Chapter 156 Student Identity

In fact, when Zhou Yi flashed his Qingyang First High School student ID in front of the camera, it wasn't just Lin Xianrong's son who was petrified. There were many viewers and fans in front of TVs and computers as well.

When Zhou Yi proactively brought up the questions about his identity before the game, everyone assumed the production team would have Zhou Yi make a statement to the camera, refuting the rumors and clarifying his identity.

But empty words like that, lacking evidence, wouldn't carry much weight.

No one expected Zhou Yi to choose to prove his identity during the game, with his goal celebration! And he even pulled out his Qingyang First High School student ID!

This was simply a weapon of mass destruction!

A student ID!

The audience was going crazy—who the hell goes to Europe to play soccer with a student ID on them? Did this kid know all along that his student status would be questioned?!

If they knew that Zhou Yi brought his student ID abroad to see if he could get half-price train tickets with a Chinese student ID... they might really lose it.

Zhou Yi had just scored a beautiful world-class goal, making the audience admire his talent. And at that moment, he quickly whipped out his student ID to prove his innocence... there was simply no more shocking way to refute the rumors.

Everyone firmly remembered the scene of Zhou Yi pulling out his student ID, shouting at the camera that he was a student in Class 3, Grade 3 at Qingyang First High School.

This scene was almost comparable to Maradona's classic moment at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, when he was embroiled in a drug scandal, and ran to the camera after scoring against Greece, roaring to vent his emotions.

Before, when Zhou Yi said he was a wise man in front of the camera, some people were very disdainful of him, thinking he was shameless.

But now, after seeing him come up with such a way to prove himself... it really took some brains to do, and it was much more effective than honestly sitting in front of the camera and saying that he really was a student.

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The day after the show aired, some resourceful people checked the official website of Qingyang First High School and found that a statement had been posted in the most prominent position on the homepage.

The statement was not long, but the meaning was very clear.

Two points: First, Zhou Yi was indeed a student in Class 3, Grade 3 at our school, and provided images of Zhou Yi's enrollment registration file, with sensitive privacy information censored. From the photos and name, it was undoubtedly Zhou Yi himself.

Second, regarding the statement in *Sports Weekly* that the school denied having a Zhou Yi, the school also made an explanation, stating that this was a mistake by the staff, who hastily answered "don't know, not clear" without carefully verifying whether the school really had this student, which was irresponsible behavior. We deeply apologize for the trouble and impact this has caused to Zhou Yi's family.

The statement was signed in handwritten form by Lin Xianrong.

Below this statement, in the latest campus news section, the first item was news promoting our school's student Zhou Yi's participation in the *Green Field Inheritors* reality show.

It seemed that Zhou Yi was indeed a student at this national key high school.

But Lin Xianrong's promise to "restore Zhou Yi's reputation" did not end there, although he could have ended it there.

The next evening, Qingyang City TV and the provincial TV station both broadcast a special video in their news programs. In the video, reporters went to Class 3, Grade 3 of Qingyang First High School to interview students and teachers, asking them to talk about what kind of person Zhou Yi, who was currently popular on the *Green Field Inheritors* reality show, was.

Through the perspectives of students and teachers, viewers were given an understanding of Zhou Yi.

This looked like a news story promoting an outstanding student at their school, but those in the know would guess that Qingyang First High School was using this method to make amends, proving that Zhou Yi was indeed their student.

In the news, reporters also interviewed Zhou Yi's parents, entering Zhou Yi's home to film. Zhou Jianliang and Li Cuiyun showed the reporters photos of their son playing soccer since he was a child, indirectly proving that Zhou Yi had never joined any soccer clubs, had not attended a sports school, and had not received professional, formal soccer training.

As for why, Li Cuiyun explained in the program: "I pay more attention to my son's academic performance. I have always been against letting my child give up his normal studies to go to some sports school... I can't accept sending him to a soccer club to receive training..."

Zhou Jianliang then added from the side: "Actually, it's also because we don't have much money at home, we can't afford to send him (to a club)."

As he said this, the accompanying footage showed shots of the inside and outside of Zhou Yi's house.

An ordinary old residential area, with buildings up to six stories high, old brick-concrete structures. The public spaces in the neighborhood were narrow, and there was no greenery to speak of.

Such neighborhoods were common in Qingyang City, and even in all cities throughout China, very ordinary.

The inside of the house was also ordinary, and because it was renovated early, the furniture and furnishings now looked a bit old. The area of the house was not very large, and some places made full use of space, displaying the wisdom of ordinary Chinese working people. The small toilet served multiple functions of bathing, washing, and going to the bathroom. Above the door to the bedroom was a row of hanging cabinets, used to store temporarily unneeded clothing, bedding, and other sundries.

The bedroom also served as both a study and a place to sleep.

Such houses were also common throughout China, and many people were born and raised in such houses.

Through these shots, it could be seen that Zhou Yi's family was indeed an ordinary working-class family with modest economic means.

In short, from any point of view, Zhou Yi was an ordinary child from an ordinary urban family. There were many such urban children. If he had not participated in this reality show and performed so well, attracting national attention, he would probably just be an unknown high school student, taking the most important exam of his life in a year, determining the direction of his life.

The news interview caused a great response in Qingyang City.

Reporters rushed to Qingyang First High School. They could not enter the school, but they could grab students for interviews when school let out. The school couldn't control that.

So, thanks to Zhou Yi, many students from Qingyang First High School ended up in newspapers and on TV...

At first, when reporters found students wearing Qingyang First High School uniforms, the first question they would ask was: "Excuse me, are you a student in Class 3, Grade 3 of Qingyang First High School?"

If so, they would ask, "Do you know Zhou Yi? Is Zhou Yi in your class?"

If not, they would not ask and look for another target.

As a result, this caused dissatisfaction among students who were not in Class 3, Grade 3: "Why? Can't you know Zhou Yi if you're not in Class 3, Grade 3?!"

The reporters then realized that Zhou Yi was quite well-known among the student body at Qingyang First High School. As for why he was so well-known...

After interviewing some students, they found out the reason. However, they were very unsure whether the things these students told them about Zhou Yi could be published—it wasn't exactly a positive promotion.

They could only pick and choose, finding some material that could be published, and then "optimize" it before publishing it, so that everyone could understand what kind of person Zhou Yi, the now-popular middle school student, really was...

After more and more reports came out, no one would doubt that Zhou Yi was a student player. One Zhou Yi might lie, but Qingyang First High School, as a national key middle school, could not lie with Zhou Yi, and Lin Xianrong's status in the education field also made it impossible for him to lie for Zhou Yi.

So, this matter was irrefutable, and there was no need to deny or quibble.

Even *Sports Weekly* had to publish an apology letter, in which they apologized for their reporter's inappropriate remarks without detailed verification, and apologized for the newspaper's failure to fulfill its verification responsibilities. They expressed their deep apologies to Zhou Yi's parents and Zhou Yi himself.

With the originator apologizing, this matter was finally brought to a close.

The derivative effect of this incident was that Zhou Yi became even more popular, and more people learned about Zhou Yi and what kind of person he was.

He was a smart student who could get into a national key high school, but he was also an ordinary student with mediocre grades. He liked soccer, had a wide range of interests, was popular among his classmates, and also had times when he gave his teachers a headache.

Most importantly, this ordinary student could actually play soccer well. China's youth challenge in Europe, with his participation, made many people look forward to turning on the TV during prime time on Thursday nights.

Campus soccer was not without fertile ground for producing geniuses, but we lack attention and investment in this area.

Some media took the opportunity to call on the country to increase investment in campus soccer, emulating neighboring Japan, and linking education and soccer together, which was the right direction for the development of Chinese soccer.

Other media asked after reporting on Zhou Yi: "One Zhou Yi makes us so excited. He is lucky because he participated in the *Green Field Inheritors* soccer reality show and was known by everyone. So, how many Zhou Yis are there across the country, who, because of a lack of opportunities to show themselves, remain unknown and eventually give up soccer? It's not that we don't have good talents, but we don't provide these talents with a space to grow upwards. I think this is the biggest problem in Chinese soccer now."

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With Zhou Yi's identity issue clarified, everyone could finally refocus on soccer.

In the following week, Zhou Yi and his teammates moved to Liverpool, next to Manchester, where they challenged the Liverpool youth team.

This time, Zhou Yi's performance was much better than when he played against the Manchester United youth team, because he had recovered his stamina well.

With his help, the Chinese youth once again achieved victory!

He Ying scored twice in the game. One goal was a shot after receiving an assist from Zhou Yi, and the other goal was scored using his speed and dribbling, past three Liverpool youth team defenders, forcibly breaking through from the wing, breaking into the penalty area, and then decisively shooting from a very small angle. The soccer ball flew over the Liverpool youth team goalkeeper and into the goal.

This goal was very beautiful and fully demonstrated He Ying's outstanding individual ability.

The Chinese team didn't just have Zhou Yi. As the team's top scorer, He Ying also attracted a lot of attention.

This attention was not just from domestic fans, but also from European clubs.

When the Chinese soccer youths were playing against the Liverpool youth team, Arsenal scout Alan Powell recognized a few old acquaintances on the sidelines, who were scouts from Chelsea and Manchester United...

Obviously, they were also there to observe these Chinese youths.

This Chinese team didn't just have Zhou Yi. As the team's top scorer, He Ying was naturally also the object of their observation.

In addition, the goalkeeper's performance was also very good. Although he occasionally made some low-level mistakes, he more often brought surprises.