Chapter 99 - Shu Guang Has Arrived (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The craze as well as hype for the new century and new millennium passed by quickly. There was no change in life. The world did not suddenly become high tech when the clock struck midnight and people still needed to squeeze into buses to go to work or school. Gas was still being used to cook and boil water, not solar energy. Computer networks had not reached a point where it could be implanted into the human brain yet.

According to regulations, the soccer team’s training was supposed to be put on hold. They could only concentrate on their training again after the final exams. After the Spring Festival, the team would hurry to Shanghai to participate in the 15th National High School Soccer Championship. It would last 14 days and there would be 64 schools competing for seven rounds to determine the year’s champion.

However, Zhang Jun could no longer focus on who would become the soccer champion as he wholeheartedly prepared for his final exams. With Su Fei’s meticulous guidance for over a year, his current grades stabilized at the middle upper level. He did not feel anxious about the final exams like before.

After three and a half days, the final exams finally ended. Naturally, there were those who were happy and those who were anxious. However, the players from the soccer team did not have time for that. On the second day after their examination, they gathered in school according to Liang Ke’s request, and began their intensive training.

Zhang Jun entered the soccer club room and noticed that the qualifier’s match table on the wall had been replaced with the National Championship’s match table. Shu Guang’s first opponent would be Guang Ming High School from Dalian. The team was last year’s runner-up.

This news came out before the exams, but Liang Ke did not announce it because the opponent was extremely strong. He was afraid that this would affect the team’s focus during their examination.

Guang Ming had lost to Zhongyuan in the finals of the previous year. However, their strength was not to be underestimated. It would be wise to say that Shu Guang needed to look up its opponent as it was entering the nationals for the first time.

As Zhongyuan failed to enter the National Championship, Guang Ming automatically became the number one seeded team. Their match with Shu Guang would be the first match, also known as the opening match.

The team members were all discussing matters around the table. Zhang Jun was the only one not taking things seriously. He turned his head and asked Su Fei, “How long did you take this time?”

“Four hours. Half an hour faster than before,” Su Fei said with a smile.

“Do your knees hurt?”

“Nope!” Su Fei shook her head.

“Yeah, right!” Zhang Jun muttered to himself.

“Zhang Jun! Come over here and look at this!” An Ke called him over. “Our first match is going to be against last year’s runner-up! Looks like we’ll be going home after the first match!” An Ke said worriedly.

“Yeah! An Ke, just cancel the booking for your room. After the match, you can just take the train home.” Ren Yu De also added “worriedly”.

Yang Pan butted in and sarcastically said, “Ren Yu De’s right. I talked to Old Liang and I believe we can refund your train ticket.”

“Hey! I was only joking. Why so serious?”

“Oh! You were just joking? Haha!” Kaka gave An Ke a strange look.

Zhang Jun felt that if he did not say anything, An Ke may go berserk again. Then, Shu Guang would really be finished even before the battle started.

“Alright, alright. Honestly, there’s nothing to worry about. So what if they were last year’s runners-up? We already defeated last year’s champions! Are we still afraid of the runners-up? There’s nothing to worry about. We’re aiming to be national champions!”

Zhang Jun raised his arm, feeling that his pose would look cool. However, the entire room became quiet. Everyone just stared at Zhang Jun until he felt embarrassed.

“This… Don’t look at me like that! Don’t leave! Guys, don’t leave! An Ke, Ren Yu De, Kaka, Yang Pan, where are you guys going? Hey…”

…

Spring Festival came and went. The only difference from the usual celebrations was that they did not eat and drink to their hearts’ content. Liang Ke had warned them that those who gained weight upon returning would have to run 10,000 m every day.

Regardless, Zhang Jun would have paid attention to his diet even if Liang Ke did not mention anything. If he wanted to win the National Championship, he needed to strictly control himself. However, it was cruel as he could only salivate in front of good food, and he had to face such a cruelty almost every single day.

On the fifth day of the Spring Festival, the entire team gathered in school. They then took a school bus to the train station before taking a train to Shanghai.

The team occupied half of a carriage. It was the first time they all traveled together like that. They played cards, chatted, listened to music and read books. The carriage was filled with laughter and their long journey was not a boring one.

Su Fei was together with Zhang Jun the entire time. Even a fool could see that their relationship with each other was different after New Years Day. Everyone understood what was different between them.

Thirty-six hours later, they finally reached Shanghai.

“Dear passengers, we are stopping at Shanghai. Welcome to the vibrant city of Shanghai. Thank you for taking this train. We wish you a happy journey! Goodbye!”

“Shanghai! We’re finally here!”

“Wow! It’s so beautiful!”

“Luoyang really can’t compare to such a big city.”

…

The players who participated in the National Championship expressed their excitement for the first time.

The organizing committee had arranged for all the participating teams to stay in two hotels and the hotels were very close to Shanghai Stadium.

There would be a brief opening ceremony in the afternoon on the next day, followed by the opening match. Hence, Shu Guang would go to the stadium that afternoon to adapt to the place. Each team would be given half an hour. Guang Ming would be using it at 4.00 pm while Shu Guang would be using it at 4.30 pm.

As Shu Guang defeated the previous year’s champion to qualify for the National Championship, the media commented that their quality might be a mystery but they were not to be trifled with given that they defeated Zhongyuan. But they would be competing against Guang Ming, the previous year’s runners-up in the first round. Shu Guang’s lack of national-level experience might not bode well for them. They may end up returning home after the first round.

Only Luoyangs ‘High School Soccer’ predicted that Shu Guang may create history. However, other media outlets ridiculed it as ‘localism’. They said that Shu Guang had already created history when they ended Zhongyuan’s fifteen-year undefeated streak. There shouldn’t be any delusions that the rookie in this championship could achieve any breakthroughs when faced with national-level strong teams.

When the Shu Guang players stepped into the Shanghai Stadium, they could not help but study the turf.

Guang Ming High School had just finished their training and were walking off the pitch. Most of them had expressions like they saw a group of country bumpkins. Even their coach who was being interviewed by reporters talked about the team’s goal to win the championship, potential opponents in the semi-finals, and his regret at Zhongyuan’s defeat, making it seem like it was a pity that they missed the chance to face a worthy adversary. Given all that was said, there was no mention about their first-round opponents that defeated Zhongyuan to qualify and were training behind them, Shu Guang.

Shu Guang was like a traveler coming and going in a hurry. In the past fifteen years, there had been too many of such fleeting teams. A national-championship regular like Guang Ming had a thousand and one reasons to look down on Shu Guang.

The opening ceremony and the opening match would be held one day earlier than the other matches. So, it would be a highly anticipated match. Liang Ke feared that the team would be too nervous before the match so he deliberately visited them in their rooms the evening before to talk to them and try to relieve the pressure.

He pushed open the door to the first room and saw no one.

He searched the second room. There was nobody there.

The third room was also empty. He stood at the doorway and looked at the empty rooms, unable to comprehend the situation.

He went into the fourth room and found Yang Pan reading in bed while wearing earphones. Yang Pan did not seem to care about Liang Ke’s appearance. Liang Ke took a look and decided not to bother him. He then quietly closed the door and left.

At that moment, he saw Zhang Jun coming out of the elevator wearing slippers and holding a can of Coke.

“Coach?”

The two of them went down to find a quiet place to sit. They saw players from other teams coming and going. Some of the aces were still being interviewed by the reporters.

“Where are the others?” Liang Ke asked.

“Kaka is calling his family. He’s feeling a little homesick.”

“Hmm.” Liang Ke nodded. “This is the first Spring Festival he’s spent away from home. It is easy to feel homesick when alone.”

“Ren Yu De was dragged away by An Ke to play billiards. They said they needed to compete for the best billiards player in the team. The others went to be spectators. Yang Pan is reading in his room.”