It was still dim outside, but two American-style breakfasts were already set on the bright dining table.
A fried egg and two bowls of pork bone soup noodles.
Although they had been in Japan for over a month, the Smith family, father and son, were obviously not accustomed to the Japanese favorite breakfast, natto, always feeling it had a strange smell.
"Jake, it's time for breakfast!"
"Fried eggs again?" Jake placed a full, half-person-high backpack at his feet and sat down at the table.
"What's wrong with fried eggs? Didn't you used to love them?" John Smith (formerly Lin Tianhai), wearing a floral apron, came out of the kitchen with a box of raw eggs in one hand and a large glass filled with green liquid in the other: "I don't know what's gotten into you, kid. Which foreigner did you learn this sudden eating habit from?"
"From an American actor," Jake joked as he took the egg box and glass.
The cup was filled with spinach, banana, soybean, bitter gourd, and other fruits and vegetables. He cracked the raw eggs into the glass one by one, saying: "Eating fried food early in the morning lacks nutrition and can burden the intestines and lead to weight gain. John, don't you have constipation? It would be better if you followed my diet. After two months, you'll go to the bathroom as smoothly as a loach entering a hole."
"Is it entering a hole? That's called exiting a hole! Save your breath, kid. I will never eat your fishy concoction even if you kill me!" John Smith retorted.
Jake smiled and shook his head, continuing to crack his raw eggs. John wasn't one to try new things, just like the most traditional people of his era.
"Speaking of which, how do you feel about the first few days of school?"
"Not bad, but the Japanese class is a bit hard to understand. It's completely different from what you taught me."
"It doesn't matter. According to my government-sponsored program, you'll have to return to the States to take the college entrance exams anyway. You can just earn a diploma here... Just learn to speak Japanese, so you don't have to be like me in the future, working well in America only to be sent away from home. But on weekends, we'll have to catch up on high school English tutoring, as well as science and math. By the way, no one is bullying you in school, right?"
Jake drank half of the 'paste' mixed with ten raw eggs in one gulp, muttering with puffy cheeks: "Hmm."
"I'm telling you, we Americans shouldn't be timid when we encounter trouble abroad. You have to be tough; otherwise, wouldn't you have grown so big in vain? The Japanese respect strength, not humility."
John grumbled while eating noodles: "This isn't like the States. I allow you to use the energy you had when you chased all the kids in the yard as a child. Don't be too honest. As long as you don't bully others first, if you encounter any trouble, it's my fault. If it doesn't work, there's always the embassy. We're not easy to bully. As President Roosevelt said, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick'..."
"Hmm..."
"You little brat, you always say hmm, hmm, hmm, no matter what. Didn't you love boxing the most before? You practiced well, but after coming to Japan, you became interested in basketball. So, have you really given up boxing?"
"Anyway, I haven't made any name for myself."
"As if you can become famous in basketball just after starting in high school. What were you doing before? Persistence is the most important thing in everything... Okay, okay, but if you dare to give up again this time, I'll tell you..."
John kept nagging while eating noodles. Jake had gradually gotten used to it over the past month and responded intermittently.
In the past month since his rebirth, he suddenly had a father. This was the most challenging adjustment for Jake, much more than reacclimating to basketball with this body.
In his previous life, he grew up in an orphanage. He was selected to attend a sports school due to his exceptional physical fitness. Additionally, he had an independent personality from a young age. He had no concept of fatherly love, let alone calling a man "father."
Fortunately, John Smith's way of interacting with his son was quite unique, probably due to Jake's personality, or perhaps because John didn't have a traditional fatherly demeanor.
Therefore, he never called him "Dad," but "John," which resolved Jake's psychological barrier.
After more than a month, he got along pretty well with this "father," but he was too nagging.
Every morning, it seemed as if he wanted to finish talking to his son for the entire day.
John is the type who looks like a corporate elite when he wears a tie to work but immediately turns into a stay-at-home dad when he wears an apron at home. He's particularly nostalgic. But it seems that because he looks too feminine in an apron and his nagging level is comparable to that of a woman, despite his financial stability and appearance, he hasn't found a new partner after being single for nearly ten years, which is incredible to Jake.
Otherwise, if he had a stable family in the States, he wouldn't have had to transfer his son to Japan when his job was relocated.
"Here." While John was cleaning up the dishes, he handed Jake five 10,000-yen bills: "This is pocket money for the month. High school students should have a social circle. If it's not enough, just let me know anytime, but don't use it to secretly smoke and drink!"
"No, I'm leaving."
"Hey, kid, what did you forget again? Come and give me a hug!"
"... Can I give you a fist bump?" Jake extended his fist.
"No!"
"..."
Smoking and drinking, actually, John didn't need to explain; they probably have nothing to do with me in this life. If I want to become a professional in any competitive sport, these two things must be forbidden.
Only this hug every morning...
Jake felt that John was really effeminate, and there seemed to be a reason why he couldn't find a new partner.
---
The house John rented was not far from Shoyo High School, less than a kilometer away, which was the only reason for choosing Shoyo—the short distance.
It was just dawn at this time. In Jake's opinion, public high schools in Japan have an advantage, as there are security guards at the school gate 24 hours a day.
He greeted the security guard and entered the school gate. The basketball gym was not open yet. Fortunately, Kenneth had given him a key to the gym yesterday. It seemed he was the first one to arrive.
The individual training he proposed to Kenneth yesterday was obviously not intended to challenge Shoyo's rules, but because it was truly urgent.
Although Jake's previous boxing practice had given him good physical fitness and a strong physique, the so-called strength depends on who you are comparing with.
Compared to his previous life when he was the same age and already playing in the domestic basketball league, this body still seemed a little thin, and his flexibility and skills were far inferior, not to mention he couldn't be compared to some top NBA players of the same age.
But then again, this body was 2 cm taller than his 16-year-old self, and thanks to good nutrition since childhood, his physical foundation and potential were not inferior to his previous life at all, and even felt better, but he lacked truly systematic professional training.
He set a small goal for himself: at least by the end of this year's summer basketball league, his physical fitness and skills had to be brought up to the same level as in his previous life.
This required intense training.
So he had to practice alone. If he followed those freshmen to practice basic running tactics, it would waste the most crucial time of his 16-year-old life...
*(End of this chapter)*