Chapter 1 The Two Idiots

The two idiots' luggage was eventually discovered by Sophie while she was tidying up, and she delivered it downstairs for them.

Back in his own dorm, room 701 of the men's dorm building number 2, he found that three people had already moved in.

Yang Pan, carrying Zhang Jun's suitcase in both hands, kicked open the door, startling the three people inside.

"Damn it! Who's th–" a boy cursed, but he immediately stopped when he saw the two people who had entered.

Yang Pan looked around the dorm room and saw that three people were already living there. There were also three empty beds, one for him and one for Zhang Jun. The last one would be perfect for luggage, especially all of Zhang Jun's stuff. The kid had brought everything but the kitchen sink, making Yang Pan carry all of it.

Without a word, he put down the suitcase and started unpacking. Zhang Jun followed behind, helping. At this moment, the boy who had spoken earlier cleverly jumped down from his bed, his face full of smiles, and said, "Hey! Let me help too!"

The other two then realized what was happening and rushed over to help, resulting in only one thing—making things worse.

The five of them busied themselves for a long time, repeating the process three times, before finally getting the dorm room completely cleaned up.

Despite the fact that they were more of a hindrance than a help, Zhang Jun still wanted to express his gratitude.

However, the other guy shook his head like a rattle drum, "No, no! What's there to thank? We're all brothers in the same dorm! Besides, we already know you guys!"

"Know us?" Zhang Jun couldn't remember ever meeting them.

"Oh! We know you guys, hehe!" the first boy to jump down said loudly, "Two-time consecutive national high school league best scorer and best player, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan from Luoyang Shuguang High School!" He sounded like he was introducing two highly anticipated important figures to an audience.

"No need to be so exaggerated, come on!" Zhang Jun was taken aback.

"Why not? You guys are practically idols to all the high school players in the country! You led Shuguang High School, which was originally unknown even in city-level competitions, to the peak of the national high school league for two consecutive years! Your rivalry with Li Yongle from Ke Da Affiliated High School over the past three years is a classic!" added another short boy.

"This... how do you guys know so much?"

"Anyone who's seen *Do You Care When I Play Football?* should know, right?" the leading boy said.

"..."

"Hehe! Just kidding! Actually, we're also players who participated in the high school league," that person said with a smile, "I've already said it, you guys are idols to high school players, how could we not know about your heroic deeds?"

"Ah? You guys play football too?" Zhang Jun asked, somewhat surprised.

"What are you saying? Are you the only ones who can play football?" A tall boy, who hadn't spoken until now, interjected with a Wuhu accent in his Mandarin.

"You are..." Yang Pan felt that this person's tone wasn't very friendly.

"Hehe! Don't mind him. I'm Zhang Fan, and this is Zhu Hui..." the leading boy pointed to the short boy who had just spoken, "We're both from Hefei, and we've also been working hard for the national high school league finals, but our strength is ultimately insufficient, and we've never had the chance to participate in the national competition. He's Lele," he pointed to the tall boy in the back, "He participated in the most recent national high school league finals, but was eliminated in the second round. Originally, their third-round opponent was your Shuguang, but, but..."

"Hmph!" Lele continued, "If it weren't for a foul I committed at the last moment, giving the other side a penalty kick, you might not have won two consecutive championships!"

Committing a foul in the penalty area and causing the team to lose was something many people would be ashamed to mention, but he could say it so frankly, with a hint of annoyance in his tone, and even more confidence in himself. Yang Pan found this boy with the strange name "Lele" to be quite endearing.

"You mean you could have stopped our offense?" Yang Pan asked.

Lele shook his head, "Shuguang's offense is recognized by everyone, I alone don't have that ability, but I can stop your goals!"

"You're saying..."

"One-on-one, I'm confident I won't lose to you!" Lele suddenly pointed his finger at Zhang Jun on the side, "Best scorer, Zhang Jun!"

"Ah..." Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Fan immediately knocked Lele's hand down, "Damn it! It's rude to point at people!" Then he smiled and said to Zhang Jun, "Don't mind him, he's just making excuses for his failure, hehe! Although I haven't been there, I've seen the recordings, your performance is, as we say here, 'Strong as hell!' Even the way Yang老大 kicked the door just now had the style of his long-range shot, so full of *sha qi* (killing intent)!"

"Yeah, yeah! Zhang老大 is simply a scoring machine, the second Vieri!" Zhu Hui echoed.

Although he knew they were just flattering him, Zhang Jun still felt sweet inside, smiling sweetly. He had never received such courteous treatment back in Shuguang High School. Being called "老大 (Lao Da, Old Boss/Big Brother)" was a first for him. Zhang Jun began to imagine a scene:

He combed his hair back in a slicked-back style, wore a black trench coat, a white scarf around his neck, a well-tailored suit, and sunglasses. As the wind blew, his coat and scarf fluttered, with a row of underlings standing behind him...

"Well, in that case, you three are also football recruits?" Yang Pan didn't seem to feel anything from the flattery, and his tone remained the same.

"Yes, hehe! I didn't expect that two idol-level figures would be in the same school as us, and even in the same dorm. We're really destined!"

There was still one day before the official start of school, and the newcomers would seize the time to familiarize themselves with the campus where they would be living for the next four years. Of course, the five people in dorm 701 were no exception, but the place they were most familiar with was the football field behind the dorm building.

"Let's go play football?" Zhang Fan asked everyone, twirling the football in his hand.

"In the middle of the afternoon?" Yang Pan squinted and looked out the window, the sunlight was dazzling.

"Hehe! It's okay, a little sun won't hurt!" Zhang Jun didn't object, and he started putting on his football shoes, perhaps eager to show off in front of his "little brothers."

Seeing that Zhang Jun didn't object, Yang Pan didn't say anything either, grabbed his football shoes and changed into them.

With the two "老大s" agreeing, the others naturally couldn't have been happier.

No one would come to the football field in the scorching sun, except for the five football recruits. However, what could five people play? It wasn't even enough for three-on-three. The sun shone on the ground in the empty field, blindingly white.

Zhang Fan seemed to want to show off in front of the "老大s," and was very active with the ball. But in Yang Pan's eyes, having been used to Ren Yudi's dribbling skills, Zhang Fan's dribbling was simply kicking the ball forward, then catching up to it, then kicking it forward again, then catching up to it... repeating this process. Fortunately, he was very strong, and it shouldn't be a problem for him to deal with those average, small defenders. But he said himself that he was a center forward, so how many center backs were small?

But then, Yang Pan made a few crosses, and he discovered Zhang Fan's biggest advantage: heading. With a height of 1.85 meters and good jumping ability, his control of the ball in the air seemed even better than Zhang Jun's! He could make various movements based on the specific situation, such as shooting, passing back, flicking on, and back-flicking, and his accuracy was very high. Football recruits were indeed talented.

Zhu Hui was a bit of an oddball. He was only 1.68 meters tall, and a bit overweight. This physique wasn't very suitable for football, but his keen judgment of the situation on the field and his excellent distribution skills meant that his position was definitely an attacking midfielder. His dribbling skills were much better than Zhang Fan's, but his movements were a bit... Watching him constantly wiggle his slightly fat waist in order to get past Zhang Fan was really a bit comical. But he could always get past Zhang Fan like this. On the football field, that was enough.

As for Lele...

"Lele!" Yang Pan flicked the ball up with his toe and caught it in his hand, "You and Zhang Jun have a few one-on-ones, okay?" He pointed to Zhang Jun beside him.

Zhang Jun and Lele were both stunned at the same time.

"What's wrong, is there a problem?" Yang Pan asked Lele. Lele shook his head.

"What about you?" He turned his head to Zhang Jun.

"Not for me." Zhang Jun shrugged.

"Alright!" Yang Pan walked into the goal area and pointed at his feet, saying, "You guys do a one-on-one here, Zhang Jun attacks, Lele defends. If Zhang Jun dribbles the ball out of bounds, or it's intercepted by Lele, Zhang Jun loses. Only if he safely dribbles the ball to the white line behind Lele does he win. How about it?"

The two nodded at the same time, "No problem."

"Then let's start!" Yang Pan kicked the ball to Zhang Jun and retreated from the competition area.

Zhang Jun stepped on the ball. Lele was already prepared five meters away. The other three were sitting on the sidelines, "watching the tigers fight."

Zhang Jun wasn't in a hurry to dribble the ball forward. He first observed Lele and found that the other party's defensive posture was still very standard. Although he was tall, he kept his waist very low. Although there were gaps between his legs, his defensive area was very large if he tried to pass the ball through his legs, and it might not be successful.

Anyone who can enter the national competition isn't someone to be trifled with! Zhang Jun thought, and gently tapped the ball forward, leaning his body out.

Lele tensed up. Here he comes! National Competition Best Forward Zhang Jun...

Zhang Jun's speed with the ball wasn't fast, but it was very steady. Lele couldn't find the best opportunity to tackle. As the distance between the two gradually shortened, Lele spread his feet apart, slightly stretched his arms, and tried to stick close, increasing the defensive area and putting some pressure on Zhang Jun.

Now, Zhang Jun was facing away from Lele, protecting the ball. Lele was behind him, sticking close, constantly looking for opportunities to tackle.

Zhang Jun pulled the ball back little by little with the sole of his foot. He suddenly made a feint, leaning his body to the right. Lele thought he was going to turn around on the right side, and quickly shifted his center of gravity to that side. But Zhang Jun used the outside of his left foot to flick the ball to the left, turned his body to the left, and turned around in the opposite direction!

Breakthrough!

Zhang Fan and Zhu Hui cheered, but Yang Pan didn't have a relaxed expression at all.

Zhang Jun could clearly feel that the pressure from behind hadn't completely disappeared. He still couldn't relax. He was less than five meters away from the white line, but he didn't dare to speed up.

After being tricked by Zhang Jun, Lele reacted quickly, turned around on the spot, and reached out to pull Zhang Jun. With a big step, he chased after him again.

The two were entangled again.

This time it was a physical contest. The 1.83-meter Zhang Jun was confronting the 1.86-meter Lele. Zhang Jun pressed his body against Lele, keeping the ball on the outside, not giving Lele's long legs a chance. Lele grabbed onto Zhang Jun with both hands, his eyes fixed on the football, and his feet constantly harassed Zhang Jun.

Seeing that he was about to reach the white line, Lele knew that he had to tackle, otherwise he wouldn't have a chance. So, he grabbed Zhang Jun with both hands, pushed off with his right foot, and lunged his left foot from the inside of Zhang Jun towards the football on the outside!

Zhang Jun noticed Lele's intention, and used the outside of his right foot to flick the football out a little in advance. At the same time, he jumped up with force in his left foot to avoid the tackle. Then, he stopped the football on the white line, winning the first game!

Zhang Jun wanted to go up and help Lele, but he had already jumped up by himself, patted the dirt off his body, and said nonchalantly, "Let's go again!"

This time, Zhang Jun changed his posture from the first time he slowly dribbled the ball forward. He came up with a sprint, and rushed to Lele in two steps. Just as Lele was about to extend his foot, Zhang Jun started riding a bicycle!

He rode it four times in a row, and Lele's center of gravity shifted left and right four times. In the eyes of others, this was just an imitation of Denilson's trick, flashy but not practical. But that was just the opinion of others. In Lele's eyes, every time Zhang Jun's foot crossed over the ball, it was as if he was really going to break through in that direction. He had no choice but to sway from side to side. It was even more realistic to make such movements in high-speed motion.

On the fifth time, Lele moved a little to the left again, because Zhang Jun had swiped in this direction again, but it was still a feint. Zhang Jun seemed to be serious on the sixth time. He flicked the ball slightly to the left, then suddenly accelerated to break through! Lele's center of gravity couldn't shift over. By the time he turned around, Zhang Jun had already stepped on the white line with the ball.

This time, Lele was completely passed without a chance. In Yang Pan's opinion, this was Zhang Jun's best skill, using feints to shake off defenders in high-speed motion and create a breakthrough. It wasn't that Lele wasn't good, but with Zhang Jun's dribbling, he couldn't find many people in the entire national high school who could successfully stop him. Even Li Yongle had to defend by predicting in advance, but the accuracy of his predictions wasn't necessarily high.

It seems that Zhang Jun only warmed up for one game against a stranger and then showed his true skills. Lele, you really have some skills...

In the third round, Zhang Jun still dribbled the ball at high speed as soon as he came up, and rushed to Lele in two steps. Just as Lele was always paying attention to his "riding a bicycle", he suddenly lowered his left shoulder while running.

Lele's first thought was that he was going to break through in the opposite direction! This kind of forward with amazing acceleration uses this kind of simple and practical change of direction to accelerate the most, such as Owen (Owen)'s wonderful goal against Argentina in the 1998 French World Cup.

So, Lele took a step to the left, trying to widen the defensive area and intercept the ball that Zhang Jun was going to flick to the right in advance.

Zhang Jun's lowering of his left shoulder was indeed a feint. His right foot slashed towards the ball as Lele thought, as if he was really going to break through on the right. Lele's judgment was correct! He had a chance to win back a point this time!

But Zhang Jun's right foot slashing was also a feint! After slashing, his heel tapped the ball past Lele's outstretched legs! Then, he used his left foot as an axis and turned his body from the left!

Lele was tricked again!

Yang Pan's eyes lit up. He had never seen this move before. Could it be that this silly boy came up with it himself again?

Zhang Jun turned around, chased after the ball, and stepped on the white line with the football for the third time.

This time, Lele didn't say, "Let's go again!" It seemed that he still didn't understand how he was passed.

Yang Pan stood up at the right time, "Alright, the sun is too strong, let's go back!"

The boss had spoken, who would dare not listen? The five packed up and left the field.

Yang Pan deliberately walked in the back with Zhang Jun.

"How do you feel?" Yang Pan asked Zhang Jun in a low voice.

"A little difficult to deal with." Zhang Jun wiped away his sweat.

"I could see that, very tenacious... but..."

The two looked at each other.

"I understand why he was eliminated in the second round..." Yang Pan continued, "In the first game with that tackle, if you had fallen down, you could have been awarded a penalty. This kind of tackle can be used on the wings to prevent the other party from breaking through, but he's a center back, and doing this in the penalty area..."

"You think I'm the kind of person who begs for fouls by diving?" Zhang Jun glared at Yang Pan.

"Of course you're not!" Yang Pan said with a smile, "But just because you're not doesn't mean everyone else is a gentleman, right? The shortcomings are as obvious as the advantages, and the shortcomings are even more fatal. It's a pity..." Yang Pan shook his head as he looked at Lele's back.

"At first, he gave me the feeling of being very similar to 'him'."

"'Him'?"

"But then it was different again. Li Yongle's movements are also very fierce, but his control is very good. Lele can't. It seems that the difference in this is what determines the fate of the two..."

"Yeah, yeah, speaking of which, when did you learn another trick, kid?" Yang Pan looked at Zhang Jun.

"Ah? Little Li's Flying Dagger?" Zhang Jun pretended to be stupid.

"...Don't pretend with me! You've been secretly practicing without telling me, haven't you? Hehe!" Yang Pan wouldn't let it go.

Zhang Jun continued to pretend to be stupid. At this time, they heard a whistle, followed by Zhang Fan's voice, "Beauty!"

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan looked forward at the same time, and saw Sophie standing downstairs in the dorm building. The "beauty" that Zhang Fan was talking about must be her.

"Sophie, when did you arrive?" Zhang Jun ran up happily.

"I just arrived, and I saw you, so I waited here." Sophie smiled. The other three were stunned.

"Su... Could it be that you're the legendary Shuguang manager?" Zhang Fan pointed at Sophie, his face half surprised and half happy.

Yang Pan knocked Zhang Fan's hand away, "Damn it! It's rude to point at beautiful women! Cough!" Yang Pan coughed, "Let me introduce everyone, Zhang Fan, Zhu Hui, Lele, we're in the same dorm, and we're all football recruits."

Sophie gave the three of them a very generous smile, "Hello everyone!"

"Hello... Hello there!" In comparison, the three of them had become stutterers.

"And these two people," Yang Pan pointed to Zhang Jun and Sophie, "are the legendary Golden Couple of Shuguang! As for me, I'm their protector of the flower..."

"You mean a 250-watt light bulb!" Zhang Jun corrected.

The others laughed. Yang Pan glared at Zhang Jun, looked at Zhang Fan and said, "Zhang Fan, I remember you just whistled at our jade girl, right?"

Zhang Fan shivered.

"Tell me, which of the Manchu Dynasty's Ten Tortures do you choose?"

Looking at Zhang Fan's embarrassment, Sophie laughed, "Okay, Yang Pan, stop making fun of people. Hehe! It's nothing!"

Zhang Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Sophie was indeed as rumored, kind to everyone...

"The death penalty can be avoided, but..." Yang Pan's voice rang out again, "But the living penalty cannot be escaped! Go, buy us each a bottle of Coke, it's on you!"

Zhang Fan ran towards the store as if he had been granted amnesty.

"Iced!" Yang Pan added from behind.

"Whatever!" Zhang Fan waved his hand without looking back and ran away.