Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lu Ang still remembered the day his soccer world collapsed.
Anbei City Central Hospital.
Anbei City was the largest city in Zhongju Province. Because of this, the soccer school of Zhongju Province was located here, including the Zhongju Province Youth Team and the Youth Soccer League. However, professional soccer seemed to have nothing to do with this place. It was far away from professional soccer. This was also the neighboring city of Anxi City.
…
What’s going on? Am I still alive? Lu Ang slowly opened his eyes, but his vision was blurry. His head hurt.
The doctor said, “Looks like you’re awake. Can you see clearly? Remember what happened?”
…
The blurry impression in Lu Ang’s mind had the voice of a girl whose voice he did not know. “Are you still conscious?”
When she tried to shake his arm, he refused to move his hand away. “Eyes. Eyes.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already called 120. They’ll be here soon.”
…
After describing the situation to the doctor, Lu Ang asked the biggest question, “Doctor, why are my eyes…”
The doctor said, “Looks like the concussion isn’t serious. Your eyes have acute retinitis. It’s probably because of this sudden decrease in vision that you lost control of the direction of the car and hit a tree. And you’re unconscious due to a mild concussion. Fortunately, your memory is fine.”
Lu Ang had never felt so anxious before. “Can my eyes still recover?”
The doctor said, “It seems that the damage to your eyesight is irreversible. What we need to do now is to reduce the damage.”
The nurse said, “We’ll do a visual test for you later.”
As expected, the test results were not optimistic. Lu Ang’s eyes were almost 1000 degrees. He did not know how to feel after such a blow.
Only darkness and emptiness.
It was a feeling he had never felt before.
This was because this was the critical period of the contract with Andong City. The winter break was almost over.
But under such circumstances…
Lin Jingyi and Wei Xinheng arrived at the hospital. They felt sorry for Lu Ang’s eyes. Lin Jingyi had always treated every member of the youth team as her own children and didn’t want them to be hurt.
But Lu Ang clearly lost control of his emotions, even though he didn’t say a word.
Wei Xinheng said, “Lu Ang, to be honest, I really don’t know how to comfort you, but you’ve always been strong, so Brother, you have to endure this period of time. After the observation period, everyone will be waiting for you on the field.”
Lu Ang remained silent.
Lin Jingyi said, “I’ve already discussed it with the doctor. When the observation period ends, you can go on to play. You’ll be able to resume training in a month at the latest.”
Still silent, Lu Ang thought that everything would be gone in a month. All his faith had been on the field, but now…
Lin Jingyi, who was about 40 years old, also had a child about the same age as Lu Ang. She saw his concern. “Did you forget that there are sports glasses? It doesn’t matter if you’re nearsighted.”
After persuading him for a long time, Lin Jingyi gave Wei Xinheng a look, and the two prepared to leave.
Lu Ang replied, “Heng, can you not mention this incident to the public?”
Wei Xinheng was stunned. He answered, “I understand.”
Lin Jingyi said, “Sigh, I think his eyes must be hurting at this juncture. Leave him alone for a while. Does the public not know?”
Wei Xinheng replied, “I don’t know. Only the provincial team’s coach knows about it. Moreover, he told us that Lu Ang was injured from training. Lu Ang has always disliked dealing with the media. It seems like he doesn’t want anyone to know about this.”
Lin Jingyi asked, “What about Andong City?”
Silence.
Wei Xinheng joined a professional soccer team from Andong City half a year ago as a news reporter for the Youth Soccer League in Zhongju Province. Hence, he knew very well about the relationship between the two teams.
“His attitude isn’t too optimistic. Coach Zhang Lei’s explanation is very vague. He only said that he would need at least a month at the hospital. The club feels that there’s something fishy about it. They’re afraid that it would affect their competitiveness, so they might give up signing him. However, it’s still uncertain now. There might be a meeting later.”
Lin Jingyi sighed. Indeed, anything would happen in the next second. Although she was also a doctor, she had a deep understanding of some idealistic views.
Lu Ang, who needed to stay in the hospital for a month, was very anxious. During this period, there were also some rumors.
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Actually, Lu Ang also knew about these rumors. He just never talked about it, nor did he have any superficial reactions.
Looking at these headlines, Wei Xinheng sympathized with Lu Ang and blamed himself.
Wei Xinheng had just graduated from university at the age of 22 when Lu Ang was selected to join the youth soccer team in Zhongju Province at the age of 18. Although one of them was a player and the other was a staff member, they had a good relationship since they were neighbors more than a decade ago.
He knew Lu Ang better than anyone else. In fact, Lu Ang was not like what the rumors described him to be.
“He did not obey the team’s rules. He appeared cold on the surface but was glib-tongued behind the scenes. He also liked to act like a big shot.”
The reality was the opposite.
In order to get into the starting lineup, Lu Ang temporarily gave up his favorite position as the defender. In order to train peacefully, he did not have any public social media accounts. Conflict with his coach was simply impossible. Coach Zhang treated him like a son and gave him many chances to play. Lu Ang was a very reserved person, unlike how he appeared to be.
There were praises for Lu Ang from the public, but there were also occasional rumors.
He had advised Lu Ang a long time ago, “You should learn to defend yourself appropriately.”
But Lu Ang responded by saying, “The most important thing for players is to play well. They don’t care about that, they don’t have time for that, and they won’t be affected.”
But would they really not be affected? Wei Xinheng often asked him.
After all, the internet was getting more and more developed, but the truth was getting harder and harder to find. Even if there was no explanation at times, things might not calm down with this kind of compromise. Even if it was just a piece of fake news, it could destroy hundreds and thousands of award-winning reports.
Even so, Lu Ang still reminded Wei Xinheng not to tell the outside world.
“If you don’t say anything more, your future will be over. Do you want everyone to regret it in the end?” Wei Xinheng roared at Lu Ang in the ward one day.
But what greeted him was his silence.
Lu Ang had never seen Wei Xinheng like this before because he had a good relationship with Wei Xinheng. He had already recognized Wei Xinheng as his older brother when he was 10 years old because of soccer. However, Wei Xinheng still didn’t understand him.
Lu Ang, who was in the ward, was initially anxious. But now he was calm. He felt sullen, but he did not know what to say.
His parents were still overseas, and he did not inform them. Because they were often not by his side since they were young, and since he was already an adult, he did not have much contact with them.
The nurse asked, “By the way, is this yours?”
She placed a small object in Lu Ang’s hand.
Lu Ang looked at it. It was a small homemade figurine, strung on a key ring. The figurine was still wearing the Manchester City jersey. He looked at the “Kopany” on the back and understood that it was a mini version of him.
Engraved on the keyring were the words: As long as one is alive, there will be hope. Lu Ang smiled when he saw this sentence. What kind of nonsense was this?
After so many days, the nurse finally saw a change in Lu Ang’s expression. “Looks like it’s yours. You dropped it on the ambulance the other day. I forgot to give it to you.”
It was not his, of course. Lu Ang held it in his hand. Kompani was a player he particularly liked, and he had long dreamed of becoming a defender like him.
He considered it a gift from heaven.
…
20 days after Lu Ang was hospitalized, Lin Jingyi sent him something.
Lin Jingyi said, “These are three pairs of glasses for you. In the white box are ordinary glasses. After you put them on, you can live normally. In the black one are sunglasses with a degree. The material is special and can protect your eyes in blinding places. In the blue one is a pair of sports glasses. They are made with the best materials and by foreign craftsmen. Based on the condition of your eyes, they are comparable to David’s sports glasses. There is also a spare pair that is still being made.”
Lu Ang took the three glasses boxes. Although he was unwilling to accept this fact, he could only do so now.
He knew that the glasses with special materials were expensive. “Tell me your bank account number. When the time comes, I’ll transfer the money to you.”
Lin Jingyi said, “It’s okay, I don’t need it for now.” Anyway, these were the glasses sent by Wei Xinheng.”
Actually, Lu Ang’s parents already knew about the problem with his eyes. Since Lu Ang started playing soccer at the age of 10, they had privately gotten the contact information of the important people around him. They also knew Wei Xinheng’s contact details. His parents had already given him a bank card and asked him to give Lu Ang the best glasses. They also asked him to use the bank card if the hospital needed additional fees, even though athletes had insurance.
Looking at the sports glasses, Lu Ang had mixed feelings. He put it on his eyes and felt it. Although he was not used to it, it seemed like this was the only way.
If he wore normal glasses, he would be able to see clearly. However, after putting on the glasses, he looked at himself in the mirror. With a thousand-degree lens, he really did not look like himself anymore.
Lin Jingyi said, “How is it? Are you used to it?”
Lu Ang said, “I’ll get used to it.”
Lin Jingyi said, “Oh right, after you’re discharged from the hospital, you can go to Anxi City. There’s a Sports Rehabilitation Hospital there. Although it sounds weird, my senior is there. She should have a way to treat your condition—she’s good at all kinds of traditional Chinese medicine. Perhaps you can try it. You can only hope that your eyes don’t worsen.”
Lu Ang nodded. He had been to Anxi City a few times, and that was where his school was located. Speaking of which, he had only signed up for one school before.
Before Lu Ang was discharged from the hospital, he asked Wei Xinheng, “Heng, is my contract with Andong City over?”
Wei Xinheng replied, “Don’t be so pessimistic. There’s still hope.”
Lu Ang knew that there was no chance of that happening. He had to keep this up until he was discharged from the hospital and think about his next step. Lu Ang looked at the sports glasses in his hand that he had touched for the first time.