Chapter 93

Continuous poor performances in three matches did not discourage Rongguang.

But he was indeed a bit anxious because Kaka was performing exceptionally well, which formed a stark contrast.

Despite the team being given a day off after the match, Rongguang still ran to Lake Park for intense training.

Now, all he could do was train.

He started dribbling with walnuts on the shaded path in Lake Park again.

Although the old sage had been taken away, Rongguang still adhered to the rules the old sage had taught him—return to the starting point and start over once he failed.

Over and over again, he started over, and by the time it was dark, Rongguang was dragging his exhausted body back to Godo's house.

But when he opened the door, he found the lights were off inside.

Although the lights were off, it did not mean there was no light in the room.

The light came from the dining table, where the orange candlelight made the room feel warm.

The candles were stuck on a cream cake.

Rongguang looked at this scene, a bit dazed—what was going on?

At that moment, the lights in the room suddenly turned on. Godo jumped out: "Happy birthday, Rong!"

Rongguang mechanically turned his head to look at Godo. He noticed that Godo's chubby face was wearing a mask, the kind with a black eyeglass frame, a fake nose, and a fake mustache, which looked very funny.

He took something from his hand, put it in his mouth, and blew hard, making streamers extend out and producing a very funny sound.

"Happy birthday!" he repeated.

Rongguang finally reacted, pointing at himself: "Me? Birthday?"

Godo laughed: "You're silly, today is September 1st, your 17th birthday, right?"

Rongguang patted his forehead: "Oh, I forgot!"

The last time he celebrated his birthday, it was at his own home, with Godo by his side.

His birthday was just a bowl of noodles with a poached egg, which was already a great treat. It only happened once a year.

Now in Brazil, the table was full of delicious food, and there was a cream cake he had never tasted before!

His forgotten birthday, but Godo still remembered...

After a day of intense training, Rongguang was both physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing this scene, his heart was suddenly touched.

He lowered his head and rubbed his nose to hide his expression.

"I... I'll go take a shower first!"

Saying that, Rongguang headed to the bathroom.

"Go ahead, change your clothes, and then we'll eat," Godo patted Rongguang's shoulder from behind.

※※※

In the bathroom, warm water sprayed from the showerhead, and Rongguang stood in the middle of the water, head down, motionless, letting the water slide from his head down his body, flowing to his feet, and gathering to flow into the drain.

Since following Godo to the unfamiliar Brazil, he had been prepared for hardship.

Without family by his side, life and training here were monotonous and boring.

At 16, he would also miss home and have moments of weakness.

But whenever this happened, he would think of his family, of his grandparents and younger brother seeing him off at the village entrance.

His grandparents' eyes were filled with worry and unease, just like when they saw his parents off to work every year after the Spring Festival.

His younger brother, on the other hand, excitedly waved his arms and shouted, "Brother, you must earn money!!" His eyes were filled with envy, as if going to distant Brazil was like going on a trip.

He was here to fulfill his family's hopes, not for a vacation.

So he would throw himself into even more intense training.

Compared to a life of poverty and a future without hope, not scoring in three matches was nothing.

When he followed Godo out of the village, he looked back one last time.

Under the pale blue sky, there were yellow ridges, and on top of the ridges was a crooked tree. In summer, the tree was lush, and the elderly and children liked to cool off and play under it. In winter, only bare branches remained, stretching towards the sky like countless human hands.

This was the "landmark" of Rong Family Gully Village.

He saw three black dots under the tree, his grandparents and younger brother, with his brother still jumping and waving to him.

He would not return until he had made a name for himself!

Rongguang made a fierce vow in his heart.

Thinking of his elderly grandparents, his young brother, and his sister and parents working hard in distant Shanghai, Rongguang felt a great sense of responsibility.

I have no right to fail. The starting position I have earned must not be lost!

Under the hot water, he clenched his fists tightly.

Happy 17th birthday, Rongguang.

Let them see your strength!

※※※

On his 17th birthday, Rongguang tasted a cream cake for the first time in his life.

The cream was sweet, the cake was soft, and the fruits were delicious.

He and Godo each had half, finishing the not-so-big cake.

"This is high-calorie, high-fat stuff, Rong," Godo said with a smile after they finished.

Rongguang shook his head: "Then I'll turn it all into muscle!"

And he really meant it.

The next day, before training, Rongguang arrived at the training base an hour and a half early for special training. During the training session, he was very serious and hardworking, and after the afternoon training, he added an extra half hour of practice.

His intense enthusiasm made his teammates feel a chill.

In the locker room, while Rongguang was still adding extra practice, everyone was discussing him.

"Rongguang must be under pressure, right?"

"Definitely, Kaka's performance is so good, he's under a lot of pressure..."

"Hey, why does he have to compete with Kaka so fiercely? Why put himself through this?"

"Training like this really makes me worry about his health..."

The teammates' discussions did not deliberately avoid Kaka, so Kaka heard everything.

Because of the pressure he brought?

Kaka's lips curled—let you taste the feeling of being chased!

He was very happy that his continuous four goals in four matches had such an effect.

He would re-throw Rongguang far behind!

If Kaka knew that Rongguang's intense training was actually because of the cream cake... he probably wouldn't be so happy.

※※※

Rongguang did not actively read newspapers or listen to news. But he could tell from others' expressions, he wasn't stupid.

For example, the head coach Osvaldo's face had not been good these past few days—journalist Grayson's article had put a lot of pressure on him.

Grayson's articles were always well-reasoned and evidence-based. If you agreed with his views, you would think he was right, flawless!

From Osvaldo's expression, Rongguang knew how bad the situation was.

His competitor, Kaka, had scored in four consecutive matches, with four goals and one assist, making him the focus of attention in São Paulo State and even all of Brazil.

And himself?

He had not scored in three consecutive matches...

The situation was at its most critical moment.

If he did not come up with a solution, he did not know how long Osvaldo would still support him.

He could not rely on others' favors; the starting position was something he had to fight for. From the youth team to the first team, the only thing he could rely on was his own strength.

But how to solve his current problem?

This was not something that could be solved by shouting a few slogans...

※※※

Every morning, Rongguang would spend an hour and a half at Lake Park for his own special training. After the training, he would return to Godo's house, have breakfast, and then go to the Bragança training base for a day of training.

At the Bragança training base, before the official training started, he would train alone on the field. During the lunch break, he would also train alone on the field. After the afternoon training, he would add another half hour to an hour of practice.

After finishing training at the Bragança training base, he would go to Lake Park for an hour of special training, and then return home for dinner.

After dinner, he would go to the rooftop to practice juggling, passing, and shooting.

Only after this would his day of training end, and he would take a shower and go to bed.

This was Rongguang's daily training schedule.

Almost all his time was arranged, except for eating, sleeping, and using the toilet, all his time was spent training.

Many people saw Rongguang's astonishing progress and thought he was a genius or a monster.

But few of these people could see the effort behind Rongguang.

One morning, when Rongguang went to Lake Park for special training, he met someone there.

"Hey, I knew I'd run into you here," Sun Fengyang waved to Rongguang.

But Rongguang's response made him a bit awkward.

"Uh... Who are you?"

Sun Fengyang covered his face with his hand—this kid had completely forgotten him!

"I'm the old sage's grandson!" he quickly introduced himself.

"Oh, grandson! It's you!" Rongguang suddenly realized.

But Sun Fengyang felt it was awkward: "Don't call me that... You can call me by my name or just call me Brother Sun."

"Hehe." Rongguang also realized the problem with the title, scratched his head, and smiled, then asked, "How is the old sage? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, almost ruling the mental hospital," Sun Fengyang said with a helpless smile when talking about his grandfather.

"I knew the old sage would be capable!" Rongguang was very happy to hear this.

Sun Fengyang didn't know what was so happy about...

"Are you here for morning exercise too?" Rongguang asked Sun Fengyang after being happy for the old sage.

"No, actually, I'm here for you," Sun Fengyang shook his head.

"For me?" Rongguang was surprised.

"You've been having some trouble lately, right?"

Rongguang's eyes darted around, then firmly denied: "No!"

"Come on, don't be strong in front of me," Sun Fengyang could see through Rongguang's little thoughts.

"Uh... Okay, there is," Rongguang surrendered.

"I have a solution, do you want to hear it?"

Rongguang was overjoyed when he heard this: "Little Sage!"

"Call me Brother Sun!" Sun Fengyang couldn't take it anymore. "I'm not a sage. We believe in science. Actually, I've watched your recent matches. You really want to score, right?"

Rongguang nodded quickly.

"Then do you know why you can't score?"

Rongguang shook his head like a rattle.

"Because you're too far from the goal. To score, you have to break through the opponent's carefully set up defense. In this process, the chance of losing the ball is very high. This makes your teammates less likely to pass to you. Meanwhile, your competitor Kaka has scored in four consecutive matches. Why? Actually, he rarely breaks into the penalty area. He doesn't tangle with the opponent's defenders but chooses a more efficient way to score..." Sun Fengyang began to analyze for Rongguang like a professional.

Rongguang couldn't help but interrupt: "What is it?"

"Long shots," Sun Fengyang looked at the eager Rongguang and said.

"Long shots?" Rongguang was stunned.

"Yes, long shots. In the four goals Kaka scored, two were long shots, and one was a shot from just inside the penalty area, which was also quite far from the goal. Long shots allow him to bypass most of the defense and directly threaten the opponent's goal. But you, you don't take long shots," Sun Fengyang shook his head.

Rongguang lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

Indeed, as the saying goes, the one in the situation is confused, while the one outside is clear. He had never thought about the problem from the perspective of shooting methods. He always thought he couldn't score because his dribbling skills were not good enough to get past all the defenders.

Now he suddenly realized. He didn't need to get past the defenders; he just needed to take long shots!

He knew how to take long shots. Compared to regular shots, long shots required more power, and he just needed to keep the ball low. The choice of angle was not as strict. For him, who practiced shooting every day, the technique was not a problem; he just needed to practice more.

But he rarely did this. He always tried to get past the defenders and get closer to the goal. He thought the closer to the goal, the easier it was to score. This was a fixed mindset, and he, a rookie, had fallen into it...

Why do I have to get closer to the goal?

As long as I can score, it doesn't matter where I am, as long as I get the ball in!

He began to recall Kaka's performance in the matches.

In the attack, he usually used his speed and skills to get past one defender, but he did not continue to break into the penalty area. Instead, he took a shot after creating an angle...

Yes, I can do that too!

When Rongguang faced a defender one-on-one, his success rate was still good. But once he continued to move forward, he would be surrounded by multiple defenders and lose the ball...

What if he took a shot after getting past the first defender?

Rongguang just thought about it and felt it was feasible.

Now what he needed to do was practice, repeatedly practice long shots, and improve his accuracy and power.

Practice, practice, and practice again.

This was something Rongguang was good at.

Thinking about this, Rongguang felt that running slowly in Lake Park was a waste of time. He needed to practice long shots!

So he quickly thanked Sun Fengyang: "Thanks, Little Sage!"

Saying that, he turned and ran back, as fast as a gust of wind.

"Call me Brother Sun!" Sun Fengyang said, but Rongguang was already out of sight...

Looking in the direction Rongguang had disappeared.

Sun Fengyang shook his head.

A kid who could survive a month of my grandfather's special training, how far can you go?

※※※

Rongguang rushed back to the apartment like a gust of wind and dragged Godo, who was making breakfast in the kitchen, out.

"What's up, Rong? So urgent?" Godo was still wearing an apron when Rongguang dragged him out.

"To the rooftop, Godo!" Rongguang said while running to the elevator.

"To the rooftop? What for?"

"To practice long shots with me!"

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