Chapter 879: Surprise Event
"You should go check on them."
Candice smiled as she spoke. She saw the regret in the depths of Lu Ke's eyes, which made her purse her lips and giggle. She seemed to understand what he meant, and her cheeks flushed as her eyes filled with shyness.
However, Candice still tried to straighten her shoulders and said calmly, "You're the offensive captain. You need to be a part of this. This is your job, just like today's game." She gave a playful wink. She was relaxed and showed no sign of resentment or regret. Instead, she actively supported him.
Lu Ke's feelings were a little conflicted. On one hand, he was reluctant to leave. On the other hand, he was needed. He was especially hesitant because his relationship with Candice had just progressed. However, Lu Ke was never a man of indecision. This locker room incident was a small, unexpected event, and Lu Ke made a swift decision.
He turned around and walked over. He leaned forward slightly and whispered in Candice's ear, "Don't stay in a hotel tonight."
Candice didn't say anything, but Lu Ke could see that her ears were bright red, as if they were reflecting the sunset. He could even see the tiny capillaries, which was a better answer than words. This made the smile on Lu Ke's face grow wide.
Lu Ke took a step back and asked in a low voice, "Did you drive here today?" Since the parking lot on game day was a chaotic mess, many people chose to carpool to Candlestick Park.
Candice shook her head. "I took a fan bus." Just like a real pro-Niner.
Lu Ke's mouth fell open in surprise. Then, his eyes were filled with a big smile. He took out his car keys from his pocket and handed them to her. "You drive my car back. I'll take Michael's car to the bar. I'm definitely going to be drinking tonight, so I'll take a taxi back."
Candice took the car keys, and then Lu Ke remembered something else. "Oh, and the gift box. Remember to take it with you."
"What's in it?" Candice also remembered the mysterious box that Lu Ke had been carrying with him all this time. He didn't even forget it when he was running. It had to be something very important, and she was curious, so she asked.
"Game cartridges." Lu Ke said seriously, and then he saw Candice's confused and bewildered expression. She understood football, but she was completely clueless about Famicom game cartridges. "Remember? The collectibles on the bookshelf at my house. These were given to me by Uncle Li and the other fans today."
Candice gave a meaningful look. "Then you should thank them properly."
"Now I need you to take them back for me. I'll thank you properly," Lu Ke replied.
Candice blinked. A thought flashed through her mind, and then she noticed Lu Ke's calm and sincere expression. He didn't have any hidden meanings in his words, which made her cheeks turn red again. To hide her embarrassment, she quickly said before Lu Ke could notice, "I get it. You should hurry up and go. Maybe they're already fighting at the bar."
Lu Ke also snapped back to reality and nodded in agreement. He then turned around to meet up with Iupati and walked with him toward the far end of the parking lot.
Iupati turned around and waved to Candice. He shouted, "Thank you!" This made Candice chuckle. "Be careful not to drink too much, or the coach will catch you."
Then, everyone shared a knowing laugh, and the parking lot became lively again.
Iupati's knees hadn't fully recovered yet, and he was limping a little. He put his arm around Lu Ke's shoulder. Their retreating figures had a Charlie Chaplin-like comedic feel, which made the smile on Candice's face blossom brightly. She quietly watched Lu Ke's back until he disappeared into the night.
It wasn't until Iupati's pickup truck completely disappeared that Candice finally took her eyes off him. Her gaze fell on the gift box, and she couldn't help but smile, shaking her head lightly. "Game cartridges." Indeed, men are just a bunch of boys.
"So, what's going on exactly?" In the car, Lu Ke began to learn about the situation in detail.
Iupati was driving, and his thoughts were a little jumbled. "Uh... the situation... wait..."
Lu Ke quickly reassured him, "Slow down, slow down. They're just fighting. We're risking our lives here." Distracting the driver could lead to a big accident with just a little carelessness. Weren't they risking their lives?
With a small joke, the atmosphere in the car became more relaxed.
Iupati was not an outgoing and talkative person. He usually just listened in the offense and was the type who would seriously follow instructions. When faced with a chaotic situation, Iupati was not the one to step up. Most of the time, he would just quietly stand by.
Now that Lu Ke was asking him to describe the situation, he was fumbling around.
Lu Ke was still wondering why they left Iupati behind. He was clearly not the best person to explain things clearly. But then he thought about it again. Even if Iupati went to the bar, he would probably be the silent one sitting in the corner. It made more sense for him to stay and explain the situation.
After he calmed down, Iupati finally organized his words. "It was basically Crab who was causing trouble. He started by picking on Big-Joe, saying that Big-Joe's blocking wasn't on point today, which caused him to have problems with his short-range running and lose at least two catches."
Big-Joe was the left offensive tackle, Joe Staley. His nickname was simple because Staley was as big as Big Ben.
Staley was a cheerful and talkative person. In the locker room, people even jokingly called him "radio" because a radio host had to keep talking since you couldn't see the picture. That's where Staley's nickname came from, which showed how much he liked to talk.
He was a peacemaker and rarely got into arguments with others, but that didn't mean he liked to be submissive.
"Big-Joe said, 'Why don't you see Bambi complaining about our pass protection?'" Iupati said honestly, without any embellishments or exaggerations. But with just that one blunt sentence, Lu Ke couldn't help but laugh.
Lu Ke could even imagine Crabtree's completely enraged expression. Next, he would definitely be spitting and firing shots everywhere, basically cussing out anyone he could find. But Anthony Davis and Alex Boone were not pushovers. They also had hot tempers and were like high-explosive bombs, giving a head-on retaliation. Then, things would spiral out of control.
After giving a dry account of the whole story, Iupati fell silent.
Lu Ke turned his head and looked out the window, starting to think: How should I solve the Crabtree problem?
Lu Ke lacked experience in this area. He began to wonder if he should ask Randy Moss for his opinion.
Not only because Moss was one of the best wide receivers in the league and would have more experience in dealing with slumps, but also because Moss was the most experienced player on the team and would have more insight into how to handle such a situation.
However, Lu Ke wasn't sure if Moss's personality would allow him to give constructive advice.
In Lu Ke's opinion, locker room problems were much more complex than the playbook. The playbook was relatively fixed, and even if it was complex and ever-changing, you could still find patterns and rules. But the locker room was not like that. With a roster of fifty-three players, dealing with locker room issues would definitely be more difficult.
He thought about Crabtree, then Vernon, the defense's ups and downs, the adjustments after a winning streak, the second-team offense's playbook, and finally, today's physical altercation in the offense.
He had just won such a meaningful game, but he had to deal with this situation. He didn't know how serious the conflict was, what the situation at the bar was, or how Jonathan Goodwin's calm approach was working out.
Unconsciously, his mind became more and more flooded with thoughts. When they arrived at their destination, Lu Ke didn't react for a moment until Iupati called out to him repeatedly. He came back to his senses, nodded continuously, and then opened the car door.
The bar in front of him was called "Lima's Alley." The owner was from Lima, the capital of Chile. He had snuck into the country when he was a teenager to chase his "American dream." Years later, he finally established himself and owned his own bar. However, he always remembered his childhood memories from his hometown, so he gave it that name.
The bar was not in the city but was not far from Candlestick Park. It took less than fifteen minutes to drive there. Because of its location and environment, it was a favorite among many San Francisco 49ers players. Especially this season, Ahmad Brooks gradually became the new leader of the locker room. After he held three gatherings here, everyone got used to coming here, and it slowly became a regular spot for the team.
The old city of Lima is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and has a long and profound history that is still waiting for people to decipher it. The entrance of the bar was also built to imitate the ancient brickwork of the old city, and from a distance, it looked like a treasure cave from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," showing a unique exotic style.
Lu Ke felt something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't until he walked into the bar that he realized: Why were there no lights? Although night hadn't completely fallen yet, and there was still a hint of sunset at the intersection of the sea and the sky, it was time to turn on the lights.
But he was too slow.
Lu Ke was half a beat behind. Before he could fully react, the sound of confetti cannons and a roar of cheers erupted in front of him.
"Surprise!"
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