Chen Yu was silent, and the atmosphere felt a little heavy.
Kuang Lubin was the one to break the silence. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Dr. Chen, we’re actually well aware of Liu Yudong’s situation. We’ve been running around everywhere, looking for the best doctors for him. We’re already very grateful that you’re willing to take a look at him, but coming to the United States for treatnt... there’s a lot to consider. And this is a major decision, after all. We need to discuss it thoroughly, don’t we?"
Chen Yu looked up at him, remaining silent.
’Don’t think I can’t tell you’re just making excuses.’
"Dr. Chen, the ga is about to start. We’ll talk later," Kuang Lubin said with a smile, then motioned for Yao Ming and Liu Yudong to leave with him.
Chen Yu still said nothing.
But after the two had turned and taken a couple of steps, Liu Yudong turned his head back to look at Chen Yu.
His expression was complicated.
They said it was about money, that it wasn’t convenient, but he was the one in pain. Only the person feeling it truly knows how much it hurts.
He was the one who had to be carried onto the bus. He was the one whose pain made it impossible to even squat down to use the toilet. He was the one who woke up in the middle of the night from the pain.
Outsiders only saw him as indestructible, an iron man who could play even when injured. They even called him the War God. But as the saying goes, only the one in pain truly knows.
There were even tis the tornt was so severe that Liu Yudong considered just retiring.
’If there was a chance to play healthy, who wouldn’t want that?’
But the money!
Liu Yudong sighed internally, gave Chen Yu a grateful smile, and turned to walk away.
He was clearly limping slightly.
Chen Yu let out a long sigh. ’Seriously, he should be in the Paralympics, not the World Championship.’
"Chen, how did your talk go? Is he going to see you for treatnt?" Jackson hadn’t understood what the three were saying and asked curiously, "By the way, what kind of injury does he have?"
"Him?"
Chen Yu shook his head slightly. "Torn collateral ligants in both knees, torn nisci, severe bursitis, joint effusion, cartilage wear, and loose bodies in the joints."
Jackson’s jaw dropped. He fell silent.
After a long mont, Jackson said with emotion, "He’s a warrior!"
Chen Yu gave a wry smile. ’What’s the use of being a warrior?’ His gaze fell on the China Team players warming up. After a mont of thought, he walked over.
Kuang Lubin, Head Coach Wang Fei, and the players of the National Team all noticed him.
But Chen Yu just stood to the side and watched, so they couldn’t really say anything.
It wasn’t as if watching could do any harm.
But when Chen Yu took a look, he was truly shocked by what he saw.
’These guys are all sothing else.’
’That number 8 over there... his right ACL and niscus... they’ve clearly been torn before.’
The most shocking thing was his right foot.
Chen Yu moved a little closer.
Hu Weidong gave the stranger staring at him a strange look, subconsciously tugged at his jersey, and forced an unnatural smile.
While he was standing still, Chen Yu’s gaze penetrated the effusion and locked onto his right navicular bone. Then, he sucked in a sharp breath.
’This guy’s even more intense.’
’His navicular bone is fractured.’
’Training and playing on a fracture... Is he insane?’
The others weren’t as seriously injured as those two, but they also had a host of injuries, big and small.
It’s normal for athletes to get injured, but for players like Liu Yudong and this number 8 to be this badly hurt and still travel with the team for a competition... was it to display so tragic heroism, or was it just a tragedy in itself?
’In such a huge country, is there really no one else to play?’
Chen Yu couldn’t understand it, but he felt an impulse to do sothing.
Even if he couldn’t change the overall situation, he felt he had to do sothing, if only for these respectable players.
Chen Yu sat back down on the bench. Nelson asked him why he looked so grim.
"It’s nothing."
Chen Yu didn’t explain further.
At 7:00 PM, the ga officially began.
Even though it was just an exhibition ga, the attendance was surprisingly high. The dilapidated Oakland Arena was actually packed.
But seeing the large number of Chinese people in the stands, it wasn’t so strange.
The ga officially kicked off with the tip-off by the consul from the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco.
To Chen Yu’s surprise, that number 8 was in the starting lineup.
Unbelievable!
’If this were the Phoenix Suns, I would’ve stord into Skiles’s office and beat him up.’
Chen Yu found the China Team’s starting lineup and committed the na of number eight to mory: Hu Weidong.
To be honest, with the current condition of his right foot, he should be feeling piercing pain with every step, even with it tightly taped.
’He probably got another cortisone shot.’
Chen Yu sighed deeply, his mood heavy.
The ga was uneventful.
Although Da Ben had been clamoring before the ga that he was going to teach Yao Ming a lesson...
...and Jay Williams, the second-overall pick who had the number one spot "stolen" from him, had also angrily told reporters he would defeat Yao Ming to prove himself.
But when the ga actually started, Yao Ming still managed to cause so trouble for the United States Team.
His height, his low-post skills, his mid-range shot—they were really good.
Facing the league’s famously strong, "super blue-collar" big man, Da Ben, he didn’t lose out in their physical matchups.
You could tell his base was very stable.
But that was about it.
At the end of the first quarter, the United States Team was already ahead by 10, with a score of 24 to 14.
Then, midway through the second quarter, Chen Yu saw Liu Yudong get up from the opposing bench and enter the ga.
A flash of anger appeared in Chen Yu’s eyes.
He had warned them, given them the most professional diagnosis. In his condition, Liu Yudong shouldn’t be playing at all.
The sa went for that Hu Weidong.
But they hadn’t listened at all and still sent Liu Yudong onto the court.
’This is a fucking exhibition ga, a aningless ga! They know he’s injured, so why are they still making him play?’
What moved Chen Yu, however, was that as soon as Liu Yudong got on the court, he imdiately entered a state as if he wasn’t injured at all. He could run, jump, and take contact. He even dared to drive and shoot right in front of Little O’Neal.
Chen Yu thought of Baggio, and also Batty.
Back in their day, they must have been the sa, relying on incredible ntal fortitude to keep running on the soccer pitch.
Liu Yudong’s entry into the ga had no effect on the outco.
At halfti, the score was 41 to 24. The United States Team was already ahead by 17 points.
They weren’t opponents on the sa level at all.
And mind you, the United States Team wasn’t even playing at full strength.
The team’s biggest star, Reggie Miller, was still sitting on the bench chatting with Chen Yu.
The half ended. Watching Liu Yudong, who had only scored 2 points in his few minutes of play with an awful shooting touch, walk slowly off the court, Chen Yu could only imagine the imnse pain his knees had endured in just those few minutes.
Just then, Chen Yu’s gaze swept over the press section, and he saw a sowhat familiar figure.
An idea struck him. Chen Yu told Nelson and the others to carry on, then walked over on his own initiative.
In the spectator tunnel, Su Jun, with his press pass hanging around his neck, was rushing to the restroom. He ca out feeling relieved after emptying his bladder, only to run smack into soone right outside the door.
Looking up, Su Jun was startled at first, then his eyes lit up. "Dr. Chen!"
"Hello, Reporter Su. Can we talk for a minute?" Chen Yu asked with a smile.
Su Jun was overjoyed. "Of course! I couldn’t ask for more."
This was Chen Yu, the man who held firsthand injury information on many NBA players. The slightest leak would be a huge news story.
Chen Yu led Su Jun through the crowd and found a spot to sit in the arena’s concession area.
He also ordered two cups of coffee.
To be honest, it wouldn’t even matter if he didn’t return to the bench for the second half.
Su Jun had already deftly taken out his notebook and voice recorder, his eyes shining with excitent.
"Reporter Su, no interviews today," Chen Yu said with a smile.
Su Jun was taken aback for a mont, but there was nothing he could do. He disappointedly put away his gear and asked why Chen Yu had sought him out.
Chen Yu said, "I rember you’re a veteran basketball reporter in China, so you should be very familiar with the state of Chinese basketball."
Seeing Su Jun nod, Chen Yu proceeded to ask about Liu Yudong’s situation.
"Him..." After Chen Yu finished, Su Jun also frowned and sighed. "You’re right. He did suffer an injury, a major one at that, and he’s been playing through it ever since. So, from what you’re saying, can his injury be treated?"
Chen Yu nodded, then brought up the cost and Kuang Lubin’s attitude.
Finally, Chen Yu asked, sowhat bewildered, "Reporter Su, there’s sothing I don’t get. Why would your National Team still call him up when he’s this badly injured?"
"In the United States, these NBA stars... forget about being injured, even when they’re healthy, none of them give a damn about the Basketball Association."
"Those guys at the Basketball Association practically have to beg and plead just to get these big-na stars to play."
"But it’s useless. Take J Kidd, for example. After last season ended, he originally said he’d participate in this year’s World Championship. But then he backed out because he wanted to do special training, and the Basketball Association couldn’t do a thing about it."
Therefore, Chen Yu truly couldn’t understand the Chinese Basketball Association’s approach.
’A National Team player is injured. Shouldn’t the Basketball Association be proactively providing help and getting him treatnt?’
"Look at the Italian Football Association. Before the World Cup, Trapattoni went out of his way to persuade all the clubs, and the Football Association even paid a portion of the costs for players like Maldini to co to the United States for treatnt."
’The key thing is, after paying such a heavy price, Liu Yudong hasn’t even earned much money.’
Chen Yu’s question left Su Jun speechless.
For a full ten seconds, Su Jun could only offer a wry smile. "Honestly, I’d also like to know why it’s like this. But that’s just how it is. No one can do anything about it."
The confusion and helplessness on his face were no less than Chen Yu’s.
Taking a deep breath, Su Jun asked again, "Dr. Chen, so the problem right now is the cost, right? Is there anything you can do on your end?"
He asked tentatively.
Su Jun knew Liu Yudong’s situation all too well. It was truly a sha.
If he hadn’t gotten injured, he might have had a better career, maybe even taken a shot at the NBA.
Chen Yu sat up straight. "Of course I can figure sothing out. I could even treat him for free."
He had quoted a treatnt fee of one million US dollars, but if you only counted basic expenses like surgical supplies, the actual cost wasn’t that high.
The reason for the one-million-dollar price tag was simply because that was what he needed to charge.
If Chen Yu was willing, treating one or two players for free was really no big deal.
"But I feel there’s sothing wrong with this whole situation, so I can’t do it for free." Chen Yu’s tone shifted. "That’s why I ca to you. I want to ask if you know any way to make your Basketball Association and the National Team pay this fee."
Given Chen Yu’s current inco, he really didn’t care about this bit of money.
But Chen Yu was unwilling to foot the bill for a Basketball Association like this. He wouldn’t offer his services for free; they simply weren’t worthy of such a contribution from him.
So, he could provide the treatnt, but the Basketball Association had to be the one to pay for it.
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