Volume One: Our Own League Chapter 18: I Might Not Be Able to Play in the League Anymore

As he watched the ball fly into the goal, Xu He was completely stunned.

When the ball rebounded off his knee, he hadn’t even reacted—he hadn’t made any move to shoot, he hadn’t tried to score at all.

Yet, the ball went in!

A last-second winner!

Xu He had snatched victory for Class Ten’s soccer team in the very final second.

The players of Class Ten erupted in excitement. They swarmed toward Xu He, knocking him to the ground before piling on top of him in jubilation…

A hero!

Xu He was the hero of Class Ten’s soccer team!

But the girls watching from the sidelines saw things differently. In their eyes, all the credit belonged to Lin Xuefeng. Without him, Xu He would be nothing. So, they chanted in unison, “Xuefeng, Xuefeng, you’re the best! Xuefeng, you’re the greatest—Xuefeng is truly amazing!”

Hearing this, Lin Xuefeng blushed. Sometimes, too much attention from the girls could be a bit overwhelming.

He waved shyly at the girls supporting him, then ran over to join Xu He.

Xu He had only just escaped the celebratory crush of his other teammates and gotten to his feet, when Lin Xuefeng flung himself on him again, knocking him back to the ground. Excitedly, Lin Xuefeng shouted, “Xu He, you were incredible! Your sense for being in the right spot in front of the goal is amazing!”

On the sidelines, Li Liying couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the scene.

Poor Xu He—he’d been tackled to the ground yet again.

Meanwhile, Mu Yang and Zhu Ge stood quietly aside, not joining in the raucous celebration. Their minds were already on the upcoming league matches, not this game.

Today’s match had exposed a number of issues in their team.

They’d all assumed that, as the best players from their respective classes, their combined strength would easily secure the league title.

But today’s match suggested otherwise.

Even a team like Class Six, which relied entirely on a single player, had almost caused their downfall. This showed that their opponents were by no means weak. If they went into the league matches with the same casual, even arrogant attitude, they were bound to suffer.

Zhu Ge remarked, “The league might be a lot tougher than I imagined!”

Mu Yang replied coolly, “The championship is still ours!”

Confidence—Mu Yang was overflowing with it.

Even after witnessing such a formidable player as Yang Hao, he remained utterly convinced they would win the league, without the slightest doubt in his heart.

Zhu Ge admired this about him.

Suddenly, Zhu Ge asked, “What do you think of Xu He now?”

Mu Yang glanced at Xu He and answered coolly with just two words, “Lucky charm.”

Zhu Ge was taken aback by the term, then burst out laughing, nodding in agreement.

After laughing for a while, Zhu Ge asked, “So, do you think Xu He should be in the starting lineup?”

This time, Zhu Ge’s expression was quite serious.

Mu Yang was momentarily surprised.

He didn’t answer immediately, instead mulling it over for a while before saying, “Who can say?”

With that, Mu Yang gave Zhu Ge no chance to ask anything further—he walked away.

Zhu Ge was slightly stunned by this unexpected response.

Meanwhile, Xu He, having just escaped Lin Xuefeng’s enthusiastic embrace, immediately looked over at the Class Six team, searching for Yang Hao. He wanted to see if Yang Hao would still dare to ignore him.

But he couldn’t spot Yang Hao anywhere.

It seemed the guy had already left.

This left Xu He feeling a bit unsettled.

Yang Hao was just too arrogant.

Xu He made a note of Yang Hao in his mind—next time they met, he was determined to prove himself, to show Yang Hao his strength so he would never be overlooked again.

At that moment, Zhu Ge gathered the team together.

Li Liying also came over, looked around at everyone, and said, “You all played well today, but there’s still a way to go before you’re championship material. You’re not lacking in skill—what you’re lacking is the right mindset.”

Xu He was startled by her words.

Why did Li Liying sound so much like a teacher? Her tone and manner were so mature.

Was this what genius looked like?

Regardless, Xu He was deeply impressed by her.

Li Liying continued, “Don’t underestimate any opponent. From what I know, there are plenty of teams even stronger than Class Six. If you want to win the league, you need to adjust your attitude and work even harder!”

Her words jolted the players of Class Ten.

There were teams stronger than Class Six?

Was everyone at their school this good at soccer?

If that was true, the league wouldn’t be easy at all, and winning the championship would be far from assured.

The players were left a bit stunned.

Only Mu Yang and Zhu Ge remained calm, as if none of this surprised them.

Seeing that some of the team seemed shaken, Zhu Ge quickly added, “Honestly, Class Six isn’t that strong—the only real threat is Yang Hao. Teams like that are easy to deal with; their overall quality is poor!”

Xu He nodded in agreement.

Apart from Yang Hao, the rest of the Class Six players were mediocre; some didn’t even seem to know how to play. Their strength was indeed lacking—the team had simply been overawed by Yang Hao’s individual brilliance.

Still, Xu He believed Li Liying: there must be teams in the school stronger than Class Six.

But Xu He wasn’t afraid. In fact, he found the prospect exciting.

Soccer was meant to be played against strong opponents—that was how you truly improved.

It was like playing chess: if you always played against weak opponents, you’d never get better; in fact, you might even regress. But once you played against masters, your progress could be astounding.

Zhu Ge went on, “And you all need to have more confidence. Our team is very strong. Even if there are teams better than Class Six, we can beat them—as long as we take things seriously and give our all, the league title will be ours this season!”

His words rang out with conviction, instantly restoring the team’s confidence.

One by one, they nodded, saying, “Don’t worry, Captain, we’ll give it everything we’ve got!”

Zhu Ge was pleased by this response.

He felt that today’s warm-up match had been the right decision. Not only had it helped adjust their attitudes, but it had also unified the team’s mindset—an excellent development ahead of the league.

It looked like he owed Yang Hao a thank-you.

It was Yang Hao’s outstanding performance that had forced his teammates to take things seriously and put aside their complacency. Now, Zhu Ge was even more confident in his team’s chances of winning the league, and he was delighted.

He turned to Mu Yang and asked, “Anything you want to add?”

Mu Yang answered crisply, “No.”

Cool—just unbelievably cool!

Xu He couldn’t help but sneak another look at him.

Seeing that Mu Yang had nothing more to say, Zhu Ge addressed the team again, “That was our last warm-up match before the league. I’m sure you all have a better sense of what’s to come. I want you to go back, train hard, and get ready.”

The team replied in unison, “Understood!”

Zhu Ge continued, “Next Tuesday, the league begins. Be prepared—understand?”

These words got Xu He and the rest of Class Ten’s soccer team fired up.

They had been looking forward to the league for so long, and now it was finally approaching. They were so excited they wished it would start immediately.

Next Tuesday, Group A would play first. The opening match would be A1 versus A2, followed by A3 versus A4, with the entire first round of Group A completed that day. Class Ten’s team, in Group B, would play their match on Friday afternoon, so they still had a good amount of time to prepare.

They could also watch the Group A matches first, to get a sense of their future opponents’ strength.

This schedule worked to their advantage.

Zhu Ge said, “On Tuesday afternoon, I want you all to watch the Group A games. That way, you’ll get a good idea of how strong the other teams are.”

Xu He and the others responded immediately, “Got it!”

Zhu Ge nodded, then said, “Alright, that’s all for today. Everyone, go home and rest!”

As he finished speaking, Mu Yang turned and walked away.

Zhu Ge gave a wry smile and called after him, “Aren’t you coming to play Pro Evolution Soccer?”

Mu Yang, true to form, just waved over his shoulder as he walked off.

So cool!

But Xu He’s attention was elsewhere—he hadn’t even noticed the exchange between Zhu Ge and Mu Yang. His thoughts had already drifted.

He had just remembered what Teacher Ye had said after class today.

Next week, their class would have a math test.

This was very important to Xu He.

If he didn’t do well on the math test, he might not be allowed to play in the weekend’s league matches. Why? Because he’d have to go to tutoring!

Because of this, Xu He’s excitement for the league was somewhat dampened.

His top priority now was to study and prepare for the test, so he could get a good score and have time to play in the league.

Just then, Zhu Ge turned to Xu He and asked, “Xu He, want to come play Pro Evolution Soccer with us?”

Xu He shook his head vigorously, saying, “Not this time—I have to go home and study!”

Zhu Ge looked a little disappointed. “Alright, see you tomorrow then.”

Xu He waved back, “See you tomorrow!”

He quickly said goodbye to Li Jie and hurried home to study hard. Not only did he want more time to play soccer, he also wanted to rescue his best friend from his mother’s clutches.

As he ran, Xu He shouted up to the sky, “This time, I’m going to get a hundred!”