Chapter 10 No One Will Doubt It Again

No one would doubt the strength of these two yellow-skinned, black-haired Chinese men anymore. After they signed new contracts with the team, Zhang Jun scored two more goals and Yang Pan had one goal and two assists in two league games, helping Volendam extend their unbeaten streak to ten games. This included eight league games and two cup games.

China was now going crazy for Zhang and Yang, and the broadcast of the CCTV5 program "Football World's" special, "Double Stars Shine in the Netherlands," only added fuel to the fire. Now, you could say you didn't know about the conflict between Beckham and Ferguson, or whether the Italian Serie A had eighteen or twenty teams, but as a Chinese person, a Chinese fan, you couldn't not know where Volendam was. On the internet, in newspapers, on television, on the walls of toilets... everywhere there was news about Zhang Jun and Yang Pan.

Zhang Jun called Sophie to tell her to watch "Football World" at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Sophie then went everywhere to find a place to watch TV. The cafeteria's TV wouldn't show it, because everyone would be off work at that time. Finally, Sophie ran to a video hall to watch it, the same place she used to come with Zhang Jun and Yang Pan to watch games all night.

"Monday (Today) evening, 19:30, CCTV5 - 'Football World,' exclusive interview with Zhang Jun and Yang Pan, stay tuned! Tickets: 2 yuan each."

This was the advertisement written on a blackboard placed at the entrance of the video hall. Sophie had seen many such advertisements along Huangshan Road. Almost every place with a TV that could receive CCTV5 had started doing business with fans and students. This scene seemed comparable only to the 2002 World Cup. Sophie saw that many people had already entered to take seats, even though it was only a little after 6:30 p.m. She was afraid of not getting a seat if she went late, so she had to pay two yuan. The owner gave her a square "ticket" cut from a cigarette box, which was her proof of having paid to watch TV, so she wouldn't be kicked out for not paying.

The "screening room" was just the hall of this small shop. It was a bit dark because the lights weren't on. Only the fluorescent light of the TV screen flickered, reflecting the people going in and out. Sophie had only been here twice, including this time, so she was a little cautious. Looking at the boys (people) smoking and shouting loudly, she felt a little unsafe. But later, when she heard a group of people arguing about whether Zhang Jun or Yang Pan was more impressive, her heart calmed down. Because Zhang Jun had told her that people who took football so seriously couldn't be bad people.

Sophie couldn't help but laugh. Her voice was too distinct, and the two groups immediately stopped arguing and turned to look at Sophie, startling her.

"Hey! You!" one of the boys pointed at Sophie and said, "What are you laughing at! Do you think what we're talking about is funny?" It was too dark inside, so he couldn't see Sophie's face clearly. Otherwise, he would be trying to flatter her; how could he be so rude?

"Ah? No, no, it's not..." Sophie waved her hands quickly.

"It's not? Hmph! A girl is joining in the fun, too. Football is really sad now, it's become a fashion for many people to show off!" The boy turned his head away dismissively.

Sophie was angered by these words. She had been following Zhang Jun and Yang Pan to learn about football since high school, and had been the manager for *Shuguang* for three years. Although she couldn't play, she could completely understand football matches and analyze the things behind the football news. She was a girl, but she wasn't an idiot. "Hey, you!" she imitated him, "Don't look down on people casually! What's wrong with girls? Why can't girls watch football?"

The boy was criticized by a girl, so he wasn't willing to back down—in fact, how could he show weakness in front of a girl? A group of classmates would definitely despise him collectively and spread the word—he said disdainfully, "Girls? When watching a game, they only look at the upper half, liking whoever is handsome. All they do is scream, they're all Beckham's 'groupies'..."

"What's wrong with Beckham? Don't you like him?"

"See! She's starting to speak up for her idol! Beckham, the most disgusting thing about him is that he relies on his face to make a living, changes his hairstyle every three days, and goes to Hollywood... Is he playing football or putting on a show?"

"Beckham being handsome is his natural gift, and it's his freedom to change his hairstyle and go wherever he wants. Guys who hate him are probably just jealous, right? Why don't they see his precise free kicks, accurate crosses, penetrating long passes, and tireless running on the field?"

"You must be a Beckham fan, right?" someone next to Sophie asked.

"No."

"Then who do you like?"

"I like Zhang Jun!" Sophie replied, raising her head.

The room was quiet for a moment, and then everyone laughed: "Haha! Don't be silly! He's a big star, a hero matches a beauty, why would he like you? Stop daydreaming, sigh! Why are there so many crazy people these days? Girls are really childish! Haha!"

Sophie looked at the laughing people in the room, ignoring them. They didn't know anything anyway, it would be a waste of breath to talk to them. The program was about to start, so she refocused her attention on the TV screen, ignoring the sarcasm around her.

"Football World, the purest football, the highest-level enjoyment!" Accompanied by that familiar opening, everyone focused their attention on the screen. The good show was about to begin. For domestic fans, being able to understand the training, life, and competition of their idols so closely through the TV screen could be said to be better than eating a lavish and extravagant meal.

Because of this special program, the content of the last round of the five major leagues was compressed into an introduction to a few key matches and a collection of the top ten goals. The remaining hour was all used to play the edited special, "Double Stars Shine in the Netherlands."

Qi Wei appeared in the studio, and he began to introduce the interview to everyone in a voice that everyone was already very familiar with.

"In the next segment, I think the vast majority of viewers have been looking forward to it for a long time, right? In fact, our reporters have also been looking forward to this trip to the Netherlands for a long time, and we finally made it happen last week. In six days, we filmed some things that all of you viewers are very concerned about. For example, how Zhang Jun and Yang Pan live in the Netherlands, their training situation, their relationship with their teammates, the coach's evaluation, and the games. I believe that many viewers have already learned about that game through yesterday's sports news. The two young players performed very well, each scoring a goal. Next, let's take a look at this short film, showing the audience a week in the lives of the two from our reporter's perspective..."

"Brother Wei, what are you doing?"

Qi Wei turned around and said to the speaker helplessly, "Jianxiang, didn't I tell you? Don't call me that, it's not good if people misunderstand."

"Haha! I think you named yourself that on purpose to make people think wrongly!" Wang Jianxiang, CCTV5's famous football commentator, could be considered Qi Wei's senior.

Qi Wei ignored him; the more he paid attention to him, the more energetic he became. He turned around and went back to his own business.

"What are you doing?"

"Turning this episode of 'Double Stars Shine in the Netherlands' into a vCd, burning a disc."

"What for?"

"To send it to them!"

"Who?"

"Zhang Jun and Yang Pan."

"Hehe, you became friends after the interview? Next time it's my turn, don't compete with me!"

"Haha!" Qi Wei laughed. He had snatched this interview task from Wang Jianxiang's hands.

"Seriously, you've come back with a lot of feelings. The program was originally scheduled for half an hour, but you managed to cut it into an hour."

"Yeah! Two young men in their early twenties, alone in a foreign country, supporting the image and hope of the entire Chinese football scene. Volendam is a small club, and their weekly salary is very low. They live in the apartments provided by the club, go to the supermarket to buy things themselves, come back and cook for themselves, and take care of their own diet and daily life. They didn't rely on any commercial background to gain a foothold in the team and the Dutch Super League. At first, I thought they were geniuses like many other people, but after being in contact with them, I realized that there are many kinds of geniuses. They are diligent geniuses."

"After saying so much, it seems that your trip to the Netherlands has helped you a lot!"

"Oh, I hope China has more players like that, then Chinese football will have hope."

"Hehe! There will be, there will be the players you're talking about," Wang Jianxiang said with a smile.

"Ah? What do you mean?" Qi Wei was a little surprised. He was just saying that casually. It couldn't be that accurate, right? It seemed that he had to go buy a lottery ticket starting tomorrow.

"Guess who I ran into a while ago?" Wang Jianxiang winked at him.

"How would I know?"

"Qiu Suhui!"

Qi Wei almost jumped up immediately: "Him? It's him? Hasn't he disappeared from the Chinese football scene? I heard some time ago that he was a brief assistant coach in Volendam, but then I don't know where he went. Where did you meet him?"

"Beijing, at the preparatory meeting for the national u21 league next year organized by the Chinese Football Association. He is the head coach of the Henan Zhongyuan Club's youth team and has been in office for a month. I had a long talk with him one afternoon, on the day he returned to Zhengzhou. I promised him not to take notes, not to record, and not to film, and then he agreed to chat with me. He doesn't seem to like reporters very much, so I told him that my identity was not a football reporter or a football commentator, but just an ordinary Chinese fan."

"Oh? What did you talk about?" Qi Wei was interested in this.

"Hehe! Sorry, I promised him not to leak it. A lot, but I can hear the hope of Chinese football in his words."

"Really can't say?" Qi Wei looked at Wang Jianxiang sideways.

"Hehe! Anyway, I naturally won't say it when it shouldn't be said. You continue to be busy, I'm off work." Wang Jianxiang put on his coat, patted Qi Wei on the shoulder, and turned to leave.

Watching Zhang Jun and Yang Pan chatting with each other on TV, cooking, and watching TV, Sophie vaguely felt that they were right next to her, like when they were freshmen, going to the cafeteria together, going online together, going to watch games together...

Although she could often see their faces in newspapers and news reports, and hear Zhang Jun's voice on the phone, seeing them living their daily lives on TV like this, communicating face-to-face with her through the screen—Sophie thought so, even though the two were actually talking to the reporter off-screen.

"Why don't you go help?"

"Zhang Jun said that I always make things worse in the kitchen and always have to knock something over before I'm done, so he won't let me in the kitchen anymore."

Qi Wei laughed off-screen, the audience laughed in front of the TV, and Sophie also laughed. It was exactly the same, very real, not performed by someone according to a script, not a movie...

The sound of the stadium scene came from the TV, and Veronica was a small stadium, but it was still very impressive to have all six thousand seats filled.

"This game is a severe test for Volendam and Zhang and Yang, because they are facing Heerenveen, which is ranked fifth. Volendam needs to win, and Zhang Jun and Yang Pan also need to use victory to respond to those skeptical eyes before the game. Bayes' mistake in the first half put Volendam in a very unfavorable situation, and Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were also marked to death by their opponents, accomplishing nothing."

Sophie had seen the goal footage on the sports news, but she was still infected by the atmosphere on the scene and became nervous.

"Zhang Jun's small-angle shot before the end of the first half hit the post, which was Volendam's most threatening attack in the first half."

The sighs of the fans on TV and the sighs in front of the TV were synchronized, and everyone sighed, "What a pity!"

Watching the football hit the post and go out of bounds, Sophie leaned her head back slightly and frowned.

"During the half-time break, Adriaanse was furious in the locker room, and it was obvious that he really wanted to win this game. But he didn't blame Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. He was still very satisfied with the performance of the two Chinese youngsters."

"The situation changed in the second half. The opponent's passing error gave Volendam a chance, and also gave Zhang Jun a chance. Zhang Jun faced the block of an opposing defender and goalkeeper and scored the most beautiful goal of the game! A very, very wonderful Cruyff turn! Veronica is boiling!"

It wasn't just Veronica that was boiling. Although they had already seen the process of this goal on TV, when it appeared in front of everyone again, the front of the TV was still boiling.

"Beautiful! Too beautiful!"

"Damn! I'm speechless!"

"It's magical! Beautiful as hell!"

Almost everyone in the video hall stood up, cheering, and Sophie was no exception.

"Subsequently, Yang Pan scored the winning goal with his favorite long shot. And before the end of the game, Zhang Jun originally had a chance to score twice, but unfortunately, his bicycle kick hit the crossbar. In the end, Volendam defeated Heerenveen 2:1 at home, and their ranking rose by two places."

"...The distinctive Yang Pan is like a ball of fire, coming on strong and unstoppable. Just like on the right wing under his rule, all those who dare to block him will be killed without mercy! And Zhang Jun, the most impressive thing has always been his smile. He is like a breeze, smiling calmly, a gentle breeze brushing your face, stirring up the leaves, and gently cutting your throat when you relax your vigilance... Taking the head of a general from among a million soldiers is as easy as reaching into a bag, and he can retreat completely, without a drop of blood on him."

"One is a fiery warrior, and the other is a smiling assassin. In the small Dutch town of Volendam, in the six days and nights I spent with them, I saw hope..."

The "screening room" lit up again. The TV that hadn't been turned off was still playing advertisements. The people had already dispersed, leaving only the owner and the worker there to clean up, preparing to welcome a new batch of guests.

Sophie was in a very happy mood, because she had another date with Zhang Jun in her heart. This time, the feeling was better than reading the newspaper or talking on the phone. There were pictures, there were sounds, Zhang Jun's face was a little darker, but his voice hadn't changed, and his smile hadn't changed.

Walking on the brightly lit Huangshan Road, looking at the couples coming and going, Sophie wasn't envious of them at all. You're dating, and I'm dating too, and it's a date that fans all over the country envy!