During the bye week, Lu Ke participated in his first Under Armour commercial shoot. It was an ordeal, an absolute ordeal, and if he had a choice, Lu Ke would never want to do it again. But today, Lu Ke's opinion was completely overturned. The commercial set was like paradise compared to the mayhem of today. At least during the commercial shoot, things were somewhat under control. But now, everything was out of control. Lu Ke and Logan combined had only four hands, which was not nearly enough.
First, it was his head, his cheeks, and someone even put a finger in his mouth, which he couldn't understand. Then it was his shoulders, chest, and waist, followed by the area below his waist, and things suddenly became tricky. Lu Ke was flustered and at a loss. If he blocked the bottom, the top would be in trouble. If he protected the top, the bottom would be in trouble. The most baffling thing was that Lu Ke's height usually made him stand out. Even in a dense crowd, he could stand tall and see everything around him. But today, Lu Ke's vision was blurred, and he had no idea how these fans managed to do it.
The 49ers players were all stunned at first, then they burst out laughing. After they regained their composure, they started helping the security guards maintain order. It took nearly 25 minutes to rescue the two poor guys from the volcanic eruption zone and get them to the buffer escape zone.
Cool, fresh air re-entered their lungs, and their chests filled up. Lu Ke and Logan both coughed miserably. No one would have expected that two football players would be in such a mess, surrounded by a group of fans. The saying that two fists are no match for four hands was truly the truth.
After taking a deep breath, Lu Ke turned his head and saw Logan's disheveled appearance, like a homeless man. His short hair was a bird's nest, and his light tracksuit was torn, revealing his collarbone and chest. What was even more bizarre was that his pants were also torn. He didn't know how that was even possible. His appearance instantly brought to mind a male stripper who had been abandoned on the side of the road.
Unable to hold it in, Lu Ke burst out laughing. Logan was about to protest and get angry, but he looked up and immediately saw Lu Ke's equally pathetic state. He was no better off than Logan, and he also burst out laughing. Seeing the two of them laughing at each other, the other teammates watching also couldn't help but laugh, and the tense and panicked atmosphere suddenly became relaxed.
Standing at the entrance of the departure hall, Bobby watched the surging and lively scene with lingering fear. He didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He quickly started walking and was about to tell the players to quickly go to check-in. But then he saw the joyous scene in front of him and was stunned. What was going on?
It was only a brief moment of being stunned. Then, the fans in the departure hall started to approach again. Although there weren't many of them, compared to the huge crowd outside, this group of only a hundred fans was nothing. But after the terrifying scene they had just experienced, Bobby's nerves were on edge, and he immediately sped up his pace. "Go, hurry up, everyone go to the check-in counter! Hurry! Go faster!"
Bobby's shouts broke the rhythm of everyone's laughter and curses. Everyone turned around one after another and started walking towards the check-in counter. The scattered fans in the departure hall seemed much calmer. They didn't rush forward recklessly but kept a certain distance and followed alongside, calling out from time to time. But the airport security guards were already startled. Like a scared bird, they immediately stepped forward and formed a human wall between the players and the fans, hoping to keep the situation under control and prevent any more trouble.
Lu Ke and Logan also joined the main group and slowly moved forward. He heard the call of "Bambi" again. Lu Ke reflexively turned his head, looked in the direction of the voice, and gave a polite smile and a nod. At that moment, Lu Ke noticed a danger. A fan in a wheelchair was controlling one wheel with one hand and waving with the other. The wheelchair's forward speed slowed down. On the right, two fans were walking sideways like crabs, their faces full of excitement and shouting excitedly. They blocked the wheelchair's path, causing it to slow down. On the left, a large group of five or six fans was pushing forward quickly. They didn't even notice the wheelchair in front of them and were focused on the players moving diagonally in front of them, constantly waving their hands, shouting, and jumping, trying to get the players' attention.
This group of fans was moving very fast and was about to hit the wheelchair. Three of the fans noticed the problem and split off to the sides but were blocked by the security guards on the inside. Their steps stumbled. The other two fans crashed straight into the wheelchair. It was a dead end. There was no way to dodge or avoid it. If they weren't careful, everyone would fall, which would cause a more terrible chain reaction.
Lu Ke didn't think twice. He just instinctively shouted, "Watch out!" and then took two big steps forward. In a flash, he made a judgment and grabbed the armrests of the wheelchair with both hands. He pulled it towards himself, not sideways, but lengthwise, and successfully pulled the wheelchair out of the way. At the same time, the entire scene became chaotic. The large group of fans finally noticed their predicament, but luckily, the wheelchair that had been blocking them was gone. They lost their balance and stumbled forward, hitting the two fans in front of them. In Lu Ke's startled voice, they still didn't understand what was going on. They stood there and looked around, but they eventually regained their footing. They reflexively hugged the people who had crashed into them and stumbled back a couple of steps, barely managing to stand up, thus preventing a domino effect.
It was still chaos, but a disaster had been averted. The fans and security guards finally came to their senses and looked at each other with lingering fear after realizing what had just happened. Finally, all their eyes fell on Lu Ke. Applause and whistles erupted, expressing their gratitude and respect. This also made everyone else around them turn their heads and look at him with questioning eyes.
Before Lu Ke could respond, the two fans who had been standing on the right rushed over. The security guards tried to stop them, but they were a step too late. The two of them had already broken through the defense and arrived next to the wheelchair. One of the fans completely ignored Lu Ke's existence and just looked up and down at the person in the wheelchair, anxiously asking, "Ryan, are you okay? God, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Everything's good," the person in the wheelchair said, waving his hands repeatedly. "Don't worry about me. Let's check on the others. Are they okay? No one was hurt because of me, right?" He quickly looked back, trying to confirm, but because he was in a wheelchair, his movements were clumsy, and he couldn't see clearly. The person who looked like a caretaker standing next to the wheelchair let out a long sigh and shouted, "Sorry, are you all okay?"
A chorus of positive responses came from behind them, which finally put everyone at ease. Jonathan Baldwin finally noticed the approaching security guards, but they stopped in time and didn't move any closer. It was clear that they had been instructed by Lu Ke not to chase them away. It was then that Jonathan remembered Lu Ke standing behind him. "Bambi, thank you, I mean, I'm sorry."
"I'm glad I could help," Lu Ke said with a smile. He recognized Jonathan. He was a veteran fan, and the person standing next to him was Chris Wilson, also a familiar face. His eyes finally landed on the person in the wheelchair. It was an unfamiliar face. Their eyes met, and Lu Ke smiled and said openly, "I noticed. Your jersey is number 14."
"Yes, this year's number 14," Ryan Baldwin admitted honestly. He liked Lu Ke's attitude. There was no arrogance or pride like other celebrity players. It was more of a sunny warmth. Ryan and Jonathan hadn't expected Lu Ke to remember this. They exchanged a look and became excited.
Ryan took a deep breath and then said, "I came here specifically to cheer for you. I believe that this week's victory will definitely be ours. Don't worry. Even though it's an away game, we are still the most loyal supporters!"
Lu Ke raised his eyebrows and asked in mock surprise, "I thought you would be issuing death threats and saying we must win. After all, the last time we played them, the result wasn't pretty..."
Ryan didn't answer. Instead, he said calmly and composedly, "Do you believe in yourself?"
A simple rhetorical question, but it showed more confidence. It was a belief in victory that came from deep within his heart. Even after just experiencing two consecutive losses, even when facing the opponent who had just defeated them, and even when everyone else in the league wasn't favoring the 49ers, his belief was still unshaken.
"Yes, I do," Lu Ke said honestly, without any fancy words.
Ryan clenched his fists and shouted, "Then go teach those arrogant guys a lesson! Tell them that we are the bosses of the NFC West!"
"My pleasure," Lu Ke said with a bright smile. Then, he heard the howls of Logan and the others next to him. He nodded to Jonathan and Chris, turned around, and joined Logan as they walked toward the check-in counter.
Ryan and the others stayed where they were, watching the 49ers players gradually walk away. Then, Ryan said eagerly, "Okay, now it's our turn!"
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