The fans cheered, and the Real Madrid Team players celebrated as well.
The moment the game ended, players from both on and off the court rushed toward Sun Hao.
They first surrounded him, shouting wildly, then hoisted him up and tossed him into the air.
Passion was what young people had in abundance!
Watching Sun Hao get thrown into the air several times on the court, Jocelyn in the stands could not stop laughing.
With a night like this, her trip to Spain had far exceeded her expectations.
After his teammates finally put him down, Sun Hao wanted to glance toward Jocelyn in the stands, but his teammates were already pushing him back to the locker room.
They were definitely going to celebrate properly.
By the time Sun Hao came out of the locker room, most of the fans had already left.
However, he still saw Jocelyn at the entrance to the arena.
Jocelyn had probably been waiting there for quite some time.
Sun Hao jogged over, and amid his teammates' teasing calls behind him, the two of them left the arena together.
Sun Hao was bursting with joy and wanted to share it with Jocelyn.
But as they walked, he noticed that Jocelyn's mood had dropped considerably compared to earlier.
More importantly, Jocelyn, who had always been lively and talkative, now seemed somewhat silent.
Sun Hao did not know what had happened in the meantime.
After walking for a while, he could not help but speak.
"Did I leave you by yourself for too long? Are you upset?"
Jocelyn did not respond.
Sun Hao stopped, then took hold of Jocelyn.
Jocelyn had not noticed, and when he pulled her, she stopped as well.
"What's wrong?"
Jocelyn seemed distracted, as if she had not even heard what Sun Hao had just said.
"Did I make you wait too long?"
Sun Hao repeated himself.
There was a trace of self-reproach in his voice.
He felt that had to be it. Jocelyn had spent the whole night being happy for him, yet he had left her off to the side.
There was a reason he had been single for twenty-eight years.
"No, no, it's not that, Sun."
At that moment, Jocelyn suddenly raised her head and looked at Sun Hao.
"My dad called me. He told me to go back immediately. He said that if I stayed in Spain any longer, then he'd... he'd tell me never to come back again."
Jocelyn clenched both hands into fists as she spoke.
Though she had matured early, she was still young after all. When her parents said something so harsh to her, she instinctively felt wronged and afraid.
Sun Hao froze for a moment. He had not expected things to be completely different from what he thought. Jocelyn's mood had nothing to do with him, but with her family.
It was not something he could change, at least not now.
Looking at the girl before him, her face full of grievance, he pulled her tightly into his arms.
Perhaps only this could give Jocelyn a sense of security and make her feel a little better.
Jocelyn did not resist and simply leaned against Sun Hao's chest.
After a long while, she looked up at Sun Hao.
"Sun, I have to go back tomorrow."
It was her decision, but also something she had no choice about.
"I know. Go back. Don't become a runaway child, and don't let things turn ugly with your family."
At this moment, Sun Hao was a twenty-eight-year-old man.
"I'll come see you off tomorrow morning."
After escorting Jocelyn to the entrance of her hotel, Sun Hao spoke.
Jocelyn nodded.
Sun Hao wanted to say something, but realized he did not know what to say.
Just then, Jocelyn suddenly stepped forward and hugged Sun Hao, then looked up.
Sun Hao reached out and wrapped Jocelyn in his arms, then lowered his head.
There were no words exchanged, only an unspoken understanding of feeling.
They kissed.
It was just that Sun Hao was clumsy, and Jocelyn had no experience at all.
They were like people eating candy for the first time. They knew they had to unwrap it first, but could not tear open the wrapper, so they could only eat it together with the wrapper still on.
It was sweet, yet it somehow did not feel like they had reached the sweetest part.
Only when they were both nearly out of breath did Jocelyn pull away from him.
Her chest rose and fell as she panted heavily.
"I was born in New York, but my father is Danish and my mother is American. They met in Denmark."
After her breathing steadied somewhat, she continued.
It sounded like she was telling the story of her parents, but also like she was conveying a message.
Her parents had come from different countries, yet they had met and fallen in love in Europe before eventually marrying and starting a family.
Sun Hao said nothing, only nodded.
Jocelyn pressed her forehead against Sun Hao's.
Sun Hao could feel her even breathing.
Jocelyn took a deep breath, then turned and walked toward the hotel.
She took two steps, looked back once, and kept doing so until she disappeared through the hotel entrance.
Sun Hao did not follow her. Only after Jocelyn entered the hotel did he turn and leave.
After returning home, he took a shower and prepared to sleep.
Scoring eighty-one points in one game had exhausted even his ironclad body.
Coupled with what had happened with Jocelyn, he was exhausted both physically and mentally.
"Congratulations to the host for scoring 81 points in a lower-tier league. System reward: one Shooting Training Machine."
However, just as he lay down, the System's notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
The sound instantly drove away his drowsiness.
A Shooting Training Machine?
What was that?
Filled with curiosity, he entered the System Space and saw that there was an extra object in the Training Hall.
It really was a Shooting Training Machine.
But it was completely different from the kind found in arcades.
This thing had wheels underneath, a tall rectangular body, and even two mechanical arms.
Calling it a robot might have been more fitting!
Sun Hao went up to try it out and found that whenever he attempted a shot, the machine would move in front of him and extend its mechanical arms to interfere.
This was advanced!
Badge upgrades depended on proficiency, so games and training differed fundamentally. In this version of the System, training came without interference.
But with this Shooting Training Machine, the quality of his training would improve greatly, and his Badge proficiency would naturally rise faster as well.
This extra reward had come at exactly the right time!
And there had been no sign of it beforehand. It was a genuine, huge surprise for him!
He immediately threw himself into training.
Once he started, he discovered that this Shooting Training Machine was very intelligent.
Not only could it simulate a defender's interference, but its defensive intensity could even be adjusted.
As expected, anything produced by the System was top quality!
After training for a while, he could clearly feel that his training results had improved.
As the System had said, the EBA League was within the range of lower-tier leagues, but those eighty-one points had been more than worth it!
After training himself to exhaustion, Sun Hao left the System.
Once the excitement faded, drowsiness swept over him, and he fell asleep in a second.
After falling asleep, he had another sweet dream.
A few years later, he entered the NBA and reunited with Jocelyn in America.
Reunited after so long apart, the two of them wildly did the things they loved to do.
Unfortunately, before the main event was over, he woke up.
He felt that his pants were wet, and his old face instantly reddened.
It had to be because this body was too young! Puberty was to blame!
After taking a quick shower, he hurried to the hotel.
Jocelyn did not have much luggage. Once the two of them finished packing, they hailed a cab straight to the airport.
In the taxi, Jocelyn kept holding Sun Hao's hand.
Neither of them said much along the way.
When they arrived at the airport, the boarding announcement came after only a short wait.
After checking once more to make sure it was her flight, Jocelyn looked a little sad.
Flights were always delayed. Why did this one have to be on time?
Just then, she suddenly remembered something. She hurriedly pulled out a pen and paper from her bag and quickly began writing.
When she finished and handed it to Sun Hao, he realized it was an email address.
"Remember to email me. You have to remember."
As Jocelyn said this, her eyes remained fixed on Sun Hao, afraid he might forget.
Sun Hao nodded firmly, then carefully put the sticky note away.
Though reluctant to part, after kissing goodbye at the boarding gate, Jocelyn still boarded the plane back to America.
Watching the plane take off and gradually disappear, Sun Hao felt a little empty inside.
Though their separation was only temporary and they would meet again in America someday, he had no idea how long it would be until then.
He took the sticky note from his pocket, glanced at the email address and silently memorized it, then carefully tucked the sticky note back into his pocket.
Communication was underdeveloped in this era. For a long time to come, this might be the only way he and Jocelyn could stay in touch.
Thanks to Xiaoyao's Freedom, Hypocritical RS, Minced Meat Little Eggplant, Fate Has Always Been Shallow Yet Love Is Deep, I Am Three Thousand Beauties, Undying and Immortal Forever, and Big Wooden Head for the rewards! Thank you, bosses, for your support. Love you all, mwah~
It's a new week. Please vote with recommendation tickets~ Please leave chapter comments~ Hearts~
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