Chapter One: The Number After Two Hundred Million

Page eighty-seven promised a ten-million-yuan image-rights advance upon signing. When Lu Chen covered the amount with his thumb, the price fell by eleven months. Money corresponded to life. In the corner of the league seal, nearly invisible, was the same candle-shaped mark he had seen at the free-throw line. At 11:59, Zhao Chi asked, “Ready?” Lu Chen lifted the pen but did not write. As the second hand finished its circuit, cleaning-cart wheels rattled outside. An old man in a gray uniform looked through the glass door. His badge read CHEN JIUDENG. He raised one finger, then pointed at the clock. Midnight. The crimson number went dark. The contract became ordinary paper. Zhao Chi stood. “Lu Chen?”