Chapter 14

At the Bracafonda training base, although the stadium was far from full, the screams of five or six hundred crazed Kaká fans were like a storm that blew over Rongguang's head, stirring his not-so-long hair.

It was just like the short grass on the field.

The grass was swayed by the wind created as the players ran over it.

Or, to be more specific, the grass near Rongguang was swayed by the wind created as Kaká, in his blue training jersey, ran past.

"Kaká—"

The stands echoed with the hysterical screams of female fans.

Just looking at the scene, it was hard to believe this was a football match; it felt more like a rock concert.

Kaká had just made a move to accelerate and cut outside, but when Rongguang shifted his weight and increased his speed, Kaká used his heel to flick the ball back towards the center!

This sudden change caught Rongguang off guard!

Then Kaká took the ball forward with his right foot, increased his speed, and instantly left Rongguang far behind!

His graceful silhouette made Rongguang look incredibly clumsy and ridiculous.

The fans' screams in the stands emphasized this point.

Rongguang played the role of a supporting character, making Kaká look even more handsome and elegant.

He was completely helpless against Kaká's feint.

"Damn!" Rongguang cursed in his heart, turning to chase after Kaká. But in his haste to catch up, his upper body turned faster than his lower body, and the inertia twisted his body like a pretzel. When he tried to turn his feet, the wet grass made him lose his balance, and he fell on his butt.

If the stands had erupted in laughter at Rongguang's fall, it would mean that someone was still paying attention to him.

But in reality, no such thing happened. No one laughed at Rongguang. No one was paying attention to him; everyone's eyes were on Kaká. Whether it was the fans, the media, the players on the field, or the coaches on the sidelines, everyone was cheering for Kaká's breakthrough.

"His form is excellent," Osvaldo said to the coaching staff beside him, feeling relieved.

"Kaká's form is really good!" the media in the stands exclaimed.

The powerful and swift breakthrough indicated that there was nothing wrong with his body. If he were still injured, his performance wouldn't be so good.

Only Riko noticed Rongguang's clumsy fall.

"Rong..." He frowned, looking worried, concerned for Rongguang.

He was worried that this would打击Rongguang's morale and confidence.

Although this was the actual gap between him and Kaká, and this was reality, the reality was too harsh. It wasn't a good thing, especially for those who loved to fantasize. How many people could withstand the shock of reality when it was completely different from their fantasies?

He was worried that Rongguang would be one of them.

***

After breaking through Rongguang, Kaká used his speed to charge into the penalty area. Facing the interference of the defenders, he feinted with his upper body.

This feint left the defender unsure of his intentions and unsure of how to defend.

While the defender was stunned, Kaká suddenly took a cold shot!

The ball, with little power, rolled past the defender and into the goal.

The red team's goalkeeper, whose view was blocked by his teammates, was too late to react when he saw the ball rolling towards him...

The ball rolled into the goal!

When the ball rolled into the goal, the cheers from the stands reached their peak, with five or six hundred people making the noise of a thousand.

This sound, like a storm, swept across the entire field, making everyone fully appreciate Kaká's popularity.

Riko looked at the cheering fans in the stands and sighed in his heart.

In such an atmosphere, Rongguang seemed like an antagonist... Although you might say the stronger the opponent, the better, was this what you expected, Rong?

He ran to Rongguang and pulled him up.

"Look, Rong, this is Kaká. I think you should... forget it. It's impossible, the gap between you two..." He hesitated, wanting to advise Rongguang but not wanting to discourage him.

At that moment, someone else said what he couldn't.

Reinaldo, who was near Rongguang, shook his head and tsked, "Don't waste your time. Look at how stupid you looked just now. Challenge Kaká?"

He spread his hands and sighed, "You're a hundred years too early, idiot!"

After saying that, he kept his hands spread and ran towards Kaká to celebrate the goal, completely ignoring Rongguang.

Although Reinaldo's tone wasn't harsh, Riko sensed his malice. But at the same time, he felt that Reinaldo, despite his bad tone, was right.

How could Rongguang be compared to Kaká? It was too crazy!

He also whispered to Rongguang, "Yeah, Rong, forget it... I'm doing this for your own good, Rong. Don't push yourself too hard. There's more than one goal..."

Before he could finish, he saw Rongguang suddenly leave him and walk towards Kaká!

He stared in shock, not understanding what Rongguang was doing, but knowing from his experience that it wouldn't be good...

"What is that idiot doing?" Reinaldo, standing beside him, was also puzzled and sneered.

Kaká was celebrating the goal with his teammates, running back while celebrating.

Rongguang walked straight up to him.

The players around them also noticed and looked at Rongguang in surprise, not understanding what he was doing.

Rongguang didn't care about their gazes. He walked up to Kaká, stopped in front of him, and stood there without backing down.

***

Kaká looked at Rongguang, who was standing in front of him, with a puzzled expression.

This slightly shorter, unfamiliar player was blocking his path.

They were very close, almost touching. This proximity made Kaká uncomfortable; it was too close, and he felt unsafe.

The people around them were also surprised.

What was going on?

Rongguang tilted his head slightly to look at Kaká, who was a bit taller.

This was the first time he had observed his opponent so closely.

Kaká couldn't see any friendliness in Rongguang's expression, so he knew Rongguang wasn't there to celebrate the goal.

He remembered, this was the red team player he had just broken through.

Rongguang's skin, though dark, was not like that of a black person; it had a yellowish tinge. He had black hair and black eyes, and his features were not as defined as those of Europeans.

This was... an Easterner?

Was this the new player who was said to want to challenge him?

***

Seeing a player from the other team suddenly appear in front of Kaká and look at him with an unfriendly gaze, the fans in the stands, who were cheering for Kaká, suddenly fell silent. They looked over, puzzled, not understanding what was happening.

For a moment, the noisy stadium became eerily quiet.

Osvaldo Oliveira and the coaches were also puzzled.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Mauro asked in shock, "What is that kid doing?" He had a bad feeling.

***

A teammate who was celebrating with Kaká and preparing to run back saw Rongguang approach Kaká in an unfriendly manner and frowned, shouting, "Hey, you—"

But before he could finish, he saw Rongguang make a move!

In the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Rongguang raised his right hand and pointed at Kaká's chest with his index finger.

***

"Damn! How dare you point at Kaká like that!"

"I'll kill you, kid! Don't touch our Kaká!"

"That's so impolite!"

"Why is someone like that on the same team as Kaká? It's too dangerous! What are the coaches and officials of São Paulo thinking?!"

The Kaká fans in the stands clutched their heads and screamed hysterically. Clearly, they were deeply offended by Rongguang's rude gesture.

Corey couldn't help but curse, "This bastard! What is he doing?!"

At that moment, she saw Rongguang suddenly turn his head, as if looking at her.

She was startled.

She saw Rongguang take a deep breath and shout at the noisy fans in the stands, "Shut up—!!"

No one expected Rongguang to directly scold the fans. Everyone was shocked, and the shouting and cursing stopped for a moment.

In this silence, they saw Rongguang turn back to Kaká and heard him say, not loudly but with unusual determination, "I will beat you, Kaká. I will definitely beat you!"

***

"I will beat you, Kaká. I will definitely beat you!"

In the silence, Rongguang said this, his expression defiant.

When he said this, his eyes were fixed on Kaká's, looking at him without fear.

Just asking who Kaká was, he was met with a cold response from a twelve-year-old girl.

Just saying he wanted to take Kaká as his goal, he was despised by the entire youth team.

Just being broken through and falling, Reinaldo came to mock him, and even Riko, who had come to the youth team with him, advised him to give up!

Why?

Even if the opponent is Kaká, so what?

I said I will beat you, and I will definitely beat you!

Did you all hear that? I, Rongguang, am not joking! You can all be my witnesses!

Kaká's teammates were stunned, not expecting Rongguang to say such a thing!

Rongguang's voice wasn't loud, not the kind of shouting, but the stadium was silent, so everyone heard it.

For a moment, their reactions were the same as Kaká's teammates; their minds couldn't process why Rongguang would say this.

But soon, their minds caught up.

The stands erupted in a huge chorus of boos!

"That bastard! What did he just say?!"

"He actually said he will beat Kaká? Who does he think he is?!"

"Where did this idiot come from?"

"Get out, idiot! You don't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Kaká!!"

"Who does this bastard think he is, acting up in front of Kaká in front of us?!"

"Are you this stupid, and your family knows?!"

"Go to hell, idiot!!"

Kaká's fans, especially the female fans, were shouting and making obscene gestures.

They were fiercely defending their idol. Rongguang's insult to their idol was like an insult to them; they shared the same honor and the same disgrace.

The boos also woke up Kaká's teammates, who glared at Rongguang, "Hey, you rookie..."

As if they wanted to go and teach Rongguang a lesson.

Kaká finally spoke.

At first, he was also surprised, but now his face had returned to a smile, not angry at Rongguang's insolence, perhaps because he didn't take Rongguang's words seriously...

He smiled at Rongguang and said, "Okay."

Then he walked around Rongguang and headed back to his half of the field.

He didn't continue to engage with Rongguang.

But his teammates were baring their teeth at Rongguang.

"You better know what you're doing, kid!"

"Kaká won't take you seriously, so don't provoke him, rookie!"

They glared at Rongguang threateningly and walked past him.

Reinaldo, following behind them, spread his hands and sighed as he passed Rongguang, "You're really out of your mind, you must be crazy!"

Then he shook his head and walked away.

Rongguang, however, ignored their threats and provocations, maintaining the same smile on his face.

He had heard the boos, the insults, and the threats.

He clenched his fists.

***

"What is that kid doing..." Mauro had the urge to cover his face.

Osvaldo's face was also one of shock, completely not expecting Rongguang to say such a thing!

A rookie, who had only been playing football for a little over a month, dared to challenge Kaká?!

His reaction was the same as the players when they first heard Rongguang's words.

Riko, although he knew Rongguang had set Kaká as his goal, didn't expect Rongguang to be bold enough to declare war on Kaká in front of so many people!

Is he crazy?!

What has he been through?

Or did he hit his head when he fell on his butt?

No... he fell on his butt!

Anyway, Riko couldn't understand what Rongguang was thinking.

He wanted to go and comfort Rongguang, but seeing the unfriendly gazes of the first-team players, he hesitated and ultimately decided against it. He just watched Rongguang with concern.

Clearly, Rongguang had made it onto the blacklist of the first-team stars. If he got too close to Rongguang, he might be affected too...

Should he distance himself from Rongguang?

He and Rongguang weren't really close friends. He wasn't Lucas Sutton. He only didn't treat Rongguang like the other youth team players because he had a good relationship with Lucas Sutton. But to stand with Rongguang under the pressure of the first-team stars... he couldn't do it.

***

The journalists lifted their heads from behind their cameras, looking at the scene in surprise.

What did that person just say?

If we heard correctly, he said he would beat Kaká?

What's going on?

Why is this happening?

Who is this unfamiliar face?

Why have we never seen him in São Paulo before?

Yellow skin, black hair... is he an Indian or a Japanese?

The journalists had too many questions...

This unexpected incident at Kaká's first training session after his injury was completely unexpected!

***

The fans in the stands were all cursing Rongguang, even though they didn't know his name.

But they gave him all sorts of derogatory names.

"Idiot," "moron," "bastard," "asshole"...

Such insults echoed in the stands like a storm.

But Corey didn't join in the storm, unlike her companions.

She stood on her seat, staring in shock at the figure on the field, enduring the curses of everyone.

If she were in this situation, she would have been scared stiff.

But he was still standing.

And...

She could even see the smile on his face!

Is he an idiot?!

To beat Kaká?

Who do you think you are, huh!