Trial with the Hongyuan Team

Chapter 3: Trial for the Hongyuan Youth Team

The next morning, Sun Hao got up and prepared to go to school, only to notice his clothes had been washed.

He suddenly remembered something.

Yesterday, he had casually picked something up and put it in his pocket.

"Mom, did you see anything in my pocket when you washed the clothes yesterday?"

"What thing?"

"I lent my clothes to a classmate yesterday, and he seemed to have put something in them."

"There was nothing."

"Oh, maybe he took it back."

After asking, Sun Hao let out a long sigh of relief.

It must have fallen out when he ran home yesterday.

Good thing it fell out—otherwise, who knows what kind of beating a thirteen-year-old kid would get for having that kind of thing found in his pocket.

But for some reason, when he left the house, his dad looked at him with a strange expression.

He didn't dwell on it. Compared to everything else, the most important thing now was systematic training.

There was still a month until the trial, which translated to two months in the system.

He had to use those two months to improve himself with all his might.

The dream was beautiful, and he had to work hard to make it come true.

Over the next month, in the eyes of his classmates, Sun Hao transformed from a very lively person into a very quiet one.

Between classes, he either sat in his seat reading a book or lay on the desk sleeping. Even during breaks in PE class, he would sit alone in a daze.

Seeing this so often, even the teachers started to wonder if he was going through something difficult.

"Teacher, I'm perfectly normal, completely normal. No one is more normal than me. If you don't believe me, I'll recite the complete collection of Tang poems for you."

Sun Hao patted his chest as a guarantee.

But his words only made the teacher worry more.

After all, no mentally ill person ever admits they have a mental illness.

As a result, a parent-teacher meeting was unavoidable.

Sun Hao relived the classic experience of his student days once again.

Fortunately, there really wasn't anything wrong with Sun Hao, and this incident smoothly became one of the major events of his life after transmigrating.

Of course, that was just a minor episode.

During this month, Sun Hao seized every opportunity to enter the system for training, and his level improved by leaps and bounds.

Although the intensity was high, the scientific and systematic training didn't put any strain on his body.

On the contrary, he visibly grew stronger.

A month later, Sun Hao and Yi Jianlian boarded the bus heading to the Hongyuan Youth Team together.

Compared to a month ago, the confidence in Sun Hao's expression was noticeably greater.

That confidence came from strength.

Although he still couldn't compare to Yi Jianlian's talent, making it into the Hongyuan Youth Team was not a difficult task for him.

A month ago, they had agreed to play professionally together. Now it seemed like a sure thing.

The Hongyuan Youth Team was located in a suburb of Guangdong Province. They took over an hour by bus to get there.

After arriving, they found that there were many people coming for the trial.

Last year, the Hongyuan Team won first place in the second-tier league and successfully advanced to the top tier. In the new season, they would compete as a new team in the CBA.

Although it was their first season, the team had a group of national players: Huang Yunlong, Zhang Yongjun, Li Chunjiang, and Li Qun. Their strength could not be underestimated.

However, these national players were no longer young. The oldest, Huang Yunlong, was already past thirty-five—an age where a single major injury could force retirement.

In other words, injecting fresh blood was an urgent necessity.

Moreover, as a new team, building a reserve of young talent was a top priority.

After arriving, Sun Hao and Yi Jianlian first checked in, and then immediately began their respective trials.

Although Hongyuan was a new team, the trial content was systematic and professional.

From shuttle runs to test speed, to dribbling through cones to test ball handling, to stationary passing, stationary shooting... and finally, a bone age test.

After a full set of trials, basically all of a player's abilities could be demonstrated.

Sun Hao's trial also went very smoothly.

He might not have been outstanding, but among his peers at the trial, he was already one of the best.

He was very confident about making it into the youth team.

After the tryout ended, he immediately went to find Yi Jianlian.

He looked around but couldn't find him, finally spotting Yi Jianlian in the player tunnel surrounded by a group of Hongyuan Team executives.

Those people had sparkling eyes, as if they had discovered a national treasure like a giant panda.

The scene seemed a bit unbelievable, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Yi Jianlian's talent was an anomaly among the Yellow Race, or to exaggerate a bit, it was freakish.

With such a freak discovered, it would be strange if these people weren't drawn to him.

Sun Hao watched Yi Jianlian's somewhat flustered face and couldn't help but smile again.

Yi Jianlian's introverted personality—that might not be a good thing.

In history, Yi Jianlian's struggles in the NBA weren't just due to injuries; the most fatal issue was this personality.

Fortunately, a large part of a person's personality is shaped by their environment, and over time it naturally changes due to external factors.

Since they'd be playing together for Hongyuan in the future, he could try to slowly change that.

He waited a good while before those executives finally dispersed, and judging by their reluctant expressions before leaving, they looked at Yi Jianlian more affectionately than their own wives.

"I figure if you weren't so young, they'd have you playing on the first team directly."

Sun Hao walked over with a smile, patted Yi Jianlian's arm, happy for him.

Yi Jianlian's face flushed red; in crowded places, he still couldn't loosen up as much as when they were alone.

Once they left the gym, Yi Jianlian finally relaxed.

"How did it go for you?"

After relaxing, he immediately asked Sun Hao.

"Ah..."

Sun Hao wanted to tease Yi Jianlian, so he deliberately put on a sad expression.

"It didn't work? How could that be? Is there a mistake?"

Yi Jianlian's face was full of tension, a deadly triple-question barrage; he had been waiting to play professionally with Sun Hao all along.

"Haha, just messing with you."

Seeing Yi Jianlian's nervous look, Sun Hao found it amusing and a bit touching.

He had originally come to latch onto a big shot, but now Yi Jianlian seemed more like his little brother.

Yi Jianlian was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Watching Yi Jianlian laugh heartily, Sun Hao suddenly felt this joke was well worth it.

At least it proved Yi Jianlian wasn't naturally introverted.

Or in other words, just as he had thought before, Yi Jianlian's personality could be changed by him.

Both of them were in a good mood, bought some snacks by the roadside, and ate while waiting for the bus.

Earlier, they had been called in by their parents; now they were eating snacks together and waiting for the bus.

Sun Hao's school days hadn't been wasted.

The night after the tryout ended, Yi Jianlian called Sun Hao.

Hongyuan had already notified him to report to the team tomorrow.

This efficiency was beyond just fast.

"Did you get a notification?"

Yi Jianlian also asked Sun Hao.

"You're bursting with talent; as for me, I'll probably have to wait."

Judging by the tryout that day, if the rules hadn't prevented it, those executives might have taken Yi Jianlian on the spot.

As for the others, including him, going through the formalities one by one would take at least some time.

"Then come with me tomorrow; maybe you can ask about the results early."

Yi Jianlian couldn't wait.

Sun Hao didn't object either.

This was like waiting for college entrance exam results, interview notifications, or lottery draws—it was all a matter of sooner or later.

Knowing the result earlier would also help him plan his next steps.

Early the next morning, the two took the bus to the youth team again.

Someone was waiting at the entrance, and when they saw Yi Jianlian arrive, their face couldn't hide the joy.

As Sun Hao got closer, he recognized this person as the youth team's head coach, apparently named Yang Wei.

Yang Wei led them into his office, but there was someone else sitting inside whom they hadn't met before.

That was a middle-aged man with a slicked-back center-part hairstyle, wearing a gray suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses—clearly a big shot of the era.

"Xiao Yi, come, let me introduce you. This is Director Li Yuanwei of our Guangdong Sports Bureau."

Yang Wei made the introduction the moment he entered the office.

Sun Hao was somewhat surprised.

On one hand, Yi Jianlian had managed to alert the Sports Bureau Director this quickly; on the other, the name Li Yuanwei sounded familiar to him.

The moment he saw Yi Jianlian, Li Yuanwei nodded repeatedly.

"Director Li, this is his trial training report. The bone age test results are inside as well."

Yang Wei turned and handed the materials he had prepared earlier to Li Yuanwei.

Li Yuanwei took them and began flipping through.

In the spacious office, only the occasional rustle of paper could be heard.

"Good, very good, excellent. Our Guangdong Province needs sports talent like you."

After finishing, the delight on Li Yuanwei's face grew even stronger.

And after saying that, he stood up and signaled Yi Jianlian to sit over at the tea table.

Yang Wei reacted quickly, moving ahead to sit by the tea table and start brewing tea.

Cantonese people love drinking tea, and they especially love drinking black tea.

A wooden tea table, an electric kettle, plus a set of tea utensils—these were practically standard office equipment.

It had to do with their history of doing business in earlier years, gradually becoming a tradition.

Yang Wei boiled water, washed the tea set, brewed the tea, and poured it—his movements were very practiced.

The next few minutes turned entirely into a conversation between Li Yuanwei and Yi Jianlian.

Most of the time, Li Yuanwei asked questions and Yi Jianlian answered.

As for Sun Hao, he sat off to the side, playing the role of an onlooker.

When the conversation finally wound down, both official business and casual talk had been covered.

Seeing Li Yuanwei get up to leave, Yi Jianlian turned his head to glance at Sun Hao and took a deep breath.

"Coach, I... I wanted to ask about Sun Hao's trial training situation."