Volume One: Our Own League, 094: Xu He, Suddenly Abandoned

The match was about to begin, and Xu He was brimming with excitement, rubbing his hands together, ready to take the field.

Then Zhu Ge suddenly said, “Xu He, you’re being put in an awkward spot today. You’re not in the starting lineup.”

Xu He froze.

He had not expected, with the game moments from kickoff, to be told that he was no longer among the starters. It caught him completely off guard.

After all, just yesterday, Mu Yang had told him that he would be starting today.

He had waited for this for so long and had made full preparations. Yet just as he was about to go on, he was told he was not starting. It left him momentarily at a loss.

At once, every player’s gaze fell upon Xu He.

Li Jie looked at him with deep concern, his heart aching for him. At the same time, he was furious, enraged by Zhu Ge’s conduct.

If Xu He was not going to start, could he not have been told earlier?

Why give him the wrong information, letting him believe all along that he would be starting this match? Did Zhu Ge realize how much harm that could do?

Li Jie was deeply displeased and angry.

Xu He was angry too.

If you never wanted me to start, then why tell me I was starting in the first place? Why give me hope, let me fill with expectation, and then crush me with despair when the match was about to begin?

That kind of behavior... was not right, was it?

Feeling the eyes around him, Xu He quickly steadied himself. He forced a smile and said, “It’s fine. I respect the team’s arrangements!”

With that, Xu He stepped back two paces, as if drawing a line between himself and the starters.

Seeing this, Li Jie’s heart tightened in pain.

Zhu Ge had really gone too far this time.

Zhu Ge’s brow also twitched. Seeing the change in Xu He’s expression, he suddenly realized that what he had done was wrong and had caused Xu He a great deal of hurt.

This had not been his intention.

He had never meant to wound Xu He. But with Lin Xuefeng’s sudden return, and the appearance of that powerful figure, Song Yu, even someone as usually meticulous and nagging as he was had been thrown off balance.

That was what had led to such an awkward scene.

Zhu Ge hurried forward to apologize. “I’m sorry, Xu He.”

Xu He immediately shook his head with a smile. “It’s fine, Captain. I understand your decision. Having Lin Xuefeng start is the right choice.”

Sure enough, once Lin Xuefeng had returned, he had taken Xu He’s place in the starting lineup.

Seeing Xu He be so magnanimous, Zhu Ge felt even more remorseful and pained. How had he lost his composure just now? Under normal circumstances, he would never make such a basic mistake.

He wanted to say more, but the referee was already urging them on. All he could do was give Xu He a hug, then turn at once and lead his starters slowly onto the pitch.

This match was truly beginning.

But Xu He’s feelings now were utterly different from what they had been moments before. He had once been full of limitless anticipation for this game, but now his heart was in turmoil, and the taste in his mouth was bitter.

Did this match still have anything to do with Xu He?

Of course it did.

He was still a member of the Tenth Class football team, and naturally he wanted his team to win this match and claim the league title.

Although he had many misgivings about Zhu Ge’s handling of things, he still had to cheer for his team, support them, and hope for victory. Even from the bench, he would give everything he had, pouring his heart into cheering them on.

Watching his teammates walk onto the field, Xu He raised his fist high and roared, “Go, Tenth Class football team!”

Hearing his shout, the players of the Tenth Class football team all turned back and pumped their fists toward him, signaling that they would fight hard and do their best.

Zhuo Jun, the captain of the Sixteenth Class football team, also turned to look at Xu He, his eyes filled with pity. In his view, Xu He was excellent and deserved a starting place. Seeing him sitting on the bench now, he even felt a little sorry for him.

In Zhuo Jun’s heart, he thought, Xu He, do you still want to stay on the Tenth Class football team?

If you keep staying there, then what you’re seeing now will become your norm next season. Could you really endure a whole season on the bench?

Zhuo Jun stared at Xu He and thought, Come on, join our Sixteenth Class football team!

Xu He just happened to catch Zhuo Jun’s gaze and instantly understood what it meant. At that moment, he truly wavered. Zhuo Jun was right: if he stayed with the Tenth Class football team, he would certainly be a long-term substitute. Should he still remain there?

Xu He hesitated.

But then he immediately shook his head and put those thoughts out of his mind.

Clearly, this was not the time to think about such things. He would have to wait until after this match to consider them. Right now, there was only one thing he could do: cheer for his team and pray that they could secure the final victory and win this season’s league championship.

Xu He shouted from the sideline, “Come on, Tenth Class football team! Take this championship! We’re the league champions!”

Li Jie immediately waved and shouted back, “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely win the league title!”

This was the promise of a close brother to Xu He.

Zhu Ge also turned to look at Xu He and said, “We’ll give it everything we’ve got and win this season’s league championship!”

Seeing this, Song Yu’s eyes brightened slightly, and he thought, Interesting.

He could not help but take another look at Xu He standing in front of the bench. This boy had such strong fighting spirit, so pure and full of vitality. Very good.

Still, Song Yu’s attention remained fixed on the pitch, locked onto Lin Xuefeng.

He was still curious about Lin Xuefeng’s true ability.

Soon, both sides completed their pre-match ceremony, and the game kicked off. The Sixteenth Class football team took the opening possession and immediately tried to launch the first wave of attack, hoping to seize the initiative, catch the Tenth Class football team off guard, and perhaps score on their very first push forward. If that succeeded, the match would be all but theirs.

Unfortunately, their attacking quality was too poor and never threatened the Tenth Class goal.

In fact, the Sixteenth Class football team looked as if they simply could not get their attack moving at all.

Song Yu frowned deeply at this.

The strength of the Sixteenth Class football team disappointed him greatly. Was this really the level of a team that had reached the final? If the finalists were this weak, then just how poor were the other teams? And these people still dared to dream about the national tournament?

Song Yu kept shaking his head, thinking, Principal Wang is looking down on the national tournament far too much.

With the Sixteenth Class football team’s level, they did not even have the qualifications to be cannon fodder, and they still wanted to make the national tournament? That was rather delusional.

All at once, Song Yu felt much lighter. He no longer had to worry about refusing Principal Wang.

There was no saving this crop of players.

However, he did not show it and continued watching the match.

Of course, if both teams were really at this level, then there was no need to keep watching. Still, he wanted to see for himself just how strong Lin Xuefeng, whom Principal Wang had praised so highly before the match, really was. What kind of level of “exceptional” did Wang have in mind?

Of course, Song Yu was not making a final judgment. After all, this had only been the first attack.

Still, he had indeed seen quite a bit already.

After all, a true expert could tell at a glance whether there was anything there, and these players’ fundamentals were genuinely poor. A team like this should never be able to make it to the national tournament.

Yet he kept watching, eyes fixed on the field.

Suddenly, Song Yu’s eyes lit up, and shock surfaced in them.

The Tenth Class football team had launched their attack. After a series of exchanges between Mu Yang in midfield and Zhu Ge, Mu Yang delivered an accurate diagonal long pass straight out to the flank. There, Lin Xuefeng surged forward at speed, and even though he was two full body lengths behind the defender, he used his astonishing pace to overtake him and catch up to the ball.

Fast.

That speed was truly fast.

Even in the national youth squad, it would count as relatively quick, probably good enough to rank in the top five.

He had not expected to see a player this fast in an ordinary middle school. That genuinely surprised Song Yu.

As expected, Lin Xuefeng lived up to his reputation.

Song Yu also understood why Lin Xuefeng was so popular: this fellow really did have something special. What shocked Song Yu even more was Mu Yang’s precise long pass. More importantly, he could see a great deal in Mu Yang himself.

This boy did not look like someone who had grown up playing rough street football.

His receiving, passing, and dribbling were all far too disciplined, giving Song Yu a very familiar feeling.

Suddenly, Song Yu felt that his earlier conclusion had been too hasty. The students at this school might not be as simple as they looked. Perhaps their ambition to challenge for the national tournament was not merely talk.

Still, Song Yu would not jump to the conclusion that the Seventeenth Middle School of Golden Pass City had the strength to contend for the national tournament. He had to watch carefully, observe the direction of the match, and gauge the abilities of the other players.

Gradually, Song Yu became interested and more serious.

Lin Xuefeng, having reached the ball, glanced into the penalty area and saw Yang Xin sprinting forward at full speed.

This was a perfect chance.

Without hesitation, Lin Xuefeng swung his left foot and sent in a beautiful curving ball, one that arced over the head of the center back stationed at the near side of the Sixteenth Class defense and dropped straight toward Yang Xin’s forehead.

Yes, it was more as if the ball were seeking Yang Xin than Yang Xin seeking the ball.

The pass was exquisitely accurate.

Song Yu’s eyes shone, and he thought, This one’s in.

With Yang Xin’s height, who could possibly compete with him for this ball?

But the next instant, Song Yu was stunned.

At that very moment, a player burst out from Yang Xin’s side, darted lightning-fast around to the front of him, used his body to block Yang Xin’s position, and then leapt lightly to head the ball out beyond the end line.

Zhuo Jun.

Zhuo Jun had appeared in the most crucial place at the most crucial moment and cleared the ball away.

Xu He was utterly shocked and thought, Damn, is this Zhuo Jun’s level?

Even Song Yu in the stands was deeply astonished. The Sixteenth Class captain’s reactions and defensive execution were truly excellent. Song Yu could not help but take a closer look at the captain of the Sixteenth Class football team, and suddenly he felt that the two teams really did deserve to be the ones who had fought their way into the final.

Song Yu’s anticipation for the match grew even stronger.

From the corner, Lin Xuefeng whipped in a beautiful arc, sending the ball precisely toward Yang Xin’s head. But Zhuo Jun had indeed headed it clear, and the students of Sixteenth Class burst into applause for him.