Unconventional Center

Chapter 30: A Masterpiece of God

It was as if some mischievous Tian Shen had suddenly pressed the mute button on the entire world, only to abruptly turn it back on and crank the volume to the max. A cacophony of cheers erupted like an avalanche or a tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire Mestalla Stadium. Even the Leonesa fans, after a brief moment of silence, rose to their feet and applauded Chu Yang. Mr. Marco could no longer maintain his “I’ve got everything under control” pose. He paused for a moment, then sprang up as if propelled by a spring, embracing the Coaching Staff tightly. Just as Chu Yang was preparing to take the penalty kick, Xiao Luo—in a reckless move—picked up a wine glass from the table, raised it elegantly to his lips, and took a sip. As Chu Yang took his shot, he was just about to swallow the fine red wine in his mouth, and then… well, everyone in the box turned their heads away. Li Jia, meanwhile, glanced at her husband and daughter—both staring in stunned silence—then at the group of “half-hearted fans” in the box, and suddenly felt a sense of pride. Mei Yun and Chu Yu looked at the fans around them who had gone wild, listening to them chant that all-too-familiar name in strange, raucous tones, and slowly, their faces and hearts filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. “Goal… goal…It’s in! Goal! Chu! Goal! Mr. Milke’s voice stuttered at first, then quickly became fluid. “Chu Yang! The magical Chu Yang! He’s scored yet another goal that would amaze even the devil himself. It was as if, the moment he took the shot, God had grabbed the ball in His hand, helped him curve it around the wall, and tossed it into Leonesa’s net. Just look at the replay—what a magnificent arc—it almost formed an upside-down ‘C.’ The Leonesa goalkeeper was powerless to stop it. Poor kid—he must have felt like he was dreaming.” “Heh heh heh, Milk, when have the devil ever marveled at God’s work?” “Oh my God, Díaz, you’re such a good actor—you make it look like you’re really calm.” “Hey, I really am calm. You have to understand—I’m a great striker who’s seen countless amazing goals in my lifetime. This one is just a drop in the bucket… Alright, you win. I can’t keep up the act anymore. I just want to say: the best goal of the Segunda División has been scored—today, right before our very eyes.” What status did Carlos’s goal hold in Chu Yang’s past life? Chu Yang only remembered that whenever there were rankings or highlight reels titled “The World’s Best XX Free Kick” or “The Greatest XX Free Kick of All Time,” that goal was always included—and it consistently ranked in the top ten, top five, or even number one. Although his strength had reached 15, the power in his foot certainly wasn’t as terrifying as that of Carlos’s golden left foot. Moreover, his left foot wasn’t his dominant foot, so it felt a bit awkward to kick with it. The speed of this shot wasn’t as fast as Carlos’s, but the curve was even greater. Even if it wasn’t quite as insane as Milk described—“almost forming an inverted ‘C’”—it wasn’t far off. Chu Yang took off his jersey, spun it above his head, and slowly walked toward the sideline, where Mo Ya leaped from behind and landed on his back. “Chu! I knew you could do it! Ha! Man, you really did it!” Mo Ya babbled incoherently as he swayed back and forth on Chu Yang’s back, looking even more excited than Chu Yang himself. “Cesc, are you going to get down on your own, or do I have to throw you off?” “Oh, Chu, you’re really breaking my heart.” Mo Ya quickly and obediently hopped down, while Fernando Cayo—who looked just like Fernando—had long since sprinted out from the goal and squeezed his way into the crowd of teammates surrounding Chu Yang to celebrate. He dropped to one knee right in front of Chu Yang, pulled his left foot toward him and placed it on his lap, and began pretending to polish his shoe. “Oh, Chu looks pretty calm—he hasn’t done any wild celebratory moves—but we all know he’s just putting on an act, just like Díaz. Even though he knew he’d get a yellow card, he still took off his jersey. I have to say, Chu’s physique is really impressive. Look at those muscles, look at those lines—I think he could be a model even if he didn’t play soccer. And that crazy Fernando—he burst out from the goal. What’s he up to? Oh! He’s polishing Chu’s shoes! Congratulations to Chu—it looks like the team’s number one goalkeeper has truly come to respect him.” At that moment, the stadium jumbotron and TV screens were replaying the goal from every angle. That dramatic arc was now even clearer to the audience, and then people noticed something interesting. Just as Chu Yanggang had kicked the ball away, the ball boy standing at the left corner flag near Leonesa’s end line actually flinched. From his perspective, the ball had been heading straight toward him, but it had taken an incredible turn. The young ball boy let out a sigh of relief, drawing waves of good-natured laughter from the crowd. Chu Yang’s goal celebrations are always restrained; just as the Leonesa players were preparing to protest to the referee, he shooed his teammates back to the bench. Of course, his shirt-removal celebration did not escape the referee’s yellow card. Leonesa’s morale seemed to have been crushed by that free kick; they were noticeably listless for the remainder of the match. The defenders looked at Chu Yang as if he were some kind of monster, while the Valencia players grew more and more confident as the game went on. Just before halftime, Baldés made a series of breakthroughs down the wing and sent in a cross, which was somehow headed by Mo Ya—whose heading skills were notoriously poor—and the ball fluttered limply into the net. After the second half began, Leonesa’s morale clearly improved somewhat, but playing on the road, trailing 0–2, and—most importantly—facing a gap in sheer talent left them powerless to turn the tide. Mo Ya lived up to his reputation as the “Prince of Mestalla”; following his header just before halftime, he assisted Chu Yang on another goal, completing a hat trick of assists. Naturally, what excited the fans the most was Chu Yang’s performance. They finally had their own superstar striker. In the month since joining the team, Chu Yang had already scored an astonishing eight goals. Most impressively, every one of these goals had either broken the deadlock, tied the game, or put the team ahead—which only bolstered the fans’ confidence in him and left them feeling deeply ashamed of the faint doubt that had once crept into their minds: “Could Chu be a flop?” In the 65th minute, Chu Yang—who had scored twice in the match—was substituted out for Adrian. The entire stadium rose to their feet in applause. Before high-fiving him on the sideline, Adrian said with genuine admiration, “Hey, Chu, great job!” “Thanks, and good luck to you, too.” Chu Yang replied, said goodbye to Gresel and Heike, and took his seat on the bench. In the 70th minute, Mo Ya was also substituted out. With the score at 5–0, Leonesa had no hope of a comeback. “The referee blew the final whistle. Congratulations to Valencia—not only did they avenge their previous loss, but they also reached 59 points, staying hot on the heels of Vallado in third place in the league. As long as…”