Colin Kaepernick absentmindedly fiddled with his fork, stabbing at the potato on his plate. The whole boiled potato was now full of holes. The corner of his eye kept drifting over to the young man sitting diagonally across from him. Among all the Western faces, that Eastern face, that short black hair, was especially noticeable and a bit of an eyesore.

What's more, he wasn't alone. Another person with an Eastern face was sitting across from him. The two of them were laughing and talking, having a great time. In a football training facility, such a sight was as shocking and out of place as seeing the Northern Lights on the equator.

"Colin?" Kendall Hunter waved his knife and fork in the air. "Hey, man, what are you doing? We have a full afternoon of practice. Are you trying to lose weight? I remember the strength and conditioning coach said you were too light and needed to eat more carbs."

In this year's draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected ten rookies, including two sixth-round picks and three seventh-round picks. Kendall was one of them, a running back.

According to the team's unwritten rules, before the regular season, rookie players must sit in a designated area and are not allowed to sit with the veteran players unless they are given permission. It wasn't a hard and fast rule, but it made it easier for the veteran players to "train" the rookies during the preseason training camp.

Kendall's call brought Colin back to his senses. But it was clear that Colin hadn't heard what Kendall had said. He just started talking to himself. "Don't you think this is ridiculous? Why can he be interviewed by a reporter? And why is the reporter in the team's cafeteria? Isn't this breaking the team's rules?"

"What rules?" Kendall, being a straightforward guy, asked in confusion.

Colin waved his hand in frustration. "I don't know, but there must be some rule. Aren't they worried that this reporter is a spy? That he's here to get our training secrets?"

From a positive perspective, rookies are the team's hope for the future. From a realistic perspective, they are just a bunch of nobodies who need to prove themselves.

Before the official season starts, even first-round picks don't necessarily get interviewed by reporters. Generally, only the first, second, and third overall picks are the focus of the media. In the eyes of reporters, all the other rookies are the same.

But this Chinese American quarterback, on the first day of his signing, had a reporter show up for an interview, and it was approved by the team? This was absolutely ridiculous!

Kendall chuckled. "You're a funny guy." He clearly didn't take Colin's words seriously and thought it was a joke.

Colin was frustrated and annoyed by the response. He rolled his eyes in frustration, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone: Aldon Smith, the San Francisco 49ers' first-round pick this year.

On any team, whether people agree or not, a first-round pick is the center of attention. What's more, Aldon Smith was the seventh overall pick, in the top ten, so the attention was even more intense. In contrast, Colin was a second-round pick, and the attention he received was cut in half.

Aldon was like a little sun, and he naturally became the center of the rookie players. Although Colin was a quarterback, the team's "brain," Aldon was a linebacker, also a leader on the defense, so they were in no way comparable.

In plain sight, Aldon walked over to the Chinese American quarterback. He put his tray down next to him, and said hello. The two of them shook hands, bumped shoulders, and patted each other on the back, talking and laughing, looking very close. Aldon even greeted the reporter, then said, "I won't bother you anymore," and walked away with his tray.

Bother?

A nerve in Colin's head immediately went off. He stood up with a start, which scared Kendall. "Colin? What's wrong?"

But Colin ignored him and took big strides. Kendall came back to his senses and quickly called out, "Colin!" But then he worried about being too loud, so he quickly lowered his voice. In that short amount of time, Colin had already left the rookie area and walked toward where the veteran players were gathered.

Kendall watched Colin's retreating back in confusion. His eyes met with Lu Ke's. Lu Ke gave him a friendly smile, and Kendall returned a friendly smile. He turned his head and mumbled, not knowing what Colin was doing.

Colin didn't hesitate. He had his eye on one player: Parys Haralson.

During the offseason this year, the San Francisco 49ers had a major cleanout, letting go of seventeen players and completely reshuffling the roster. As a result, there weren't many veterans left on the team, and Parys was one of them.

In fact, Parys was a 2006 draft pick and had only been with the team for five years. He was a fifth-round pick, and as an outside linebacker, his career had been mediocre. He had never made it to the Pro Bowl or the All-America first or second team. His performance was basically on par with his draft position.

However, Parys was a charismatic player. He was outgoing, made friends easily, treated others like brothers, and was loyal.

After the team's major cleanout, the team was in a state of turmoil. On one hand, they had to face the challenge of a new coaching staff, and Jim Harbaugh was an absolute iron-fisted coach. On the other hand, they had to deal with the impact of the new rookies and the free agents and undrafted rookies who had joined.

The veteran players needed a representative to maintain discipline and organize activities. Parys was a veteran player, and there were very few players who had been there longer than him. Along with his personality and style, the veteran players had subtly formed a group around him.

"Colin, you know that first-year players are not allowed in this area during lunchtime." Parys was chatting with his teammates when he looked up and saw the team's starting quarterback, who was young and looked furious.

"I know," Colin said bluntly. Then he turned his head and looked in the direction of the rookie area. "But I also know that a rookie shouldn't be giving an interview to a reporter, especially during lunchtime."

Following Colin's gesture, Parys looked over and saw Lu Ke talking to the reporter. It wasn't hard to spot him in the bustling crowd. Not only Parys, but the other veteran players also turned their heads and looked over with curiosity.

To be honest, a Chinese American player was like a panda in the entire league:

How good was he? Could he really handle the intensity of a professional game? How well did he fit in with the team and the players? What kind of impact would the cultural differences have? Even as a backup, would he hold the team back? Would he become the focus of reporters, to the point of overshadowing the game? Would he become a target for other teams to attack?

Everything was new, everything was negative, and everything was unfamiliar. They were like laboratory mice. In addition to being curious, they couldn't help but feel some resistance. It was already difficult for a rookie player to gain the respect of the veterans, and for a Chinese American player? It was even harder.

"This rookie obviously hasn't been put in his place yet and has no idea what he's doing. Is this allowed?" Colin added fuel to the fire.

Because the team had made so many changes this year, a large number of new faces had joined the team, so the tradition of veteran players pranking rookies seemed to have lessened. Although the players led by Parys had taught the ten rookie players a few lessons in the past three months, the pranks were not very intense.

However, there was some truth to what Colin was saying. This rookie who had just joined the team today still had a lot of lessons to learn before he could become a true 49er.

Parys looked at his teammates and said with a chuckle, "So, are you ready to become mentors?"

After three months, the 49ers team had mostly come together. The veteran players and the new veteran players who had been traded over had become familiar with each other. The intensity of the pranks now was naturally not what it was before.

Everyone's face showed a meaningful smile.

Suddenly, Parys looked up at Colin, who was trying to hide a laugh. "Also, it looks like you haven't learned your lesson yet. Before the regular season, no crossing the line means no crossing the line. Nothing is allowed." Colin's smile immediately froze on his face. "Now, give me thirty push-ups. Start now."

Colin stared blankly at Parys, unable to say a word. Then he saw the playful looks on the other players' faces. Colin gritted his teeth, got down on the floor, and started doing push-ups right there.

In an instant, Colin became the center of attention in the entire cafeteria. Even Lu Ke and Lin Shuyuan turned to look, not knowing what was going on.

"It's all because of him. All because of him. All because of him." With every push-up, Colin gritted his teeth and mumbled under his breath. If it weren't for that damn guy, he wouldn't be in this situation. He would definitely get back at him for this.

"Aren't you worried? What's going on?" Lin Shuyuan looked at Colin with some surprise. He looked around and saw that everyone had a look of familiarity on their faces, and in the eyes of the veteran players, he could see a hint of schadenfreude.

Lu Ke just shrugged. "In American sports, rookies always get pranked in all sorts of ways. There's nothing new about it."

As a Chinese American quarterback, he had experienced similar pranks every now and then in elementary school, middle school, and college. From the initial anger and resistance to the subsequent silence and submission, and then to deflecting them and even fighting back, he was no longer a child.

"So you..." Lin Shuyuan immediately understood, after all, he was also a Chinese American living in the U.S.

Lu Ke smiled. "I guess it'll be my turn soon."

Lin Shuyuan started to doubt his own eyes. Why did he feel like Lu Ke was looking forward to it?

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