Chapter 158: The Ulterior Motives of Long Yuyun

During the thrilling and magnificent five matches of the World Cup played by the Chinese national team, Long Bisheng and his group of young peers acted just like ordinary fans. In the stands, they cheered themselves hoarse for the Chinese team during every single match. When China scored, they leaped up in ecstatic cheers and roared at the top of their lungs; when the team conceded a goal, they let out sighs of agonizing regret before immediately redoubling their efforts to roar their support even louder. When China ultimately lost to Italy by a score of two to three, several of them burst into tears right there in the stands. After all, the Chinese team had displayed their highest level of play in recent years during this tournament, and the overall caliber of this generation of players was arguably the highest the country had ever produced. Perhaps in the next World Cup, they might never achieve such a magnificent result again.

Nie Fei, Deco, and Sun Chenghai—the three absolute pillars of the Chinese national team—were all born in 1977 and were already twenty-nine years old that year. This age marked the absolute peak of a player's career, but once this peak passed, an inevitable decline would follow. In this World Cup, they had all performed at the absolute highest level of their professional lives. It was certain that by the next World Cup, they would be thirty-three years old; even if they maintained their form well, it would not match their dazzling displays this year. The players of the same batch—such as Ai Lin, Zhu Guosheng, Wu Jiang, Li Gang, and Li Wei—would also gradually fade away from the national team over the next few years. Although middle-to-young generation players like Adriano, Li Fang, Du Wei, and Messi were already beginning to shoulder the heavy responsibilities, once members of this "Golden Generation"—who had finished in the top eight of the World Youth Championship, won the Asian Games silver medal, finished third in the World Cup, and secured the runner-up spot in the Confederations Cup—faded away from the national team, would the Chinese national team still be as brilliant as it was now? One had to remember that even though China's youth training system was now among the best in the world, certain genius players were simply impossible to replicate.

"After the older generation of players reach their peak, they will gradually exit the historical stage," Dai Guangming said in the stands, clenching his fists. "Next, it's our turn! In the next World Cup, we are going to appear in South Africa, and not from the stands!"

"You've got quite the ambition, kid," Hu Gandang glanced at him with a half-smile. "However, that is precisely what I wanted to say! Four years from now, we'll be twenty-one, right in our prime!"

"It's a deal then! After we go back this time, we'll train hard with the goal of entering the top leagues, followed by the youth national team and the senior national team! Whoever falls behind has to treat the others to dinner!" the surrounding youngsters shouted, jumping up.

"No problem at all! If anyone falls behind, besides treating everyone to dinner, they have to run to the Jiulong Tianyu Football School and shout three times at the top of their lungs in front of all our junior schoolmates: 'I am a pig!' Well, do you dare to take the bet?" Zhang Yi asked with a cheeky grin.

"Damn it. The rest of you are playing in at least the second-tier leagues this season, while I'm still lingering in the third tier. Isn't this bullying me?" Li Jie wailed in protest, crying out to the heavens.

The others raised their eyebrows and looked at him. "What, are you scared?"

"Damn it, what's there to be scared of?" Li Jie hated being provoked the most and immediately jumped to his feet. "A bet's a bet! Should we add a penalty where the loser has to run up to a small ad pasted on a utility pole and shout: 'My illness is finally cured!'? I wouldn't even be afraid of adding that!"

"Aren't you being a bit too ruthless?" Wu Bufan shuddered. "Let's skip that part..."

Long Bisheng looked at his friends, and a surge of heroic spirit suddenly welled up in his heart. "Let's all work hard together! Work hard to make it into the national team! As for betting and all that, let's forget it. We play football not for anyone else—we play football for ourselves."

Dai Guangming smiled. "A-Long, you're always so right... You're right. No matter what we bet on, we have to work hard because we are all playing for ourselves... You see through things better than we do. We always use the honor of serving the national team to drive ourselves forward, but you don't need that at all. Your greatest motivation comes entirely from within yourself. That is the most reliable thing of all. That's why you always train harder than us every day and improve faster than us. A-Long, we really have a lot to learn from you."

The others fell silent. Ning Xi looked at Long Bisheng with pride in her eyes. She knew that the other six were exceptionally talented individuals, the kind of people who rarely acknowledged anyone else's superiority. Although Long Bisheng's current ability was still slightly inferior to theirs, they admired him with such genuine sincerity—this was the power of persistence.

By this time, the fans at the venue had already begun to slowly disperse, and the group also stood up and walked toward the stadium exits. Just like the Chinese national team, the World Cup had come to an end for them as well. What lay ahead was a new season and a new beginning.

After the World Cup concluded, the group of younger brothers returned to China together. For youngsters of their age, spending a year in Europe (Long Bisheng had spent half a year) was more than enough to stir up severe homesickness. Moreover, this year was a major tournament year; while national team players might not get any rest, for them, it meant their vacation would be extended. To accommodate the internationals who participated in the World Cup, most clubs delayed the start of their training camps by about ten days. Since they had returned from Europe even before the World Cup officially ended, they naturally had plenty of extra free time.

Long Bisheng had only been home for two days when his father chased him out of the house. Long Yuyun waved his hand dismissively and said, "I don't have time to deal with you, kid. Things are busy at the military base... What kind of matters? Classified! All I can say is that your father is busy, and your mother is busy too; we don't have time to take care of you. You're a grown man now, why do you keep lingering around the house all day? Go out for a stroll and see the world!"

Long Bisheng was reluctant. "I like staying at home! Why should I go out? I've already spent half a month having fun in Germany, can't I just stay home and keep you guys company?"

"We're busy, aren't we?" Long Yuyun winked at his wife. "I eat and sleep at the training grounds all day long, and your mother is swamped with work at the clinic. There's no one to take care of you at home, so what's the point of you staying here?"

Long Bisheng said unhappily, "Then where do you want me to go? I don't like traveling around."

"Go traveling and take a vacation everywhere! Son, professional players like you have huge work pressure under normal circumstances. Haven't you noticed how those star players always go here and there for vacations after the season ends? Places like Hawaii, Guam, the Maldives... Since your level isn't that high yet, going to places like Beijing, Qinhuangdao, or Hainan is fine too. It's not like we don't have money, and our family doesn't have any financial difficulties now. We're just waiting for you to find a wife!"

Long Bisheng blushed instantly, while Yin Xiuping secretly pinched her husband—their son was barely out of his teens, it was far too premature to talk about getting a wife, and for a company commander, he had zero tact.

"Then why don't you suggest a place, Dad?" Long Bisheng felt his father's words made some sense. He had only been in Italy for half a year, yet he hadn't had a single day to catch his breath. Even though his physical stamina was fine, his mind needed to relax. Didn't his former coach, Ding Yu, always talk about combining work with rest?

"Just go to Beijing," Long Yuyun began to reveal his true intention. "That young lady Ning Xi is your agent, and she found you such a great club. Shouldn't you go properly thank her? Take this opportunity to visit her family and bring along some fruit; it's the polite thing to do."

"I literally just parted ways with her in Beijing," Long Bisheng said, confused as to what his father was driving at. "Besides, we're friends; saying thank you is unnecessary, and bringing gifts is even worse—she definitely won't accept them."

"You thick-headed blockhead just don't get it," Long Yuyun knocked his son on the head, exasperated by his lack of enlightenment. "When people are being polite, you're supposed to treat it as a blessing! Go to Beijing to have some fun, and drop by her family's place while you're at it... It's not like they're going to eat you alive, what are you afraid of?"

"Oh," Long Bisheng nodded, thinking that what his father said seemed reasonable after all. "Alright then, since you and Mom are both busy, I might as well take a trip to Beijing... I've been there a few times, but I never got to look around properly because I was always busy playing matches."

"That's right, that's right," Long Yuyun nodded repeatedly, feeling immensely gratified. "You should train hard when it's time to train hard, but when it's time to play, you must play. A person cannot squeeze themselves too dry. You're not a soldier on active duty, you don't need to act as a fuse."

After Long Bisheng went back to his bedroom to sleep, Yin Xiuping asked Long Yuyun doubtfully, "Isn't it a bit too early for you to let Bisheng think about this now? He's not even seventeen yet, and you're already sending him to visit a girl's family? That's way too early!"

"Not early at all," Long Yuyun said smugly. "You've seen the girl Ning Xi yourself; she's a wonderful child, very capable, and she's Bisheng's agent too. If these two youngsters end up together, won't she be able to help Bisheng even better? Many South American players have agents who are relatives of their own families precisely so they can trust them completely! Besides, given Bisheng's dull personality and his narrow social circle, if Ning Xi gets snatched away by someone else, I genuinely believe he might remain a bachelor for the rest of his life."

"That makes sense," Yin Xiuping thought about it carefully and realized it was indeed true. Their son wasn't good at dealing with people, and his social circle was extremely narrow. She had heard that foreign models and starlets in Italy loved targeting football players; if her son brought home some wild foreign model in the future, she really wouldn't be able to accept it. "You're right, I like the girl Ning Xi as well. You always look further ahead than I do."

"Of course," Long Yuyun said proudly. "I certainly don't believe Bisheng has luck as good as mine—coming all the way to Xinjiang in my twenties and still managing to run into you... Besides, for a football player, getting married early helps stabilize their family life, allowing them to concentrate more wholeheartedly on playing football. Those star players who have zero scandals and always maintain great form are the ones who got married early, like Baggio, Raúl..."

Long Bisheng, who was already fast asleep, naturally had no idea that his father harbored such thoughts in his mind. But if he were to think about it carefully, even if he did know, he would probably feel quite happy about it, wouldn't he?