Chapter 36 (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
0: 3 against Jiudu High School.
0: 1 against Anguo High School.
Liang Ke stubbornly kept the losing streak going regardless of what others thought of it; the only thing that appeared to bear any weight upon him was that the goals against Shu Guang were decreasing.
The number of errors from Chen Bo and Li Xiaofang were also dropping―more importantly, they stopped repeating the same mistakes. Wang Ning was also becoming more relevant to the team; his partnership with the third-year Li Hao on the defensive midfield was gradually maturing.
Additionally, in the third warm-up match, they conceded just one goal after the entire team had been pinned down and bombarded for the entire game. For any team’s defense, it was the greatest reward.
Their opponents for the last warm-up game had already made contact; once again, they were the ones who asked for the match. It really was different when your team had a reputation.
Yingcai High School, who managed to defeat Zhongyuan in another practice match some time ago, were an ideal opponent. They had a new first-year recruit who was a capable striker. In the game against Zhongyuan, he alone managed to trick Li Yongle twice and scored past Zhang Lintao. What was his name again? Right! Ma Ni, a rather bizarre name.
…
“What?” An Ke cried out.
“Our opponents for the next warm-up game is Yingcai,” Liang Ke repeated. For the coach, it was nothing too surprising.
But An Ke was getting worked up instead of surprised, and he was not alone.
“Coach, do you still intend to train the defense in this game?” Yang Pan asked.
Bafflingly, Liang Ke nodded.
“Let us play, Coach!” Zhang Jun, who was usually unemotional was also becoming agitated.
“Huh? What?”
“Coach, just let us play!” It was Ren Yu De this time.
“Hey! You guys… What’s all this?”
…
“Seriously! In the end, Old Liang isn’t promising us any game time,” Zhang Jun said, kicking off a pebble.
“That’s natural. Coach has already made his arrangements and you guys didn’t really tell him the truth,” Su Fei answered.
“It’s a good thing he was absent for a meeting in the city that day,” Yang Pan added. “If he knew that we had some conflict with Yingcai, wouldn’t he eat us up? Who would dare to tell him that?”
“I want to teach that rat a lesson right now!” Zhang Jun seethed.
“Yo! Since when did you become so aggressive?” Su Fei asked, slightly startled. Zhang Jun had always given her and many others the impression of being aloof.
Yang Pan remembered the tears his friend shed on that day and realized what transpired in his mind. “There are people who simply become another person once they discover who they really are.” He beamed.
Su Fei did not understand the meaning behind his smile. “What are you talking about?”
Yang Pan did not answer and merely kept smiling. Watching his old friend from behind, he felt that Zhang Jun was gradually changing. It was unusual that Zhang Jun’s soccer was beyond his years and there were also certain undesirable facets of his life. But, why did he always feel that his buddy was much younger than his real age?
Whenever people who started playing soccer were asked questions about their aspirations, most would answer that they wanted to become stars and inspire China, going beyond the Asian Continent. Only Zhang Jun alone would answer that he wanted “to make a lot of friends and play soccer with them every day.”
Goodness! What kind of dream was that? Most success was achieved solely with the desire for it. Yet, Zhang Jun continued playing despite holding such peculiar ideals. He had been so happy and satisfied after making so many friends that by all indications, he would keep doing it his way. Well! Was he being innocent or childish?
There were times when Yang Pan sensed that Zhang Jun played according to his mood on that day, without any sort of drive. The wealth and glory that attracted almost everyone did not seem to have any hold on him. If he was happy, he would play like crazy; if he wasn’t, he would play despondently. It was fortunate that he was easily angered and naturally optimistic, allowing him to perform consistently on the pitch. Nevertheless, he was already 17 and not supposed to be keeping this up; what he had to be doing was shoulder more responsibilities―whether he liked it or not.
Soccer, especially soccer for grown-ups was not a game that one could excel solely through temperament.
It was wishful thinking to stay that way, with sparkles in his eyes and an overwhelming spirit; with that, he would be unbeatable.
…
Saturday afternoon.
Shu Guang’s bus arrived at the game’s location―in Yingcai High.
Although he had been slouching away because he would not be playing, Zhang Jun was on alert once he saw a familiar face.
“Haha! We meet again!” The dwarf smiled wickedly at him. “I heard that you’re not playing today either, what a waste! Tut, tut! I wanted to embarrass you, but it looks like I won’t have the chance. You bunch of wimps!”
Yang Pan held Ren Yu De back, who looked like he wanted to teach the rat a lesson. “Don’t make a scene!”
The little one turned and went off just as Zhang Jun called out to him. “I never play against nameless pawns, what’s your name?”
The other turned back. “Ma Ni. Remember it.”
“What? Ants¹?” An Ke held his stomach and laughed in an exaggerated manner. “Damn! So there is such a name! Wahahaha! Your parents are really perceptive!”
Although An Ke was obviously acting, the others laughed alongside him.
All except Zhang Jun. “Just you wait, I’ll make you eat your words!”