Chapter 27 (2/2)
He flipped around his bed to find that his pillow and sheets were flooded with sweat.
For them, this season was over.
And for some of them, their three-year-long season was over…
…
The school felt abnormally quiet on Monday.
Each week, there was chatter whenever the national flag was raised in the weekly assembly―this caused headaches for the discipline teacher, Wen Jiu. Nevertheless, that was not the case this week.
Everyone spoke in hushed whispers and there was a noticeable decrease in laughter. The game on Saturday had somehow affected the entire school; and so, for the first time, Shu Guang mourned over soccer.
The afternoon training went on as usual. Liang Ke was already setting his sights on the coming year.
There was just one thing: the atmosphere on the pitch was stuffy and nobody said anything. Even An Ke, the team’s joker was mum. All he did was carry out their basic practice alongside the substitute keeper in dead silence.
Liang Ke wanted to remind the kids and raise their spirits, but he could not say a thing when he recalled the match on Saturday. That night, he downed six cans of beer by himself, getting drunk like a fish.
…
“What are you doing?!” Su Li’s sonorous voice rang.
“We third-years are having our last training session. Does every single one of you want to send us off like this?”
Everyone looked at their captain.
“What are you looking at? I’m not a monkey!” The captain who was about to retire joked; he wanted his noisy team back, but the attempt went awry. Everyone turned back to what they were doing instead.
That was when Wang Bo stepped in. “Ahem! Ahem! We, the third-years have but one wish and it is for the team to send us off happily. Send us off happily, not tearfully. So, everyone, please don’t make those crybaby faces.”
Wang Bo’s words got a few laughs and the air lifted a few notches.
“In the end, you’re still the one who has a way with words,” Su Li told Wang Bo quietly.
“Don’t say that, captain.”
“I’m not going to be captain soon. You don’t have to call me that anymore.”
After their training ended, Liang Ke gathered everyone around.
“Everybody knows. After today, the third-years will no longer be Shu Guang players. Su Li!”
Su Li handed the captain’s armband as well as his clean and tidily folded jersey to Su Fei. He hesitated as he passed her the shirt, taking some time before he placed it in her hands.
“Wang Bo!”
“Liu Lei!”
“Li Xiaopeng!”
“Liu Hui!”
“Zhang Rui!”
“Shang Jin!”
Every team member went up when their name was called and passed their jerseys to Su Fei.
No. 8, No. 10, No. 18, No. 5, No. 3, No. 9 and No. 22; these were the shirt numbers that would have new owners when September arrived.
Liang Ke had been through this scene for five years, including this one. However, this year, he felt a sense of loss for the third-year veterans. There were signs of hope after they weathered through two years of hardship together yet, they still missed the dawn of a new era by a fraction despite those signs.
Anyone could tell from Zhang Jun’s expression that he was crucifying himself inside. Su Li walked over and lightly patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself too much. The defeat wasn’t your fault.”
“But, captain…”
“Don’t call me captain anymore.” Su Li smiled and pointed at his empty arm.
“I couldn’t help you guys and could only watch from the sidelines.”
“That’s got nothing to do with you. If I was coach, I wouldn’t have let you play either. The price of your future is simply too steep to be played around with. And there’s no reason for you to grief at all; you still have two more years. Look at us third-years. Aren’t we just fine now?”
Zhang Jun looked around. Wang Bo and the rest of the third-years were laughing around with the other team members.
“Brat! When you guys crash into the Xigong Stadium next year and the year after, we’ll be there to cheer you on!” Wang Bo held Ren Yu De warmly around his neck.
“Don’t give us such a depressing look! We may be leaving the team, but we’re still in the same school! It’s not a long goodbye, really!” Zhang Rui smiled.
“True! True! With the looks on your faces, others will think that we’re at a wake service!”
“Su Fei, you’re always smiling. Why the frowny face today? Be careful or you’ll get wrinkles!”
…
“You see! Isn’t everyone doing just fine! Now that you’ve mentioned it, we still have to thank you guys!”
“Thank us?” Zhang Jun did not get it.
“Yeah! When our batch joined the team, we simply wanted a place where we could formally play soccer for three years. We knew our abilities better than everyone, which was why we never thought of making it to the last eight teams, much less the last four.
“But you guys came along and gave us hope. Thanks to you guys, we had a goal for the first time.” Su Li scratched his head, embarrassed. “You’ll be second-year students next year, so don’t let Su Fei’s red line stop at this stage.”
“Captain…”
“I told you, you don’t have to call me captain anymore.”
Wang Bo came to Su Li’s side. Looking at Zhang Jun’s demeanor, he said, “The psychological empowerment project works after all!”
“He can’t stay depressed. Shu Guang’s fate will be at his feet in the coming year!”
“And you claim that you don’t have a way with words, captain…”
“Don’t call me captain.”
“Sorry, I forgot again, whoops! It really takes some getting used to.”
…
A week later, Zhongyuan Technical High made easy work of Dongfang High School. Li Yongle scored another goal―a penalty, which made him a darling of the media and the fans.
Another week after, Zhongyuan defeated their arch-rivals, Dingding High in the final match, entering the National Championship proper for the fourteenth consecutive time. They were the focus of Luoyang’s media once more. However, even though Li Yongle made five attempts in that match, he could not recreate that deflected shot he made against Shu Guang.