Chapter 25 (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
1 : 0, Shu Guang was in the lead, but Sun Laihong did not react much to the score.
“Li Yongle, more shots!” he simply shouted from the technical area, finally saying something since the game began.
Li Yongle thought about the shooting technique he had been trying recently, but he had not mastered it yet. That was when he got a pat on his back.
It was Zhao Defeng. “It’s fine, just shoot.” He smiled. “Games can’t be won without shots.”
Zhongyuan restarted the game, with Zhao Defeng taking control of the ball up front; but he did not pass it in a hurry.
Li Yongle ran forward and as their eyes connected, Defeng made backheel pass and sent the ball just ahead of his partner. Li Yongle then took a shot from outside the box!
The ball hugged the ground as it roll towards the goal and An Ke dropped to the ground to collect it.
“It’s not like that…” Yongle muttered, shaking his head.
Defeng found him in a perfect position once again and while Li’s second shot did lift above the ground, it did not dip, so An Ke gathered it without much fuss again.
When Li Yongle tried for the third time and shot the ball straight into An Ke’s arms, even Sun Laihong was left shaking his head. “Was three days too much of a rush?” he mused.
The referee soon blew the whistle, signaling the end of the first half. Shu Guang led as they headed into the break!
Zhongyuan’s cheerleading team fell silent for the second time after Yang Pan scored. Not only was their team unable to take the advantage in the first half, they had never been overwhelmed in such a manner by any team in Luoyang.
“Well, regardless of whoever wins, no one would think of Shu Guang as a weak team again after this game,” Zhou Peng said, looking at the scoreboard which read 1 : 0.
“Agreed.”
…
The host team’s locker room.
“How’s everyone feeling now?” Liang Ke asked.
“Cool!” Yang Pan said as he wiped away pinches of sweat.
“Overwhelmed,” Su Li added. “My heart never calmed down after I heard our own cheerleaders’ voices as soon we stepped on the pitch.”
“That’s right! I can’t even recall how long it’s been since there was such a feeling,” Wang Bo said as he leaned on a chair with a towel on his face.
Liang Ke beamed.
“Then keep playing the way you guys did in the second half.”
…
The guest team’s locker room.
“So? How’s everybody feeling?” Sun Lai Hong looked at the players, all of whom were breathing hard.
“Shu Guang’s good,” Zhao Defeng answered. “Tough to handle.”
The others were quiet.
“Hey, hey! This is not the atmosphere a Zhongyuan locker room is supposed to have!” the coach said, clapping his hands. “How about this, Li Yongle and Zhang Yang, mark Yang Pan together and prevent him from having any chance to shoot. The defense line could also pull back a little, denying him any space to make runs. Liu Chao, how are things at your end?”
“No problem!” the Zhongyuan player gave a huge thumbs up.
“Li Yongle, keep shooting in the second half, understood?”
Li Yongle nodded.
“Alright! Our objective is to be crowned champions of the nationals! Assert your dominance in this game! Defeat them!”
…
Zhang Jun did not join the team meeting in the locker room; he was playing keepie uppie alone beside the pitch. He did not feel any pain even when he used both legs, so he thought that maybe he could ask Liang Ke to let him play in the second half.
That was when Li Yongle passed him by in the blink of an eye.
“Ah…” He wanted to utter a greeting.
The other stopped. “Are you coming on in the second half?
“Me? I don’t know…”
“You’re not running away are you? You’re running away from me!” Li pointed accusingly at him.
“Running? Hey! That challenge or whatever it is came from your own imagination! You leave every single time you finish what you have to say, not even waiting for my response!”
“I don’t care! Don’t regret it if you don’t play in the second half!” At that, Li Yongle turned and left.
“Hey… What am I gonna regret…”
In a huff Zhang Jun sat down, but he felt in the depths of this heart that Li Yongle was right―he could really come to regret it if he did not play in this match.
…
The second half began.
Zhongyuan maintained their defensive style, retreating even further back than they did in the first half.
“Zhongyuan is going to score.” Chen Huafeng heard a voice beside him. He turned to find a boy seated beside him, wearing a baseball cap and mumbling to himself; he thought the youth looked rather familiar, but could not conjure up a name right then.
“Lin Ling!” Zhou Peng called out.
The boy turned reflexively towards him.
“It is you!” Zhou said, looking quite please.
“Tut!”―Lin Ling tipped his cap upwards―”I’ve been found out!”
“Hehe! That’s because you’re a star!” Zhou smiled.
“You’re mistaken, they are the stars.” Lin gestured towards the two teams on the pitch.
“Aren’t third-years supposed to be busy right now?” Chen Huafeng pointed out.
“There’s supposed to be supplementary classes this afternoon, but I’m playing hooky.”
“Just to watch this game?”
“I was feeling a little out of practice too. This time last year, I was in the same position as them. Although I ended up in the stands today.”
“Still not going to concede defeat?”
“No! I’ve already conceded completely.” Lin Ling pressed his cap down and turned away; but Huafeng managed to get a glimpse of his expression. How should could one describe it? Perhaps, it was a pinch of desolation.
A clear ringing reclaimed Huafeng’s attention to the match.
Twenty-seven meters out, Yang Pan had managed to hit the woodwork with another shot; everyone could see that the goalpost was still swaying from its power.
“Such a powerful shot!” Lin uttered, feeling stunned.
“Have you just arrived? They’ve already scored one.” Chen pointed at the scoreboard.
“They’re leading?” Lin Ling was taken aback even further. “I’m not one to boast, but only Dingding and our Tong Xing team were the only ones in Luoyang who ever led against Zhongyuan!”
“He scored from nine meters out,” Chen Huafeng told him while he pointed at Yang Pan.
Lin Ling remembered the goalpost, which did not stop quaking. “Nine meters out? With this sort of power?”
“Yup!”
“No wonder Zhang Lintao couldn’t keep it out. I bet there won’t be many who can do it in the high school scene either.”
“That’s right!” Huafeng exclaimed. “And it was almost as if he alone suppressed the entire Zhongyuan defense in the first half. Now their whole team is pressed even farther back; looks like they’re very much afraid of Yang Pan’s speed and shooting.”
“No! No!” Lin Ling waved it off. “Zhongyuan are retreating too far behind, it’s a sign that they’re preparing for a counter. They do it like snakes, holding back for the right moment before biting fiercely to deal a decisive blow against the enemy.”
What Lin said resounded. Perhaps, it was the two years experience of getting bit.