Chapter 11 What Are You Up To?

Zhou Yi had just finished showering and changed clothes when He Ying returned.

He was surprised to see Zhou Yi's hair was still wet.

Upon seeing He Ying, Zhou Yi reflexively greeted him in the local manner: "Have you eaten?"

He Ying also nodded reflexively, then continued to study Zhou Yi with a surprised expression, especially his hair.

Zhou Yi naturally noticed, but he really didn't know how to explain it to He Ying, so he simply said, "Oh, I just took a shower... I'm going to eat too!"

With that, he fled the room.

He Ying frowned and shook his head, watching Zhou Yi's hurried departure.

Then he went into the bathroom to wash his hands.

But just as he put his hands in the sink, water didn't come out of the faucet; instead, it dripped onto his neck, startling him. He recoiled and looked up.

The sight startled him – several wet pieces of clothing were hanging directly above him, dripping water!

Zhou Yi never washed clothes in the bathroom when he showered before...

What on earth was that kid up to?

※※※

Sun Pan, Yang Muge, and Guo Nu sat together eating breakfast, discussing Zhou Yi, because they had knocked on his door earlier, but no one answered.

"Could he still be asleep?" Yang Muge frowned.

"P-possible," Guo Nu said. "After y-yesterday's training, the body is usually v-very tired..."

"Damn it, how much more tired could I be?!" Sun Pan cursed, sporting dark circles and bloodshot eyes.

Yang Muge looked at Sun Pan's haggard appearance and smiled without saying a word.

Guo Nu shrank his neck and remained silent.

"It's all that kid's fault. I'm going to make him treat us when I see him!" Sun Pan said fiercely, then suddenly realized, "You think that kid is afraid of seeing me, so he's hiding?"

"Zhou Yi isn't that kind of person," Yang Muge shook his head.

"Y-y-yes!" Guo Nu also bravely refuted Sun Pan once.

"Sh-sh-shut up!" Sun Pan retorted.

Guo Nu shrank his neck again and fell silent. This mad dog that everyone else feared now looked like a harmless husky...

After that, the three fell silent. Without Zhou Yi, the dining table seemed to lack something special. No one had anything to say, and they just ate their food with their heads down.

Just as the meal was almost finished, a plate full of food was placed on the empty seat.

"Damn, I'm just a little late, and there's hardly anything left in the restaurant..."

The three looked up at the same time and saw Zhou Yi's disgusted face.

"Damn, you didn't die!" Sun Pan was the first to shout. "We went to call you for breakfast, and we almost broke down the door, but you didn't answer. We thought you were dead, so we decided to call the police after breakfast."

"What are you talking about? By the time you guys finish eating and call the police, I'll be rotting!" Zhou Yi retorted.

"Is your shelf life only forty minutes after opening?" Sun Pan rolled his eyes. Zhou Yi's words made him not know how to badmouth him.

Yang Muge smiled as he watched the two bickering – the missing special ingredient had returned, and this was how the atmosphere between the four of them should be.

Guo Nu was concerned about why Zhou Yi was so late for breakfast. "R-right, Zhou Yi, why are y-you so late today?"

"Hey, I went for a morning run."

"Morning run?" The three were surprised. They had known Zhou Yi for over two months and had never seen him go for a morning run.

Zhou Yi tossed his head. "Yeah, I'm telling you guys, you should try morning runs too. After running, you'll feel like you've been reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes!"

"Exhausting, right?" Sun Pan didn't pay attention to Zhou Yi's boasting and hit the nail on the head.

In fact, not only him, but Yang Muge and Guo Nu could also see that although Zhou Yi's spirits were good, the fatigue and paleness on his face couldn't be hidden. This morning run was definitely not as easy as he made it out to be...

"Not at all," Zhou Yi's ability to lie had become a conditioned reflex.

"Definitely!"

"Not really," Zhou Yi said without changing his expression.

"Tch," Sun Pan didn't believe it.

Zhou Yi then pointed at Sun Pan's dark circles and asked, "Hey, Sun Pan, why are your eye sockets so dark? Didn't sleep well last night?"

If Sun Pan had hit the nail on the head earlier, then Zhou Yi was now stabbing Sun Pan in his freshly scabbed wound.

Sun Pan immediately stood up. "I'm full!"

He couldn't stay any longer. If he sat here any longer, he would become a sieve!

Guo Nu wasn't in the rhythm of Sun Pan and Zhou Yi's bickering. He looked at Zhou Yi's tired face and then suddenly said, "Zhou, Zhou Yi. Tomorrow, c-call me when you go for your morning run. I'll r-run with you. If th-there's anything, I can g-give you a hand."

"I'll come too," Yang Muge immediately added, then turned to look at Sun Pan.

Sun Pan quickly waved his hand. "Don't look at me, I can't get up! Besides, I'm a goalkeeper, what do I need to run so much for?"

"Don't you like rushing out of the penalty area to defend? You still need to be able to run, right?" Yang Muge said.

"Lao Yang, you've only been with Zhou Yi for a short time, don't just learn his bad habits!" Sun Pan said sadly, clutching his chest. "Seeing such an honest person like you backstabbing people, do you know how heartbroken I am!"

※※※

During training, assistant coach Xu Yang noticed that Zhou Yi's training attitude was more serious than before, especially in the physical and strength training sections.

However, Xu Yang wasn't surprised by Zhou Yi's change.

The match yesterday must have motivated him.

Indeed, the kid was lacking in physical qualities, but if he was willing to train so hard, he could completely make up for what he was lacking.

Xu Yang was older than Hao Dong and the oldest in the coaching staff. One characteristic of old-fashioned coaches was that they paid special attention to training attitude. They might not care much about scientific training methods, but they would definitely focus on training attitude and train to death, which was often their trump card. And the players who trained the hardest and most desperately were often their favorites.

Such coaches were gradually being eliminated because they were gradually unable to keep up with the development of modern professional soccer in terms of training methods, just like the twelve-minute run was replaced by the yoyo test.

However, such old-fashioned coaches were not without their merits. At the very least, their emphasis on training attitude and training volume was timeless. On the other hand, Chinese soccer had gone from one extreme to another, from emphasizing physical fitness with daily 10,000-meter runs to now averaging 6,000 to 7,000 meters per game. The development trajectory of Chinese soccer was truly lamentable...

※※※

In the evening, Zhou Yi, with the help of his three friends, continued his physical training in the hotel gym. Guo Nu and Yang Muge were still running alongside him, while Sun Pan watched.

But it couldn't be said that Sun Pan didn't help, or that he was completely useless.

At the very least, in the end, Sun Pan still had to carry Zhou Yi back to his room.

For two consecutive nights, He Ying had seen his roommate being carried back by Sun Pan. He was surprised, but he didn't ask the three people he wasn't familiar with.

After Sun Pan and the others left, He Ying looked at Zhou Yi, who was lying on the bed fast asleep, and sighed – it looked like he had to take his clothes off again today...

※※※

Early in the morning, when Zhou Yi dressed, strapped sandbags to his calves, and arrived in the hotel lobby, he was surprised to find Guo Nu and Yang Muge at the entrance.

"You're really running with me?" He was surprised.

"Of course. At least until you can walk back to your room every night, we'll run with you to avoid accidents," Yang Muge said.

"Y-yes," Guo Nu nodded.

Zhou Yi scratched his head, seeing the two of them fully armed and ready to run with him. "I feel bad..."

"Yo, Zhou Yi, you know how to feel bad? Are you still asleep?" Sun Pan's voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of a bicycle bell.

Zhou Yi then saw Sun Pan appear in front of him on a bicycle.

Seeing Sun Pan, Zhou Yi was also surprised. "Where did this bicycle come from? Stealing is illegal, Sun Pan. I'm glad you're making such a sacrifice for me, but isn't this sacrifice a bit too much?"

"Steal your sister! I borrowed it from the hotel!" Sun Pan retorted, then rang the bicycle bell and said proudly, "From now on, I'm your physical coach! You have to listen to me! Quick, stop talking nonsense and start training!"

Sun Pan rang the bell again.

The bell rang, and Zhou Yi, Guo Nu, and Yang Muge ran out of the hotel door and onto the road.

Sun Pan followed behind them on his bicycle, occasionally speeding ahead, then turning his head to yell at Zhou Yi, "You can't even outrun a bicycle! I'm already riding very slowly on purpose!"

At first, Zhou Yi argued with him, "What do you need a bicycle for? What do you need a bicycle for! Get off the bike if you've got the guts!"

Later, Zhou Yi stopped talking because he didn't have the strength to speak. He opened his mouth for only one purpose, which was to breathe, to breathe deeply, to breathe with his nose and mouth together, to take in as much air as possible.

In the end, Zhou Yi really couldn't run anymore, and the feeling of being on the verge of collapse from yesterday resurfaced.

But this time it was okay. He wasn't running alone on the streets of London in the early morning. He had his friends by his side. Although Sun Pan was chattering non-stop, it was because of his commotion that Zhou Yi didn't have time to think about giving up or to feel uncomfortable.

It was Yang Muge who saw Zhou Yi staggering and seemingly about to fall, who stopped Sun Pan.

Sun Pan, who was riding in front, looked back at Zhou Yi's pathetic state and knew what was going on, so he swerved his handlebars and came back.

After arriving in front of Zhou Yi, he propped up the bike and had Guo Nu and Yang Muge help Zhou Yi sit on the back seat.

"Hold on tight, don't blame me if you fall!" Sun Pan rang the bell again and slowly pedaled the bicycle towards the hotel, while Guo Nu and Yang Muge ran alongside him.

Although Sun Pan said that, he was actually riding very slowly. Guo Nu and Yang Muge could easily keep up with a slow jog without much effort.

Zhou Yi leaned weakly against Sun Pan's back and looked at Guo Nu and Yang Muge running beside him, panting heavily and saying softly, "Thank you..."

"I-I should be the one s-saying thank you, Zhou Yi. If, if it weren't for you, I w-wouldn't have been able to play..." Guo Nu shook his head.

"Don't be polite, Zhou Yi. We're friends, aren't we?" Yang Muge said with a smile.

Sun Pan, who was pedaling hard, snorted, "Sentimental!"

Zhou Yi nodded. "Yeah... it's a little sentimental. So... giddy-up! Giddy-up! Faster, faster! I still need to take a shower when I get back, and there won't be anything left in the restaurant if I'm late!"

"Damn it, Zhou Yi, you've got energy, huh? Get down and run yourself!"

"No, if I say I won't get down, I won't get down, even if you beat me to death!" Zhou Yi said, wrapping his arms around Sun Pan's waist.

"Damn, don't grab me there, that's my belly button! Ah! Ahahaha! Don't... don't, don't tickle me!"

"Lao Guo, look, Sun Pan is learning from you again! I'm not one to cause trouble, but I really can't stand it if I were you..."

"..."

"Okay, okay, let's go back quickly, stop messing around..."