Chapter 1 The Third Day

This was Zhang Jun's third day in France, and he woke up just as dawn broke. A certain question kept him from sleeping soundly.

Medical institutions in Belgium were unwilling to accept him as a patient because the surgery was too risky. Left with no other choice, Zhang Jun sought out Dr. Salient, a French expert who had performed two knee surgeries on Ronaldo. Ronaldo's performance in the Korea-Japan World Cup was a testament to Dr. Salient's skill.

However, after a thorough examination of Zhang Jun's injury, Dr. Salient simply shook his head. "Your injury wasn't as serious as they made it out to be. If I had treated it then, there would have been an 85% chance of recovery. But for some reason, there was a long delay, which led to the injury worsening and becoming more difficult to treat. In the current situation, I can only guarantee about 50% chance of success, and..." Salient looked at Zhang Jun, who was sitting on the hospital bed, "Even if the ligaments are successfully reattached, it's very likely that you won't be able to continue playing football. This surgery will permanently affect the flexibility and strength of your left ankle."

Salient knew what these words meant to a football player, so he tried to keep his tone calm, so as not to upset Zhang Jun.

But Zhang Jun was still shocked. If they said this in China, he could assume it was because the medical standards weren't good enough. But in France, when Dr. Salient said this to him, he had to seriously consider the gravity of the situation.

Not being able to continue playing football, not being able to use his ankle as flexibly as before, his left foot becoming as fragile as glass, breaking with a single touch... What did this mean for Zhang Jun?

He couldn't continue to enjoy the happiness that football brought him, all that it gave him. He could only watch his former teammates running around on the field from the stands or in front of the television. Zhang Jun was beginning to understand how Ren Yudi felt when he gave up football.

"You can think carefully about whether or not you want to undergo surgery," the famous doctor said, stating the facts. The rest wasn't his job. He turned and said goodbye to the player from China.

Hua Fang looked at Zhang Jun with concern. "Zhang Jun, what... what are you going to do?"

But Zhang Jun didn't answer her. He just gripped the bedsheets tightly, as if he wanted to tear them to shreds.

And his heart, like the bedsheets, was twisted and torn.

With Sophie's help, he could face everything that had happened, but now it wasn't a question of facing it. It was a question of having to make a choice. He had to make a choice about his future, about football. When he was taking high school exams, whenever Zhang Jun encountered a multiple-choice question he didn't know, he would choose the longest-looking answer. He didn't know why, but he just felt that there was a chance he would get it right that way.

But now, which answer was longer? Who could measure the impact a choice made now would have on the length of the future?

Zhang Jun couldn't, and neither could Sophie.

※※※

Zhang Jun turned his head and looked out the window. The Parisian countryside was beautiful in the early morning, and the sunlight streamed through the thin morning mist and into the room, flowing softly before his eyes.

But he wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.

Yesterday, he hadn't given Hua Jie an answer, nor had he given himself one.

Accept surgery: a fifty percent chance of success, and even after recovery, he might not be able to return to his previous condition. There were many players who never found their form after an injury, and eventually faded away. But Zhang Jun didn't want to be one of them. It wasn't because he cared about titles like "Hope of Chinese Football," but because he still wanted to play football happily. He couldn't bear to part with everything on this green field.

When Zhang Jun was first injured, he had felt disheartened and wanted to give up football, but now he felt different. He was hesitating so much, looking before and after, not because he was a coward, but because he cared so much about football, and so he was being cautious.

Sophie's slap was really effective!

Sophie... Sophie!

Zhang Jun took out his phone, wanting to call Sophie. How good it would be if you were by my side, Sophie. When I'm upset and want to talk, you're there to listen. When I'm lost and helpless, your smile comforts me. When I'm disheartened and want to give up, you whisper in my ear... No, you give me a slap for encouragement.

But this question today, what should I choose? Sophie, tell me, tell me which one to choose?

In the end, Zhang Jun didn't dial the number. He just gripped his phone tightly and asked himself the question again and again in his heart.

But at that moment, his phone rang. It was Sophie calling. What a coincidence! Did they have a telepathic connection?

Zhang Jun hesitated for a moment before answering the phone with a trembling voice. "Hello, Sophie?"

※※※

Finally hearing Zhang Jun's voice again made Sophie extremely excited. These past few days, she had been forcing herself not to think about Zhang Jun, not to call him. But this effort seemed so futile and useless in the face of their mutual longing. These two-plus weeks had made Sophie realize something: she loved Zhang Jun so much that leaving him was an incredibly difficult and cruel thing to do. This emotional distance caused her to burst into tears whenever she was alone at night.

She was the one who had hardened her heart and said she wanted to distance herself from Zhang Jun, for his strength, for his future, but in the end, she was the one who surrendered. Calling him now was just because she wanted to hear his voice, his breath.

"It's me, Zhang Jun," Sophie took a deep breath, trying to calm her excited mood.

"You, why are you calling?" Zhang Jun was clearly surprised. After that incident, he had thought that Sophie wouldn't talk to him for a long time.

"I..." When Zhang Jun asked her that, Sophie really didn't know how to answer. She couldn't just say, "I miss you," could she? That would be too embarrassing! It was all Zhang Jun's fault for asking such a stupid question! Sophie blamed Zhang Jun in her heart.

"I read the newspapers. I know what's going on over there," Sophie said, changing the subject.

Zhang Jun was nervous. Was Sophie going to blame him again? "Listen to me, Sophie. This is what happened... It's not like they said..." Zhang Jun didn't know what the domestic media was saying, but he had to explain first.

"Zhang Jun, do you... do you still mind me slapping you?"

"I... This..."

"I know you must still resent me in your heart, right?"

"No! I don't, I don't resent you..." Zhang Jun quickly denied.

"Listen to me. In that situation, other girls would have hugged you, comforted you, and encouraged you, right? But I was really too angry and too anxious at the time. I didn't consider your feelings at all. I apologize to you!" Sophie really bowed deeply while holding the phone.

"Don't, don't!" Zhang Jun waved his hands in a flurry as if Sophie was right in front of him.

"I shouldn't have been so willful, so self-centered, and ignored your feelings... I'm really not a qualified girlfriend. You've suffered so much, but I selfishly only wanted you to play football. I'm really..." Sophie couldn't continue, because her voice was choked with emotion. She was afraid that if she didn't stop, she would start crying while holding the phone.

"No! Sophie, you don't need to apologize to me," Zhang Jun finally had a chance to interject.

He touched his cheek, which had been slapped hard by Sophie more than two weeks ago.

That slap really hurt, especially when I was so depressed. Instead of comforting me, you hit me. It really hurt... But I know that my pain is nothing compared to one-tenth of yours. My pain can be known to everyone through the news media, and they all come to share my burden. But your pain can only be buried deep in your heart. No one sends you flowers, no one folds paper cranes to pray for you, and you can't even confide in your best friends. What should you do if you can't stand it?

"Listen to me, I was the one who didn't consider your feelings. I used to always want to rely on you, rely on Yang Pan, rely on Qiu Zhi, rely on Hua Jie... I rely on too many people. I really need to be independent, to face things alone. I was still worried about the surgery just now. Now I finally have an answer: I love football, and I want to continue playing. Because of this, even if the surgery only has a fifty percent chance of success, even if there's only a one percent chance of recovering after the surgery, I'm willing to accept it. Some things need to be fought for."

"You, have you really decided, Zhang Jun?"

"Yes!" Zhang Jun nodded heavily and let out a sigh of relief. He had finally made a decision. The question that he had been racking his brains over just now turned out to be no big deal after all. Once the knot in his heart was untied, everything was fine. "I don't want people to say that Sophie fell in love with a coward. I want to rely on my own efforts to return to the football field."

Sophie chuckled softly. "No matter what decision you make, I'll support you. I'll be here praying for you, Zhang Jun."

Hearing Sophie's laughter, Zhang Jun's mood also relaxed. His emotions seemed to exist for Sophie. If Sophie was happy, he was happy. If Sophie was sad, he was sad. But the same was true for Sophie. When Zhang Jun finally wrote down his answer on this multiple-choice question, whether it was right or wrong, Sophie could breathe a sigh of relief.

This path was chosen by Zhang Jun himself. Whether it was rugged or smooth, whether there were difficulties and obstacles, no matter how far he could go, she, Sophie, would be by Zhang Jun's side, walking with him, without looking back, without regrets, without stopping.

※※※

When Hua Fang appeared in Zhang Jun's hospital room, Zhang Jun was intently gazing out the window. Hua Fang thought that Zhang Jun was captivated by some special scenery, so she followed Zhang Jun's gaze, but besides the lush green leaves and the dazzling sunlight, she didn't see anything special. It had been like this outside the window for so many days. Why was Zhang Jun only becoming interested in it today?

"Hua Jie, I've decided to accept the surgery." That was Zhang Jun's answer. He was still looking out the window when he said this. He wasn't admiring the scenery. He was longing for it, longing to return to that vast world as soon as possible.

He was a dragon, and this pale, white hospital room didn't belong to him.

※※※

Dr. Salient looked at the brave Chinese lad. "Have you really thought it through? Are you willing to accept all the risks that the surgery entails, even the possibility of not being able to play football again?" he asked.

Zhang Jun smiled and nodded.

The Zhang Jun on the football field had returned in that instant. He smiled as he played football, he smiled as he accepted the cheers, and of course, he smiled as he faced the unpredictable future.

Salient didn't understand what had made this young man become so courageous all of a sudden. A few days ago, he was still wavering about the choice concerning his future, but today he could smile and say that he was willing to accept the surgery. Even Ronaldo had once held his injured leg and cried bitterly.

When athletes faced this kind of injury that could affect their whole life, different people would react differently. Cowardly people would retreat and be afraid, while brave people wouldn't arrogantly shout "I can do it" or "I'm not afraid," but would calmly accept the fate that was weighing down on them, even if it was so unfair.

And Zhang Jun belonged to the latter.

Salient smiled. "Okay. We'll start tomorrow morning. Have a good dream tonight."

Yes, after making such a choice, Zhang Jun could finally have a good night's sleep, and then when he woke up, he would have two healthy legs and be able to run freely on the green field.

It was truly a wonderful dream.

※※※

Hua Fang stood outside the operating room, watching Zhang Jun being wheeled into the operating room with some concern. Until the moment the door closed, she could still see Zhang Jun giving her a thumbs up with a smile on his face.

After this surgery, what kind of Zhang Jun would we see?

The river of time might diverge here, but no one knew where it would flow.

...

There is laughter, there is sadness, there are many times of waiting When you inevitably have to spill tears Lift your head and don't sigh, and don't worry What awaits you is a pair of warm hands There is still a little pain in yesterday's wound If that's the case, you have to appear calm Straighten your chest and continue a new dream Strive for all your future glory The road to re-embark is long You still have to take care of yourself Just at the minute when you feel the most tired You will hear the victorious bugle call The night of wind and rain is very cold The boiling blood can't stop When dawn breaks, you sing loudly To all the people who love you Winning yourself is winning everything In the future future You, like a proud warrior Hold your head high and walk towards the crowd The most painful realization also makes you extremely happy Tomorrow is another further tomorrow You still have more to look forward to...

(Man Wenjun, "The Future Future")

※※※

Adriannese could finally breathe a sigh of relief for the time being, because Zhang Jun had finally accepted the surgery. Regardless of the final result of the surgery, there was finally a new beginning. He could also put all his energy into the team.

For the past month or so, Volendam had suffered a series of setbacks on all fronts. Because they had been too excited for a while, the team's physical reserves couldn't keep up with the excessively frequent schedule. Volendam was a small club, unable to use a rotation system to allocate physical strength reasonably like big clubs. Moreover, the difference in strength between the substitutes and the main players was relatively large, which meant that Adriannese could only let the main team tough it out.

But coincidentally, this month was the so-called "devil's schedule," not only was the schedule dense, but the opponents were not weak. Volendam played seven games in sixteen days, three of which were against Ajax and Feyenoord, and they had to play Ajax twice, in the league and the Dutch Cup. In these seven games, Volendam only achieved a dismal record of one win, two draws, and four losses. After being eliminated from the UEFA Cup, they also stopped in the quarterfinals of the Dutch Cup.

All of this greatly angered the team owner, Horns. The team's poor performance would directly affect his economic interests. This was absolutely not allowed. He had already warned Adriannese, the head coach, that things like Zhang Jun's injury could not happen again. A club player, taking the club's highest salary, but suffering such a serious injury when he returned to his country to participate in the competition, and the club had to pay for his treatment. In the end, did the club get any benefits?

"This is a professional club, not a sanatorium!" Horns shouted, but Adriannese forgot all his nonsense as soon as he left the door.

Zhang Jun, get well soon. It's no big deal.

※※※

Van Basten took one last glance at the TV, then got up and turned off the TV, picked up the tactical board on the table, opened the door of the office and walked out.

The young men of the Ajax youth team were still waiting for him, the head coach. He couldn't always focus his attention on that Chinese boy, otherwise, those people would be jealous, haha!

※※※

"...The latest progress on Zhang Jun's treatment: Zhang Jun has finally agreed to the advice of the famous French expert, Salient, to receive treatment. Local time, he was wheeled into the operating room at 9:00 a.m. today. Dr. Salient said that this is a very challenging surgery, with high risks, but this is the only way for Zhang Jun to recover if he wants to. The surgery will take a long time. We can only hope here that Zhang Jun's surgery will be successful and that he can return to the field soon. Next up are international football news..."

The people eating in the cafeteria turned their attention to the four TVs hanging above them. Someone had turned the volume all the way up, so the sound from the TV could still be heard clearly in the noisy cafeteria.

But then again, who would make a lot of noise when this news was being broadcast? The entire cafeteria was unusually quiet, and the sound of the TV seemed a bit too loud.

Someone in the cafeteria applauded, someone whistled, and someone shouted loudly.

Sophie sat in her seat, her roommate nudging her hard, telling her to look up at the TV, but she just kept looking down at the table, her hand holding the spoon was trembling slightly, and the spoon was gently tapping the lunch box.

Did you see that? Zhang Jun, everyone is cheering for you! Just like when you were on the field...

※※※

Li Yan and dozens of his Chinese colleagues were still waiting outside the hospital. Zhang Jun had been in the operating room for three hours.

No one saw how he entered the operating room, what his expression was at the time, whether he was nervous, or regretful, or in pain? If this scene could be filmed, it would definitely be a classic moment in Chinese sports history.

But no matter what, he finally went in. Having known Zhang Jun for almost two years, he knew the child too well. He could make this decision, I'm afraid it was Sophie's credit again? Thank you, Sophie, you saved all of Chinese football.

"Eat?" Wang Hua handed him a hamburger, and he himself was holding a can of Coke.

Li Yan took the hamburger and bit off more than half of it in one bite. He had been waiting here since early in the morning, and hadn't even eaten breakfast. He was starving.

But while he was eating lunch, his eyes never left the hospital gate, as if he was hoping to see Zhang Jun walking out of the hospital in the next second, throwing away his crutches, walking with steady steps, waving and smiling at everyone...

"Are you worried about him?" Wang Hua asked.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Worried," Wang Hua took a sip of Coke, "But I always have hope, the hope that he will be able to stand up again. Do you know what? Li Yan, I'm really grateful to you."

"Wh-why are you saying that all of a sudden?" Li Yan was a little flustered by Wang Hua.

"If you hadn't pulled me to Volendam to interview them, I don't know what I would be doing now. No matter what I was doing, I would definitely not have these beautiful memories of the past year or so. When I stood in the stands of Veronica and saw Zhang Jun score goal after goal, and heard those cheers, I was really grateful to you. You let me see hope."

Li Yan looked up at Wang Hua, his brother who grew up with him, sharing the same pants. His expression wasn't joking.

"Hmph!" Li Yan smiled. He lowered his head and said, "I should be the one saying thank you. If you hadn't pulled me to watch that Dutch league game, I would have gone down a completely different path, flipping through the garbage of the domestic league every day and racking my brains about how to write news to cheat my salary. But now... It's really good to have met him..."

※※※

"Great! Great! Come and see, he finally had surgery!" A group of students were gathered together, one of them holding a newspaper.

"After dragging it out for so long, we can finally rest assured!"

"But that doctor said the surgery is risky..."

"Stupid! Which surgery doesn't have risks? Besides, Zhang Jun is a big star from our Dawn, so there's definitely no problem!"

...

Liang Ke stood alone on the field, his feet on the football. It was time for training, but he didn't see any players on the field.

Liang Ke looked towards the locker room again, where they seemed to be having a heated discussion.

"Hey! Get out here! It's time for training!" He kicked a long shot at the door of the locker room, and the football hit the wall next to the door, making a cheerful sound.

"Oh!!" The players rushed out of the room.

"Hey! Old Liang is so impatient. Wait, let me finish reading this last paragraph..." The person holding the newspaper didn't seem to want to leave, but he was pulled out by a pretty girl: "Let's go, Xiao Qiang! The coach has been in a bad mood these days. Be careful he makes you run laps!"

"I warn you, don't call me that!"

"Hmph! Warning invalid! I've been calling you that since I was a kid. Are you still shy?"

The two ran away, arguing, and the room became quiet again. The newspaper lay quietly on the table, with the headline on the front page being the news of Zhang Jun's surgery.

※※※

Kaka stood up from the bench, and the Italian journalist Andrea Kaliani, who was interviewing him, also stood up and shook hands with Kaka. "Thank you very much for accepting the interview with *Milan Sports News*. Congratulations again to AC Milan for winning the league championship this season."

Kaka smiled and replied, "It's all thanks to the whole team. I heard that you originally planned to do a special interview with Zhang Jun as well, right?"

"Ah, yes. But because he was injured, the plan was shelved."

"Well, when he gets better, I'll help you contact him."

"That's great! Speaking of which, he finally had the surgery, and a lot of time was wasted in the middle. I really don't know if he can still..."

Kaka interrupted Andrea's worries: "No problem. You can start thinking about the questions for the meeting now. That kid will be able to stand up."

Andrea later remembered that when Kaka said this, he was looking at the distant sunset, which was to the west, in the direction of France.

※※※

Although Yang Pan had learned to cook some simple dishes through practice and countless failures, he decided to go to the "Chinachina" restaurant today, because he was happy today.

Zhang Jun finally entered the operating room, which was definitely something worth celebrating.

After entering the door, he greeted the bearded shopkeeper, and then sat down in the seat specially reserved for him.

Yi Lan put the menu in front of Yang Pan with some force. He hadn't come for a while, and it was hard to see him again, so how could she not be "enthusiastic?" "What would you like, sir?" Her tone was as professional and "gentle" as before, but there was also a hint of "cordiality" that only Yang Pan would receive.

"Black pepper steak, medium rare, a serving of macaroni. Thank you." Yang Pan didn't look at the menu, but closed it and pushed it back to Yi Lan, then looked up and smiled.

This smile surprised Yi Lan. In the past, whenever Yang Pan came, they would never give each other a good look.

"Okay, okay, sir, please wait a moment." Yi Lan picked up the menu and hurried back.

"Has he taken the wrong medicine today?" Yi Lan put the menu in front of her father, then turned her head to look at Yang Pan's back and said.

"What's wrong?" her father asked.

"He actually smiled at me when he was ordering..."

"Ah? Is that so? That's really a bit strange..." Her father touched his thickly bearded chin thoughtfully.

Yang Pan was cutting the steak, and the bearded man sat down opposite him. "You seem very happy."

Yang Pan looked up at the bearded man, then put down his knife and fork. Although his relationship with his daughter was a bit strange, and they always bickered whenever they met, his relationship with the shopkeeper was relatively good. "How do you know?"

"Intuition." The bearded man pointed to his head, then he picked up a newspaper and pointed to a piece of news on it, "Zhang Jun Receives Treatment." He asked Yang Pan, "Is it because of him?"

Yang Pan smiled: "I didn't expect a man's intuition to be so powerful. Do you want to hear the story between him and me?"

...

"I really didn't expect there to be so many stories between him and that person." Yi Lan said, looking at Yang Pan's back as he walked out the door.

"Kaka was actually their high school classmate. No wonder he asked Kaka to come here to eat that day. In that case, hehe!" The bearded man must have thought of how to use this news to attract customers to eat.

"So he smiled at me because of Zhang Jun's treatment..." Yi Lan said to herself in her heart, but for some reason, she was a little disappointed.

Why isn't he happy because of me?

The door was closed and then opened again, and several guests came in.

"Yi Lan, there are guests..." Her father was going to ask his daughter to greet the guests, but he turned his head and saw that his daughter's eyes were just staring blankly in the direction of the door, oblivious to everything else.

The bearded man sighed and took the menu to the newly arrived guests.

※※※

"The ball is passed to Yang Pan, he is now twenty-five meters away from the goal, he stops the ball... He shoots from long range!"

"goooooooooooooooooooAL!! Like a cannonball, the football drilled into Lecce's goal! In the thirty-second minute of the first half, Yang Pan leveled the score for Bologna!!"

After scoring his third goal of the season, Yang Pan didn't sprint to celebrate. He just stood there and roared, and then he was surrounded by his delighted teammates.

"Yang Pan roared again! That's the roar of a cannon! He's been in good form recently!"

Even louder cheers erupted from the stands: "Yang Pan! Yang Pan!! Yang Pan!!!"

※※※

At the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, there were many reporters at the exit, many Malaysian reporters and even more Chinese reporters. They had one goal in common: the Chinese Olympic team.

They would be challenging the last opponent in the Olympic qualifying tournament here - the Malaysian Olympic team, which was also their last qualifying match. Before that, China had already secured a place in the Olympics in advance in Changsha. Even so, this team was still attracting attention, because they were a team hailed by the media as "the future of Chinese football," and their every performance could determine the "future of Chinese football."

These reporters were going to keep their eyes open and watch their performance, and then paint a picture of the future of Chinese football.

After waiting for nearly an hour, the entire Chinese Olympic team finally appeared in front of the reporters wearing red t-shirts.

The reporters who had been waiting anxiously swarmed up, and the airport security immediately went into high alert, holding hands to push the frenzied group of reporters back. Even so, microphones were still stretched out in front of the Olympic team.

Li Yongle, as the current core midfielder and top star of the Olympic team, naturally received the most attention and care.

"Excuse me, Li Yongle, what do you think of this game? Some pre-match analysis suggests that you will hold back."

"No, we will go all out and strive for victory."

"There are rumors that you will go abroad to play football after the Athens Olympics, and many foreign clubs have already expressed interest in you..."

"I haven't thought about it much yet. I just want to play well in the Olympic Games. We'll talk about the future later." Then Li Yongle tried to squeeze through the crowd and follow the team to the bus. He wasn't very good at dealing with reporters. Being surrounded by reporters like this, which seemed very glamorous, was simply a torment to him.

But there was still a reporter who stubbornly shouted from behind: "Can you comment on Zhang Jun's surgery?"

Li Yongle paused slightly, then lowered his head and got on the bus.

"Hey! It's so troublesome to be popular!" Xiang Tao sighed, imitating Li Yongle's tone of voice.

Li Yongle looked at Xiang Tao and didn't say anything. Then he "casually" found an empty seat and sat down next to Xiang Tao. This surprised Xiang Tao a little. He thought that Li Yongle was angry and wanted to make trouble for him. But Li Yongle just sat next to him, still not saying a word.

Xiang Tao screamed: "Your personality... Just show that you're worried about Zhang Jun. What's so shy about it?"

Li Yongle glared at Xiang Tao. His scream made him and Zhang Jun seem like homosexuals. "Aren't you worried? I see you smiling all day long."

Xiang Tao shook his head nonchalantly: "Not worried, not worried at all, never worried."

"Don't joke around!"

"I'm not joking, I'm very serious." Li Yongle never thought he would see Xiang Tao's serious expression.

"Injuries are something that any player will encounter, regardless of the severity. I think that since he's called 'the hope of Chinese football,' if he can't get through it, then he won't be able to shoulder this future and hope. In other words, he will definitely be able to stand up again, because he is the future, he is hope, he is someone who makes all of us have some kind of expectation."

Li Yongle was stunned. "Makes all of us have some kind of expectation." That's right, that silly kid Zhang Jun really makes me expect something.

But it seemed a bit wrong again... "Huh? That's right, it makes sense no matter who says it, but how did it come out of your mouth?" Li Yongle asked Xiang Tao with some surprise.

Xiang Tao curled his lips: "Look down on me! I think you should worry about your own business first! We are at least people who have clubs to play for, but you are homeless. Where will you go after the Olympics? There are rumors flying all over the place outside."

Li Yongle smiled: "I'll let Zhang Jun and Yang Pan's agents worry about that kind of thing, I don't care. I just want to play well in the game in front of me now."

"A Malaysian team also needs you to go all out?"

"Yeah, I don't get many chances to play, and if I don't seize them, it will be a little difficult to maintain my form." Li Yongle stood up, because the bus had arrived at the hotel where they were staying.

"I'll pray for the Malaysians..." Xiang Tao made a gesture of clasping his hands together.

Li Yongle, who got out of the car, was "besieged" by reporters again.

"Excuse me, Li Yongle, what do you think of this game? Some pre-match analysis suggests that you will hold back."

"There are rumors that you will go abroad to play football after the Athens Olympics, and many foreign clubs have already expressed interest in you. Is this true?"

"Can you comment on Zhang Jun's surgery?"

...

"Hey! It's so troublesome to be popular!" Xiang Tao sighed as he watched Li Yongle in the midst of the siege of reporters, and pushed his luggage into the hotel.

※※※

Three days later, the Chinese Olympic team defeated the Malaysian Olympic team 2:0 away, and advanced to the Athens Olympics with a perfect record. When the news reached China, the fans across the country were naturally jubilant again.

In that game, Qiu Suhui sent out most of the substitutes, but Li Yongle still played the full ninety minutes. Although he didn't score, he proved to the people with two assists that the Olympic team's core midfielder was by no means a false name. Not only assists, but his horizontal interception and vertical passing in the midfield made it impossible for the Malaysians to gain the slightest advantage in the midfield. Many of their attacks were forced to stop in front of the midfield defense organized by Li Yongle as soon as they crossed the center circle. As a result, the Malaysians had to play their least favorite long passes, and the result was predictable.

After this game, the media gave Li Yongle a nickname: Commander.

The meaning of this nickname was very clear. Li Yongle was the Chinese brain, the command tower, the core, the engine. This showed what height he was now at in the minds of fans and the media across the country.

While celebrating the Chinese Olympic team's entry into the Olympic football finals for the first time in sixteen years, he made people forget about Yang Pan, who was scoring goals in Serie A, and Zhang Jun, who was treating his leg injury.