Chapter 1 The Legend

In the second round of the Freshman Cup, Zhang Jun once again performed a hat trick, and the History Department defeated its opponent with a score of 7:1. For a time, Zhang Jun and the History Department became a legendary story that people enjoyed talking about. As long as there was a game involving the History Department, the stadium would be packed with spectators, and everyone would expect Zhang Jun to perform another hat trick and the History Department to win another big victory. U University was a rigorous science and engineering institution, but this year's Freshman Cup added a touch of madness to U University.

Zhang Jun's popularity overshadowed the other members of 701 because he was the arrowhead figure, scored the most goals, and wasn't ugly. When he walked on campus, he often caught the eye of both male and female students.

Zhang Jun came in as a football special recruit and was a bit inferior when he first arrived. But now, success on the field made Zhang Jun confident, and he enjoyed everything at the moment.

Su Fei was a little worried, and she always felt that things shouldn't continue like this. Whenever she saw Zhang Jun's vibrant face, she was embarrassed to express her concerns, after all, there was no real evidence, and thinking like that would hurt feelings. Moreover, Su Fei understood Zhang Jun's personality, and he really needed some encouragement to build confidence when he first entered such a famous university. Therefore, when Zhang Jun was surrounded by many enthusiastic female fans after the game, Su Fei did not go up to interfere, she just watched quietly from the side.

Yang Pan was also very popular, but mostly with male fans. Su Fei would find it a little strange at this time. In fact, Yang Pan was better than Zhang Jun in many ways, so why wasn't he as popular with women? Thinking of herself, she had been friends with Zhang Jun and Yang Pan for three years, and she was always just good friends with Yang Pan, and there would never be a trace of an idea to overstep the line. Yang Pan must be very depressed, right? He's so old, but he doesn't even have a girlfriend...

Despite the fact that there were so many female fans that Zhang Jun was dizzy, there was always only one person he was closest to. Lin Wei seemed to think that she had established a good foundation at the banquet that day, and she always found several reasons to approach Zhang Jun in the class. For example, when holding a class committee meeting, she would find him when he was alone, chat with him for a long time, and then tell him to notify Yang Pan to go to a certain place for a meeting at a certain time in a tone of discussing official business.

Zhang Jun was an idiot when it came to romantic relationships, and Lin Wei's "indirect" methods were completely meaningless to him. He just thought that this pretty girl who always asked him about football was just interested in football, so he tried his best to satisfy her with an attitude of not wanting to disappoint a beauty. Besides, chatting with a beautiful, generous, and pretty girl wasn't a bad thing. Little did he know that her real intentions lay elsewhere.

Su Fei had recently joined the U University Pottery Club, and as the vice class leader, she had even less time. She and Zhang Jun couldn't be together every day like in high school. Now the two of them saw each other at most once every two days, and they would call each other at night. But making phone calls cost money, and neither of them came from wealthy families, so there was no budget item for phone calls for romance in their monthly living expenses.

"Li Shuai! You kid, don't run!" A burly man about 1.9 meters tall grabbed Li Shuai, who was "passing by." "There's training later, where are you running off to?"

Li Shuai, who had been discovered, smiled all over his face: "Hehe! Captain, I've already asked the coach for leave."

"Hehe! You've asked for leave for four consecutive days..." The captain's expression changed, and he moved his face closer to Li Shuai's, "Honestly confess! Are you trying to pick up another innocent little girl?"

"Hehe! Captain, we're all men, some things don't need to be said, right?"

The captain loosened his grip: "Go early and come back early. I'm telling you, the CuBA preliminary round will start in half a month, you have to keep in shape!" The captain looked at the freshmen training on the side, "Our team is counting on you this year."

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Li Shuai laughed and turned to run.

"This kid, he values women over friends..." The captain shook his head, "I just hope it doesn't affect his injury too much..."

The pottery club teacher was instructing the students on how to make pottery. The students were very interested in this "mud-kneading" thing. Although their hands were covered in dirt, they were still enjoying it.

"Senior Li Shuai!" A little girl sitting at the door greeted Li Shuai, who had just entered, in a low voice with some joy.

Li Shuai, who had just entered, was startled. He looked down at the girl with two braids, black-rimmed glasses, and a face full of freckles, and thought that even though U University didn't have many beauties, they couldn't be this bad! Studying was important, but why didn't she understand the importance of dressing up, even in college? But he still smiled politely at her: "Hello!"

The little girl was so happy that she almost stood up. It was no wonder she was so excited. Li Shuai really didn't tarnish the "handsome" in his name. He was tall, so his figure was naturally great. His skin was fair, and he didn't look like an athlete at all. In addition, he had a handsome face, a buzz cut, and was very energetic. He was always polite to people (only limited to pretty women), and he was the absolute main player and star of the school basketball team, so it was hard not to be popular.

He himself was also based on the principle of thinking about the single girls of U University, having one girlfriend per semester, and trying his best to show infinite care for girls in his limited college life.

Li Shuai saw the beautiful figure sitting in the middle, busy with her work, at a glance at the door. He walked over gently and sat down next to her very naturally.

Su Fei was concentrating on kneading the mud. She wasn't interested in the history of pottery that the teacher was talking about. Mainly, as a girl, she had strict family rules when she was a child and couldn't play in the mud as much as the boys, so she decided to indulge in the pottery club in college. Therefore, she was completely playing according to her own ideas.

"Wow! What is this?" A voice sounded from the side. Su Fei turned to look, and it turned out to be Li Shuai.

"A little pig!" Su Fei held up her work.

"But, no matter how I look at it, it looks like... a qilin (a mythical Chinese creature)!"

"Hehe!" Su Fei stuck out her tongue, "You can only call it a work of art if you don't understand it!"

"...It really is a 'work of art'..." Li Shuai clicked his tongue, "I'll take it to the school's modern art center tomorrow and hold a Su Fei solo exhibition!"

"Hehe! No need for that! By the way, don't you have to train? I see you come here often, do you also like to play in the mud?"

"Play... play in the mud? The pottery club teacher would cry if he heard that... Well, anyway, I'm a substitute, so no matter how hard I train, I won't have a chance to play, right?" Li Shuai shrugged.

Su Fei frowned, "You can't say that, as long as you train hard, a substitute can become a main player..." Su Fei suddenly thought of Zhang Jun. Sometimes he was easily discouraged, but sometimes, he could become energetic with just one sentence from her. He was really a bit childish, like a child who would never grow up!

Su Fei began to knead the mud again. She wanted to knead a Zhang Jun. At this time, she seemed to have forgotten Li Shuai beside her and was just wholeheartedly shaping the Zhang Jun in her heart.

Li Shuai watched Su Fei say half a sentence, then suddenly fell silent, and then actually started playing with the mud by herself! Li Shuai felt that he couldn't clearly grasp a girl's thoughts for the first time. Su Fei always seemed to be wearing a mysterious veil in his eyes, but the more mysterious she was, the more interested he, Li Shuai, became.

Who wouldn't want a beauty? Especially a beauty with temperament. Li Shuai decided that he must get Su Fei, even though he knew she had a boyfriend, but he didn't care. Just because she has a boyfriend, does that mean he can't pursue her? What kind of nonsense is that? Besides, that guy seems to be very popular with other girls now, which is a good opportunity.

Su Fei was wholeheartedly making her own creation and wouldn't know what Li Shuai was thinking. In her opinion, Li Shuai was the first stranger who helped her after she entered the campus. He was very enthusiastic and cheerful. It wasn't a bad thing to get to know another friend in this unfamiliar environment.

Friends, just ordinary friends.

Girlfriend, future girlfriend.

The two people, it's hard to say...

When someone saw the announcement of the Freshman Cup game tomorrow afternoon on the bulletin board, another round of excitement suddenly spread throughout the campus, and all the fans were looking forward to another passionate performance from the History Department.

Zhang Jun also got excited. Every Wednesday afternoon was more punctual than his aunt's period. He was looking forward to receiving the cheers of the audience and the praise of the people again.

However, the sky gradually darkened on Tuesday afternoon, and the wind picked up. Zhang Jun looked at the sky and had a bad feeling in his heart.

The weather forecast said:

There will be light to moderate rain from tonight to tomorrow, with a northeast wind of level three, a minimum temperature of nineteen degrees Celsius, and a maximum temperature of...

Hefei is located between the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River, and the climate is humid and rainy. During the rainy season in spring and autumn every year, it is not easy to stop. At that time, everything from the sky to the ground is wet and gray, making people feel depressed.

The rain started in the second half of the night and did not stop until the morning. By noon, it was getting heavier and heavier.

Zhang Jun held an umbrella and stood by the football field, looking at the field that had turned into a mud pond. He sighed in his heart, and he definitely wouldn't be able to play football this autumn. He helplessly kicked up a splash of water and turned to leave.

Su Fei was staring blankly at the rain outside the window in her dormitory. They didn't have classes on Wednesday afternoons in single weeks. This week was a single week, and she was originally going to watch Zhang Jun's game in the afternoon, but now it was all ruined. A long afternoon, with nothing to do, how should she arrange it?

She picked up the phone and dialed Zhang Jun's dormitory. Zhu Hui answered the phone.

"Ah? Su Fei, hehe! Are you looking for Zhang Jun? He's gone out to play PS (PlayStation) with the others. When will he be back? I don't know, he's very depressed because he can't play football this afternoon, so he must vent enough in the game before he comes back!"

Su Fei had just put down the phone in disappointment when the bell rang. She answered, "Hello, who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Su Fei, is she there?" It was Li Shuai's voice.

"This is she, Li Shuai?"

"It's me, hehe! We have a game this afternoon, and I want to invite you to watch."

"Basketball? But I don't understand it..."

"That doesn't matter! I'll be playing today! Didn't you say that as long as you train hard, you'll get something in return? I did it, so I want to invite you to watch!"

Su Fei hesitated for a moment: "This weather..."

"Raining? No problem, we're playing in the indoor basketball gym in the South District, the weather won't affect us at all!"

"But..."

"Come on, come on!" Li Shuai was already begging, "I can play because of you, how can you not come?"

Su Fei thought that Li Shuai had helped her a lot when she first entered the campus, and she owed him a favor. She also thought of Zhang Jun, who was probably having fun somewhere now!

Anyway, she was bored in the afternoon, Zhang Jun wasn't here, and Li Shuai was her friend, so she was too embarrassed to refuse him...

"Okay, what time, and where do I take the bus?"

Because of the rain, the bulletin board also looked deserted. A poster had just been put up and was already wet by the rain.

Freshman Cup Football Game!

Due to weather reasons, the two games originally scheduled for this afternoon have been postponed, and the specific time will be announced later!

Student Union Sports Department, October 17, 2001

This game was the CuBA Anhui regional selection match, with U University hosting H University. The modern basketball gym in the South District of U University was packed with people today, all of whom had come to show their support. After several years of successful operation, CuBA had formed a fixed fan base and a huge brand effect among college students.

It was Su Fei's first time watching a basketball game in this kind of place, and she looked a little curious, looking around. Li Shuai was warming up right in front of her, and he seemed to be very popular with the fans. Su Fei was a little strange. Why did a substitute player get more applause than the main players as soon as he came out to warm up? Was it just because he was more handsome?

The sound of gongs and drums in the basketball gym was deafening, and the cheers were constant. The game was about to begin.

Li Shuai was indeed a substitute. He put on his coat and sat back on the bench.

The gym became quiet, and the players from both sides stood around the center circle. The two centers stood inside the circle, and the referee stood between them, throwing the ball high into the air. The game began.

In the first half of the first quarter, U University took advantage of its home field advantage and launched a series of fast attacks, scoring repeatedly, and actually played a 10:0 climax. But after H University called a timeout, the situation immediately changed. H University used its own inside advantage to defend steadily under the basket and strengthen the fight for rebounds in the frontcourt, gradually regaining the disadvantage. By the end of the first quarter, they were actually leading U University by 5 points!

At the beginning of the second quarter, U University still did not regain the initiative on the court, but instead made more mistakes. The young players exposed the shortcomings of psychological impetuosity, and H University took the opportunity to widen the score gap, 47:32, leading by 15 points! At this time, U University called a timeout, and then Li Shuai began to get up and take off his coat, and there was a burst of cheers from outside the court.

Li Shuai's appearance immediately changed the situation on the court. As a guard, his passing and ball control were first-class, and he could often make good plays for his teammates. What made his opponents even more headache was that he was merciless at critical moments and could score himself.

Now, as soon as he came on the court, he took the lead in breaking through and stealing, scoring ten points himself, while not letting the opponent score a single point. In the cheers of the fans, U University's momentum was like a rainbow, and they took advantage of the situation to pursue and regain the lost ground. By the time the game was nearing its end, they were still leading the opponent by 20 points!

Su Fei watched Li Shuai running hard on the court from the stands. The sweat made his jersey stick to his body, and sweat was hanging on his hair and cheeks, scattering everywhere with his every movement.

She suddenly thought of Zhang Jun. Don't look at Zhang Jun's lack of characteristics at ordinary times, but once he stepped on the football field, he immediately changed his appearance, with sharp eyes, agile movements, and focused spirit... The way he focused on doing one thing was always so charming.

The noise in the gymnasium was constantly impacting Su Fei's eardrums. U University was leading with an absolute advantage, but Su Fei's attention was not at all on the basketball game. This somewhat similar environment brought her back to the past, to Chengdu seven months ago, to their last winter vacation in high school. The last time the five members of Shuguang were together as teammates.

Although they were the defending champions, they also received the most enthusiastic "hospitality" and encountered the most tenacious resistance. All opponents still remembered how Shuguang had crushed the previous year's runner-up, Guangming Middle School, with a score of 4:0 when they first participated in the national competition. They became famous in one battle. A year later, Guangming became Shuguang, so other schools also began to hope that they could become the Shuguang of last year, and the best way to do this was to bring down the current Shuguang.

Every game was a real knife-to-knife battle, and every game took every bit of their strength. In the second half of the finals, Ren Yudi could only play half a game, and in the semi-finals, he had to sit on the bench for the entire game in order to reserve his physical strength for the finals. Liang Ke had to risk using the "rotation system" in such an elimination round!

Su Fei was most impressed by the semi-finals, because that game was the most difficult. Ren Yudi was absent, Kaka was suspended, most of the players were short of physical strength, Wang Ning even had a physical exhaustion, and individual players had minor injuries. They were also facing the Chengdu Western Middle School, the host team with considerable strength. They had rested one day more than Shuguang and had plenty of physical strength. They were also playing at home and would definitely get the support of the entire stadium's fans. They occupied the right time, the right place, and the right people. Almost everyone was pessimistic about Shuguang's fate, believing that the defending champions would only have a share in competing for the bronze medal.

But just as the game was proceeding as most people had guessed before the game, and Yang Pan was blocked by two opponents and was useless, Zhang Jun broke out.

Yang Pan's reluctant pass touched the leg of the opponent's defender and deflected towards the baseline. Even the opponent's goalkeeper had given up on such a ball, but Zhang Jun relied on his amazing explosiveness and acceleration to catch up with the ball in front of the baseline and made an unconventional sliding tackle. The ball hit the goalkeeper's leg and bounced into the goal! Shuguang led 1:0!

Although the opponent equalized the score fifteen minutes later, no one could stop Zhang Jun anymore. This No. 11, who had only scored five goals in the previous games and was ranked fourth in the scorer list and was said to be unworthy of the title of best scorer in the previous game, was resurrected.

Sure enough, next, taking advantage of the opponent's full-force attack and the emptiness of the defense, Zhang Jun dribbled the ball from midfield for sixty meters, passed three defenders in a row, and finally deceived the goalkeeper, putting the ball into the empty goal, performing the best goal of the competition. Seeing such a goal, the entire Chengdu Sports Center was silent. Even Liang Ke couldn't believe his eyes, because Zhang Jun was a center forward, and long-distance running goals like this were not common on him.

Yang Pan also seemed to have been liberated by Zhang Jun. He frequently broke through on the right, creating opportunities. His cross allowed the 1.83-meter Zhang Jun to stand out from the crowd in the penalty area, and a powerful long-range header opened the door of Western Middle School for the third time, a hat trick!

Just when everyone thought that Zhang Jun, who had performed a hat trick, would restrain himself a little, he completely shattered the host team's confidence and fighting spirit with a turn-around volley in the penalty area. The entire process of this goal, from stopping the ball to turning around and volleying, was completed in one go, and the entire process only took 0.4 seconds. The opponent's defenders and goalkeeper had no reaction at all, standing there dumbfounded watching Zhang Jun complete his personal crazy performance.

"Before this competition, countless people said they wanted to challenge Zhang Jun, but after this battle, looking at high school teams across the country, no one can compete with Zhang Jun anymore. He is like an ordinary iron sword, which is not noticeable at all at ordinary times, but once it is swung, it suddenly changes its appearance. It has no edge, but its momentum is compelling. It does not see blood, but the enemy has already been decapitated."

This was not said by Su Fei, but by Chen Huafeng in a special report after the game, that kid reads too many wuxia novels. In Su Fei's eyes, Zhang Jun was still that Zhang Jun, who usually liked to giggle silly, but was full of passion on the field. Two seemingly contradictory personalities were wonderfully combined in him, and for Su Fei, whether it was the silly Zhang Jun or the handsome Zhang Jun, she loved him, because no matter what, Zhang Jun was still Zhang Jun, and Su Fei was still Su Fei.

When the final whistle of the final was sounded, Shuguang defeated its opponent 3:0 and defended the national championship!

Watching the players wear gold medals and jump around with trophies in their hands on the podium, Su Fei couldn't help but burst into tears. She knew that although their senior players all had smiling faces, they were probably all bitter inside, right? They had fought side by side for three years and had long been as close as siblings. Now their last joint performance had finally come to an end, and everyone was going their separate ways and would be scattered all over the world. She really didn't know when they would meet again.

Ren Yudi bid farewell to the stadium, An Ke went to Germany, Kaka returned to Brazil, and she, Zhang Jun, and Yang Pan were studying in Hefei. She really missed the Shuguang stadium, where dust flew everywhere in the evening. Under the light of the setting sun, the people on the field seemed like silhouettes and their faces could not be distinguished, only their movements and laughter were particularly clear.

Coach Liang Ke's "home" didn't even have a phone, and she didn't know how he was doing. He was already thirty years old, and he didn't even have a girlfriend, and his house was a mess...

And those junior players, in Su Fei's impression, the Shuguang players always had the same expression: smiling brightly.

The basketball game was over, and watching the basketball team members slap each other on the court to celebrate, Su Fei really felt like time was flowing backwards. High school life was simple and beautiful, but unfortunately it would never return...

On the way back, Li Shuai won the game and was in a good mood, and he showed off in front of Su Fei again. He thought that Su Fei should have a better relationship with him. But Su Fei had a sad expression on her face, and her eyes were always fixed on the fleeting scenery outside the car window, without saying a word.

Li Shuai couldn't figure it out, he really didn't understand this girl, Su Fei.

The car stopped at the school's bus stop, and Li Shuai suggested taking Su Fei back to the dormitory, "Anyway, it's on the way." Su Fei didn't speak, and he took it as her acquiescence.

Zhang Jun came back after playing PS. He thought that Su Fei didn't know what she was doing all afternoon. He had a playful heart for a while and didn't go to find her. Now it was time for dinner, and he should be with her.

When the group walked to the front of the girls' dormitory building, Zhang Jun turned to the right, and Lele stopped him strangely: "You're going the wrong way, our dormitory building is the second one in front, this is the girls' dormitory..."

"He knows this is the girls' dormitory!" Yang Pan interrupted Lele, "He's deliberately turning this way, you guys don't need to worry about it! Right, that 'he'?" Saying that, he also turned over.

But Zhang Jun pushed him back, "You don't need to worry about it either! Go do whatever you need to do!"

Yang Pan rolled his eyes and said to the other two people: "Forget it, let's go eat!"

After they turned past the dormitory building, Zhang Jun walked towards the girls' dormitory, but he stopped after taking a few steps, his eyes staring straight at the gate of the girls' dormitory.

Su Fei waved goodbye to Li Shuai and turned to enter the building, while Li Shuai turned to walk in Zhang Jun's direction. When he caught sight of Zhang Jun standing by the roadside, his heart moved, and he jumped up excitedly, clenched his fists with both hands, and ran away with a smile on his face from Zhang Jun's side.

Zhang Jun stood there stupidly by himself. The sky gradually darkened, and the lights inside the building were reflected in the puddles on the ground. When the wind blew, they all shattered. The rain had stopped in the afternoon, but the wind had picked up. The wind was very strong, messing up his hair and thoughts.