Chapter 16 (2/2)

“Coach, may I borrow the recording of Tong Xing’s game to watch tonight?” Li Yongle asked his coach, Sun Laihong.

“Okay! And I’m counting on you to keep their No. 10 in check!” Sun Laihong smiled as he handed the tape over.

“That’s weird,” Zhang Lintao said, feeling mildly confused. “This is the first time Li Yongle has borrowed a recording on his own’s accord. Perhaps that No. 10 is making him nervous?”

“Idiot!”―Zhang Yang laughed―”he’s sending Zhang Jun a declaration of war!”

…

Su Fei saw the reporter as soon as she returned home.

“Fei Fei, there’s a reporter who wants an interview with you!” Her mother was all smiles.

“An interview with me?” Su Fei said, feeling incredulous.

“Yes”―the reporter stood up―”I’m Chen Huafeng, a reporter from High School Soccer .”

“But, the guy you want is next door.” Su Fei pointed towards the entrance behind her.

“I came especially for an interview with you.” Huafeng smiled.

…

Zhang Jun was stumped by a particularly difficult mathematical problem (he was clueless on the subject) and decided to look for Su Fei’s help. He knocked and opened her door only to find Chen Huafeng sitting down with her.

Seeing his arrival, Su Fei waved happily. “Zhang Jun, come here!”

“What, I have…” Apparently, Zhang Jun did no want to tangle himself with journalists after they gave him quite the scare last Saturday.

But, when Huafeng found that Zhang Jun was also there, his face was filled with joy. He stood up to invite him over. “Zhang Jun’s here too? That’s even better! Come, let’s have a chat!”

Too embarrassed to walk away, Zhang Jun sat beside his neighbor.

“Hehe, he totally wanted a special interview from me, but I really didn’t know what to say.” Su Fei smiled. “Your timing is perfect!”

“Ah! So, I’m here as a scapegoat?”

“Nope, you’re simply more experienced when it comes to handling reporters!”

“Hey, is it that scary talking to journalists?”

“Very scary!” the pair answered Huafeng with the same expression on their faces.

The writer smiled. “Alright then, let’s drop the formalities and have a random chat.” He packed up his pen and notebook.

“A random chat?” Zhang Jun asked, casting a glance at Su Fei. “Don’t look at her like she’s some kind of gentle lady―it’s just a cover. After that first match, she dragged me out of my bed early the next morning, saying that she wanted company for shopping. The horror!”

Su Fei threw a pillow at him. “I’m gonna kill you! Don’t say those things in front of the reporter!”

“You see?” Zhang Jun said as he blocked the projectile.

“I see,” Huafeng replied, grinning.

“But in lieu of my health and safety, maybe you should omit that!”

“Yup, yup.”

“Furthermore, if it goes public, her beautiful image will be ruined―and she probably won’t get to marry.”

“Hmph! That’s none of your business!” Su Fei pouted.

“You guys can talk about your daily life; anything interesting!”

“Let me think,” Zhang Jun said, counting off his fingers. “Making records, washing jerseys… Oh! There’s that time she knelt on the floor for four and a half hours―her knees were all swollen.”

“Oh? What was that for?”

“Creating our match schedule!”

“Doesn’t every participating team already have one? Is there a need to make another?”

“The one they provided was very small. The one Su Fei made was large—as big as a wall.” Zhang Jun spread his arms, creating an image of the size.

“That big?!”

“Yeah, she even marked our games with a red marker and connected each stage. She said that she wanted to see how long the line would go.”

Su Fei remained quiet for some time.

“We don’t want her hard work to go to waste or make her sad, so we’ll keep winning match after match.”

…

Chen Huafeng left, feeling rewarded. He jotted down quite a number of mental notes about Su Fei and took a few shots of the Shu Guang manager. The girl proved to have no reservations in front of the camera; she was perfectly natural. She’s almost like a born cover model , he thought to himself as he pressed the shutter.

…

“Argh! It’s 10!”

“What’s up?”

“My homework’s not done! Su Fei, help!”

“No way!”

“You’re so heartless! And, I spoke so highly of you in front of the reporter!”

“You call that speaking highly?”