Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 143 The Birth of the Asian King (Please subscribe)

When Chen Ran walked into the lobby of Yanjing Airport, he saw a huge crowd, with densely packed heads filling almost every corner of his sight.

The originally spacious space became so crowded that there was almost no room left.

Chen Ran looked at the scene ahead with some surprise, and thought to himself: Why are there so many more people at Yanjing International Airport than in Shanghai?
More than half a month ago, he traveled to New Zealand from the airport in Shanghai, and this time he chose the airport in Yanjing for his return flight.

This was the first time in his life that he came to the capital of his motherland.

Hey, why are there still people waving the national flag?

There were many people holding cameras or video cameras, and they seemed to be reporters.

Are they all coming for me?

When Chen Ran was thinking a lot in his heart, someone shouted in the crowd.

"coming!"

"Chen Ran is out!"

“Asia’s Tennis No. 1!”

"Chen Ran, the King of Asia!"

The loud voice was still clearly audible even in the extremely noisy hall, and the crowd that was already crowded became even more commotion.

Many people were calling Chen Ran's name, and some hoped he could sign.

However, what made Chen Ran feel a little embarrassed was that a group of people seemed to have been trained and shouted the words "Asia's King" in unison.

"Did you arrange it?" Chen Ran immediately turned around and looked at his agent with a headache.

"Yes!" Xue Peng nodded and admitted, "Most people came here spontaneously, and so did the media, but calling 'Asia's King' was indeed my handiwork."

"You can always come up with something new for me!" Chen Ran curled his lips.

"Xiao Chen, strength is one thing. But marketing cannot be left behind. Look at Beckham..." Xue Peng mentioned England's No. 7, "His strength is good, but there is no one better than him in this world." There are a lot of players.”

"Ronaldo and Zidane are undoubtedly the two best football players in the world, but Beckham is definitely not the third player, but his popularity is no less than the first two."

Chen Ran laughed at himself: "It's a little weird to be called the Asian King without even winning the championship..."

"The upper limit of Asian tennis is very low. It is normal for you to be called the King. Previously, the best performance of Asian players in Grand Slam was the top [-]. You have suddenly raised the standard to the semi-finals. This is an incredible big leap. "

Until this moment, Xue Peng still had a dream-like feeling.

It's so unreal that a player who has only been signed for three months has defeated Roddick and Agassi all the way to reach the semi-finals of an unprecedented Grand Slam.

"Now even Sri Chapan himself cannot deny that you are already the well-deserved No. 1 in Asia, even if your current world ranking is not as good as him."

There are accidents in sports competitions. Chen Ran defeated Sri Chapan once in the tour, which may not be enough to prove that he is Asia's No. 1.

But the achievement of the semi-finals of the Grand Slam is enough to make Sri Chapan admire him. He has to accept it even if he refuses to accept it.

At this time, the security personnel arranged by IMG reluctantly squeezed out a passage for Chen Ran, and then opened their arms to block the enthusiastic fans.

"In the coming period, the company will focus on the topic of 'Asian King' for publicity." Xue Peng said with confidence. He seemed to have seen a rising Asian sports superstar.

The old man Sergei looked envious. This is the advantage of nationality.

In Russia, you can't say that you won a Grand Slam semi-final without any splash, but only a little splash.

Chen Ran recalled the last time he heard "King of Asia" frequently, it should have been South Korean football star Son Heung-min.

"King of Asia" is still the title given to Sun Heung-min by the Chinese media. It can be seen that they were indeed conquered by Sun Heung-min's performance. There are even countless people who fantasize about how good it would be if the opponent was from China.

Surrounded by everyone, this journey was difficult and long.

Chen Ran walked on the road, waving to the fans who were shouting for him from time to time.

In front of him, there was always a silver light flashing, and in the distance of his sight, he could faintly see a rolling wave of people.

Although Chen Ran had experienced big scenes at this time, he was still shocked and speechless by the magnificent scene in front of him.

"Borrowed, borrowed!"

"Please let it go!"

The security personnel struggled to push through the crowd.

There were also many tourists passing by who looked at this ridiculously young boy curiously, thinking that this was another new star launched by some entertainment company.

But there seems to be no such young and popular star in the Chinese entertainment industry.

In the turn-of-the-century era, when a celebrity walked out of an airport lobby, the situation would immediately turn chaotic.

Fortunately, Chen Ran, who is extremely mature in his heart, can handle the situation at hand very calmly.

Of course, to be honest, he also enjoys the feeling of going from obscurity to becoming a big star overnight.

"Everyone pay attention to safety!"

Chen Ran tried his best to maintain an elegant smile, and then continued to greet the excited fans.

But the shouts of "Asia's King" that kept coming to his ears made him feel a little embarrassed.

Perhaps this is the difference in cognition and concepts between people in 2003 and people in 2023.

Wherever Chen Ran went, a group of people followed closely behind him.He finally walked out of the lobby, and a commercial vehicle had been waiting at the door for a long time.

Chen Ran was about to get in the car, but seemed to remember something. He immediately turned around and smiled at the many media and fans: "Thank you everyone for supporting China Tennis. Let us look forward to a better tomorrow together."

Then, he got into the car.

"How does it feel to become a big star?" Xue Peng quipped curiously, "When you left China last time, there was only one challenge champion. When you came back, you were a tour champion and a Grand Slam semi-finalist."

"It feels like a lifetime ago. I feel like I have to say goodbye to the peaceful life before." Chen Ran sighed.

Xue Peng also smiled: "Fortunately, you are not as tall as Yao Ming, so you can still go shopping with a hat or a mask."

"I hope so." Chen Ran nodded, and then looked through the window at Yanjing in the winter of 2003.

It’s almost Chinese New Year.

And my high school classmates are already on vacation.

Will the school leaders hang up their own achievements with big banners again?

Dongzhou Middle School has produced many talented students from Tsinghua and Peking University, but this is the first time that someone like Chen Ran has won the tournament championship and entered the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.

In China, if an entertainment star emerges from college or middle school, everyone may not be too excited, but they will definitely cheer for an outstanding athlete.

With Chen Ran's current achievements, he will definitely become an outstanding alumnus of this key high school.

At this time, Xue Peng's phone suddenly rang, and his face became extremely excited.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately turned his head and said excitedly: "Good news, I want to invite you to be a special guest in this year's Spring Festival Gala."

"This... makes me feel like I have won a Grand Slam championship." Chen Ran also looked surprised.

Is it the Spring Festival Gala?
"This is tennis, and it's men's tennis. Its influence is extraordinary, probably second only to men's football."

Xue Peng said with certainty, "According to the latest ratings, the audience in our country for the game between you and Agassi almost caught up with last year's World Cup match against Brazil."

"It can be said that your popularity and attention on the Internet have now exceeded that of Yao Ming."

After all, Chen Ran, a Grand Slam semi-finalist, was not only a semi-finalist, he also eliminated Roddick and Agassi during this period, which is of great significance.

This is equivalent to Yao Ming leading the Rockets to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs.

"I have never been to the CCTV building. I should see many big stars during the Spring Festival Gala, right?"

"Haha, actually you are already a big star!"

Only after returning to China did Chen Ran realize how much of a sensation these Grand Slam semi-finalists had brought to Chinese sports, which was far beyond what a few Olympic gold medals could compare to.

He even thought, if all this happened in 2023, and the same men's players won the semi-finals of the Grand Slam, would it still have such a sensational effect?

Maybe not anymore?

In that era, traffic was paramount and there were many forms of entertainment, so people's attention had already been dispersed.

What's more, in that era, Kei Nishikori reached a Grand Slam final, and Li Na won two Grand Slams. Although she was a woman, it also made the public less novel, which was completely different from today's turn of the century.

"I hope that starting from 2003, there will be many more tennis courts in China."

"I am very sure of that……"

In the afternoon of the same day, Chen Ran was invited by the Chinese Tennis Association to attend a youth tennis project launching ceremony.

There is no doubt that he is standing in the C position, and the leaders and national team players are very consciously surrounding Chen Ran.

Then, Chen Ran delivered a short speech, encouraging the teenagers to be brave and pursue their dreams.

However, what surprised the leaders present was that Chen Ran did not follow the routine.

He even said that although the dream of professional tennis is beautiful, it is also cruel and the road is full of thorns.

If you really feel that the road ahead is difficult and your dreams are far away, then you should stop and change your dreams.

The elimination rate in competitive sports is astonishing, and there is no point in just adding chicken soup.

"I'm not afraid that you guys will come and steal my job." Chen Ran also jokingly joked, "Because I'm sure that for a long time in the future, it will still be those European and American players who can compete with me for my job."

"How did he talk?"

The leaders' faces were filled with embarrassment, but they could only smile at the side.

They usually like to paint cakes for young athletes, but Chen Ran's words were so realistic and cold...

After arriving in Yanjing, Chen Ran's schedule was almost full.

Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, CCTV, and China Youth Daily all hope to conduct exclusive interviews with Chen Ran.

"Phoenix TV's "A Date with Luyu"?"

Chen Ran frowned, and all he could think about was "Is it true? I don't believe it."

"I'll cancel this one first and say I don't have a schedule."

……

(End of this chapter)