After seeing Jocelyn off, the first thing Sun Hao did when he got back was buy a Big Butt Computer.
The computer industry was still underdeveloped at the time, especially laptops. A Big Butt Computer was the best thing available in that era.
After bringing it home and connecting it to the internet, he took out a sticky note. Once he confirmed he had entered the email address correctly, he began writing an email.
The advantage of email—or social software, for that matter—was that it was not face-to-face. Things that were hard to say aloud could be said casually.
"There are a hundred ways sweetness can happen. One is eating candy, one is eating cake, and the other ninety-eight are thinking of you. In the few minutes since you left, I've already thought of you a thousand times. Do you know the difference between you and the stars? The stars are in the sky, but you are in my heart..."
Sun Hao quickly wrote a long email filled with such cheesy love lines.
After finishing and sending it, Sun Hao logged out of his email.
Jocelyn would not arrive in America until tomorrow. She would not see the email until then.
After logging out, he did not immediately turn off the computer. Instead, he eagerly wanted to see how fans had reacted to his 81-point performance.
People were born with vanity. He wanted to see how the fans praised him.
Unfortunately, the fans on the Spanish Forum communicated entirely in Spanish, and he could not bypass the firewall from home. He could only give up for now.
It looked like he needed to hurry up and learn Spanish.
He was not particularly talented when it came to learning languages, but he made up for it with hard work.
When he had first gone to America to play in the NCAA, he had been able to communicate with the people around him within a year.
He would be staying in Spain for quite some time, so he had to learn it.
There was another reason, too. The next time Jocelyn came to Spain, Sun Hao would definitely take her somewhere else for fun.
He did not want to drag Fernandez along then. Not only would that trouble him, bringing a third wheel would be inappropriate.
Just as he was thinking about it, someone knocked on the door of his rental apartment.
Not many people knew he lived there. Aside from the landlord, there was only Fernandez.
He called out, and the reply came from outside. Fernandez had arrived.
"Why are you here?"
Sun Hao was somewhat surprised.
"I waited for you at the Training Hall for half the day, but you never came. You should buy a phone."
Fernandez spoke helplessly.
They normally met at the entrance of the Training Hall at seven in the morning. Today, he had waited a long time, but Sun Hao never showed up.
Unable to contact him, he could only come over to look for him.
"That'll have to wait. I just bought this thing."
Sun Hao pointed at the computer he had just bought.
Electronic products were terribly underdeveloped in this era. For Sun Hao, who had transmigrated from an age of smart devices, it was especially uncomfortable.
In his era, many people fantasized about traveling back to ancient times to live.
But if they truly ended up in ancient times, without electronic devices or the internet, with even basic necessities like food, clothing, housing, and transportation hopelessly backward, they would be driven insane in no time.
Sun Hao had fully experienced that firsthand.
The Big Butt Computer and its snail-paced internet speed were already driving him crazy, never mind phones.
It was 1997. 2G phones had only been around for two years. Forget Apple—Nokia had only just begun to emerge.
On one hand, he had no interest in those kinds of phones. On the other, as he had said, they really were expensive.
Converted to yuan, they cost ten or twenty thousand. He had just spent a fortune on the computer, so he truly could not afford one right away.
When Fernandez heard Sun Hao, his attention immediately focused on the computer, and he hurried over.
His family also had a computer, but his parents were strict and would not let him use it. He had not expected Sun Hao to buy one himself!
Seeing Fernandez's reaction, Sun Hao instantly laughed.
Though he was relatively mature emotionally, Fernandez was still only a twelve-year-old child.
Children had very little resistance to electronic products.
"Is this a basketball forum?"
After sitting down, Fernandez saw what was on Sun Hao's computer. He spoke as he curiously browsed through it.
"These people really are... never satisfied."
After looking for only a short while, he could not help complaining.
Sun Hao walked over curiously.
Knowing Sun Hao's level of Spanish, Fernandez immediately began translating for him.
On the forum, quite a few fans were praising Sun Hao. They called him Spain's strongest young overseas player, said his shooting ability was the best in Europe, and some even compared him to Sabonis.
Sabonis's achievements in La Liga stood at the very top, without question. It was roughly like comparing Sun Hao to Jordan in the NBA.
Some fans even posted website links. On the homepage of Spanish sports media outlets, Sun Hao was directly called "Mr. 81 Points"!
The people praising him praised him fervently, but there were also many who questioned him.
Naturally, the reason for their doubts was the intensity of the competition.
They believed that the EBA League, as a youth league and Spain's lowest-level league, had statistics with no real reference value.
Those were the people Fernandez was complaining about.
A youth league was still a professional league. Even if its level was low, scoring 81 points was definitely not easy.
Sun Hao's 81 points were the EBA League's all-time single-game scoring record.
After learning what the fans were saying, Sun Hao could not help smiling.
Scoring in lower-tier leagues truly did not carry much reference value.
There were two classic examples in history: Rubio and Maradona.
Rubio had put up a ridiculous 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists, and 7 steals in the U16 European Championships final;
Maradona, meanwhile, had been banned from playing in under-17 competitions because he regularly scored more than ten goals in a single youth league game.
Even 100-point games were not unheard of.
America's JJ Culver had once scored 100 points in a single NAIA game, while domestic player Shi Hongfei had once scored 157 points in an amateur game.
But even so, Rubio and Maradona were both elite athletes.
And the EBA League was definitely much more intense than amateur leagues, and stronger than the NAIA as well.
On top of that, European leagues played ten-minute quarters, so scoring 81 points was harder than scoring over 100 in those games.
Those people had reasons for their doubts, but their emotional intelligence was truly low.
At that moment, Sun Hao made up his mind. Once he reached the NBA, he would score 81 points too.
By then, those people would have to shut up completely.
The two browsed the forum for a while, played a round of Minesweeper, downloaded an action movie, and then headed to the gym.
Computers in this era really could not do much.
The team had scheduled training that afternoon. After training ended, they were resting in the locker room when Raul suddenly brought someone in.
Raul's expression was not very pleasant, leaving the players both nervous and confused.
They were nervous because young players instinctively feared their head coach.
They were confused because they had just won yesterday. Raul should not have been making that kind of face.
But when the visitor walked directly toward Sun Hao and introduced himself, they all understood.
The visitor was the head coach of the Plata Real Madrid team.
He had come for only one reason: to call Sun Hao up to play in the Plata League!
His arrival meant that Sun Hao had gone from the EBA Youth Team to the third-tier Plata League in only five games.
Given Sun Hao's outstanding performances, it was only a matter of time before he left the Youth Team. It was perfectly understandable.
The only surprise was that it had happened so quickly.
Moreover, there was a major difference between the Plata League and the EBA League: team rosters were limited to fifteen players.
To call up Sun Hao, the team had specifically cut someone from its roster!
Some people online might have questioned Sun Hao's 81 points, but the facts proved that the team was the truly professional side.
His teammates came over one after another to say goodbye to Sun Hao.
Although they had been prejudiced when they first met, they had gotten along quite well over the past two months.
Fernandez was especially reluctant to part with him. Ever since the first game, he had regarded Sun Hao as his idol.
After these past few games, he had practically become a little fanboy.
"I'm just changing places. Don't make it sound like we're never seeing each other again. We can still hang out, and you need to work hard too."
Sun Hao got along well with Fernandez, and as he spoke, he rubbed his head.
The Real Madrid Team had teams at every level of competition, from La Liga down to the EBA.
Just as he said, all those teams were in Madrid. They were simply located in different places.
La Liga was in the city center, the Youth Team was in the suburbs, and the second- and third-tier league teams were somewhere in between, basically tied to the local basketball market.
Fernandez nodded forcefully.
He was much younger than Sun Hao, which meant he had more time.
Now that Sun Hao had set an example for him, he had to work hard to catch up to it.
The other teammates all looked pleased. Aside from their friendship, Sun Hao's departure also meant they would receive more chances to perform for the rest of the season.
Only Raul's expression remained unpleasant.
He had originally hoped Sun Hao would carry him straight to success, but he had not expected the higher-level team to poach him so quickly.
He had gotten carried away and forgotten that wealth should not be flaunted.
All he could think about now was how to keep Sun Hao.
"Coach, thank you for bringing me to Spain. You were the coach who introduced me to professional basketball, and I will always remember you."
Seeing Raul's reaction, Sun Hao stepped forward on his own to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Of course, he was not lying.
After hearing that, the gloom on Raul's face instantly vanished, and all thoughts of forcibly keeping Sun Hao were thrown out the window.
Sun Hao's words were practically an official endorsement for him!
Once Sun Hao became famous in the future, he could use the title of Sun Hao's first basketball coach!
Though he had failed to rise directly to success, this would be a huge boost to his future development.
"Play well in the Plata League. Try to make the first team as soon as possible."
Raul's expression changed, and his words were full of bold spirit.
Sun Hao nodded. That was his goal as well.
Thanks to Awesome Little Brother Yang, Fate Has Always Been Shallow Yet Love Runs Deep, Ling Tian Feichen, Hypocritical RS, and reader 20191018174109167 for the rewards. Thank you, bosses, for your support~
Big shots, please vote with your recommendation tickets. Poor Shui Qie is being pinned down hard by Shui Duanqiao. If I don't unleash a dragon-like shot and blow him up, I'm not human!
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