When the plane landed in Capital City, Cheng Che had no idea how many people were waiting for him outside.
Until he glanced through the window of the covered bridge in the direction leading to the hall.
A sea of people.
There were at least a thousand people queuing from the exit railing all the way to the end of the hall.
Some people were holding up light boards, some were waving national flags, some were taking pictures with their phones, and many others were just standing on tiptoe looking towards the exit.
Some people wore T-shirts with his name printed on them, some wore hats like his, and some even wrote "Grand Slam in One Year" on their banners and held them high.
Cheng Che stood in the covered bridge and remained silent for a moment.
Qin Lie leaned over for a look, then fell silent.
"More than last time," Qin Lie said, still feeling a lingering fear.
How much was it last time?
"Before the last US Open, it was a few hundred. This time..." Qin Lie glanced at the list and shook his head, "It's over a thousand, probably more."
Then the people outside saw him.
Cheers erupted from the arrival hall, audible even through the glass.
The name " Cheng Che " was shouted simultaneously from thousands of mouths, mixed with screams, whistles, and some other indistinguishable shouts, crashing against the steel structure of the airport with a buzzing sound.
Several passengers who had just disembarked from the plane turned their heads and glanced in that direction. One of the middle-aged men asked, "Who's that?"
A young woman next to him glanced at him, her tone implying, "You don't even know?!" " Cheng Che! He plays tennis, US Open Champion! Four Grand Slams in one year!"
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. "Four Grand Slams in one year? That's amazing?"
"Of course he's amazing!" The girl's voice rose a little. "No one has ever won all four Grand Slam titles in a single year before. He's the first. He's brought glory to the country!"
The middle-aged man nodded, then took out his phone and walked towards the crowd. "I'll have to take a look."
Inside the arrival hall, the crowd was surging forward.
The fans in the front row were desperately reaching out through the railing, and some had already started to push forward. The security personnel, who were standing in a row holding hands, were pushed back half a step.
" Cheng Che! Look this way!!!"
"Aaaaaaah, he's out!!!"
"A Grand Slam in one year! King!"
" Cheng Che! I flew all the way from Spring City! Can I get your autograph?"
A girl was holding up a white Nike jersey with Cheng Che's name and the words "Grand Slam" printed on it. She held the jersey above her head and shook it frantically. She was jostled by the people next to her and had to hold onto the railing to regain her balance.
Another girl was carrying a huge plush tennis ball with "Grand Slam at Nineteen" written on it in Mark. When she saw Cheng Che come out, she leaned forward and almost dropped the plush tennis ball into the railing.
Cheng Che glanced at the commotion, then turned to Qin Lie and said, "Hurry up."
Qin Lie nodded, and he and Zhao Gang flanked him, walking towards the side door under the guidance of the security guards.
As he passed the procedural barriers, fans reached out from all directions; some touched his sleeve, and others nearly grabbed his bag. Security personnel blocked them while shouting, "Don't push, don't push, move back a bit!"
Cheng Che didn't stop, but turned his head and waved towards the crowd.
That wave made the screams rise even higher. The girls in the front row jumped up, and the people behind them surged forward, bending the security line slightly, but it didn't break.
They exited through the side door, got into the car, and the moment the door closed, everyone inside breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was terrifying!" Chen Wei, sitting in the back row, patted her chest. "It was even more shocking than the one in Paris."
Cheng Che placed his bag at his feet, leaned back in his seat, and remained silent.
About ten minutes after the car left the airport expressway, Zhao Gang glanced at the rearview mirror and said, "There's a car following us."
Cheng Che glanced out the car window. There were about three or four cars following behind, keeping a close but not too close distance.
"Paparazzi or fans?" Qin Lie asked hurriedly.
"They don't look like paparazzi." Zhao Gang glanced at them again. "Paparazzi wouldn't follow this closely; these cars must be fans' cars."
Qin Lie chuckled, glancing sideways at Cheng Che: "It proves you're popular."
Cheng Che didn't reply, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Get rid of him," Qin Lie said to Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang responded, turned the steering wheel all the way, and the car turned from the main road onto a side road, then changed lanes twice before entering a narrow alley.
The cars behind were caught off guard by the traffic light, and by the time they turned out, they could no longer see the taillights of Cheng Che Che's car.
"Alright," Zhao Gang said.
Qin Lie withdrew his gaze, turned from the passenger seat to look at Cheng Che, and his expression became more serious. "You're going to be busy from now on."
"You say."
" The General Administration of Sport wants to meet with you and give you an award, but the date isn't set yet. I'll let you know when it is. CCTV, People's Daily, and Xinhua News Agency all have interview requests; I've picked a few reliable ones and scheduled them for the next week. Weibo wants to do a live interview, and Tengda wants to leverage your popularity to promote ' The Realm and Old Friends,' plus dozens of variety show and endorsement offers. I've screened them out, and there are about a dozen that are more substantial; take a look. Oh, and the ' Easter Egg ' production team is about to start filming..."
Qin Lie finished speaking in one breath, glanced at him, and asked, "Does your head hurt?"
Cheng Che leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes briefly.
"You can arrange it."
"That's exactly what I was waiting for you to say." Qin Lie chuckled, then turned back and sat up straight.
The car finally stopped in front of an apartment building on the East Fourth Ring Road.
Cheng Che went upstairs, pushed open the door, threw his bag on the entryway, and collapsed onto the sofa.
He took out his phone and scrolled through it; six out of the top ten trending topics were about him.
From " Cheng Che Returns to China" to " Cheng Che's Airport Fans" to "A Year of Grand Slam", clicking on them reveals nothing but photos and videos from today.
He read two of them, then placed his phone face down on the sofa and closed his eyes.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, a small silver ball appeared in his hand, having somehow slid out of the system space.
[ Cloud Wave Ball: When carried, it allows you to accurately predict tomorrow's weather changes.]
Cheng Che couldn't help but smile helplessly when he saw the ball.
Weather forecast.
The reward item for the Stamina Trial: Second Stage was surprisingly a weather forecast.
He shook his head, weighed the small ball in his hand, and felt a faint gleam on its silver surface under the light.
"That's fine," he muttered to himself. "I won't need to check the weather forecast before going out anymore."
He carefully put the ball away, then opened the system panel and glanced at the newly acquired talent.
[ Born with Divine Strength (Passive): Your strength will gradually increase to its limit.]
Cheng Che stared at that line of text for two seconds.
It was such a simple sentence, but he could feel something changing inside his body.
He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and felt that the strength between his knuckles was a bit firmer than yesterday.
He lowered his hand, leaned back on the sofa, and stared at the ceiling.
"If this talent were in ancient times," he muttered, "He would at least be a powerful overlord."
Then he added, "At the top, he might be a superman."
He smiled, put his arms behind his head, and closed his eyes.
Then, at that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from his room, Cheng Che abruptly opened his eyes!