Volume One: Our Own League Chapter 33: The Starting Position Must Be Mine

A new week had arrived, and Xu He went to school brimming with anticipation. The league match from the previous week had given him an exhilarating experience; just recalling the moment he stood on the pitch filled him with joy. He wished Friday would come sooner. Indeed, now Xu He could hardly wait to play another match.

“Good morning, Xu He!”

A voice called from behind, and before Xu He could turn around, a bicycle shot past him, wind whipping in its wake. Lin Xuefeng, perched sideways on the bike, smiled and waved before vanishing around the corner in a flash.

Several girls on bicycles followed closely behind Lin Xuefeng.

Xu He awkwardly waved back. “Good mor—”

He hadn’t even finished saying “Good morning” when Lin Xuefeng disappeared at the turn. It was a little embarrassing.

“Old Xu, what are you doing with your hand up?” Li Jie suddenly appeared at Xu He’s side, asking curiously.

Startled, Xu He stared at Li Jie, still a bit shaken. He immediately grumbled, “How do you manage to walk without making a sound?”

Li Jie rolled his eyes. “It’s not that I’m quiet; you’re just absent-minded. What were you daydreaming about in broad daylight?”

Xu He retorted, “Go on, you’re the one daydreaming!”

Li Jie chuckled, “If you’re not daydreaming, then why are you standing here with your hand up? Trying to catch the attention of some beauty?”

Xu He shot him a glare. “You’ll never hear anything decent from you!”

Li Jie joked, “Come on, spit out something decent for me to hear.”

“Get lost!”

“Alright, alright!”

With that, Li Jie darted off, calling as he ran, “Old Xu, if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late!”

Xu He’s heart skipped a beat as he realized the time and rushed toward the classroom.

Fortunately, classrooms for first-year students were fixed. If they had to move around like in university, Xu He would waste time just finding the right room and would surely be late. Being late on the very first day of a new week would be serious.

Luckily, Xu He entered the classroom just as the bell rang. However, the language teacher, Xia Yu, was already standing at the podium. Xu He offered him an awkward smile and hurried to his seat.

Xia Yu was young, tall and slender, with a scholarly, handsome appearance and an air of youthfulness, as if he’d only just graduated from university. He wore black-rimmed glasses, a white and gray Tang suit, and held a disciplinary ruler in his hand, lending him a hint of authority.

Seeing Xu He’s nervous, mouse-before-cat expression, Xia Yu smiled slightly and said, “Some students need to be more mindful—try to arrive at school two or three minutes early, rather than always walking in with the bell.”

Everyone knew who he was talking about, and many glanced at Xu He, snickering. Xia Yu’s words weren’t particularly funny, but the class laughed anyway—perhaps not at the words, but at Xu He’s expense.

Xu He frowned, then spoke up directly, “Teacher, I promise it won’t happen again!”

Xia Yu was a bit taken aback, not expecting Xu He to respond. This kid is interesting, he thought.

He smiled at Xu He, “I believe you.”

The class was stunned by Xu He’s response, staring at him in surprise. None of them expected Xu He to be so forthright, and a sense of admiration quietly grew in their hearts.

After all, if it had been them, they would have just kept quiet and let the matter pass as quickly as possible. Now, they looked at Xu He differently.

Li Jie even gave him a thumbs-up.

Xia Yu glanced around, seeing that all the students were present, and said, “Alright, quiet now. Let’s begin the lesson.”

Tang Ziwei, the class monitor, softly called, “Stand up.”

Xu He and the others stood in unison, greeting, “Good morning, teacher!”

Xia Yu motioned for them to sit and replied, “Good morning, everyone!”

The students sat down and prepared for class. Xia Yu opened his book and announced, “Alright, let’s officially begin. Please take out your language textbooks and turn to ‘The Last Lesson.’ Today, we’ll be studying this text…”

Xu He immediately flipped to the page, already prepared.

Xia Yu continued, “Did everyone preview the lesson over the weekend?”

The whole class responded in perfect unison, “No—!”

Over the weekend, everyone was either having too much fun or busy with extra-curricular classes; who had time to preview lessons?

Xia Yu smiled wryly—what an honest bunch. He didn’t scold them, but said, “Alright, I’ll give you three minutes now to read and preview the text. Meanwhile, I have something to tell you.”

Xu He looked up, curious. What was it?

Xia Yu gave him a look, then said, “Just keep reading; you can listen while you do.”

Xu He immediately bent his head to read Alphonse Daudet’s “The Last Lesson.”

Once the class had started reading, Xia Yu spoke, “The end of the month is near, which means the monthly exam is coming. Make sure you prepare when you’re back home. This Friday morning, we’ll be testing language. The scope of the exam…”

At this, the class moaned in protest. As expected, nothing made students more miserable than the mention of exams.

Xia Yu smiled, “No amount of wailing will change the fact that there’s an exam. You’d better revise carefully if you want a good result. Otherwise, your homeroom teacher and your parents will want to have a serious chat with you.”

The class groaned again.

Having been a student himself, Xia Yu was unfazed. “Alright, alright, get on with your preview…”

The news of the upcoming monthly exam cast a shadow over Xu He’s mood. He began to worry whether the league match would still take place Friday afternoon or if it would be postponed to the weekend.

The thought made him unhappy.

Nevertheless, Xu He listened attentively in class. He knew that if he wanted time to play football and participate in the league, he had to keep his studies up. Otherwise, he’d be forced into extra tutoring classes, leaving him no time for football at all.

So Xu He didn’t waste a moment in class.

The first two periods that morning were language and English—both subjects Xu He genuinely enjoyed, so he found them easy and the time passed quickly.

Soon, it was time for the weekly assembly.

After English, Xu He and Li Jie left the classroom for the sports field.

At Jin’guancheng Seventeenth Middle School, there was nearly always a school-wide assembly every Monday, except in rare circumstances. Today was no exception.

When Xu He and Li Jie arrived on the field, there weren’t many students yet.

But they spotted several members of Class Ten’s football team already there, playing a match. Their class had just come from PE, so they’d arrived earlier than everyone else.

Xu He and Li Jie went over to greet them, then stood on the sidelines to watch their teammates play a football match against another class—apparently a second-year class. The opponents weren’t playing particularly well and were being dominated by Class Ten.

Within the seven or eight minutes Xu He watched, Class Ten scored twice, with goals from Zhu Ge and Mu Yang—both of whom clearly stood out among the rest.

The opposing second-year class barely knew how to play and were only there to make up numbers. Mu Yang, though lacking enthusiasm for such a match, still managed to score and played well.

Mu Yang was truly impressive.

After scoring, Mu Yang said, “Let’s stop here. The assembly is about to start.”

The second-year students nodded, and the match ended—just like that.

Xu He kept scanning the field for Lu Yiming but couldn’t find him. It seemed Lu Yiming hadn’t participated in this match.

Wasn’t he a football enthusiast? Why wasn’t he playing?

Xu He looked around and finally spotted Lu Yiming in a corner, practicing wall passes alone.

He was by himself, engrossed in repetitive, monotonous drills, yet he showed no impatience—only dedication and focus.

Xu He was sincerely impressed.

He knew he had to learn from Lu Yiming’s example if he wanted to improve his own shooting skills.

With this in mind, Xu He wanted to seek advice from Zhang Zhen, but after searching, he couldn’t find him anywhere.

Zhu Ge said, “Don’t be late for training this afternoon. On Friday, we’ll be facing our second opponent—the Ninth Class team. You saw them last week; they’re pretty strong. So we have to be serious if we want to beat them.”

Xu He was thrilled, his anticipation for Friday growing.

Zhu Ge added, “If we win Friday’s match, we’ll secure a spot in the semifinals one round ahead of time. So I hope you all train hard this afternoon and bring your best to the game. Can you do it?”

Xu He shouted passionately, “We can!”

Right now, he wished he could jump straight onto the pitch and play against the Ninth Class team.

All the other players felt the same—a surge of fighting spirit swept through them.

Zhu Ge, satisfied, continued, “After today’s training session, we’ll announce the starting lineup for this weekend’s match. I hope everyone trains seriously this afternoon to earn a place in the starting eleven.”

At that, many of the players grew solemn. Clearly, the fight for a starting spot meant a great deal to them, and each silently resolved to claim one.

As soon as Zhu Ge finished speaking, Xu He looked over at the tall Yang Xin.

Unexpectedly, Yang Xin was already staring back. Their eyes met, and both saw the fierce competitive fire burning within the other.

Xu He clenched his fist. “I won’t lose to you, Yang Xin!”

That starting spot will be mine!

It was clear Yang Xin felt the same way.

The others noticed the tension and instinctively took a step back, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

Just then, the loudspeaker blared across the field: “The school assembly is about to begin. Homeroom teachers, please lead your students to your designated spots and line up…”