Chen Yingxiong crashed heavily onto the grass, kicking up a large amount of turf. The way his massive body fell made the ground seem to shake.

A burst of mocking laughter came from the sidelines.

"Just big, nothing more than meets the eye!"

Above him, his opponent grunted, somewhat annoyed. He had been training perfectly well when he was suddenly called over to do some inexplicable test, competing for a header with a guy he’d never even heard of… The coaches were crazy! He was a defender for the prestigious CSKA Moscow youth team, so why was he here, playing this boring game with a big oaf?

Sensing his opponent's disdain and annoyance, Chen Yingxiong didn't lie on the ground wallowing in self-pity. He grabbed a handful of grass and got back on his feet.

"Again!" he shouted towards the sideline.

The player on the sideline looked helplessly at the coaches. Someone in the crowd waved for him to continue.

He had no choice but to take a step back, then kick the football back into the penalty area.

Chen Yingxiong jumped again, but this time he misjudged the landing point, and his opponent headed the ball away first.

The CSKA Moscow coaches watched this special "test" from the sidelines. They huddled together, whispering. Some were shaking their heads.

This was nothing new. He had seen it many times in the past half-month. Since he and his father had embarked on this "self-promotion" trip to Europe, he had gone from unfamiliarity to indifference with these scenes, enduring countless scornful looks and jeers.

But no matter what, he never thought of giving up.

He just thought, if this one doesn't work, we'll go to the next one.

But today was different.

This was their last chance. They had very little money left and had to save enough for plane tickets back home. They couldn't exactly walk back to China.

They had been to almost all the teams in Moscow. CSKA Moscow was the last one.

If he wanted to continue playing professional football, he had to succeed.

But the situation hadn't changed at all...

He still clearly remembered how the CSKA Moscow coaches had rejected them.

No matter what his father said, the coach with the big beard just shook his head, a disdainful expression on his face.

"No, no... Your son is good for nothing except his physique... Maybe he can play in the second division or something, but CSKA Moscow isn't a place you can just waltz into..."

"Has he ever played professional football in China? Has he ever been selected for any national teams? No, that's it. Can you tell me what reason makes you so confident that CSKA Moscow would open its doors to you? Do you even know what kind of team CSKA Moscow is?"

The arrogant coach said these words in a mocking tone.

Faced with such a question, his father couldn't argue and could only repeat one sentence: "He's tall... He's strong... He's good at headers..."

The coach laughed. "Yes, yes, in his father's eyes, his son is always the best... I'm also the father of three children, and I can understand that feeling. Even if he's a useless piece of trash... Uh, sorry, I mean even if his skills are mediocre, he's still the best... Ha!"

Chen Yingxiong watched from the side and really wanted to rush up and punch the old bastard. He hated it when people talked to him in such a condescending manner, as if they were saviors and he was an ant under their feet. What was a CSKA Moscow coach acting so high and mighty for? It wasn't like they were Real Madrid or Barcelona! Moreover, the object of his contempt wasn't just himself, but his dad!

He had once doubted his father's feelings for him, just like any child who, after being beaten by his father, would lick his wounds alone and wonder if he was his father's biological son. Otherwise, why was he so fierce towards him? After he was fired by the club, his father didn't speak to him for a whole week out of anger, and he also felt that his father didn't understand him. It was the other guy who made the foul play first, a foul that could have crippled his son! He was just defending himself out of anger... At most, it could be considered an overreaction, but it was always the other guy who was wrong first. Why give him a cold shoulder?

That awkward feeling persisted until his father brought him to Europe. In the past half-month, he and his father had been together day and night. This was the longest time he and his father had spent alone. During this time, his father stayed with him, carrying a large travel bag, an electronic dictionary in one hand and a map in the other, following the map to find their way. He went to great lengths, begging and pleading, hoping that those high and mighty clubs would give his son a chance to train, a hope of becoming a professional player.

What if they didn't speak the language? They would translate what they wanted to say the next day using the electronic dictionary and then memorize it. Then, they would speak it out in a thick accent, stumbling over the words. In the past half-month, his father's English level had improved by leaps and bounds, which showed how much effort he had put into it...

His father suffered the same scorn and faced the same cold treatment as he did. His father must have felt bad when he was humiliated.

In addition to that, his father had to comfort him after each failed trial and take care of his daily needs. Most of the money for the trip to Europe was secretly borrowed from his mother. If he couldn't succeed, the task of repaying the debt would fall on his father's shoulders, and that was more than a hundred thousand yuan!

He respected his father more than ever.

He wouldn't allow anyone to speak disrespectfully to his father, even if that person was older than his father!

But his father was holding his hand tightly. He knew what that meant. Actually, his father's strength couldn't stop him, but his father wanted him to calm down, calm down, and calm down. Don't be impulsive.

Three months ago, he had been impulsive and beaten a teammate who had plotted against him into the hospital, which ended his career before it had even begun.

This time, at this crucial moment, his father didn't want him to repeat the same mistake no matter what. If he beat the old man up, he would vent his anger. But his hopes would be shattered, and everything he and his father had experienced and suffered in the past half-month would be meaningless. So at this time, Chen Yingxiong had to endure, even if he couldn't!

He watched his father in front of him lower his head, bowing and scraping to plead with the other party, hoping to give his son a chance to train. The coach always looked down on people with the corner of his eye, a mocking smile on his face. His fists clenched tighter and tighter, so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"My son is a genius... Really, he has talent, he can definitely do it, give him a chance... He's good at headers, really good at headers..."

Each of his father's pleas was like a heavy hammer hitting Chen Yingxiong's heart.

If he hadn't been impulsive in the first place and had endured it, maybe his father wouldn't have had to be so humble today—Chen Yingxiong later realized that that was impossible. Because if you stayed in China, there would be many more times when you would have to be humble: after signing a professional contract, you would have to humbly give money to get a chance to play, and after getting a chance to play, you would have to humbly give money to become a starter, and after becoming a starter, you would still have to humbly give money to get into the national team... There would always be times when you would be humble and act like a grandson.

In the end, the coach, with a meaningful smile on his face, suddenly agreed to his father's request.

"You said it, you said your son is good at headers, then I'll give your son a chance to prove that he's really good at headers!"

Then, Chen Yingxiong was now competing with the entire defense of the CSKA Moscow youth team.

Someone was specifically passing the ball to him on the sideline, and all he had to do was jump in front of the goal and compete with those defenders for headers.

This wasn't a fair test at all.

At first, his father was quite happy, thinking that his sincerity had finally moved the other party. But now, he was also watching the field with a solemn and anxious expression.

Four defenders against one Chen Yingxiong, what kind of test was this? This was humiliation!

They had never encountered such deliberate humiliation in their previous experiences!

Most people would have just walked away in the face of such deliberate刁难(diāonàn - making things difficult) —if Chen Yingxiong and his father really wanted to leave, the people from CSKA Moscow couldn't stop them.

But Chen Yingxiong gritted his teeth and competed on the field with those quasi-professional defenders who had received a higher level of training than him, never thinking of giving up. At least until he scored a goal against the other side, he could never give up!

Chen Tao bit his lip tightly off the field, watching his son fighting on the field. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing by bringing his son to Europe. He didn't get the hoped-for results, but he got a basketful of contempt and scorn.

Just like now, he originally wanted to give his son a chance, but who would have thought that the other party was just making fun of his son.

Would his son hate him for this?

Some of the CSKA Moscow coaches on the sidelines shook their heads.

This kid's physical fitness is indeed good, but his level is very mediocre. Want to enter CSKA Moscow? That's indeed a daydream, but he should still be able to play in a lower-level league.

I really don't know why he's so obsessed with CSKA?

Of course, they didn't know that for the Chen Yingxiong and his father, who were unfamiliar with Russian football, the more famous someone was, the more likely they were to look for them...

CSKA Moscow is a powerhouse in Russia, with a great reputation, which is more attractive to Chen Yingxiong and Chen Tao.

Teaching Chen Yingxiong a lesson was the decision of the team's assistant coach, Nikolay Latysh. Some coaches couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to remind Latysh whether to end this meaningless "test" early?

The purpose of teaching the other party a lesson had already been achieved, and continuing to play was just a waste of time.

Chen Yingxiong fell to the ground again, this time he was pushed to the ground by two people together.

The sun in July was very strong, the sunlight was dazzling, and the turf was a little hot from the sun. There wasn't a trace of wind, and the air seemed to be burning. It was a burning pain when he inhaled, but he didn't feel it at all. He was lying on the ground, his whole body soaked in sweat.

Sweat ran down his cheeks to his chin and then dripped onto the turf, where it quickly evaporated.

Perhaps that annoying old man was right, his strength was not enough to qualify for CSKA... But I'm just not willing to accept it! You insulted my dad like this, but there's no punishment at all, I'm just not willing to accept it!

What exactly did Dad and I come out for? To be turned away by others? To be ridiculed and mocked by others? To watch other people's faces and be scorned?

Maybe my strength doesn't meet your requirements, but I also have my dignity!

"Sorry... Your son doesn't meet our requirements..."

"Go, go! We don't need newcomers here!"

"I think your son might be more suitable for playing basketball? Uh, no, basketball is not suitable for you either. Go home. Chinese, football is not as simple as you think..."

"Mediocre strength, doesn't meet our requirements, that's it, thank you. Goodbye."

"Why not train your son to be a table tennis star? Aren't you Chinese people very good at table tennis? Ha!"

"We are a professional football club, do you know the meaning of a professional football club?"

"Your son is a genius? Ha... Sorry for my rudeness, but that's indeed the funniest joke I've ever heard! Hahahaha..."

Latysh also felt that it was very boring to continue playing like this, and he planned to end this test. Then he would ask the father and son to leave. He had given them a chance, but they didn't show the strength they should have, so they couldn't blame them for not giving them a chance—he didn't think it was inappropriate at all to send out an entire defense to deal with one person.

Chen Tao watched his son fall to the ground again, a little anxious, but he didn't want his son to continue to stand up. Because that meant he would have to continue to accept such "humiliation."

But things didn't go as he wished. His son, Chen Yingxiong, got up from the ground again, without the slightest hesitation!

The CSKA coach Oleg Malyukov, who was acting as a temporary referee, looked off the field. He was asking for the opinion of assistant coach Latysh, whether to end this "test"?

Just at this moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of the Chinese man lying on the ground slowly getting up...

Unexpectedly, the Chinese man stood up again, and Latysh changed his mind—since he wanted to continue to be humiliated like this, then I will fulfill his wish. I am the most willing to help others...

This is the end for underestimating CSKA, kid. I hope you remember it well, and always remember it in the future, don't do such idiotic things!

He waved to Malyukov.

Continue, continue.