Chapter 32 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Su Fei, have you finished your homework from the summer holidays?” Zhang Jun knocked on Su Fei’s door with his homework.

Su Fei handed over two of her books to Zhang Jun.

“Seriously! What is Liang Ke doing? There’s only two weeks left until school reopens yet he still requests for the soccer team to train in advance!” Zhang Jun ranted as he quickly copied down his homework.

“Your coach just wants the soccer team to have better results this year.”

“Hmph! Then why didn’t he start like half a month earlier? The recruitment for new members hasn’t even begun!”

“Idiot! You really need to be disciplined! The school doesn’t open until another a week! Where would we be training then?” Su Fei knocked Zhang Jun’s head with a pencil.

“Oh, I forgot. Okay, you’re really a genius. You managed to solve this difficult question!” It was a must for Zhang Jun to give Su Fei some praises after he copied her homework.

“Hmph!” It seemed to help.

…

Kaka was not seen throughout the summer holidays and he had became darker upon his return.

An Ke admired him and asked, “Is the sunshine in Rio de Janeiro great?”

“No it isn’t, but the sun in Luoyang is really deadly!” Kaka laughed.

“Oh?”

“I was working in Luoyang during the summer holidays, delivering water to people. The sun was scorching hot!” Kaka held on to a pergola as he looked up at the sun.

“Today’s highest temperature is 39 ᴼC.” Ren Yu De approached them from the side, dressed as if he had just returned from Hawaii. He wore a floral shirt and matching pants as well as a pair of sunglasses. “There’s air conditioning at home, yet you came here to suffer.”

“Thirty-nine? No wonder it feels like we’re inside an oven,” Yang Pan replied with his headphones on.

“But in Brazil, children are always barefooted when they play soccer,” Kaka said.

“They’re already used to it!” Yang Pan waved disapprovingly.

“I’m talking about how high Brazil’s soccer level is. This is how they trained!” An Ke rubbed his chin as he was deep in thought. Suddenly, a ball flew in his direction and he caught it instinctively. While An Ke was still on the ground, he heard a sweet voice. “Brilliant!”

“Su Fei?”

Su Fei clapped her hands and smiled. “Although you’re only a goalkeeper, your reaction sure is fast!”

An Ke had a feeling that he was being played, but the one who played him was a beauty. He inadvertently vented, but all he could do was pat the dust off his body. “Please take pity on me, Ah Di―”

Ren Yu De pouted. “Spread the goods, a piece only cost 35 $. Are they from Guanlin Wholesale?”

“What? You―”

“Alright, everyone please change your clothes quickly!” Liang Ke’s loud voice immediately crushed An Ke’s surging impulse.

…

Zhang Jun looked at the lockers that were located in the lounge area. On his left stood the locker that originally belonged to his captain, Su Li. But now, the locker still remained the same even though the owner had left. It had been a long time since the captain was last seen. He only came to school occasionally in the last semester. Rumor has it that he was tutoring at home. It had been more than a month since the college entrance examination ended and there was no certainty on what the seniors were doing at that point.

He gave the locker a few pats. Back then, if they took too long to change their clothes, they would definitely hear their captain shouting at the door. “What are you doing? Hurry up first-years! Don’t let us wait too long!”

Zhang Jun turned his head, but Su Li was nowhere to be seen. The afternoon sunlight seeped through the door and he felt his captain’s presence even though his face was not visibly there. That laid-back smile of his, his loud shouting, his face that would light up just for a warm-up match and how he collapsed and cried in Wang Bo’s embrace during the final battle; these memories seemed like they just happened yesterday, but it had already been a year. The afternoon sun was still quietly seeping in from the outside, yet that certain, well-built figure was not there anymore…

…

Liang Ke faced his team and said, “As everyone knows, since Su Li left the soccer team, we’ve never had a permanent captain. So today, I suggest that we decide on a permanent captain.” Liang Ke took the armband that Su Li left behind and raised it up.

“Yang Pan!” he called.