Chapter 353: Can't Go to the NBA

Post-surgery, Ji Xiang had to wear a Stent, and could only perform the simplest finger movements.

Ji Xiang even felt he had been bundled up like a mummy or a bandage-man, which was truly ridiculous.

Even that wasn't enough; every time the Coach and the General Manager saw Ji Xiang move his fingers, they would scowl and berate him severely.

Money had already been poured in, and Ji Xiang knew very well that if his body did not recover to a normal level, the General Manager, himself, and even the Coach would all face a situation where everything was lost.

After removing the external Stent that restricted movement, Ji Xiang began to perform abduction, adduction, and extension exercises step by step.

Movements that usually seemed simple, such as shrugging his shoulders, now made Ji Xiang feel as if his whole body were tearing apart the moment he tried them.

The pain was even greater than before the surgery; Ji Xiang sometimes felt it was very strange, even though he could explain it with theory—post-operative local tissue edema, adhesions, and so on—he even felt that having the surgery was worse than not having it.

Especially for an athlete, if the joint range of motion does not reach 100% after surgery, the operation is indeed suffering in vain.

And Rotator Cuff Injury is completely different from Urological Calculus.

Although Urological Calculus is agonizing when it flares up, giving Ji Xiang a sense of impending death, once the Stone Crushing is successful, the effect is immediate, taking one straight from hell back to the human world.

However, the Arthroscopy for a Rotator Cuff Injury is different.

It was uncomfortable before the surgery, and after the surgery, it is hard to even notice what the Doctor did; not only did it not recover to the pre-operative state, but the feeling of pain even vaguely increased.

And this was performed by a world-class sports rehabilitation Expert!

Ji Xiang knew the Empathy had not ended, likely because there was still the stage of subacromial osteolysis left to experience.

The initial rehabilitation training went very smoothly; Ji Xiang endured the intense tearing sensation, trying to "loosen" the adhered tissues.

During this time, Ji Xiang had explained post-operative rehabilitation to many Patients; if one cannot endure the pain to do rehabilitation training, the functional recovery of the surgical area will be severely affected.

When these words, which Ji Xiang had long since grown tired of saying, fell upon himself, "they" changed their flavor.

Ji Xiang understood very well what those "lazy" Patients were thinking in their hearts.

Fortunately, in the Empathy, Ji Xiang had long been accustomed to knives falling upon his own body, so he gritted his teeth and began the rehabilitation training.

Pain like a knife cut—Ji Xiang had experienced it; every Empathy was hard to endure, but there was always something to look forward to.

Even with terminal Cancer, Ji Xiang could estimate his time of "death" and could obtain release.

But this time!

Ji Xiang was truly somewhat desperate.

The daily abduction, adduction, and extension exercises did have an effect, but the results were extremely slow.

The pain was not the hardest part to endure; the reason Ji Xiang felt hopeless was mainly because he did not know when it would end.

Day after day.

Three months later, Ji Xiang gritted his teeth and gradually recovered to his original state.

The reason that supported Ji Xiang in getting through it was that he had said those words too many times himself, and he had once felt disdain when seeing Patients coming for follow-ups whose rehabilitation exercises were inadequate, causing permanent impairment of motor function.

So the rehabilitation training was this painful; Ji Xiang could not slap his own face.

Therefore, he persisted.

A smile gradually appeared on the General Manager's face, and when it was determined that Ji Xiang could touch a basketball, he smiled like a flower.

Ji Xiang also happened to experience the joy of playing basketball once.

When he was in school, Ji Xiang had also been exposed to basketball because of his height, wingspan, and powerful athletic ability.

Who doesn't like sweating on the basketball court, and seeing seven or eight empty water bottles appear before one's eyes along with the blooming smiles of schoolgirls when walking off the court?

It's just that, unsurprisingly, misfortune once again descended upon Ji Xiang.

A dozen days later, while moving, Ji Xiang noticed pain in his right shoulder joint, especially noticeable during abduction.

He hurriedly contacted the Coach and the General Manager to go to the hospital for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Just like the imaging data seen in reality—it indicated increased effusion in the subacromial and glenohumeral joints.

Everyone except Ji Xiang went dark in their eyes.

From that day on, Ji Xiang could clearly perceive the agency's attitude toward him cooling at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The coldness of human relationships—Ji Xiang had perceived it before, but this time it was exceptionally obvious.

A few more months later.

This time, accompanied by the Coach, Ji Xiang went to an ordinary Grade A Tertiary Hospital.

The various follow-up examinations in between proved that Ji Xiang's professional career was over, with no possibility of returning to the arena. The General Manager's team abandoned Ji Xiang; only the Coach remained by his side.

The Coach's face was not as dark anymore; after accepting the facts, he accompanied Ji Xiang very calmly.

After the examination was finished, Ji Xiang saw the Magnetic Resonance Imaging and CT scan four-dimensional reconstruction indicating thinning of the acromion and subacromial osteolysis, with a size of approximately 19mm×13mm, and felt helpless.

The Doctor said a lot, and after hearing it, he and the Coach left the hospital.

"Ji Xiang, come, let's have a cigarette." The Coach pulled Ji Xiang to sit at the hospital entrance, watching the people coming and going, and he smiled, "How old were you when you came to the provincial team?"

"16 years old."

"I still remember you and the others sneaking cigarettes back then; I caught you, but I didn't bother with them—I locked you in a room and beat you for an hour."

"Heh." Ji Xiang smiled, "Coach, I know you did it for my own good. I didn't understand then, but I understand now. It's just a pity..."

"There's nothing to pity; that's just how a person's life goes. If you could really go to the NBA, I'd have one more thing to brag about, and you could earn more money. Money is a good thing, but if you don't have the life to earn it, you don't have it; it doesn't matter, you have to look on the bright side."

Ji Xiang did not refuse; he took the cigarette handed over by the Coach and took a deep drag.

"I gave the leader a bottle of ancestral Moutai these past few days."

"Hahaha, ancestral?"

The Coach widened his eyes, "My dad saved it back then and couldn't bear to drink it; after the old man passed away, I didn't drink it either, just to keep a memento. The leader said that although you can't go to the NBA, you can stay and be an assistant coach to transition for a while."

This was truly for his own good; Ji Xiang was very grateful to the Coach, even though they might only be a memory or a line of code within the Empathy.

"Coach, thank you."

"How many years have we been together? You haven't taken few beatings from me, and this time, if you can't lead the kids well, see how I beat you."

Ji Xiang habitually shrugged his shoulders.

Because it had been more than half a year, he had also formed a habit; when he shrugged, only his left shoulder moved, while his right shoulder remained steady, like a stone.

There were already signs of Muscle Atrophy in the right upper limb, which Ji Xiang felt very clearly.

"Sigh, I only managed to bring out one badass guy like you, how come you're not making it? Forget it, that's just fate; in the future, just be a good teaching assistant for me."

Before he could speak, light and shadow flickered, and Ji Xiang returned to the System Operating Room before he had even finished smoking one cigarette.

"Teacher, I want to learn surgery." After returning, Ji Xiang had no time to reminisce about the Coach and spoke impatiently.

(End of this chapter)