Chapter 51 - Blue Skies (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The referee blew his whistle twice, signaling the end of the first half and breaking Liang Ke’s train of thought. The coach got up from his seat and made his way towards the field’s exit. He watched and waited as both teams passed him by, getting off the pitch and into their locker rooms. He was waiting for Ren Yu De.

Ren Yu De was the last person to get off the field. He seemed to be troubled by something and walked slower than the others, as if wanting to be left alone. And as he got closer to him, Liang Ke briefly revised his message to the boy.

“Ren Yu De.”

Ren Yu De looked up at his coach in his dejected state. Just as the coach was about to continue, he was taken aback by the look in the boy’s eyes.

His eyes were clean and pure. Although there were still bits of it in his gaze, his eyes were not as muddled with emotions as the first time they met.

Liang Ke knew that the boy in front of him was an introvert, soft spoken and often mistaken for being unfriendly. But he also had the chance of seeing how he laughed when he was around Zhang Jun, Yang Pan, An Ke and Kaka. How could a player who laughed like that with his teammates, betray their trust, or his dreams? Liang Ke thought.

Ren Yu De looked at his coach, still waiting for him to say something. But, Liang Ke only patted him on the shoulder and said, “There’s still the second half! Go on!”

Ren Yu De was surprised by his coach’s words. He stood there and took everything in before heading into the lockers.

The atmosphere in the locker room was not somber as Liang Ke thought it would be. Even though they did not score any goals, everyone was talking in a very relaxed manner and even joking around. This surprised the coach. Since when was his team this relaxed during a match? As a coach, he knew that this was a result of the team’s confidence. Where did the Shu Guang team from the start of the last school year go? Where were those kids who had no idea what they were playing for, and were sh*tting bricks when they heard that they were up against a top five team? Coach Liang Ke then realized for the first time, that he could no longer underestimate just how fast these boys could grow.

Zhang Jun made his way over to Ren Yu De. He noticed that Ren Yu De had been very quiet since returning to the locker room, and thought that he was blaming himself for the “unfortunate misplay” earlier.

“Hey, don’t think about it too much. That was just a small mistake! You don’t have to beat yourself up about it.”

Kaka also joined them. “Yeah! Besides, An Ke is doing nothing most of the time anyway. So, that was a good warm up for him. Didn’t you see how beautiful his dive was to make that save?”

“Shut up, Kaka! I hate it when people think that I’m no good.” An Ke jumped. “If I can’t even make a good save like that shot just now, you guys are gonna have a bad time in the second half! Heh heh!” he boasted. And while he was still laughing and feeling proud of himself, a bottle of water flew across the room and hit him square on the face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I tried telling you to catch it, but you weren’t listening,” Yang Pan said, without even the slightest bit of regret in his tone or his manner of speaking.

Seeing the bottle mark imprinted on An Ke’s face, Su Fei could not hold herself back and broke into laughter. And as her loud laugh echoed in the locker room, An Ke finally snapped.

“Yang Pan! You a**hole! I’m gonna eat you alive!” An Ke sounded like a mad dog.

“Oy! Kaka! What are you laughing at?”

“And you! Zhang Jun! Don’t think I won’t get you just because you’re hiding behind Su Fei!”

“Lin Xiaofang! Chen Bo! You two juniors dare laugh at your senior? Let me teach you guys some respect!”

Liang Ke leaned against the door and smiled as he watched his team. He had no intention of stopping them. And as he turned to look at Ren Yu De, the coach saw his expression changing. It was like a sky with heavy clouds slowly clearing up. Finally, a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone on him; he was finally smiling. With that change, Ren Yu De joined in on the fun too.

“Argh! Ren Yu De! That was a cheap shot!”

“Oy! Oy! Don’t hit innocent people!” Liang Ke said as he dodged a bottle that went flying towards him. But as soon as he stood back up, someone’s smelly sock flew and landed right on his face.

Liang Ke removed the sock with his fingers and revealed an annoyed face. As he was about to step in and stop the brawl, someone emptied a bottle of water on his shirt, extinguishing what was left of his patience.

“You punks! You dare mess with me? You must be tired of living!”

“What the hell? Who’s pulling my hair? Fight like a man you a**hole!”

“F*ck! Who’s kicking below the waist! That’s a foul! Red card! Red card!”

…