Chapter 18 Arsenal

Sun Pan, Guo Nu, and Yang Muge sat at a table, eating and still chatting about Zhou Yi, curious about what the head coach had called Zhou Yi to do.

"Wasn't the resume fabrication thing cleared up?"

"Maybe it's something else?"

"What else could it be?"

...

As they were discussing, they saw Zhou Yi walk into the restaurant, looking around.

"Here!" Sun Pan stood up and raised his arm, shouting.

Zhou Yi looked in the direction of the voice, found them, and walked straight toward them.

"Aren't you getting food?" Sun Pan asked, looking curiously at Zhou Yi's empty hands.

"Oh, oh..." Zhou Yi snapped back to reality, turned around, and went to get food.

"I think Zhou Yi is acting a little strange..." Yang Muge frowned.

"A little, he can't even be bothered to eat." Sun Pan nodded, agreeing with his roommate. "Look, he walked past his favorite ham and didn't even glance at it! Now that I think about it... it feels like he's absent-minded..."

Sun Pan frowned and took a breath.

"Hey, let's guess if it's good news or bad news, okay?" Sun Pan quickly had a new idea.

"I don't think it's good news..." Yang Muge guessed.

"I think it's bad news too!" After saying that, Sun Pan turned his gaze to Guo Nu.

Guo Nu stuttered, "B-b-bad... bad news."

"All bad news? Damn, what's the point of playing then! No, Lao Guo, you have to say it's good news!" Sun Pan forcefully arranged.

Guo Nu wanted to cry but had no tears—then why did you let me guess!

"Okay, it's settled then, Yang Muge and I guess it's bad news, Lao Guo guesses it's good news. Whoever guesses wrong has to buy ice cream for whoever guessed right!"

Guo Nu really wanted to say that this wasn't fair, but Zhou Yi had already returned with his plate.

Compared to the past, when his plate was always full of food, this time Zhou Yi's plate looked much emptier.

Just looking at the difference in the plate, Guo Nu felt like he was doomed to lose...

"So, what's going on?" As soon as Zhou Yi sat down, Sun Pan questioned him as if he were interrogating a prisoner.

Zhou Yi lowered his head and casually poked at a floret of broccoli on his plate with a fork, looking preoccupied.

"Hurry up and tell us, if there's anything that makes you unhappy, tell us so we can all be happy!" Seeing Zhou Yi like this, Sun Pan was even more confident of victory, urging him triumphantly.

Under the three people's eager gazes, Zhou Yi said in a low voice, "Arsenal is looking for me..."

"Haha..." Sun Pan's laughter stopped abruptly. "What did you say?!"

"Arsenal scouts contacted me and asked if I wanted to go to Arsenal..." Zhou Yi raised his head and looked at the surprised Sun Pan.

"I—damn—!!"

Everyone in the entire restaurant turned to look at Sun Pan, who didn't know when he had stood up...

Yang Muge and Guo Nu next to him also looked at Zhou Yi in shock.

Someone in the restaurant coughed violently, it was Liang Qiqi. He was enjoying after-dinner fruit—grapes.

He had just put a grape near his mouth when he heard Sun Pan's bloodcurdling scream of "Damn," scaring him so much that his hand and mouth trembled, causing him to suck the entire grape into his trachea... He choked and coughed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face, and his back was covered in sweat.

Fortunately... finally, the grape was spat out by him, turning around in the plate with saliva. Something that had been so delicious before almost killed him, and now it looked like he had no appetite at all...

"Can't a guy eat in peace..." Liang Qiqi roared after escaping death, but his roar was interrupted by Sun Pan, whose voice was even louder.

"Arsenal?!! Arsenal is looking for you?!!"

Hearing this, everyone perked up, and even He Ying raised his head to cast a surprised glance at Zhou Yi.

"Arsenal looking for you is bad news?" Sun Pan was still standing, staring wide-eyed at Zhou Yi, questioning him.

"I didn't say it was bad news..." Zhou Yi spread his hands, not understanding where this "bad news" claim came from. It hadn't appeared in their previous conversation.

"Then why do you have the expression of someone who's lost a relative! And!" Sun Pan pointed at Zhou Yi's empty plate and said, "You don't even feel like eating dinner!"

"Oh, I'm indeed a little absent-minded... because I'm not sure if rejecting Arsenal's invitation is the right thing to do..."

"..."

This time Sun Pan was stunned for a moment, as if he was buffering, then he suddenly transformed into "Roaring Emperor" Ma Jingtao, opening his mouth wide at Zhou Yi, roaring like a lion, "Are you out of your mind! You rejected Arsenal! Arsenal! Ar!!!sen!!!al!!!!"

With a "whoosh," teammates who had been scattered throughout the restaurant all swarmed to Zhou Yi's table, surrounding them.

There were only two exceptions, one was Liang Qiqi, who was curious, but didn't want to suck up to Zhou Yi. The other was He Ying, he didn't get up because he was right next to Zhou Yi's table, although he was squeezed to the outside, he could hear the voices inside clearly.

Zhou Yi looked at Sun Pan in surprise. "So you're an Arsenal fan..."

"That's not important! And I'm not! Ask the teammates, ask them what their reactions are after hearing what you said!" Sun Pan pointed at the watching teammates.

The teammates chimed in, asking, "Yeah, what's going on, Zhou Yi?"

"Arsenal has their eye on you? Awesome! It's amazing to be scouted by Arsenal! You're the first in our team! Why did you reject them?"

"Reject? Zhou Yi, are you crazy? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Exactly, exactly, what were you thinking, Zhou Yi?"

Everyone expressed their questions and concerns.

"It's not exactly a rejection, it's just... I didn't agree."

"Why didn't you agree? You shouldn't even hesitate or consider it at a time like this!"

"Because they can't give me a first-team guarantee."

The surrounding people suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

He Ying's face showed a clear change in expression for the first time—he was dumbfounded.

※※※

After Hao Dong saw the somewhat disappointed Alan Powell out of the room, he returned. Xu Tao looked at him, the two exchanged a glance, then shook their heads.

"Why wouldn't that kid agree?" Xu Tao asked. "Going to Arsenal, what a great opportunity! The first in our team! I don't know if it will be the only spot, and he just... let it fly away!"

"We can't say that, Lao Xu." Hao Dong said, "I think the question Zhou Yi raised is also very reasonable. It's right to think it through."

"You think it's reasonable?" Xu Tao widened his eyes.

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with taking a longer-term view. Let me tell you, Lao Xu, we used to be insecure, always feeling that we were inferior to Europe in everything, but I think we need to change that. When people come to us, why can't we be more confident? Asking for a first-team guarantee isn't a big deal. If they can't even provide that, what's the point of going? Zhou Yi is already seventeen years old. In three years, he'll be twenty. If he can't make it to the first team, he can only play in the reserves. I think that would ruin him."

As a player, Hao Dong also had experience playing abroad, so his words about soccer were very persuasive.

Xu Tao didn't say anything after hearing that, then he sighed. "That kid is quite deceptive. When he first came in, I thought he was stunned by the heaven-sent opportunity. I didn't expect that later... ha!"

He laughed.

Hao Dong also smiled.

Thinking about Zhou Yi's series of reactions after he came in, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

This kid has so many unpredictable actions, but it's this unpredictability that makes him curious and looking forward to it. Where can this kid, who dared to sleep on the bench back then, reach in the future?

When he first entered the room and learned that Arsenal was looking for him, Zhou Yi's reaction was like winning the lottery, he was completely stunned.

If you only looked at that, you would definitely think that this was a bumpkin who hadn't seen the world and was easily deceived. A few words from others could make him dizzy and disoriented.

But the subsequent changes were truly eye-opening for Hao Dong.

Alan Powell went straight to the point and asked Zhou Yi if he was interested in joining Arsenal's youth academy.

Generally, if a kid had such an opportunity, they would be overjoyed, right?

Arsenal! A globally renowned soccer club, especially known for its youth training. Arsenal's first-team coach Wenger is also famous for liking to use young players trained in his youth academy.

Going to Arsenal seems like a great choice no matter how you look at it.

Many people might accept such an invitation without even thinking about it.

But what surprised the other three people present was that Zhou Yi, faced with such a blatant offer, didn't act like a teenager, rejoicing to the point of forgetting himself and nodding frantically.

He asked a question in return: "Sir, I don't know if you've learned about my situation? I'm not a professional player yet..."

Powell nodded. "Before you came, I already learned about your information from Mr. Xu, but it doesn't matter. What we value is your talent. It doesn't matter what you did before."

After hearing him finish, Zhou Yi continued: "I haven't been selected for the national team either, I'm not a national team player, so how can I get a work permit?"

Even Hao Dong, who was doing the translation, looked at Zhou Yi strangely when he heard him ask this—didn't he know why they were looking for him?

Sure enough, Powell laughed. "We value your talent, so we will definitely sign you as a youth player. This doesn't involve work permit issues. You receive training in Arsenal's youth team, so you don't need to consider work permit issues. That's a matter for first-team players..."

He also felt that Zhou Yi was overthinking it.

But Zhou Yi pressed on: "I will always have to be promoted to the first team, right? If I haven't been selected for the national team by then, haven't played in enough international A-level matches, it means I still can't get a work permit. What should I do?"

"This..." Powell began to feel that Zhou Yi's questions were a bit difficult to answer, or rather, he began to feel that the kid in front of him wasn't the kind of kid who could be signed smoothly just by mentioning the name "Arsenal"...

"I think... we have many cooperative satellite clubs. We will lend you out to play games and accumulate experience until you get a work permit."

"How long is that?" After listening to Hao Dong's translation, Zhou Yi didn't even think about it and asked directly.

"This... I don't know, actually no one knows, no one can make such a guarantee..." Powell didn't know if Zhou Yi's questions were a strategy for bargaining, but the problem was... the two sides hadn't even offered a price yet, so what was there to bargain about?

After translating, Hao Dong directly asked Zhou Yi, "They're not lying to you, Zhou Yi. These things are indeed hard to say..."

He was afraid that Zhou Yi would misunderstand that the other party was making empty promises.

"I know, Director Hao." Zhou Yi replied, "I just want to find out what my position and importance is in their hearts. Arsenal is a club that is famous for its youth training, so it naturally searches the world for young talents. If I'm just going to fill up their youth training base... I just feel unwilling."

Hao Dong looked at Zhou Yi in surprise, not expecting that this bastard Zhou Yi could actually say such a thing.

He's only seventeen years old!

Then Zhou Yi asked Powell: "But I know that Premier League teams have special talent clauses."

After hearing Zhou Yi's words, Powell was stunned for a while, then frowned and said, "There is indeed such a thing, but that's just... one spot each year, so..." He didn't know what to say. Should he say directly, "So we can't possibly use this precious spot on you"?

Seeing his hesitant look, Zhou Yi already had the answer, so he said to Powell: "Thank you very much for the attention of Arsenal and your frankness, Mr. Powell. But I can't agree to you now, I don't know if choosing Arsenal is the right thing to do."

After saying that, Zhou Yi stood up and extended his hand to Powell, meaning he was going to shake hands and say goodbye.

Powell still wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say, so he had no choice but to helplessly extend his hand and shake Zhou Yi's hand.

Then Zhou Yi said goodbye to Xu Tao and Hao Dong, said he was going to eat, and turned and left. Ending this conversation.

Now, thinking about this matter, Xu Tao also felt that Zhou Yi's performance was very unexpected. "So young, but he spoke clearly and logically in the conversation, and he was polite and restrained. Should we say he's sophisticated?"

Hao Dong thought of Zhou Yi's explanation to him and shook his head, "No, he just has a clear head and knows which path he should take."
Hu Die Lan