Chapter 67 - Debut (2/2)

The captain was not being loud, but like a pail of cold water doused on burning iron, the laughs quickly died down. All of them knew that their captain had not been himself for the past week—he was like a woman going through menopause, temperamental and quick to blow up. That said, he was still their captain—their boss.

Xia Bo held his tongue back and straightened his face.

Liu Wei looked on, not knowing if he should be nodding approvingly with a smile, or sighing while shaking his head.

Fan Cunjie always had a good handle of himself against any opponent at any stage. However, he looked really jittery that day. He seemed more driven to win. Did it bode well for Dingding?

…

The loudspeakers of the stadium sounded and the live commentary began.

“Good afternoon, everyone! Today we’re bringing you the first semi-final match of the Chenguang Cup—the Luoyang Regional Qualifiers for the 15th National High School Soccer Championship. On one side we have the ‘Uncrowned Kings’ among the Luoyang high schools, Dingding! While Shu Guang High School, who has been on the rise for the last two years is on the other. I’m Wang Qiang, bringing you the live commentary for this game alongside our special guest Mr. Zhou, a specialist on high school soccer who will also be our pundit for the day.”

“Good afternoon, everyone!”

“Hehe! It’s our fourth year doing commentary on this tournament together.”

“True.”

“What’s your take on these two teams?”

“Well, Dingding has been at this stage often. There’s no doubt that the team is very capable. That said, Fan Cunjie, Bin Fei, Xia Bo, Yao Wang, Shi Yan and Cao Po are all third-years now. It’s their last chance to enter the Nationals and that is why they’ll be giving their all. This would be horrifying for any opponent.”

“Then, there’s Shu Guang…”

“Oh. Shu Guang’s improvement in the last two years is something else. They were great going forward, but they lack a lot in experience compared to Dingding. In such a vital game, this could prove to be key.”

“Mr. Zhou, does this mean you believe that Dingding will have a better chance of winning?”

“Hehe! That’s right! Furthermore, I’d like to see Zhao Defeng and Fan Cunjie clashing once again—it is their final year after all.”

Liu Qi looked up at the huge speakers and said what every Shu Guang member was thinking.

“This critic is so despicable!”

Zhang Jun sat quietly on a chair. Normally, he would have been messing around with An Ke, Kaka, Ren Yu De and Yang Pan.

Su Fei approached him, grabbed his hand and dug her nails deeper and deeper into his flesh.

Though clearly holding back his voice, he reacted. “Su Fei! What are you doing? It hurts!”

She replied with a sugary smile. “I thought you were dreaming, so I came to check. So, you weren’t napping after all!”

“Dreaming?” Zhang Jun looked at her.

“Will you be needing a hairband today? I brought a thin one.” She opened her hand to show it lying quietly in her palm.

Zhang Jun pulled his front hair down and it reached the bridge of his nose. Without noticing, it had already grown that long.

“Don’t need one. Do you have a rubber band?”

“Yeah.” She reached behind her head and loosed her braided ponytail. Her hair dropped like a cascading waterfall and a rubber band appeared in her hand.

“Help me make a braid?” He asked, looking straight into her eyes.

…

“Right, that’s all I can say. Just remember that your target isn’t just little Luoyang—it’s the Nationals, the target every single one of you set your eyes on when you joined the team!” Slightly emotional, Liu Wei raised his voice.

How many years had Dingding been shouting their objective of “entering the nationals” but never bringing it to fruition. This time, their team had the experience and skill as well as dedicated supporters; it would be their best shot—failure was unacceptable.

The silence in the locker room was deafening; everyone had the words “entering the nationals” weigh heavy on their mind.

Su Fei marveled upon her own handiwork and smiled in satisfaction. The players surrounding them were also praiseful.

“Tut, tut! Never knew that a guy could look good in braids!”

“Heh! Quite the spirited Look!” Xie Yu said, tugging at his own short, curly hair. Realizing that it was not long enough to be tied, he sighed begrudgingly.

An Ke leaped out. “Su Fei! Help me fix my hair too!” He drew his hair to its full length, which was just enough to make a “mini tail”.

Su Fei smiled, spreading her arms. “There aren’t any rubber bands left.”

There was more than one sigh. An Ke was the most disappointed, but Su Fei’s hair, which dropped to her shoulders was proof that there really was no rubber bands left.

“I have one,” Ren Yu De said over in a corner.

“Really?” An Ke replied with extra delight. “Where? Give it here!”

An Ke pulled at his shorts and it indeed had a rubber band. “Here. Although, it’s not exactly practical to take it out.”

An Ke stared blankly, and then, he chased after Ren Yu De wildly.

“Ren Yu De! Stop right there!”

Everyone broke into laughter. Su Fei even felt tears coming out. That was when she realized that Zhang Jun was not joining in their chorus. He was just staring at her vacantly without a word.

She blushed.

“What are you looking at?”

Zhang Jun smiled and shook his head in reply. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to look.”

Even more embarrassed, the manager quickly changed topics. “You look nice with braids, very spirited!”

“Is that so? Then I’ll never trim my hair ever again and keep it for you to braid.”

She stretched a hand out.

“This is…”

“Pay up! Pay up!” Su Fei huffed. “My work needs to be rewarded!”

She looked indescribably adorable and Zhang Jun was at a loss for words.

The then door opened and Liang Ke entered.

“It’s time! Let’s go!”