Chapter Eleven: For the Love of It

As soon as he left the court, Lin Nan apologized to his teammates.

He believed that the team's elimination was entirely his fault. He was the one dragging them down—he'd let the opposition score five consecutive points against him. Even after switching defensive assignments, the other team still targeted him as their breakthrough point.

It was clear to Lin Nan that he alone was the problem, the weak link in the chain.

Never mind that he was only thirteen, that he was still a novice at basketball, that his teammates hadn't blamed him, or that basketball was, after all, a team sport.

Lin Nan hated this feeling—hated being seen as the weak one, hated being the vulnerability their opponents exploited.

He loved basketball deeply, and because of that, he couldn't stand being considered a weakling in the sport he cherished. It was precisely because he loved it that he wanted to grow stronger, that he poured his heart into it.

It was like those middle-aged and elderly men and women, forty or fifty, even sixty years old, who appeared punctually at the basketball court every evening at dusk. If that wasn't love, what was?

...

Lin Nan took the initiative to tell Lin Lang that he wouldn't play anymore and wanted to head home for dinner. He understood that his basketball skills and experience were lacking, and that improvement wouldn't come overnight. He didn't want to hold the team back.

After saying goodbye to "Iron Man" and the other teammate in white, Lin Lang took Lin Nan home for dinner.

After their meal, father and son strolled along the embankment by Clearwater Lake. A cool breeze drifted by, and the levee was almost deserted, a stark contrast to the summer nights.

As Lin Nan walked, he pondered how he could improve his basketball skills. Lin Lang, walking at his side, was lost in thought about what kind of growth would be best for his son.

Suddenly, both paused mid-step, as if something had dawned on them.

Lin Lang realized that he had been planning a "successful" future for Lin Nan, only to recognize that this was no different from his past life. The path forward should be chosen by the individual; parents are merely guides, helping their children broaden their horizons, to see clearly the scenery along every road, so that they can choose the one that truly calls to them. That is what parents ought to do.

As long as that path does not lead to crime or wrongdoing, parents should do their utmost to support it.

Lin Nan, meanwhile, saw a group of children playing and roughhousing on the road, and was reminded of his own days at elementary school in town.

Every evening, he too would run wild with friends through the familiar streets, never wanting to go home to sleep, always feeling as though he had boundless energy.

So why couldn't basketball be practiced at night as well? The quiet of the evening made him want to move, to run.

Lin Nan turned to his father and asked, "Dad, can we practice basketball every night from now on? I feel like I have endless energy in the evenings."

Lin Lang was taken aback, then smiled and asked, "What about the mornings?"

Lin Nan thought for a while before replying, "Mornings too. From now on, I'll practice my weaknesses—like dribbling—in the morning, and my strengths—like jumping—at night. With that two-pronged approach, I should improve quickly, shouldn't I, Dad? But do you know how to train jumping?"

Lin Nan's words delighted Lin Lang, but he kept his composure. "Of course I do! It's all about explosive power. What, are you dreaming of dunking?"

"Yes!" Lin Nan replied, with a simple, innocent enthusiasm.

What pleased Lin Lang wasn't just Lin Nan's genuine love for basketball, but the fact that he was starting to make plans for himself.

How many children, at thirteen, are motivated enough by their interests to make plans like this? Even when it does happen, it's rare, and often under parental pressure rather than from the child's own initiative.

The ability to think independently is incredibly important, but in this regard, Lin Lang felt he no longer had to worry about Lin Nan.

After their walk, with dinner well digested, Lin Lang took Lin Nan to the track at the No. 1 Elementary School in QS County.

This school had an open campus. By 7:30 in the evening, there were no students left, and darkness had fully settled. The 400-meter track was completely deserted.

Standing at the starting line, Lin Lang said, "You were right before. Play to your strengths and shore up your weaknesses—this is the fastest way to improve at anything, and basketball is no exception."

"Jumping ability is vital in basketball, and dunking is exhilarating. So, how should you train for it?"

In the darkness, Lin Lang could almost feel a pair of eager eyes fixed on him, so he began to explain, "Jumping ability is a comprehensive reflection of your physical fitness. Simply put, it's about explosive power—waist, thigh, calf strength, knees, tendons, flexibility—they all play a role. It's no exaggeration to say that every great sprinter also has terrific jumping ability, thanks to their explosive bodies."

Lin Nan understood the gist of it, though terms like "tendons" were unclear to him. He didn't ask, though—he'd simply look it up online later.

He had developed a good habit: whenever he didn't understand something, he'd make a mental note to look it up on Baidu when he got home.

Lin Lang went on, "But you're only thirteen and still growing. You can't do anything that might hurt your body, so for now, all you need to work on is running and flexibility."

"Start with some warm-ups, get your body loose, then run a slow 1,500 meters, finish with fifteen minutes of stretching. That's your workout for today."

With that, Lin Nan followed his father's lead through a series of warm-ups—high knees, leg swings, waist stretches—different from what the PE teacher did at school.

Following Lin Lang's routine, Lin Nan felt his body fully warmed up, almost flushed with energy, eager to let loose.

At Lin Lang's signal, Lin Nan shot off from the starting line.

Fifteen hundred meters is neither long nor short; for those who exercise often, it's nothing, but for the sedentary, it's a trial.

In elementary school, Lin Nan belonged to the former; in middle school, he was somewhere in between.

Lap after lap, he finished the 1,500 meters quickly.

Panting, he didn't stop to rest, but walked slowly to bring his heart rate down, just as Lin Lang instructed.

Next came fifteen minutes of stretching. Lin Nan gritted his teeth, stretching his legs until they were almost numb with tension. It was painful, but for basketball, for the dream of becoming like that little guy in the videos, he persevered.

Back home, after a hot shower, Lin Nan fell into a deep sleep.

Once Lin Nan was asleep, Lin Lang gently tucked the thin quilt around him, then quietly closed the door and sat down in his study.

He pulled out a large blank sheet of paper, with two columns at the top.

One column listed his own career plans, headed by the words "Teacher's Creed."

The other was Lin Nan's growth plan, filled from top to bottom with Lin Lang's careful arrangements.

But now, Lin Lang took up his pen and ruthlessly crossed out every item in that second column. A child's growth should not be along a path mapped out by adults; a parent's duty is simply to accompany.

Once everything was crossed out, Lin Lang wrote down "basketball," "herbal medicine," and other terms.

What connection was there between basketball and traditional Chinese medicine?

Right now, hardly anyone would associate the two, but Lin Lang, who had lived through the future, knew well.

The NBA's strength, besides the natural athletic gifts of African Americans, lay even more in the United States’ advanced nutrition science and exercise physiology, which outpaced the rest of the world by several stages.

In America, basketball was already a scientific discipline—trainers, nutritionists, and the fierce competition of nationwide high school and NCAA leagues constantly fed exceptional talent into the NBA. How could such a system not produce "Dream Teams"?

It wasn’t until a certain year in the future that the five-thousand-year-old heritage of Chinese civilization began to reveal its power.

At the forefront was traditional Chinese medicine, specifically its application in sports through herbal baths.

The wisdom of the ancestors! Pure, natural herbal extracts in a large wooden tub—after a day of intense training, this was nothing short of paradise for athletes.

The fatigue built up from a day's training would vanish after just half an hour in a medicinal bath.

Having been a gold-medal coach in his past life, Lin Lang had experienced the miraculous effects of herbal baths firsthand—immediate results, no side effects, and combined with professional acupoint massage, it could revive exhausted athletes and fill them with vigor.

It was during a future world basketball championship that the world came to recognize the wonders of ancient China.

In an intensely competitive tournament, the main players of the China team seemed to have inexhaustible energy, almost as if they were on stimulants.

Like the famed "Kung Fu," Chinese herbal medicine, refined over millennia, was a national treasure.

Lin Lang remembered that it was a company on the brink of bankruptcy that first brought this miraculous herbal bath industry to prominence.

The company was called "Yuxuejian," based in the Jiangnan region.

He circled "herbal medicine" in bold on the paper. It seemed he would have to make time to visit.

...

The three-day New Year's holiday flew by, but Lin Nan felt more fulfilled than ever before.

His father's transformation made him feel closer and more at ease, while also helping him clarify his immediate goals: to improve at basketball and to rank in the top two hundred in his year at school.

Initially, Lin Nan doubted the second goal, but after a few classes, his worries vanished.

He felt his mind was clearer than ever. Math, always easy for him, now seemed even more transparent—he was confident that he would score full marks on the next exam, no longer making careless mistakes as before.

As for physics, the concepts were no longer obscure; Lin Nan grasped almost all of them, and for the few he didn't, he could get the general idea, mark them, and look them up at home.

Chemistry was a bit weaker, but he wasn't worried—he hadn't even started reading the textbook yet.

Lin Nan loved this new state of learning, filled with confidence and drive—not studying for the sake of exams, but for the sake of knowledge itself.