Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lu Ang said, “It’s nothing.”
After a moment of silence, Xia Mengyin suddenly asked him, “Do you think human appearances are very important?
Lu Ang said, “To be honest, I don’t know. I’m also very confused about this… But…”
He was about to say something when Xia Mengyin interrupted him. “It should be important too. If not, I would have thought that you were a humanities student. Sigh, even though I don’t want to admit it, you really don’t look like a soccer player. Indeed, humans are like that.”
Lu Ang nodded, but he was also a little discouraged. After he was discharged from the hospital due to an eye problem, he had been adapting very slowly with his sports glasses for the past two weeks. He was also frustrated at such a situation and even lost some confidence. He was full of discrimination against himself.
Lu Ang said, “You don’t think I can play well like this, do you?”
Xia Mengyin said, “No, I haven’t seen you play soccer before, so I don’t think so. When people communicate and do things, they don’t just rely on their appearance. It’s even more so for soccer players. You can’t completely affirm or deny a person just because of their appearance. I’ve never seen you play soccer before, so I don’t think you can’t play well like this. Also, if you’re a nominal, you must have performed very well in some competitions. Our school has a threshold for nominal athletes.”
Lu Ang said, “Sigh.”
Xia Mengyin said, “So where did you play soccer before?”
She didn’t remember any players wearing sports glasses in public.
Lu Ang said, “At the provincial team.”
Xia Mengyin didn’t even consider it. Instead, she thought about the other provincial team that represented the province and participated in various national competitions. However, she had never seen a player wearing glasses in the Zhongju Province Youth Competition. So, what was he? A training partner? Or was he just a backup player?
The boy in front of her seemed even more depressed now.
Xia Mengyin could see the muscles on his calves and thighs.
Xia Mengyin said, “Your leg muscles are quite strong. You must have worked hard during training.”
Lu Ang suddenly wanted to say something, but Xia Mengyin continued speaking, “I understand how you feel. You must be training, or you must have been very nervous during the competition. You also need to wear sports glasses, so I believe you must have put in more effort than others.”
Xia Mengyin treated him as someone who was born with high levels of nearsightedness.
Lu Ang said, “But, it seems like there’s no effect.”
Xia Mengyin said, “Actually, there are many athletes who are in worse condition than you. I wonder if you’ve ever paid attention to blind soccer.”
Lu Ang shook his head.
Xia Mengyin said, “I happened to watch a match, and it really shocked me. When you hear the screams of the athletes on the field, you won’t feel like laughing. There won’t be any sound from the audience because it will interfere with their ability to differentiate direction through sound. Think about it, in the arena, especially in soccer, there will definitely be less excitement when there’s no sound. They can’t see, but they’re trying their best to catch the ball, pass it, and shoot. Although the rhythm on the field is slow, that kind of scene has long surpassed boredom. At that time, I felt very touched. Such a match is too strange, but there’s no discrimination in that kind of scene, only astonishment. I feel that it’s the sublimation of the soccer game. It’s too great. I’ve always remembered the scene of that match.”
Lu Ang saw that she was a little excited.
Lu Ang said, “It seems like it’s not easy for them.”
Xia Mengyin said, “I don’t know if you’ve ever paid attention to the annual education trips to special schools.”
Lu Ang shook his head. He had been training and competing without any distractions. Actually, he did not know that such trips existed.
Xia Mengyin continued speaking, “Oh, right, you must not know since you just came back. Our school does. I went with the soccer team last summer. I mainly do records. At that time, I spent a long time with those children. There were blind, deaf, and all kinds of disabled children. Many of them loved soccer. Seeing that they didn’t lose hope in life, I really feel that since I’m already an adult and so healthy, why would I lose hope in life?”
Lu Ang replied, “Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel like I need to work harder.”
Xia Mengyin said, “Actually, as long as you have interacted with these physically-disabled athletes, you will change from pity to sincere admiration. I’m not trying to use worse examples to give you a fighting spirit or anything, I just want to tell you that since some things are already like this, you have to do your best. Even if you can’t become an athlete, as a hobby, you can still continue to like soccer. Even though your eyes are short-sighted, don’t despise it. This is just a form of training. Because you’re not as good as others, you have to cherish it more and find your own direction.”
Lu Ang responded, “Yeah.”
He was suddenly enlightened. Yes, although his eyesight was damaged, there were no other problems. He could still wear sports glasses and continue training. Those people who were born with disabilities would probably put in more effort than him.
Xia Mengyin looked at Lu Ang, who had his head lowered. His face was full of disappointment. She suddenly felt pity for him, like a mother looking at a lost child.
She suddenly couldn’t help but pull his hand up and put her other hand on his. Holding it like this, she told him, “I know you must have complained in your heart about why your eyes are like this, but you still pretended to be very strong. Just like those little kids I interviewed. Although they said that they were full of hope and fighting spirit when they faced me, they rarely told others about the sadness and struggle that they felt afterwards, but I understand them all. If you have emotions, you really shouldn’t hold them back. You’ll get sick from holding them back.”
Lu Ang was a little shocked. He looked at her face and then at her hands. Her hands were small but very warm. He was nervous. He had never felt like this before.
He could feel his high spirits returning.
He had seen her resume before. She was not even 20 years old yet and was younger than him. However, he had never felt such comfort before.
Was this the kind of concern that only girls would have? Although Wei Xinheng also comforted himself, he didn’t feel this way at all.
Seeing the boy staring at her hand, Xia Mengyin suddenly pulled her hand away.
God, why did I suddenly pull up his hand?
She blurted out, “I’m sorry.”
Lu Ang’s ears turned red. “It’s okay. Thank you for telling me this.”
Xia Mengyin said, “I suddenly feel like I’ve been enlightened after a short chat with you.”
Lu Ang said, “Huh?”
Lu Ang had a puzzled look on his face. She was the one who had been talking and he was the one listening. How did it become that she was suddenly enlightened?
Xia Mengyin said, “To be honest, I’m super frustrated today. I’ve been watching soccer for a long time and even wrote so many scripts. In the end, I wasn’t selected for my internship. I’m so angry. But now that I think about it, maybe it’s just that the media isn’t suitable for me. I want to be a real sports or soccer media person, not just a simple internet celebrity. Maybe the media has already deviated from my wishes. That’s good too.”
Hearing her say that, Lu Ang was enlightened again. Yes, even if he did not have the chance to sign a contract with Andong City’s professional team, it might be a good opportunity for him to figure out what he wanted to achieve on the field.
Following his 18-year-old luck, he would continue playing as a forward and successfully sign with Andong City’s professional team. This was probably his original trajectory. However, the sudden change in his eyes broke this situation. It was just the right time for him to figure out what kind of team or position he wanted to play.
Since he had deviated from his original intentions, he might as well not fight for an opportunity that was not suitable for him.
Lu Ang thought again and asked, “But you don’t have another chance for an internship. What will you do?”
Xia Mengyin said, “Hmm… Actually, I don’t know either, but I can’t continue to be depressed just because of this one job. There are still so many media outlets… Since I’ve decided to do this, I have to do it. Anyway, I still have a year to graduate.”
Wait a minute.
Lu Ang suddenly thought of something. That resume, could it be that the media’s opportunity was gone?
Xia Mengyin hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, I have a question. I don’t know if I should ask you…” She simply felt that this harmless boy looked trustworthy. Since he was also a stranger, a stranger should be a better judge of character.
Lu Ang was surprised. “Huh? Go ahead.”
Xia Mengyin asked, “Do you think my appearance is… ugly?” Xia Mengyin had never asked anyone this question before. Even though she knew that she was very ordinary, she had never felt anything due to her pride. Losing her internship had made her feel inferior, but she had never asked anyone else for this question.
Lu Ang replied, “Huh? No, you’re very cute. You’re so bright and positive.”
These were probably the only words he could think of.
Xia Mengyin thought that such answers would only come out of a boy’s mouth. She mumbled, “It’s over, it’s over. If a boy says that a girl is cute, it means that the girl looks really average.”
Lu Ang waved his hand nervously. “No, whether you believe it or not, cuteness is the highest praise I can give a girl.”
Even though she felt that he was just comforting her, Xia Mengyin still said, “I think I’m fine too. I believe that someone will understand.”
Lu Ang said, “If you continue being yourself, someone will definitely understand.”
Xia Mengyin said, “Alright, alright, I know you’re just trying to comfort me.”
Lu Ang replied, “No, I’m not.”
Xia Mengyin only smiled and nodded. From what she knew, this was a form of comfort. She thought about it again. It was nothing anyway. As long as she felt that it was nothing, everything was fine.
Lu Ang saw that she had taken the soccer ball beside her and started juggling it. He suddenly felt that she was the one who had lost her chance and yet she was still comforting him just now.
He was very surprised to see her juggling the ball, because there shouldn’t be many girls who could do that.
Suddenly, Xia Mengyin kicked the ball, and it flew up against the ground. It was kicked out from the inside of her ankle. Lu Ang was very surprised because people who did not know how to play soccer would definitely use their toes to kick the ball at the start. However, she did not. She knew the correct way of kicking the ball. Furthermore, the angle and speed of the flying ball showed that it was definitely something that she had practiced before.