"Do you still want to play professional football?"

Russell looked in surprise as his father's voice rang in his ears, trying to see more information from his expressionless face. But nothing...... Russell was stunned for a long time and did not answer his father.

"The latest full injury report is out." Dad continued, "The doctor advised me that if I want my son to be able to walk and run like a normal person in the future, it's better not to let you play football anymore. ”

Russell continued to look at his father in amazement.

Before he could react, only one voice in his head was playing repeatedly: Dad, are you kidding? Dad, are you kidding? Dad, you're kidding...... "I know this fact, and you can't accept it for a while. Not surprised to hear his son's answer, Dad stood up, "I hope you think about it." But I don't want my son to be a cripple. ”

He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly.

Russell was the only one left in the room.

Dad only came in for a minute.

A minute ago, Russell was full of fighting spirit, and even such a serious injury didn't knock him out, and he wants to recover as soon as possible, return to the court, and continue to push for higher goals. A minute later, a brutal truth lay out in front of him, telling him that it was impossible to move on.

"Mom...... Damn it! Russell's lips trembled and finally he made a sound, but it was one harsh expletive. it! What the hell...... Damn it! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard-!! ”

His father stood outside, listening to his son's constant roaring in the hospital room, spitting out expletives like a machine gun in a frenzy.

The nurse on duty who heard the sound rushed over, but was stopped by the father's outstretched hand.

"Leave him alone for a while." He said to the nurse on duty, and then he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"Sir, no smoking is allowed here......" the nurse frowned.

Russell's father pulled out a cigarette, pulled out a lighter, and then looked up at the young female nurse who looked only a year or two older than his son and smiled, "Please leave me alone for a while, thank you." ”

※※※ After finishing training, Borger didn't have the heart to chat with other teammates, and he quickly changed his clothes in the locker room and was about to leave.

But he was pulled by Chu Zhongtian: "Do you know which hospital Russell is in?" ”

Borger turned to look at him.

"I ...... Uh, I want to go see him. ”

Borger said, "I'm going. ”

"Let's go together." After Chu Zhongtian finished speaking, he stuffed the changed clothes into his backpack.

Bolger nodded.

They tacitly didn't tell the other teammates, it was just a private visit, what would happen if Hula went to a large group? Russell is a proud man, and if everyone flocks to see him injured, it will not make him feel like a big family, it will only embarrass him - proud people don't want to show their most vulnerable side in front of others.

On the way, Chu Zhongtian decided to buy a bouquet of flowers, to visit the sick in China, and to buy fruits or something, he didn't know what the British were used to, but it should be okay to send flowers, right?

As he picked out a bouquet of lilies from among the flowers, Borger glanced at him. "I can't go empty-handed," he explained. When he said this, he saw that Borger was empty-handed, "Well, you don't have a good relationship with him. ”

Borger just pointed to the flower and said, "Only when you die will you give lilies." ”

"Ah......" Chu Zhongtian hurriedly put back the flower in his hand.

"If you go to see a patient, don't give white flowers or flowers between white and red images, and don't send even flowers. Moreover, some hospitals do not allow flowers to be sent when visiting patients, and flowers that are too fragrant are not good, and flowers that are too bright in color are not good...... It's a lot of trouble. "So don't give him flowers, give him a box of chocolates, he likes chocolate the most." ”

Chu Zhongtian also felt that it was obviously better to give what he liked than to give it casually, even if the gift he gave casually was quite valuable. So he gave up his plan to buy flowers and give them away, but turned to the supermarket next to him and picked up a box of Lindt chocolates. After entrusting the supermarket staff to pack it, it was carried in the hand and headed for the hospital.

Bolger seemed very silent all the way, he always liked to talk non-stop, and he had a fuss expression when he saw everything, in short, it was impossible for him to be quiet anywhere. Borjie, who is so silent now, Chu Zhongtian is still a little unable to adapt.

He knew it was because Borger was in a bad mood, and his best friend was so badly injured that he had to worry about it.

When they knocked on the door of the ward where Russell was, Russell was with his father, and Russell was not surprised to see Bolger coming, but when he looked at Chu Zhongtian, who was coming in after Bolger, he was obviously surprised.

Borger introduced Chu Zhongtian to Russell's father, and they had never met before.

"This is Alai's classmate and teammate, Chu. International students from China. ”

Russell's father stretched out his hand to Chu Zhongtian: "I'm glad you came to visit my son, thank you very much." ”

Chu Zhongtian shook hands and saluted back: "We are friends." That's as it should be, Mr. Russell. ”

"You three little ones talk." Russell's father walked out.

"I didn't expect you to come." Russell said to Chu Zhongtian, who walked to the sidelines to put down the gifts, his voice was a little hoarse. "What's that?"

"A box of chocolates." Chu Zhongtian replied.

"Good stuff." Russell took it and unpacked it, letting a piece in his mouth, the bitter and sweet taste made his face show a rare expression of joy. "How do you know I like this brand?"

Chu Zhongtian pointed at Borjie: "He told me." ”

Borger waved at Russell, "He wanted to give you flowers, I think it's better to give chocolate." ”

"It's good you didn't send flowers." Russell looked at Chu Zhongtian and nodded, "No matter how beautiful the flower is, you can't eat it." ”

Chu Zhongtian hehe, hey, a pleasure.

Russell didn't say anything more, but lay on the bed, closed his eyes and savored the piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"How's the team?" After eating the chocolate, Russell reopened his eyes and asked.

"We won!" Bolger replied first, trying his best to make his voice sound like he was happy. "2-1 away win at Westfield!"

"It's a pity that Vesdion also won." Chu Zhongtian added.

Borger glared at him, as if blaming him for not saying something bad.

'There's one more game tomorrow, we're with Mesham.' Chu Zhongtian pretended not to see it and continued. "We're on the home side."

"We're going to win!" Borger shook his fist again.

Chu Zhongtian also nodded.

Russell asked a question: "How many more games are there?" ”

Chu Zhongtian replied: "Counting tomorrow's game, there are still eight games." ”

"There is hope." Russell laughed.

"Of course! We're going to win the league! We will definitely upgrade! Bolger shouted loudly, as if he was afraid that if he was quiet, he would not win the league championship and not be promoted.

Chu Zhongtian also agreed with him: "We will use a league championship as a gift to you, I hope you recover soon." ”

The years of fighting with Russell and Borger are gone, and now they are friends who don't know each other. He genuinely hopes that Russell will recover soon and return to the court.

Russell smiled, "That's a lot better than chocolate." ”

He didn't mention the latest news he had gotten until now, and before meeting these two team-mates, he had a long conversation with his father about his future, about professional football, about a lot of things. But about the future, he hadn't made up his mind yet, and when he didn't know which path to choose, Borjie and Chu Zhongtian came.

In the words of the doctor, his legs are actually very fragile, and this injury is just a symptom. If he insists on going into professional football, then he will be hit with a hundred times more violent collisions and fouls than this one, and it is difficult to say what will happen then. In conclusion, if he were going to play professional football, it is likely that his career would have been spent with injury and injury...... Russell is the kind of person whose heart is higher than the sky and life is thinner than paper, and no matter how talented a person is, he will not achieve anything if he does not have an excellent body to support him.

Russell is well aware of this, and it may be wisest to choose to give up, but in the face of his father's question "Do you still want to play professional football", the "don't want to" is just unspeakable.

He was not reconciled.

was unwilling to play football for fifteen years, but ended up like this.

That's why he cursed frantically in the ward, scolding until he lost his strength, had a dry mouth, and a hoarse throat before he stopped unwillingly.

...... "When will it be okay?" Chu Zhongtian looked at Russell's legs, which were covered by the quilt, and he didn't see anything.

"I can get out of bed after a month, and I can throw away my crutches after another two months." Russell lifted the covers for the two of them to see. There was a thick bandage around the ankle of the left foot and the knee of the right leg. That thick layer of white is shocking.

"When can I start playing?" Chu Zhongtian only glanced at it, and then looked away, he felt uncomfortable seeing too much.

Chu Zhongtian's question was like a needle piercing Russell's heart, and his face suddenly became ugly, and he lowered his head in order to hide it. After being silent for a while, he shook his head and said, "I don't know, it depends on the recovery situation." ”

If you want to recover for a lifetime...... Ha! What a fuck...... Damn it!

Chu Zhongtian thinks about it, who can say what will happen in the future? What's more, injuries may be repeated, and it is impossible to set a deadline to come out now.

Borger always said nice things when he entered the ward, a far cry from the silence he had had been on the way before. "I think it's only half a year at most, and I will definitely be able to return to the court!"

Russell heard his friend's words, but said nothing.

Chu Zhongtian nodded, agreeing with Borjie's words. "I still hope you get better, I've been practicing what you taught me a month ago right now, what if you keep going?"

Russell finally laughed again when he heard him say that. He laughed quite happily: "Haha! I wonder if you're a masochist! What would you think if I said that I was so kind enough to teach you because I could abuse you? ”

Chu Zhongtian shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently, "What is this?" I did get the benefits anyway. ”

"Hey......" Russell rolled his eyes helplessly, he couldn't help Chu Zhongtian, who was not afraid of boiling water for a dead pig.

"But even if you get better, you won't be able to continue teaching me." Chu Zhongtian continued, "You have to go to Welling United, we won't have a lot of time to see you at Wimbledon. ”

Russell looked at Chu Zhongtian, and then asked, "Do you think it's a pity?" ”

"I think you're a good teacher." Chu Zhongtian also looked at Russell and replied. "I don't care what you teach me, as long as it does work, it's good. Honestly......" he hesitated, a slightly embarrassed expression, "I'm a little reluctant for you to leave Wimbledon. ”

Hearing Chu Zhongtian's words, and looking at his cowardly appearance, Russell suddenly burst out laughing, and he even kept patting the bed with his hand.

"Isn't it funny!" Chu Zhongtian frowned and said angrily.

"Hah...... It's not, haha...... Let me laugh for a while...... Ha ha! Russell's face turned red with a smile, and he had to divide his sentence several times before he could finish it.

On the other side, Borger was also laughing.

"Hey, you two!"

Russell managed to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you." Russell waved his hand to Chu Zhongtian. "I just remembered the first few times we met, and when I compared it to the present, I thought it was funny...... Ha! ”

At this point, he suddenly stopped talking.

Chu Zhongtian also sounded the scene of their first meeting and after, at that time, they were enemies who wanted each other to die immediately, and the third time they met, they were moved by their fists and feet, and they couldn't fight...... At that time, he never thought that he would have the current relationship with the person in front of him, not only as a friend, but also as his "teacher".

So Chu Zhongtian also laughed: "There is a saying in China: 'If you don't fight, you don't know each other'. It is said that if you don't fight, you can't get to know each other better, and you can't be good friends. ”

"This logic is quite strange...... Russell pondered for a while and couldn't figure out why a fight would help him be good friends, but the fact is that he, Borjie and Chu Zhongtian are indeed friends now.

Looking at Chu Zhongtian, who was smiling, Russell suddenly said, "I remember that I have never apologized to you for teasing and mocking you before." ”

Chu Zhongtian was stunned, he didn't expect Russell to mention this matter. Although he was very angry at the beginning, it has been almost a year since the incident, and he has long forgotten it, and it is not a deep hatred, and he still has to remember it for a lifetime? So he apologized or something, and he didn't take it to heart. Anyway, he reconciled with Russell and Borger, and that's it.

Borger also gave Russell a strange look.

"You're right, even if I'm healed and I'm back on the pitch, I won't see you too much in the future. So I'm taking this opportunity to say I'm sorry to you. I'm really sorry about that. He said it very sincerely, not at all hypocritical.

In fact, he will never get a chance to meet them again, regardless of whether he continues to follow the path of professional football. If he goes to Welling United, he won't come back to Wimbledon very often, and if he doesn't continue to play professional football, he'll have to go to the United States, this time further away - he won't go to Welling United, he won't stay at Wimbledon School of the Arts, and his father plans to send him to Harvard for a course in business administration. This was not a whim, in fact, going to Harvard was the original plan, the plan after he was fired from Wimbledon Professional Football Club, but at that time, Chu Zhongtian's answer to his father was "I'm going to college...... But I'm still going to play", it was a rather headstrong request, but the father eventually agreed to his request to stay at Wimbledon, closer to the football he loved. No one could have imagined that a year later, he would take the opportunity of the fans to form Wimbledon and return to the regularized football league...... So this apology must be said today, otherwise Russell will feel like he owes Chu Zhongtian something. Now, no matter what choice he makes, he won't regret it anymore.

In the face of such a sincere Russell, Chu Zhongtian has no experience - in the past, Russell was always arrogant, and when he was kind, he would speak with a sense of superiority and sarcasm, so sometimes he would call Chu Zhongtian a "mad dog". This sense of superiority has been cultivated slowly over the years, and it is not that he has a bad personality. Like Emily once said, he's a good guy, just a little mean.

Chu Zhongtian didn't know what to say...... He just waved his hand: "Hey, the past is gone...... Hi! ”

Borger also hurriedly said: "I'm sorry too! It's true! It's just that I haven't been able to find the right opportunity before...... You know, there are some things I'm too embarrassed to say, oops......"

Chu Zhongtian was a little embarrassed by the two of them. "I'm really not used to you talking like this all of a sudden!"

Then the three of them looked at each other and laughed.

Two friends came to see him, and Russell had the most laughs in the past few days. However, the happy time is always short-lived, it is dark outside, Borger is going home, and Chu Zhongtian is rushing to work at the Dons Bar.

As they left, the two of them waved goodbye to Russell, and Borger said, "We're going to give you the league title, Alay!" I'm not bragging this time! ”

Russell smiled and waved at him. "Goodbye, man. I await your good news. ”

When the door closed, the smile on his face faded. There was no light on in the ward, and it was cold again.

Soon, the door was pushed open again, and this time it was his father who entered.

The father sat down at Russell's hospital bed: "I think now we can have a good talk." Which path do you decide to take now, Alai? ”

※※※When the two of them walked out of the hospital, they were still laughing loudly in the ward before, and they all fell silent again, and the expressions on their faces were not happy. Bolger no longer said, "We're going to win the championship!" We will definitely be able to upgrade", Chu Zhongtian also lowered his head and hurried away silently.

Because they all know it's nonsense, of course they have to win the league title, they have to be promoted, otherwise what's the point of working so hard? Saying this in the hospital room was just to comfort Russell and distract him.

For Chu Zhongtian, winning the league championship and being promoted successfully is not only for Russell, but also for Emily and for his own efforts this season. This is his principle, just like what he said to Yang Yang that day: I play to win, not to lose.

To others, this sentence is arrogant, ridiculous and lamentable. But he really regards it as his goal and has been working hard.

Fight for a season and end up being a loser? He didn't accept such an outcome.

He was depressed and silent, perhaps because he was in the hospital. Chu Zhongtian didn't like to go to the hospital since he was a child, he didn't like to smell the disinfectant water there, he didn't like the miserable white environment everywhere, he hated the kind of desperate atmosphere everywhere, everyone who came to the hospital always had a solemn face and a painful expression. Since he broke his arm for playing football as a child and lay in the hospital for more than a month, he vowed never to go to the hospital again in his life, no, except for this time in this life, it would be good to go to the hospital again, and the last time would be the morgue of the hospital after he died...... In short, Chu Zhongtian felt that if a person stayed in the hospital for a long time, he would slowly become pessimistic and numb, and he would lose all his fighting spirit.

Fighting spirit and belief are the most important things that Chu Zhongtian believes in this life. Whatever you do, you have to have these two things. If you have faith, you will have a goal to work hard for, and if you have the fighting spirit, you will not give up halfway and give up halfway, resulting in a lifetime of inaction.

Whether he plays football or studies, he follows this principle in his heart, otherwise he would not have been admitted to Wimbledon Art School in the United Kingdom when he went to high school halfway.

He is actually a very smart person and has perseverance, if he hadn't chosen football because he liked football in the first place, he would definitely have achieved more than he does now...... When he came to an intersection, Borjie said goodbye to Chu Zhongtian, he was going to turn left, and Chu Zhongtian went straight.

"Thank you so much for coming to see him, Chu." Borjie said to Chu Zhongtian.

"No thanks, we're friends, don't fight friends we don't know." Chu Zhongtian waved his hand.

"Ha, yes, it's a friend." Borjie didn't continue to speak, and he nodded to Chu Zhongtian. "Goodbye, see you tomorrow, let's keep winning!" He clenched his fists.

Chu Zhongtian also clenched his fists and waved at him, "Win it!" ”

After saying goodbye to Borger, Chu Zhongtian let go of his clenched fists, cleaned up his mood, finished a simple warm-up on the side of the road, and began to run in the direction of Dons's bar.

Russell is injured, but his life has to go on, working part-time, revising his schoolwork, attending team training and games, trying to improve his skills, helping the team win the most recent game, and then thinking about the next game......

(To be continued)