Chapter 457: Parents' Worry

He drove in silence, his mind a complete blank. Even the radio was off; any sound felt like a potential disturbance. He just wanted a moment of peace—complete and utter peace.

Before his mind could even catch up, his body acted on reflex, slowing the car and pulling into a spot on the side of the road. He opened the door to get out, but then Lu Ke noticed something was off. Looking around, he realized he hadn’t driven back to his own apartment. On autopilot, he had come to his parents’ house.

By the time the game ended, it was nearly midnight in Baltimore, but the San Francisco 49ers didn’t stay overnight. Instead, they caught a red-eye flight back to San Francisco. When they landed, the early morning sun was just beginning to break.

Throughout the entire trip, Lu Ke remained silent, not speaking to anyone, not even Logan or Marcus. The whole team seemed to have taken a vow of silence, every single person keeping their mouth firmly shut as they returned to San Francisco without a word.

This atmosphere had the coaching staff deeply worried. Even Jim Hubble sensed something was wrong, concerned that the negative impact of the two-game losing streak was far greater than he had imagined. He tried to rally their spirits but didn’t know where to begin, only managing a few bland, uninspired platitudes before trailing off.

And so, the team left Baltimore shrouded in a low, oppressive silence. Upon arriving in San Francisco, the team bus took all the players back to the training facility, where they each got in their cars and drove home. The entire process was completed without any conversation.

In fact, on the plane, both Patrick Willis and Jonathan Goodwin had tried to talk to Lu Ke. But he kept his eyes closed the entire flight, apparently sleeping, and they never got the chance. Alex Smith offered some friendly advice, suggesting that today wasn’t the best time for a conversation. For a rookie, he said, a loss like this takes time to digest.

Especially since, carrying the weight of being an undrafted rookie and a player of Chinese descent in the quarterback position, Lu Ke’s journey had been harder than most. Now, in the face of defeat, the pain was naturally that much more acute.

The team dispersed from the training facility, subdued and listless. What Lu Ke hadn’t expected was that, lost in a daze, he would somehow end up at his parents’ front door.

Shutting the car door, Lu Ke prepared to start the engine again and head to his own place.

Showing up at his parents’ door unannounced, especially after a loss like that, would surely make Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning worried sick. Last night on the bus, Lu Ke had made a point to call his mother to let her know he was okay. Although she hadn’t said much, he could still feel her concern.

He didn’t want to burden his parents with his negativity.

But his right hand paused on the key, his gaze fixed on the house’s front door, unable to look away. He just sat there, quietly, quietly staring at the weathered door.

He had no thoughts in his head; it felt as if he had even lost the ability to think. Lu Ke just leaned back quietly against the seat, staring at the door. Unconsciously, the frustration and pressure in his heart began to slowly subside. For some reason, he just stared off into space, his vision blurring, as if he could hear his mother’s voice calling to him from his childhood.

“Ke, Ke.”

It echoed throughout the house—upstairs and down, from the front yard to the back, absolutely everywhere. That endless stream of nagging and complaints. Sometimes it was truly unbearable, so frustrating he wanted to just explode on the spot. But other times, he couldn’t help but miss it, as if life was missing something without that sound.

“Ke!”

A muffled KNOCK KNOCK suddenly sounded by his ear, and then a voice exploded against his eardrum. Lu Ke shot upright, hastily rubbing his eyes and looking around in a panic. He then saw Jiang Youning standing by the driver’s side window, a look of confusion on her face as she gestured for him to roll it down.

Lu Ke quickly rolled down the window.

“Ke, what are you doing out here? Why don’t you come inside?” Jiang Youning frowned slightly, standing on her tiptoes to peer into the car.

This made Lu Ke a bit nervous, and he fumbled to cover his tracks. “No, uh, nothing… I was just… just passing by. I remembered I forgot some things at home, for training, yeah, training stuff. But it’s still so early, I was worried you guys were still sleeping, so I was just waiting here for a little while.”

‘What a terrible excuse.’ Lu Ke himself couldn’t help but cringe; it was riddled with holes.

But Jiang Youning didn’t call out her son’s lie. She just stared at Lu Ke, her gaze so unwavering that his skin began to crawl, like he’d been caught with dirty magazines hidden under his bed. He had the reflexive urge to bolt from the car, but then Jiang Youning finally spoke, releasing his pent-up tension. “Well, come on inside then. Your dad and I are already up.”

Lu Ke nodded quickly, unbuckled his seatbelt, pulled the key from the ignition, opened the door, and hurried toward the house. Jiang Youning’s voice followed him. “Ke, wipe your mouth first, you’ve got a bit of drool there. Your dad will definitely laugh at you if he sees it. And aren’t you going to bring your bag in? Go upstairs and take a shower, I’ll get your workout clothes packed up.”

Lu Ke’s face scrunched up. His entire facade had been instantly and completely exposed. He was so mortified he wished the ground would swallow him whole.

In the end, Lu Ke squeezed his eyes shut, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing, and dashed into the house. He saw Lu Zhengze adjusting his tie and barely managed to call out, “Dad, I’m heading upstairs!” before bolting up the stairs and disappearing into the bathroom.

Lu Zhengze stood in the entryway, utterly bewildered. He blinked, completely baffled by what had just happened.

A moment later, Jiang Youning walked in. Lu Zhengze pointed upstairs, his hands frozen mid-knot on his tie. “What’s gotten into your son? He just shot upstairs like a tornado.”

Jiang Youning didn’t answer right away. Instead, she put a finger to her lips, hushing him. She glanced cautiously upstairs, and only after confirming Lu Ke was safely up there did her shoulders sag in relief. The worry etched on her face returned, all traces of her earlier easygoing manner gone.

“Ke… he’s not in a good place.” Jiang Youning’s brow was deeply furrowed, and she shook her head slightly. “He was asleep in the driver’s seat of his car just now. When I asked why he was back, he looked completely dazed, like he had no idea what was going on.” As she spoke, Jiang Youning glanced upstairs again, her voice catching with heavy concern. “I don’t know if he’s injured, or if something happened on the team…”

Her voice trailed off mid-sentence as she hastily wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

As people of Chinese descent living in North America, Jiang Youning and Lu Zhengze knew what kinds of challenges one could face. But they couldn’t begin to imagine the trials and hardships Lu Ke must be enduring as the only player of Chinese descent in the entire Alliance.

Lu Zhengze hurried over and handed a tissue to his wife. “Didn’t Ke say that everything was fine? His teammates all seem very friendly.”

“That’s because Ke doesn’t want us to worry.” Jiang Youning realized her voice had risen and, afraid of disturbing her son, quickly lowered it again.

It wasn’t just Lu Ke. After the loss last night, the couple hadn’t slept well either. They weren’t worried about the team, but about Lu Ke’s position in it and the potential difficulties he faced. At the end of the day, it was Lu Ke they were worried about.

Jiang Youning continued, “As long as they were winning, any conflicts could be temporarily suppressed. But what about now that they’ve lost? And two games in a row?” She left the rest unsaid, her expression heavy with concern. “You saw the state Ke was in just now. It’s not good, it’s really not good.”

Lu Zhengze sighed softly, equally at a loss. In the world of competitive sports, they were often just bystanders. Even if they wanted to roll up their sleeves and help, they had no idea where to start. They didn’t even know what to say to comfort him.

“Ke must have driven straight here from the airport; his mind is probably a mess. I’m not going to work today, I’ll stay home with him. I’m going to call my office and take the day off,” Jiang Youning said decisively, making the decision without a moment’s hesitation.

Lu Zhengze nodded eagerly in agreement. “I’ll take the day off too, stay home with Ke.”

But Jiang Youning shook her head. “You should still go to work.” Seeing her husband about to protest, she explained, “We need to act like nothing is wrong; we can’t put too much pressure on Ke. If I stay home, I can just say I’m not feeling well, some female trouble, that’s fine. But if you stay home too, it will seem like we’re making a big deal out of it.”

Lu Zhengze was still hesitant. He glanced upstairs, his own eyes filled with worry.

“Go on, go to work. I’ll text you if anything happens,” Jiang Youning said, starting to fix her husband’s tie. “But try to come home early today to be with Ke. Some things might be easier for the two of you to talk about, father and son. Just tell him not to overthink it, that winning and losing are all part of the game. What’s important is to learn from defeat and grow from it…”

Her words started to turn into a lecture, and she quickly caught herself, stopping short. “You should get to work. Leave things here to me.”

Lu Zhengze let out a heavy breath. “You shouldn’t worry too much either. Ke isn’t that easy to knock down. It’s been like this every time—the two of us panic, but Ke always stands up strong and keeps moving forward. Trust him. This loss isn’t a huge deal. He can handle it.”

But despite his words, the worry on Lu Zhengze’s face remained.

This wasn’t high school or college. This was a professional league, a profit-driven one at that. For any quarterback, a two-game losing streak was a heavy burden, let alone for a special case like Lu Ke, an undrafted rookie.