"Now, let us welcome with the warmest applause all the members of the football team that represent the school to win glory for our Andong province!"

Accompanied by the passionate voice of the dean of students, the "Athletes' March" sounded on the radio in the school playground.

In the sound of music, Hu Lai and Yan Yan grabbed the handle of the championship trophy one by one, lifted the heavy gold cup of the national championship, and stepped on the steps leading to the rostrum.

The players of the football team followed behind them and took the stage one after another, receiving the gaze of the whole school, applause and cheers.

After all the players stood in three rows on the rostrum, the teaching director asked the team's captain Yan Yan to go up and speak on behalf of the whole team.

These are fixed procedures that should be negotiated before the welcome ceremony begins.

Originally, as soon as Yan Yan heard that he was going to let the captain speak, he wanted to push Hu Lai up. According to his thoughts, Hu Lai will definitely not shirk in the face of such a scene, and will even have an extraordinary performance, and the speech effect is better. And in a sense, Hulai is indeed the captain of the team now.

But to Yan Yan's surprise, Hu Lai refused and was unwilling to give a speech as the captain.

His reason was that he was afraid that he would go up and talk nonsense, and the teaching director would drive him down, and how embarrassing it would be then.

In desperation, Yan Yan could only rush the ducks to the shelves and give a speech as a representative of the team......

When Yan Yan stood in front of the microphone on behalf of the team and said those empty words that were not nutritious, Li Ziqiang tilted his head slightly and looked at Hu Lai who was standing in the first row of the team.

Even though Hulai now has a smile on his face and looks like he's no different from other happy players, he always felt that something was wrong with Hulai today.

Because Hulai seems a little quieter today......

The most important thing is that how could this kid give up the opportunity to be in the limelight before? Being able to give a speech on such an occasion on behalf of the whole team and become the focus of attention of the teachers and students of the whole school is something that this kid dreams of, how could he refuse?

Li Ziqiang knew that Hulai's father did not approve of him playing, but he thought that it might be due to some hearsay bias, or lack of confidence in his child's potential, and did not believe that he could follow this path on his own.

Now, judging from Hu Lai's abnormal performance, Li Ziqiang speculates that perhaps Hu Lai's actions to persuade his father last night did not have a good effect, and his family is still very resistant to him playing professional football.

“…… In the end, we were able to achieve such results, which is inseparable from the school's care and attention to football, so this championship is not only the honor of the football team, but also the honor of Dongchuan Middle School, thank you! ”

As Yan Yan's speech came to an end, thunderous applause and cheers rang out on the playground.

Li Ziqiang saw a bright smile on Hu Lai's face again, and then applauded vigorously with his teammates.

Seeing this scene, he snorted in his heart: At a young age, his acting skills are quite good......

Then he withdrew his gaze and slapped his face like everyone else.

The golden cup on the rostrum shone in the morning light, as if in response to thunderous applause.

※※※

Hu Lai, dressed in a school uniform at Dongchuan Middle School, stood in a clearing overgrown with grass with a schoolbag on his back.

It used to be a secret training base that he carefully cared for.

Here, he trains alone, fantasizing that one day he'll be able to do it again and kick those who look down on him on the pitch.

At that time, he was just dreaming of joining the school team, and as for any national competitions and national championships, it was even more unthinkable.

He hasn't been here since he joined the varsity team.

Now this secret training base is overgrown with weeds and signs of depression.

Looking around, there is simply a word "demolition".

Although it has not been demolished yet, it will definitely be demolished in the future. Dongchuan City is now promoting the transformation of shantytowns, and old houses like this one will definitely be demolished in the future.

At that time, the starting point of his football journey will no longer exist.

Li Ziqiang stood by the window of his daughter's room, saw that the young man in the open space downstairs had been there for a long time, and then shouted, "Are you going to stand there until dark?" ”

As soon as he spoke, he saw that the person below was visibly trembling, obviously startled by his sudden shout.

"Coach?" He raised his head to look at Li Ziqiang in the window and shouted in surprise.

※※※

Li Ziqiang looked back at Hu Lai, who was still cowering at the door and didn't dare to come in, and said angrily: "Come in, what are you doing outside?" ”

Hulai crossed the threshold and asked, "Do you want to change your shoes, coach?" ”

Li Ziqiang looked at the floor in his house and shook his head: "Forget it, don't change it." ”

"Oh, good." Hulai then walked out of the hallway, came to the living room, and then stood in front of the sofa and looked around the old house.

Looking at the space, it is larger than your own home, but looking at the furnishings is much older.

Then he smelled a faint scent from a row of clothes hanging by the window.

It smelled faint, but Hulay could smell it all at once, because it was the same as the laundry detergent he had at home.

The reason why the laundry detergent tastes the same is also because the laundry detergent in Hu Lai's house is exactly the same as the coach's house - it was Li Qingqing who asked Li Qingqing to find out, and then asked his mother to buy it.

But whether it is the clothes he has washed at home, or the smell he smells at the coach's house today, it is still not exactly the same as the smell on the jersey that Li Qingqing handed to him in Hu Lai's memory......

At this time, Hu Lai realized that Li Qingqing had lived here. This is the home of Li Qingqing and her father, Coach Li Ziqiang.

"Why don't you go home after school?" Li Ziqiang leaned against the dining table, his hands around his arms and looked at Hu Lai, who was looking at the room curiously.

"I don't want to go back."

Hu Lai's honest answer surprised Li Ziqiang: "I thought you were going to find some excuse." Looks like you didn't have a good conversation with your parents last night? ”

"I had a fight with my dad." Hulai said with his head bowed.

"Why wouldn't your dad want you to play football? Did he read the negative reports on Chinese football in the media before? ”

Hu Lai raised his head and looked at Li Ziqiang: "Coach, you came from a professional football school, I want to ask if you have ever seen a deliberate abolition of teammates in training for the sake of competition?" ”

Li Ziqiang was stunned, he didn't expect Hu Lai to ask such a question, he realized that this should not be Hu Lai's casual thought, but I am afraid it has something to do with Hu Lai's father. So he asked, "Why do you ask such a question?" ”

"I found out yesterday that my dad used to be a professional footballer, but he retired due to injury without even playing a professional game. The injury that brought him out of training was inflicted by his team-mates in training – two men were fighting for a place in the first team, and his team-mate kicked his knee to pieces......

Hulai told his head coach about the quarrel he had with his dad yesterday.

Li Ziqiang's face became more and more solemn when he heard this, and when Hu Lai finished speaking, he was silent for a while before he said: "I can't say that this kind of thing abounds, and I can't say that there is no such thing." Although after all these years of football reform, many of the dark sides of the year have changed for the better, or even disappeared...... But it's true that there are a lot of dark sides in football that you haven't seen, some of which are problems of our country's football system, and some of which are characteristic of the competitive sport itself – competitive sports are inherently brutal, and there are bound to be losers in the process, and there are huge numbers of them. Even developed countries in Europe and the United States are no exception. But ......"

Speaking of this, Li Ziqiang was silent again, and then shook his head and said, "There is nothing but." Your dad is right, in our country, there is indeed such a problem now. If you give up the college entrance examination and give up your studies to focus on professional football, this is undoubtedly a gamble. What can a high school degree do in this society? Your only way out may be to become a soccer coach......"

"So coach, you're also against me going to a professional team?" Hulai asked.

Li Ziqiang shook his head: "I didn't say that." ”

"But as you said, it's a gamble. If I lose the bet, a high school degree will not do anything in society. The only way out is to become a football coach......"

"It's not bad to be a soccer coach." Li Ziqiang said. "I'm the football coach."

"But I want to be a professional."

"Do you want to do it after listening to your dad's story?"

Hulai was silent for a few seconds and then frowned and said, "I still want to." ”

"Now that you have the answer, why are you still looking like you're constipated?" Li Ziqiang snorted.

"I don't know ......"

"If you're scared by your dad's story and want to come to me for some comfort. I'm sorry I can't comfort you. I also can't assure you that after so many years of development, there will be no such problems in football in our country. Because your father's problem is not a problem of the system, but a problem of human nature. If you meet a little eye who hates you and is jealous that you have taken his place, then maybe he may really do something impulsive in training...... Even if the system changes, as long as the people who play football are still people, it cannot be said that this kind of thing will not happen again. ”

Speaking of this, Li Ziqiang glanced at Hu Lai again, observed his expression, and saw that he only frowned slightly, but had no other reaction, so he continued.

"And I also want to remind you that there is a probability of human evil, and it does not happen all the time. But the competitive nature of competitive sports is 100 percent. Even if you don't run into that kind of vicious teammate or opponent, there will be a lot of things that affect your final outcome. It could be a normal injury, it could be luck, it could be a lack of talent...... Sometimes a change of coach can be a turning point in your career, or a goal you miss in a crucial game...... Professional football is not as good as you think, and the future of professional football is not as bright as you think. There's a lot of pressure, few opportunities, and the winner is king.

"The difficulties you had when you first joined the varsity team were nothing to mention in real professional football, and the power with which I knocked you off in training is something you're sure to enjoy on a professional game. High school soccer and professional soccer are two completely different worlds, and even if you become the best player, top scorer, or national champion in high school national competitions, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can become a real professional footballer. You may be talented, but any player who happens to be on a professional team is a genius of his age. It's no longer the students in the school who just want to enjoy football, but the people who want to eat the bowl of rice.

"There's a lot of temptation outside of football. Alcohol, women, money...... These will ultimately affect your career...... Don't think I'm being alarmist, everything I say is the real state of professional football, and even what I'm saying is less than a hundredth of what real professional football is...... I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. I don't have any position, I just want to tell you the truth about the football dream. It's like a letter of responsibility, if you have carefully understood and thought about it carefully, and you still have to stick to your ideals, that's your business, and it has nothing to do with me. ”

Hulai listened to the head coach say so many words in one breath, which was unimaginable before, and he was a little confused.

Li Ziqiang didn't care what he thought in his heart, and after saying these words, he issued an eviction order: "Don't you go home yet, do you want me to keep you for dinner?" ”

Hulai got up in ignorance, said goodbye to the coach, and then went out.

He had just walked out of the door, but was stopped by Li Ziqiang.

"Coach?"

Li Ziqiang was silent for two seconds and said: "If you go to a professional team, you have to work harder than you in the school team." ”

"I know, Coach." Hulay smiled, he himself was well aware of this. Even if there is a system, it is obvious that he can't directly become stronger all at once, he still needs to improve himself through training.

"You're very talented, Hulai...... But you remember, if you can't put in ten times as much effort as others, then your talent is just a worthless stone. ”

Hulai looked at the coach standing in the house, he was almost completely hidden in the dark environment of the old house, so that Hulai could not see what the coach's expression was now.

He recruited this person into the team, but he never gave him a good face, scolded him and yelled at him at every turn, and tortured him with so-called special training. If he hadn't drawn out a [World Wave Experience Card], he wouldn't have had to go through a year of basic training on the school team, and he would not be able to represent the school team in the competition until his sophomore year of high school, then he didn't know what his current fate would become......

Although he always smiled at the coach, he actually didn't like this person from the bottom of his heart.

But he didn't hate him either.

Because no matter what the reason, he always gave himself a chance, and after he seized the opportunity, he did his best to cultivate himself.

He has benefited a lot from his special training.

This man is the first real coach in his football career.

So Hu Lai turned around, faced Li Ziqiang, and bowed deeply to him: "Thank you, coach, I remember." ”

Li Ziqiang didn't speak, until Hu Lai got up and left, he didn't say anything, just stood in the shadow of the old house.

※※※

When Hulai walked to the door of the alley where the coach's house was located, he suddenly slapped his head and thought of something.

So he turned to the entrance where the secret base was located.

Stepping past waist-deep weeds near the base of the wall, Hulai struggled to scavenge through the grass.

He wants to find his own soccer ball and take it away from this secret base, which has been abandoned.

He had forgotten about it for a long time, and now that he remembered it, how could he let it remain here and be forgotten like this clearing?

It's just that it's been so far away from the last time he came here to train that he forgot that the last time he hid the football in the grass...... He could only endure mosquito bites and look for them little by little.

Finally, after a few minutes of searching, he tore through a patch of grass and a dirty, deflated soccer ball appeared in front of him.

Hulay's eyes lit up and he reached out for a football.

Although you don't need to confirm it, you can know that this is his unique football in the whole world.

It's all too familiar, after all.

But he still flipped the ball, trying to find his mark.

That "WHO".

He found "WHO", but at the same time looked in surprise at the line of Arabic numerals below the already somewhat blurred "WHO".

Eleven in total.

This is a string of phone numbers.

Who would leave a phone number on their football?

Looking at Juanxiu's handwriting, a face appeared in Hu Lai's mind.

"Are you looking for it?"

A voice as crisp as a silver bell sounded behind him, and he jerked his head back at the entrance of the secret training base, but there were no girls wearing Dongchuan Middle School uniforms.

The voice seemed to just echo in his head.

Maybe it was just the rustle of the wind through the grass that he misheard someone talking.

Join the varsity team, compete in national competitions, and win national championships, top scorers, and best players......

Even if you have a system, if it weren't for that girl who appeared here and said to herself, "I'll teach you." ”

None of this will happen in such a short period of time.

When she left school to play professional football, he and Song Jiajia regretted not writing down her contact information.

Unexpectedly, when she left, she wrote her phone number on the football.

And I waited until this moment to remember to come here to find this football.

If he had forgotten, it would have been demolished before he came...... Wouldn't that be just a miss?

Hulai looked down at the shriveled soccer ball in his hand, standing among the weeds.

He now thinks about his dad and the "truths" about professional football that his coach told him.

They didn't lie to themselves, they were telling the truth, and they were fully aware of the risks behind going the path of professional football.

But now, no matter who asks him if he wants to play professional football, he will probably nod and say: Yes!

Why?

Because in that world, there is a person waiting to catch up.