Chapter 1 In the Match Against Bayern Munich's Youth Team

In the match against Bayern Munich's youth team, Zhou Yi and Guo Nu were still the unshakable "golden duo" on the bench.

After the game started, Bayern Munich's youth team used their powerful abilities to suppress the Chinese team, making it difficult for the Chinese team to even cross the halfway line.

In the twenty-first minute, Bayern Munich's youth team took the lead, and the Chinese team once again fell behind without any suspense.

The bench seemed to be accustomed to falling behind. When Bayern Munich scored, the vast majority of substitute players were unmoved—anyway, conceding a goal was inevitable sooner or later, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

Only Guo Nu seemed to be as angry about the team's backwardness as he had been in the first game.

But apart from clenching his fists and roaring under his breath off the field, there was nothing he could do to help the team turn things around. After all, he was a substitute, and there was no sign that he would be able to play.

In the sixtieth minute of the match, Yang Fei, the central defender who replaced the original starting central defender Huang Chao in this game, received his second yellow card of the match due to excessive action in defense and was sent off!

This was the first red card for the Chinese team in four games...

The sending off of the central defender made the Chinese team, which already had insufficient troops in defense, even more embarrassed.

In order to keep the defense intact, Hao Dong had no choice but to replace striker Zhang Tao and send substitute full-back Zeng Junjie to play as a makeshift central defender.

Zeng Junjie was a versatile player in the defense, able to play as a full-back or a central defender, and he was one meter eighty-three tall. Hao Dong chose to bring him to Europe because of his versatility, which was necessary for the Chinese team with only a sixteen-man roster.

But in fact, Zeng Junjie's appearance didn't change much, because at this time the Chinese team was already 0:6 behind.

Guo Nu had an angry expression throughout the whole process. His name really suited him; anger had almost become his trademark.

Watching his teammates gradually lose their fighting spirit on the field, he really wanted to go up and use his abilities, but the coach never gave him this opportunity.

In the past seventeen years of his life, good luck didn't seem to have anything to do with him. His appearance and height were objects of ridicule, and he still didn't even have a girlfriend. He was also ostracized in the youth team of the club. The reason he was willing to come to this team and follow them to Europe was because he wanted to see if he could gain favor in Europe.

But four games as a substitute told him not to dream anymore.

But today, fate seemed to want to favor this poor, angry person.

So, five minutes after Zeng Junjie came on the field, the substitute full-back was also injured!

And it was an injury that made it impossible for him to continue the game.

"Damn!" Hao Dong cursed in a low voice, gritting his teeth.

How could he be so unlucky!

All the defenders had already played, so who else could he replace?

He turned his head to look at the bench.

Yang Fei, who had been sent off with two yellows turned into one red, sat dejectedly on the bench. Huang Chao, who was unable to play due to injury, looked anxious. It was certain that these two couldn't be replaced, so who could he replace?

Substitute goalkeeper Lai Cong, substitute defensive midfielder Guo Nu, substitute attacking midfielder Zhou Yi.

These were all the cards Hao Dong had left in his hand.

Zhou Yi nudged Guo Nu, who was still angry: "Guo Nu, go warm up!"

Guo Nu was stunned for a moment, and the expression on his face changed from anger to surprise.

Zhou Yi poked him with his elbow next to him: "Hey, Old Guo, your chance has come!"

He was a little envious—who wouldn't want to play?

Guo Nu, who had reacted, quickly got up to warm up. Zhou Yi was right, my chance had come!

※※※

Soon, Guo Nu was substituted onto the field under Zhou Yi's envious gaze.

However, the reality was definitely different from what Guo Nu had imagined.

Just three minutes after coming on, Guo Nu committed a foul on the edge of the penalty area, giving Bayern Munich's youth team a free kick.

And this foul was actually unnecessary.

After Guo Nu's foul, Yang Muge made a helpless gesture to him, meaning that he had returned to defense in place, so Guo Nu should just stick to his man and not rashly make a tackle.

Guo Nu also realized that his foul was a bit reckless, but he didn't see Yang Muge's gesture to him. His eyes were fixed on the ball, and his ears were buzzing, so he couldn't hear any sound—he was nervous. This young man, who was wholeheartedly trying to show off his skills in front of European football, felt an unprecedented level of tension.

The fast-paced passing between the Bayern Munich youth team players didn't give him any time to think about what to do, so he could only follow his instinct, the instinct of a... defensive midfielder.

As a defensive midfielder, his foul wouldn't have been a big deal, but if he had been a defender, the foul wouldn't have been so close to the goal. Now he had given the opponent a very good free kick opportunity.

And Bayern Munich didn't disappoint Guo Nu's "good intentions". They used this free kick to score their seventh goal of the game.

Sun Pan threw the ball out of the goal with force, and then roared at Guo Nu: "Don't fucking foul randomly! You're a central defender now, a defender!"

Looking at Guo Nu's stunned back, it was hard to tell if he had heard it or not.

Anyway, Guo Nu's performance in the following game was always nerve-wracking.

Playing as a makeshift central defender was already an unfamiliar position for him, and he was also facing enormous pressure.

The Bayern Munich youth team players also seemed to realize that this newly substituted short central defender was a point they could break through, so all their attacks were directed at Guo Nu.

For a time, Guo Nu's side was under tremendous pressure, making him flustered.

Before the end of the game, Bayern Munich's youth team scored two more goals, and the final score was fixed at 9:0.

And the last three goals were all scored from Guo Nu's side.

Guo Nu also received a yellow card for excessive action in defense. The last few minutes were truly heart-stopping. On the one hand, they were afraid that Guo Nu's defense would have problems again, and on the other hand, they were afraid that Guo Nu would receive a second yellow card and be sent off...

But... thinking about it carefully, perhaps his being sent off would be better for the Chinese team's defense?

※※※

The game was over, and Guo Nu was no longer glaring at the opposing players with angry teeth, but instead lowered his head in silence, feeling a bit dejected. He was already short, and now that he was shrinking his neck and hunching his back, he was almost impossible to find in the crowd.

But this was also his intention. He really wanted to hide himself so that no one could find him.

He knew that his performance wasn't good, and he also knew that people would definitely laugh at him. He didn't want to be laughed at, so he wanted to hide.

But how could some people let him off the hook?

"Hey." Before the players could even leave the field, Liang Qiqi walked directly to Guo Nu and blocked his way. "You're actually a mole sent by our opponents, right?"

Liang Qiqi came out suddenly, and his words were also sudden, so the people nearby didn't react.

After hearing his question, Guo Nu didn't get furious and want to beat Liang Qiqi as he usually did—he hadn't recovered from his terrible performance yet. Perhaps he didn't hear Liang Qiqi's words, or perhaps... he didn't have the face to refute Liang Qiqi.

"If you don't play, we only concede six goals. When you play, we concede nine goals. If you had come on earlier, our goals conceded would have broken double digits again. Tell me, did you deliberately come here to mess with us?" Liang Qiqi pointed at Guo Nu's lowered head and cursed. Because he was taller than Guo Nu, he had a sense of superiority.

Guo Nu's popularity in the team was really bad. Facing Liang Qiqi's accusations, no one stood up to say a word for him. Of course, maybe some people were also very dissatisfied with Guo Nu's performance in the game and wanted to curse him, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

But at this moment, someone suddenly patted Liang Qiqi on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, I have a question..."

Zhou Yi appeared next to Liang Qiqi, frowning and looking puzzled. "Listening to what you just said, it seems like you're quite satisfied with conceding six goals. I noticed that you used the word 'only', meaning that you think conceding six goals is quite a small number. I don't know if I understand correctly?"

Liang Qiqi looked blankly at the Zhou Yi who had suddenly come out, and hadn't understood what Zhou Yi was trying to do.

The other players also turned their attention to Zhou Yi, not quite understanding what he was going to do.

"Coach Hao did say that we should face failure squarely, but I don't think he meant for us to be numb to failure, thinking that losing a few fewer goals is something to be happy about, right? You're being too harsh on Old Guo. Old Guo doesn't want to concede goals either, or lose so badly. I think that regardless of victory or defeat, it's a matter for the whole team. It's not good for you to blame your teammates like this."

Zhou Yi criticized Liang Qiqi in a serious manner, adhering to a neutral and objective attitude.

Liang Qiqi finally realized at this time—this kid was here to cause trouble!

From the first day Zhou Yi came to the team, Liang Qiqi couldn't stand him. Later, after losing the first game in Barcelona, the two had another head-on collision. Liang Qiqi was naturally very unhappy with Zhou Yi, second only to his unhappiness with Guo Nu.

He had been ignoring Zhou Yi all along because he felt like he was giving Zhou Yi face. He didn't expect Zhou Yi to be so ungrateful and actually come up to him on his own, so Liang Qiqi said in an unkind tone: "It's not your turn to tell me what to do! No matter what, I'm stronger than you, a nobody who can't even get into a game!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Pan's roar rang out: "Say that again if you have the guts! Liang Qiqi! Who's a nobody?! Huh! Are you looking for a beating!"

He didn't say anything when Liang Qiqi ridiculed Guo Nu before, but now the alarm in his head was triggered.

He walked out of the crowd and stood to Zhou Yi's right, glaring at Liang Qiqi.

Yang Muge also stood up from the other side and walked to Zhou Yi's left, standing silently. Although he didn't speak, his actions had already shown his attitude.

Zhou Yi looked at Liang Qiqi and said: "The opportunity to come to Europe was something I fought for myself, won from all the audition players across the country. I don't think I'm a nobody. Also..."

He reached out and pressed his hand on Guo Nu's shoulder: "You have to apologize to Old Guo! No one feels good after losing a game, but it's wrong for you to blame your teammates like this! Even if Old Guo didn't perform well, it's not up to you to blame him. You're not the coach. Apologize now!"

Liang Qiqi saw that there were two people on Zhou Yi's side helping him, but what about behind him?

The teammates were all watching, but no one came up to express their opinion. Obviously, he was at a disadvantage.

So, he decided not to argue with Zhou Yi.

"Okay, you have more people, you're awesome..." Saying that, he turned around to leave.

But he didn't leave, because he was grabbed by his clothes by Zhou Yi's other hand.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Apologize!"

Zhou Yi glared at him, his expression serious and earnest, and he didn't intend to let Liang Qiqi leave like this.

When Liang Qiqi realized that his clothes had been grabbed by Zhou Yi, he was very surprised—he didn't expect Zhou Yi to be serious! He thought that Zhou Yi was just talking, and that he would be giving him a lot of face by taking a step back.

He didn't expect Zhou Yi to not want that face!

Damn it! This kid is crazy! What's his relationship with that mad dog Guo, that he's so eager to stand up for mad dog Guo?!

Liang Qiqi didn't say anything, and Zhou Yi didn't let go of his hand.

The two sides were deadlocked.

He Ying, as the captain, had come forward to stop the first conflict between Liang Qiqi and Zhou Yi from developing further. But this time, he remained silent and didn't intend to stand up for anyone.

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, Hao Dong finally noticed the abnormality here. He walked over and asked sternly: "What's going on?"

Liang Qiqi wanted to be the first to accuse Zhou Yi, but Yang Muge, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up first: "Coach, after the game, Liang Qiqi scolded Guo Nu for being an undercover agent from the other side, deliberately coming on to make us lose more goals. Zhou Yi couldn't stand it and asked Liang Qiqi to apologize, so Liang Qiqi scolded him for being a nobody who can't get into a game. If Liang Qiqi doesn't apologize, Zhou Yi won't let him leave."

He explained the matter clearly in a few words, and he was well-organized and emotionally stable, without shouting or yelling, but he seemed very convincing.

But no matter how convincing he was, Hao Dong didn't just believe Yang Muge's side of the story. Everyone knew that he had a good relationship with Zhou Yi.

Of course, Hao Dong didn't ask Liang Qiqi either. Liang Qiqi would definitely defend himself, and he wasn't stupid.

He turned his attention to the captain, He Ying.

"Yang Muge is right." He Ying's answer was simple and direct. Apart from this sentence, he didn't say anything else.

Hao Dong also knew He Ying's temper. He nodded, his face turned black, and he turned to Liang Qiqi: "Apologize!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was low and unquestionable.

Since the head coach had said so, Liang Qiqi had no choice but to say in a low voice: "I'm sorry..."

But Zhou Yi wasn't satisfied: "Who are you apologizing to? You should at least include a name, right? Otherwise, it's useless for you to say sorry to the air."

Liang Qiqi looked at Zhou Yi, his eyes as if they could kill Zhou Yi.

But Zhou Yi didn't back down and insisted on his opinion.

Hao Dong also said: "Do it again."

Liang Qiqi had no choice but to humiliatingly apologize to Guo Nu again in front of all the players: "I'm sorry, Guo Nu."

Guo Nu stood blankly in front of him, as if he couldn't believe all of this.

In his seventeen years of life, it seemed like... it was the first time that someone had apologized to him after he had been ridiculed and insulted...

In the past, he had always used his fists to get justice for himself, but all he had gotten back was the other person's more hateful gaze, and never a real apology.