Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was said that this was the best time for young soccer enthusiasts.
…
“Lying on the field like this, closing my eyes… and…”
That was what Lu Ang had been thinking about for the past week.
He laid on the soccer field of Anxi City Sports University. His heart was unusually calm, so calm that he seemed to be watching every match before his eyes. Everything that happened on the field was in his mind, but it didn’t seem to belong to him.
Disappointment, and a lack of fighting spirit. Lu Ang had been very reluctant to use these words on himself, but he now found that they fit him perfectly.
He opened his eyes and looked at the sky, hammering his fist on the ground.
That’s right. Since when did I feel so inferior? This really doesn’t seem like me.
That day, Wei Xinheng pulled his collar.
“If you don’t say anything, your future will be over. Do you want everyone to regret it in the end?”
He used to be a role model for young fans, held high expectations from many coaches, and was the hope of the entire Youth Soccer League. But now, Lu Ang was like a lonely old man who had lost his will.
…
One by one, he shot the ball. Again and again, he hit the nine-panel grid on the wall. Although most of them could hit the top five, he was still not satisfied with himself.
Coach Wang Tie told him, “You’re asking too much of yourself. Your eyes are still adapting and you are still getting used to the sports glasses. It’s inevitable that your feel for the size and angle of the soccer court is different from before, so this is very normal. Don’t be anxious, take it slow.”
Can I really take it slow?
Lu Ang’s heart was filled with anxiety. For athletes, wasting an entire month’s time doing nothing was really a waste of their competitive skills.
At night, there was no one at the soccer field. His sports glasses were placed beside him, and the soccer ball was kicked a few meters away. Ever since his eyes had a problem, he had been in a free state.
After a month without soccer, his weight had dropped from 85kg to 78kg, and his muscle mass had also fallen a lot. Coach Wang Tie told him that not only did he need to strengthen his muscles, but he also needed to increase his weight. He had a height of 192cm. If he really wanted to be a strong defender, weight was crucial. Lu Ang’s current weight was too light and he was too thin. He had already lost part of his flexibility due to his height, so he could not lose his ability to tackle.
However, Lu Ang had no appetite. Even so, he endured it. Every day, he ate four large plates of food that the nutritionist had prepared for him. Chicken breast meat, beef, broccoli, rice, eggs… All of them were prepared to increase his weight. However, these dishes that he had been familiar with since he started playing soccer seemed so unfamiliar to him now. He ate like a machine. They were tasteless.
Wei Xinheng once asked, “Junk food can increase taste buds. Do you want to try?”
Of course not. As long as he was still playing, he would never touch those things.
In the past, he would not do so. Even if the coaches were not as strict now, he still would not do so.
…
Coach Wang Tie called Zhang Lei from Zhongju Province Youth Team on the phone, saying, “His recovery training is going well, but his mental state is not too good.”
Zhang Lei replied, “I know, that’s why I asked him to go to school. He probably doesn’t want to be in a team he’s familiar with. Besides, you have more ways to deal with these post-traumatic players than me.”
Wang Tie said, “Don’t worry. Such a talented young man, I will naturally train him well. Besides, he belongs to our school.”
Although this was the first week that Wang Tie had officially come into contact with Lu Ang, he had already learned about this player from various venues, videos, and Zhang Lei. Previously, Lu Ang was a player who was very proactive in playing soccer. Other than the goalkeeper, he could easily adapt to all sorts of positions. It was just that when he was playing in the provincial youth team, Zhang Lei liked offensive tactics. In the end, Lu Ang had shot up to 192cm and was still playing as the forward. However, he had performed rather well. If not for the previous incident, he would have already signed with the professional team from the neighboring Andong City, and might have already started playing in the first team.
Andong City was the neighboring city of Anxi City. It was the only city in Zhongju Province that could compete in the top soccer league.
But now, Lu Ang’s participation in the Youth Soccer League this season was done for. Last year, he had dominated the ranking of the top goal scorers and had been rated as the most popular player.
The Youth Soccer League, funded by companies and organized by associations from all over the country, created a level of competition between the professional league and the amateur league, specially for 18-23 year old amateur players. There was such a team in all 20 provinces, with a small number of fixed players who received fixed allowance and bonuses. The other players were mostly chosen mid-season to replace players who quit, which was more flexible and gave many young players a chance to play. Many young players placed their hopes on the Youth Soccer League, hoping to be chosen by professional clubs one day. There were also many temporary players who played in the Youth Soccer League that felt they couldn’t afford to waste time, and found another way out after some time.
However, most professional soccer clubs were more anxious about the results of the league, so there were still very few soccer talents in the Youth Soccer League who could be chosen by professional soccer clubs to start their career path. Most of the youths were only testing the waters in the tournament. As for the top professional tournament, the A-League, there was still no player from the Youth Soccer League.
The incomplete Youth Soccer League, due to its large number of players and unprofessional production, was equally slow. It also competed against various professional leagues and youth teams, but garnered low attention. In the beginning, it was called a brainless league and received a lot of criticism. Some fans remarked, “The other clubs have youth training programs, so why should they still choose kids with unknown backgrounds?”
It was Lu Ang’s appearance that changed people’s minds. When he first appeared on the field at 18 years old, he brought unprecedented attention to the Youth Soccer League. Two seasons later, he was supposed to become a pro player.
…
As the news officer of Andong City’s professional soccer team, Wei Xinheng was very worried about Lu Ang, asking, “Doctor Wang, how are Lu Ang’s eyes?”
Wei Xinheng had gotten the contact information of Wang Lingjia from Anxi City Sports Rehabilitation Hospital through Lin Jingyi. Anxi City Sports Rehabilitation Hospital was also Anxi City Sports University Hospital. Lu Ang had told Wei Xinheng that he was going back to school.
Doctor Wang Lingjia responded, “His acute retinas have been stabilized, but his short-sightedness is irreversible. Now, we have to use traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate the discomfort caused by his nervousness, as well as psychotherapy. However, the effects of psychotherapy are not good, and his inner self is more closed off than anyone else. We have to try our best not to use any medication as we are afraid that it will affect his physical fitness in the future.”
Lu Ang didn’t want to open up his heart. This wasn’t the problem anymore. All along, very few people knew what he was thinking. This was because he really didn’t like to interact with others. Wei Xinheng knew this. After all, he was his close buddy. He had always treated Lu Ang, who was four years younger than him, as his younger brother.
It was also because of Lu Ang that the Youth Soccer League, which had very low attention on soccer competitions, had unprecedented attention, especially among university students who weren’t soccer players.
Only Wei Xinheng knew that Lu Ang was a person who wasn’t good with words. Lu Ang’s former teammates always said that he wasn’t normal. Lu Ang hadn’t even interacted with girls before, let alone picked up girls. Would you believe this? A player who was almost 21 years old was at the age when his hormones were raging, and yet he had no desires.
Unfortunately, Lu Ang really wasn’t good at communicating and didn’t explain himself to the rumors. He didn’t have much contact with the media, so he never had any official news. Because he never clarified things, the outside world was making random guesses. There were many people praising and defaming him. This made Wei Xinheng very helpless, but he had no choice.
In the past, he could see the coldness on Lu Ang’s face. However, because he didn’t have any other expression, his entire face was “unapproachable”. Although Wei Xinheng knew that Lu Ang liked silence, people who didn’t know him think that he was acting like a big shot at such a young age.
Now, Lu Ang looked like he hated the world. He didn’t have any airs, nor did he have the pride of an athlete. He didn’t have any aura at all. Furthermore, with his glasses on, one would only think that he was just an ordinary person. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was a stupid big guy.
…
Why did I become like this?
Due to his 1,000-degree glasses, no one knew that he was Lu Ang. He didn’t communicate with the outside world, and no one knew what had happened to him during the month he was absent. This made him feel better, and he wasn’t as reserved as he used to be at Anxi City Sports University.
From time to time, he could walk around the school building and the library. This was pretty good because he had never experienced this kind of university campus atmosphere before. Although Anxi City Sports University was a sports school, it did not have the tension that he always felt when he was on the team.
Although he was dejected, his rationality still supported him. As long as he still had the desire to play on the court, he would still carry on even if it was mechanical training. He pinched the small figurine in his hand that seemed to be a gift from the heavens. On the key ring was engraved: As long as one is alive, there will be hope.
…
Just like that, one day, when he was resting outside of training, he picked up a resume. Specifically, he did not pick it up. He only saw someone put it in the trash can and coincidentally glanced at it.
The owner of the resume had a soccer-styled name. The photo was different from the person who threw it. The girl in the photo had a chubby face and looked like a child.
News major. Soccer enthusiast. Favorite player was Vincent Kompany, defender of Manchester City. Seeing the brief introduction, Lu Ang suddenly became interested in the owner of the resume. The reason was Kompany, who had always been Lu Ang’s idol.
Though he didn’t know much about girls, Lu Ang thought most girls probably liked forwards more. Defenders? Not many. Kompany? Not many more.
Just like that, Lu Ang took the resume and began to read it. She was in her third year and was amazing. She had written a lot of reports. This was a resume that was submitted to the soccer media. It stated that she had been watching soccer matches for 17 years.
Did she start watching matches when she was three? Really?
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Lu Ang thought to himself, “Are all girls from Anxi City Sports University so special?” Lu Ang had never been in contact with girls before, so he didn’t really understand them. He only remembered that when he played in the Youth Soccer League, there were always people around the bus holding up their signboards. He didn’t have much of a reaction to this before, but now that he thought about it, at least it meant that he still had the ability to play.
He looked at the resume. Since it was a resume that was sent to the soccer media, why was it thrown away now? He didn’t know much about it. As he thought about it, he took the resume all the way to Anxi City Sports University.
The Kompany described in the resume reminded Lu Ang of himself. Although he was almost as tall as Kompany, his current weight and muscle mass were completely incomparable to that of his. His weight was now at least 10-15 kg lighter. If he was too thin and weak, it would be very disadvantageous for him to be a defender, especially a center back, Even if he were a forward, he would still need to be a little more sturdy. At the very least, he would need to ensure that his tackles were effective.
With that thought in mind, he silently put the meat, vegetables, and staple food he was going to have for dinner into the microwave. Well, no matter how his recovery training went, whether he could transit into a defender or not, he should at least get his weight up first.
He pinched his thighs and calves again. His muscles were still lacking a little. As expected, these 10 days were still unable to make up for the month of lying in the hospital.
The anxiety returned. It had been with him all this time, but it had only grown stronger in the past six months. Lu Ang had never given up his studies for soccer and started playing at the age of 10. It was not too early. The school was just a place where he would take time out of his week to train. He did not have a degree there, so although he had received systematic training, he was not a regular reserve youth player.
He was afraid that his skills were inferior to others, so no matter what the coach asked him to do, he would do it. He would not quibble or find excuses for his inability to do it in the beginning.
You are talented and hardworking.
This was the coach’s evaluation of him.
He did not have a chance to catch his breath. As he had to travel from school to school, he did not have any spare time to interact with his classmates, nor did he have the time to interact privately with his team members. The reason why he chose the Youth Soccer League was because of a test before school reopened. Coach Zhang Lei had taken a liking to him and felt that he was not an ordinary amateur youth player. In the team, he did not like to be together with his team members privately. Perhaps it was because he was incompatible with them, or perhaps it was that he did not engage in group activities with his team members in private. Just like that, he was rather different. In the past two years, he had witnessed many teammates come and go, but he did not have a single friend.
Lu Ang had never experienced the feeling of losing an opportunity. This was because he had been the brightest player in the team ever since his first official representative, Zhongju Province. From the age of 18, he had never had to worry about playing in the Youth Soccer League because he was usually the first player to play. There was no need to talk about the 40 matches he played every year. Then, after playing in the Youth Soccer League for more than two years, Andong City was going to sign him and he was going to play in the A-League. This was especially difficult for a player who did not play in any form of youth training program.
But it was all gone. Was it going back to where it started? Was it going to start all over again? Going back to school meant that there was no way he was going to play in this season’s Youth Soccer League again. And there was no exposure to the league in the university system, and the standard wouldn’t be high.
The room echoed with Westlife’s “Beautiful World,” and he felt his mind struggling. He continued to train leg strength at home using the exercise equipment he bought.