Chapter 1 0 Beating SL University

Chapter 4 1 Triumph over H University

U University won all three matches and strode into the quarterfinals with their heads held high. At the same time, U University's flanks became the nightmare of various teams. Of the eight goals scored by U University in the three games, five were scored through breakthroughs on the flanks or crosses.

In the quarterfinals, U University was already leading 3:0 in the first half. In the second half, Zhao Yu replaced Zhang Jun, who had just performed a hat trick. As the arrowhead figure and top scorer, Zhang Jun was increasingly being targeted by the opposing defenders. Zhao Yu didn't want to lose a main player before the final. Besides, he also needed to give other players adequate training. Football is not a sport for eleven people; the depth of the bench is also an important factor in determining success or failure. Zhang Fan, who switched to center forward, did not disappoint Zhao Yu. He scored two more goals with headers and kicks. In the end, U University entered the semi-finals with a score of 5:0.

On the grounds of G University in Hefei, the refreshing U University attracted more and more attention. They talked about U University's beautiful and sharp offense, as well as the super-fast number 7 and the goal machine number 11. Whenever there was a U University game, the stands were never short of spectators.

And U University did not disappoint the fans' support, advancing all the way to the finals. Then, in the final, with Zhang Jun's two goals and Zhang Fan's one goal, they defeated the host Hefei G University and advanced to the East China regional finals held in Xiamen as champions.

This news caused a stir on campus for a while, and Zhang Jun, Yang Pan, and others became star players. The love letters they received every day were countless, but Zhang Jun already had Sophie with him, and he didn't consider anyone else. Yang Pan didn't seem to have any plans to find a girlfriend at the moment, but the other three roommates took full advantage of the opportunity and successfully resolved their personal problems. For a time, they gained both fame and fortune, and everyone was happy.

In fact, the happiest person was Zhao Yu. The team's achievements were inseparable from the five special recruits, and he, the coach who recruited them, was naturally proud. A chollima (a mythical winged horse), however good, also needs a Bole (a person who recognizes talent).

The weather in Hefei these days was always gloomy, and the cold wind was blowing tightly. Zhang Fan listened to a broken radio for a long time, and then mysteriously told everyone in the dormitory that it would snow tomorrow. In return, he received four middle fingers—did he need to be so mysterious about something that everyone knew?

Hefei is south of the Huai River and should be considered in the south. It rains a lot in winter, and it doesn't snow often, let alone heavy snow. Some time ago, a few snowflakes fell one night, and the classmates in the class who grew up in the south were so happy that they jumped and said they were going to have a snowball fight. As a result, the snow didn't give them face and stopped after an hour. The snow that fell on the ground was actually small ice crystals, which couldn't be pinched together at all. A group of people went happily and returned disappointed.

When the lights in the dormitory building were turned off, Zhang Jun could clearly see that it was snowing outside, and it was snowing heavily, thanks to the lights on the Hefei High-Tech Plaza outside the campus.

It was Sunday. Early in the morning, everyone was awakened by Lele's sentence: "Damn! It's snowing heavily!" Then they couldn't fall asleep anymore. It was too cold, and they didn't want to leave their warm beds. So, a few people started chatting, and the topic naturally couldn't be separated from the biggest snow since the beginning of winter.

Zhang Jun recalled that when he was in high school, once there was a heavy snowfall, everyone had an excuse not to go home for lunch, so they gathered at school. After lunch, a group of bored people rushed downstairs with a football and ran to the snowy football field to play snow football. Snow football is completely different from ordinary dry land football. Because the ground is slippery, people always fall and can't run fast. Also, because the snow is soft, it doesn't matter if you fall. Therefore, everyone on the field is very enthusiastic about doing some difficult moves that they usually wouldn't dare to do or have the opportunity to do, such as diving headers, bicycle kicks, volley shots, flying tackles... For a time, people were thrown off their feet, snow splashed everywhere, but everyone had a great time. Zhang Jun took opportunism to the extreme. Because there was no offside in the small field, he spent most of his time hiding in the opponent's penalty area, waiting for a teammate's skewed cross to be ridiculously missed by the defender, and then he rushed up and gently touched the ball with his foot—goal! That noon, he scored seventeen goals with this trick alone! But no one cared about this record. What everyone valued was the feeling of falling and laughing freely in the snow.

As Zhang Jun spoke, he had an extremely enjoyable expression. He remembered the time when he played football with Kaka, Ren Yu Di, and An Ke.

The other three people listened with great longing, shouting that they wanted to play snow football. These people had just been yelling that they would never leave their beds!

Yang Pan objected because he really didn't want to get up at eight in the morning to play snow football. It was cold, and he would definitely be soaked when he came back. Moreover, it wouldn't be comfortable to be looked at by others with the eyes of someone looking at a madman.

But Zhang Jun didn't think so. After such a recollection just now, he suddenly really wanted to play that kind of football again.

So, four votes in favor, one vote against, and the opposition was invalid. Yang Pan was finally forcibly pulled out of bed by four people, put on a sports shirt, and reluctantly went out the door.

The five people came to the white, empty field, looking at the football field that was so white without a trace of flaw, and even Yang Pan wanted to lie on it and roll around.

Zhang Fan was the most excited. He threw the football into the sky, screamed strangely, and rushed into the field. A string of lively footsteps was immediately left on the snow. The others also screamed and rushed into the field, adding four more strings of happy footprints to the snow.

The football rolled in the snow, turning into a snowball, while the clothes of the five people became less and less. In the end, they simply wore short-sleeved jerseys and sweated profusely in the snow.

"Watch my diving header!" Zhang Fan did dive, but he didn't hit the ball and ate a lot of snow instead.

"Hey! Bicycle kick!" Zhu Hui was not to be outdone. He kicked the ball, but it was high and wide. He fell backward on the snow, splashing a large canopy of snowflakes, and then lay there panting, not getting up: "Whew—so tired! So tired! It's more tiring than playing a regular game!"

Yang Pan was too lazy to pick up the ball, so he simply lay down in the snow. At this time, he had long forgotten the "excuse" of being afraid of getting his clothes wet.

The other three people didn't want to pick up the ball either, and they all learned from the previous two people and lay down in the snow. The chests of the five people rose and fell, and the white mist came out of their mouths, quickly merging with the white world.

The five people returned to the dormitory with a body full of snow and the strange looks of others. After changing clothes and settling down, they were discussing going to the library to watch videos together when Zhang Jun received a call from Sophie.

"It's snowing! It's so heavy!" Sophie shouted excitedly on the other end of the phone.

Zhang Jun held the receiver away from his ear: "You just got up, Sophie?"

"Yeah! I just got up and saw the snow outside! It's so beautiful!" Sophie's voice could be heard throughout the dormitory.

Zhang Jun thought, it's not like you're from Hainan Island. Can Luoyang have fewer snowfalls every year? But he said, "Yeah, it's very beautiful! We just came back from playing football."

"Playing football? Oh! What a pity, I was sleeping... Come out now, I'm waiting for you downstairs in our dormitory!" After saying that, Sophie hung up the phone, probably busy dressing up.

Zhang Jun smiled wryly while holding the phone. He had just said that he would go to watch videos with his brothers, but now...

Zhang Fan and Zhu Hui looked at Zhang Jun and exclaimed exaggeratedly: "It's snowing! It's so heavy!"

Zhang Jun glared at them, put down the phone, sighed, and walked out very dejectedly.

"Take care! Remember to report back when you come back!"

"That's right! Don't disappoint the hopes of the Party and the people!"

"The people of the whole country are waiting for you to make great contributions!"

These heartless guys! Zhang Jun cursed in his heart.

Yang Pan was still the best. He deserved to be a brother for ten years, always thinking of his friends. He patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder:

"Remember, don't go to small hotels. They're not hygienic!"

Zhang Jun thought that Sophie called him out just to have a snowball fight, build a snowman, or take a few more photos. But after Sophie saw Zhang Jun downstairs, she just stepped forward, took Zhang Jun's arm, and rested her head on Zhang Jun's arm: "Let's go! Walk with me!"

There were more people on campus, all out playing in the snow. The snow was therefore "completely skinned and bruised." Sophie still looked for the surviving snow to step on, enjoying the sound of the snow "creaking" under her feet.

Along the way, Zhang Jun didn't speak. Sophie seemed to be focused on stepping on the snow, looking down and jumping east and west.

"Sophie..."

"What?" Sophie didn't stop.

"I want... I want to become a professional football player in the future..."

Sophie didn't seem very surprised: "Chinese?"

"No, I want to go to Europe. There's more room for development there..." Zhang Jun was a little worried that Sophie would object. After all, this decision was an important choice and would likely mean leaving her for a while.

"Okay!" Unexpectedly, Sophie stopped, turned her head, and smiled at Zhang Jun, "It's good that you have this plan and goal!"

"But, if that's the case, we'll definitely have to separate for a while..." Zhang Jun carefully expressed his concerns, wanting to see how Sophie would react.

"Don't worry! I'll always wait for you!" Sophie turned around, smiled, and said this to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun suddenly hugged Sophie tightly in his arms. Sophie was slightly surprised, but she quickly closed her eyes with a smile, quietly enjoying the warmth that belonged to the two of them.

The snow fell quietly, everything was quiet...