The last thirty minutes of the battle between light green and orange have finally arrived, and the first ticket to the Olympic Sports Center has been silently waiting for its sole owner. As we predicted at half-time, the Waivers would go all out in the second half – with the advantage in numbers and on the field, and at home they would never want to drag the game into a penalty shoot-out. And once it is pressed by a large margin, the gaps in the back line will be exposed, and the 54th will get a chance to counterattack. Both sides have the opportunity to take control of their own destiny.

But we didn't expect Yoon Il Young to be substituted at the start of the second half. He didn't even show up on the bench on the sidelines. At the end of the first half, he was supported by two team-mates and jumped back to the dressing room on one foot, but we have the impression that he will always be an iron man who will return to the field no matter what the situation. A poor pass at the end of the first half hurt the colonel far more than a goal scored by Li Bin, and the injury at the heart of the midfield was the fatal blow.

And this was another sudden farewell and curtain call, Ah Rong briefly appeared in my life as an opponent, and then left quietly, always maintaining that taciturn posture. Later, I heard Pu Yun say that he went back to his hometown to study in high school. A few short words on that snowy day were my first conversation with him, and probably the last. Silently injured and leaving the scene may be goodbye, like many people who have met in life, the figure of tireless running disappeared into the sea of people thousands of miles away.

And I have yet to learn to take this parting as commonplace and turn a deaf ear. Even if the other party is just an opponent who has only said a few words.

Pu Yun was pushed into the midfield and shared the responsibility of Yin Ilrong at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends with the substitutes who came on. The orange side is much more anxious than the opponent on the field. I once suspected that Pu Yun already knew about Li Bin's past, and in the first ten minutes of the second half, he frequently shot from distance, but the quality was quite poor, either high above the crossbar or off the bottom line, and even one ball went to the corner flagpole, almost making a joke about "shooting out of the sideline". It was probably Li Bin's wonderful world wave that stimulated his nerves, or rather, it was the way of playing that affected Pu Yun. Saving the team from fire and water with absolute individual strength, this kind of heroic counterattack is the dream of every child who runs on the pitch in the sun. And the shadow that Pu Yun has been chasing and is now within reach, in the last moments of his unpredictable life, he used this way to leave a back that can never be forgotten for all the people around him.

But Pu Yun seems to be too obsessed with chasing this back, so he gritted his teeth at Li Bin, who has a very similar style to him and scored a goal of his own.

"Baby, what the hell are you doing? You're not him, you're not Koppey! Don't think of yourself as him! "I almost jumped up in my seat and yelled at him, but I couldn't. I don't have any problem with Pu Yun imitating his younger brother, but because football is a team sport! Thinking of yourself as the team's only superstar and savior won't help everyone, but will drag the whole team down the abyss.

We always emphasize 99 percent sweat, but when everyone works hard enough, 1 percent of talent is precious. And how to mobilize and use these things all depends on the coolness of the mind. Xianxian saves the team again and again not only because of his strong individual ability, but also because of his excellent physical fitness and calm heart, and his will will will never be shaken by any change.

And even strings can't catch the ball in front of the court and shoot regardless of it, Messi and Ronaldo don't play like this. Please, wake up. Don't be so stubborn, you don't have to be Ke Peixian, it's good to be that tenacious and confident self.

There was no way, Pu Yun couldn't hear my inner words. He and his teammates' time and physical strength were gradually overdrawn in the hasty and reluctant attacks. Even after creating a few chances, the final shot looked a little weak, and a good one-on-one shot was ridiculously deflected. The Coyotes, who had laid down their burdens, were demoralized after completing effective defenses one after another, and with one less person, they were more united and resolutely defended and counterattacked. Li Bin and Ah Fang had several chances to shoot in front of goal, and they will all be saved by the goalkeeper. The situation has changed completely. The will of the Orange Legion wavered, and they became bloated giants, faltering and crumbling. The wolves are tenacious and cunning, wandering around, patiently looking for the moment to attack.

As time went on, the home team's running became more and more tired, and the disappointment and hesitation were evident on their faces and movements. You have to believe that you can score, the score is still even, you can't be crushed, you didn't look like this when you fell behind last year. Maybe Liu Chi is still here, it won't be like this, a stern and determined captain is like a needle in the sea at this kind of panicked moment. Only Ah Hua is still running tirelessly, but due to the care of Man Lin and Chen Yanba, it is very difficult for him to hold the ball, and it is even more difficult to get the support of his teammates.

"If it goes on like this, something will happen." Miller said softly, and there was a hint of anxiety in his tone. Everyone on the field smelled the ominous smell, and the coyotes on the field were aroused with absolute excitement after smelling blood. Sure enough, Wang Rui broke the ball in the middle of the field and passed it back to Ah Fang. Xiao Xiaoye dribbled past Pu Yun in front of him, and came to the center circle to send a long pass. The ball fell into the penalty area, and Li Bin turned and left the Colonel's defender behind him with an unwitting anti-offside position.

Finished. That was my first reaction. It was another extreme individual performance, and in a second, Li Bin, who caught the ball, hit with his right foot, and in the blink of an eye, the ball had hit the near post. "Ten steps to kill one person, thousands of miles without staying", the whole set of actions is extremely chic and coherent, so that Li Bin did not pause after breaking the goal, ran to the bench on the sidelines, compared a backhand OK in front of his eyes, and accepted the celebration of his teammates without saying a word. The foreign school players and the goalkeeper who had no choice but to chase back all fell to the ground, as if the game had been completely killed at this moment.

"What am I talking about? Ah Fang will prove himself! "Lao Ye's excitement pulled me back from the orange player who fell to the ground and back to the stands. Indeed, what cannot be ignored behind Li Bin's brilliant goal is Ah Fang's perfect overhead pass, and the own goal in the first half did not overwhelm his small body, but proved himself again with a strong rebound.

"How much longer?" I asked Yue Yin.

"Ten minutes." She looked at her phone.

"It's over." Miller bit his lower lip and shook his head helplessly. 2:2, 54 has two away goals, as long as you don't concede two goals in a row, you can ensure that you will advance to the final.

I don't know how to describe my feelings about the battle situation, probably "the general trend has gone", and the flag of the Orange Legion has been cut down. In the previous game, leaving three minutes for the outside school would have been dangerous, but in today's situation, those ten minutes have undoubtedly become a long torture. Although Ah Hua, who wears the captain's armband, has repeatedly turned back to the midfield to organize attacks, he can only make people think of the two idioms "it is difficult to support alone" and "powerless to return to the sky". The last time I saw such a desperate game on the sidelines was last year, and it was also Ah Hua who carried the team's last offensive fire almost hopelessly. Like Yin Rirong at that time, I hung my head. I can't tell you what kind of emotion it is, maybe it's just sadness, sadness for my friend, sadness for this opponent who has been fighting for two years. It's going to be over, and it shouldn't have ended like this.

"Koko." Millet rubbed my hair and tugged at my sleeve.

I looked up at him.

"When the game is over, let's go find Pu Yun. Go along. ”

"Okay."

There will be three minutes of stoppage time. Hope and despair, joy and bitterness, whoever they belong to, everything is going to end with the game. And Pu Yun was replaced a few minutes ago, and the expression on his face was really worrying. There was a chance to change the tide of the war. He had ambitions comparable to those of Napoleon, and perhaps he could achieve great things by uniting with his companions, but in the end he lost to his own heart. Although I am not qualified to criticize him for being cowardly, I feel that excessive stubbornness is also weakness in my heart. At this moment, he had come to his senses, but it was too late, and the cost was too great.

"He's too late! It's always too late!

That crucial second was the terrible revenge. In earthly life, such a moment rarely comes. When it unintentionally befalls a person, he doesn't know how to use it. At the great moment of fate, all the virtues of the townspeople—carefulness, obedience, diligence, prudence—were of no avail. Fate scornfully turns out the timid. Destiny - another god in this world, is only willing to lift the brave high with his passionate arms and send them to the paradise of heroes. ”

Li Bin only has one chance for a second, and the choices he can have in life are as rare and short. He caught it. Victory belongs to the coyotes who never give up today.

But Ah Hua hasn't given up yet. In the end, he caused a foul in the penalty area and personally converted the penalty into the goal of the 54th. At 3:2, in the seconds counted, the Orange Legion was still alive. The building is about to fall, and Ah Hua still wants to carry the falling boulder. However, the 54th midfield did not give the opponent any chance after the kick-off, Li Bin and Ah Fang cleverly brought the ball to the corner flag area, and after a chaotic scramble, the referee blew three long whistles. The little wolves in light green jerseys rushed into the stadium with cheers, and the owners of the stadium mostly fell to the ground in disappointment. Even though I've experienced this scene myself, I still have mixed feelings in the stands.

Where will we be in a week?

"Brother! Sister! Wow, and Brother Ke Ke and Brother Miller, you're all here! As we walked to the railing in front of the stands, Ah Fang jumped up to the place, "You have to win next week!" I've heard Captain Yanba say that our two schools made an appointment to meet in the finals last season, so don't you come! ”

Lao Ye naturally talked and laughed with his younger brother, and Yue Yin lost no time in taking out his mobile phone to help the little brothers take pictures. Miller and I congratulated him and walked down the stairs.

I met Li Bin.

"Koko?" He was a little surprised.

"Hello. Long time no see. Congratulations. My gaze wandered off the wall, and I replied as calmly as I could.

"That ......" he lowered his head and rubbed his fingers again, and the two of them were clearly talking, but neither of them was looking at each other.

"How?"

"Nothing. You have to do it. ”

"Okay."

I walked past him, not knowing what to say when Miller asked him about it later.

But Miller didn't ask me, never been. We walked near the passage and saw Puyun there. He hung his head, and when he saw it, he didn't call me big brother as excitedly as usual. The two of us went up and tapped him on the shoulder, without saying much. After a while, Pu Yun asked me to go to Ah Hua first, and asked me to tell him that I would apologize to all my teammates later. I agreed, and was about to leave with Miller, but the latter was left behind by Pu Yun. I don't know what they will say, but Miller will definitely not say anything like "blow you up" at this time. I didn't eavesdrop and walked to the sidelines to find Ah Hua. His body was tired and heavy, and the two of us leaned against the stadium wall for a while, listening to his breathing the whole time. I couldn't do anything, and my friends couldn't save the team in the end, and this bitterness and helplessness are not inconsequential words that can be comforted. I can only be around. It wasn't until his breathing was a little more even that I told him what Pu Yun had told me to say.

"It's not his fault. If you want to blame me, the captain, you have to blame me. ”

"You've done your best, don't beat yourself up. If Ah Rong is not injured, you may be the one who advances - is he okay? ”

"It's a leg, it's not a big injury. But it hurts, so you have to recuperate for a while. ”

I don't know what they should tell Ah Rong about today's results. It makes me even more uncomfortable when I think about it. The two of us stopped talking. The sun jumps on the runway where the crowd has dispersed. Lao Ye and Yue Yin walked over, followed by Ah Fang and Peng Jingbai. Putting away the joy of victory, they greeted Ah Hua one by one, and Ah Hua also sincerely blessed everyone. Just wait for me a moment. I said to Lao Ye. If you're not in a hurry, take your time. Yue Yin replied. They went away. Friends, rivals, we are always playing around in these identities, but it seems that we are fighting back and forth, and in the end we all return to the tranquility under the sun.

Pu Yun and Miller are back. I'm sorry. This was Pu Yun's first sentence after meeting Ah Hua. Don't think so, everyone wants to win, that is, it is a little bit worse. Ah Hua touched his partner's cheek, and the tears had not yet been dried.

"Big brother, you're right. You told me last year that no one can replace Brother Xian, and Brother Xian is always himself. I didn't understand until today. What do you mean by that? 'Drawing a tiger is not an anti-dog'. He smiled wryly.

"Don't talk about yourself. You're not a dog. I rubbed his curly hair.

"Not necessarily, if he were a dog, he would have to be a small, fierce curly-haired dog." Miller put his hand on Pu Yun's shoulder and shook his small body, "My words are the super witty, brave, loyal and handsome Akita dog." ”

Everyone laughed. Pu Yun was quite satisfied. The conversation suddenly changed to discussing what kind of dog he looked like.

"What is Peve? Corgi? ”

Hearing this, I pushed Ah Hua hard, are my legs so short?

Mi Le held up his small chin, touched his non-existent beard, frowned, and thought about it: "Ke Ke's words, others may think at first glance that it is a cold and precious breed, and it doesn't feel so easy to approach." Actually, he's just a top-level well-behaved and cute little Shiba Inu, or a black chai! Before the words fell, I took Miller into my arms to "settle the score", but I was so happy in my heart that I almost forgot the game just now.

That's nice. The sky was blue, the wind was blowing gently, the stadium was empty, and the bell of the school building seemed to ring for a long time.

"However, Kokita and Kokokuroshiba! Listen up! I can't lose the next two games! Little Curly regained his spirits, "Your last opponent is a wolf!" Super fierce wolf! Be brave, turn into hounds, and beat them into huskies in your own way! ”

Of course. Your own way. Everyone is unique, and perhaps only by knowing oneself and becoming oneself can it be possible to catch up with and surpass others. The distant target may only be a shadow of memory and gaze, and before piecing together those scattered pieces, we have to constantly grope and confirm our body in the dark, and we can't lose it.

Each of us still has time, and there is still a chance. It's not too late.

"Ke Ke, don't you want to know what Pu Yun told me?" As I walked towards the school gate, Miller tugged at my sleeve.

"I can't guess it. Will you tell me? ”

"What are you polite to me, I still hope that you will take the initiative to ask." He pretended to be a little disappointed, but he couldn't hide a smug smile.

"Okay, dear Mi Le, can you tell me the part of the content of the cordial meeting and exchange with you in the passage of the junior high school gymnasium of Jiangyuan Foreign Chinese School fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds ago?" I also learned that kind of yin and yang weirdness and emotionless way of speaking, and the result was a "double blow" by Miller with his knee.

"He really wanted to win, but he crushed himself. I can understand him. Actually, we all have a lot of things in our heads. Miller sighed and rolled his eyes, "What did Lao Ye say before, I hope that I and my younger brother will enter the finals, so that at least one of the two can win the championship." That's what he meant. ”

Why don't I think so? Today, I hope that the foreign school can win, and it is definitely not just that I don't want to run into Li Bin.

"However, he's a secondary two better than I thought, although he looks serious, and his little brain is filled with those messy anime." Miller said, jumping two steps and snorting unconvinced, "But he never beat me, and why do you call me a little ghost!" Tell me, what is his birthday? ”

I thought about it, took out my mobile phone and checked the information on QQ, and told him with a helpless and somewhat gloating smile that Pu Yun's birthday was June 28th, more than ten days older than him. As soon as he heard this, Miller, who was still jumping his feet just now, suddenly deflated and kicked away a small pebble on the road in anger.

So what else did he say to you?

It's ...... to say it I'm sorry. No, I still can't say it. I'll send it to you on my phone.

"I must win the championship. Don't be beaten by anyone other than me! Little ghost, big brother, please leave it to you. ”

The second leg of the second round of the Jiangyuan Mayor's Cup knockout round

Jiang Yuan Foreign School 3:2 54 Middle School (4:4 on aggregate, 54 Middle School has the advantage in the number of away goals and advances to the finals)