In a cramped apartment, a young man in the jersey of the Portuguese national team is hunched over in front of a computer, holding a gamepad and staring intently at the screen. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Suddenly, he threw the handle away, turned his head to the person on the bed and asked, "Brother Xin, your file is a bit unscientific?" ”

"What's wrong?" Yang Xuxin was lying on the bed reading a book.

"That's your own player, right? Offense 90, Balance 90, Dribbling Accuracy 90, Shot Accuracy 90, Shot Power 90, Shooting Skill 90...... A bunch of 90's! I'm grass, Chinese Cristiano Ronaldo? ”

Yang Xuxin's eyes were still staring at the book, and he said, "Well, you're playing live 8, right?" I've tuned to 99 for the new version. ”

"I've been abused so many balls! Isn't it funny to tune such a pervert?! The young man looked at the screen again and said, "Chen, Jian, Hao...... That's right, right? Who's here? ”

"Chen Jianhao." Yang Xuxin put down the book, put his face in front of the computer, and said with a little pride: "My teammates when I played football are going to Portugal after the Chinese New Year." I've mentioned it to you several times before, right? ”

After that, Yang Xuxin immediately reached out and grabbed the mouse and said: "Show you the new version of him, it's even better than this!" ”

"Don't! I'm not interested in this kind of fabricated figure at all......" said the young man, covering his forehead.

"I said classmate Huang Sizong, these are all my teammates, where did they come from?" Yang Xuxin said while operating the mouse: "Brother is about to retire, add all your teammates to the game, as a souvenir." If you have nothing to do, you can still take it out and play with a few hands. ”

"Hey, I'm all tuned according to my real abilities!" Seeing that people ignored him, Yang Xuxin added.

"Come on, why don't you just play in the amateur league and get a bunch of 99 attributes...... It's a real fart! This young man named Huang Sizong obviously did not agree with the other party's statement.

"It's just that the offensive ability has been adjusted up a little bit, and the rest is quite normal." Yang Xuxin argued. "And I think he deserves the attributes of 99."

"Oh, really?" Huang Sizong sneered in an extremely disdainful tone: "That's really awesome." ”

Yang Xuxin heard that his brother was looked down upon, and couldn't help but raise the decibel and said: "Don't think that you can't do it in Hongyun Youth Training, people are much better than you!" In the finals a while ago, he scored three goals in the last 15 minutes and also provided two assists. Can you do it? ”

"Tsk, don't talk about amateurism. Professional soccer is not the same thing as your stuff. Huang Sizong tilted his head and said. After saying that, he didn't feel very happy, and then he belittled: "I've seen your so-called league, and it's about the same intensity as we play practice matches. ”

“…… Gotta get it, I'm too lazy to tell you. Yang Xuxin angrily threw down the mouse in his hand and lay back on the bed.

***

Chen Jianhao pulled his suitcase and walked out of the central station of Puning. Everywhere are ticket scalpers, constantly shouting at passers-by. He stopped at the door for a while, after all, he hadn't been home for two years, and he always felt a little uncomfortable. Then he walked to the store next to the street, hesitated, and finally bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

He started smoking in the first grade of primary school, and it was not until he joined Fan Zhiyu's team that he reluctantly quit. But in fact, the addiction is easy to quit, but the addiction is difficult to get rid of, and when he returned to the familiar environment, the scene of squatting at the mouth of the alley with a group of thugs and smoking suddenly appeared in his mind. Of course, he understands the dangers of smoking, and he also knows that as an athlete, you must control your eating habits, especially cigarettes and alcohol. However, he couldn't help but tear open the cigarette case and light a cigarette for himself.

Chen Jianhao inhaled skillfully, and the smoke swirled around his throat like a caress and slowly entered his lungs before he spit out with a lingering taste. Seeing the fire on the cigarette butt flickering and flickering, it was like an intimate whisper, only I could hear it. He missed the feeling so much that with a slight dizziness, time seemed to stand still.

He suddenly realized that he was enjoying himself too much, and he was shocked, and hurriedly threw the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.

Soon he was about to leave for Portugal, and he remembered that Fan Zhiyu had been following the good path, and a sense of guilt arose. So he walked around the corner and threw the cigarettes and lighters he had just bought into the trash without hesitation.

Mr. Chen, whose home is about a 10-minute drive away, walked back to the station lounge and called his brother to pick him up on a motorcycle. Soon after the tournament ended, my brother went home first. Chen Jianhao needed to prepare for studying abroad and participated in a two-and-a-half-month Portuguese training course organized by Baihui Company.

There are only seven days left before the Chinese New Year, and on the third day of the Lunar New Year, which is 10 days later, he will leave for Portugal.

When he got home, he had a meal with his family and then went back to the countryside with his parents to visit his grandparents. Over the next two days, he visited the homes of his well-connected relatives to report on his life as a player in the past two years and his plans to go to Portugal in the future.

He doesn't like these trivial people's sophistication, but he is too lazy to make trouble with his parents because of these things, so it is better to fulfill their wishes.

After these trips, on the fourth day, Chen Jianhao decided to fulfill his agreement with Chen Jinwu and go to the town on the outskirts of the city to find him.

After the final, players from both sides took turns to take a group photo. Before leaving, Chen Jianhao took the initiative to chat with Chen Jinwu alone for a while, only to learn that Chen Jinwu was also from Puning. When the villagers see the villagers, they naturally talk happily. And the most unexpected thing for Chen Jianhao is that Chen Jinwu also participated in the "Dream Star" overseas program, and they will go to Portugal together.

On this day, Chen Jianhao woke up early and ran 9 kilometers of mountain roads as usual. Then go home and take a shower, and then eat some breakfast casually. Before leaving, he deliberately changed into a junior high school jersey. Because Chen Jinwu said that the two of them once played against each other in the campus cup organized by the city - although Chen Jianhao has no impression at all, it does not prevent him from wearing this jersey that has witnessed all his youthful years, and chatting with Chen Jinwu about his style when he was a student.

****

Winter afternoons are the most charming, like a kind mother, where there is sunshine there will always be a trace of warmth, revealing warm colors.

Loft, open-air balcony. Chen Jianhao and Chen Jinwu each lay on a sofa chair woven of bamboo and rattan, one on the left and one on the right, basking in the sun side by side. This is a four-storey self-built villa with white stucco walls and light red roof tiles, with a clear Chinese style.

Chen Jianhao propped up the back of the chair, turned over lazily, and said to Chen Jinwu with emotion: "I didn't expect your family to be so rich!" Seeing that your home is so luxurious, I am a little embarrassed to drive my motorcycle in......"

"Brother Jianhao, why are you talking like this?" Chen Jinwu tilted his head sideways and said in an elder's tone, "Just have enough money." The more you earn, the more troubles you have every day. ”

"I'd rather have a little more trouble. I wanted to make a lot of money playing football so that my parents wouldn't interfere. ”

"What? Do your parents disapprove of you playing football? ”

"It's not that I don't approve of it, it's just that I think it's too difficult to mix. They didn't really care about me, they just were more verbose. ”

Chen Jinwu nodded thoughtfully and said, "That's fine." My dad was very much against me going to Portugal and just had a fight yesterday. ”

"Why?" Chen Jianhao sat up and asked, "Then what do you think?" Do you want to give up? ”

"Of course I won't give up, I have to go. He felt that playing football was useless and wanted me to learn business with an uncle. ”

"Then ......" After a pause, Chen Jianhao spoke: "I don't know what to say, but if I were to be replaced, I would definitely stick to my dream." ”

"Dreams?" Chen Jinwu smiled and asked, "What is your dream?" ”

"To be a star, of course." Chen Jianhao replied without hesitation.

Chen Jinwu got up from his chair and walked to the fence to look out at the countryside in the distance. After being silent for a long time, he suddenly turned around and said: "My dream is to enter the national team and help the Chinese team win the World Cup." ”

“…… Your dream is a bit unrealistic, I advise you to go to the game and make it happen. ”

Chen Jinwu knew that although the other party was a little sarcastic, he was actually telling the truth. So he asked, "Haven't you ever wanted to be in the national team?" ”

"To be honest, I didn't really think about it. And now I'm thinking about how to get a big contract in Europe. ”

Chen Jinwu looked at the other party and asked a little puzzled: "Why are you full of money?" Isn't your family okay? ”

"It's not all about money." Chen Jianhao lowered his head, rubbed his fingers against the jersey on his body, and said, "What I want is fame and fortune." No Chinese have ever been able to play the core in the five major leagues, if I can be the first, you think how many people use me as an idol. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Jianhao smirked to himself, as if his wish had come true. He pointed to the number 9 printed on his chest and said, "No matter which team I will go to in the future, I will grab this number." ”

****

February 16, 2010, the third day of the Lunar New Year.

A group of children, with an average age of less than 17, are gathering in the waiting room of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

The New Year has just begun, and they can't continue to enjoy the holidays. They come from all over the country, with different backgrounds, but they share the same goal - football.

They are fortunate and unlucky.

Fortunately, they are the participants of the "Chinese Football Dream Star Team Study in Portugal Program" supported and guided by the Chinese Football Association and operated and implemented by Baihui Group, and the number of places is only 40, which is precious.

Unfortunately, they will be uprooted at a young age and will not be able to see their families for at least the next four years. And what they are pursuing is just a difficult dream with a very high elimination rate.

No one knows what will happen in the future. No matter how hard you try, you may not be favored by fate. They may not be able to truly understand the cruelty of professional football at the moment, but in the near future, some of them will deeply understand that dreams are far more hateful than they imagined.

But so what? Anyway—

Portugal, here we come!