Chapter 1 The Derby

As Mark and his teammates warmed up on the Auf Schalke stadium pitch, the stadium was already packed. Everywhere you looked, there was a sea of Schalke 04 fans in their blue jerseys.

And the Borussia Dortmund fans?

Practically invisible.

There was a saying in the Ruhr area that Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund fans were so hostile to each other that they didn’t even want to go to each other’s stadiums to watch the games… So, no matter which team played away, the support they received was extremely limited.

Zhou Yi didn’t know if this saying was true, but when he went with the team to the Ruhr derby last season, he really didn’t see many Borussia Dortmund fans in Schalke 04’s home stadium. Even the few that were there were placed in the worst seats, far away from the pitch.

From the moment the players began to warm up, Schalke 04 fans continuously used all kinds of songs and cheers to proclaim their supreme power over this stadium. That small group of Borussia Dortmund fans shouldn’t even think about making any noise in this stadium.

“T-t-this, this is the Ruhr derby…” Mark looked up at the stadium stands all around him, and he was stuttering.

“You okay, Mark?” Zhou Yi noticed the abnormality of his friend next to him and asked.

“F-f-fine…” Mark continued to stutter.

Zhou Yi could hear that it wasn’t a stutter, but the result of Mark’s lips being uncontrollable – his upper and lower teeth were chattering.

“Are you sure, Mark? Your teeth are chattering.” Zhou Yi pointed at Mark and said.

Mark quickly closed his mouth tightly. The sound disappeared, and then he looked at Zhou Yi, using his eyes to tell Zhou Yi "I'm fine."

However, after the warm-up started, Zhou Yi found that Mark wasn’t really “fine”.

He didn’t seem very focused during the warm-up, and his eyes kept glancing at the stands, looking around.

This looking around was different from Zhou Yi’s looking around. Zhou Yi was habitually looking around, but Mark rarely did this during the pre-match warm-up. Suddenly doing this meant that something was wrong with him.

※※※

Even Mark’s parents in the stands could see it.

“What is Mark doing?” Mrs. Wagner complained anxiously.

“Is he looking for you?” “Old Man” Bruno guessed.

“I don’t think so. He should know which section we’re in, but he’s looking around…” Mrs. Wagner said and then started to scold, “That little rascal! If he doesn’t take the warm-up seriously, he won’t be able to seize the opportunity even if he gets to play!”

She was angry at her disappointing son.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She simply raised her fist and roared at Mark on the pitch: “Focus! What the hell are you looking at!”

Unfortunately, her voice couldn’t stand out at all under the huge background noise.

And her son was still blankly looking around…

“It’s useless…” Bruno pulled at Mrs. Wagner.

Mrs. Wagner also realized this. She sighed, “Oh, I really want to rush up and slap him in the face!”

※※※

Mrs. Wagner’s reminder was of no use, she could only worry anxiously. But someone helped him solve his problems…

Zhou Yi, who had noticed Mark’s distraction, was a little far away from him at this time. He couldn’t remind Mark by shouting in the huge and noisy singing above the Auf Schalke stadium.

But how could the clever him not think of a solution?

He gently tapped the football in front of him and then kicked it directly… a long pass!

The football drew an arc in the air, flew nearly thirty meters, and accurately hit… Mark’s face!

With a "thump," Mark, who was still looking around, had his nose bridge smashed out of shape.

Mark was also caught off guard. His body swayed, his neck tilted back, and he almost fell to the ground. He waved his arms to maintain the balance of his upper body.

This appearance made him a little embarrassed and ridiculous…

※※※

“Ouch! That hurts!” Bruno frowned exaggeratedly and mumbled.

Mrs. Wagner next to him clapped her hands and cheered for Zhou Yi: “Good job, Zhou Yi! That’s how it should be!”

“Ah, a real mom…” Bruno sighed about this, and then he continued to frown and said, “I hope this works for him.”

※※※

The Schalke 04 fans at the scene also noticed what happened on Borussia Dortmund’s side. When Mark was hit in the face by Zhou Yi’s kick, there was a burst of laughter in the stands.

“Look at that idiot with the number forty-five! Hahaha! He actually got hit in the face by his teammate during the warm-up!”

“What a beautiful ‘face ball’!”

“Oooooh! Borussia Dortmund’s idiots, go home! This is not a place for you!”

Those Schalke 04 fans who were in Borussia Dortmund’s warm-up half and close to the pitch continuously made funny faces, raised their middle fingers, and gesticulated and cursed at Mark.

※※※

On the sidelines, Borussia Dortmund assistant coach Buvac and head coach Klopp also noticed this scene.

After Mark was hit in the face by Zhou Yi, he covered his nose and lowered his head, looking very painful.

“Ah, how embarrassing…” Klopp turned his face away, seemingly unwilling to look at such an embarrassing scene of his subordinate, which made him a little awkward. “What is he doing?”

“Maybe he’s too nervous. After all, this is the Ruhr derby,” Buvac said.

“I’m already regretting putting him on my roster,” Klopp said with a pout.

In such an important and critical game, his player actually had such a stupid and ridiculous performance before the game even started, which made him think that it would greatly affect the team’s morale.

Football practitioners more or less have some superstitions, such as “lucky ties” and “lucky shirts,” which are very popular in the football world.

Klopp was no exception.

Some things that seem insignificant to others may be his “omen”. For example, Mark’s embarrassing performance just now gave Klopp a shadow in his heart.

If Borussia Dortmund really lost this derby on the road, then Klopp would definitely feel a little uncomfortable with Mark in his heart.

People are emotional animals, and emotions will produce prejudice. This is inevitable.

Anyway, now, Klopp had a bit of prejudice against Mark…

※※※

Mark, who was hit in the face, covered his nose and leaned over, completely unaware of who kicked him. When he rubbed his nose and stood up again, although there were tears in his eyes, he still saw Zhou Yi looking at him.

He immediately understood who kicked him just now, and… what it meant.

He covered his nose. The sour feeling made him squint and grimace non-stop. At the same time, he gave Zhou Yi a thumbs up, thanking him for this beautiful… long pass.

Now he wasn’t so nervous.

Although he could hear the laughter of those Schalke 04 fans ten meters behind him.

But he really wasn’t so nervous.

※※※

Wearing a low-key black outfit and a black baseball cap, with a pair of somewhat exaggerated black sunglasses under the brim, stood among a group of Schalke 04 fans dressed in blue.

She wanted to be low-key, but her dress, combined with her blonde hair, high nose bridge, beautiful chin, and red lips, always attracted people’s attention. They would glance at her a few times and wonder if she was a big star in disguise coming to watch the game…

Cortana could feel those questioning gazes, but she couldn’t explain her suffering.

She asked Hannah to buy her a ticket, but Hannah called her in the end and said that it was really difficult to buy. After a lot of effort, there was only one scalped ticket, which was twice as expensive and was in the Schalke 04 fan zone.

Hannah asked her if she would consider it.

To Hannah’s surprise, Cortana actually wanted it!

Cortana, who got the ticket, appeared in the Schalke 04 fan area.

And in a location relatively close to the pitch… No wonder the ticket price was so high! This was considered a relatively good location. It was the favorite spot for those crazy die-hard fans.

It was a pity that Cortana was not a crazy die-hard fan. Standing in this position was a bit of a waste…

Seeing her brother’s embarrassing performance just now, Cortana was not surprised, nor was she as anxious and angry as her mother.

Because in Cortana’s view, her brother was not made to play football. If he was an amateur, his level was okay, but if he wanted to be a professional player and rely on football to make a living for the rest of his life, he might not have the ability to do so…

Her brother’s performance just now proved Cortana’s evaluation of him very well, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

Her parents had always expected her brother to really become a professional player playing in the first team, but Cortana felt that the higher he climbed, the greater the pressure would be on her brother. How could her brother, who had always lacked confidence, cope with it?

Not all dreams are as beautiful and pleasant as heaven. The moment you realize your dream, you may not feel the angels around you, or the ethereal "climax" of fairy music, but… the miserable state of being unsupported after rising to the clouds, and then quickly falling and shattering on the solid ground, is also a possibility.