Chapter 6 Arsenal

At six o'clock in the morning, Zhou Yi was woken up on time by Chu Ling in his mind, and he exited the world of fifAoL3.

He didn't get up and put on his clothes and tie on sandbags to go for a run like he used to.

He just lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Just like the last time he spent his first day in Barcelona.

He had spent eight days in the world of fifAoL3 at night, playing a match against the La Masia Youth B team every day for those eight days. And in these eight games, he and his virtual teammates had not won a single victory, all defeats!

It felt exactly the same as when he opened his eyes the last time he came to Barcelona.

Yesterday he had boasted that he would teach the Barcelona people who looked down on him a lesson, but instead, he was taught a lesson.

Even with a new group of people, this team was still very strong, so strong that it was simply despairing.

Before the first match against the Barcelona youth team, Zhou Yi had no concept and thought that losing the game was certain, but at least they could score a goal.

Later, the cruel reality made him realize that scoring goals was just a fantasy.

Later, after experiencing various competitions in Europe, facing different opponents, and with performances that varied from good to bad, but overall trending upward, Zhou Yi himself was full of confidence. Returning to Barcelona, he had a kind of heroic feeling of "killing a carbine," so he shouted that sentence "I, Hu Han San, am back again" at the airport.

As a result, he still lost.

After a moment of daze, Zhou Yi cursed softly and then flipped over from the bed in a carp jump.

He began to sit on the bed and put on his clothes and shoes.

After putting on his shoes, he rolled up the legs of his sports pants, tied on the sandbags that Guo Nu had lent him, and then put the legs down, which was considered ready.

Then he got up and turned to walk outside.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw He Ying sitting on the bed looking at him. The room was not lit, but He Ying's two eyes were shining.

This startled Zhou Yi—having someone silently watching you from behind... the thought alone made his scalp tingle.

"Wow!" he exclaimed.

"What are you doing?" He Ying asked.

"You startled me..."

"No, I'm asking what are you going to do?"

"Uh, morning run..." Zhou Yi made a chest-expanding movement.

Before, Zhou Yi always left earlier than He Ying. After he left, He Ying would wake up. The timing of the two of them was completely different.

But this time, Zhou Yi had delayed some time lying in bed in a daze, so the two of them ran into each other.

He Ying also realized for the first time why he never saw Zhou Yi when he got up in the morning.

Although he had guessed in his heart that Zhou Yi might have gone for a morning run, he wasn't sure. Now he had caught him red-handed.

After Zhou Yi finished speaking, he planned to continue walking out, but at this moment, he heard He Ying suddenly say, "Want to go together?"

Zhou Yi was stunned.

He Ying always did things alone. This was most obvious when eating in the restaurant. Others were in groups of three or five, and Zhou Yi also formed a fixed partnership with Sun Pan, Yang Muge, and Guo Nu. Only He Ying was always alone.

No one went to find him, and he didn't go to find anyone else.

Although he was on this team, he was outside the team. He was different from everyone else on this team. Everyone always thought that he might not consider himself a part of this team. He was just a star that head coach Hao Dong used his personal connections to support, so naturally, he couldn't play with ordinary players.

At first, some people wanted to approach him, but after discovering that he was not easy to approach, they all gave up—let him enjoy his own company. We are not on the same path as him.

Originally, Guo Nu seemed very lonely on the team, but with the arrival of Zhou Yi, this situation was changed.

Now He Ying seemed a little lonely. Of course, this was just the outsiders' view. Maybe He Ying himself didn't think so? How to prove it?

Because He Ying had never taken the initiative to ask to do anything with anyone.

Except for arrangements made by the coaching staff and the program.

So Zhou Yi was very surprised. This was He Ying... the first time he had taken the initiative to express that he wanted to be with someone.

No matter what it was, just the "together" was enough to shock Zhou Yi.

He Ying looked at the surprised Zhou Yi and said, "I know running is boring, it's better to have a companion."

He not only invited once, but he also invited again.

Zhou Yi reacted, but he didn't accept it happily. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Okay, I don't mind, as long as you... don't mind..."

He said the last part very softly, more like he was talking to himself.

He Ying heard Zhou Yi say "Okay" anyway, so he took it as his agreement. Then he jumped off the bed and started putting on his shoes and clothes.

He was ready quickly, and the two of them walked out of the room together.

Just as they walked into the hotel lobby, He Ying saw several other familiar faces, all of his teammates—Sun Pan, Yang Muge, and Guo Nu.

He was a little surprised.

Zhou Yi looked at him and explained, "Actually, we've always been training together in the morning... well, if you don't mind, want to join us?"

He was too embarrassed to directly refuse He Ying's offer earlier because he thought it would be a pity to reject He Ying the first time he invited someone to do something together. Now it was his turn to extend an invitation to He Ying.

He Ying also didn't expect that there would be so many people. He had always thought that Zhou Yi was the only one who ran in the morning. Now that he thought about it, what he had just said was really embarrassing.

It made him seem like the pitiful one who found running alone boring and wanted someone to accompany him...

He could have chosen to continue running alone under the pretext of "You have someone to accompany you, so never mind," and escape this somewhat awkward scene.

But when Zhou Yi extended the invitation, he didn't do that, but nodded: "Okay."

Seeing that He Ying had actually agreed, Sun Pan was a little disappointed.

But he didn't show it. After all, He Ying was invited by Zhou Yi, so he had no reason to say anything.

If he could have been in charge, he definitely wouldn't have invited He Ying.

But now... it was all for Zhou Yi's sake that he reluctantly followed He Ying on his bicycle!

※※※

Two days passed, and Tim Kist was still unable to get a chance to approach Zhou Yi alone. He was always with a few familiar-looking teenagers, probably his close friends. They almost never appeared alone. He was not a quiet and withdrawn teenager. He had good relationships and brought excitement wherever he went.

Just as Kist was still troubled about how to get a chance to talk to Zhou Yi alone, someone took a step ahead of him.

"Arsenal scouts are looking for us?" Hao Dong wasn't very surprised to hear this news. Why did the Chinese teenagers play so many games in Europe? Wasn't it to attract attention from Europe?

He was surprised that someone had taken the initiative to contact them at this time.

"Yes, they want to talk to us about Zhou Yi. You are the head coach of the team, so naturally, we have to tell you about this matter," said chief director Xu Tao.

It seemed that Arsenal was interested in Zhou Yi.

Hao Dong was happy for Zhou Yi. This kid was talented. If he continued to go back to school to take the college entrance exam, it would be a waste of his ability. He had been worried that European clubs had high standards and would not like Zhou Yi, after all, Zhou Yi's physical fitness was a big problem.

But now Arsenal had taken the initiative to come to their door... This was good news.

Hao Dong smiled: "That's no problem, we welcome all scouts and managers from European clubs."

If possible, he really hoped that none of these sixteen children would be left behind and that they could all stay in Europe in the end, instead of returning to China with him, just having toured Europe and had a dream. That would be too much of a pity.

※※※

After finishing training and returning to the hotel, Zhou Yi originally wanted to go to dinner with everyone, but he was stopped by Hao Dong: "Zhou Yi, wait a moment."

Zhou Yi wondered what the coach wanted him for, but he stayed anyway, and waved to his friends: "You guys go first, I'll be right there."

Then Zhou Yi was taken directly to Hao Dong's room.

Entering Hao Dong's room, Zhou Yi was surprised to find that chief director Xu Tao and... a completely unfamiliar foreigner were already sitting inside.

Seeing Zhou Yi, the foreigner stood up quickly.

Xu Tao followed suit and introduced to the confused Zhou Yi: "Zhou Yi, this is Mr. Alan Powell, he is a scout for the English Arsenal Football Club."

Zhou Yi was stunned, quickly surrounded by a sense of unreality...

Looking at Zhou Yi's dumbfounded expression, everyone knew how surprised he was. But this was normal. A student player was suddenly valued by a top European club... being hit in the head by a pie falling from the sky would make anyone dizzy.

Hao Dong laughed first and patted Zhou Yi on the back: "Wake up."

Zhou Yi came back to his senses and scratched his head embarrassedly.

Next, the two sides sat down, with Hao Dong acting as the translator, and began formal talks.

This might be a conversation that would change Zhou Yi's life, and might even be mentioned frequently in later years.

If someone were to write a biography for Zhou Yi in the future, they might use this conversation as the opening of the book.

"In an ordinary hotel room in Barcelona, Alan Powell, a young scout for Arsenal, was encouraging the seventeen-year-old Zhou Yi to go to London with him, describing it as a football paradise, a heaven on earth..."