Chapter 1: From Paparazzi to Hungry Wolf

  Los Angeles General Hospital

  White light pierced through the narrow slit and into her eyes, Lin Ruyi slowly made out the objects around her, discovering that this was not her home but a hospital ward.

  He slowly sat up, recalling the events before, convinced that he had done nothing, just slept on time as usual, so why was he here? Was it food poisoning? Carbon monoxide poisoning?

  "Mr. Ye, are you awake?" a black female nurse asked, pressing the bell on the wall with her hand.

  Who is she calling? I'm not surnamed Ye. Lin Ruyi felt very strange, and even stranger was the arm hanging from his shoulder, a huge arm with a thick, muscular wheat-colored forearm, and on the deltoid muscle was a blue, ferocious wolf head tattooed. This arm didn't belong to him at all, his previous arms were also thick, but they were all fat.

  I've become a Khitan? This dream is so weird, I'll just sleep for a while longer. Lin Ruyi lay back down on the bed. After closing his eyes for a moment, he felt something was off, his hand seemed to hurt, it was like the feeling of an IV needle being inserted.

  He sat up again, touched his face, and it had also changed. It was no longer that chubby face, but a very angular one; touching his belly, the big belly was gone, replaced by six clear abs, and above were solid chest muscles.

  Isn't this a dream? What's going on? Have I been modified and injected with some strange serum? I'm Chinese, no reason for me to become "Captain America"!

  At this time, a white doctor in his 40s came in and smiled: "Mr. Ye, how are you feeling? We thought you would become a vegetable, my god, this is really a miracle. Look at these few?"

  As he spoke, he stretched out a few fingers. Lin Ruyi answered fluently and asked after finishing: "Doctor, where am I? What's going on? What date is today?"

  "You're at Los Angeles General Hospital, you were struck by lightning on the field and have been in a coma for ten days. It's... " The doctor glanced at the calendar on the wall and said softly: "July 4th, 2007."

  "2007? I've returned to 2007? Lin Ruyi took a deep breath, there was only one possibility, he had crossed over... How could he cross over while sleeping at home?! Before going to sleep, it was still May 2012. He hastily asked: "Do you have a mirror here?"

  The nurse picked up a mirror from the table and handed it over, Lin Ruyi took it and looked at it, and was immediately stunned. The person in the mirror had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with clear facial features, a standard oriental handsome face, and even had a beard similar to that of Italian football star Roberto Baggio, simply flawless.

  Isn't this too lucky? Lin Ruyi was both shocked and delighted! He didn't like his old self, he had come to the US since he was a kid, and his life and name were completely opposite, nothing went as he wished. In terms of family, his parents passed away early, leaving behind little inheritance; in terms of love, it was even worse, he liked beautiful women but couldn't attract them, his body looked like Sammo Hung's, face like Sammo Hung's, features like Sammo Hung's, hairstyle also like Sammo Hung's... If Sammo Hung saw him, he would definitely be shocked - "Who gave birth to a bastard son that looks so much like me?!" In terms of career, it was the most failed, there was great employment pressure in the US. After graduating from a third-rate university, he found a temporary reporter job at the Los Angeles Times, also known as a "paparazzi".

  Now his life has taken a huge turn. Thinking of this, Lin Ruyi excitedly said: "Doctor, can you tell me who I am? What do I do? My brain is completely blank."

  "Don't you remember your own name?" The doctor furrowed his brow. Having been in a coma for ten days, it was possible that he had amnesia. He let out a sigh and said softly, "Your name is Ye Feng, the ace player of UCLA."

  "King? I'm a basketball player?" He was even more delighted, UCLA is a famous basketball school, has produced giants like Jabbar and Reggie Miller, Love and Westbrook also came from there.

  The doctor determined he had amnesia. "No, you're a football player!"

  No? Lin Ruyi doesn't even understand the basic rules of American football. He sighed, "Doctor, can you tell me about my situation in detail?"

  The doctor shook his head and said, "Sorry, I only know that you are 19 years old and your name is Ye Feng. Your teammates must know, I've already had someone call to contact them, and someone will be here soon."

  Half an hour later, a robust man wearing sportswear and resembling Sylvester Stallone walked into the ward. In terms of family background, Ye Feng and Lin Ruyi were surprisingly similar, both having come to the United States at a young age and losing their parents early on. This burly man named Toba Hali was his roommate and also the first contact person.

  Tuo Ba heard that Ye Feng had lost his memory and patiently told him everything he knew.

  On June 24, 2007, tens of thousands of fans in Los Angeles witnessed a tragedy. In the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) vs Florida game, a bolt of lightning struck a player on the field. The super unlucky guy who was struck by lightning is UCLA's Chinese midfielder Ye Feng, known as "Hungry Wolf".

  Middle linebacker is a very important position in football, they are generally called the commander of the defensive group, the change of defensive formation, and the direction of the opponent's attack all need to be commanded by the middle linebacker. Middle linebackers are usually fast, strong, and have excellent tackling skills, making them the nemesis of running backs.

  Yue Feng is 201cm tall and weighs 108kg, with top-notch elusiveness, incredible speed, and ferocious defensive skills. In his first college season, he made 124 tackles and 5 sacks. While he was unconscious, he was selected to the Pacific-10 All-Conference team.

  Ye Feng has attracted the attention of many NFL teams, with Americans hoping he can become the Yao Ming of the NFL and help promote American football in China. Before his injury, he had turned down offers from several teams to play another year for UCLA and enter next year's NFL draft.

  Ye Feng has woken up, but is now possessed by a paparazzo's soul. Lin Ruyi has no interest in American football whatsoever, thinking it's a barbaric sport that ranks second only to Chinese soccer in terms of physical confrontation, which he considers the most suitable game for people before the invention of "death racing".

  As soon as she was reborn, Lin Ruyi had to face a major life choice.

  Participating in the NFL draft is definitely not possible, he didn't receive Ye Feng's memories and basically doesn't know how to play American football. He also doesn't want to give up on sports, wasting his good physique. In the past, he was a robust and agile fatso who liked sports and wanted to become an athlete.

  Don't underestimate the paparazzi. These people treat stars as prey, snooping and snapping various photos of them, which can make entertainment magazines profitable at a time when American newspaper media is declining and being a serious journalist has become one of the worst professions.

  Paparazzi are often young, male and competitive. They spend long periods of time on the road, following hot tips, speeding to get to news scenes, trespassing, bribing informants and forming secret alliances - all in the name of getting the shot that will make their careers. It's a bit like being a detective.

  This profession is also very dangerous. In China, the worst that can happen to a paparazzo is getting beaten up, but in gun-toting America, being a paparazzo is like putting your head on the line for a living. There was once a paparazzo who got into trouble with a former Mossad agent just to get a shot of Mel Gibson on crutches. Someone else almost drowned trying to get a shot of Pamela Anderson's sexy figure in a bikini for Playboy. And the first paparazzo to get a photo of Madonna and her newborn daughter almost got sued...

  Lin Ruyi has performed well in the news industry. He followed Britney Spears when she wasn't wearing underwear, interviewed a drunk Nicolas Cage, and his most proud achievement was that he took pictures of Lady Gaga wearing normal clothes, which was once regarded as a miracle in the entertainment circle. Later, people found out that Lady Gaga often wore normal clothes when going out, it's just that others couldn't recognize her then.

  The question is what he should do with this new body next?

  Lin Ruyi's mind only thought of one word, "basketball"! He likes basketball, has been watching NBA since he was a kid, is a Lakers fan, from O'Neal joining the Lakers to 2012. Although he is not good at playing basketball, he can only jump shot and three-step layup, but he knows this sport very well. He understands the rules of basketball, knows the characteristics of each position player, and also understands basketball tactics. From 2007 to 2012, what major transactions did the NBA have, which players would explode, he remembers roughly. He thinks that if he runs a team himself, he can definitely put together a very strong team.

  Why not switch to playing basketball? I can still make it if I start practicing now! Lin Ruyi quickly made up her mind. China has a huge number of basketball fans, and as long as you can enter the NBA, even if you're just a role player, it's much more glorious than playing rugby, so why not give it a try?

  He doesn't worry about being late to basketball. "Worm" Rodman was still shorter than his two sisters when he graduated from high school, but started playing basketball in college and became a rebounding king. Mutombo was hunting in Africa until he was 20 years old, but also became an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year. And there's Nash, who used to play soccer and didn't switch to basketball until he was 19, later becoming MVP.

  The basic skills of basketball are dribbling, shooting and defense. Running and other exercises are common to all sports. So as long as you like playing basketball, it's okay if you start late, as long as you work hard in training and move your brain, you may become a master. But not everything can be practiced, you have to decide whether to focus on defense or offense based on your own situation. Like Mutombo and Rodman, they had excellent physical conditions and started with defense. Nash's physical condition was poor, mainly practicing breakthroughs, passing and accurate shooting.

  Ye Feng can be selected for the best lineup in playing rugby, it can be seen that his physical fitness is very good, and he may become a good defensive player. The more he thinks about it, the more excited he becomes, preparing to live a new life with a new identity.

  He got excited for just a few minutes, and once he started talking about economic issues, his excitement was gone.

  Although he was a star in the UCLA football team, Ye Feng's economic situation was very poor, relying on the scholarship to make ends meet. His medical insurance was deducted directly from his scholarship every month. In the United States, having a minor surgery and staying in the hospital for a few days would result in a bill of tens of thousands of dollars. After staying in the hospital for ten days, Ye Feng's scholarship had almost been depleted. If he continued to stay, he would have to pay the high fees himself.

  He quickly applied for discharge and after examination, Los Angeles General Hospital found that Ye Feng's body had fully recovered, and he successfully completed the discharge procedures.