Alice's POV
Before getting off the plane, William gallantly helped the fellow traveler next to me retrieve their luggage. I didn't thank him; I just kept my head down, trying to conceal my lips. My mind was consumed with one thought: thankfully, I didn't agree to stay over, thankfully.
By the baggage carousel, the playful players were back at it again, engaged in a game of cat and mouse that somehow ended up near me. The burly Dylan almost collided with my slender frame, and upon a closer look, he seemed familiar.
"Hey? Isn't this the journalist miss?" he exclaimed.
"Hello," I smiled and waved my hand, "I'm just an intern reporter for the school newspaper."
"That's impressive too."
Dylan slung an arm around Gary's shoulder, "We'll have a car coming to pick us up to go back to St. University. Do you want a ride?"
My relationship with William is a secret. In addition to this undisclosed connection, I'm not familiar with the team at all. I've been to interview them twice, but that's about it. So, without much thought, I declined.
"Thank you, but I'll pass."
"No need to be so polite; it's just on the way."
Dylan seemed about to continue, but was interrupted by Gary, "Hey, stop talking. William's upset."
Dylan quickly turned around, and indeed, someone's expression didn't look great, and his gaze was directed our way.
"Why? Why is he upset?" Gary slapped Dylan's shoulder heavily, "Have you forgotten that she had a clash with William? What's wrong with your memory?!"
Oh, right.
"Yeah! You reminded me. Although it's been half a year, I still remember that night when William was really angry. Oh, his expression was so terrifying back then."
As the keyword that triggered their memories was spoken, all three of us simultaneously recollected that evening's conflict, and the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.
Dylan turned to Gary, lowered his voice, and inquired, "But later on, it was proven to be a misunderstanding, right? This journalist miss didn't have any such intentions toward him."
"Dylan, you've said it yourself. If you misunderstood that a girl liked you, and she proved that she had no interest in you, would you be happy if your friend brought her back in front of you to embarrass you again?"
"Of course not. I'd prefer her to stay as far away from my circle as possible."
"Besides, who knows what William's been up to this summer? Ever since training started, he's had a terrible mood, always looking unsatisfied."
Gary didn't want his buddy to suffer needlessly, displaying an unusual level of wisdom in his analysis.
"So if you don't want to stir up trouble, I suggest you not do this. Haven't you noticed I've been particularly irritable these past two weeks? Especially in the last few days, even the slightest thing can trigger a nuclear explosion."
Dylan retreated, quickly putting some distance between us.
"You know, we all dare not offend him, so let's just pretend the thing just now never happened."
They're avoiding me.
clash.
Such a simple word, yet a 100% accurate summary.
And as I stared at the message William had just sent — 【I've parked my car at the airport. Don't leave yet, I'll give you a ride back.】
I replied: 【Give me a ride back to the school?】
I waited for two minutes before the response came.
【Before heading back to school, you can come to my place and rest for a bit.】
How long should I rest? Two weeks? Now even I couldn't help but start to reminisce.
Me and William, two people who couldn't be further apart in the minds of others.
When it happened, it was the beginning of the year, late January.
The frigid air in M state made going out a chore, with scarves and heavy coats as armor against the cold.
However, at the St. University football field, where we welcomed the triumphant return of the championship team, everyone's hearts burned with enthusiasm, utterly divorced from winter and cold.
"Oh my, my ears are hurting from all this noise!" Nancy turned to me, wearing a remorseful expression as she spoke.
"Alice, I regret bringing you to see the White Wolves' celebration. I knew you wouldn't like such a noisy place."
Sitting in the second-level stands of the stadium, all I could see were Nancy's lips moving, but I couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Nancy, what did you say?"
"Forget it!" Nancy shook her head at me, signaling me not to pay attention to her.
It's not like we were playing a game of telephone. If it wasn't something important, it could wait for a while.
Besides, the players were about to take the field.
After they do, the atmosphere should quiet down a bit. "3-2-1!" With the host's lead, the venue erupted into a tsunami of screams.
The White Wolves, who had just won the national championship in college football half a month ago in Los Angeles, finally entered the field under the gaze of thousands.
Columns of white gas sprayed from the air pillars in front of the player tunnel as the strong players in their blue and white football uniforms roared like beasts set free from their cages, sprinting to the center of the field.
The cheers of the tens of thousands in the audience paled in comparison to the powerful roars of the beasts, and the players' entrance was visually stunning, as if the entire field was vibrating.
This is the power of football, the power of football players.
Unlike other sports, a football team is divided into three groups: the offensive group, the defensive group, and the special teams group.
In American universities, football is the most popular sport, naturally attracting the most talent and being the most fiercely competitive.
Often, multiple players vie for a single position, resulting in many football powerhouses having over a hundred players on the roster.
If you think having over a hundred players on a single team is an exaggeration, there's an even less fair aspect.
Many athletes who shine in other sports actually have football as their primary target, but they are filtered out due to inadequate physical qualities.
Last semester, I watched White Wolves' games, but this was my first time attending the team's celebration event.
The grand and enthusiastic scene sent shivers down my spine.
I was internally awestruck.
Truly deserving of being the national champions of the USA, the team's overwhelming dominance was only possible with such confidence in their championship status.
Thinking that the entrance phase was over, I was about to sit down when Nancy stopped me.
"Alice, what are you doing? It's not over yet!"
"Huh?"
Nancy smiled and said, "Haven't you noticed someone missing?"
But I looked at the massive group of players on the field, and there were already at least a hundred people there. While I was puzzled, the player tunnel's gates opened again, revealing a tall and handsome figure that finally appeared in everyone's sight. He was alone, but he managed to steal the spotlight from all the other players who had entered before, and even more so. It's a well-known fact that the main character always appears last.
As I got a clear view of his face, my previous confusion immediately vanished. The whole arena erupted into even more intense cheers than before, all united in chanting the same name.
"William! William! William!"
Indeed, if you were to ask who the most significant contributor to White Wolves' championship was, or who the most popular player on the team was, or better yet, who the current most-discussed college sports star online was, there would be no second person—
William Hank.
He possesses absolute skill and leadership, being the backbone of the White Wolves. Not to mention his handsome and charismatic appearance, along with a seductive and powerful physique, drawing people's attention both on and off the field. He's a heartthrob at ST University, or no, even those words don't suffice to describe how popular he is. He's the heartthrob of the entire state of M.
After his appearance last year, a sports media survey revealed that the female audience for college games noticeably increased, and William's appearances were surprisingly linked to viewer ratings, leading commentators to dub it the "Hank Effect." It's just that in the past, this term was used to describe Vincent Hank, the business magnate, also known as William's father, whose statements always caused corresponding fluctuations in stock prices.
However, everyone present, including myself caught up in the atmosphere, couldn't help but cheer for William. He is their pride. Envy him, be jealous of him, anything goes, but no one can deny him.
William jogged slowly towards the center of the field, his figure in the deep blue jersey appearing robust and muscular. It was clear that the jersey wasn't just padded with protective gear; it also showcased the well-defined muscles sculpted through years of hard training.
My roommate Nataly was a devoted supporter of the White Wolves. She had once dragged me into her realm of enthusiasm to share in the "good stuff." Almost all of it was training highlights that the team had uploaded on YouTube. But her focus wasn't on how hard the players trained. Whenever we watched, she kept reminding me,
"Look at those abs! Oh my god, I really want to touch them!"
"Why are you making fun of me? Aren't you moved too?" "Exactly, nobody can resist."
It was true. Even for someone like me who wasn't particularly into sports, it was hard to deny the allure of those sculpted physiques.
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