Chapter 62 - Whats Right; Whats Wrong (2/2)

Girls and the romantics chattered spiritedly about the scene: the pouring rain, the stares of the crowd, the elation of the pitch, Zhang Jun madly sprinting into Su Fei’s waiting arms and the both of them enveloping each other in deep embrace! How passionate that scene was, just think about it! In their minds, even Zhang Jun’s muddy jersey that dirtied Su Fei’s clothes was an immediate classic.

The boys on the other hand, discussed wildly about the sensation of having Su Fei in their arms—using age-restricted terms, of course.

While every other person in school was talking about them, the pair weaved together around the school grounds, oblivious to all the gawking.

Yang Pan was genuinely impressed with the nerves they were showing; both of them had so much aplomb and tact despite the public scrutiny they were facing.

A few others disagreed.

An Ke snorted. “Don’t look at those two. They’re pretending to be all serious in front of everyone. They’re pretty much running through every possible filthy thought in their minds! Hmph! An illicit couple!”

Ren Yu De grunted coldly behind him. “Isn’t it because you wanted to be part of an ‘illicit couple’ with Su Fei?”

An Ke was rendered speechless. He did have that thought.

Kaka looked on as Su Fei and Zhang Jun walked everywhere around school; from the classroom to the security guard post, from the field to the mini garden and from the notice board to the boiler room. He sighed.

“And so, the prince and the princess lived happily ever after…”

It was a sunny morning in early winter. The prince and princess of our the tale were finally together, happily linking hands on the gorgeous school grounds while innumerable sighs sounded behind their backs…

When school ended during at noon, Zhang Jun saw that the usually crowded main gate was unusually sparse.

More specifically, the students were keeping their distance from a single spot, where one person stood.

He was athletic and silent with a sharp gaze. Even if he was simply standing there, the others who around him still felt an enormous pressure emanating from him.

“Sima Hongxin?” Zhang Jun called out, slightly startled.

Indeed, it was the 197-cm giant goalkeeper from Yingcai!

“Why are you here? Huh? Yingcai’s not exactly close from here! And we just got off school… Don’t you have classes? Or, did you leave early? Ah, is there anything I can help you with? You seem like you’ve waited for quite some time.”

Zhang Jun, who was now obviously basking in a happier life had become talkative.

“I’m here to say farewell,” the other answered. In comparison, Sima Hongxin seemed to weigh his words carefully.

“Huh? Farewell? Why?”

“I’ve been scouted by the second string of Henan Jianye. I promised them that I would report to the team after my match against you.”

“Henan Jianye?” Yang Pan was shocked at hearing that. “They’re a B. League team!”

Hongxin nodded.

“Not bad!” Zhang Jun laughed as he patted his former opponent’s shoulder—although, having the 179-cm Zhang Jun reaching up to the 197-cm keeper’s shoulder was visually pretty ridiculous. “Great one, Kiddo! Do your best! After all, you did block Yang Pan’s powerful drive in our game!”

“Hmph!” Yang Pan muttered. “I was passing, not shooting!”

“Hah! A 180-km/h pass?” Zhang Jun smiled as he greeted his friend handily.

Ignoring their “intimate contact”, Sima Hongxin continued.

“There’s another piece of news, though I’m not sure if it’s going to be good for you two. Ma Ni’s legs are crippled.”

The duo stopped fooling around and turned to look at Sima Hongxin seriously.

“The 90 Degrees move can’t be employed frequently, but he used it at least 10 times in the game. Despite his knees not being able to withstand anymore pressure, he wasn’t willing to stop. Furthermore, the pitch was soaked due to the rain; he had to put in twice the effort.”

Sima Hongxin recounted everything calmly like he was narrating a stranger’s story.

“After the game, his father quickly rushed him to the hospital. However, his knees were beyond saving. He won’t have trouble walking, but he won’t be playing soccer ever again.”

There was silence.

“How could this be…” Su Fei mumbled. It was a curious thing. She hated Ma Ni before, but she was felt pity for him upon hearing that he would not be able to play anymore.

“The 90 Degrees move demands a lot from your legs,” Yang Pan said softly. “He forced himself to keep going because he desired victory against Zhang Jun. This is the result of that.”

“That means, he knew from the start that after this game, he would not ever…”

This time, nobody answered her.

“But, your tone… Aren’t you guys friends?” Yang Pan asked Hongxin.

“I don’t have friends.” Sima Hongxin finally smiled, albeit a troublingly bitter one.

The trio did not say a word on their way home after Sima Hongxin left. It was only until they reached the floor below Su Fei and Zhang Jun’s homes that Yang Pan finally broke the silence.

“He said he didn’t have friends…”

“That wasn’t a lie. His smile was very bitter.” Zhang Jun nodded. “A quiet personality, a fearsome appearance and a huge body—anybody shorter than him would indirectly give him a wide berth. His behavior isn’t that likable even in professional teams…”

“Wasn’t he your enemy?” Su Fei asked curiously. “It looks like you understand, and even feel for him.”

“He’s not my enemy…” Zhang Jun shook his head.

He remembered when Sima Hongxin dived towards his lobbed shot. The giant goalkeeper was in the air with his hands outstretched to protect the goalpost. His right ankle was directed straight at Zhang Jun’s eyes. The striker lost his footing after a shot and it appeared that he was not going to be able to dodge his ankle. But Sima Hongxin quickly shifted his foot so that his thigh would glide past his chest—sparing his eyes in the process. That was when he knew, just from that one move, that Sima Hongxin was not an enemy.

Zhang Jun looked up at the sky. “He’s a very fine opponent…”

The three of them never mentioned his name ever again. It was as if he had never appeared in their lives.

Hat-trick hero, Zhang Jun made the cover of High School Soccer once again. Chen Huafeng had also named the move he used to score his second goal: “Rising Dragon”.

The name would spread across Europe and the world many years later. Even Chen Huafeng never expected that. It was virtually a second word for the Chinese soccer scene: World of the Rising Dragon…