The City of Romantic Encounters

Chapter 12: City of Romance

European basketball is characterized by physical play, slow tempo, slow movement, lots of screens, and congestion in the paint.

Sun Hao's offense, however, was mostly concentrated on the perimeter.

His skill level far exceeded that of the youth team, and with the help of his Basketball IQ and the Fast Break Finisher badge, he was an absolute wrecking ball in the youth squad.

In the first game, he dropped 30 points in three quarters; in the second, he scored 36; and in the third, he went even further, exploding for 43 points!

Such performance drove the local Madrid fans wild.

At the youth team games, you could even see fans holding up KT boards of Sun Hao.

And this was after Sun Hao had only played three games for the Real Madrid Youth Team!

It was a clear testament to the passion Spaniards have for sports!

With success on the court, Sun Hao also allowed himself some time to unwind.

The Real Madrid Youth Team's next opponent was the Student Team, but there was a rare four-day break between games.

Taking advantage of this window, Sun Hao brought up the topic of travel with Fernandez again.

That put Fernandez in a tough spot.

Although he liked traveling, he was still just a twelve-year-old kid, and his usual range was limited to Madrid.

But since arriving in Spain, Sun Hao had done nothing but train and travel, visiting every place in Madrid worth seeing.

In the end, Fernandez suggested they go to Aragon, near Madrid.

Sun Hao didn't know much about Spain before, and this was the first time he'd heard of a place called Aragon.

The name felt familiar to him because in some epic movie, the male lead was called Aragorn.

The capital of Aragon they were heading to was Zaragoza, a place full of medieval-sounding names, which made Sun Hao even more excited for the trip.

Zaragoza is located northwest of Madrid, serving as the connecting corridor between Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, and it's also the confluence of three major Spanish rivers, including the Ebro River.

This geographical position made it a crucial strategic location during the Middle Ages.

In earlier times, the Kingdom of Aragon was one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the Spanish region.

Later, during the Ancient Roman era, it became an important military stronghold of the empire.

With such a history, it naturally retained a large number of historical relics.

City walls, stone bridges, churches, bell towers, palaces...

These tourist attractions gave people a real sense of stepping back into medieval Europe.

And that wasn't all—entering the modern era, Zaragoza also became a key transportation hub in Spain.

It's the center of Spain's northern highway network, a major railway junction, and home to an international airport with the longest runway in Europe.

In a nutshell, it's a tourist paradise in Spain with extremely convenient transportation.

There was no better place for Sun Hao and Fernandez to go.

And on the train ride to Zaragoza, Fernandez also shared some other information with Sun Hao.

Spain is a country of passion, so it's also known as the City of Romance.

Among Spanish cities, Madrid tops the romance index, and right behind it is Zaragoza.

Fernandez was still far from adulthood, but Sun Hao would turn sixteen in just a few months.

The age of adulthood varies by country; in Spain, the legal age is sixteen.

In other words, Sun Hao would be an "adult" in just a few months.

And as an adult, he could do adult things.

"Maybe your luck will be better in a different place."

That's what Fernandez said to him.

Hearing those words come out of a twelve-year-old's mouth, Sun Hao almost rapped him on the head, but in the end, he just shook his head and smiled.

For Fernandez to know about this stuff at such a young age, Spain really lived up to its passionate... romantic reputation.

Still, as he watched the scenery flash by outside the window, he felt a little anticipation.

In his past life, he'd been single for twenty-eight years in the open-minded United States.

Now, living a second life, he naturally wanted to experience what it felt like to fall in love.

One of the main reasons he hadn't let his parents come along was because the girls here were... different from those elsewhere.

Back in Madrid, he'd been busy training, and even when he went out, he hadn't run into anyone.

Now that he was somewhere new, he had to at least try his luck!

After getting off the train, Sun Hao and Fernandez dropped their luggage at the hotel and headed straight out to explore.

On the first day, they went to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and the University of Zaragoza.

Both places were relatively close, and on the way there, Fernandez kept giving Sun Hao tips on romance.

According to him, when it came to romance encounters, location was everything.

The basilica was solemn and sacred, but places like that actually stirred people's primal desires the most, ranking second on the romance encounter location list.

Third place went to campuses—students were always yearning for romantic love.

Sun Hao was left speechless. He suddenly felt that when Fernandez grew up, he'd absolutely be a tin foil perm type.

But he didn't say anything. What Fernandez said was... actually pretty accurate.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar enshrined the patron saint of all Spain—the Virgin on the Pillar—and its interior was adorned with Goya's murals, exquisitely beautiful.

They had arrived a bit early. If they'd come in October, the Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar would be held here, displaying the jewelry and religious items worn by the statue of the Virgin.

That was the peak tourist season here, much like the sea of people back home, bustling and lively.

But even now, there were plenty of visitors, many of them locals from Spain.

After touring the basilica, they headed over to the University of Zaragoza for a look around.

The University of Zaragoza had a history of over 500 years, with many of its teaching buildings resembling stone castles, grand and imposing.

To put it in vivid terms, the campus here felt a lot like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Harry Potter.

After visiting both places, the two of them enjoyed a visual feast.

But as they made their rounds, they didn't run into any so-called romance encounters.

It wasn't because Fernandez was wrong—it was because they were too young.

In fact, they looked like minors.

Especially Fernandez, with his green, youthful face, could've joined TFBOYS to sing Youth Cultivation Manual.

The Juvenile Protection Law existed in every country.

The next day, Sun Hao and Fernandez went to explore the Zaragoza suburbs.

The stone castles and bridges in the style of Ancient Rome were captivating, making it hard to leave.

Compared to the day before, today offered them a different kind of experience.

After spending two days in Zaragoza, they boarded the train back to Madrid on the morning of the third day.

Those two days had been rich in travel experiences, and the scenery was thoroughly enjoyable.

But sitting on the train, Sun Hao felt a bit of regret inside.

Because Fernandez was a minor, during their two days in Zaragoza, they could only go shopping at night or sit idly in cafes.

The bar that topped Fernandez's romance encounter ranking—they hadn't been able to go, so naturally, there were no romance encounters.

When a person had no thoughts about something, they didn't dwell on it, but once the idea stirred and didn't come to pass, regret was inevitable.

Watching Zaragoza fade into the distance, Sun Hao still felt a vague sense of loss.

Back in Madrid, Sun Hao and Fernandez went straight to the gym for training.

After the afternoon training session ended, Sun Hao and Fernandez left the gym together.

They were still chatting about their trip to Zaragoza.

As they walked forward, Fernandez suddenly tapped Sun Hao on the shoulder and signaled with his eyes toward the front.

Sun Hao followed his gaze.

At the crossroads ahead, there was a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen, her face anxious, her eyes darting to passersby from time to time.

"She's probably in some trouble. Want to go help her out?"

Fernandez had an expression that screamed, "Here's your romance encounter."

Sun Hao shot Fernandez a glare—was this guy more eager than a matchmaker?

Though he refused in his heart, his feet honestly carried him over.

As he got closer, Sun Hao got a clear look at the girl.

A delicate face, soft pink lips, a straight nose bridge, and a pair of eyes that seemed almost bewitching.

She wasn't old, but she was a budding beauty.

Still, her features were clearly different from the surrounding Spaniards, and her fluent American English suggested she wasn't a local.

The girl had just asked a passerby and wore a look of disappointment on her face.

Turning her head and seeing someone approach her, her eyes lit up with anticipation. Before Sun Hao could speak, she started first.

"Excuse me, do you speak English?"

A very standard American accent.

From Sun Hao's experience in his past life, this girl was most likely from North America.

And looking a few more times, her face gave Sun Hao a very familiar feeling, but he couldn't quite place who she was for the moment.

"Is something the matter?"

Sun Hao replied in English.

He had always been happy to help others.

Especially when the other party was a pretty girl.

Thanks to Ling Tian Feichen, Qingyu Feiyan, Xiao Nie Beauty, Blue Wind and Snow Trail, and Old Days Fragments for the tips~ Thank you for the support, big shots! Mwah mwah~

Lately, I've seen many places starting to lift restrictions, but everyone should still take care to protect themselves—staying alive is the most important thing.

Tomorrow is also Valentine's Day, so with this chapter's title, I wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day~

Finally, as usual, asking for recommendation tickets~ and chapter reviews~