Chapter Nineteen: Infinite Possibilities
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Wei Lai lay on the ground, staring up at the dazzling lights of the dome, gasping for breath.
“This is so difficult! Their pace is just too fast. Keeping enough focus until the end makes me feel nauseous, almost to the point of vomiting!” Wei Lai grimaced, mimicking the desperate act of swallowing.
“You’ve already done remarkably well. To endure twenty minutes under such intense rhythm shows significant progress,” Coach Ironwall said gently as he crouched beside Wei Lai.
Wei Lai turned to look at Coach Ironwall. “You must be quite skilled yourself, right?”
Faced with Wei Lai’s blunt question, Coach Ironwall tilted his head. “Well, people say I’m good, but I’m still aware of my shortcomings. That’s why I’m always striving to improve.”
“Coach Yakult, or rather... Casemiro became a key player for a top Brazilian club at nineteen. You must be similar,” Wei Lai said, looking at Ironwall. “Though not very tall, you’re truly impressive.”
Wei Lai had witnessed firsthand how this short coach moved like a cheetah on the field, intercepting the opponent’s attacks time and again.
Ironwall scratched his head again, looking somewhat bashful.
“Thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that good. At nineteen, I was playing in the ninth division!”
“Really?”
Wei Lai was incredulous.
“Is that true?”
Coach Ironwall slowly got to his feet. “It’s true. But after that, I won many championships—league titles, Champions League trophies, even the World Cup!”
Hearing this, Wei Lai’s eyes lit up.
“The World Cup?”
He leapt up, eager. “What does it feel like?”
Coach Ironwall pondered for a moment. “Joyful, exhilarating, as if you own the whole world.”
Wei Lai tilted his head. “So, what exactly is that feeling?”
Ironwall smiled. “You won’t understand unless you experience it yourself.”
“To experience it myself!” Wei Lai grinned.
“Don’t deny your own dreams!” Coach Ironwall said seriously, a rare sternness in his tone. “That’s self-insulting. Never reject your own potential or future!”
“Just like I was playing ninth-division football at nineteen, but eight years later, I became a World Cup champion!”
“Your future holds endless possibilities, too!”
Gazing at that misty face, Wei Lai exhaled slowly. “I’d really like to see what expression you had when you said that!”
Coach Ironwall hurriedly replied, “I’m not just saying this to placate you—I want to inspire you...”
“I know!” Wei Lai turned to him, smiling. “I’m not gifted. I’ve been rejected countless times, yet I never gave up. Though sometimes I complain to myself, I never stop moving forward.”
Wei Lai shrugged. “I’m just a fool who only knows how to work hard!”
Coach Ironwall looked at him earnestly. “That precisely shows your purity!”
Wei Lai took a deep breath. “Let’s get started! I want to keep improving. I don’t have much time to waste.”
“Alright!” Coach Ironwall nodded and swung his arm. “Let’s continue training!”
---
A gentle rain fell in the early morning.
Raindrops scattered, hanging like jade beads on the grass, and the nearby synthetic track had puddles forming.
Drops fell into the puddles, sending ripples across the surface.
Splash!
A large foot stomped fiercely into a puddle, then sprinted forward.
In the empty stadium, a hooded figure ran silently around the pitch.
He Chao Yue ran in silence, yet his heart remained restless.
The match had ended some time ago, but the scenes kept replaying in his mind.
That final attack, that final shot.
The shot that hit the crossbar dashed their hopes of advancing.
In the Korean invitational, they had ultimately lost to a German Hamburg youth academy team.
That match had weighed heavily on them.
Their midfield was completely suppressed, limiting their attacking opportunities.
Against the towering German defenders, their long balls never found their mark.
Even though He Chao Yue was technically skilled, he was overwhelmed physically and had no good countermeasures.
He had gone cold!
The team’s offense faltered.
He was confident in his skills and shooting, but the ball never came to his feet.
He had to drop back to receive the ball, too far from the goal.
The whole game felt stifling and frustrating.
Did he blame his teammates?
Yes, he did.
He Chao Yue was human; he had his moments of resentment.
But he knew it was useless to dwell on that. He looked inward for answers.
If he could withstand the opponent’s pressure, if his skills were a bit sharper, even inaccurate passes wouldn’t matter—his individual ability could create favorable situations.
“I’m just not strong enough,” He Chao Yue gritted his teeth and accelerated.
His running no longer seemed like mere running but an outlet for his frustration.
The rain washed over him relentlessly as he pressed forward, the howling wind and falling rain swirling irritably around his ears.
---
Suddenly!
A gust of wind swept past him.
The next moment, a figure dashed past him at great speed.
He Chao Yue was stunned. The man wore the academy’s training gear and was taller by a good margin.
What caught his eye most were the man’s powerful thighs.
Wearing shorts, the muscles and contours of those legs were striking.
Such muscular thighs were rare even among European youths.
In the recent invitational, the German defensive midfielder who marked He Chao Yue had legs like these.
Driven by curiosity, He Chao Yue sped up to catch up.
But as soon as he closed the gap, the other suddenly accelerated again, sprinting forward at a hundred-meter dash pace.
He Chao Yue was dumbfounded.
After sprinting a hundred meters, the man slowed to a normal pace, circled half the track, then sprinted again.
This cycle repeated several times before the man passed by He Chao Yue once more.
He Chao Yue stopped and stared at the figure, who changed speeds constantly while running around the synthetic track.
After some time, the man finally stopped.
“Tired?”
He Chao Yue blinked. The alternating bursts and steady runs matched the principles of football.
Generally, after about ten repetitions, one would reach exhaustion.
He Chao Yue started to catch up again, about to speak...
“You…”
Suddenly, the man sprinted off again, leaving He Chao Yue utterly stunned.
No exhaustion?
But then the man stopped abruptly, turned his head, and looked back.
Lowering his body slightly, tilting his head, he revealed a standard ponytail beneath his hood.
“He Chao Yue?”
Wei Lai looked at him in surprise and smiled. “You’re out here jogging too?”
He Chao Yue nodded, showing no surprise that Wei Lai recognized him.
After all, at the academy, it would be strange not to know each other.