Chapter 1 After Being Denied Entry

After getting to the locker room, Zhou Yi pounced on Götze, who was already inside: "You little traitor, you left me to die!"

"What's wrong?" Götze warded off Zhou Yi's hands with his own, looking bewildered.

The commotion they were making also attracted the attention of other players in the locker room. Seeing a strange face in the locker room, who immediately went to choke Götze, they all gathered around.

"I called your name outside the gate, wanting you to prove to the security guard that I really am a player, but you didn't even turn your head!" Zhou Yi said fiercely.

"No wonder I heard a somewhat familiar voice..." Götze said, stroking his chin.

"If it weren't for the chivalrous Kevin..."

"Wait." Götze reacted. "So, you're saying you were stopped outside by the security guard and mistaken for a fan?"

Zhou Yi froze, from action to expression.

"Hahaha!" Götze burst out laughing.

It wasn't just Götze laughing, the other first-team players who had gathered around also burst into laughter. A first-team player coming to training being mistaken for a fan and denied entry was unheard of and hilarious.

Amidst the laughter, Zhou Yi scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"The way you look, you really do look like a fan, Zhou Yi. Sports jersey, backpack, and most importantly... this BVB hat."

As he spoke, Götze took the hat and noticed a signature on the brim: "This is... Da Shizi (Big Cross)?" He looked up at Grosskreutz.

Grosskreutz walked over: "I only just found out that Zhou Yi is my fan, I'm very happy, so I signed it for him."

"When did you become a fan of Da Shizi, Zhou Yi?" Götze asked strangely.

"Just pretend I am, as repayment for him bringing me in," Zhou Yi said, spreading his hands.

Götze smiled, pursing his lips.

The others laughed along.

They had heard that a few youth team players would be joining the first team for preseason training, which was nothing new, so they hadn't paid much attention.

Now it seemed that, in addition to Götze, whom everyone knew, this person was another new teammate who had been brought up from the youth team.

After everyone had finished laughing, Götze said to Zhou Yi, "Okay, as compensation for not bringing you in, let me introduce you to everyone..."

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi shook his head: "No need, Mario. I know them all."

"You know them all?" Götze was very surprised.

Zhou Yi introduced himself first: "Hello everyone, my name is Zhou Yi, from China. I came to the first team from the youth A team to participate in preseason training. Mario and I are teammates."

He glanced at Götze, then turned to look at a tall, strong man with a middle-parted hairstyle: "This is our main goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller. He's been with the team for seven years, a veritable one-man fortress."

Weidenfeller gave Zhou Yi a thumbs-up: "Kid, you've got good eyes!"

Zhou Yi then looked at another big man: "This is our main defender Mats Hummels. He just transferred from Bayern Munich, having already played for Borussia Dortmund on loan for a season and a half. He tackles decisively and accurately in defense, with a clean style of play."

Hummels was a little surprised: "Oh? You know a lot about me?"

Zhou Yi didn't answer Hummels' question but looked at the next teammate.

In this way, he not only called out the names of each of these teammates but also described their simple resumes and playing styles, which surprised all the first-team players—they thought that only they knew so much about themselves, and that perhaps only Klopp knew everything about all of them.

But why would this newcomer, who had just been promoted to the first team, know so much?

Seeing everyone's surprised gazes, Zhou Yi smiled and said, "I watched your games from the South Stand. I'm your fan, how could I not know? Also, I know how to use search engines, ha!"

Zhou Yi's second explanation was more acceptable to everyone.

So, hearing him say that, the players laughed—they were all famous professional players, star players, so there was no shortage of media coverage of them. As long as you put your heart into it, wouldn't you know everything by searching?

So Zhou Yi might not really know them very well, but he must have searched for his teammates' information before coming to train with the team, which shows that he was very attentive to this matter and a thoughtful person.

Everyone likes people like that.

"I like this kid!" Weidenfeller was the first to state his opinion.

"Roman, you can't just say that because he complimented you," Hummels said.

"Didn't he compliment you?" Weidenfeller retorted.

"No, he didn't compliment me, he just stated the facts," Hummels said. "I like people who tell the truth, because I am also such a person."

"Bullshit!" Weidenfeller said dismissively.

The atmosphere in the locker room became lively because of Zhou Yi, and everyone was discussing Zhou Yi's evaluation of them.

Captain Sebastian Kehl extended his hand to Zhou Yi: "Welcome to the first team. Although I don't know if you can stay here after the training camp, I think you've already gained the affection of many teammates."

Zhou Yi scratched his head and smiled innocently: "That's great, I'll work hard to stay in the first team because I also like playing in the first team."

"Ambitious, aren't you, kid? You just came to the first team and you already want to play in the first team?" Another defender, Subotić, said.

"You always have to have some ambition, what if it comes true?" Zhou Yi replied with a smile.

His words stunned Subotić, who then nodded: "That's a good saying! Which young man who comes to the first team doesn't have some ambition? Kid, what position do you play?"

"Midfield," Zhou Yi said.

"Oh, a competitor? If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you in!" Grosskreutz said.

"You're a striker and winger, our positions don't conflict," Zhou Yi said, spreading his hands.

"That's not necessarily true, what if I switch to playing attacking midfielder this season?" Grosskreutz shook his head.

"Then why not switch to playing defender?" Zhou Yi countered.

"Where is there such a big position change?!"

Götze watched Zhou Yi's interaction with the other teammates, and he was surprised.

It was clear that he himself was more familiar with this team, having come to this team for the second time.

But why?

Why was Zhou Yi more familiar with this team than he was?

He integrated into this team without any process at all. His father had even told him to take care of him in the first team, but it seemed that it was completely unnecessary...

This was too much!

Götze still remembered what it was like when he was first called up to the first team to train with the team. He was so shy that he didn't dare to say hello, he could only sit quietly in the corner by himself, until Captain Kehl took the initiative to greet him and then introduced him to the other teammates.

And then compare that to Zhou Yi...

Why hadn't he thought of searching for the information of his teammates in the first team back then?

※※※

When the players went to do their physical tests, Götze approached Zhou Yi and said in a low voice: "I didn't expect you to be such a good flatterer..."

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes: "What are you talking about? Shouldn't you carefully understand the team you're going to integrate into?"

"That's what I'm saying, but I never thought about it..."

"That's because you're stupid, Mario." Zhou Yi took the opportunity to strike at Götze. "I'm a midfielder, the more I know about my teammates, the better I'll know how to cooperate with them on the field, right?"

Götze was stunned, he felt that what Zhou Yi said made sense, and he was speechless...

※※※

On the day of registration, no training was arranged. More than twenty players from the first team underwent various physical tests, including blood tests and urine tests.

After doing all this, assistant coach Željko Buvač informed everyone that they could go back, and after going home, they had to pack their luggage, because tomorrow the whole team would take their luggage to the training camp for closed training, and would not train in Brackel.

After the announcement, the coach announced the team's dismissal.

As he was leaving, Grosskreutz asked Zhou Yi: "Hey, Zhou Yi. Need a ride?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "I'm going out, the security guard won't stop me, right? My place is very close to here, I can just run back."

"Okay, I was just asking politely, goodbye!" Grosskreutz said, and drove away in his car.

Zhou Yi shook his head, this Da Shizi (Big Cross) was quite a fun person.

The nickname "Da Shizi (Big Cross)" for Grosskreutz actually came from the direct translation of his name. In German, groß means "big," and kreuz means "cross," which together is "Big Cross."

When Zhou Yi went out from the gate, no security guard stopped him. Zhou Yi also deliberately looked inside, but he didn't see the middle-aged security guard from the morning, maybe he had changed shifts.

Coming out of the training base, there were still many fans waiting outside.

They were waiting to take photos with the stars and ask for their autographs.

When Zhou Yi walked out of the gate, the fans also turned their attention to him, but they didn't call out his name, and seemed to hesitate, unsure of what this young man walking out of the gate was doing...

So Zhou Yi took the initiative to wave to them: "Hey, does anyone want to take a photo?"

No one paid him any attention.

"An autograph is fine too."

Still, no one paid him any attention, and some even turned their attention to Zhou Yi's back, hoping for the next Borussia Dortmund player to come out.

"Okay..." Zhou Yi understood that the youth team players hadn't made a name for themselves in the first team yet.

He tightened his backpack and ran through the fans on both sides.

He didn't think much of the fans' cold reception. Because everyone had been an unknown before, he believed that it wouldn't be long before he walked out of this gate again, and the treatment he received would be completely different.

※※※

When Zhou Yi returned home, Katharina was already back.

Zhou Yi opened the door and was surprised to see Katharina barefoot, curled up on the sofa with a book in her hands: "Skipping class isn't good."

"I'm already out of school, okay?" Katharina said without looking up.

"Is university in Germany that easy?"

"It's not easy at all for some people." Katharina put down her book and looked up at Zhou Yi. "Is everything going well, big star?"

As soon as he heard this, Zhou Yi got angry, and glared at Katharina: "It's all your fault, you jinx! I was stopped outside by the security guard!"

Katharina was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed so happily that she even used a pillow to press on her stomach and lay on the sofa.

"Is it that funny?" Zhou Yi asked with a straight face.

"No... It's very funny!" Katharina asked again, "Then how did you get in?"

"Later, I met my teammate, and he brought me in."

"Götze?"

"No, not him."

"That's strange, does anyone else know you besides him?"

"It was Kevin Grosskreutz. He thought I was a fan trying to sneak into the training base, so he enthusiastically brought me in," Zhou Yi said.

"Pfft!" Katharina couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Katharina laughing so wildly on the sofa, Zhou Yi couldn't help but say: "Still laughing? Your underwear is showing."

Hearing Zhou Yi say this, Katharina immediately stopped laughing. She got up and sat on the sofa, but she soon realized that she was wearing capri jeans today, how could Zhou Yi see her underwear?

When she went to look for Zhou Yi again, Zhou Yi had already entered the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making lunch," Zhou Yi replied in a tone of "Are you an idiot?"

"You can actually cook?" Katharina didn't believe it at all. When this kid lived in her house, her mother was responsible for all the meals.

She got up and walked to the kitchen door, watching Zhou Yi open the refrigerator and take out a piece of beef.

Zhou Yi weighed the beef in his hand: "I'm a chef!"

He walked to the oven and stared at it blankly for a few seconds.

Then he turned around and pointed at the oven, asking Katharina: "How do you use this thing?"

Katharina rolled her eyes: "Didn't you say you were a chef?"

"I'm a chef when it comes to stir-fried pork with chili sauce, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shredded green peppers and potatoes, but I'm not when it comes to roasting beef in the oven. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You have your shortcomings, and I have my strengths." Zhou Yi said without changing his expression, not blushing at all.

Katharina stepped forward and took the beef from Zhou Yi's hand: "Forget it, I'll do it, I'm afraid you'll burn the kitchen in a while."

"It seems that in order to prove that I didn't lie, I need to make you a Chinese meal!" Zhou Yi wanted to defend his honor, at least verbally.

"You can make it for Hannah, she's full of curiosity and willing to try everything strange and wonderful," Katharina refused Zhou Yi.

"How can you call Chinese food strange and wonderful? That's discrimination!"

"Chinese food isn't strange and wonderful, it's the Chinese food you make that is. Okay, please go out and don't get in the way here." Katharina kicked Zhou Yi out.

"Isn't the food you make strange and wonderful?" Zhou Yi poked his head into the kitchen and shouted.

Katharina turned her head to look at him, twitched the corners of her mouth, smiled coldly, and then continued to be busy with her work.