couldn't help but feel something stir inside him.
Once, he too had dreamed that the clay figurines he made would win awards and earn applause from millions.
He had even dreamed of going abroad and showing those foreigners the traditional craftsmanship of China.
But many things didn't go according to one's wishes.
And so he would never get another chance to make his dream come true.
Meanwhile, at home.
His wife watched the scene on the screen and was moved to tears as well.
On the court, Shan He heard the cheers around him and listened as the arena DJ announced his stats, but for a long time he couldn't come back to himself.
Just then, head coach Lan Jingshan came over to Shan He