Chapter 64

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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There was a freshman in the Economics and Management School's Statistics Department who played as a forward, but he was only a bit over 1.6 meters tall. Although his speed was good, his physical strength was poor, and none of the defenders from the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School were shorter than 1.75 meters.

Yu Heng found Du Yifan, who had performed well in the previous two matches, and asked if he could play as a forward. Du Yifan clearly stated that he couldn't, as his strength lay in dribbling and passing, and his shooting skills were very poor.

Just as Yu Heng was frowning in worry, Bian Xuedao brought Cheng Daqi to him.

Bian Xuedao recommended Cheng Daqi as the foreign aid for the next match.

Yu Heng asked Cheng Daqi what position he played, and Bian Xuedao said, "Goalkeeper."

Yu Heng said, "Our goalkeeper may have let in a lot of goals, but he's still useful and can't be replaced casually. Let me find a few people to take shots and test this kid. By the way, he looks so young, how old is he this year?"

Yu Heng found a few players with relatively better footwork to test Cheng Daqi.

By "relatively better," it meant they could shoot from a slightly farther position than the penalty spot without missing the goal too badly. Out of eight shots, not a single one went in.

Such light and soft shots with no feints were too easy for Cheng Daqi.

Seeing how impressive Cheng Daqi was, the other players became interested. About 30 people took one or two shots each, and only two goals were scored, both by luck.

Yu Heng asked Bian Xuedao to try as well, as he had never seen this teacher who marked a "+" on the score sheet play.

Bian Xuedao stood in front of the ball, stood quietly for a moment, and stared at Cheng Daqi.

Because they were familiar, Cheng Daqi felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. At that moment, Bian Xuedao took a step without much run-up and kicked the ball with his right foot. There was a "bang," and the ball flew straight into the goal.

Their practice goal was a simple iron frame without a net, and the ball flew 6 to 7 meters behind the goal, hit the wall with a "bang," and then bounced back.

Dozens of people were stunned. What kind of foot strength was this?

Cheng Daqi, a bit不服 (unconvinced), picked up the ball and threw it to Bian Xuedao, "Again."

Bian Xuedao bent down to place the ball, straightened up, and kicked it with his left foot with a "bang," and the ball went in again.

The onlookers noticed that Bian Xuedao's left and right feet had almost the same power.

Yu Heng smiled and walked to Bian Xuedao's side, "You two will play tomorrow. I should have found you for the last match! This will be fun for the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School."

The next day, the match between the Economics and Management School and the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School was scheduled in the morning.

Although the team's performance was poor, it was the last match of the Economics and Management School's football team, so students with or without classes all came to watch.

The stadium was bustling with activity.

Not only did students from the two schools come to watch, but anyone without classes would come to sit for a while. As the world's number one sport, football's charm and appeal were undeniable.

After several group matches, many students were no longer too concerned about the outcome, as long as there were exciting goals. Especially if a few strong players could emerge and form a school team to compete with other universities, that would be the most anticipated.

Yu Heng knew a bit about football and was quite cunning.

Yu Heng, who also coached the team, arranged a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Yu Heng placed the small, fast forward from the Statistics Department in the "1" position, hid Bian Xuedao behind the forward, and placed Du Yifan behind Bian Xuedao.

Some people questioned Yu Heng, thinking that Bian Xuedao should be the center forward in the "1" position, given his height and explosive power.

Yu Heng said no, the outcome was no longer significant, and he wanted to give the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering team a surprise.

For this match, Yu Heng replaced the players who were relatively good but had a strong sense of small group loyalty with those who had good stamina and could run well.

Before the match, Yu Heng repeatedly instructed everyone to conserve their energy and to kick the ball long to the front field from the back.

After a series of practice sessions and tests, Li Yu found that he had no talent for football.

Tong Chao was different. He made quick forward runs, timely back defenses, and was brave in tackling and heading. He handled the ball very decisively and turned out to be a good wing-back, placed on the right side to support Du Yifan.

Tong Chao had another significant advantage: he wouldn't run around the field and waste energy. His positioning awareness was good, and his judgment of high and semi-high balls was very accurate.

The final list of four defenders was selected by Cheng Daqi.

The tall Cheng Daqi abandoned Yu Heng's idea of tall defenders and chose a few who were agile, quick on their feet, and had relatively strong kicks.

This was almost a completely new team, with only Tong Chao, Du Yifan, and a defensive midfielder having played in the previous two matches.

The main players from the previous two matches had no major objections to this arrangement. After all, with a team of over 40 people, they could only play three matches, and they had to let others have a chance to show their skills.

Moreover, the third match was against the strongest team in the group, the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School, and they might be scored against many times. Not playing would save them from embarrassment.

Kang Kai, the small forward placed in the "1" position by Yu Heng, looked at the surrounding audience before the match and was so excited that his muscles trembled.

In high school, when he played with some middle-aged and elderly amateur teams near his school, he had never felt this excited.

Seeing the calm Bian Xuedao beside him, Kang Kai gradually calmed down. He was very clear that the main attacker in Yu Heng's plan was Bian Xuedao, and he was just there to distract and find opportunities.

Glancing at the stands, Kang Kai saw the class beauty he had always admired and felt he should cherish this opportunity and try to perform well.

The Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School also fielded a new team for this match.

Zhou Hai, the sports minister and team leader of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School, had planned to rest the main players, restore their energy, and avoid any injuries from the Economics and Management School's desperate attacks.

Sitting on the sidelines, Zhou Hai was very satisfied with the team's morale, especially when his girlfriend from the Law Department waved to him from the stands.

But there was one thing he was dissatisfied with: the cheerleading squad from his school was far inferior to the one from the Economics and Management School.

Zhou Hai thought, "The school is really unfair. They only allow foreign players but not foreign cheerleaders. If they could borrow the cheerleaders from the Economics and Management School, it would definitely boost the team's fighting spirit."

The match began.

Zhou Hai was still daydreaming and took out his phone to call his girlfriend in the stands.

While looking for her number on his phone, he suddenly heard a collective intake of breath around him. This sound was so strange that Zhou Hai's heart sank.

It was as if the air had suddenly contracted to a point and then released, followed by a burst of cheers.

"Goal?"

Zhou Hai's first reaction was joy, "These new guys are really fighting hard, scoring so quickly."

He stood up with a grin, ready to cheer, but then he saw the students from the Economics and Management School running around in celebration.

"What's going on?" Zhou Hai asked a player behind him.

The main midfielder said, "The 24th player from the Economics and Management School received the ball in midfield, advanced a bit, and shot from outside the penalty area. Our team just came on and wasn't prepared, so he scored."

"Damn!" Zhou Hai cursed.

Actually, Zhou Hai wasn't cursing the goal from the Economics and Management School but the fact that he had missed such a great goal.

Their match had no video equipment, so missing it meant he could only hear others recount it.

Zhou Hai was still lucky. Not long after, Bian Xuedao replicated the first goal, and Zhou Hai saw a similar goal with his own eyes.

Ten minutes later, after a fierce midfield battle, the ball came to Du Yifan's feet. He advanced a bit and passed the ball to Tong Chao, who was making a run down the wing. Unmarked, Tong Chao crossed the ball to Kang Kai.

At this moment, Kang Kai was facing away from the goal, with someone defending him, so he couldn't turn. He dribbled the ball for a couple of steps, passed it back to Bian Xuedao, who had just entered the penalty area, and then turned to run towards the goal.

Just as Kang Kai turned, he heard a "bang" behind him.

The ball flew past him with a "whoosh."

Kang Kai saw the opposing goalkeeper stretching out his hand to block the ball, even touching it with his fingers, but the ball's force was too strong, and the goalkeeper's arm bent unnaturally.

The ball went in again!

2:0.

The stands on the Economics and Management School's side erupted in cheers again.

A long-range shot, a powerful long-range shot, a straightforward and clean long-range shot.

Although the level of both sides was limited, the lack of tight marking and interference made it easier to shoot with full power, but two such precise shots from near the penalty area were still quite impressive.

Yu Heng's face was already beaming with a smile.

"Still, the sports teacher has a keen eye! Anyone marked with a '+' on the score sheet is so fierce, like Du Yifan and Bian Xuedao."

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(End of the page)