Chapter 108: Jian Ying and Ning Xi

The Yun Jiayuan Club reacted swiftly and soon contacted Pei Wei, who was still in Europe. Pei Wei immediately authorized the club to cover the expenses and then reached out to the club’s European branch where Li Qiang was based, instructing them to arrange for a doctor.

Yun Jiayuan’s presence in Europe was unparalleled among Chinese clubs. From the second year after its founding, the club’s owner, Pei Wei, had assigned his most capable subordinate, Li Qiang, to establish the European division. They forged intricate and close ties with numerous small and medium clubs as well as prestigious teams across Europe. Through this network, they continuously brought the most advanced training equipment, experienced coaches, and young talented Chinese players who had just graduated from renowned European sports academies back to China. Ding Yu, for instance, had returned to China through the club’s European branch after graduating from the Cologne Sports Academy.

News quickly made its way back: the European branch had secured a renowned doctor specializing in cruciate ligament repair, with surgery scheduled within two weeks. Ning Xi’s parents, natives of Beijing, had also been informed by the club and had promptly arrived at the hospital to accompany their daughter.

All other issues had been resolved—the choice of surgeon, the location, and the cost of the operation were all settled. The only remaining question was whether Ning Xi would be able to play soccer again in the future; that was a matter for another day. At present, the sole problem lay with Ning Xi herself.

The intelligent young girl realized the nature of her injury as soon as the doctors examined her in the hospital. This harsh truth immediately crushed her usually bright and sunny spirit. Despite her parents’ care, Ning Xi wept incessantly, her appearance rapidly growing haggard.

Long Bisheng had stayed by Ning Xi’s side these past days, having taken leave from school, which was granted without hesitation. He was at a loss for words to comfort her—that was simply not his strength. The only thing he could do was to care for her wholeheartedly. Aside from respecting her privacy, he took on every other task: fetching meals, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, chatting with her, singing songs...

Even Ning Xi’s parents were astonished. This tall adolescent boy seemed to care for her even more attentively than they did. If not for the fact that both Ning Xi and Long Bisheng were so young, her parents might have almost considered him as a potential son-in-law.

As for Long Bisheng, chores like fetching meals, washing clothes, and sweeping posed no difficulty at all. Paradoxically, the seemingly easier task of chatting and singing with Ning Xi proved extremely challenging.

From the moment she guessed the nature of her injury and confirmed it with the doctors—not that the doctors lacked medical ethics, but Ning Xi had threatened to leave the hospital untreated if they did not tell her the truth—she stopped speaking altogether. She lay motionless in bed all day, speaking to no one, not even her parents or Long Bisheng.

At first, no one was overly concerned; such a blow was understandably overwhelming, and it was normal to fall silent when disheartened. But two days later, with no words from Ning Xi, anxiety began to set in.

A girl barely over ten years old, silent all day, eyes vacant as she stared into space. When lying down, she gazed fixedly at the ceiling; when helped to eat, she opened her mouth blankly, eating on pure autopilot—those who witnessed it could only describe the scene as chilling.

Long Bisheng felt that Ning Xi’s current state resembled Li Yunfang from the second episode of “The Happy Life of Talkative Zhang Damin.” He wished he could untangle her heart as Zhang Damin did, but compared to Zhang Damin’s silver tongue, his own was utterly inept. Even if he possessed such eloquence, it might not help—after all, Ning Xi herself had watched that very show.

Watching her steadily wither away caused him immense pain, yet he was powerless. All he could do was silently accompany her, singing the few songs she once loved: “The Story of Time,” “I Finally Lost You,” “Wild Lilies Also Have Their Spring”...

But it was all in vain. Even as he strained his voice to the breaking point, Ning Xi remained silent.

“Long Bisheng, could you step outside for a moment? I need to speak with Ning Xi.”

One day, as Long Bisheng was feeding Ning Xi as usual, Jian Ying’s voice suddenly rang out behind him. Turning around, he saw Jian Ying standing wearily at the hospital room’s entrance.

Long Bisheng nodded, stood up, handed over the meal box to Jian Ying, lowered his head, and quietly left the room.

The day before, he had called Coach Ding Yu to report Ning Xi’s condition. It seemed Ding Yu had quickly informed Jian Ying, who then rushed overnight to Beijing—had she not left immediately upon receiving the news, Jian Ying wouldn’t have arrived so swiftly.

With no other options left, Long Bisheng hoped that Coach Jian, whom Ning Xi admired most, might have some solution.

He gently closed the door behind him and stood just outside the hospital room, his eyes fixed on the corridor while carefully listening to the sounds emanating from within.

Jian Ying sat down beside the bed. Ning Xi still stared blankly into space—though it appeared as if her gaze was fixed on Jian Ying.

When Jian Ying first entered, Ning Xi’s eyes seemed to flicker once but quickly froze again.

“Ning Xi, do you remember how you came to our school?” Jian Ying asked with a smile, feeding a spoonful of rice to Ning Xi.

Ning Xi silently opened her mouth and chewed slowly, her expression still one of indifference.

Jian Ying remained patient, stirring the rice in the box, smiling gently. “Forming the women’s soccer team was very difficult... These days, there aren’t many girls playing soccer. Although more girls began playing after the silver medal at the ’96 Olympics and the championship at the ’99 World Cup, most were very young and lacked outstanding talent. The best young players were mostly concentrated in Shanghai, Bayi, Guangdong, and Beijing. Our scouts had to do everything possible to recruit players from all over just to form this team. Yet you were the only one who came forward to audition at our school—and you were the one we chose.”

At this, Jian Ying chuckled lightly. “After your tryouts, several of us women’s soccer coaches were stunned—there really is such a thing as a pie falling from the sky. How could such a talented, skilled, and diligent girl come all the way to our school? And from Beijing, too—where women’s soccer has always been strong. I wondered what you were thinking. Why not just attend school nearby? Why come all the way to Yun Jia? So I asked you: Why did you want to come to Yun Jia? You replied loudly: ‘I am a loyal admirer of Coach Jian. I want to play under Coach Jian’s guidance!’ That embarrassed me so much. I’d only played in one World Cup—where would I have such loyal fans? Beijing’s women’s team had plenty of national players like Ren Liping and Liu Ying...”

Jian Ying continued, her voice calm and steady. “Ning Xi, since you say you’re my devoted follower, you should know a bit about me... After the World Cup, I suffered a severe injury and had surgery—the same injury as yours, a torn cruciate ligament in the knee... We are both women, and women’s physical strength is naturally less than men’s. Such an injury basically spells the end of a professional career... I felt immense agony, as if the sky had fallen... I couldn’t play anymore, and my career was over. What else could I do? I hadn’t studied much. Since my teens, I had struggled to support my father’s team. Without football, I was nothing.”

Tears flickered in Ning Xi’s eyes—the first time she had cried since learning of her injury.

Jian Ying’s eyes reddened as well. She steadied herself before continuing, “If it weren’t for Nie Fei staying by my side, I might have broken down... But he couldn’t help me overcome my inner turmoil. With his income and my savings, I could live comfortably for life, but he couldn’t make my life meaningful... Because he hadn’t studied much, he didn’t know how to console me. Then someone told me I didn’t have to leave football... Football isn’t just a player’s game; it’s not only a sport but an industry. The industry’s nature is diversity, accommodating all kinds of talent. Working in football isn’t limited to players. There are club owners, managers, coaches, team doctors, scouts... even stadium cleaners, gatekeepers, and commentators—they are all part of the football world. Thanks to that guidance, today I am Coach Jian. Coach Benítez retired in his twenties due to a severe injury without leaving much of a mark as a player, yet his name commands respect worldwide. Coach Mourinho had a failed playing career but started as a translator and rose to become the head coach of Yun Jiayuan. Football is not just a sport; it is a lifelong vocation... What is there for you to worry about?”

At last, Ning Xi broke down, throwing herself into Jian Ying’s arms and crying loudly, as if releasing all the pain in her heart. As Jian Ying had said, such an injury was a tremendous blow, but her words rekindled Ning Xi’s hope and confidence.