Doubt and Summons

Chapter 20: Doubts and the Call-Up

After seeing Jocelyn off, the first thing Sun Hao did when he got back was buy a Big Butt Computer.

The computer industry wasn't developed yet back then, especially laptops, which were still very primitive. The Big Butt Computer was the best thing this era had to offer.

After bringing it home, he hooked up the internet, took out a Sticky Note, confirmed the email address was correct, and started sending emails.

The thing about emails, or social software in general, was that it wasn't face-to-face. You could say whatever awkward things you couldn't bring yourself to say in person.

"There are a hundred ways to say sweet. One is eating candy, one is eating cake, and the other ninety-eight are thinking of you. In the few minutes you've been gone, I've already thought of you a thousand times. Do you know the difference between you and the stars to me? The stars are in the sky, but you are in my heart..."

Sun Hao typed out Cheesy Love Lines like that, writing freely and quickly filling a long passage.

After finishing and sending it off, Sun Hao immediately logged out of his email.

Jocelyn wouldn't arrive in the U.S. until tomorrow, so she wouldn't see the email until then.

After logging out, he didn't shut down the computer right away. Instead, he was curious to see how fans had reacted to his 81-point game.

People were naturally vain, and he wanted to see how fans were hyping him up.

Unfortunately, the fans on the Spanish Forum communicated entirely in Spanish, and he couldn't bypass the firewall from inside the country, so he had to give up for now.

It looked like he'd have to buckle down and learn Spanish too.

He wasn't particularly gifted at language learning, but he made up for it with hard work.

Back when he went to the U.S. to play in the NCAA, he could communicate with those around him within a year.

He'd be staying in Spain for a while, so he had to pick this up.

Of course, there was another reason: next time Jocelyn came to Spain, Sun Hao definitely wanted to take her somewhere else to have fun.

And when that time came, he didn't want to drag Fernandez along. Not only would it be a bother, but having a third wheel wasn't appropriate either.

Just as he was thinking, a knock came from outside his rented room.

Not many people knew where he lived—just the landlord and Fernandez.

He called out, and the voice from the door confirmed it was Fernandez.

"What are you doing here?"

Sun Hao was a bit puzzled.

"I waited for you at the Training Hall for ages and you never showed up. You should buy a cell phone."

Fernandez said helplessly.

They usually met at the Training Hall entrance at seven in the morning. Today, he'd waited a long time and Sun Hao never came.

Unable to get in touch, he had no choice but to come looking.

"That'll have to wait a bit longer. I just bought this thing."

Sun Hao pointed at his newly purchased computer.

Electronic products were very primitive in this era, especially uncomfortable for Sun Hao, who had time-traveled here and was used to smart devices.

In his original time, many people fantasized about traveling back to ancient times to live.

But if you actually went to ancient times, with no electronics, no internet, and even the simplest necessities of life being terribly backward, it would drive you crazy in no time.

In this regard, Sun Hao had fully experienced it.

The Big Butt Computer and its snail-paced internet speed were already driving him crazy, let alone cell phones.

In 1997, 2G phones had only been out for two years. Forget Apple—even Nokia was just starting to make a name for itself.

On one hand, he had no interest in phones like that. On the other, just as he said, they were expensive.

Converted, it was about ten to twenty thousand RMB. He'd just bled his savings dry for this computer, so he really couldn't afford one right now.

When Fernandez heard what Sun Hao said, his attention immediately locked onto the computer, and he hurried over.

His family had a computer too, but his parents were strict and wouldn't let him play with it. He never expected Sun Hao to buy one himself!

Seeing Fernandez's reaction, Sun Hao couldn't help but smile.

Although he was mature for his age emotionally, Fernandez was still just a twelve-year-old kid.

Kids had very little resistance to electronic products.

"Is this a basketball forum?"

Fernandez sat down and saw what was on Sun Hao's computer, browsing curiously as he spoke.

"These guys really... they're never satisfied."

After reading for a bit, he couldn't help but complain.

Sun Hao curiously went over.

Fernandez knew Sun Hao's Spanish level and started translating for him directly.

On the forum, quite a few fans were hyping Sun Hao, calling him the strongest overseas young player in Spain, saying his shooting was the best in Europe, and some even compared him to Sabonis.

Sabonis's achievements in La Liga were the absolute peak, no exceptions. That was like comparing someone to Jordan in the NBA.

Some fans even posted a link to a website; on the homepage of a Spanish sports media outlet, Sun Hao was directly referred to as "Mr. 81 Points"!

Those who praised him went all out, but there were also plenty of doubters.

The reason for the doubt was naturally the intensity of the game.

They believed that the EBA League, as a youth league and the lowest level league in Spain, had stats that weren't really meaningful.

Fernandez was also criticizing these people.

A youth league is still a professional league after all; even if the level is low, scoring 81 points is by no means an easy feat.

Not to mention, Sun Hao's 81 points were the current single-game scoring record in the EBA League, from past to present.

Sun Hao learned about the fans' comments and couldn't help but laugh.

Scoring in a lower-level league really isn't that meaningful.

Two typical examples in history were Rubio and Maradona.

Rubio once put up a crazy stat line of 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists, and 7 steals in the U16 European Championship final;

Maradona was banned from playing in under-17 competitions because he often scored over a dozen goals in a single youth league game.

Even scoring 100 points has happened before.

JJ Culver in the US once scored 100 points in a single game in the NAIA, and domestic player Shi Hongfei also dropped 157 points in an amateur game.

But that said, Rubio and Maradona were both top-tier athletes.

And the intensity of the EBA League is definitely much higher than amateur leagues, and also stronger than the NAIA.

Plus, with 10-minute quarters in European leagues, getting 81 points is harder than scoring 100+ in those other settings.

These doubters had their reasons, but their emotional intelligence was really low.

At that moment, Sun Hao made up his mind: when he got to the NBA later, he would also drop 81 points.

When that time came, these people would have to shut up for good.

The two of them browsed the forum for a while, played a round of Minesweeper, queued up an action movie to download, and then headed to the gym.

There really wasn't much you could do with a computer back then.

The team had an afternoon training session scheduled. After training ended, they were resting in the locker room when Raul suddenly brought someone in.

His expression wasn't great, which made the players both scared and confused.

The fear came from the instinctive dread young players have for their head coach.

The confusion came from the fact that they had just won yesterday, so Raul shouldn't have looked like that.

But when the newcomer walked straight up to Sun Hao and introduced himself, they all understood.

The person who came was the head coach of the Plata Real Madrid team.

He had only one purpose: to call Sun Hao up to play in the Plata League!

His appearance meant that Sun Hao had gone from the EBA youth team to the Plata third-tier league in just five games.

It was only a matter of time before Sun Hao's outstanding performance would take him out of the youth team; it was within reason.

But the speed of it was a bit fast, unexpected.

And there was a big difference between the Plata League and the EBA League: the team roster had a limit of 15 players.

To call up Sun Hao, the team had specifically cut someone from the roster!

Online, some might have questioned the 81 points Sun Hao had just scored, but the fact was that the team was truly professional.

Teammates came one by one to say goodbye to Sun Hao.

Although there had been prejudice when they first met, their time together over the past two months had been pretty good.

Fernandez was especially reluctant to part ways; he had treated Sun Hao as his idol since that first game.

After these few games, he had practically become a little fanboy.

"I'm just switching places, don't make it sound like a farewell forever. We can still hang out, and you need to step it up too."

Sun Hao got along well with Fernandez, and as he spoke, he ruffled his hair.

Real Madrid had teams at every level, from La Liga down to the EBA.

Like he said, all these teams were in Madrid, just in different locations.

La Liga was in the city center, the youth team in the suburbs, and the second and third-tier teams were somewhere in between, basically tied to the market.

Fernandez nodded firmly.

He was quite a bit younger than Sun Hao, which meant he still had plenty of time.

Now that Sun Hao had set an example for him, he had to work hard to catch up.

The other teammates looked pretty good; besides their bond, Sun Hao's departure also meant they would get more playing opportunities in the remaining season.

Raul, on the other hand, kept a sour face the whole time.

He had been hoping Sun Hao would help him climb the ranks, but he never expected him to be poached by a higher-level team so quickly.

He was getting carried away with his triumph, forgetting the rule of not flaunting one's wealth.

All he could think about now was how to keep Sun Hao here.

"Coach, thank you for bringing me to Spain. You're my first mentor in professional basketball, and I'll always remember you."

Seeing Raul's reaction, Sun Hao stepped forward and spoke proactively to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Of course, what he said wasn't a lie.

After Raul heard this, his previously gloomy expression cleared up in an instant, and the thoughts of forcibly keeping Sun Hao were cast aside.

Sun Hao's words were essentially giving him an official endorsement!

Once Sun Hao became famous in the future, he could use the title of Sun Hao's first mentor!

Although he hadn't soared straight to success, this was a huge boost to his future development.

"Go play well in the Plata League, and strive to get into the first team as soon as possible."

Raul's expression shifted, and his words were filled with bold ambition.

Sun Hao nodded in agreement. That was also his goal.

Thanks to the generous support from Geely Xiaoyang, Xiang Lai Yuan Qian Nai He Qing Shen, Ling Tian Feichen, Hypocritical RS, and reader 20191018174109167 for their tips. Thank you for your support, big shots~

Please vote with your recommendation tickets, big shots~ Poor Shui Qie is being firmly pressed down by Shui Duan Qiao. If he doesn't strike out like a dragon and burst through, he's not a man!