Chapter 61 - Embrace (2/2)

“Hey, that’s my move…”

Zhang Jun landed and chased the ball; one step and he was in the box!

He was about to score a hat-trick to seal his life’s happiness!

Sima Hongxin left his line!

And Su Fei rose from her seat.

Zhang Jun did not shoot, instead he shifted directions towards the near corner. Sima Hongxin kept up with him although the shot-stopper refrained from reaching out as long as the ball was at his feet.

Seconds before Sima Hongxin cut him off all angles, Zhang Jun swayed and stumbled towards the baseline!

Sima Hongxin dived out without a shred of hesitation!

In the blur of an eye, Zhang Jun, who should have lost his focus suddenly picked the ball up with his right foot. The ball flew over Hongxin towards the empty net!

Panicking, the keeper tried to block it, but he only managed to catch the air! He turned promptly to see the ball deflect off the far post on the way in!

It was in! It was in!

Without looking at the referee or confirming that the goal was indeed awarded, Zhang Jun leaped up from the ground and sprinted towards the technical area.

There was no telling where he got such legs. Even Yang Pan could not catch to him using a shortcut. The striker blew past his skipper like a wind. With his arms wide opened, he prepared to dive towards Liang Ke for a flying embrace.

There were incessant camera flashes from the cameramen who persisted and stayed beside the pitch; they finally got an angle they wanted: “Ace Striker and Coach Embrace in Victory!”

It was then that a single inexplicable move by Su Fei foiled everything. What she did changed everything from that point forward. Many who remembered this moment years later in nostalgic recollection would dub it “a match made in heaven”.

Still, nobody knew what was going in even as was unfolding before their eyes. In one incomprehensible move, Su Fei stepped in front of Liang Ke, stunning both the coach and the incoming Zhang Jun, who were prepared for an enthusiastic bear hug.

Liang Ke was clueless about what to do.

Zhang Jun was already in the air and it was too late to pull back.

Then, it happened.

Under the wild, flashing cameras of the photojournalists, Zhang Jun and Su Fei held each other firmly.

Fortunately, Liang Ke was behind her and to hold her up, otherwise the pair would have dropped on the dirt.

The embrace was precise, emotional and of perfection. Those who did not know the truth would simply assume that they were madly in love and hugging under broad light. They were just a couple without a care for the stares surrounding them.

Everyone was speechless.

Even Yang Pan, the one who knew Zhang Jun’s very train of thought was speechless. He knew that despite his friend’s occasional impudent speech, he would not have been able to do such an “uncouthed” move even if his friend had taken out a blood loan.

Zhang Jun’s face was covered by his drooping hair while Su Fei had her head in Zhang Jun’s chest. However, this was all involuntary. Nobody could tell the expression on their faces.

The flashes continued in an orderly manner, recording everything on film.

Su Fei could hear his deep breaths and feel his rushed, powerful heartbeats. She could not tell if it was warm sweat or raindrops that were dripping down her own neck. She believed that he was sensing the same things too, although she could not quite understand why she stepped out in the first place.

Her body was in his arms—that heartbeat, breath and bodily warmth felt so close. So, that was how wonderful it felt to have a girl in your arms. It was an accident, but Zhang Jun was now reluctant to let go, holding her even more tightly as time passed.

That was until someone coughed.

He awkwardly released her in an instant, already missing the warmth.

After they parted, Zhang Jun finally saw his team’s weirded-out expressions. Not quite knowing what to say, he kept repeating, “It was an acccident! An accident! An accident…”

Liang Ke suddenly spread his arms and hugged him affectionately. “Good kid! Here, let’s celebrate that gorgeous goal!”

Yang Pan reacted too, diving at his friend when Zhang Jun finally freed himself from the coach’s energetic hold. “Come here! Let’s hug it out too!”

And then to the goal scorer’s bewilderment, almost every other Shu Guang player seemed to be rushing at him for a hug. In reality, they were thinking that his body had to be carrying Su Fei’s warmth and smell. It led them to believe that they would be embracing with the “Su Fei” that remained on his body.

Were they not allowed to lick the bowl since they could not get a taste of the broth? As such, the Zhang Jun “bowl” was licked as much as humanly possible.

Chen Huafeng was smiling on the stands too. “Nice one, kid! So direct!”

In the remaining six minutes, Shu Guang would keep the ball firmly at their feet whenever they secured possession. They did not grant Yingcai a chance to flip the scores, or the referee an opening to blow the whistle for a foul.

And in those six minutes, the Yingcai crowd shuffled off the pitch in a disorderly manner. Others stayed behind and turned against the “spineless” Yingcai players, treating their own team the same way they treated Shu Guang before the game.

Provoked, the players changed their focus from the game itself to accusing one another while they were still on the pitch. Ma Ni stood alone, lost like a raft without a direction.

The black horse miracle borne of utilitarianism crumbled in the face of Zhang Jun’s hat-trick. Their fame did not matter anymore; the whole team looked like a bunch of pitiful clowns at that point.

As the referee begrudgingly sounded the final whistle, Shu Guang exploded like a volcano in fanatical celebration. Every boy shouted without restraint to release their gloom, which had been caused by the bribed referee. They celebratef their triumph against the Ant!

Amid the cheers, Ma Ni knelt down sullenly.

The rain was getting heavy, but the game was over. It was all over.