Chapter 68

Dan Rao watched Bian Xuedao run and compete on the field, his eyes fixed on the ball as he moved back and forth, occasionally wiping his sweat. She saw him shouting and communicating with nearby teammates, and even though he didn't score, she still thought the boys looked much cooler when they were active.

The players finally got a halftime break.

The first half was so intense that several players from both sides immediately approached the team leaders after coming off the field, requesting to be substituted in the second half.

The two team leaders were so angry they couldn't speak. The rules had changed, and they only had four substitution slots in total. Could they be used so easily?

Dongsen University's stadium didn't have dedicated player rest rooms. There were rooms under the stands, but they needed to be applied for on the spot, which everyone found troublesome.

The players could only sit in a designated area on the stands to rest. Everyone was very tired, focusing on recovery, so few people were talking.

Dan Rao saw Bian Xuedao sitting on the steps drinking water. Just as she was about to go talk to him, a blonde-haired foreign student approached Bian Xuedao.

Seeing it was Harry, Bian Xuedao warmly stood up and walked to the side to talk with him.

Many people recognized that the person talking to Bian Xuedao was the foreigner who played as a winger for the foreign student team in the morning. Everyone was a bit surprised how these two knew each other.

Liao Liao's roommate returned from the bathroom, passing by Bian Xuedao and Harry, and heard them talking in English. Back at her seat, she told Liao Liao, "The guy from the nutrition class is talking in English with a foreigner."

Dan Rao also noticed that Bian Xuedao was speaking English with the foreign student, and her satisfaction with him increased a bit.

In the second half, Tong Chao twisted his leg in a collision and was substituted out. The team leader of the Media School intended to substitute Bian Xuedao as well, but considering the precious substitution slots, he decided to see how Bian Xuedao performed first.

At the 48th minute, Bian Xuedao took a long shot from outside the penalty area, hitting the post. The dull sound echoed in the stadium.

Zhou Hai and the Mechanical and Electrical team players simultaneously thought, "Oh no, here we go again."

Three minutes later, Bian Xuedao received a pass near the penalty area and immediately took a powerful shot. The ball hit a defender's chest with a "bang," causing the defender to stagger back two steps, his face pale as he clutched his chest and crouched on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Five minutes later, using his physical and strength advantages, Bian Xuedao ran 30 meters with the ball. Just as everyone thought he was about to shoot, and several defenders and the goalkeeper moved to block the shot, he suddenly passed the ball skillfully to the team's center forward. The opposing team could only watch helplessly as the unmarked center forward kicked the ball into the net.

The Media team scored first.

The stadium erupted.

Everyone came to watch the game to see goals, and they finally saw one, a clean and crisp goal.

As the Media team celebrated on the field, Bian Xuedao ran to the side of the field directly in front of Dan Rao, raising his right index finger high to show Dan Rao that this was the first goal for her.

The surrounding people's gazes all turned to Dan Rao. This usually generous girl blushed for the first time.

The goal greatly boosted the morale of the Media team players.

They seemed to suddenly regain their energy, running and moving actively, causing chaos in the Mechanical and Electrical team's penalty area.

Seven minutes later, in a scramble in front of the goal, Bian Xuedao used his body to shield the ball. Hearing a teammate calling for the ball behind him, he moved forward but passed the ball back with his heel. The teammate who caught up did not disappoint.

2-0.

In this level of the game, for both the players on the field and the audience, Bian Xuedao's heel pass was incredibly impressive.

Everyone's attention was on the goal, expecting a forward breakthrough and guessing how Bian Xuedao would shoot.

Bian Xuedao used his heel pass brilliantly, showing everyone what it means to play with your brain.

Seeing Bian Xuedao raise two fingers at her from the side of the field, Dan Rao was overjoyed. She subtly made a kissing gesture to him, then saw Bian Xuedao run back to the field as if wound up by a spring.

Dan Rao couldn't help but laugh, very satisfied with Bian Xuedao's reaction.

Taking advantage of the Media team's full press, the Mechanical and Electrical team launched several counterattacks, but two one-on-one opportunities were thwarted by Cheng Daqi, causing the Mechanical and Electrical team's morale to plummet.

Five minutes later, the Media team came back strong.

Attacking from both the wings and the center, after several passes, the ball was finally passed to Bian Xuedao.

Bian Xuedao controlled the ball with his instep, moved sideways to create space from the defender, and then took a powerful shot.

The ball flew like a cannonball, whistling towards the net.

The two defenders in front of the goal, who had already suffered from Bian Xuedao's powerful shots, didn't know where to put their hands. They should have braced their bodies to increase their blocking area, but they instinctively hunched and turned their heads, praying, "Not me, not me, don't hit me."

The ball went in!

3-0!

Bian Xuedao spread his arms wide, mimicking the celebration of players on TV, gliding like a bird.

Halfway through his run, he realized he was running the wrong way. Dan Rao was on the stands behind him, so he turned back.

Bian Xuedao stood below Dan Rao's stand again, raising three fingers high.

All the cheers and glory were for her.

Seeing Bian Xuedao, smiling and sweating, proudly showing off to her, Dan Rao's eyes suddenly welled up. She covered her mouth, no longer caring about the gazes of the people around her, and nodded vigorously to Bian Xuedao.

This confirmed the relationship between the two for those who were still unsure.

The final score of the game was 3-0, a very rare score in the "Dongsen Cup."

Generally, it was hard for any team to keep a clean sheet, but the Media team did, or rather, Cheng Daqi did.

After the game, the team leader of the Media School, who knew the whole story, didn't say anything to Bian Xuedao but bought a large bag of fruit and sent it to Dan Rao's dormitory. He told the sports department members that this was called "catching the king to catch the thief."

As long as Dan Rao was pleased, Bian Xuedao would be a permanent member of the Media team, and no one could poach him.

Over the weekend, the four semifinal teams were determined: the Graduate Team, the Foreign Student Team, the Media Team, and the Materials Team.

From the four semifinal teams, one team came from each of Groups 1 and 2, while Group 3 was completely eliminated, and Group 4 was truly the "Group of Death."

To prevent widespread truancy, the school scheduled the semifinals and final for the next two weekends, with rumors that the school leadership would attend the games.

The semifinal matchups were: Graduate Team vs. Media Team, and Foreign Student Team vs. Materials Team.

The team leaders and relevant personnel of the four semifinal teams were all on high alert, gathering intelligence on their opponents, recruiting more players to strengthen their teams, and reserving dedicated areas in the stadium for training.

Bian Xuedao didn't care about the training; he was concerned about swimming.

Dan Rao had secretly bought a swimsuit at some point, a one-piece in light blue with floral patterns.

Seeing Dan Rao in the swimsuit, Bian Xuedao noticed that her body proportions were excellent, well-balanced, neither too fat nor too thin.

Bian Xuedao, essentially a married man, wasn't overwhelmed by the sight of the swimsuit-clad beauty. He told Dan Rao a few key points about swimming, then directly took her to a shallow pool about 1.2 meters deep and had her get in.

"Get in the water now? I don't know anything yet!" Dan Rao stood by the pool, unwilling to get in.

Having taught Xu Shangxiu to swim in his previous life, Bian Xuedao was very experienced. He knew that practicing on land was useless; they had to get directly into the water to overcome the fear of water, increase interest in playing in the water, and boost confidence in swimming to learn the fastest.

"Get in the water, not to swim right away. Hold onto the handrail and practice the movements in the water."

Seeing Bian Xuedao's determination, Dan Rao reluctantly entered the pool, squatting halfway in, her hands tightly gripping the handrail, looking at Bian Xuedao helplessly.

"Stand up and try, it's not that deep," Bian Xuedao said.

Dan Rao stood up and found that the water didn't cover her, and her expression immediately relaxed.

Bian Xuedao walked about ten meters along the pool edge and told Dan Rao, "Hold onto the edge and walk over to me."

Dan Rao did as instructed, step by step.

Bian Xuedao walked back the same way and told Dan Rao to walk back.

After four rounds, Dan Rao had initially adapted to the buoyancy of the pool water. Without Bian Xuedao's prompting, she began to try floating her legs by holding onto the edge.

Seeing Dan Rao's interest in floating, Bian Xuedao swam a few laps in the shallow pool to demonstrate swimming techniques.

When Dan Rao rested on the shore, Bian Xuedao went to the standard pool and swam 700 meters in about ten minutes. He did this mainly to give Dan Rao confidence, showing her that he was a competent swimming coach.

Sitting on the shore watching Bian Xuedao swim, Dan Rao thought, "We've already confirmed our love, why doesn't he introduce me to his dorm mates?"

The two spent two and a half hours at the swimming pool on the first day.

On the way back to school, Dan Rao asked Bian Xuedao, "When are we coming next time?"

Bian Xuedao said, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yep, if you want to learn quickly, it's best to come every day for the next half month." He paused and added, "Of course, take a few days off when it's inconvenient."

Dan Rao quickened her steps, pretending not to hear.

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