Chapter 16 A New Beginning

As soon as training ended, Sun Pan and Yang Muge ran to the gym to find Zhou Yi, only to see him standing on the steps at the entrance, gazing at the western sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"How is it?" Sun Pan asked, approaching him.

Zhou Yi remained in the same pose, saying in a slightly low voice, "I feel like all the toxins in my body have been excreted with my sweat. Tomorrow, you will see a brand-new me, reborn!"

He even clenched his fist as he finished speaking.

"Crazy... let's go, let's go." Sun Pan waved his hand, pulling Yang Muge away.

"Huh?" Yang Muge was a little confused. Why did Sun Pan want to leave after Zhou Yi only said one sentence? Wasn't he worried about him before?

Sun Pan pulled Yang Muge along, saying, "Do you think that kid looks like he's been crushed and is down in the dumps?"

Yang Muge glanced back at Zhou Yi, who was still standing on the steps, gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "I think he's been hit hard. He's gone crazy…"

"Nonsense, that's just how he is!" Sun Pan said in a tone that suggested he knew Zhou Yi very well, as if they had known each other for twenty years.

After saying that, he turned back and shouted at Zhou Yi, "Hurry back to the dorm to shower. See you at the restaurant later!"

"Okay!" Zhou Yi replied.

Sun Pan turned to Yang Muge and said, "See, he still knows to eat. His brain's fine."

Yang Muge was speechless. He thought Zhou Yi and Sun Pan were both a little... abnormal.

He glanced back at Zhou Yi again, finding him still standing there.

Zhou Yi stood on the steps, gazing at the western sky. His gaze passed over the dark trees, the treetops gilded by the setting sun, finally landing on the setting sun itself.

The light radiating from the sun beneath the golden clouds was soft and not at all blinding. It could be looked at directly.

Sweat streamed down Zhou Yi's forehead, following the curve of his cheek. Every bead of sweat on his face, neck, arms, thighs, and calves reflected a soft, dim sun, making him seem to emit a layer of gentle golden light.

It was not dazzling, but rather somewhat holy.

***

After showering, Zhou Yi reunited with Sun Pan and Yang Muge in the restaurant. While eating, Yang Muge chatted with Zhou Yi for a few words and found that his thoughts were clear and his logic rigorous. Only then did he confirm that Zhou Yi was not mentally disturbed from being hit too hard, and he was relieved.

The only thing that made him a little strange was that Zhou Yi ate a lot for dinner... a lot.

After dinner, Sun Pan suggested that everyone take a walk in the training base, but Zhou Yi refused, saying that he had to go back to the dormitory to do his summer homework. When Sun Pan scoffed at Zhou Yi's excuse, Yang Muge reminded Sun Pan that Zhou Yi was indeed still a high school student.

So Sun Pan had no choice, and Zhou Yi returned to the dormitory alone.

When Zhou Yi returned to the dormitory, he found that He Ying was already there.

"You didn't go to eat?" He was a little surprised, because he didn't see He Ying in the restaurant.

"I already ate." He Ying answered Zhou Yi's question simply and continued reading.

Zhou Yi glanced at the book he always held, thinking it would be some kind of novel. He didn't expect to feel dizzy at a glance - it was all dense letters.

He also saw tone marks in Chinese pinyin, symbols for the four tones, and symbols for the second tone.

He couldn't help but ask, "Are you still learning Chinese pinyin?"

He Ying really restrained the very ungraceful action of rolling his eyes, and replied in an unwilling tone, "Those are diacritical marks."

Then he added, "Catalan textbook." He was referring to the book he was reading.

"Uh..." Zhou Yi didn't know how to respond. Continuing the topic was completely beyond his range of knowledge.

Actually, he also wanted to ask He Ying why he was reading a Catalan textbook, but he knew that even if he asked, He Ying probably wouldn't answer, so why bother?

Zhou Yi came to the table, opened the drawer, and took out all the free writing paper provided in the dormitory, which was harder than ordinary printing paper.

He also took out a ballpoint pen from his bag and handed the paper and pen to He Ying. "Um, could you do me a favor?"

He Ying looked up at Zhou Yi strangely. It wasn't that he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he didn't understand why Zhou Yi would ask him for an autograph, and on such a thick stack of paper.

"Well, a lot of my classmates are your fans. They were so excited when they heard that I actually live in the same dormitory as you. They insisted that I get your autograph. So..." Zhou Yi said to He Ying with a smile on his face.

He Ying frowned, looking at the stack of paper in Zhou Yi's hand. He really didn't know if Zhou Yi was deliberately making fun of him, or if so many classmates were really his fans.

He Ying wasn't unfamiliar with fans asking for autographs, and he didn't find it strange that he had fans in a faraway place.

He Ying was just that confident!

But he couldn't sign all these autographs.

So He Ying took the pen and paper and frowned. "I can only sign five..."

Zhou Yi quickly nodded and said, "It's okay, it's okay! Five is fine! I told them that He Ying is very busy and trains so hard every day. Can't you guys be considerate of your idol and not let him get too tired? So I didn't promise them how many autographs they could get. I think they should be satisfied with five!"

These words were said with great righteousness.

He Ying didn't respond, just took the pen and signed the paper.

The tip of the pen frequently came into contact with the hard paper, making a rustling sound that was pleasant to hear. Zhou Yi observed from the side. He Ying's signature was very beautiful, just like those celebrity autographs. There was just one problem, and it was the same as with celebrity signatures, which was that it was impossible to tell that it said "He Ying."

Watching He Ying sign his name with a flourish, Zhou Yi secretly traced along with his hand below.

Soon He Ying had signed five names and handed them to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi quickly stopped his hand and accepted He Ying's signature with both hands. "Thank you so much! My classmates will definitely be so happy! I thank you on their behalf!"

He Ying smiled slightly, said nothing, and continued to look down at his Catalan textbook.

Zhou Yi carefully put away the signatures and placed them in the backpack he had brought from home to Beijing.

***

This day was extremely wonderful and somewhat long for Zhou Yi.

In the morning, he was still reluctantly saying goodbye to his father at the gate of the training base. After reporting, he almost had a conflict with his new teammate Guo Nu, and then met his new friends Sun Pan and Yang Muge. In the afternoon, he had his first official training session. Although it was training without a ball, Zhou Yi had never been exposed to regular physical training before. Under the guidance of physical coach Coach Li, Zhou Yi completed the first official physical training class of his life.

He was deeply moved.

The sentence he said while looking at the setting sun outside the gym wasn't nonsense. He really felt that some things in his body seemed to be excreted with his sweat, and new things were germinating in his body, ready to re-weave it.

Putting all his heart into training, sweating profusely, squeezing out the last bit of energy, feeling that he was exhausted and unable to move, yet still being urged by the coach to get up again and continue to squeeze the potential of his body... It really made him feel as if he had been reborn.

He still remembered the first sentence that Coach Li, a man with bulging muscles, said to him when he first entered the gym.

"My mission is to train you in these two weeks to meet the basic requirements for playing in a match. So I will train you hard these two weeks. Be prepared. These two weeks will be very long, kid. Now, are you ready?"

Then he really trained Zhou Yi like a dog, panting on the ground, sweat sliding off his body, soaking into the floor, forming a small puddle.

If Sun Pan and the others had come earlier and were able to see Zhou Yi in the gym, they wouldn't have had to ask Zhou Yi how he was doing. They would have seen the answer directly.

Because he was too tired, Zhou Yi washed up early and went to bed.

This surprised He Ying - he thought that he was already living a regular life by going to bed at 9:30 every day, but he didn't expect that someone would go to bed even earlier than him...

***

Although Hao Dong had a house in Beijing, he didn't return to his own home, but lived in the training base's dormitory with the young players and other coaching staff.

Compared to the rooms of the young players, the coaches' rooms were better, at least equipped with computers.

At this time, the lights in Hao Dong's room were brightly lit. The entire coaching staff was gathered in his room, summarizing the day's training work.

Hao Dong was basically aware of the team's training at the time, so after listening to the reports of the offensive coach, defensive coach, and goalkeeper coach, he just nodded and said nothing.

Then he asked physical coach Li Haorui, "How's your side?"

As soon as he mentioned this, Li Haorui couldn't help but smile first.

Hao Dong found it strange. Li Haorui was usually a very serious person, and it was rare to see him smile before speaking. So he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just thought of that kid Zhou Yi."

"What's wrong with him?"

Li Haorui smiled and said, "He's really the strangest kid I've ever seen."

"How so?" Not only Hao Dong, but the other coaches in the room were also interested.

"You've seen the training plan I gave him, right, Dong Ge?" Li Haorui didn't answer the question, but asked Hao Dong first.

Hao Dong nodded. They had developed the plan together, so of course he had seen it.

"That kid kept saying he was tired on the equipment, and every now and then he'd say, 'Coach, I can't do it anymore,' 'Coach, I can't keep going,' and he even lied and said his heart was going to stop beating..."

As Li Haorui spoke, the other coaches shook their heads. The kid's will was too weak. This was only the first day of training... no, to be exact, the first half day, and he couldn't keep going, constantly complaining. What would they do next?

Hao Dong was expressionless and not surprised, because the training plan was indeed very strict, and it was normal for ordinary people to complain. He only cared about the training effect.

"And then?" he asked.

"Then he finished it all." Li Haorui spread his hands and said.

Hao Dong raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth in surprise.

"What do you mean by finished it all?" he asked.

"It means he did everything according to the requirements of the training plan," Li Haorui replied.

Hao Dong's mouth was slightly open, and he fell into thought, not continuing to speak.

The coaches who had been shaking their heads before were also stunned and surprised by this result.

So that kid complained while still achieving all the training goals... Was he schizophrenic?!

Li Haorui continued, "So, Dong Ge. I think it probably won't take two weeks, and this kid will probably be able to complete the task goals you set. When that time comes, should we..."

Hao Dong came back to his senses from his thoughts. He knew what Li Haorui was going to say, so he waved his hand. "No, even if he completes it early, he has to train for the full two weeks, not half a day less."

He didn't tell Li Haorui why, because he didn't know if the people present would believe what he was considering.

In his heart, he always vaguely felt that it wouldn't be too much to lay a solid foundation for Zhou Yi, an amateur, and shouldn't just be satisfied with meeting the standards for this reality show.