Chapter 12 Small Field Confrontation

"Today's morning training will skip the later drills. We'll have a small-field scrimmage," Adrianse announced, changing the training schedule on the fly. He wanted his players to see the two new teammates' capabilities. Although he'd seen their seamless teamwork in the youth team, Ries had only shown him one facet of their abilities. He didn't have a clear understanding of the others beyond the numbers, and he wanted to witness their true strength firsthand, to see how they performed on the field.

The small-field game would be played on a 40-yard by 60-yard pitch with regulation-size goals, not the smaller ones used in five-a-side. Don't think Adrianse was going easy on Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. For a good coach, all training must closely mimic match conditions. Using smaller goals in training would only degrade a player's shooting sense. Those who think, "If they can't score in a small goal, they won't score in a big one," are fundamentally mistaken.

With the goals, penalty areas, and halfway line marked out, Adrianse began to divide the teams himself. Unlike previous scrimmages where the first team played against the reserves, this time he put the first-team defenders and goalkeeper in red vests for one team and the first-team attackers in yellow vests for the other. When it came to assigning Keizer, Adrianse hesitated slightly before ultimately putting him on the attacking team.

On the 40-yard by 60-yard field, each side had eight players including the goalkeeper. The observers understood the coach's reasoning. He wanted to use the team's sharpest spear to attack its sturdiest shield, and also to let everyone see the abilities of these two Eastern players.

"Ster, you referee. Each half will be 20 minutes, with a 5-minute break in the middle." With that, Adrianse stood by the sideline, waiting for the game to begin.

Bartele tucked his jersey into his shorts and grinned. "Hey, this is going to be interesting. Let's see what kind of waves they can make!" He clapped his hands and shouted, "Everyone, get your heads in the game! Don't embarrass yourselves in front of the coach!"

Captain Holwijn patted Bartele on the shoulder. "You cover the left, I'll cover the right. Luirink and Huisman in the middle! Everyone else, do your jobs, and don't let them score! Youngsters, don't hold us back!" he yelled.

Buys looked at his usual teammates on the other side and chuckled. "Heh, so motivated..."

"Buys!" Adrianse suddenly called out. "Tell your teammates to pass the ball to Zhang Jun and Yang Pan whenever they can!"

Buys was taken aback. He turned to look at the two Eastern players, then nodded. "Okay!"

"Everyone, come over here!" Buys had a lot of influence in the team, especially among the younger players. When he called, the attackers gathered around him. He first looked at Zhang Jun and Yang Pan with a questioning gaze. "Gentlemen, um, can you understand Dutch?" He spoke slowly, and when he saw them nod, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, I understand what the coach means. He wants us to fully support our two new teammates, which I have no problem with. Now, let's sort out the roles. Most of us are first-team players, so let's just play in our usual positions. Our task is to supply the ball to the two of you... um, what should we call you?"

"Zhang Jun."

"Yang Pan."

"Zhan Jun? What a tongue-twister of a name..."

"It's Zhang Jun."

"Okay, okay, Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun... um, where were we? Oh! Our task is to supply the ball to Zhang Jun and Yang Pan, so they can perform to their full potential. Everyone heard what the coach said, right? The final pass must go to Zhang Jun and Yang Pan."

"No problem. My shooting isn't great anyway. I'm very confident in my passing," Heuvel said.

"Don't interrupt, Heuvel! Anyway, since the coach trusts them, I want to see what makes them so special. I think everyone feels the same way, right?"

Many people nodded.

"Sess (Keizer), you stay back and orchestrate the play."

"Okay."

"Um, Heuvel, you're the left midfielder. The old captain's slow to turn, so use your speed to get past him. Heh, I have a lot of confidence in your speed. There's no one else in the team who can run as fast as you!"

"As for you..." Buys looked at the two Eastern newcomers. "You're forwards, right? All you have to do is shoot. You should know what this game means for you. If you don't give it your all, there won't be a place for you on the team!"

The players spread out on the field, waiting for assistant coach Ster to blow the whistle, while the onlookers below waited for the sound as well.

"Whistle!" The game began!

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan naturally understood what Buys meant, and they also understood the coach's intentions. If they were still thinking about the traditional virtues of Eastern modesty, then they really wouldn't have a chance. This wasn't the time to be shy. They had to seize every opportunity. If they could score, even a hundred goals, they wouldn't let a single one go!

Buys was orchestrating the play in the attacking midfielder position. His technique made Luirink wary of stepping forward easily. They'd both come up through the youth team, so they knew each other very well. This Buys might be small, but his technique was excellent, and his sense in front of goal was even sharper than a forward's.

Buys stopped the ball. Instead of passing to Zhang Jun and Yang Pan in front, he passed to Heuvel on the left, clearly wanting to use speed to exploit the old captain's slow turning. Heuvel did indeed use his speed to leave Holwijn disoriented. He whizzed past the captain and immediately sent in a cross!

Adrianse watched the game intently, feeling a little nervous. How would the two Chinese youngsters seize this first opportunity?

Knowing that these two Eastern players would be the ones shooting, the defense was very focused, closely marking the two forwards in the penalty area. Luirink marked Zhang Jun, who was taller than Yang Pan, while Bartele took care of Yang Pan.

Perhaps due to a lack of chemistry, Zhang Jun didn't get to the cross, and Luirink easily won the ball and headed it out of the penalty area.

Adrianse felt a little disappointed. Perhaps it was too hasty to expect them to perform so well right away...

Yang Pan turned and shook off Bartele, appearing outside the penalty area and facing the incoming ball! When Zhang Jun saw Yang Pan appear in that spot, his first reaction was to dodge to the side. He didn't want to get hit by a ball traveling at 90 kilometers per hour.

The other Volendam players didn't know what Yang Pan was going to do. The ball lingered in the air for a moment, giving the team's star player, Bartele, time to get in front of Yang Pan. Yang Pan's opportunity wasn't great. Perhaps passing would be a better option.

They couldn't be blamed for not understanding what Yang Pan was thinking. Zhang Jun was already praying for the goalkeeper.

Bartele roared and stretched out his leg to intercept the ball, but Yang Pan was a little faster. He swung his right leg, his body tilting to the left, leaning into Bartele. Then, he took a direct volley!

From 20 meters out, Yang Pan unleashed a powerful shot, a shot without restraint. The football was like a white flash, streaking across the penalty area, illuminating everyone's faces, and then violently rippling the back of the net... Goal!

Goal! He actually scored!

For a moment, the training ground, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent. Everyone was shocked by Yang Pan's lightning-fast shot. Goalkeeper Robert van Westerop didn't react at all when Yang Pan shot. His eyes didn't even follow the ball's trajectory.

Buys stared blankly at the football in the net, unable to believe that it had been shot by a seemingly frail Eastern teenager. He looked closely at Yang Pan's right leg. It really was thicker than other people's waists... He turned to look at Heuvel, who wore the same expression.

Adrianse was ecstatic. Ries had indeed given him a diamond! A Chinese player, only 20 years old, yet possessing such astonishing power in his body! His shots would surely strike fear into the hearts of all Dutch goalkeepers!

Bartele saw the captain looking at him and smacked his lips. "That was a terrifying shot... There was no way I could have stopped it." He shrugged at the captain.

The commotion caused by Yang Pan's powerful shot quickly subsided. The player himself wasn't too excited, as if scoring was to be expected. He just patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder while waiting for the other team to kick off. "Your turn next!"

The game resumed, and the defense paid extra attention to Yang Pan. Bartele stuck to him like glue, not leaving his side for a moment, fearing that he might unleash another shot like that.

Buys wanted to pass the ball to Yang Pan, but Bartele was watching too closely. As expected of the team's star player, he was indeed very good on the defensive end. Yang Pan was marked tightly and had no opportunities.

He changed direction, wanting to pass the ball to Heuvel, but Captain Holwijn and Huisman had joined forces to block Heuvel's path. They were all teammates who trained together every day. What Buys thought of, the other team would also think of. It was difficult to catch them by surprise.

Who should he pass the ball to? Buys looked up and saw Zhang Jun reaching out to him for the ball. He had run out of the penalty area, temporarily shaking off Luirink's marking. It was just a fleeting opportunity, and Buys hurriedly passed the ball, without even thinking about why he was passing to him.

As soon as Zhang Jun received the ball, Luirink closed in, sticking close to Zhang Jun and preventing him from comfortably controlling the ball and turning around. At this moment, Yang Pan moved closer to Zhang Jun. Bartele, fearing that Zhang Jun would pass the ball to Yang Pan, also followed. Zhang Jun did indeed pass the ball, but not to Yang Pan's feet. Instead, he passed it to Yang Pan's right. An overhead pass. Yang Pan suddenly turned and chased after the ball while running, but Bartele wasn't one to be trifled with either. He also turned and chased after Yang Pan!

After passing the ball, Zhang Jun turned and ran into the penalty area.

Buys had said before the game that the fastest player in the team was Heuvel, but from now on, that would have to be revised. Yang Pan reached the ball before Bartele on the wing, but Bartele's defense was very tight, and Yang Pan couldn't shake him off. At this moment, he flicked the ball forward, pushing it forward a full ten meters, a move that looked amateurish to anyone watching.

"Too far..." Buys called out.

Yang Pan used his arm to push Bartele away slightly, then began to accelerate. At first, they were neck and neck, but after just a few steps, Bartele felt his strength failing. Yang Pan ran faster and faster, just like his shot earlier, lightning-fast, shaking off Volendam's star player, catching up with the football, and then looking up at the penalty area. Zhang Jun winked at him, and he nodded in understanding, crossing the ball.

"Your turn, Zhang Jun!"

As Zhang Jun moved towards the goal, he saw Yang Pan crossing the ball, but suddenly stopped abruptly, retreating backwards! Luirink was caught off guard by Zhang Jun's move, and followed him, but the ball had already been crossed! Luirink thought that since Zhang Jun was still retreating when the ball was crossed, he wouldn't have much of an opportunity. All he had to do was interfere a little.

"Retreating... Yang Pan's cross was too hasty, wasn't it?" Adrianse thought to himself.

Zhang Jun was still retreating, and then jumped up while retreating, a diving header! He accurately hit the football, and the football flew past Luirink's head towards the goal. Goalkeeper Robert van Westerop didn't expect Zhang Jun to be able to head the ball towards the far corner behind him while retreating. Although he tried his best to save it, his fingertips only touched the football, not enough to change the football's flight path and trajectory. The football ultimately flew into the goal!

Another goal!

A high-difficulty header! Zhang Jun had done it! And he did it very well! So well that everyone was speechless!

Luirink pulled Zhang Jun up from the ground in surprise. "How... how did you do that?"

Zhang Jun didn't answer him, just smiled at him.

Buys rushed over and hugged Zhang Jun tightly. "Haha! Good job! That was a beautiful goal!"

The rest of the game was meaningless. The two goals at the beginning had already shown everyone their strength. Although in the later stages of the game, the defense almost entirely retreated near the penalty area, tightening the marking, not only marking the forwards, but also marking Buys and Heuvel, who were responsible for orchestrating the play, greatly increasing the difficulty of the attack. However, a score of 2-0 was definitely not the result that Zhang Jun and Yang Pan wanted. They were still looking for every opportunity to score.

Buys wasn't very strong physically. Luirink consciously strengthened the physical contact, making Buys a little disheveled. After being physically shoved aside again by the other team, losing control of the ball, Buys looked helplessly at the future captain. "Hey, this is just a teaching match to test the strength of the two new teammates. We're just supporting characters. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

Luirink replied in a low voice, "Nonsense, if you're so capable, you come be on the defending side and see how it feels to have someone score on you!"

Ocho dribbled the ball and was easily dispossessed by Keizer, who was defending in the back. He looked up at the front. Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were being marked by the defenders, with someone following them wherever they went. Buys was also a little disheveled. How should he pass the ball?

Yang Pan waved at Keizer, signaling him to pass forward. Keizer remembered the speed at which Yang Pan had broken past Bartele earlier. It was really fast! So, without hesitation, he sent an overhead pass, bypassing everyone, straight into the space behind the defense. When Yang Pan saw the ball being passed over, he immediately started running, not caring how Bartele moved. He had absolute confidence in his speed.

As expected, relying on his speed, Yang Pan shook off Bartele before receiving the ball, and then crossed the ball!

"Boom!" Luirink and Huisman immediately surrounded Zhang Jun. Anyway, the coach had said that only these two Eastern players could shoot, so there was no need to worry about leaving someone unmarked. As long as they kept a close eye on Zhang Jun, everything would be fine.

However, Zhang Jun seemed to be slipperier than a fish. He lunged forward, breaking out of the encirclement by half a body. This half a body was enough for him to shoot!

A diving header!

Luirink couldn't hold him back and watched helplessly as the football flew into his team's goal for the third time!

When Ster announced the end of the game, Buys and the attacking players had already accepted these two new teammates. Having worked together on the field, they had personally experienced each other's abilities.

Ocho looked at the two Eastern teammates and shook his head. "I'm impressed. You guys really have the skills..." For a competitor to say such a thing, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan had succeeded.

Looking at the two people surrounded by their teammates, Adrianse didn't seem very happy. Although this small game had shown everyone their abilities, he had also seen a problem. The two didn't have much chemistry with the other teammates. Other than the first goal, which was a display of Yang Pan's individual skill, the other two goals were a display of the chemistry between Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. They still had a way to go before they could truly integrate into the team. He asked Ster to call Captain Holwijn over.

"So? What do you think?"

Holwijn turned to look at Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. "They really have the skills... I don't think their nationality and skin color will affect their relationships in the team." He guessed why the coach had called him over. These two new teammates weren't from this country, and the cultural and language differences would make it difficult for them to integrate into the team. As the captain, he had to take responsibility.

"Heh, that's what I wanted to hear from you. Take care of them more in normal times, and get everyone to communicate more. There are a lot of young players on the team, so I don't think it should be a problem. It seems that everyone has a good impression of them..."

Ocho's comedian nature was exposed again. After learning that the two were from China, he kept asking them if they knew Chinese kung fu. "Hehe! I really like Chinese kung fu. I like Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan!" He also waved his fists and shouted "Ooh-yah! Ooh-yah!" In Zhang Jun's eyes, however, this Moroccan didn't look like Bruce Lee, but more like a big black bug.

Ocho's comical movements made everyone laugh.

"Hey! Ocho! Stop embarrassing yourself here. They're from China!"

"Haha! I think Ocho's isn't Chinese kung fu, but more like a gorilla running out of the African jungle!"

"What! At least I know a little. What about you guys? None of you know anything!" Ocho retorted.

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan watched the group of people laughing foolishly from the side. In such a noisy environment, they couldn't completely hear what everyone was saying, and could only vaguely understand a few words, such as "Chinese kung fu" and "Ocho"...

Amidst the chatter, someone suddenly asked, "Zhang, Yang, do you know kung fu?"

So, everyone quieted down and looked at the two Chinese people. This was probably the thing they were most interested in, more than caring about whether their arrival could bring about changes to the team.

The two were exchanging glances. Ocho thought they didn't understand and explained again with both words and gestures. "You, know kung fu? Kung fu, Chinese kung fu?"

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan had understood the first time. They were in a dilemma. Although they had watched a lot of martial arts movies, they didn't know any of those moves. At this moment, Ocho repeated himself. Looking at Ocho's gestures, Yang Pan had an idea. He pointed at Zhang Jun with a mischievous smile and said loudly, "He knows! He knows kung fu! Chinese kung fu!"

Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment before realizing that Yang Pan was using him as a sacrifice. He wanted to decline, but looking at the expectant expressions on everyone's faces, he remembered what Ries had said: "You guys don't communicate enough with the others. It's not good if it goes on like this."

So, he stood up and started moving his body. The watching teammates became excited. It was the first time they had seen Chinese people perform Chinese kung fu in person.

Zhang Jun first casually performed a set of boxing techniques, which was the military boxing he had learned during military training when he first entered college. He didn't remember some of the moves very well, so he casually added some moves. However, the Dutch youngsters watched with great excitement, cheering repeatedly. Only Yang Pan, who knew the truth, was laughing so hard that he was bent over.

Finally, Zhang Jun became so excited that he used a high-difficulty move to end it. He did a 180-degree aerial spin, kicking his right foot backwards, and then his left foot was also driven to kick out, a spinning scissor kick! This move wasn't a real scissor kick at all. It was completely made possible by Zhang Jun's flexible and coordinated body. Therefore, when Yang Pan saw this move, he stood up in surprise and cheered and applauded with his teammates for Zhang Jun.

The reactions of those teammates were even more imaginable. They kept cheering, applauding, and whistling. Ocho even pulled Zhang Jun up from the ground and excitedly patted him on the shoulder, saying, "That was great! Just like in the movies! It's like Bruce Zhang!" Bruce Lee was Bruce Lee's English name. It seemed that Ocho regarded Zhang Jun as Bruce Lee reincarnated.

Surrounded by his teammates, Zhang Jun kept smiling. He couldn't understand what they were all saying, but he knew that they didn't dislike him and were all very enthusiastic and friendly. For a newcomer who had just joined the team, this was the best possible welcome gift.

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan finally found a suitable time to call home. They had signed a professional contract, received their first salary, got along well with their teammates, and were valued by the coach... There were too many things they wanted to tell their parents, but when they heard their family's familiar voices on the other end, they could only say, "I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry about me." All the other words were stuck in their throats, and their eyes were wet. It had been a long time since they had heard their parents' voices.

Zhang Jun's father seemed to have thought of this as well, because Zhang Jun rarely remained silent in front of him. He took the initiative to joke, "Haha! Good job, son! A professional player now! Sign an autograph for me when the time comes, right? Oh no, sign more, and I'll sell them. Our family can also do some sideline business and work together to achieve a moderately prosperous life! Haha!"

Zhang Jun laughed. "Then wait until I'm famous. If I sell them now, people will think I'm crazy."

His father knew that Zhang Jun was in a better mood. "Oh, right, Sophie called a few days ago, asking about you. You're too much, boy. Phone calls are expensive, but you didn't even write her a letter?"

Zhang Jun knew he was in the wrong and could only use "too busy" as an excuse.

His father chuckled twice. "I said, there's nothing else. Your mother and I are doing well, so don't worry about us. Take care of yourself. International calls are too expensive. Save some money to call her!" After saying that, he hung up the phone before Zhang Jun could react.

Of course, Zhang Jun knew who his father was referring to with "her." He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately picked up the phone again and started dialing.

Yang Pan saw Zhang Jun dialing again and quickly came over. "Let me listen in. What are you two going to say? Hehe!"

Zhang Jun glared at Yang Pan, but there was nothing he could do. This was a super bright, international spotlight!

After a while, the sound of waiting to be answered came from the receiver.

"Ring-ring——Ring-ring——"

Sophie suddenly looked up. She was startled by the sudden ringing. There were no classes tonight, and all the roommates in the dormitory had gone out to play. They had been invited out by some boys from the joint dormitory. They had originally asked her to go with them, but Sophie had excused herself by saying she wasn't feeling well. Instead, she was reading a book on the bed, a book called "Simple Dutch Conversation."

Hearing the ringing, Sophie was stunned for a moment before hurrying to jump off the bed to answer the phone.

"Hello? Who are you looking for?" Sophie asked, picking up the phone.

"I'm looking for Sophie. Is she there?"

Sophie held her breath and couldn't say a word.

"Hello? Is Sophie there? I'm... I'm her... her..."

"She's here." Sophie came back to her senses. "Hold on a moment!" Then she put down the phone, picked it up again, and coughed. "Hello, is this Zhang Jun?"

"Yes, it's me!" Zhang Jun seemed a little excited. "You, are you okay?"

Sophie pouted. "No!"

"Ah? What's wrong?" His voice was urgent, but Sophie's smile was sweet.

"You haven't called in over a month, and you haven't written a single letter. You must have forgotten about me, right?" Sophie still pretended to be very angry.

"Ah, that's because we, we have very busy training, busy... After going home, we still have to learn Dutch, which is very difficult to learn. You don't know Sophie, it's simply torture! After learning it, it's very late, so, so I don't have time to write to you..." Zhang Jun was already showing signs of incoherence.

Sophie smiled. "Then let me ask you, have you missed me?"

"Yes! Of course I have!" This time, the answer was full of confidence.

"Liar! Hmph! You didn't even recognize my voice just now!" Sophie's expression and tone changed very quickly.

"Voice? Ah? Was it you who answered the phone just now? I didn't recognize you..." Another panicked and frightened voice.

"Hmph!"

"...That, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I, really... It's really been a long time since I heard your voice, Sophie..."

"It's really been a long time since I heard your voice..." Sophie suddenly covered her mouth, and something was sparkling in her eyes under the light. Hadn't she felt the same way? She knew that international calls were expensive, but the reason she was teasing Zhang Jun was just to hear more of his voice, that excited, nervous, or silly voice, because she herself really hadn't heard his voice in a very, very long time...

Over there, Zhang Jun was still incoherent, nervously and fearfully explaining. But Sophie no longer cared. She tried her best to calm her excited mood just now. "Zhang Jun, are you doing well there?"

Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment, and then quickly said, "Good! Good, very good! I'm with Yang Pan, and we live in Uncle Wang's house. He's an old overseas Chinese, and his family is very good to us. The teammates and the coach are also very good to us... Oh, right! We signed a new contract and became professional players!" He seemed very excited.

"Really? That's great!" Sophie also shouted happily.

"Hehe!" Zhang Jun scratched his head, smiling foolishly.

"Then you have to work harder and strive to play in a match soon! There's no broadcast of the Dutch Super League in China, and sports news rarely mentions it. It's so annoying, they don't understand the situation over there..."

"Sophie..."

"Ah?"

"You, you..."

There was about a two-second pause on the other end.

"...Do you, do you miss me at school?"

Sophie was stunned for a moment. "Yes!"

"Really?" His voice was very happy.

"I miss you so much I want you to die! You don't even call, and you don't write letters! Hmph!"

"Ah! I'm too busy..."

"Give me the address. You're too lazy, I'll write to you!"

Zhang Jun finally put down the phone. Yang Pan, who was on the side, said in a whiny voice, "Sophie, do you, do you miss me at school? Haha! Your face is as red as a monkey's butt!"

Zhang Jun's face turned red again.

"Ha! This time it's fifty-year-old red wine!" As soon as Yang Pan finished speaking, Zhang Jun pounced on him. He quickly turned and ran upstairs. "You can't catch me! You're not as fast as me, ha!"

"Bullshit! I was letting you!" Zhang Jun followed closely and went upstairs.

Looking at the energetic backs of the two boys, Uncle Wang shook his head with a smile.

In the end, Yang Pan deliberately slowed down and was pinned down on the bed by Zhang Jun. The two of them messed around for a while until they were both out of breath before stopping.

The two of them lay on the bed, panting and looking at the ceiling.

"Hoo——Speaking of which, I really admire you more and more. You can finally say those words. That's a big step forward! Ha!" Yang Pan said, taking a breath.

"Admire what?" Zhang Jun was in a bad mood.

"Oh? What's wrong?" Yang Pan turned to look at Zhang Jun.

"She said she wants me to die! Sigh!"

Yang Pan was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing, rolling back and forth on the bed, unable to say a word. Zhang Jun sat up, looking strangely at his unusual friend. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Yang Pan just waved his hand weakly. "Ouch, my stomach... ha!"

"Hey, she told me to die. Is that very funny?"

Hearing that Zhang Jun was really angry, Yang Pan tried his best to stop laughing. "Sorry, ha! I didn't mean that! I'm laughing at you for being too stupid! Haha!"

"Stupid? Me?"

"Damn it! When a girl says 'no,' it means 'yes.' The more she denies, the more certain it is. She tells you to die, which means she misses you very, very much, so much that she's dying! You don't even understand that. If you're not stupid, who is?"

"Ah? So that's how it is! I was wondering why she would suddenly tell me to die for no reason!"

"...Do you know how Zhu Bajie died?"

"How did he die?"

"Damn it! He was angered to death by you! There's actually someone even stupider than him in this world!" Yang Pan propped himself up from the bed. "I really don't know how Sophie could like a super slowpoke like you! You're simply blessed beyond eight lifetimes!"

Zhang Jun didn't refute Yang Pan's claim that he was stupid. He just smiled foolishly.

PS: The Spring Festival is over, at least for me. I've started working again, and I'm busy again. The update speed will be slower in the future, two chapters a week, barring accidents. The updates will be every Wednesday night and Saturday. As for many friends saying that my updates are too slow, there's nothing I can do. After all, I'm not in school anymore, and I don't have that much free time to spare. Some friends said that if my updates were faster, the number of clicks would definitely be more than it is now. But my pursuit of clicks ended when I finished serializing "Do You Care When I Play Soccer?". When I wrote "Do You Care When I Play Soccer?", I could update one chapter a day, or even two chapters. At that time, I was writing entirely based on a passion for football and a longing for the past. Now, what supports me in writing "We Are Champions" more is a sense of responsibility, a responsibility to myself, to my work, and to the friends who are waiting for updates.

"We Are Champions" is much larger than "Do You Care When I Play Soccer?". The story is richer, the characters are more numerous, and the protagonist is no longer just one person. There are also many side plots that need to be explained. I have to think about how each part should go. Rather than rushing to meet the quota and writing one chapter a day, it's better to carefully consider how the plot should develop and how to portray the characters. It's better to write each chapter carefully and meticulously. That's how I think I can truly live up to the friends who are waiting for "We Are Champions" to update every day.

It can be said that I now have 40 chapters written in my notebook, but the Spring Festival made me think a lot, and I have to make some adjustments to what I wrote earlier. I've deleted a lot of chapters I wrote before. But these adjustments won't affect my normal updates. I hope everyone can rest assured.

Also: I went back for the Spring Festival and met a few netizens from Luoyang and played football. Although I only played for one afternoon, my back was sore. But I was still very happy, because after a year, I finally returned to the field, returned to football, and I finally got to play football... Thank you to my brother Zi Heng from Luoyang and your classmates... With football, there are friends!