Chapter 1019: Special Project

2013 had arrived just like that. After the countdown ended, the new year had begun. New York had just celebrated the new year, but in San Francisco, the celebrations had already been over for three hours, and the party was now in its final stages.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ke began to scroll through the New Year’s greetings from his friends. With all the different time zones, the messages were endless, but because the New York countdown is a well-known special event across the United States, many people use the East Coast time to mark the start of the new year.

Among a pile of messages, Lu Ke was surprised to see a New Year’s greeting from Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys.

"What a spectacular season! What a spectacular performance! What could be more perfect? Maybe three more wins in the playoffs? Anyway, Happy New Year, and good luck in the games to come!

Yours,

Jerry."

It was clear that this wasn’t a mass text message but one that Jerry had carefully written himself. For one of the top team owners in the entire league, such a gesture was very flattering. It was kind and friendly, polite and understated. Even the message from San Francisco 49ers President Jed York was on par with this.

In fact, Jed York hadn’t sent Lu Ke a New Year’s greeting. Instead, on the day the regular season ended, he had gone to the locker room to personally wish all the players a Happy New Year. The team’s general manager, Trent Baalke, had sent a New Year’s greeting tonight according to West Coast time.

Since their meeting during the bye week, Jerry Jones hadn’t made any special moves until today. His greeting was just right. It wasn’t too eager and didn’t lower his status, but it perfectly conveyed his goodwill. It was impeccable.

Jerry’s approach was indeed clever. Lu Ke didn’t make a big deal out of it and politely replied, also wishing him a Happy New Year.

Lu Ke didn’t think much of Jerry’s message and continued to scroll down, where he saw a complaint from Leonardo DiCaprio: "I was hoping someone would rescue me from this boring and dull New Year’s party, and you didn’t even think of inviting me? Thumbs down! Are we even friends?"

Lu Ke couldn’t help but laugh.

At the party tonight, many of Lu Ke’s teammates had taken photos and posted them online. Even Lu Ke was forced to upload one, with the caption, "2012 Undefeated Season Team." As he scrolled through the posts, he saw photos of Leonardo celebrating New Year’s in Los Angeles and liked the post.

And that’s when he received the message from Leonardo.

"Shouldn’t I be the one complaining that you didn’t invite me? The roles seem to be reversed, don’t they?" Lu Ke quickly replied, complaining to Leonardo, "Besides, I don’t want paparazzi gathering at my door. I’m not ready for that kind of fame yet."

He had secretly snuck away from the noisy party to enjoy a moment of peace. Then Jiang Younin opened the screen door to the backyard and called out, "Ke, the guests are about to leave. Come say goodbye."

Jiang Younin was also very happy tonight and had a bit to drink. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were a little misty.

Lu Ke stood up and helped his mother. He smiled and said, "Mom, go sit and rest in the living room. Don’t go outside. I’ll see the guests off. Make sure to put on a jacket so you don’t get cold."

"Okay, I know." Jiang Younin lifted her chin and gave him a big smile. Then she reached up and touched Lu Ke’s hair, pushing his loose bangs back. "My little Ke has grown up!"

She must have been a little tipsy if not completely drunk.

Lu Ke let out a helpless laugh and led his mother back into the warm air of the house.

After that, it was Lu Ke’s turn to get busy.

He made sure every teammate got into a taxi, that all the doors and windows in the house were locked, that a cleaning company was hired to clean up after the party, that his parents were in bed and asleep, and that the neighbors were okay. Once everything was checked, Lu Ke called a taxi for himself and went back to his apartment. The world was finally quiet.

When the dawn broke through the night, life returned to normal. The so-called "new year, new me" for a professional athlete meant returning to the daily grind of training.

Lu Ke spent more time in his recovery training today to get used to the changes in his body. He had spent 124 base points at once yesterday, and his body could now handle more training. It wasn’t a difficult process, but it would take time.

He returned to his apartment about 30 minutes later than usual.

From a distance, he could see Leigh Steinberg and Vincent Camp standing outside. They seemed impatient from waiting for so long and had gotten out of the car to get some fresh air. When Vincent saw Lu Ke, he came up to him with a look of relief. "Bambi, you’re finally here!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lu Ke slowed down and adjusted his breathing. He didn’t say anything or explain, he just looked at Vincent and Leigh.

Leigh took a deep drag from his cigar and studied Lu Ke’s expression before smiling. "You forgot, didn’t you?"

"Forgot what?" Lu Ke’s reaction confirmed Leigh’s guess.

Vincent couldn’t hide anything and blurted out, "No way! I reminded you three times that we have a special meeting today about a sponsorship. It’s very important. How could you forget?"

Now that Vincent mentioned it, the memory came back to Lu Ke. "Oh! I remember. Is that today?"

His casual and matter-of-fact tone made Vincent’s chest feel tight.

Leigh wasn’t surprised at all. Lu Ke’s full attention was on the games and training, and he paid little attention to anything off the field. It was normal, even expected, for him to forget something about the last game of the season.

"Go take a shower first. We’ll talk about it on the way to the studio," Leigh said, getting straight to the point.

Lu Ke nodded in agreement. "Give me five minutes."

Five minutes later, Vincent started the engine and headed to their destination. "No need to rush. It’s okay if we’re a little late. Just drive safely," Leigh said. "Work is important, but we have a more important person in the car right now. He’s worth a fortune."

Leigh’s serious tone had a hint of teasing. Lu Ke didn’t mind and nodded in agreement. "Exactly. If anything happens to me now, the insurance company will go bankrupt."

Vincent, sitting in the driver’s seat, glanced at them through the rearview mirror and grumbled, "You two are crazy." But he couldn’t help but chuckle and shook his head.

"Are we making more money today?" Lu Ke asked out of curiosity.

"Not today. It’s about Under Armour," Leigh said without being coy. He changed the subject and asked, "How are Vance and Jack getting along these days?"

Vance Jacobs, the Nike marketing manager for the West Coast, had befriended Lu Ke’s father, Lu Zhengze, in an attempt to get closer to Lu Ke.

"I haven’t asked for all the details, but from what I know, they played golf once, and my parents even visited Vance’s house. So... I guess they’re still friends," Lu Ke said uncertainly. He trusted that his parents knew what they were doing. "What’s wrong? Is Nike making a move?"

"Not yet, but it’ll probably happen soon," Leigh said simply. "The industry has been getting a lot more active. The regular season is officially over, and things are becoming clearer. We don’t have to wait for the playoffs or the Super Bowl. Things are already starting to move. If they wait for the Super Bowl champion to be crowned, they’ll be left behind."

"I’m talking about you. Your performance this year was great and your marketability has far exceeded all expectations. That’s made you the most sought-after asset in the league, and you’re one of a kind." Leigh chuckled, his eyes gleaming with pride, as if he was praising himself. His vision to recognize Lu Ke’s potential was finally paying off.

Lu Ke felt a little helpless with his agent’s childish expression but didn’t deny or interrupt him.

"You know this, right? The league just changed its official sponsor at the beginning of this year, or to be more specific, at the beginning of 2012. The official sponsorship rights are still not completely monopolized, so the competition is getting fierce. Adidas wants to challenge Nike’s dominance in North America, and Under Armour wants to gain more ground in the professional field. Puma has also become more ambitious after making great strides in the fashion industry."

"Now, they need to tap into the market potential of the excellent players in the league. Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and ’Brother Rob’ Griffin III are all sought-after cash cows, but their combined market value can’t compare to one Lu Ke Skywalker."

Leigh joked and then meaningfully raised his chin. "Recently, Puma and Adidas have been actively probing my attitude. Next will probably be Nike. Under Armour must have heard something, so they have to make a move now, too. This is the market economy. With competition, there will be improvement."

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