Chapter 1 Wilshere's Invitation

Wilshere didn't know what to say to Zhou Yi, so he pointed at his own jersey and then at Zhou Yi's.

The meaning was clear: swap jerseys!

For two consecutive games, the star player from the opposing team had sought Zhou Yi out to exchange jerseys, attracting the attention of most people.

Liang Qiqi stood alone on the field, ignored, but when Zhou Yi exchanged jerseys with someone, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

The treatment was already different.

"No problem," Zhou Yi said in English. As a senior in high school, English was a required course, and he couldn't afford to have bad grades. Zhou Yi's mother valued academic performance, so English was naturally a subject she focused on.

Wilshere was overjoyed to hear Zhou Yi speak English. As he took off his jersey and handed it to Zhou Yi, he said in English, "It's a pity you lost this game. If you had been on the field in the second half, I believe it wouldn't have been so bad. You played really well, I admire you! It's just a pity you were taken off in the second half. Were you injured? I saw you being helped off by your teammates at the end of the first half..."

His rapid-fire English left Zhou Yi completely dumbfounded.

As a senior in high school, he did know English, and his English test scores weren't bad. However, English education in China focused more on writing and reading, while listening and speaking were always weaknesses.

It was already good that Zhou Yi could say a few things. Wilshere obviously thought of him as a Chinese teenager who had a firm grasp of English conversation. Since Wilshere spoke so quickly, with a local accent, how could Zhou Yi possibly understand him?

But Zhou Yi was known for his quick wit. Even though he couldn't understand, he could guess. In this situation, why would the other guy want to swap jerseys with him?

Naturally, because he played well! So this must be praise.

Chinese people valued politeness and reciprocity. If you praised me, I would praise you.

So after handing over his jersey, Zhou Yi took Wilshere's jersey and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you're also great, super awesome!"

He used simple words and phrases like "ok" and "very good." To make himself clear, Zhou Yi also used body language—he gave a thumbs up.

When Wilshere heard Zhou Yi say that his body was fine, very "ok," he was relieved and asked, "You play so well, have you ever thought about coming to our Arsenal? Our Arsenal's youth training is very strong. If you come, you will definitely become stronger!"

After praising Wilshere, Zhou Yi, following the traditional Chinese virtue, had to express some modesty, so he shook his head: "My performance is not good, my stamina is not good..."

When Wilshere saw Zhou Yi shake his head at his invitation and heard him say "nonono," he thought Zhou Yi was rejecting his invitation. He said regretfully, "Ah... that's a pity. Well, I wish you good luck, I hope we can meet again in the future!"

Zhou Yi kept saying "ok."

And so, the agreement between Wilshere and Zhou Yi to meet again was settled...

Years later, Wilshere talked about his past with Zhou Yi, saying that they had agreed to meet again from that time on.

When reporters went to Zhou Yi to verify this, Zhou Yi laughed: "That's right! There was such a decision! Ha!"

But if the reporters knew what happened after their first meeting, they would probably understand Zhou Yi's hearty laughter on a deeper level...

※※※

After Zhou Yi finished talking with Wilshere, he shook hands and said goodbye. His teammates also gathered around, very interested in the exchange between him and Wilshere.

In the last game, Zhou Yi became the first in the team to exchange jerseys with an opponent. In this game, Zhou Yi became the first in the team to chat with an opponent.

"Zhou Yi, you can speak English, that's amazing!" Sun Pan啧啧praised.

"What did you guys talk about?" Yang Muge asked.

"Ha, nothing much! He praised my performance, and I expressed some modesty and praised him too. British people are honest, they like to tell the truth!" Zhou Yi's current performance didn't seem "modest" at all...

But he had the confidence to say that, because everyone saw how he performed. Good was good. Unlike that Liang Qiqi, who was clearly a substitute who couldn't get into the main team in his youth club, he claimed that he was injured before, so he didn't play in any games. Now that he participated in a reality show, wouldn't it be easy for him to get back to the main team?

Now everyone knew that Liang Qiqi was just bragging!

Hearing what Zhou Yi said, the teammates expressed their approval and praised Zhou Yi's performance.

At this moment, He Ying, who was passing by the crowd, couldn't help but say: "He was asking you why you were substituted at halftime. He thought you were injured."

"Uh..." Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment.

Seeing Zhou Yi's expression, the surrounding teammates burst into laughter. Li Xiang shouted: "So you two were talking at cross-purposes!"

"You can chat for so long, you're amazing, Zhou Yi..." Sun Pan patted Zhou Yi's shoulder, obviously not really admiring Zhou Yi.

Yang Muge also shook his head and smiled wryly—he was really fooled by Zhou Yi's serious nonsense before. Speaking of which, this wasn't the first time he had been fooled by Zhou Yi like this. He couldn't help it, he was just so easy to trust people!

Guo Nu looked at Zhou Yi dumbfounded. He thought that Zhou Yi could really communicate with that foreigner. Looking at his calm and composed appearance, his expression, his movements, his tone... they were all so natural, as if he was chatting with them.

Who knew that Zhou Yi was talking nonsense!

Zhou Yi's tall and mighty image in his heart suddenly shattered... Before, he thought Zhou Yi was really amazing, but now he thought he was just a joker...

Everyone laughed happily, but Zhou Yi in the crowd didn't feel ridiculed. He scratched his head and laughed along: "Is that so? Ha, ha, haha, hahaha!"

The laughter of the Chinese teenagers attracted the attention of Hao Dong and the others. Everyone turned their heads and looked over, and found that their players were laughing happily in a circle.

Some people laughed and clutched their stomachs, some laughed and held their foreheads, and some laughed and leaned on their teammates.

"What's going on?" Xu Yang asked with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know," Hao Dong shrugged. "But at least, we don't have to worry about the team's emotions after losing the game."

"I think it's probably related to Zhou Yi. Only that kid has the ability to do this," Xu Yang said, his eyes falling on Zhou Yi, who was laughing along with the crowd.

While everyone was laughing happily, Liang Qiqi stood alone on the outside, looking at the scene in front of him in incomprehension.

He didn't understand why his teammates, who were still dejected just now, suddenly burst into laughter. He also didn't understand why Zhou Yi would become the focus of everyone's attention no matter what he did. He didn't understand even more why Zhou Yi had now become the core of this team, whether on the field or off the field...

What he couldn't understand the most was why the person who made him a complete failure was such an amateur player whom he looked down on!

※※※

As Jack Wilshere was about to leave, he was stopped by youth training director Brady.

"Jack, what did you talk about with that number sixteen?"

"Oh, I thought he was injured, since he was subbed off after only playing half the game, so I went to ask him. He told me that his body was fine," Wilshere said.

"It seems that you are very interested in him. What do you think of his playing, Jack?" Brady asked with a smile.

"Very good. Although he only played half the game, I think he is the best player in that team," Wilshere said, looking at the Chinese teenagers.

"Ah, you have a really high evaluation of him. So, how does he compare to you?"

"Of course he's not as good as me!" Wilshere replied without thinking, "But my position is not exactly the same as his, and our playing styles are also different, so there's nothing to compare..." Wilshere shrugged.

"But I invited him to come to Arsenal."

"Huh?" Brady was very interested in Wilshere's words. "What did he say?"

"He rejected me," Wilshere sighed with some regret. "That's such a pity..."

Brady didn't say anything, but turned his gaze to Zhou Yi.

※※※

At dinner, Zhou Yi, Guo Nu, Sun Pan and Yang Muge sat together as usual.

When they were almost finished eating, Zhou Yi told everyone to continue special training tonight.

But this time, before Sun Pan could object, Guo Nu shook his head first: "N-no need for special training, Zhou Yi."

"Ah?" Zhou Yi was very surprised.

Sun Pan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think what's more important than special training for me now is... is special training for you," Guo Nu said very seriously.

This time, not only Zhou Yi, but even Sun Pan and Yang Muge were surprised.

"I, I... I think..." Guo Nu suddenly became nervous, and his words stuttered. "I think you... need to improve your, your stamina. That way, you w-won't be substituted so early." Guo Nu paused and continued.

"P-physical training is very boring, so I will accompany you, you t-together for special training!"

Zhou Yi opened his mouth, forgetting to eat, and he could still see half-chewed food residue in his mouth...

※※※

At the door of Guo Nu's room, Zhou Yi, Sun Pan and Yang Muge waited together. Soon, Guo Nu came out of the room. He was holding a velvet bag in his hand, and he handed the bag to Zhou Yi.

"Damn, it's so heavy!" As soon as he caught the bag, Zhou Yi's hand dropped, and his arm was pulled without warning.

"What is this?" Sun Pan lifted the bag from Zhou Yi's hand, and it was indeed a bit heavy.

"M-my sandbags for training, tied to my legs," Guo Nu said.

Zhou Yi took the bag back from Sun Pan's hand and really took out two sandbags from it. The appearance of these sandbags was really... not very good-looking.

The two sandbags were sewn from cloth, and what the cloth originally looked like could no longer be seen, because there were patches on top of patches. The largest patch was almost half the size of the sandbag. No matter what color the patches were originally, they were all a bit faded, reflecting the traces of time.

The sandbags were closed with zippers, and the edges were frayed.

"This..." Yang Muge couldn't help but be moved when he saw such tattered sandbags.

"These were m-made for me by my m-mom. I started wearing them to run, walk, and play football when I was very young. They really, really help with increasing endurance," Guo Nu said. "Now I'm lending them to you, Zhou Yi, hoping you can use them to improve your stamina."

Zhou Yi held the two sandbags in both hands, examining them carefully.

Obviously, Guo Nu regarded these two sandbags, which had been with him since he was a child, as treasures, otherwise he wouldn't have specially used a velvet bag that was more beautiful than the sandbags to pack them up.

"Thank you, Lao Guo," Zhou Yi said sincerely to Guo Nu, looking up.

Guo Nu grinned. He was also very happy to be able to help Zhou Yi.

"But..." Zhou Yi frowned, "You said you were wearing these when you were very young? But if you're constantly carrying weight when you're too young, it will affect your development..."

"What nonsense are you talking about, Zhou Yi? Lao Guo would be short even if he didn't wear this stuff!" Sun Pan retorted. "Look at my height, I didn't tie bricks to my feet or hang myself on the horizontal bar, but I'm still this tall! This is... talent!"

Listening to the bickering between Zhou Yi and Sun Pan, Guo Nu's face turned red, but soon the redness faded. Obviously, Guo Nu, who was constantly attacked by Zhou Yi and Sun Pan, had made remarkable progress in emotional control.

Yang Muge was worried that Guo Nu would lose control of his emotions, so he quickly said: "Okay, okay, let's go to training. Didn't we agree to accompany Zhou Yi to special training?"

He pushed Zhou Yi and Sun Pan towards the elevator, and Guo Nu followed behind the three of them. The four of them ran towards the hotel's gym.

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ps, two things.

The first thing is that the football diary I wrote while in Madrid has been updated on Qidian Chinese Website's public platform. It is my text about what I saw, heard and thought in Madrid, and there are many photos. If you are interested in football in Madrid, or what I did in Madrid, you can follow Qidian Chinese Website's public account on WeChat, where it is serialized. Another thing is that our book is on Sanjiang, and we are voting. I hope everyone doesn't forget to vote for Sanjiang. You can get one vote a day. Although we don't necessarily have to be number one, it's really not good-looking that we haven't even entered the top five... I think the quality of this new book is still very good, so I am very confident in the book, please everyone!