Chapter 97

In September, São Paulo is still in late winter, but in reality, São Paulo doesn't have a winter. Even at this time, the temperature in São Paulo is over twenty degrees, with bright sunshine and a warm feel.

Everyone is wearing light clothing, and many are even in short sleeves and shorts.

This is São Paulo. Summer attire is always in style here.

The sunny weather is perfect for outdoor activities.

Under a building with a milky white glass curtain wall, there is a park-like garden, very spacious.

The lawn is lush, with a circular fountain and various shaped flower beds.

People are strolling on the lawn, fully enjoying the sunshine.

Some are sitting in wheelchairs, parked in the sunny, spacious area, motionless, basking in the "sunbath."

Birds chirp and flowers bloom around them, the sound of water splashing. At first glance, it looks like the parks on the streets of São Paulo.

But if you look closely, you'll notice something unusual—those basking in the sun are all dressed the same, wearing white uniforms with light gray vertical stripes, both the shirts and pants.

Observing their expressions more closely, you'll find that they all look somewhat strange, especially with their dull, lifeless eyes, as if they know nothing.

This is the large courtyard of the São Paulo Mental Hospital.

On a nice day, many patients come out to enjoy the fresh air under the nurses' supervision.

Sun Fengyang is sitting on the grass, with Rong Guang and his grandfather sitting cross-legged beside him.

Unlike the times when Rong Guang saw the old immortal, this time the old immortal is not wearing a white robe that exudes a master's aura but ordinary patient's clothes.

"… Old Immortal, do you know? When I jumped, I even scolded the person who pushed me from behind! The next second, I scored a spectacular goal! Oh, their expressions at that time… they were all shocked! I was also shocked, but I didn't have the heart to tell them it was an accidental goal… hahaha!"

Rong Guang gesticulated wildly as he told Sun Fengyang's grandfather about the funny moments in the match.

The grandfather listened quietly, occasionally stroking his beard and chuckling.

Sun Fengyang wasn't paying attention to what Rong Guang was saying; his focus was on observing his grandfather's expression.

Today, this is not the first time he has seen his grandfather smile.

In fact, when Rong Guang appeared in front of his grandfather, the grandfather smiled.

Then the two of them walked away, talking, and came to this sunny square. Most of the time, Rong Guang was doing the talking, while the grandfather listened quietly.

But the smiles were frequent, almost always on his face, and he even laughed out loud!

This scene initially surprised Sun Fengyang.

Since his grandfather fell ill, he rarely saw such genuine smiles from him.

Today, he has seen them countless times.

He increasingly feels that bringing Rong Guang to see his grandfather was the right decision.

After watching Rong Guang's match yesterday, he also understood why his grandfather valued Rong Guang so much, even willing to run out of the hospital multiple times for him.

He remembered how he was tormented by his grandfather's so-called special training when he was young, unable to endure it for a day, and eventually fled to study elsewhere to avoid his grandfather.

At the time, he left in a hurry and certainly didn't see the disappointment in his grandfather's eyes.

But, Grandfather, I'm not the kind of person with extraordinary talent… please spare me!

Later, he heard that his grandfather often went out on the streets to trick children, using them as his test subjects, and even injured one child. The family finally had enough and sent his grandfather to the mental hospital…

Now, in front of him, there is someone who can withstand his grandfather's month-long hellish special training.

His grandfather has finally found a "person with extraordinary talent," someone who can carry his ideals and hopes. He must be very happy and content…

※※※

Finally, it was time to say goodbye. Rong Guang said goodbye to the old immortal with some reluctance.

"Old Immortal, rest well here. I'll come to see you when I have time!"

The old immortal gestured for Rong Guang to come closer and take off his shoes.

Sun Fengyang was puzzled, not knowing what his grandfather was going to do.

Rong Guang, however, had no doubt about the old immortal's words and took off his shoes without hesitation.

Seeing Rong Guang take off his shoes, Sun Fengyang noticed that Rong Guang's feet were disproportionately large. Given Rong Guang's height, he shouldn't have such large feet.

The old immortal squatted down, and his bony hands, like eagle claws, began to massage Rong Guang's feet, then moved up to his toes, soles, ankles, calves, knees, thighs… all the way to the hip joints. Then he continued up the spine.

After reaching Rong Guang's shoulders, he began to pinch and massage, and finally, he moved down his arms to the fingertips.

After the massage, the old immortal nodded, beckoned his grandson over, and gave him some instructions. Then, without saying goodbye to Rong Guang, he turned and walked directly toward the yellow building.

Sun Fengyang watched his grandfather's back, then looked at Rong Guang, feeling a bit hesitant.

They walked out of the mental hospital's gate, and Sun Fengyang said to Rong Guang, "Grandfather said your speed can still be improved. He wants me to help you more."

Rong Guang's mouth dropped open.

"But I think speed isn't urgent. What you need most now is to practice your long shots."

Actually, even without his grandfather's words, Sun Fengyang planned to help Rong Guang. He was very interested in the person his grandfather approved of, which is why he specifically went to find Rong Guang to tell him about the long shots.

However, he and his grandfather are different. He has his own methods. He studied systematic sports medicine in Germany and worked in the German sports circle for a long time.

He has his own understanding and ideas about sports, and he has been involved in professional football, so in this area, he is more professional than his grandfather.

"Your previous scoring methods were too dependent on getting close to the goal, relying on distance. Long shots can help you break this dependency. This way, your speed can come into play. You only need to dodge one player, even temporarily, to create space and an angle, and you can shoot directly. I noticed that you scored this way in the last match. What did you feel during that goal?"

Rong Guang carefully recalled the process of scoring in the last match and said, "I couldn't find the rhythm for long shots before. But when I used my speed to dodge the opponent and then shot, it felt really good. I found it strange—when no one was pressuring me, I couldn't score, but when someone was pressuring me, I could score."

"That's the body's natural reaction, free from all distractions. The purpose of repeated practice is to make the body remember, not the mind. The body is better suited for sports," Sun Fengyang said.

Rong Guang felt eager to start training right away.

But Sun Fengyang wasn't done speaking yet.

"I noticed you often go to Lake Park. It's a good place to practice, but don't practice on the beach."

"Huh? Why?" In fact, Rong Guang had planned to practice there. Long shots require a wider space, a real goal, and ideally, a goalkeeper. Practicing on the rooftop with only Godo was too limited.

The rooftop has various obstacles, which are good for practicing dribbling, but it's too small for long shots.

"The sand is soft and feels completely different from natural grass. Practicing long shots on the beach will only teach you incorrect techniques. It won't help you in real matches. You need to practice on firm ground, preferably on natural grass. The beach is good for physical and strength training, but not for technique."

※※※

The issue of the practice venue was quickly resolved. When the team resumed training, Rong Guang found that Assistant Coach Mauro had assigned him a new training program, which was exactly long shot practice.

Rong Guang could also use the team's training field for long shot practice before and after training, as well as during lunch breaks.

This solved Rong Guang's problem.

He could spend a lot of time practicing long shots on the training field.

The only small issue was the lack of a goalkeeper.

But Rong Guang had a solution.

Without a goalkeeper, he would aim for the corners of the goal, which are the hardest for the goalkeeper to defend.

So, Rong Guang lined up the balls 40 meters from the goal, dribbled forward, and shot after two steps.

Even without defenders, he imagined someone defending him, making various moves to create shooting angles.

He practiced this way, moving and shooting on the field.

At first, his movements were too forceful, and he lost balance before shooting, making his shots inaccurate.

After repeated practice, he gradually found the right feel.

The most important thing was the rhythm.

Receiving the ball, dribbling, accelerating to break free, decelerating to shoot.

The entire process should be smooth and continuous.

In the end, Rong Guang could even predict whether his shot would go in before it left his foot, guessing correctly eight out of ten times.

That's the feeling!

But Rong Guang wasn't satisfied with just that.

He wanted to improve his long shot ability as much as possible.

At the training base, he could practice accuracy.

At home, he could practice shooting power!

Rong Guang is fast, so he has good explosive power.

But his body is weak, and he lacks strength. Despite eating a lot and training to build muscle over the past few months, his strength is still not great due to his poor foundation.

When Rong Guang first came to Brazil, he was 1.55 meters tall. A child who grew up in a poor mountain village with no proper nutrition, just enough to fill his stomach, had no concept of balanced nutrition.

Due to long-term malnutrition, Rong Guang was very short.

In such a situation, his speed can only be attributed to a natural talent…

However, this is not entirely surprising. China is vast, with a large population, and who knows how many hidden geniuses are buried in life?

After seven months in Brazil, Rong Guang is now 1.72 meters tall, growing 17 centimeters in seven months, a very fast rate. His body is growing rapidly, and sometimes he wakes up in pain from cramps, even hearing the sounds of his joints growing, a joyful sound of growth.

His height is growing quickly, but his weight is increasing slowly, making him look even thinner.

But Rong Guang knows his muscles are increasing.

His strength is also slowly improving.

What Rong Guang needs to do now is to increase his shooting power.

Going to the gym to train is one method, but Rong Guang feels it's too slow.

He needs to improve the power of his leg kicks, and he has his own method.