Chapter 133: Cai Sheng's Ambition

Ten minutes into the second half, Cai Sheng began to wonder if his final words at halftime had been unnecessary.

Long Bisheng seemed almost too calm. Qingdao Haifeng’s offense had become more organized, with numerous crosses coming from the flanks, all of high quality. Having enjoyed the halftime break, the Nanchang Liberation Army’s momentum appeared to have waned; they could no longer maintain the intense pressure and fighting spirit of the first half, opting instead to retreat and defend their one-goal lead. This allowed Qingdao Haifeng to conduct their attacks with even greater ease.

Long Bisheng won plenty of headers, but he rarely attempted to score directly. Instead, he consistently headed the ball down to his teammates to continue the attack. On one occasion, despite having a clear opportunity to strike at the goal himself, he chose to lay the ball off to Lü Baozi, whose movement was a step too slow, allowing the defender to close down the angle before he could shoot.

Cai Sheng sighed inwardly, wondering if he had been too demanding. After all, Long was not yet seventeen. In just a few months, he had done so much—not only making the Qingdao Haifeng attack more multidimensional and threatening but also impressing his teammates with his grueling twelve-hour daily training regimen. Many of the younger players had begun to emulate his work ethic. All these changes were brought about by this boy.

Considering this, Cai Sheng suppressed his urge to scold Long. Let him be. Even if they didn't win this match, they could at least make the playoffs; reprimanding him now might only deflate the team's morale.

In reality, Cai Sheng had underestimated Long Bisheng.

After hearing Ding Yu speak at the Yunjia Tianyu Football School about the importance of thinking on the pitch, Long had become meticulous in observing the game to make his own judgments. Regardless of whether his decisions were always correct, the very ability to think in such a way was something many professional players lacked.

Long’s reactions were slow, and he wasn't particularly quick-witted, but that didn't mean he didn't think; on the contrary, he thought more deeply and earnestly than others.

During the first half, Long had noticed that the opposition was using pure physical force to stifle him. One defender followed him like a shadow, while another stood ready to cover. They clearly realized how quickly he could move within the box and were using nearly illegal levels of physical contact during aerial duels. While he didn't fear the contact, the sheer force disrupted his balance and reduced the threat of his headers. The opposition had studied him thoroughly.

Reflecting on this during halftime, Long had spent the entire break figuring out a counter-strategy. He settled on a somewhat simple approach: avoid shooting whenever possible and use his headers to set up teammates instead. Heading the ball down was easier than shooting, and if he could create a goal-scoring opportunity for others, it was ideal. It also made the opposition pay less attention to him—that was exactly what Long had in mind.

It was undeniably effective. In the heat of a match, not every player remains cool-headed; beyond tactical instructions, they instinctively defend or attack in the ways they deem most effective. When Long’s personal threat level seemed lower than that of his teammates, the Nanchang defenders subconsciously shifted their defensive focus elsewhere.

Another cross came in from the wing. Although a defender was still marking Long, his attention was split toward covering the space. Just then, Lü Baozi surged into the box, and a defender immediately rushed to intercept him.

At that moment, Long braced his core, sprang into the air like a coiled spring, and despite the defender’s interference, threw his head firmly at the ball, directing it into the top right corner of the net!

The series of lay-offs by Long had not only confused the defenders but also caught the goalkeeper in a trap of habit. At least half of the keeper’s attention had been on Lü Baozi. By the time he saw Long strike the ball, he was a beat too slow.

The ball flashed past the keeper’s fingertips and slammed into the back of the net!

"Qi Zhi crosses! Long Bisheng jumps! Will he lay it off to a teammate? He heads it! It’s in! It’s in! Seventeen minutes into the second half, Qingdao Haifeng has equalized! What a beautiful header! Long Bisheng! This is the third goal for the seventeen-year-old loanee! All three have been headers, and the previous two earned us four points!"

The stadium announcer roared, joined by the cheers of nearly twenty thousand fans.

Cai Sheng stood up from the bench, his thin face flushed with excitement. *This kid! Sometimes he really does bring surprises!* Cai Sheng thought, watching Long embrace his teammates.

That header was outstanding—the power, the angle, the speed, and the element of surprise. No goalkeeper could claim they could reliably stop such a header; even the best in the world would need a stroke of luck to keep that out.

What Cai Sheng didn't expect was that the surprises from Long were only just beginning.

Five minutes later, Huang Zhenghong was organizing an attack through the middle. Long pulled out of the box while Lü Baozi charged in—a standard drill in their training. Usually, this move was designed to clear the box for Lü to shoot, but this time, Huang saw Long signaling for the ball. Without hesitation, Huang played a low pass to Long’s feet. With his back to the goal and a defender pressing his chest, Long made a sudden move to break toward the left.

The defender shifted his weight to track him, but Long didn't break. Instead, as he turned, he flicked the ball with the inside of his foot, threading it diagonally into the box.

The ball sailed past the defender, dropping perfectly into the path of the incoming Lü Baozi.

Lü Baozi reacted on instinct, poking the ball into the corner of the net. Two to one!

Lü was stunned. After scoring, he wondered: how did that pass get there? He clearly remembered that when he brushed past Long, the boy had only just received the ball. By the time he entered the box, the ball was already at his feet. *Does this big guy have such elite passing ability?*

The fans were ecstatic. They hadn't seen exactly how the play unfolded, but their confusion was drowned out by the joy of the turnaround. Most of them already knew that Dalian Botao was trailing Xiamen Lions 0-2 away from home; if these scores held, Qingdao Haifeng would climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in fourteen rounds.

Cai Sheng was speechless with shock. He had seen it clearly: Long had used his body to shield the ball during the turn, and both the trajectory and weight of the pass were perfect. Was it a fluke? If not, how much untapped potential did this kid have?

Making such a pass might be luck, but having the vision and awareness to attempt it was not. At the very least, it proved that Long possessed the eye to spot that passing lane even under intense physical pressure.

Cai Sheng felt he had struck gold. He made a firm decision: he would do whatever it took to keep Long at Qingdao Haifeng next season. If he could bring in a few players suited for a new tactical system, Qingdao Haifeng could climb the ranks and become a formidable force.

Cai Sheng wasn't an ambitious man, and Qingdao Haifeng wasn't an ambitious club, but the dream of rising through the ranks and surpassing their cross-town rivals, Qingdao Jinniu, was alive. If they could buy out Long’s contract and build the team around him—creating a side with solid defense and a unique offensive flair—they could grind through the second division for a year or two and then charge toward the top flight. That dream didn't seem so far away anymore.

Before the match ended, a high-spirited Long Bisheng scored again—a powerful strike after a turn at the edge of the box that left the keeper diving the wrong way. It was his first goal scored with his feet in professional play and his first brace.

This confirmed Cai Sheng’s resolve to build the team around Long. He believed that just as Changchun Yatai had cultivated a group of talented youth players over five years to eventually earn promotion, he could do the same. He already had his eyes on the best young talent in the country.

*Give me a few years, and I might just lead a group of twenty-somethings to shock everyone in the top flight. Who says I can't do it?*

As the match concluded with a 3-1 victory, Cai Sheng clapped his hands, celebrating with his players while lost in these silent, ambitious thoughts.