Chapter 52

**Preface: Acknowledgments**

For the first time in my life, I received a tip, from a book friend: Yinyue Lengqiu. I am immensely grateful.

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Tang Hua wiped his forehead, the sweat continuously seeping out, making it hard for him to open his eyes. However, he still had to try to open them and aim at the goalpost not far away while urging the damn bald referee to blow the whistle in his heart.

It was already summer, and although Tian Nan was known for its spring-like weather all year round, the afternoon sun was no joke, especially on an unsheltered football field. The sunlight on Tang Hua's exposed skin seemed to be making it smoke.

This whole situation was quite dramatic. Two classes in the same major had agreed to a friendly football match to show "neighborly goodwill." This was a common occurrence in universities, but it so happened that a guy from the opposite class had recently stolen a classmate's girlfriend, who they had been dating for almost three years. This act of poaching immediately made the match highly charged, especially after the heartbroken guy promised to cover the team's meals for a week if they won.

With the promise of rewards, the guys on Tang Hua's side were all pumped up, even the girls, who usually cherished their skin, came to cheer on the field for the first time.

However, the rewards were not so easily obtained. Once on the field, more than half of the people regretted it. The pride of the university, who usually moved in a straight line between dorms, classrooms, and the library, had severely underestimated the power of the afternoon sun, especially on artificial turf. As everyone knew, although artificial turf looked smooth and beautiful, many football moves were simply not feasible on it, and it was particularly easy to get injured. For example, sliding tackles, which might not be a big deal on natural grass, were almost self-torture on artificial turf, causing a burning pain with every slip. Moreover, the field, baked by the sun, felt like a freshly baked pizza, making everyone on the field feel like half-cooked, steaming pieces of meat, unable to cry or laugh.

The most unjust of all was Tang Hua, who didn't even need to be there in the first place. When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. For a match, naturally, the athletic ones would go, and it certainly wouldn't be a gentle-looking guy like Tang Hua. Unfortunately, after the match had been going for a while, one of the guys was baked unconscious, and Tang Hua was dragged in as a last-minute substitute. However, after Tang Hua reluctantly came to the field, he strongly suspected that the guy was really unconscious or just pretending.

Fortunately, the match was nearing its end; unfortunately, Tang Hua's side was trailing 0-1. Now, Tang Hua was preparing to take a direct free kick.

If it were at a different time and place, this free kick wouldn't have been Tang Hua's to take, but at this moment, almost everyone who could stand was already a miracle, so they had to let Tang Hua, who theoretically should have the most energy, take it.

On the field, Tang Hua wiped his sweat again, bringing a pungent smell of plastic, and his face instantly had another black mark. He turned his gaze to the opposing goalkeeper, the guy who had stolen someone's love. He noticed that the goalkeeper was looking at the heartbroken guy with a very arrogant expression, while the heartbroken guy glared back, but his body was so weak that he looked helpless and sad.

Even with Tang Hua's character of not getting involved in others' affairs, he couldn't remain indifferent after seeing this. Although he and the heartbroken guy were just acquaintances, they were still classmates, and he had to stand up for his own people, no matter what.

Tang Hua gathered his scattered thoughts, squatted down to tighten his shoelaces, stood up, took a few steps back, and began to adjust his breathing...

Finally, the damn whistle sounded.

Running, swinging his leg, kicking the ball!

Tang Hua might never have imagined how impressive his posture was at that moment, almost making everyone feel a sudden brightness. But soon, their attention was drawn to what Tang Hua was focusing on—a curve!

I might never kick such a beautiful curve again in my life, Tang Hua thought. It was like the famous "crescent moon blade" seen in various football highlights. The ball flew into the goal amidst the cheers of his teammates, the stunned look of the arrogant guy, and the exclamations of the spectators.

Goal.

There was no emotional "GOAL!" from a commentator, but that didn't mean the goal wasn't beautiful. Although it couldn't bring victory, it brought back some dignity.

It came just in time.

The heartbroken guy was the first to rush over, hug Tang Hua, and kiss him twice without hesitation. Before Tang Hua could react, he was surrounded by the guys who ran up.

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Lin Sen never imagined that he would encounter a person who seemed to glow here, and this person was actually a bespectacled, gentle-looking college student.

Just as Lin Sen never believed that Chinese football could satisfy fans in a short time, he never believed that football was inherently unsuitable for the Chinese. The idea that out of a billion Chinese, it was impossible to find eleven who could play football, was logically flawed. The issue wasn't whether the statement was true, but whether the premise was valid. In the football world, there was also the concept of football population.

Football geniuses definitely exist in China; it's just that they might not play football.

Lin Sen still didn't fully understand his ability to see emotions. Emotions were something everyone had, so as long as it was a person, Lin Sen could observe their emotional colors. However, the "golden aura" he had only seen once, possibly on Pellegrini, had never been seen on anyone else except players. Even so, Lin Sen couldn't definitively say that the golden aura was absolutely related to football. In other words, true football geniuses might have the golden aura, but the golden aura wasn't exclusive to football geniuses.

However, Lin Sen always believed in fate.

If he hadn't suddenly felt like bringing Dina to see, if he hadn't wandered over here by chance, and if this person hadn't suddenly taken such a perfect free kick, and if he hadn't subconsciously "seen" that, there might have been no story. With so many "ifs," Lin Sen walked straight to the student after the match ended.

"Hello," Lin Sen greeted first, "that free kick was beautiful."

"Uh... hello," Tang Hua was a bit surprised by the greeting from this stranger but still politely replied, then scratched the back of his head and said shyly, "that ball was just lucky."

"Do you often play football?" Lin Sen seemed not to hear the last part and asked with a smile.

"Not really..." Tang Hua shook his head, "I'm not very good at sports. I rarely come to the football field except for occasional running."

Not very good at sports?

Upon hearing this, Lin Sen felt a bit disappointed, but he still asked, "Not good? Or not interested?"

"Well..." Tang Hua was taken aback and laughed, "there's not much difference, I guess."

It seemed there wasn't much difference, but in reality, there was a big difference. Lin Sen thought, but he didn't want to keep pressing the other person, who was drenched in sweat. It was already good that he stopped to talk. A few words were fine, but if he kept pressing, it would be too rude. Lin Sen thought for a moment, then took out a notebook, wrote down his phone number and email, and tore it out to give to Tang Hua.

"You might think I'm being presumptuous, but for some reason, I feel we have a connection. Here's my phone number and email. If you have the chance, let's stay in touch. By the way, I'm Lin Sen." When Lin Sen said this, he suddenly felt something was off. After thinking for a moment, he realized his words sounded a lot like what the fake Taoist he had met at the temple said, which made him a bit embarrassed.

Tang Hua's expression became somewhat surprised.

Clearly, Lin Sen's actions were incomprehensible to him, a statistics major. If he were a girl, Lin Sen's behavior could be understood as a clumsy attempt to chat her up, but he was a man, and this action was a bit strange. Could it be... At this thought, Tang Hua suddenly felt a strange tightness. However, since Lin Sen didn't ask for his phone number but tactfully wrote his own number on a piece of paper and handed it to him, he didn't have a reason to turn and walk away.

After much internal struggle, Tang Hua finally took the paper and said, "Tang Hua."

"An acquaintance?" As Tang Hua left, Dina walked over and looked at his back, clearly having seen Lin Sen's conversation with him.

"No," Lin Sen shook his head and turned to smile, "let's go."

Dina didn't ask any more questions, and the two quickly left through another gate of Tian Nan University.

Lin Sen still couldn't determine if Tang Hua was a football genius. Even if he were, Tang Hua was already past the best age for playing football. However, he still left his contact information. Whether Tang Hua would call or not, or even if the paper might end up in a trash can during their conversation, none of this mattered to Lin Sen. As he always believed, if it was fate, let fate decide.

He just wanted to give himself no regrets and give Tang Hua a choice.

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After returning to Lin Village, Lin Sen spent the rest of the time with his grandmother, chatting and walking around the back mountain. During this time, Lin Sen used his ability to help his grandmother remove some minor ailments, while Dina followed Aunt Fang to do some housework and even helped with the crops, which, although tiring, was a new experience for her.

Lin Sen told the old lady about his new job, and she reacted calmly, as if she had known about his new job for a long time. However, when Lin Sen mentioned whether his grandfather knew, the old lady finally started to talk more.

"Don't worry about your grandfather. The old man is getting more and more confused, but fortunately, his influence can reach within the country but not outside. Just do your job with peace of mind."

"Next time you come back, bring a proper wife. It's not that I want to meddle, but this Dina is a good girl. However, my eyes are still good, and I can see she doesn't have that intention. I guess you know that too."

"If you get tired, come back. Don't worry, I'm still in good health and can definitely hold the grandchild you bring back."

...

The old lady chattered on, and Lin Sen's eyes turned slightly red.

In his memory, the old lady, who valued health, was indeed a long-lived person. After his grandfather left, his father nominally held up the family banner, but in reality, the backbone was always the old lady in front of him. However, after that, the old lady, who always smiled, had fewer smiles and more wrinkles carved by time.

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