Chapter 64

**A New Week Begins**

A new week has started, and it's another cycle. This week, let's see if we can make some progress. I'm begging for recommendations!

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As a well-regulated sport, the game naturally provides rest areas for both teams. Apart from their respective 'strategists' and 'advisors,' no one else is allowed to enter.

The coach team for the lower third class is composed of their professor and teaching assistants. For the upper third class, the 'strategist' is Su Zhe, and the 'advisor' is Su Xiaomei...

"Big brother, you've worked hard!" Su Xiaomei, at the age of seventeen, wore a light green silk dress, her skin as white as snow, her features finely drawn, radiating the youth and vitality of a young girl. Seeing Chen Ke come off the field, her eyes sparkled with excitement, and she stood up with a smile.

Xiaomei stepped aside to let Chen Ke sit down. She fanned him while handing him a clean white towel to wipe the sweat from his head and face.

After Chen Ke draped the towel over his shoulder, Xiaomei took the water bladder slung over her shoulder, pulled out the cork, and handed it to him. The natural默契 (rapport) between them, even though the surrounding people were used to it, always made them cheer. Su Shi winked and joked, "Hey, Xiaomei, your brother is also very tired!"

"Second brother, the ball you kicked was so bad, how many points did you lose for the upper third class?" Xiaomei's white cheeks faintly showed a rosy blush, but she didn't let him off, saying, "You definitely won't play in the second half, just rest."

"Hey..." Su Shi turned back unhappily and said to his younger brother who was giving him water, "Look, if you kick the ball badly, even your sister won't recognize you."

"You did kick badly today," Su Zhe said with a stern face.

Song Duanping, while wiping the sweat, joked, "Is it because the daughter of the headmaster is watching, and she's taken your soul?"

Su Shi couldn't help but look over to Wang Fang's side, where he saw a beautiful woman, as quiet as a flower in water, looking in their direction.

In an instant, Su Shi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, tightly grabbing his hand and saying, "She looked at me, she smiled at me, she truly is the most beautiful woman in the world!"

"You should save it, maybe Wang Fu's sister was smiling at me." Song Duanping shook his head, blocking Su Shi's view and said, "Tong Shu is right, if we want to win, we must replace this distracted guy."

"Let's get serious," Chen Ke smiled and looked at Su Xiaomei, "Military advisor, what adjustments should we make in the second half?"

"Forgive me for being frank," Xiaomei raised a white, delicate finger and said, "If we continue to play like the first half, we will definitely lose."

"Um." The players nodded. In the second half, both teams' physical strength would decline, leading to more mistakes, and the opponents' technical advantages would become more pronounced, determining the outcome of the game.

"So we need to use some unconventional tactics." Xiaomei's eyes sparkled with wisdom, "We need to slow down the pace, try to keep the ball on our side. Once the opponents become impatient, we will focus on attacking Cheng Zhiyuan, the position of the opponent's forward..."

"But he is their best player!" the players objected.

"He is indeed the best player in terms of ball skills, but not the best player on their team," Xiaomei shook her head and smiled, "The seemingly simple He Wu is their soul. But I noticed that Cheng Zhiyuan seems to be unhappy with He Wu being the team leader. I see him fighting for every ball and trying to kick it in the most beautiful way, which is a sign of wanting to stand out. And once the ball is on his feet, He Wu is basically out of the game. This is why we are not falling behind despite their advantages."

The players nodded, finding her reasoning sound. Before the game, the lower third class was highly favored to win, which made the upper third class feel like underdogs, with everyone focused solely on winning to surprise those who underestimated them.

The upper third class, on the other hand, was different. Even He Wu, who is usually very steady, believed they would win. The young nobles had even more thoughts. They not only wanted to win but also to win beautifully and show off... This was their only weakness.

This weakness might seem simple, but to see it and point it out in a tense and intense game requires extraordinary insight and wisdom.

After Xiaomei finished speaking, a player raised a doubt, "What if this strategy doesn't work?"

Before Xiaomei could answer, the gong signaling the start of the second half rang.

Chen Ke stood up, his tall and straight figure making Xiaomei look small. Chen Ke looked around and said, "If this strategy doesn't work, we are doomed to lose. Since we are going to lose anyway, why not go all in!"

"We will definitely win!" Xiaomei waved her tender fist, cheering for her brothers, "Because you have such a capable advisor!"

"Ha..." Everyone laughed.

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The gong rang again, and the second half began.

Chen Ke and his team indeed slowed down the pace. A high ball was kicked, but it always hit the net and bounced back, continuing to be passed around, making it difficult for the opponents to touch the ball... At this point, there was no concept of消极比赛 (negative play), only the lower third class students booing.

After passing the ball back and forth, a sudden kick through the goal post gave the lower third class the ball. He Wu kicked a powerful shot, and the upper third class, in response, continued to play slowly.

The booing grew louder, and even the opposing players started to complain. Chen Ke then signaled to Song Duanping, who understood and kicked a lob pass. The ball flew over the goal and landed on Cheng Zhiyuan's head.

Cheng Zhiyuan, who had been waiting impatiently, saw the ball and immediately set up his stance. He performed a scorpion kick to control the ball and passed it to a teammate at the corner. The teammate was stunned, thinking, "Why are you passing it further away? How can I pass it to the team leader?"

"Pass it back!" Cheng Zhiyuan shouted, and the teammate, without thinking, used his chest to pass the ball back.

"Ha!" Cheng Zhiyuan shouted, leaped into the air, and kicked a powerful shot, sending the ball in a straight and fast arc through the goal post!

"Wow..." The lower third class spectators, who had been holding their breath, erupted in thunderous cheers.

Cheng Zhiyuan, who didn't expect the ball to go in, was overjoyed. He leaped from the ground, raised his hands, and accepted the congratulations of the crowd, as if he had already won.

This spectacular goal dealt a significant blow to the upper third class, who failed to catch the ball.

The players looked at each other, thinking, "What should we do? We're up against a guy who is on fire?"

"He's just lucky," Chen Ke ran over to pick up the ball and patted each player on the shoulder, "Don't lose confidence. If he keeps playing this well, we'll accept it."

The opponents restarted the game, and He Wu scored another goal, taking the lead.

The upper third class had no other thoughts. They focused on passing the ball and shooting when the opportunity arose, and if not, they kicked it to the opponent's forward.

For a moment, Cheng Zhiyuan became the most dazzling star on the field. He used every skill he had, using his feet, head, knees, and abdomen, always striving for elegance. Each time he touched the ball, he tried to pass it as far away from He Wu as possible... As the first touch player, he was responsible for distributing the ball, and if he wanted to cause trouble, no one could get the ball.

From this point on, He Wu was basically out of the game. The most consistent shooter was sidelined, and the lower third class had many shots but few hits. The more they missed, the more impatient and competitive they became, and whoever got the ball would shoot immediately, even starting to blame each other on the field...

In contrast, the upper third class, seeing their strategy working, were greatly encouraged. Their coordination became more precise, and every pass was perfectly timed. Chen Ke focused on using his most reliable footwork to repeatedly attack the goal.

When the gong signaling the end of the game rang, the score was 21-11, the largest margin in history.

The upper third class cheerleaders rushed onto the field, lifting their heroes in celebration.

The lower third class field was silent. He Wu looked at the score with a bitter expression, and after a long time, he stared at Cheng Zhiyuan, who had already left the field, and said, "Don't run after school, I'm going to beat you!"

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The sunset shone on the way home. Xiaomei, riding on Little Mulan's back, was still immersed in the joy of victory, excitedly praising each of Chen Ke's shots and laughing like a silver bell.

"Thanks to our female military advisor," Chen Ke was in high spirits, laughing loudly, "She truly foresaw the enemy's moves and made no mistakes!"

"Of course..." Xiaomei was elated; she loved hearing praise from Third Brother.

"You two have gone from echoing each other to praising each other." Su Shi shook his head and sighed, "Xiaomei, you only know about Third Brother, how can I, your real brother, feel?"

"Second brother, why do you always make a distinction?" The sunset shone on Xiaomei's face, making it rosy, "Third Brother is also family, he was... when he was young..."

Before she could finish, Su Shi and Song Duanping pinched their noses and said in unison, "He saved my life..."

"Annoying..." Xiaomei pouted, "You just bully me."

"It's not that we bully you, but we've heard it so many times that our ears are calloused." Song Duanping teased, "Every time you use this as an excuse, can't you come up with something new?"

Seeing Xiaomei's face turn red, Chen Ke intervened, "Enough, don't say such things about Xiaomei in the future..."

"Third Brother is the best..." Xiaomei's eyes curved like a new moon.

"Or Xiaomei will avoid me in the future," Chen Zhe added, "Help me compile a dictionary!"

"Ha..." Everyone laughed.

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**Why was the word '燕－双－飞' (Yan Shuang Fei) censored in the previous chapter? I'm curious, can someone explain?**

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