Chapter Sixty: The Four Supreme Heavenly Kings

"Alright!" The others cheered and quickened their pace as they packed their belongings.

While the rest were still tidying up, Liu Lin had already finished putting his things away. Since he was a new student, he didn’t have to go through the process of moving his belongings from dorm 505, so he was much quicker than the others.

"Come along with us. Getting to know each other will help with our future teamwork," Dai Guangming invited Liu Lin after finishing his own packing.

"Sure," Liu Lin nodded with a smile. "I haven’t played on the school’s field yet."

"Let’s go, let’s go!" Hu Gandang called out, charging ahead. The others followed, equally excited. Over the past two years, they had developed mutual respect, and even Long Bisheng, who was the least skilled among them, had qualities that made him unique—after all, Yun Jia Tianyu was renowned as one of the top youth academies in the country. This made them all the more eager to see what this new roommate might have to offer.

Especially now that Liu Lin had so readily accepted Dai Guangming’s invitation, their anticipation grew.

But after playing for about ten minutes, they quickly realized that Liu Lin’s skill level was rather average. His technique was standard, but his speed, strength, skill, reaction, and awareness were all below par—even compared to Long Bisheng, who was considered below average, Liu Lin had no advantage.

"What on earth got this guy into this school?" The question arose simultaneously in their minds.

He was cheerful and friendly, always smiling, but that alone didn’t seem enough for him to be selected by Yun Jia Tianyu, a club famous for its rigorous youth training. Was someone like him really cut out to be a professional player? He certainly didn’t look the part.

Still, out of friendliness, they kept their questions to themselves. Perhaps, like Long Bisheng, it would take time for Liu Lin’s strengths to reveal themselves.

Long Bisheng himself thought nothing of it—he believed everyone admitted to this school was better than him. The only reason he hadn’t been eliminated was because he worked harder than anyone else, and coaches favored his type of diligence.

Despite his mediocre playing ability, Liu Lin quickly blended into the dorm. He was easygoing, loved to joke, and had a wide range of interests, able to chat with anyone. With Dai Guangming, he discussed novels and history. With Hu Gandang, he talked about European leagues. With Li Jie, he shared anecdotes from the world of football. With Zhou Wei, he chatted about Hong Kong celebrities and movies. With Zhang Yi, it was billiards. Sometimes, he even swapped stories from his rural upbringing with Wu Bufan, and sang folk songs from northern Shaanxi with Long Bisheng.

Within a few days, everyone was won over by this unassuming, chubby newcomer—his eloquence was remarkable, and his knowledge astonishing! Especially when it came to football, Liu Lin knew all sorts of stories and trivia that left the others dumbfounded: Baggio had met his wife in middle school, starting their romance with an apple balanced on the head; Romário needed nightlife before every match or he couldn't get into the zone; Batistuta used to play basketball, not football; Maradona had an illegitimate son in Italy, also named Armando Diego Maradona, who now played for Napoli’s youth team; Klinsmann and Matthäus, the two famed Inter Milan strikers, were actually not on good terms and barely spoke to each other...

No one could figure out how Liu Lin learned so many things, nor how he managed to remember all these vast and complex details. His erudition and versatility left everyone feeling inadequate by comparison. So, while he wasn’t much on the pitch, the others thoroughly enjoyed his quick wit and company.

Dai Guangming liked talking with Liu Lin because they could discuss history and classic literature, their conversations darting freely across five millennia. Zhou Wei and Zhang Yi enjoyed gossiping with him and laughing aloud. Hu Gandang and Li Jie relished his insights into European tactics and the latest scandals. Wu Bufan found that Liu Lin’s rural tales brought back childhood memories. As for Long Bisheng—well, he simply liked listening to Liu Lin talk. Everything Liu Lin said was novel and fascinating, full of things he’d never heard before.

Liu Lin was also remarkably well-informed, often sharing news about domestic and international leagues days before it appeared in newspapers. No one knew where he got his information.

Once, when Liu Lin left for the restroom during a group chat, Zhou Wei voiced what was on everyone’s mind: "How does Liu Lin’s brain work? I thought I was pretty smart, but compared to him, I’m like Forrest Gump. How does he know so much, and rattle it all off as if there’s nothing he doesn’t know?"

In short, Liu Lin became the dorm’s undisputed king of information, knowledge, eloquence, and gossip. Zhou Wei eventually gave him the nickname "The Four Bests King."

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"School starts tomorrow… I wonder what junior division training will be like," Zhou Wei said, stretching.

"It’s just longer training sessions, that’s all. Nothing to worry about. We’ve always trained as much as the junior division kids—nothing we can’t handle," Li Jie replied confidently.

"I’m looking forward to competing against teams from other clubs," Dai Guangming smiled. "I’ve been at Yun Jia for years, but I still don’t know how I measure up."

"We’re definitely among the best in the country," Zhang Yi said with a grin. "Everyone knows Yun Jia Tianyu has the top youth training. I heard that most of the players we’ve let go end up picked by other clubs—if even those who were cut are in demand, imagine how valuable we must be."

"That’s not quite fair," Hu Gandang said cautiously. "Those who leave aren’t bad at all. Yun Jia Tianyu selects differently from other clubs… you know their standards. The gap isn’t as wide as you think."

"Hu’s right," agreed Wu Bufan. "We need to work even harder—otherwise people will say Yun Jia Tianyu has no eye for talent and only keeps a bunch of duds."

"Duds like you guys?" Long Bisheng chuckled.

"By the way, Liu, you’re the news expert around here. We’re only twelve or thirteen—is there really a national league for our age group? I’ve never heard of it before. Is this something new?" Zhou Wei nudged Liu Lin with his elbow.

Liu Lin looked up from the magazine he was reading. "You guessed right… It’s just starting this year. There used to be a reserve league, but very few games for the younger age groups, so there wasn’t much exchange. That’s why the Football Association decided to organize a national tournament for five age groups, twelve to seventeen, based around the twenty-four official football academies. Technically, they’re called schools, but now each is affiliated with a club, so they’re essentially each club’s training teams. The association covers all costs—travel, accommodation, everything—so the clubs don’t have to pay. The twenty-four teams play in a World Cup format: six groups, with the top two and the four best third-placers advancing to the round of sixteen, then knockout rounds until a champion is crowned. The prize money isn’t much, and some clubs don’t even care about it, because the Association funds the tournament with the luxury tax they collect from the clubs."

"The Association is pretty generous," Zhou Wei remarked. "Even if the prize money’s small, sending over a hundred teams for five age groups to Beijing, covering travel and lodging, must cost a fortune—these tournaments will last at least a month!"

"There’s no other way," Liu Lin laughed. "It’s easy to run a reserve league, just tag along with the first team, but it’s much harder for the younger divisions—hard to arrange opponents, expensive to organize. If the Association steps in and handles it, things go much more smoothly. Besides, do you know how much the Association makes in a year? These expenses are nothing to them!"

"How much do they make?" The others perked up—they’d never really thought about it.

"Of the twenty-four advertising boards at each club’s home stadium, four are reserved for Association profits—it used to be twelve, half of them, but the clubs protested and it was reduced. Every year, the clubs give out over thirty million in extra bonuses to players. For each yuan in bonuses, the Association collects a matching yuan in luxury tax—just like the NBA. That alone brings in at least thirty million a year. On top of that, the Association takes eighty percent of the national team’s game revenues; the remaining twenty percent is split among the clubs based on how many national players they provide. Add it up—the Association’s annual income is at least one hundred million! These expenses are a drop in the bucket!"

PS: Posting a chapter during lunch… another one coming tonight.

Tomorrow, "My Regiment, My Regiment" finally airs. Yay!