Chapter Twelve: The Legend’s End

Gu Biao felt restless, sensing that something significant was about to happen.

He dawdled while changing in the locker room, frequently stopping what he was doing to direct his attention and gaze toward the main entrance. Especially whenever the door opened. But each time, he withdrew his gaze in disappointment, for it was never Brother Wang Lie.

As a member of the Solford United U18 youth team, this period had been the happiest time of his life—though it felt wrong to say so, given that these days were certainly not good ones for Brother Wang. Yet, the fact remained: Gu Biao was truly happy. Because he could train alongside his idol, Wang Lie, almost every day.

They were in the same club, and they had met before, but never had they spent time together day in and day out like this. He still remembered how he felt when he first saw the news that "Wang Lie had been banished by Helden to train with the youth team":

Initially, there was shock and resentment—resentment on behalf of his idol. But soon, when he realized that he himself was in the youth team, he became excited—didn't this mean he could train with Brother Wang?!

Gu Biao had never enjoyed such treatment before. To him, Wang Lie had always been an "imposing monument" to be looked up to. Being able to take a group photo with Brother Wang, shake his hand, or share a hug used to be enough to keep him excited for a long time. And now, he actually had the opportunity to train with him! He had been at Solford United for three seasons, and this was the first time!

Gu Biao still remembered the scene when he first saw Brother Wang in the youth locker room: Brother Wang was quite kind, greeting and talking to every youth player he saw, fulfilling their requests for autographs and photos. He wore a smile on his face, showing no signs of having been demoted to the youth squad. Naturally, everyone tactfully avoided asking about the friction between him and the first-team head coach—if they angered Brother Wang, how would they get along afterward?

Once training began, the previously kind Wang Lie seemed like a different person: focused, serious, and even... terrifying. If others performed poorly in training, he would mercilessly point it out or criticize them, much like a youth coach. Gu Biao was once caught off guard and sternly criticized by Wang Lie for losing focus during practice. However, Gu Biao didn't feel embarrassed; instead, he was excited—being criticized by Brother Wang meant he had caught his attention!

"Brother Wang, you're right!"
"Brother Wang, I'll definitely fix it!"
"Brother Wang, how do you think I'm doing now?"
...

Besides the criticism, Brother Wang also offered plenty of advice based on his own experience. He didn't just scold; he followed his critiques with solutions, which were invaluable to the youth players. Gu Biao, who played as a winger, was encouraged by Wang Lie to cut inside more rather than habitually sticking to the touchline, and to seek opportunities to break through rather than shying away from opponents. When Gu Biao tentatively mentioned he was afraid of losing the ball in the crowded center, Wang Lie suggested he strengthen his upper body to improve his physical contact ability and even taught him specific exercises for it. Brother Wang told him that if he always played hugging the line, his future achievements would be very limited; if he wanted to reach higher, he had to go to the center.

Therefore, although training with Wang Lie was exhausting, Gu Biao relished it and cherished every moment. It was just a pity that such opportunities were not the norm...

Gu Biao didn't ask Brother Wang in private where he would go next—it was a sensitive, private matter, and unless the relationship was particularly close, it was best not to pry. It would only put the other person in an awkward position. He simply seized every chance to learn as much as he could from his idol.

No matter how much he dawdled, Gu Biao eventually finished changing into his training gear. The locker room door hadn't opened for a while, as all the youth players participating in the training were already inside. Brother Wang still hadn't arrived. Actually, Gu Biao shouldn't have had any expectations from the moment he walked in and didn't see Wang Lie, because Wang Lie was never the last to arrive. These past few days, it had always been the youth players pushing open the door to see Wang Lie already there; there had never been a situation where they were all dressed and waiting for him...

"God!"
"My goodness!"
"Oh my!"
"What The Fuck?!"

Suddenly, several people in the locker room exclaimed, and then they simultaneously announced the news: "The club has terminated Wang's contract!"

Logically, this outcome wasn't hard to foresee. One could even say that from the moment Wang Lie was demoted to their squad, the development of events was heading toward this finale. They had discussed in private when the club would terminate Wang Lie's contract. But when it actually happened, everyone was still hit with a massive shock, finding it hard to accept for a moment.

The youth locker room erupted in commotion, and everyone reached for their phones. Gu Biao immediately went to Solford United's official social media account. As soon as he clicked in, he saw the latest update. He didn't have time to read the text, looking first at the attached photo: it was Wang Lie in his Solford United jersey, fist-pumping in celebration. The image was captioned with striking text: "THANK YOU, CHINA WANG, GOODBYE."

After so many days, the second shoe had finally dropped. Gu Biao suddenly didn't feel like training anymore...

***

Under the sign marked with the Arabic numeral "11" in the parking lot, a dark green low-profile sports coupe slowly pulled into the space, and the charging port at the rear opened automatically. A young man with refined features and a lean build stepped out, removed the charging cable from behind the spot, and plugged it into his car. Only after finishing this did he walk around to the passenger side to grab his backpack, ready for training.

Just then, his phone vibrated, accompanied by a notification chime. Simultaneously, his headphones played an AI-generated voice reading the message: "Breaking: Solford United confirms contract termination with Wang Lie! Ten minutes ago, Solford United's official account on various social media platforms released a statement announcing the club has terminated Wang Lie's contract. Solford United expressed gratitude for Wang Lie's contributions during his tenure..."

By the time he processed the information and pulled out his phone to read it, the AI broadcast was nearing its end. The news wasn't long; it was essentially a flash report. Yet, Chi Zhen stood outside his car, staring at his phone for a long while.

He wasn't surprised by the termination; it was an outcome even a fool could have guessed. He honestly couldn't imagine a scenario where Brother Wang would bow his head to Solford United and slink back to the first team with his tail between his legs. This was Wang Lie! The Wang Lie who never knew how to admit defeat...

Still, seeing Wang Lie's ten-year tenure at Solford come to such an abrupt halt, Chi Zhen couldn't help but sigh. Wang Lie was the target figure that almost every Chinese player playing abroad aspired to become. The achievements he built at Solford made every Chinese player envious; no one didn't want to become a football legend and a club icon like Brother Wang.

Two years ago, when Brother Wang renewed his contract with Solford, it was set to expire on June 30, 2037, with an option for one more year, until June 30, 2038. Everyone thought this beautiful "marriage" would last until the end. Many, including Chi Zhen, felt Brother Wang would retire at Solford, ending his glorious career there. Who would have thought his end at Solford would be like this...

It was like seeing a couple you know who are deeply in love; you view them as a model couple, envious of their relationship, and you and your own partner strive to follow their example. Then, just as they reach old age, you suddenly hear they've divorced... it was just freaking absurd.

How did such a beautiful fairy tale reach this point step by step? Was Brother Wang wrong? Or was the Solford United club in the wrong? Chi Zhen felt both were to blame—Brother Wang was too impulsive, and the club was too petty. But... did it have to get this ugly?

An indescribable emotion lingered in Chi Zhen's heart, causing him to stand outside his car for seven or eight minutes without realizing it. It wasn't until he suddenly remembered that with Wang Lie terminated, while it was unknown where he would go next, he was now the only one left playing for a Premier League giant. As the representative of Chinese players in the Premier League, he had to train even harder, perform well, and pick up the banner left behind by Brother Wang; he couldn't let it fall.

He gathered his thoughts, locked his car, and turned toward the locker room, ready to begin the day's training.

When Chi Zhen reached the entrance of the training base locker room, he heard peals of laughter from inside:
"Wang has finally been kicked out! Ha!"
"This is the most correct decision Solford has ever made!"
"This is the best news I've heard in days!"
"Oh, goodbye, Wang! We won't miss you at all! Hahaha!"
...

Chi Zhen, who had been about to push the door open, stopped. He wasn't sure if it would be awkward to walk in now—both for him and his teammates... As he hesitated, a hand was placed gently on his shoulder. Chi Zhen was startled, turning to find his captain, Mason Harper.

"Hey, Chi," Harper grinned, flashing a set of white teeth. "Wait a moment before you go in."

After saying this, he took his hand off Chi Zhen's shoulder, pushed the door open, and walked in. The door closed slowly, and soon Harper's booming voice rang out: "What are you all doing?! I heard your laughter from outside and got the wrong impression, thinking it was us who won the day before yesterday... I specifically checked my phone, and guess what? Damn it, it was us who lost! We lost 0:3!"

Chi Zhen understood why the captain had made him wait. If he had walked in with him, everyone would have felt awkward when the captain started scolding them. Doing it this way allowed him to save some face for his teammates; at the very least, they wouldn't know he had been standing outside and heard every word they said...

***

"We have so many problems of our own, yet you have the mood to be happy about someone else's business—to put it bluntly, when we played Solford in the first half of the season, did Wang play? No. And what was the result? We drew 1:1; we didn't win. So do you really think that without Wang, we can definitely beat them? If you keep this mindset, I can make a prediction: I believe that in the twenty-sixth round, we will definitely lose to them again!"

Captain Harper was still venting, and Chi Zhen, standing outside the door, heard every word clearly. In fact, he could understand why his teammates were so excited after hearing that Wang Lie had left Solford. Although the Scousers and Solford United were bitter rivals, his teammates' excitement wasn't limited to just that.

Wang Lie was the "nemesis" of the Scousers. Wang Lie had faced the Scousers a total of thirty-four times—the most frequent opponent he had ever encountered. His first match against them wasn't even for Solford; he was playing for Barcelona Athletic at the time. In those thirty-four encounters, Wang Lie had fifteen wins, nine draws, and ten losses, holding the upper hand. He scored twenty-three goals in total and performed three hat-tricks.

The Scousers also "earned the honor" of being the opponent Wang Lie had scored the most hat-tricks against, and they ranked fourth on the list of teams he had scored against. The last of those three hat-tricks wasn't long ago—it was in the thirty-fifth round of last season, when the Scousers visited Solford.

Last season, Solford United finished sixth in the league, failing to qualify for the Champions League and having to settle for the Europa League. The Scousers finished second, just one point behind the champions, Clayton Athletic. The crucial turning point that caused them to lose the league title occurred in that thirty-fifth round.

Solford's overall performance last season was poor; they even lost 0:5 to the Scousers in the first half of the season, directly leading to the dismissal of their then-manager, the famous Dutch coach Delano Koding. In the second half of the season, Solford returned to their home ground and played with great tenacity. Twice they were led by the Scousers, who were desperate for the title, and both times Wang Lie helped the team equalize.

When the game reached the eighty-fourth minute, Wang Lie used a corner kick opportunity to score with a header. Solford led for the first time in the match and held that lead until the final whistle. Thanks to Wang Lie's hat-trick, Solford defeated the Scousers 3:2 at home. At that time, the title race between the Scousers and Clayton Athletic had reached a fever pitch. The result of this defeat was that the Scousers went from being two points ahead of Clayton Athletic to being one point behind—exactly the margin at the end of the season, and exactly the margin that cost them the title.

After losing that match, the media in Liverpool, where the Scousers were based, were in mourning. They knew that at such a stage, letting Clayton Athletic get ahead meant the title race was all but over... How could the consistently stable Clayton Athletic miss such an opportunity?

Actually, neither Solford nor Wang Lie were in top form last season. Solford failed to qualify for the Champions League for the third consecutive season, and for the first time in his Premier League career, Wang Lie's single-season goal tally fell below twenty—he ended up with only nineteen. That nineteenth goal was the header against the Scousers. In other words, Wang Lie used his final three goals of the season to kick away the Scousers' league title.

It was no wonder that after the match, the local Liverpool media insisted that the Scousers hadn't lost to Solford, but to Wang Lie. After the season ended, they sourly remarked that the Scousers didn't lose the league title to Clayton Athletic, but to Wang Lie, and that when Clayton Athletic celebrated their title, they shouldn't forget to invite Wang Lie onto the open-top bus.

This was just one example; the Scousers had suffered too much at the hands of Wang Lie. Every time Wang Lie went to the Scousers' home ground, Anfield, he was met with nothing but boos from the Scousers' fans from the moment the lineups were announced until the final whistle. This was partly because Wang Lie was their nemesis, and partly due to the many verbal battles between him and the club.

As a Chinese player playing for the Scousers, Chi Zhen knew that many fans were friendly toward the Chinese, but if you told them you were a Wang Lie fan, don't be surprised if they gave you a hard time... The Scousers fans drew a clear line between being Chinese and being a Wang Lie fan.

Chi Zhen understood the resentment between his team and Brother Wang, so he could understand why his teammates were so happy about the termination. Even he held complex feelings toward Brother Wang... He wasn't angry at his teammates; he had only hesitated to enter because he was afraid of the awkwardness.

While Chi Zhen was lost in thought, Captain Harper's lecture inside the room was nearing its end: "...Everyone, think about it carefully! Our goal this season remains the league title. If we play like we did in the last match, winning the title is nothing but a pipe dream! What does other people's business have to do with us? Stop worrying about things that don't concern you!"

Chi Zhen waited a bit longer. Seeing that the locker room was no longer filled with boisterous laughter but had returned to ordinary chatter, he pushed the door open and entered. Then, as usual, he smiled and greeted everyone: "Hey, good morning!"

***

"Through friendly negotiation, Solford United has decided to formally terminate its contract with Wang Lie. The club is very grateful for the contributions Wang Lie made during his ten seasons with the team; his passionate post-goal celebrations will become classics in Solford's history. He is an eternal legend in the history of Solford United. We wish Wang Lie the best of luck in the next chapter of his life."

Xiao Cheng read this content on his phone over and over again. He even counted how many words the official statement from Solford United used. Including punctuation, it was 113 characters. If this were posted on a domestic microblog, it wouldn't even count as a long post. 113 characters and one image—that was the club's entire farewell to Wang Lie.

Xiao Cheng kept refreshing his phone for over an hour, but saw no new official content. It seemed that everything regarding Wang Lie ended right there.

"I've decided to leave at noon and go to Manchester," Xiao Cheng told his friend during the break.

His friend was surprised: "There's still class in the afternoon, bro! From London to Manchester, you definitely won't make it back before class..."

"I'm skipping it," Xiao Cheng said, both decisively and nonchalantly.

"Are you crazy, Xiao?!" His friend widened his eyes. "That's Professor Crawley's class! He never allows anyone to skip his lectures!"

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to see Wang Lie off," Xiao Cheng said.

His friend opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally sighed: "Then I wish you luck, Xiao... you really need it!"

His friend knew how obsessed this Chinese friend of his was with Wang Lie—he had come to London to study in the UK because of Wang Lie, because Wang Lie played in the Premier League—so his crazy actions weren't entirely incomprehensible...

***

Finishing their day's training, the players of Nanhe Jiuding returned to the locker room and began chatting about the top news in Chinese football while changing. They couldn't talk during training, but they had heard the news just as they were preparing for the afternoon session, which had been agonizing.

"Any latest news?"
"No, Solford's official Twitter hasn't posted anything since that one tweet... oh wait, there's an update, but it's about first-team training content..."
"Damn, one tweet to finish off the departure of the club's all-time legend? How heartless!"
"Sigh, they were on such bad terms before, otherwise it wouldn't have ended like this..."
"Even if they were on bad terms, they could at least keep up appearances, right? Frankly, I think Solford was unprofessional!"

The discussion was heated, but Chu Yu, the team captain, did not participate. He just silently changed, packed his things, and prepared to leave. It wasn't until a teammate called him out: "Captain Chu, do you think Brother Wang will come back to China to play after the termination?"

With that question, everyone in the locker room turned their attention to him. Chu Yu gave a bitter smile: "How would I know?"

"Isn't it rumored that Brother Wang is considering playing back in China? It's all over the internet..."
"Ugh, you listen to the internet? If Brother Wang wanted to play in China, he would have done it long ago; why wait until now?"

As expected, the discussion was intense. Chu Yu said only one sentence, and everyone quickly shifted their attention away from him to continue their talk. Chu Yu was happy about that and continued packing his things with his head down.

"That's right, why doesn't Brother Wang come back to play? He'd definitely get playing time and wouldn't have wasted half a season at Solford..."
"That's a silly question... why doesn't Brother Wang play in China? Obviously because our domestic league level is low. Brother Wang is probably afraid that if he comes back, he won't even be able to make the national team..."

Hearing the sting in someone's voice, Chu Yu, who had intended to stay out of it, coughed and said, "You can't put it that way. Even I can still make the national team after returning to China, so how could Wang Lie not?"

"Then why doesn't Brother Wang come back?"
"There are always his own reasons," Chu Yu said. "Like... unwillingness to give up."
"Unwillingness?" someone asked, surprised. "Brother Wang's career has already been amazing; what else is there to be unwilling about?"

Others agreed: "Captain Chu is right! If it were me, I wouldn't be willing either! Damn, why? The club's all-time leading scorer, a deserved legend, and he's treated like this? I get high blood pressure just reading those comments online cursing Brother Wang... A bunch of idiots pointing fingers at him—are they even worthy?!"

"So where can Brother Wang go now? Is there a team in Europe he can go to? It was said before that he only wanted to play for teams that could make the Champions League. I think it would be hard for any team that can make the Champions League to sign him now..."

It had to be said that even though he was nearly thirty-eight, even though he hadn't played properly for half a year, and even though his spot on the national team was hanging by a thread, Wang Lie was still Wang Lie—the undisputed top Chinese star and a top-tier figure in Chinese football. His termination from Solford could spark such heated discussion in the locker room of an ordinary Chinese Super League team.

However, Chu Yu was not in the mood to continue discussing someone thousands of miles away with his teammates. He packed his things, reminded them not to linger in the locker room for too long, and left first. After he left, the people in the locker room stopped talking about Wang Lie and started talking about their captain instead.

"Captain Chu said 'unwillingness,' but I think he's the one who's truly unwilling, right?"
"No way, didn't Captain Chu say it? He said his ability at the time wasn't enough to get playing time at Berlin Star, so he came back to China. If he hadn't returned, maybe he really wouldn't have made the national team..."
"Even if he couldn't play at Berlin Star, he could have gone to other teams, right? It didn't have to be the top five leagues. Look at the form Captain Chu has shown since returning; it's not impossible that he could have stayed in Europe. So maybe that's why he said he's unwilling? If he had persevered a bit more back then, maybe he'd still be playing in Europe."
"I actually find it weird that our captain has been speaking up for Wang Lie lately... aren't they supposed to have a bad relationship?"
"Now that you mention it, it does seem that way..."
"Yeah! Captain Chu is actually on the same side as Brother Wang? That's not scientific!"

The subject of their gossip was already sitting in his car. But Chu Yu didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took out his phone to look at the news of Wang Lie's termination. Chu Yu actually understood perfectly why Wang Lie didn't return to China and why he insisted on staying in Europe, but it was hard to explain to his teammates. It was complicated, and others might not understand it well.

Wang Lie was just that kind of person, always accompanied by controversy. He and Wang Lie had known each other for a long time, back when they weren't even professional players—they had both trained at the same football academy, the famous "Oriental Football School," so in that sense, they were "alumni."

But this connection didn't make them friends. Not only were they not friends, they were actually a bit at odds. At first, Chu Yu had his reservations about how Wang Lie left the academy—at the time, Wang Lie had a very unpleasant fallout with the school to go to Europe. Every fan in the country knew about it, and Chu Yu, as a student at the academy, knew even more. But later, after Wang Lie's family sold their house to compensate the school, Chu Yu couldn't call Wang Lie "ungrateful"—he had paid the money, after all... Still, he felt that while Wang Lie was gifted, he was too headstrong, acted unprofessionally, and wasn't very likable.

***

Later, a match exposed the conflict between them. It was the semi-final of the men's football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The twenty-two-year-old Chu Yu was an age-appropriate player, while Wang Lie, then twenty-five, participated as an over-age player. His goal was clear: to achieve a zero-breakthrough in honor for Chinese football in international competitions and win an Olympic gold medal for the Chinese Olympic team.

Wang Lie wasn't just having a pipe dream. After all, the Chinese national team had historically reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 World Cup held on home soil, so winning an Olympic gold wasn't entirely absurd. Plus, since the professionalization of Chinese football in the 1990s, there had been a push for youth training reform, which had indeed produced many excellent players. Wang Lie himself was a beneficiary and an outstanding representative of this reform wave. Chu Yu was one of them; at the time, he was the captain of that Olympic team.

With such a capable Olympic team, plus an over-age player like Wang Lie who had established himself as a starter for the La Liga giant Barcelona Athletic—let alone the gold medal, at least challenging for a medal wasn't a dream, right? The Olympic team lived up to expectations, breaking out of the group stage and pushing all the way to the semi-finals. At this stage, they were very close to a medal—even if they lost, they still had a chance at the bronze.

As it turned out, the Chinese Olympic team lost the semi-final to the Argentine Olympic team, who eventually won the gold. After losing the match, the young Chinese players were heartbroken. Some were in tears on the spot, and others couldn't suppress their grief and pain even back in the locker room. As captain, Chu Yu had to comfort them: "Don't be too sad, we've tried our best, no regrets..."

This was a normal consolation, but Wang Lie, who had been sitting in silence, erupted and scolded Chu Yu: "Don't make excuses for failure!"

Chu Yu was stunned: *Brother, I'm trying to comfort people, can't you see that?*

Wang Lie seemed truly unable to see it, disappointed and angry: "Self-deception! What 'tried our best'? That's just an excuse to comfort yourself after losing! What's the use of saying nice things? Where's the 'no regrets'? Who has no regrets?! I do!"

Honestly, if Chu Yu hadn't chosen to endure it at the time, the news of an internal conflict in the Olympic locker room after the loss would have caused a national uproar. Ever since that incident, the relationship between Chu Yu and Wang Lie had been very cold.

However... although Wang Lie's words after the loss made Chu Yu unhappy, he had to admit that Wang Lie was the biggest contributor to the Olympic team winning the bronze medal—in the third-place match, it was Wang Lie's goal and assist that helped the team defeat Japan, achieving the first-ever Olympic medal for Chinese men's football.

During the medal ceremony, every player was happy, except Wang Lie. After stepping off the podium, he took the bronze medal from his neck, gripped it in his hand, and wore no smile—he was still brooding over losing the semi-final and missing the chance for the gold. After that, Chu Yu understood that although Wang Lie was harsh on others, he was even harsher on himself, so you couldn't really blame him...

And so it returned to the feeling from the days at the Oriental Football School—Wang Lie didn't do anything wrong, but his actions just made Chu Yu feel uncomfortable. Maybe this was what they called "incompatible personalities"...

Thus, they were teammates on the national team for over a decade, often fighting side by side, yet they never became friends. Chu Yu admitted that Wang Lie was a hundred times better than him, acknowledged the heights he reached that no other Chinese player had, and respected his pioneering contribution to Chinese football—he admired him, respected him, but just couldn't like him.

In Wang Lie's most glorious days, almost everyone tried to please, flatter, or latch onto him. Chu Yu, however, kept his distance. So, the fact that the captain and vice-captain of the Chinese national team didn't have a good relationship was no secret in domestic football for many years. Chu Yu never thought to pretend they were close, and Wang Lie was even more disdainful of doing so.

But strangely, lately, every time Chu Yu heard someone badmouthing Wang Lie, he couldn't help but want to defend him:
"He's actually not as bad as you think..."
"That's an exaggeration; how could Wang Lie's success be just marketing?"
"Wang Lie has his issues, but you can't say all of Solford's problems are his fault..."
"Wang Lie's refusal to leave the pitch was indeed too impulsive, but was Helden's substitution entirely without fault?"
"Wang Lie's extreme fans are annoying, but what about 'Little Chi's' extreme fans? You want Wang Lie to control his fans, but he doesn't even have an official fan group—how is he supposed to control them? With legal letters? Besides, if Wang Lie is responsible for his fans, shouldn't 'Little Chi' be responsible for his? Everyone has to control their own fans? How is that even possible?"
"Credit is credit, fault is fault. Wang Lie isn't doing well now, but you can't say he wasn't good before, and you certainly can't say the titles he won were due to teammates, referees, or marketing... No matter what his personality is, it doesn't change his status in the history of Chinese, or even world, football..."

Chu Yu hadn't thought about why he did this until he heard about the termination today. At nearly thirty-five, with Wang Lie nearing thirty-eight, both of their careers had inevitably entered their twilight, and a farewell could come at any time. At such a moment, people are particularly fragile and prone to sentimentality. He suddenly understood a few things.

Perhaps it was because for all these years, although he disliked Wang Lie's way of doing things, deep down, he felt a deep envy... Envy that he could insist on being himself for twenty years, even if the world didn't like it; whether in success or at rock bottom, he never changed, purely and utterly out of place with the world. Envy that he truly used such inhumanly harsh standards to demand from himself and push himself for over twenty years; even if it was just an act, to act like that for so long was truly impressive. Envy that he could still grit his teeth and hold on in the most disadvantageous situations, refusing to give up even when he couldn't see hope, truly achieving unity of knowledge and action.

And all of these were things he, Chu Yu, simply couldn't do... The reason he disliked Wang Lie was perhaps because he knew he would never be the dazzling, sun-like Wang Lie. That dislike was perhaps just his own desperate and incompetent jealousy at work.

And now, with Wang Lie terminated from Solford and ending his legendary career in such an inglorious way, Chu Yu felt he could praise him without a hint of jealousy: What an amazing person, what a brilliant life!

Pulling himself out of his indescribable emotions, Chu Yu gathered his thoughts and drove out of the parking lot. On the car stereo, a song played randomly, the man's voice shifting from low and gentle to high and soaring:

"Pause for a moment to sort things out, tell yourself it will pass."
"Don't be sad or discouraged... Don't be sad or discouraged..."
"You will jump onto that speeding train—"
"Even if you aren't the strongest in terms of time, even if there is heavy helplessness, unbearable moments, and loneliness!"
"You will jump onto that speeding train—"
"Even if you aren't the strongest in terms of time, even if you fall in pain and sorrow, you must fight to the end—!"

***

Stanley Harris followed the first team, finished training, and returned to the locker room. He immediately noticed that on Wang Lie's old locker, there were no longer any posters, nor his name or number. It was empty and bare, like a blank sheet of paper, as if such a person had never existed.

Not just him, everyone in the locker room silently looked at that one empty locker. Then, they withdrew their gaze and quietly returned to their own lockers, changed, and showered... just as usual. Only Harris stood there, lost in thought.

Players had left the team in the middle of the season before, but never had they been cleared out so quickly—in just the time of one training session, everything about him in this locker room was gone. As if they weren't sending off a legend, but a hot potato.

***

Xiao Cheng stood, soul-lost, outside Red Stone Stadium, feeling like an idiot. His good friend said he needed luck, and he really did need luck...

He had spent over three hours taking the train from London to Manchester, then caught a ride to Heaton Sports City, wanting to see Wang Lie for the last time at Solford. Only after waiting for a while did he suddenly realize—Wang Lie had been banished to the youth team by Helden long ago, he hadn't been training with the first team for days, so how could he possibly wait for him here?

Then he remembered that on the outer wall of Red Stone Stadium, there were huge advertising posters, and Wang Lie was on them. So, he took a taxi across Manchester to the stadium. But what greeted his eyes was Wang Lie's giant poster being dismantled. The work was nearly finished; Wang Lie's upper body was gone, and only two feet remained of his lower body.

Xiao Cheng hadn't expected Solford United's efficiency to be this high; his trip today had been completely in vain. Disappointed and aggrieved, Xiao Cheng couldn't bear to watch the workers dismantle the poster bit by bit—the tools felt like they were striking him—so he turned around, ready to leave. Thinking that his youth had ended so hastily, and that he hadn't even had time to say goodbye... sorrow welled up, and he walked away crying, crying like an idiot.

Time is running, who knows where it's going
The world is spinning, silent and complex
There will be a self that remains passionate
Even with hardships, one must cross mountains, lakes, and seas to see
You will jump onto that speeding train
Even if you aren't the strongest in terms of time
Even if you aren't the strongest in terms of time...