Chapter 22 (2/2)

“Well now! I hope that I’ll see you on the field then.” And with those words, the Zhongyuan player turned and left. Zhang Yang and Zhang Lintao followed.

“Huh! This again! He doesn’t even care what others have to say and leave’s as soon he’s finished! Jogging isn’t a problem doesn’t mean I’m fit for a match! That imbecile!”

“Have you met him before?” Yang Pan asked. “Why does he keep insisting on defeating you?”

“Who the hell knows! I’ve never even met the guy.”

“‘There’s no storm without waves. You must have provoked him before this; you simply don’t remember. Maybe you stole his girl or ate at his family’s restaurant without paying….”

“His family has a restaurant?”

“Just saying”

“You are such a trivial person…”

…

Liang Ke did not have any special arrangements for the last training session for the game; instead, he told everyone to sit in a circle on the field.

“Zhang Jun’s injury is still not 100% healed. I won’t risk you on the field,” the coach told him.

He nodded.

“In tomorrow’s game, Su Li will partner with Liu Lei; you two have to stop Zhongyuan’s captain, Zhao Defeng. Don’t underestimate him when you see his 166 cm stature. Diminutive people have always flourished on attacking midfield positions. Yang Pan, you can fire as many long shots as you like this game!”

“No problem!” Yang answered with a fearsome flash in his eyes.

“That’s all for tactics.” Liang Ke pointed at the cheerleading team. “As all of you can see, we even have cheerleaders now. Nobody cared about us before and the only ones who watched us were the other teams’ cheerleaders. There’s no guessing how everyone here feels about that. Maybe there are those who think that it’s fine however we play, right? But from tomorrow onwards, everyone will have to do their best! Don’t break the hearts of our supporters!”

“Yes!” everyone answered.

“Ah… It’s been four years since I came to this school,” Liang Ke sighed as he gazed at the setting sun, which loomed between buildings. He looked as if he had more to say, but he merely waved the squad members behind him away. “Dismissed!”

…

“It’s the first time coach was so emotional!” Su Fei said; the scene where Liang Ke lingered under the setting sun remained in her mind. “Do you guys know what he was thinking when he sighed?”

“Who knows! Maybe the stuff that’s happened throughout his four years here,” Yang Pan answered noncommittally.

“I actually think that fate is very unfair,” Zhang Jun suddenly said profoundly.

“Why?” the other two asked.

“Liang Ke is a good coach, he is very capable – but Shu Guang just hasn’t been the place for him to unleash his talents. If he had gone to Zhongyuan or any other school, he would have flourished. I think his sigh was him moaning about his misfortune in the last four years.” Looking at the sunset, Zhang Jun sighed as well.

“Does that mean, this year, fate is going to be unfair too?” Yang Pan asked him.

“How should I know. It all depends on tomorrow’s game. If we win, fate is fair; if we don’t, it’s not.”

“Hey! Don’t make one game sound so significant!”

“Come what may, tomorrow depends on you!” Zhang Jun patted Yang Pan on the back as Yang smiled.

“It won’t run away as long as I’m here!”

…

The next day…