Chapter 9

The wealthy uncle did not lend money, and his parents were still running the restaurant. The application for a kidney donor had been submitted, and they were still waiting. Tang Yuantian decided to have Tang Jue undergo surgery to address both his heart and kidney issues simultaneously. The couple now needed to focus on earning money.

Seeing their parents become increasingly silent, even Cuihua, who usually enjoyed telling jokes, no longer told them. The entire family was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere. Tang Jue reassured his parents again, telling them not to worry, that he would take care of his own illness. Tang Yuantian thought his son was talking nonsense, while Chen Xiu'e forced a smile and nodded. Tang Jue saw the sorrow in her eyes.

Cuihua no longer let Tang Jue do any housework, as his kidney condition meant he should not overexert himself.

...

In September, the weather was clear and pleasant.

It was the start of a new semester. Bathed in the morning light of Lyon, Tang Jue, with his schoolbag, set off for school with Bei Qiang. Bei Qiang patted Tang Jue's shoulder and said, "Tang Jue, why don't I talk to my parents and ask them to contribute some money?"

Bei Qiang had heard about Tang Jue's health issues and wanted to help.

Tang Jue smiled and said, "Forget it, I'll take care of it myself."

Bei Qiang turned to look at the plane trees by the roadside. The edges of the leaves were beginning to turn yellow, and the autumn chill was settling on the yellowing leaves. He turned and said, "In Chinese class, the teacher said that traditional Chinese medicine is amazing. Why don't we try finding a TCM practitioner?"

Bei Qiang lowered his head and muttered, "Where can we find a TCM practitioner?"

Tang Jue's brow furrowed slightly, and he murmured, "TCM?" Then a glint of inspiration flashed in his eyes, and he had an idea!

...

That evening at dinner, Tang Jue told his parents that he had found a TCM practitioner who was a master and that the practitioner said he could cure his illness. The treatment had already begun. Chen Xiu'e was overjoyed and quickly asked how much it would cost.

Tang Jue said the doctor was not asking for money now and would be paid after the treatment. Tang Yuantian said they should go thank the practitioner. Tang Jue excused himself, saying the doctor did not want to see outsiders. Chen Xiu'e consoled her husband, saying that masters generally did not like to meet strangers. She marveled at how fate had been kind to their family.

Tang Jue's story was full of holes, and if the couple had carefully analyzed it, they would have found many issues. However, under the immense financial pressure and the intense emotional strain, they temporarily believed Tang Jue.

Cuihua, full of questions, pulled Tang Jue aside after the parents had gone to bed. She asked if he was lying. Tang Jue did not back down. Cuihua said, "Where are there any masters nowadays? Who would treat someone first and then ask for payment?" Seeing that his secret was exposed, Tang Jue asked Cuihua to keep it a secret. Cuihua, not wanting to cast a shadow over the family again, agreed to keep the secret.

Cuihua's condition for keeping the secret was that Tang Jue was not allowed to peek at her while she was showering. Tang Jue, blushing, agreed without hesitation.

Thus, Tang Jue dispelled the shadow that had hung over the family.

With no idea how to treat his illness, Tang Jue was at a loss. However, fortunately, the supercomputer in his mind, "Xiaofeifei," finally responded the next evening. This made Tang Jue overjoyed, as if he had found a way out of a desperate situation.

Tang Jue, lying in bed, asked in his mind, "Why are you only responding now? I'm so worried."

The talking Xiaofeifei said in Tang Jue's mind, "Master, the pressure of time and space during the穿越 was too great, and I had to shut down. I only restarted yesterday and have been busy organizing the database. Master, most of the data in the database has been lost."

Tang Jue's heart sank, and he urgently asked, "Is the data on the gene medicine still there? I urgently need to treat my body."

Xiaofeifei, with a childlike voice, said, "Master, the data on the gene medicine is still there. I just scanned your body, and there are indeed significant issues."

Hearing this, Tang Jue's heart finally eased. A path forward had been found, and the direction for the future was clear. The next steps were simple!

Tang Jue almost let out a triumphant cry. The dark clouds in his heart were finally about to clear, and a bright future lay ahead!

Since the problem with his body had a solution, he began to focus on football. Tang Jue asked, "What is my current level of football?"

Xiaofeifei began scanning Tang Jue's brain, as it contained information about his football skills. After about ten seconds, Xiaofeifei said, "Master, according to the standards of football players in the year 3000, you currently have no level, not even reaching the initial professional level. However, this is mainly due to your young age. According to the information in your brain, you are only fourteen years old."

In his previous life, players were classified by their skill levels, from low to high: professional, star, and super star. Each level was further divided into three stages: initial, intermediate, and advanced.

Tang Jue asked again, "What is the general situation of players in this world?"

Xiaofeifei said, "Master, you need to turn on the computer so I can understand the situation."

Tang Jue got out of bed, walked to the computer desk, and turned on the computer. Xiaofeifei infiltrated the computer, rapidly copying, browsing, and analyzing. After about ten minutes, Xiaofeifei said, "Master, according to the standards for player skill levels, the professional level is the threshold for professional players, the star level is the threshold for main players in top clubs, and the super star level is the pinnacle of athletes."

"Most players in this world are at the professional level. There are 278 star-level players. Among them, 203 are at the initial stage, 60 are at the intermediate stage, and 15 are at the advanced stage. There are two super star-level players: one is Zinedine Zidane, and the other is Ronaldo."

Tang Jue was not yet a professional player. He first needed to solve his health issues. He had to cure his body before he could play football. After understanding the relevant information about players, he and Xiaofeifei began to plan how to create the gene medicine. After a detailed discussion with Xiaofeifei, Tang Jue took action!

...

Somewhere on the west side of Lyon University. This was a grove of plane trees, with trees as thick as bowls spaced about two to three meters apart, reaching heights of eight to nine meters. A few withered leaves, unwilling to turn into spring soil, hung lonely on the branches.

Fifty meters east of the plane tree grove was the foreign graduate student dormitory area. To return to the dormitory, they had to pass through the plane tree grove. At some point, an Asian teenager began to appear in this grove. Every afternoon, this teenager would practice football alone in the grove.

To be precise, the teenager only did one thing every afternoon: dribble the ball through the trees, treating them as obstacles. From his dribbling movements, it was clear that the teenager was skilled and had received formal training.

The only thing that puzzled people was that the teenager would always stop to rest for a long time after each dribble. Whenever he stopped to rest, his face would turn a deathly gray.

This left the students passing by puzzled. If it was so painful, why did he persist in practicing?

One day in September, at 4 PM, Tang Jue arrived at the plane tree grove, put down his schoolbag, and started with some flexibility exercises before beginning to juggle the ball. The ball continuously fell from the air, landing on various parts of Tang Jue's body, then bouncing up joyfully. Some passing international students couldn't help but stop to watch. Every time Tang Jue performed a spectacular juggle, there would be a few cheers.

After a few deep breaths, Tang Jue began dribbling. He treated the plane trees as defenders. In an instant, it felt as if he were back on the football field, as if he were in a match. With a feint, Tang Jue's right foot flicked the ball to the right, and the ball rolled from one plane tree to another.

The realistic feint earned another round of applause, mixed with a few cheers. Tang Jue's right foot then cut the ball, and he maneuvered around another plane tree...

Tang Jue was working hard to reach the professional level as soon as possible. Due to his health, he had left the Lyon club and no longer had a coach's guidance or the ability to train with his teammates. He was embarking on a path no one had ever taken, aiming to reach the professional level through his own training. This was an unprecedented feat!

Thus, Tang Jue, like a spirit of the grove, continuously weaved through the trees. It was as if this place were his home, and he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

Tang Jue successfully dribbled around fifteen trees, and the ball came to a stop beside him, like a loyal dog guarding its master. Tang Jue bent down, breathing heavily. His heart pounded irregularly in his chest, as if it were about to burst. His waist felt heavy, as if a large stone were pressing down on it, making it difficult to stand straight. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead to the ground.

"Great job!"

"You're going to be a star in the future!"

The surrounding international students, some in English, some in French, and some in their native languages, encouraged Tang Jue. Tang Jue slowly straightened his back, smiled at them through the trees, and then continued dribbling!

Suddenly, Xiaofeifei's childlike voice appeared in Tang Jue's mind: "Target acquired!"

"Bang!" Tang Jue, as if breaking through all the defenders, kicked the ball with all his might. The ball flew out of the grove, drawing cheers from the onlookers. They marveled at the teenager's precise shooting technique. The ball actually flew through the grove and onto the road!

"Ah!" A scream of pain. The ball hit a girl's leg, and she fell onto the grass by the roadside. The crowd gasped in shock and quickly gathered around. A tall boy was about to help the girl up.

"Don't touch me! I'm fine!" the girl suddenly shouted. The boy stopped his actions. At this moment, Tang Jue pushed through the crowd. The girl was lying on the grass, wearing white sports shoes, blue jeans, and a white short-sleeved shirt. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail, covering her face.

Tang Jue quickly said in French, "I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"Don't touch me, I'm fine," the girl said coldly. She slowly sat up, and Tang Jue finally saw her face. It was an Asian face, with willow-like eyebrows, large eyes, a soft and beautiful face, a delicate nose, and thin lips with a mole below them. She was a beautiful girl, but her face was cold, as if she wanted to keep people at a distance.

When the crowd saw the girl's face, they slowly dispersed, leaving only Tang Jue on the grass.