Chapter 1 The Start

A taxi stopped in front of a gate hidden amongst the green trees.

Zhou Jianliang and his son, Zhou Yi, got out of the car, walked around to the back, opened the trunk, and took out their luggage.

The taxi drove off, leaving only the two of them, a suitcase, and two bags.

"I didn't expect the training camp to be in such a remote place, even the taxi drivers couldn't find it..." Zhou Jianliang said, looking at the unremarkable location.

"Dad, the car's gone, how will you get back later?" Zhou Yi asked, concerned about his father.

"There's a bus stop over there. I'll go take a look and see where the buses go. Don't worry about it," Zhou Jianliang pointed to a bus stop across the road. "As for you, remember to unite with your teammates during the training camp and get along with them. Stop cracking those silly jokes all the time, watch your words, and think before you speak, so you don't offend anyone."

Zhou Yi pouted, "I know, Dad, I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Only seventeen years old, how are you not a kid?" Zhou Jianliang glared at his son, then sighed as he looked at his son's slightly thin frame. "Originally, I told your mother that if you failed this time, it would put an end to your dream of playing football. But now, you won the final and got the qualification to go to Europe. We came out together, and now I'm going home alone. I don't know how to explain it to your mother."

"Hey, what's so difficult about that?" Zhou Yi said casually, giving his father an idea. "Just say we were supposed to come back together, but the train was too crowded—it's summer vacation, so it's normal for it to be crowded. Then we got separated and you couldn't find me, so you had to come home first... Ouch!"

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking, his father slapped him on the head. "What nonsense are you spouting! What's going on in that head of yours all day long!"

"I'm just giving you an idea..." Zhou Yi said, covering his head in aggrieved protest.

"Well, I thank you for that," Zhou Jianliang snorted. "Forget it, don't worry about anything. Just train hard here. Since you're in, perform well and don't embarrass your father."

"I know," Zhou Yi looked around, observing his surroundings. He discovered that this place was incredibly remote. As far as he could see, there was only a small shop. There were no internet cafes or restaurants. The straight road had been empty for quite some time, and even the cars passing by were few and far between.

Looks like even sneaking out to play is impossible – there's nowhere to go!

"I'm leaving. Go report in, don't leave a bad impression on the coach on your first day."

With that, Zhou Jianliang picked up his bag and was about to leave.

"Hey, let me take you to the bus stop, Dad," Zhou Yi quickly reached for his father's bag.

"No need, it's just across the road. Hurry up and go in," Zhou Jianliang said, picking up his bag and waving his hand without looking back as he walked towards the bus stop across the road.

Zhou Yi didn't listen to his father and rush inside. Instead, he stood at the gate, watching his father's back.

He saw his father carrying the heavy bag, his body slightly tilted, his steps uneven. He looked left and right at the side of the road to make sure there were no cars coming from either direction before slowly walking towards the bus stop across the road.

A sentence suddenly welled up from the bottom of Zhou Yi's heart, causing him to shout, "Dad!"

Zhou Jianliang stopped and turned to look at his son, watching his son standing alone in front of the gate, a large suitcase and backpack beside him, making him look even thinner.

The thought of not seeing his son for three weeks stirred a sense of reluctance in Zhou Jianliang's heart.

He figured his son's shout came from the same emotion, right?

But as a father, how could he do something as embarrassing as shed tears in front of his son?

So Zhou Jianliang feigned composure and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yi pointed into the distance. "Use the crosswalk, Dad!"

※※※

Watching his father cross the road on the crosswalk, Zhou Yi finally slung his bag over his shoulder, dragged his suitcase, and, filled with anticipation for the training camp, curiosity about his new teammates, and excitement for the trip to Europe... walked through the gates of the training base.

Fifteen minutes later, he had crossed most of the training base, and covered in sweat, he arrived in front of a white three-story building.

The white exterior walls reflected a blinding light in the summer morning sun, forcing him to squint when looking at the building, but it was still too bright. So he raised his hand to his brow to make a sunshade, like Sun Wukong (the Monkey King).

After this slightly silly and childish action, Zhou Yi rushed into the office building with all his luggage – he was indeed rushing, because he was running. He couldn't wait to join this team and challenge the youth training camps of those European giants.

This was also his sole purpose for participating in this tryout, his ultimate goal.

The registration process went smoothly. After submitting the application form and several ID photos, it was done. He didn't even need to pay any money. All the expenses for the young players' training camp were provided by sponsors.

After registering, Zhou Yi took his dorm room key, grabbed his luggage, left the office building, and headed toward the dorm area.

But after walking for a while, he hesitated.

The person at the registration desk had only given him a general direction, and the specific route wasn't very clear. Now, in front of him, there were three roads heading in that direction, and he didn't know which one to take...

Just then, Zhou Yi saw someone walking towards him. Taking a closer look, he saw that the person was quite old. Zhou Yi guessed that he must be a staff member. It would be perfect to ask for directions, so he quickly went up to him and called out politely, "Uncle."

But the person walking towards him seemed not to hear him and tried to walk straight past him.

Zhou Yi wondered if his voice was too soft, so he raised his volume and shouted, "Uncle! Sir!"

The other person still didn't respond and lowered his head, but quickened his pace.

Helpless, Zhou Yi had to reach out and stop him just as he was about to pass by. "Excuse me, sir, do you know how to get to the reality show contestants' dorms? I'm here for the first time and I can't find my way..."

Before he could finish speaking, his collar was suddenly grabbed by the other person.

This took Zhou Yi by surprise, and he was also bewildered. He quickly raised his hands to show that he meant no harm.

The other person's face was contorted and red, and he roared at Zhou Yi through gritted teeth, "I-I-I-I… warn you! D-don't… don't you dare mock my… my appearance!"

Although his expression was fierce and his tone was harsh, the stuttering greatly reduced the murderous aura.

Zhou Yi was innocent. "I'm not mocking your appearance..."

He just called him "Uncle," how did that become mocking his appearance? Zhou Yi was confused.

"Y-you're s-still… still p-pretending, aren't you?!" The other person clenched his fists, and it looked like he was about to punch Zhou Yi in the face.

At this moment, two people suddenly turned out of the trees. One of the tall ones pointed at them and shouted, "Guo Nu, stop!"

The person grabbing Zhou Yi saw that someone was coming, so he let go of Zhou Yi, but he didn't forget to push Zhou Yi as he did so, causing Zhou Yi to stumble back a couple of steps.

Zhou Yi was still a little confused about what was going on – he was just asking for directions, how did it turn into mocking his appearance? It was really strange.

The two people who had arrived quickly ran over and separated Zhou Yi and the other person.

"Guo Nu, do you want to be kicked off the team if you fight again?" the tall one stood between the two, with his back to Zhou Yi and facing the other person, questioning him.

"H-he… he l-laughed at m-me first…" Guo Nu pointed at Zhou Yi behind the tall one and said, feeling very wronged.

"I didn't!" Zhou Yi protested, feeling very wronged. "I was just asking him for directions..."

"Y-you… you c-called me… Uncle!" Guo Nu roared.

Hearing Guo Nu say this, the other thin, fair-skinned teenager standing next to Zhou Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

But he quickly realized his mistake and covered his mouth, explaining to Guo Nu, who had turned his angry gaze to him, "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

The tall one and Guo Nu then both turned their gazes away from him. Guo Nu continued to stare at Zhou Yi, while the tall one also turned to Zhou Yi and said, "Although Guo Nu does look a bit old..."

Guo Nu looked indignant at the tall one's words, but he didn't dare to act against the tall one the way he had against Zhou Yi, showing that he was still somewhat wary of the tall one.

"...but he's really not anyone's uncle. He's the same age as us, a contemporary," the tall one continued to explain.

Zhou Yi was very surprised to hear the tall one's explanation. "He's only seventeen years old!?"

The tall one nodded. "Yeah."

Zhou Yi didn't say anything for a long time, his expression very shocked, obviously trying to accept this fact. People always say not to trust your eyes, that your eyes can deceive you, and now he was experiencing the feeling of being deceived by his eyes for the first time. But he couldn't figure out how a seventeen-year-old could look like someone in his thirties...

Seeing that Zhou Yi wasn't saying anything, the tall one turned to Guo Nu and said sternly, "Can't you see that he's new here? If people don't know your real age and just look at you, who wouldn't call you 'Uncle'?"

Hearing the tall one say this, Guo Nu could only hold it in—judging from their physiques, he couldn't beat the tall one...

He just snorted to express his dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the crisis of a conflict between teammates was about to be resolved, Zhou Yi, who hadn't said anything all this time, suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Um, will you get kicked out if you're found out for falsifying your age to be younger?"

Guo Nu, who had already been cooling down, flushed red instantly, and the whole person howled like a mad dog, about to rush towards Zhou Yi. Fortunately, the tall one in front of him stopped him. "Guo Nu, what are you doing!"

At the same time, he turned to his companion standing next to Zhou Yi and said, "Yang Muge, take this kid away first, or they'll really start fighting!"

Hearing this, Yang Muge quickly grabbed Zhou Yi's hand. "Let's go, I know where the dorms are!"

So Zhou Yi, who was still confused about the situation, was dragged by Yang Muge and ran wildly towards the dorm area, with the sounds of the tall one and Guo Nu arguing behind them.

"Hey! Guo Nu, do you want to fight me?"

"I-I-I… y-you… you… d-don't… don't…"