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Yang Jing's fist tightened, "You've already promised that coach?"

Zhang Yang shook his head, "No, I told him I needed to discuss it with you first. He also suggested that I think it over carefully. He said it's a big deal for me and for our family, and I can't make the decision alone ... Here is his business card."

Yang Jing took the business card and glanced at her husband again, then told her son, "I understand, go to sleep now, it's almost 11 pm."

Feeling relieved, Zhang Yang obediently went to wash up and then to bed.

From what he knew about his parents, as long as his mother didn't immediately reject him, it meant there was a chance!

…

Young men always sleep so well. Despite having things on his mind, Zhang Yang was dead tired by 11 pm and fell into a deep sleep, waking up promptly at 6 am the next day.

After getting up, he went to the park to practice basketball as usual. Today, he was the only one there, since DeRozan had mentioned the night before that he had to help his uncle with the newspapers.

At half-past nine, he came home, took a bath, and at 10, just like always, he first helped in the kitchen, then greeted the guests as usual, manned the cash register...

The guests who had appointments today arrived quite early. By 1 pm, there were no new guests, and only two tables remained occupied.

Yang Jing, who had been observing her son, came to the kitchen and said to her husband, "Chen, Yangyang has really grown up!"

Zhang Chen replied, "Yes, Jing, before we knew it, Yangyang is already 15 years old, and we are both 40."

Yang Jing glared, "Do you think I've grown old?"

Zhang Chen: "..."

Teasing her husband was too much fun, Yang Jing chuckled and then said, "Let's start preparing lunch, Coach Thomas will be here soon."

Zhang Chen, "Do you really plan to let Yangyang go to Compton? It's not a very good place."

Yang Jing, "It's the first time Yangyang has seriously discussed something with us. We need to consider his opinion. Although it's not a great place, Yangyang isn't the type to wander off and get into trouble. He's so dedicated to basketball, and with his studies, he doesn't have spare time to mess around. Didn't you feel the coach was quite decent after talking with him on the phone this morning? Of course, we still need to talk to Coach Thomas in person before making a decision."

Zhang Chen nodded, agreeing with his wife's words, and began preparing the vegetables.

While it seemed like Yang Jing was the leader of the family, it was Zhang Chen who made the decisions when it came to the big issues. Where their son would attend school was undoubtedly a major issue for their family.

…

At two in the afternoon, the agreed time arrived, and Thomas arrived at Zhang Yang's home with DeRozan and Andy Tang.

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing warmly entertained their guests, with Zhang Yang helping out too.

DeRozan, the fussy eater, coming along wasn't beyond Zhang Yang's expectation, but Andy's presence was a surprise.

After exchanging greetings, Zhang Yang asked, "Mr. Tang, do you know Coach Thomas?"

Andy Tang, whose parents had fled to the United States during World War II and a second-generation Chinese-American, was born in the U.S. and thus potentially eligible for running for a significant leadership position. However, his parents still adhered to traditional Chinese values in their upbringing, and he still considered China his homeland. The parents of Zhang Yang had met him shortly after moving to Compton; both sides, feeling like foreigners, quickly bonded and regarded each other as fellow countrymen. Five years ago, when Zhang Yang first came to America to study, Andy Tang, who was working as a PE teacher at Hidden Mountain Middle School, gave much help, which furthered their good relationship.

Andy replied, "Tony was my college classmate. He knew I had a good relationship with your family and thought that including me might increase the chances of successful recruitment... We were both on the basketball team in college, but in those four years, we never got the chance to play, to be precise, we never made the big roster."

Thomas's mouth twitched, "Andy, there's no need to mention that."

Andy laughed, "Is it embarrassing because there were two basketball prodigies? You're still bothered by that at your age... But do you really have such a high opinion of Jack? Not to mention that he's already 15 and just starting to play basketball, might it be too late? Does he really have such astonishing tactical talent?"

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing focused their attention, listening to Thomas's response, Zhang Yang was also curious about how the other party viewed him.

Thomas pondered for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "15 is not too late. Olajuwon didn't start playing basketball until college. You might find it hard to understand, but having his kind of physical qualities along with tactical awareness is quite rare..."

Thomas spoke subtly, but everyone understood.

The best physical specimens in America were definitely Black, and what most of those people thought... indeed, it was hard for everyone present to comprehend.

Zhang Chen and Yang Jing had initially planned to have dinner first and then talk business when they were nearly done eating.

But since the conversation had reached this point, they started discussing with Thomas about Zhang Yang going to Compton High School immediately.

The main topics were Zhang Yang's accommodation, training and match schedules, and how to balance these with his study time, plus the safety of the school, among other things.

Thomas answered sincerely, stating both the good and the bad, without embellishing or slurring over anything.

Andy helped Zhang Chen and Yang Jing fill in any gaps, while Zhang Yang mainly listened, and DeRozan mainly ate.

After their discussion, Zhang Chen and Yang Jing were generally satisfied.

However, Yang Jing still wanted to conduct further investigations and asked, "If Jack goes there, could he become a starter? Can you guarantee he would have stable playtime?"

Thomas hesitated for a moment, wanting to agree first and then see how it went.

But in the end, he firmly shook his head, "I can't guarantee that Jack will play well immediately; he needs to hone his skills, perhaps starting in the reserves or even the freshman team, and be prepared for failure."

Despite being declined, Yang Jing smiled, "You saying this reassures me a lot. If you had unhesitatingly promised Jack a starting spot, I definitely would have denied you. Such a coach either lacks principles or resorts to unscrupulous methods to deceive students into joining."

As she spoke, Yang Jing turned to look at Zhang Yang and asked, "Yangyang, if I don't agree to you going to Compton, what would you do?"

Suddenly asked, Zhang Yang didn't immediately respond but thought for a moment before answering, "If I can't go to Compton High School, I will follow my original plan to improve my skills through training, strive to make the team at Hidden Mountain High in the new school year, tough it out for a year in lower-tier competitions, and aim to transfer to a top-level CIF school next summer."

The couple looked at each other again— their child had really grown up!

They felt both happy and a touch melancholic.

After a brief hesitation, Yang Jing made her decision and said to her son, "Since you want to follow this path, then don't waste your time at Hidden Mountain High anymore. Go ahead, but your studies cannot lag behind; you must at least get into college..."

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