Unconventional Center

Chapter 12: A Cross Mark

Chu Yang’s father was a moderately well-known writer, and his mother was a music professor at a renowned domestic university. They came from an educated, middle-class family; though they were still a long way from great wealth and prestige, they weren’t struggling financially. Combined with his salary—which ranked among the highest on the team—he was quite well-off and rented a rather upscale small apartment. It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with a kitchen and bathroom, decorated in a slightly artsy style—perfect for a poser like him. “The lake is your gaze, dreams are the stars filling the sky, your mood is a legend, an eternal wait, and growing up is a leaf…” A crisp, melodious voice echoed through the room. In the video, four beautiful girls were strumming guitars and singing softly into the microphone, radiating the vibrancy of youth. “So, what do you think? Have you been won over by your big sister’s charm?” Through the text on We Chat, Chu Yang could practically picture Chu Yu’s smug grin, so he immediately sent her a scornful emoji. “Come clean—how many more songs are you hiding? Spill the beans.” “Take a guess.” As a total homebody, Chu Yang didn’t drink or go to bars. He hadn’t made many friends since arriving in Spain, so once night fell, he’d just go online to chat with family and friends, play games, and read novels. You read that right—you’re living the exact same life as the male protagonist in a YY novel. “How do you think I’m going to guess?” Chu Yu never got tired of these childish games. “I’m done guessing.” Chu Yang typed while watching the video—a single guy’s typing speed is no joke; he sent the three characters in just two seconds. “What did you guess?” Chu Yu was instantly hooked. “You guess.” “……” Chu Yu sent an emoji of a fox slamming a book down after the ellipsis. “When’s the break?” Chu Yang quickly changed the subject. “I’m off on the 9th, and Mom’s place on the 10th,” Chu Yu said. “When’s your match?” “Um, there’s one tomorrow—you won’t make it—but you should be able to watch the one on the 14th.” “If I can’t make it, I can’t make it—it’s not like you’re actually playing,” Chu Yu added, tagging a sly, goofy guy emoji. This guy was incredibly persistent; Chu Yang could still see him even after traveling through time. “Whoa!” Chu Yang sent back just one character. “Did the little boat of family love capsize again?” “Obviously.” “Well, take your time swimming then. I’m going to book tickets first. Oh, and Dad probably won’t be able to make it—he’s in seclusion again, working on his next masterpiece.” “Go ahead. Allow me to end our conversation with a profound English phrase.” “Oh, looks like this country wasn’t a total waste after all. Come on, let me hear just how profound it is.” “Bye-bye.” “……” The Comedian appeared on the phone screen with a look of utter contempt. Chu Yang smiled slightly. She wasn’t exactly a stunner, but she sure was annoying. He stopped paying attention to Chu Yu, shut off the video call, and launched Pro Evolution Soccer 2017’s “One Goal to Fame” mode to start playing. This game, just like Funny Guy, was as solid as a rock. His character’s name was Chu Yang, a forward with all stats maxed out using a cheat tool and every skill unlocked. Yep, he was that shameless. After dominating the game in *Pro Evolution Soccer 2017*—scoring six goals and dishing out three assists—Chu Yang spent the next day sitting pitifully on the bench for the full ninety minutes. The gap between dreams and reality often makes life feel worse than death. “The match is over. Valencia narrowly defeated their opponents thanks to Cesc’s free kick. This young captain is now the team’s most reliable source of goals—most of the team’s goals this season have come from his free kicks and assists. I have to ask: where have our forwards gone? Another Christmas has come and gone, and they’re still strolling around the field just like they did in the first half of the season. Perhaps Santa Claus has already stolen their already stinking scoring boots. Why didn’t the club strengthen the squad during the winter transfer window? Oh, I know you want me to look at the bench—at that 20-year-old Chinese player, a Super La Coruña sub. Look at that—how nice it sounds: a Chinese player who’s scored only three goals in seventeen matches.” The speaker is Valencia legend Díaz Hugo, one of the most successful strikers in the club’s history. Although he’s French, he spent most of his life in Valencia,He remained loyal to the “White Ghost Army” throughout the peak of his career—even when the team was relegated to the Segunda División and Real Madrid and Barcelona were fiercely courting him. It wasn’t until the twilight of his career, when he sought to earn a spot on the National Team, that he transferred to Italian powerhouse AC Milan, where he helped the club win its first Serie A title in five years as their leading scorer. In the two years leading up to his retirement, Ugo returned to Valencia. Although he was unable to help the team secure promotion, he still won the Segunda División Golden Boot. It’s no exaggeration to call a man like this a club legend. After retiring, Ugo declined the club’s invitation to join the Coaching Staff and instead became a soccer commentator for a television network. His commentary is both technically insightful and full of personality—and by “personality,” I mean he doesn’t hold back when criticizing others, regardless of the occasion or the person, even going so far as to berate soccer heavyweights on live TV. “Haha, Díaz, I bet you didn’t watch the Goal of the Week for Matchday 17 of La Liga—otherwise, you wouldn’t be saying that.” Commentator Milk clearly disagreed with him. “Huh? I checked the stats—he scored a hat trick in that match. Sounds great, but what’s the reality? He didn’t score a single goal in the first sixteen rounds. Milk, don’t tell me you don’t know what that means.” “No, no, no. I know you’re going to say he was just lucky. I suggest you watch that match first—it was absolutely brilliant. To be honest, I’d even like to see Gresel put him in the starting lineup for this game, but I know that’s unrealistic. After all, he’s just joined the team, isn’t he?” “All right, even though your smirk is pretty annoying, I’ll take your advice. Hopefully this kid will surprise us.” “Trust me, you’ll be a fan of his in no time—if he plays as well as he did in that game. No, even half as well as that would be enough.” There are a total of twenty-two teams in the Segunda División, with forty-two rounds per season. We’re already in the twenty-first round, and currently leading the table is the red-hot Numancia, who have seventeen wins and four draws this season. I’ve heard they’ve even declared their goal of winning the title without a single loss. In second place is Vallado, currently with 17 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses for 53 points, followed by Ameyari, with 16 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss—they’re just two points ahead of Valencia. After defeating Córdoba in this match, Valencia remains in fourth place with 50 points. Their next match is against Ameyari; a win would allow them to overtake their opponent and move up to third place, while a loss would see them fall far behind. The importance of this match goes without saying, so Mr. Gresel was extremely displeased that Chu Yang actually asked for time off right before such a crucial game. To be honest, Gresel didn’t care much for Chu Yang at first—he even disliked him—since Chu Yang hadn’t been signed for his athletic ability. It wasn’t until several training sessions later that he came to recognize Chu Yang’s true talent. However, he still had some grievances with Chu Yang. Take his attitude toward training, for example. Chu Yang trained diligently, but this diligence was worlds apart from the scout’s description of him as “the first to arrive at the training ground every day and the last to leave—a terrifying training maniac.” Although he would certainly have stopped Chu Yang if he’d gone that far—after all, training needs to be scientific and moderate, with a sense of balance. But whether he allowed it or not was one thing; whether Chu Yang actually did it was another. This gave him the false impression that while Chu Yang had been diligent during his time in La Liga, he had let up once he moved to the Segunda División—that he looked down on the second-tier league and didn’t believe Valencia was worth his full effort. One could only say that Mr. Marco from the Netherlands was quite thin-skinned, so the thin-skinned Coach Marco decided to keep Chu Yang benched for the next match—yes, it was decided—he wouldn’t let him play, not even during garbage time. How was he to know that Chu Yang had a “cheat code”? Although the Superstar System couldn’t directly max out all of Chu Yang’s stats, it was certainly generous with its suggestions. Chu Yang’s small frame simply couldn’t withstand the kind of frenzied training he used to endure. The system thoughtfully devised a reasonable training plan for him, adjusted the intensity, and even provided several recipes that were both delicious and nutritious. So, although the training intensity had noticeably decreased during this period, the results were actually even more pronounced. The accumulated benefits from his previous intense training finally paid off, boosting his strength and endurance by one point each. Just as Chu Yang was plotting to prove himself to Chu Yu in the next match, he had no idea that the head coach had already quietly crossed him off the list. The coach was now humming a tune, in high spirits as he headed to the airport to pick someone up. Mom and his older sister had arrived.