Volume One: Our Own League Chapter 52: First Hearing of the National High School Football Championship

It was another Monday, and at dawn, Xu He was already clutching his soccer ball, dashing toward school. Watching Xu He race off with a broad smile, Xu Tie couldn’t help but marvel once again, “That boy runs unbelievably fast!”

Xu He was brimming with excitement, filled with anticipation for the new week ahead. Over the weekend, he had practiced furiously and finally grasped a bit of the knack for shooting goals. Though he hadn’t mastered it yet—it was still hit or miss—he was nonetheless overjoyed and could hardly wait to share the news with his close friend, Li Jie.

Without pause, he sped all the way to school.

But when he arrived at the classroom, Xu He didn’t see any sign of Li Jie.

Xu He frowned slightly. Where could that guy have gone? It was nearly time, wasn’t he going to be late?

Li Jie was a half-boarding student, usually staying at school from Monday to Friday and going home on weekends. Could it be that he’d overindulged this past weekend and couldn’t get up this morning?

If he was late, today wouldn’t be easy for Li Jie.

Xu He was genuinely worried about his best friend.

But even as the first class began, there was still no sign of Li Jie. Xu He was startled—what was going on?

Clearly, the Chinese teacher, Xia Yu, had noticed as well. She immediately asked, “What’s going on with Li Jie today? He still hasn’t arrived?”

Li Jie was a model student—he was the class sports monitor and a class officer, always disciplined and never late or absent.

So Xia Yu was quite surprised.

At that moment, a classmate spoke up, “Teacher Xia, Li Jie took a leave of absence. He’s caught a cold.”

“Oh, so that’s it!” Xia Yu replied. “I was wondering! The weather is getting cooler now—you all need to remember to bundle up. Don’t all get sick at once or there’ll be no students left for my lessons!”

The class burst into laughter, and some students chimed in, “That won’t happen, teacher!”

Xu He didn’t join in the laughter; he was worried for his friend.

He hadn’t expected Li Jie to fall ill—it was rare. And it must be serious if he couldn’t even come to school.

Though anxious for Li Jie, Xu He still paid close attention during class. He knew well that if his grades slipped, he’d lose his chance to play soccer, and his future would be filled with endless tutoring sessions.

For the sake of leaving time for soccer, he studied with diligence and focus.

Throughout the Monday morning classes, Xu He listened intently, mastering nearly everything the teachers taught. Then, as usual, it was time for the school’s Monday assembly.

This time, Xu He felt a bit lonely on the way to the playground—his best friend Li Jie wasn’t by his side. He couldn’t help but quicken his pace, eager to reach the field and see his teammates.

Of course, aside from Li Jie, he had another teammate in his class: Yang Xin.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Yang Xin was poor, so he had no intention of seeking him out.

When Xu He arrived at the field alone, he saw his teammates already gathered together, with Li Liying among them. He immediately joined them.

He greeted his teammates with a wave and then listened in, curious about their conversation.

Now that their team had won two games in a row, their spot in the semifinals was almost certain, and everyone seemed relaxed, chatting and laughing.

At that moment, everyone’s attention turned to Li Liying.

Xu He looked over too—did Li Liying have news to share today?

Indeed, Li Liying addressed them, “The student council has received word—the school is truly committed to developing campus soccer. At today’s assembly, the principal will talk about it. And from what I know, our school will establish an official soccer team to compete in the national tournament.”

National tournament?

Xu He’s eyes widened in surprise. There was such a thing as a national tournament? This was the first he’d heard of it.

Naturally, Xu He was thrilled. Just imagining himself playing in a national competition made him so excited he could burst.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Really?”

Li Liying looked straight at Xu He, “Of course it’s true—the principal himself said so.”

Xu He was overjoyed, and so were the other teammates. Even Mu Yang, who was usually aloof and rarely smiled, now wore an expression of delight and anticipation—it was as if an iron tree had finally blossomed.

Xu He stared at Mu Yang in astonishment.

To be honest, this might have been the first time he’d ever seen Mu Yang smile. Mu Yang had always been so cool and distant, making him hard to approach. Who would have thought that when he smiled, he’d look so gentle and charming? That was bound to attract a flock of admirers—too bad, for now, all the girls only had eyes for Lin Xuefeng.

Xu He felt a bit sorry for Mu Yang.

Xu He asked, “What’s the national tournament? Can our school really participate?”

The others listened intently, their gazes questioning. Mu Yang’s eyes in particular brimmed with both hope and unease.

Li Liying explained, “We’re not entirely sure what kind of tournament it is yet, but since it’s called a national tournament, it must involve junior high students from all over the country. But not every school can join—it’ll probably have preliminaries, with the strongest teams advancing to nationals. That must be how it works.”

Hearing this, Xu He and the others started to breathe faster.

Longing!

Their faces reflected boundless yearning. Such a tournament was incredibly enticing—so much more formal than their current league. They all hoped fervently to participate.

Even Mu Yang’s face showed longing.

Li Liying continued, “The principal also said our school will aim to compete in the national tournament, so we’ll definitely invest in campus soccer from now on. You don’t need to worry about our league ending—on the contrary, it’ll probably be taken over by the school and become much more official.”

At this news, Xu He and the others could barely contain their excitement.

Who doesn’t want their hard work to be recognized, to have the school’s approval?

Now that the school had finally acknowledged them, they were naturally overjoyed. Some of the founding members of the league even had tears in their eyes—reaching this point had been anything but easy.

Xu He gave Li Liying a big thumbs up.

She was truly the driving force behind their league; without Li Liying, there would be no league at all. Now, she had even brought it into the school’s official fold—Li Liying was truly remarkable.

Xu He couldn’t help but show her his admiration.

Li Liying smiled gently in thanks for his praise.

With such inspiring news, Xu He and his friends joined the school assembly.

As usual, the principal and the heads of each grade went up to “say a few words,” stretching the meeting out for half an hour.

Xu He couldn’t help but sigh at how much these leaders loved to talk.

But this wasn’t what Xu He and his friends were waiting for—they wished time would hurry up, eager to hear the announcement about the school league.

At last, just as the assembly was winding down, the matter was finally brought up.

Li Liying hadn’t deceived them.

Principal Wang of No. 17 Jinguan City Middle School stood at the microphone. Many students were curious—hadn’t Principal Wang already spoken? Why was he back? Just to “say a few more words”?

The students groaned inwardly, wishing, “Principal, could you not just say a few words—could you perhaps say something meaningful for once?”

They felt as if they’d been tricked.

Principal Wang stood at the microphone and announced, “I have an announcement for everyone. Just last week, the Sports Bureau and Education Bureau jointly released a new directive requiring all regions to actively promote campus soccer in order to advance Chinese football. Because of this, the Sports and Education Bureaus are creating the National Secondary School Soccer Tournament, the National High School Soccer Tournament, and others.”

At this, Xu He and his friends were naturally thrilled, while the rest of the students were puzzled, surprised by the unexpected news.

Principal Wang continued, “Promoting soccer is hugely beneficial for young people’s development and helps build healthy, well-rounded character. It is a good thing for both our students and our school. After careful discussion among school leadership, we have decided to make campus soccer a major focus.”

Xu He and his teammates immediately burst into applause, the sound thundering across the field.

Principal Wang smiled and went on, “In the future, our school will create a soccer league for all our students to participate in. We’ll also form an official school team, aiming to compete in the national tournament. I hope to see our school represented on the national stage. Let’s all work together and strive toward this goal!”

With that, the field erupted in applause.

Xu He was so moved, his heart was pounding with excitement.

He wished he could take part in the national tournament right now, to show the whole country what he was capable of.

From that moment on, Xu He had a new goal: to lead his team to the national tournament.

Of course, this depended on his making the school team in the future—a daunting task, but he wasn’t afraid. He cheered himself on in his heart, convinced that with enough effort, he would make it.

He could see his teammates were just as excited and full of hope.

It was clear that everyone was eagerly looking forward to the national tournament.

After Principal Wang’s announcement, Xu He was so elated that even during the morning exercises, he was distracted, making countless mistakes. Fortunately, the homeroom teacher didn’t notice, or Xu He would’ve had to stay behind for extra practice.