The gray twilight is approaching. A fragmented golden sunset swarms in pursuit of the sunset that is about to disappear into the sky. Not far away, the outline of the hotel's tall main building faded into a blur, and the pale lights lit up a mess. On a lawn, two lonely goalposts, one south and one north, face each other in the distance. The cicadas chirp endlessly in the treetops, and the unknown insects lie on which piece of grass barley should sing to the monotony of the cicadas.

A tall, lanky young man panted and ran on the lawn, kicking the grass with a soccer ball in the middle and west towards the nearest goal. He didn't care if the ball was on the pitch or outside the playground, he kicked one out, he ran to the next, kicked it out again, and found it again......

Bang!

On this silent evening, on this empty pitch, the muffled sound of the ball colliding with the instep could be heard far away, and the hollow sound would ripple in the air for a while, slowly disappearing into the darkness with a long aftermath.

Sweat flowed down Gao Jinsong's cheeks and neck, as well as his chest and spine, and he could feel the sweat dripping rolling when he blinked. He wheezed like a mule that had been driven for dozens of miles. Now his legs were as heavy as lead, and every time he lifted his knees and swung his legs, it took a lot more effort than usual, not to mention playing football, but running to find the ball, which became a laborious task. At this time, the ball was more like a shot put, and he had no control over its direction, speed and strength, and most of them drifted slowly in the general direction of the goal, or - crawling slowly against the turf.

After an unsuccessful shot, he finally stumbled and fell into the grass.

He immediately got up and kicked the ball next to him towards the goal, then went to find the next one.

It was already completely dark, everything on the ground was scrambled to drown in the night, and only a vague shadow remained of the white-painted goal on the frame, and the balls had completely escaped his sight.

Gao Jinsong had to stop. He held his knees and bent down to gasp in pain, but his chest was like a heavy boulder, and he could barely breathe. It was as if it had been burned by fire, and it was so dry that I couldn't even swallow my saliva. His head rumbled like thousands of people shouting at the same time, and as if there were countless machines spinning. He wanted to howl loudly, but he couldn't even breathe now......

He sat down on the lawn, stretched himself out again and lay down in the grass, closed his eyes wearily, and let the barley and sand wrap themselves in their coolness. But this coolness couldn't have calmed him down. The flames of anger burned him, and his heart, which had not yet fully calmed down, was now beating violently in his chest with excitement.

Because of his anger, he couldn't help but grit his teeth, and his sweaty hands unintuitively grabbed at the innocent grass, broke them by the roots, and crushed them into pieces with his fists. A few green tendons burst on his forehead, the faint twitching muscles on his cheeks made his face a little distorted and hideous, and there was even a subtle sound of a tabaca bar at the joints of his fingers that were tightly clenched.

What happened to make this little guy who was gentle and peaceful a few days ago become what he looks like in front of him? We know that just over ten days ago, New Era Club re-signed contracts with all of its players, not only extending his contract with the club until the end of the year, but also nearly doubling his salary, and at the same time he will receive three or four times more appearance fees for all the games he plays for the club...... As long as most of these promises are fulfilled, he will be able to get himself out of his current predicament and lay a good foundation for the future...... Is there anything he is not satisfied with? What was there to be so angry about him?

His anger came from this afternoon's game. Just this afternoon, New Era lost its second game in the group stage of this year's Second Division......

After two rounds of group stage matches, New Era has zero goal difference and minus four, and is at the bottom of the nine teams in this group, which is indeed not something to be happy about. But given the structure of the players, the history of the squad, the financial strength of the club and the sharp tensions between the players and the club, the current situation is not surprising. What surprised us was just Gao Jinsong, he could treat the loss in the first game calmly, why did he lose this game, he couldn't control himself, and he wanted to run here to vent the depression and anger in his heart? You know, he didn't play as much time in this game as in the first game, and it wasn't until the 37th minute of the second half that coach Zheng Changsheng replaced him with a third substitution to strengthen the defense in the middle, even though he quickly won a penalty for the team, but from his performance, we didn't see anything better than the previous game, and because of his absolute slow speed, the team also lost an excellent quick counterattack opportunity in injury time - The opponent who was faster than him easily blocked his receiving route, and Zhang Chi, who broke through quickly on the side, couldn't pass the ball to him at all, so he could only choose to go down, and finally handed over control of the ball to the two opponents who surrounded him...... At that moment, Zhang Chi, whose face was pale, didn't even look at him.

He didn't look at Zhang Chi either. Even if he returned to the locker room after the game, Zhang Chi kindly wanted to come and say a few words to him, but he ignored him, and in front of many people, he took his towel to take a shower without saying a word, so that Zhang Chi, who was smiling, couldn't get off the stage on the spot.

Since the end of the game, the two teammates who live in the same dormitory have not said a word.

Gao Jinsong lay on the lawn for an unknown amount of time, until the sweat on his body subsided and turned into slimy sweat stains, he stood up tiredly, picked up the scattered leather balls into a large net pocket by the faint light, and carried them back.

A few stars twinkled in the deep night sky. More lights were lit up in the main building of the hotel. The silent breeze brings more refreshment. Far away, where the sky and the earth meet, there is a pale light, and under the deep ink is the bustling city immersed in the brilliant lights.

********

Gao Jinsong did not find the club's warehouse keeper, and according to the hotel's waiter, several clubs were invited to the city, and she also saw several people from the New Era Club invited to drink and get into the same car.

When will this have to wait? Gao Jin looked at the net pocket football piled up at his feet, and asked relentlessly, "Do you know when they will come back?" ”

The waiter shook his head and said, "I don't know." And he continued to whisper to his companions.

Gao Jinsong was embarrassed. He can't take the balls back to his bedroom, can he?

At this time, someone in the corridor called out to him and asked him, "What are you doing here at such a late hour?" ”

"Dai Gui, do you have the key to the storeroom?" Gao Jinsong said with a bitter face.

Assistant coach Dai Zhenguo groped under his body a few times, and then he reacted, and the key was left in his bedroom. "Wait, I'll get the key."

Problem solved.

Gao Jinsong casually said a word of thanks to the assistant coach and was about to go back, but was stopped by Dai Zhenguo. He had no choice but to stand down, looking at Dai Zhenguo's dark and red face with anxious eyes, waiting for the assistant coach to ask. I hope he doesn't mention the quick counterattack near the end of the afternoon game like others, if he really wants to talk about it, he has nowhere to vent his anger, and he may turn around and beat Zhang Chi. He drooped his head, but his fists clenched involuntarily.

Dai Zhenguo didn't notice that Gao Jinsong was any different from usual. He and Zheng Changsheng, Sun Junshan, and several club stewards gathered in a room to smoke all night, and now they are still a little dizzy. In fact, he didn't have anything to say to Gao Jinsong, just discussed the team's way out with people over and over again, and he really couldn't discuss a credible prospect, which made him a little bored, so he wanted to find someone to talk to casually. But when he stopped Gao Jinsong, he regretted it a little, and he couldn't figure out what to say to the young players in front of him for a while.

"Forget it, it's actually nothing, you go back and rest." After being cold for a long time, Dai Zhenguo had no choice but to wave his hand to let Gao Jinsong go.

Gao Jin froze. He had made a lot of determination to wait for Dai Zhenguo to mention that quick counterattack, and then he would bring out the events in this afternoon's game......

"Wear guidance!"

Seeing that Dai Zhenguo was about to turn around and go back to the room, Gao Jinsong hurriedly called out to him, but when Dai Zhenguo turned to look at him again, he didn't know what to say, and muttered: "Coach Dai, today's game is ...... In fact...... "He really didn't know where to start, and he was hesitant to say it or not." It's too big! There are a lot of people involved! Although he already knew this fact in his heart, the whole incident was basically his speculation, and he couldn't come up with any evidence at all......

Dai Zhenguo looked at the young players whose faces were swollen and red, and they were not fluent in speech. He patted him on the shoulder and said understandingly, "It's okay, Xiao Gao, I don't blame you for this." "It's a well-known fact that Gao Jinsong's short sprint speed was not fast enough, not to mention that the counterattack was in the last minute of the game, most of the players gave up the game, they barely ran up to support the echo, but waited for the game to end. "It's only been two games—six miles to go!" Go back and rest. Kick it off, we still have a chance! After saying that, he ignored Gao Jinsong, but opened the door of the manager's bedroom, and continued to worry about the bleak future of the team.

They're pretending to be a ghost! They're playing match-fixing! They betrayed the team!

Gao Jinsong shouted silently in his heart. He watched Dai Zhenguo's figure disappear behind the dark brown wooden door with a complicated expression, until the click of the lock and the clasp snapped together, leaving him alone in the hallway.

They play match-fixing......

They're match-fixing, I see it!

…… He hadn't been on the field for long at that time, and the ball hadn't reached his feet a few times, and when he first broke through to the penalty area of Guangdong Mingzhu with the ball in the middle, he observed Zhang Chi's movements in the interspersed a little hesitant out of the corner of his eye; At that time, he should have passed to Zhang Chi, who was in a more threatening position, without thinking before the siege of the two opponents, or flicked the ball horizontally to Chen Mingcan, who echoed horizontally on the left side, but I don't know why, he pounced directly into the opponent's penalty area with the ball, and deliberately made the ball bigger when he stepped into the penalty area with one foot, and then pressed the cadence again, waiting for the opponent to stretch out his foot to block - he succeeded! As he wished, an opponent who was chasing from behind pulled his jersey and poked his foot out diagonally, trying to block his breakthrough, and when he realized how stupid the action was, Gao Jinsong was lucky enough to trip over his legs, and fell to the turf with little grass in an exaggerated manner...... The referee immediately whistled that it was a foul and firmly pointed his finger at the penalty from 12 yards in front of goal!

Two overjoyed teammates immediately came over and knocked him to the ground and slapped him, and even Guan Mingshan, who had the captain's armband wrapped around his armband, deliberately ran up from the backfield, hugged him fiercely, and hammered him on the shoulder twice, and then jogged back to his position happily.

The team's first penalty taker was Zhang Chi, who didn't come over to celebrate the penalty with Gao Jinsong. Through a large number of opponents looking for the referee's theory, the excited Gao Jinsong glanced at Zhang Chi excitedly, but he was greeted by the stiff smile on Zhang Chi's face. It wasn't even a smile, it was just a grin. Then Zhang Chi walked to the penalty spot with a blank face, rearranged the ball, and quietly stepped back a few steps to wait for the referee's signal.

Before the referee blew the whistle, Gao Jinsong already knew - this penalty will definitely not go in!

This terrible thought made his hands and feet cold, and he lost his thinking and judgment in an instant, and he stood on the edge of the penalty area in a daze, not remembering that he should be ready to grab the ball and shoot again to find a new opportunity......

He didn't even have time to figure out why he had such a terrible expectation, and with the referee's whistle, Zhang Chi ran a few steps unhurriedly, and hit the ball with a powerful shot......

The ball jumped high over the crossbar into the grey concrete stands behind the goal, and it jumped as if it were demonstratively in the empty stands.

When six or seven idlers who had nothing to do and had come here to pass the time, they immediately laughed uncontrollably in the shade of the stands, and cheered loudly for it. Zheng Changsheng and Sun Junshan, who were full of expectations, suddenly became slumped in their seats like leprosy dogs with their backbones removed, while Guangxi Mingzhu, who was mentally prepared for a draw, erupted into louder cheers and laughter than when they scored in the first half;

The hopeful teammates immediately became depressed, they didn't even have the strength to go up to comfort Zhang Chi, and dragged their soft legs and feet one by one to slowly look back. And Zhang Chi, who missed the penalty, was already prostrate on the field with his face in his hand, and he didn't move for a long time.

Gao Jinsong was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He never expected that Zhang Chi, who is open-minded and cheerful, acted so realistically and did such a great job - he didn't even leave a chance for people to go up and grab the interception......

He looked backwards and coldly as Zhang Chi got up from the ground, and when the eyes of the two collided again, he confirmed his suspicions - it was this guy who betrayed the team, betrayed his teammates, and betrayed everyone's efforts, he didn't even dare to look at himself, and when his gaze swept over him, his flashing eyes were joy, greed, fear, fear and avoidance, and he also buried his head in fear, like a dog that didn't get a bone but was kicked by someone...... No! Gao Jinsong immediately denied this idea in his heart, Zhang Chi is definitely not a dog, even if he is a dog, he has also caught a large piece of dog with meat and bones, the only thing he thinks about now may be to take this bone to a corner where no one sees it to share it with his companions, and there must be an expressionless Chen Mingcan among his companions! Zhang Chi missed a penalty, and Chen Mingcan, who was dragging his legs around the field for a long time, immediately walked briskly, as if he had heard that the club was going to negotiate a new and bigger contract with him again......

They play match-fixing......

Gao Jinsong didn't say this frightening word in the end. He couldn't figure out who was involved in this matter for a while, and if the coach or club officials were involved, then he wouldn't be able to have any good fruit to eat if he broke the matter. But if this is just Zhang Chi and them making trouble, then Zhang Chi and they are actually robbing other people's money, including his Gao Jinsong's money - there is a bonus of 200,000 yuan in a draw, and there is nothing if you lose the game.

They are robbers! Gao Jinsong thought angrily. He didn't pay attention to Zhang Chi and Chen Mingcan anymore, even if Chen Mingcan deliberately sat next to him when he returned to the hotel, and he didn't pay much attention to this natural big brother.

But he couldn't afford to provoke these robbers. He sadly found that the power of these robbers was too great, and even the club couldn't help but give them face, that night Chen Mingcan took all the team members to slap the table and break the chair in the room of the general manager Sun Junshan, not only did it happen, but when the appearance fee was discussed afterwards, Chen Mingcan still took the first-class money...... It's too easy for them to clean themselves up, even if they ask the club to come forward and teach them to roll up and leave immediately. A dispensable substitute player is nothing in the team, and the Shanghainese player who accidentally offended Ma Cheng by speaking is an example.

Thinking of the disaster that might come, he really didn't have the courage to knock on the manager's door and stab it through.

He stood at Zheng Changsheng's door for a long time, raised his hand several times, but failed to knock on the door, and finally, he left discouraged under the suspicious gaze of the waiter.

*********

When he returned to the dormitory, Zhang Chi was lying on the bed smoking with his face blank. The room was full of smoke and the smell of cigarettes. The TV is also on, and there is a disgusting inverted advertisement, showing two young women with backless thighs and two big whips twisting their waists and butts to the music that God knows where they came from, and innocently repeating the phrase: "Watermelon frost makes us hold on to our youth."

Gao Jinsong turned off the TV easily, and then looked for his change of clean clothes in the closet. He knew that after this advertisement, it was a TV series that Zhang Chi had been watching every day recently, and his behavior of turning off the TV was actually a provocation. He was waiting for Zhang Chi to turn his face with him. As long as Zhang Chi dared to say a wordy sentence, he would immediately go over and beat him up. At this time, he even expected Zhang Chi to respond to his provocation, and he would definitely beat him all over the ground, even if the consequence of doing so was to roll up and get out!

But Zhang Chi didn't look at him, nor did he say a word.

He had no choice but to take a shower with a cold face.

When he came out of the shower, he saw at a glance the two piles of banknotes on his bed, tightly bound with brown paper tape.

What's going on?! The blood in Gao Jinsong's whole body rushed to his head at once. His face flushed, and he turned his head to stare at Zhang Chi.

"What do you mean?" He squeezed the question out of his throat, his voice hoarse enough to startle him.

"Chen Mingcan sent it, you have a share."

Zhang Chi's words wandered around the room like a ghost. Gao Jinsong's face suddenly became as pale as paper. Even if the team wins this game, he will not be able to get more money than this, and money is what he wants most. But he also knew that this money was not easy to collect, and accepting it meant that he, like Zhang Chi and Chen Mingcan, would become a robber who betrayed other people's hard work and sweat. But he couldn't refuse the money, or rather, he couldn't think of a reason to refuse. He could feel that behind this money, most of them also carried Chen Mingcan's temptation, to see if he would join them and become their accomplice. Also, after all, the game had already been lost, since the money was sent by them afterwards, and he had never had any agreement with them, not to mention that he expressed his anger......

In an instant, all these thoughts intertwined in his mind like lightning. He really couldn't decide whether he should take the money or not.

He asked again after a while: "Who else?" ”

Zhang Chi lit another cigarette, inhaled it for a long time, and then slowly spewed it out, and said indifferently: "I don't know." Chen Mingcan contacted, I didn't bother to ask who had a share. He looked at Gao Jinsong and hesitated for a long time, and finally came over and put the money away and locked it in the bedside table, and suddenly felt a sense of relief - the money was finally eaten safely.

But Gao Jinsong, who accepted the money, began to worry......

To be continued, please land in the chapter more if you know what will happen in the future, support the author, and support the genuine