Volume One: Our Own League 138: Should I Leave the Class 10 Football Team?

After today’s assessment, eighty percent of the students were eliminated outright. The elimination rate was truly astonishing.

Looking at the people who remained around him, Xu He could not help feeling amazed.

Forty-eight students had survived from the seventh grade, making them the largest group.

Xu He could not help looking toward the eighth- and ninth-grade seniors. Very few of them remained.

At that moment, the surviving eighth- and ninth-graders gathered together and formed a new group. Xu He counted them. There were only sixteen of them in total.

The eighth- and ninth-graders were far fewer than the seventh-graders.

Between the two grades, roughly seventy percent had been eliminated.

“Looks like a large portion of us will be eliminated again tomorrow,” Xu He thought.

A school team usually consisted of around twenty-eight players. There were sixty-four of them remaining now, which meant that more than half would have to be eliminated tomorrow.

Xu He let out a sigh. “Tomorrow will be just as brutal.”

Li Jie nodded slightly. “Of course it will be brutal. There are only eleven starting positions, after all. Keeping too many players would serve no purpose. Tomorrow’s elimination will be even harsher.”

Xu He fell silent.

Although he felt that tomorrow’s assessment would be extremely cruel, he firmly believed that he could pass and ultimately remain on the school team.

At that moment, Xu Dongsheng immediately announced, “All right, dismissed!”

Xu He turned toward his own group. Most of the students were people he knew—students who had participated in their seventh-grade soccer league. Of course, there were also a few unfamiliar faces. It seemed that their seventh-grade league had not included every student who knew how to play soccer.

Amid the crowd, Xu He spotted Ding Yi.

Xu He was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Ding Yi to make it through.

Ding Yi’s physical condition was truly poor. He looked far too thin and probably could not withstand the physical contact of a real match. What was the point of keeping him?

Then Xu He remembered Ding Yi’s performance during the assessment. In terms of technical ability, Ding Yi certainly deserved to stay. Xu He felt that he ranked among the best players in the seventh grade.

Xu He turned to Li Jie and said, “Old Li, look—Ding Yi!”

Following Xu He’s gaze, Li Jie saw Ding Yi’s thin and frail figure. He was startled as well. How could Ding Yi possibly have made it through?

He could not make sense of it either.

Zhu Ge exclaimed, “I never expected him to survive!”

“It looks like our coaches value technique more than physical strength,” Xu He said.

Zhu Ge nodded slightly, agreeing with him.

“I heard a friend say that when students tried out for soccer academies or the youth teams of professional clubs, the very first test was physical fitness. If they failed to meet the standard, they were eliminated immediately and never even got the chance to take a technical test. That’s practically a basic rule in this industry. It’s much like basketball—if you aren’t tall enough, it doesn’t matter how outstanding you are in every other respect.”

Xu He nodded slightly. He had heard people say the same thing before.

“So that means the school’s coaching staff values technical ability more,” Li Jie said.

Xu He suddenly frowned. “Still, I don’t think Ding Yi will make it through tomorrow. His technique is excellent, but his physical condition is simply too poor. He’ll definitely be eliminated in the match.”

“I think so too,” Zhu Ge said.

Indeed, Ding Yi was physically far too weak. He had virtually no ability to withstand physical challenges. A player like that would not be able to display his technical skills in tomorrow’s match. It was nearly impossible for him to produce any eye-catching performance.

Watching Ding Yi walk away, Xu He could not help feeling sorry for him.

To be honest, Xu He even envied Ding Yi’s technique. His ball control was truly superb, especially his ability to keep the ball close while moving. In Xu He’s opinion, Ding Yi’s ability to combine himself with the ball would probably be considered above average even among the youth teams of professional clubs.

It was a pity that Ding Yi’s physical condition was so poor.

Li Jie also watched Ding Yi’s retreating figure with deep regret.

“All right, aren’t you two going home?” Zhu Ge asked.

School had just ended, and everyone was on their way home. Zhu Ge was preparing to leave as well, so he asked casually.

Part of him was worried that Xu He might continue training that day. With an intense match awaiting Xu He tomorrow, that would not be a good idea. Tomorrow would be a fierce battle.

“I’m getting ready to go home too,” Xu He said at once. “It’s already so late.”

“Same here,” Li Jie said. “I need to go back and get a good rest so I’ll be ready for tomorrow’s match.”

The match was extremely important to all of them. They could not afford to relax even for a moment.

“Then let’s split up here,” Zhu Ge said.

Xu He suddenly stopped him. “Captain, is there still no news about Mu Yang? Why did he withdraw from the school-team trials?”

Xu He genuinely cared about the matter.

Mu Yang was truly strong. If he did not take part in the school-team selection, it would be a tremendous loss for the team of Jinguan City No. 17 Middle School.

Xu He hoped Mu Yang would join the school team. With him, the team would be stronger and more competitive on the road to the national championship.

Zhu Ge frowned slightly. “I don’t know either.”

Xu He and Li Jie both let out a sigh. They had not expected the answer to be this.

Zhu Ge continued, “He was looking forward to this selection. He even told me that he was excited about playing in the national tournament. But for some reason, after coming to the rally held before the trials, he suddenly withdrew.”

Indeed, the matter left Xu He and the others filled with questions.

“It’s just like what happened with Lin Xuefeng before,” Xu He said. “We don’t know anything.”

Even now, Xu He still had no idea what had caused Lin Xuefeng to suddenly leave the team and stay away from school for a while. Some people had gone to ask Lin Xuefeng about it, but he had never explained.

So the matter remained a mystery.

Li Jie nodded slightly. Clearly, he did not know why Lin Xuefeng had suddenly left either.

Zhu Ge patted Xu He on the shoulder. “Don’t go digging into it. If Old Lin doesn’t want to talk about it, there’s no need for us to force the truth out of him. When he wants to tell us, he will.”

Xu He suddenly took a step back and stared intently at Zhu Ge. After a long moment, he asked, “Do you know something?”

Li Jie stared at Zhu Ge as well. He also felt certain that Zhu Ge knew some inside information.

Zhu Ge smiled bitterly and rubbed the tip of his nose without saying anything.

Xu He saw his hesitation and immediately said, “All right, I understand. If you can’t tell us, then we won’t ask. We’ll wait until Lin Xuefeng is willing to talk.”

Li Jie leaned forward and asked, “What if he never wants to tell us?”

Xu He and Zhu Ge turned toward him at the same time and glared fiercely.

Under their sharp gazes, Li Jie began to feel uneasy. He gave an embarrassed smile, lightly smacked his own mouth, and said, “That was a stupid thing to say. Just pretend you didn’t hear me.”

Then he mimed pulling a zipper across his lips, indicating that he would keep quiet.

Xu He chuckled. Li Jie really was something else.

“All right, then. Nothing else to discuss. That’s all for today. Goodbye, Captain.”

Xu He waved to Zhu Ge, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Li Jie waved as well, saying goodbye to Zhu Ge.

But just then, Zhu Ge called out to Xu He. “Hey, wait, wait! There’s something else I want to ask you.”

Xu He frowned slightly. What could Zhu Ge possibly want to ask him?

Li Jie looked Xu He up and down suspiciously, as if to say, What secret are you hiding?

Xu He ignored him and looked directly at Zhu Ge. “What do you want to ask, Captain?”

Zhu Ge glanced at Li Jie.

Li Jie immediately understood. “Do you want me to step away?”

Who would have thought Li Jie could be so perceptive?

Zhu Ge smiled awkwardly and waved his hand. “That won’t be necessary. It’s nothing embarrassing.”

Li Jie nodded, indicating that he understood, and remained beside Xu He.

To be honest, he was quite curious. He wanted to know what Zhu Ge was about to ask.

Seeing that both Xu He and Li Jie were looking at him, Zhu Ge rubbed the tip of his nose and said, “It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to ask what you’re planning for the new season.”

The moment he heard that, Xu He understood what Zhu Ge meant. Li Jie also seemed to realize it.

Zhu Ge continued, “Wasn’t Zhuo Jun, from the Class Sixteen soccer team, hoping you would join them? I wanted to know what you think.”

Indeed, Zhuo Jun’s attempt to recruit Xu He was no longer a secret. Zhuo Jun had once tried to poach Xu He in front of every player on the Class Ten soccer team, asking him to join their side.

Recently, Zhu Ge had sensed that Xu He’s feelings were changing. During training, Xu He seemed to be growing increasingly distant from them. Of course, Zhu Ge also knew about everything that had happened between Xu He and Yang Xin. Perhaps that was the most important reason for the change in Xu He’s attitude.

To be honest, Zhu Ge did not want Xu He to leave.

He looked at Xu He expectantly. Li Jie also turned his gaze toward him.

So that was it. Xu He had guessed correctly.

He pondered for a moment before saying, “Zhuo Jun did invite me, and I’ve thought about it. But… I haven’t made a decision yet. For now, I’m still a member of the Class Ten soccer team.”

Zhu Ge was somewhat pleased to hear that, but more than anything, he felt uneasy.

Still, he did not pressure Xu He. He simply said, “Think it over carefully. I hope you’ll stay.”

Xu He nodded, understanding what Zhu Ge meant.

Seeing him nod, Zhu Ge was satisfied. He did not say anything more, merely waved goodbye and left. The three of them then went their separate ways home.

Watching Zhu Ge’s back, Xu He sighed.

He truly had not made up his mind. He was still torn.

He had developed feelings for the Class Ten soccer team. More importantly, he had not yet won the league championship they should have won. That remained a great regret. Even if he eventually left, he felt he should wait until he had won the league title with them.

However, the team’s current situation was indeed complicated.

His own prospects were not particularly optimistic either. He might not become a starter in the new season. The partnership of Yang Xin and Zhang Zhen would probably remain the starting combination.

But Xu He was dissatisfied. He believed that he was better than Yang Xin and deserved the starting position more.

The Class Sixteen soccer team, meanwhile, had promised him a starting role. Their overall strength was not weak, and the team suited him very well. That was why he was so conflicted.

Li Jie patted Xu He on the shoulder. “Whatever decision you make, I’ll support you.”

Xu He looked at Li Jie gratefully.

What a good brother, he thought.