Chapter 447: World affairs are impermanent.
Chapter 447: World affairs are impermanent.
Berry noticed Li Wei’s gaze, and bitterness spread on the tip of his tongue.
He knew Li Wei was a smart man.
The Frederick Test was just the tip of an iceberg; Li Wei’s keen grasp of details in daily training and actual gas proved ti and again that he was a genius who played with his brain.
But he had not expected his secret to be uncovered so quickly.
Li Wei stared at Berry, not speaking, but the denial and resistance in his eyes couldn’t have been clearer:
“Eric, tell I’m wrong.
...
Tell it’s all just in my head, that I’m just a journalism student with an overactive imagination, and all those guesses and deductions are nothing but fiction.”
However.
Berry couldn’t.
He looked at Li Wei, trying to display the poise of a seasoned player.
He wouldn’t get flustered over so trivial matter like that rookie Li Wei; he’d face any storm with the calm maturity of an old-tir.
Unfortunately, he failed.
“Rookie…”
Berry called out softly, his voice dropping feebly, trailing off with a wisp of helplessness and sadness, like a contrail gently drawn across the sky.
Li Wei had already gotten the answer he wanted, and stood there, his expression numb.
Kelsey noticed sothing was off, but didn’t quite grasp what was happening at first, jokingly comnting, “You’re not planning on skipping out on your bill, are you?
The rookie’s now a hero in Kansas City, the whole city stands behind him.”
“A big al, Eric, a big al!
A feast!”
“Wait a second, if anyone should be treating, it should be the rookie, he’s Spider-Man now.”
“Roar, roar, roar, a feast!
A feast, a feast!”
In a blink of an eye, the crowd erupted into noise.
Berry struggled to smile, but found it exceedingly difficult under Li Wei’s gaze.
Still, he managed to shout, “A feast it shall be!”
There was noise all around.
But Berry knew he couldn’t keep the matter hidden for much longer.
He had co to the training facility today to cut the Gordian knot, to put an end to everything as quickly as possible so the team could focus on preparing for the Super Bowl—
Like ripping off a band-aid.
Taking a deep breath, Berry managed a smile, “Consider this feast my apology.
I’m sorry I won’t be able to fight alongside you in the Super Bowl.”
The air suddenly fell silent.
The atmosphere took a one-hundred-eighty degree turn, freezing over, with everyone thrown into disarray, doubting their ears, and for the mont, not understanding what was happening.
Houston tried to force a smile, his face twitching with the effort, “Eric, what kind of joke is this?
It’s not funny at all.”
“Didn’t you say everything was fine when you went to the hospital a few days ago?
Didn’t you say you were ready?
You even threatened , saying you had worked so hard to get here, and if we dare stop at the Arican League finals, you’d spend the entire off-season mooching off , rember?”
“Eric, we had an agreent, didn’t we?”
The smile on Berry’s lips was sowhat tragic as he tried to make a joke, “Well, it looks like I won’t be crashing at your place this off-season, so you can breathe a sigh of relief.”
However, Houston didn’t laugh.
“Ah, so jokes don’t work anymore.” Berry said self-deprecatingly.
Taking a deep breath, out of the blue, Berry revealed the secret.
“My ankle, it really has healed, and the doctor has already cleared to play.”
“But during the final physical before rejoining the team, the doctor found sothing else.”
“Hargland’s Syndro.”
Rustling sounds filled the air as players exchanged glances, the term was indeed too unfamiliar, and for a mont, no one knew just how serious the situation was.
Only Li Wei was an exception—
Haglund’s Syndro, simply put, is a deformity of the bone in the heel causing pain, commonly found among won who frequently wear high heels and runners.
As a cross-country runner, Li Wei naturally knew about this condition.
In fact, it’s not a terminal illness; it’s a deformity of the heel bone that can cause pain, which can be mitigated through a series of conservative treatnts.
However, for professional athletes, whether they run or play a sport, the appearance of symptoms ans that the skeletal twist and deformity are quite severe, possibly even causing bone spurs.
That is to say, they would feel sharp pain just from walking in daily life.
A truly precarious step by step.
If one sought treatnt, it would have to be surgery, but the cost could be never playing again, and thus a career might co to a definitive end.
Retirent?
The thought surfaced in Li Wei’s mind.
Even as rely a possibility, it clung to his heart, almost leaving him breathless.
Berry had spent an entire season enduring a long and painful rehabilitation, targeting a coback for the Super Bowl with nights of solitude and pain.
Now, as the team actually made it to the Super Bowl, what greeted him was the possibility of another injury that could lead to retirent.
This year, Berry was about to turn thirty, not many years left for a Safety, and even if the injury healed, no one could predict how much of his ability he could regain when he returned to the field.
Not even doctors.
It was for this reason that the diagnosis of Haglund’s Syndro was almost like a final ultimatum, pushing Berry to the brink of despair.
Li Wei could neither imagine nor wanted to imagine what Berry must be feeling at that mont.
This was unfair.
Li Wei had always been aware of the brutality and coldness of competitive sports; injuries spared no one, including himself, but that’s the thing, no matter how many tis you experience the sa thing, it doesn’t get easier.
When it happens again, it’s just as bitter.
However.
Berry was still smiling, striving to show a smile, playing the role of the team captain.
“It’s just a minor thing.”
“I thought I could endure the pain and keep on playing; which one of us professional players isn’t used to fighting through pain?
I’ve been accustod to it, so I didn’t take these pains seriously at the ti.
I was thinking, once my ankle healed, I could play again, and everything would be fine.”
“But, I overestimated myself.”
“Ah, old age, one must accept aging.”
“The doctor said it still requires surgery, and recovery might take about ten months.”
The lighter Berry made it sound, the heavier the atmosphere beca.
Especially when everyone heard Berry say “ten months” for recovery, their faces were filled with shock, unable to hide it.
Having just finished a five-month rehabilitation and now facing another major surgery notice with a ten-month recovery period, the careers of professional athletes are as fleeting as flowers in bloom, how could they withstand such a test?
They tried to speak words of comfort, only to find their words so pale and powerless.
The air quieted down.
In the end, it was Berry who spoke up to comfort everyone.
“Heh, it’s nothing, don’t worry, just ten months, it’ll pass in the blink of an eye.
It’s not my first ti, I’m well-versed in this road, I know the hospital’s paths and departnts better than the nurses do.
Before you even realize it, I’ll have completed rehabilitation.”
“And hey, don’t slouch, don’t give any less effort in the Super Bowl just because I’m not playing.
I’ll treat you all to a big al later, you must give it your all, take with you in spirit, let vicariously enjoy the win.
I also want to try on the taste of a championship ring.”
“Guys, my life depends on you now.
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