Chapter 56

Mao Jianqing felt like he was slaughtering a pig...

Liu Hao, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned, leaning against the wall and lighting another cigarette.

"Brother Fat, what's up with you?" Mao Jianqing had never seen someone so relaxed even when they were so sick.

"It's an old problem... Just don't tell anyone, or I won't even have a chance to play soccer anymore." Although he said it like that, there was no sign of worry on Liu Hao's face.

"Xiao Mao, do you remember the incident between Zhang Yuning and Qu Leheng in 2000?"

Mao Jianqing's heart skipped a beat. Why bring this up now?

"I was only 16 back then." Mao Jianqing nodded.

"I was 18 that year. Do you think Zhang Yuning really wanted to ruin Qu Leheng?"

The word "ruin" made Mao Jianqing alert. Song Bo had mentioned it earlier, and now Liu Hao was saying this. Was he trying to warn him about something?

After pondering for a while, he slowly replied:

"Actually, I've been thinking, they grew up together, they wouldn't ruin each other just for a starting position, right? If it were me, I couldn't do it."

"I think the same. It was just a drunk driving accident. The crash happened so suddenly, in just a second. As for why it ended up like that, it just got worse over time. But even so, it doesn't mean there aren't such twisted people." Liu Hao took a puff of his cigarette, hinting at something.

He was essentially warning Mao Jianqing not to mess with Song Bo.

After some thought, he continued: "Chinese football is full of fakes. Anything can happen in the professional league, and the amateur league is no different. I'm telling you, in the amateur league, people will even ruin each other for results. Some people's minds are just that twisted, and there's no end to it. Actually, I heard your conversation with Song Bo."

At the end, Liu Hao admitted the truth.

He wasn't lying. Some people will do anything for results, like a defender directly ruining the opposing forward on the field. It's a common occurrence.

Many people are like that, results-oriented.

Song Bo's earlier conversation was just like that.

Think about Qu Leheng's future. Regardless of whether what he said later was true or false, his life was ruined, and no one could accept that. It's easy to talk when you're not the one suffering.

Zhang Yuning was lucky, at least he avoided the charge of causing a major accident by drunk driving, which would have resulted in serious injuries.

Otherwise, both of their lives would have been ruined.

※※※※

"Where did Dad go?" The young Liu Bao leaned on the railing, asking Zhang Yu innocently.

After Liu Hao settled Zhang Yu and Liu Bao in the VIP seats, he disappeared.

He said he was going to buy chips, but after more than half an hour, he still hadn't returned. Was he digging potatoes to make chips? This was really frustrating.

The game hadn't even started yet. Was he lost? Zhang Yu looked around the vast stands, trying to find her husband, but the crowd made it impossible.

But Li Xiaopeng was even more anxious.

It was one thing that Liu Xiaopang wasn't on the bench, but Mao Jianqing wasn't there either.

If Liu Xiaopang wasn't with Mao Jianqing, Li Xiaopeng might have been furious.

Liu Xiaopang had another issue, cramps in his legs.

Strange things happen every year, but this year is particularly strange!

How could he get cramps without even playing? Liu Xiaopang, are you trying to drive me crazy? Why is there always something wrong before every game? It's not like it's your period! Li Xiaopeng was frustrated but helpless.

Mao Jianqing said he was in the medical room with Liu Xiaopang, so he just had to endure it. He didn't plan to make any substitutions in the first half anyway.

But Castillo was injured! Mao Jianqing was supposed to come on as a substitute, but now he had to use Song Bo!

If Liu Hao and Mao Jianqing were here, they would be shocked. Before the game, Song Bo really did ruin Castillo, but not by his own hand. A group of reserve players did it for him...

Poor Castillo didn't even need to go to the medical room; he went straight to the hospital. You can imagine how serious his injury was.

Song Bo, wearing number 17, was stationed on the left wing, but he didn't show any excitement.

It was surprising that Mao Jianqing wasn't on the bench. Was he that scared? Afraid to even come to the bench? Such a coward?

The bench indeed had two empty seats, those of Mao Jianqing and Liu Hao, who were still in the medical room.

Li Xiaopeng had never encountered such a situation before.

The game had to start.

Qingdao Zhongneng vs. Wuhan Zall. If everything went as expected, they should win at home, but Li Xiaopeng wasn't sure.

They say home advantage is significant, but in the Chinese League, there's not much difference between home and away games, except for a few teams with crazy home fans.

But not Qingdao Zhongneng. Whether the team was really bad or the fans were lazy, the stadium was empty, not even half full. The neighboring badminton and basketball courts were packed.

Do they not know that football is the world's number one sport?

Li Xiaopeng was never satisfied with the attendance at Zhongneng games.

If they don't come, they don't come, but why do so many fans discuss Zhongneng's performance online after the game?

Especially that Liu Xiaopang, isn't he supposed to be Zhongneng's star? Why are there so few people coming to watch? As Li Xiaopeng grumbled in his mind, the game was changing.

Zhongneng's solid defense finally made a mistake.

The new foreign defender, Chavez, actually made a marking error?

Zhu Ting turned and broke through Chavez's defense, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, and scored the first goal of the year!

Then he spread his arms wide, celebrating like an airplane, excited...

As a forward, breaking the scoring drought is crucial, so Zhu Ting's excitement was understandable.

Zhu Ting was a significant player, at least he used to be the main forward for Dalian Shide and was once selected for the Chinese national team.

But at 30, Chavez, you couldn't even mark him? Italian forwards get better with age, when will Chinese forwards be like that? Chavez, you're a foreign player from Honduras... Li Xiaopeng was very dissatisfied.

These days, fans love to criticize foreign players. If the transfer fails, fans and media will criticize, but for domestic players, everyone is used to it.

The greatest forward in history, Ronaldo, set a goal for himself every year while playing for Real Madrid: to score 30 goals.

And Zhu Ting? He only strives for one goal each year: to break his single-digit goal record and aim for 10 goals...

But throughout his career, his best season was in 2006, when he scored 7 goals in 18 games for Dalian Shide, with an average of 0.4 goals per game, which was decent. But since then, his goal count has been stuck between 1, 2, 3, and 4... Not even 4, let alone 10.

1, 2, 3, 4, is this what Messi or Ronaldo count for their goals in a game?

At his current rate of 0.2 goals per game, he still manages to complete his task.

A few sparse claps echoed from the stands, indicating that a small group of Wuhan fans were very satisfied with Zhu Ting's goal.

Wuhan Zall's Croatian coach Bisek even wiggled his fat hips.

Damn! Li Xiaopeng spat in his mind.

Where are those two guys?

At this moment, he thought of Mao Jianqing and Liu Xiaopang.

However, in the previous game, substituting Liu Xiaopang in the second half of the first half had a miraculous effect. He wouldn't dare to do it again this time because Liu Xiaopang had already caught the attention of other opponents. Using the same method again would backfire.

He still needed to make Liu Xiaopang lose weight... Otherwise, a surprise player would just become a mediocre one!

As if in sync with Li Xiaopeng, Liu Hao's son, Liu Bao, was calling out in the VIP seats: "Dad, Dad, I want Dad!"

...

Where is Dad? Zhang Yu also wanted to know. Her four-year-old son was constantly shouting, but even she couldn't find him, and her phone calls went unanswered...

When the half-time break came, Mao Jianqing finally appeared, but Liu Hao was still nowhere to be seen.

"Is that guy still in the medical room?" Li Xiaopeng widened his eyes, puzzled.

He was asking Mao Jianqing, who was the only one who knew the situation.

Mao Jianqing thought back to Liu Hao's trembling legs and nodded, not knowing how to explain.

Yeah, yeah!

"Go out and prepare, you'll replace Song Bo in the second half." Li Xiaopeng glanced at Song Bo and said firmly.

Song Bo's performance was indeed terrible. If not for the necessity, he wouldn't have let Song Bo play. Now that Mao Jianqing was back, he made the decision to substitute without hesitation.

Facing Song Bo's complex gaze, Mao Jianqing remained calm.

Thankfully, Brother Xiaopang reminded me, or I would have made a mistake! I still need to rely on my skills to play! Mao Jianqing sighed in his heart.

Song Bo would definitely be unhappy and might find a way to make things difficult for him in the future, but so what? When have I ever been afraid of anyone?

Ignoring Song Bo's hostility, Mao Jianqing ran out of the dressing room and met Liu Hao on the way.

"Brother Xiaopang, are you okay now?" Mao Jianqing looked at Liu Hao's legs, which had returned to normal, and said excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah!" After Mao Jianqing left, Liu Hao immediately took the remaining half bottle of medicine, and his legs were fine now.

"You'd better warm up with me. The coach said you'll be on soon in the second half." Mao Jianqing put his arm around Liu Hao's thick neck, as if they were old friends.

"Dad, Dad is there!" Liu Bao pointed to the exit of the players' tunnel and shouted.

Ah?! Zhang Yu followed Liu Bao's direction and saw Mao Jianqing and Liu Hao coming out of the tunnel.

Is that your dad? Although they look alike... Zhang Yu muttered to herself.

Her husband had short hair, but that guy had long curly hair...

"Xiao Pang! Xiao Pang! Xiao Pang!" The fans were also excited, shouting Liu Hao's name.

"Brother Fat, you're a star now, listen to the cheers!" Mao Jianqing said enviously.

Even in his best years, he never had such honor. Brother Fat is a god! Mao Jianqing was genuinely impressed.

"Got used to it... It's good to be used to it." Liu Hao chuckled and waved to the stands, looking like a big shot.

But when he waved to the VIP seats, he paused.

Would my wife recognize me? Calm down, calm down... He quickly turned around and secretly pulled his hair.

If the wig falls off, I'm done!

When Li Xiaopeng came out, he saw the thick figure on the field and his eyes lit up.

The savior has arrived!

Great!

"Substitute Liu Xiaopang!" He called to the assistant coach behind him.

The words came out without thinking.

Assistant coach Gao Yao was stunned.

"Brother Peng, isn't it a bit early?" Is he addicted to using Xiao Pang? The game just started!

Gao Yao, a former Chinese football star and Li Xiaopeng's best friend, is now the assistant coach of Qingdao Zhongneng, always supporting Li Xiaopeng.

His concern was not unfounded. Using Xiao Pang so early was not a good idea.

"No problem, strike while the iron is hot. If I don't do it now, I'm afraid it will be too late!" Li Xiaopeng said firmly, without any doubt.

"Okay..." Gao Yao, who looked more honest than Li Xiaopeng,