Volume One: Our Own League Chapter 007: Ending Before It Even Begins?

The day before, he had just bid a dramatic farewell to his beloved soccer ball, yet at the break of dawn the next morning, Xu He could not wait to dash into school. Tang Qian, watching him go, couldn’t help but sigh, “This boy really has a short memory—already forgotten his best friend, the soccer ball. Seems he doesn’t truly love soccer after all!” But watching her son sprint out of sight in a flash, she added with another sigh, “He runs so fast—maybe only Bolt could catch up with him!”

She glanced into the security booth at the entrance of the neighborhood, where Xu Tie was sorting through packages. Sensing her gaze, he replied mildly, “What are you looking at me for?” Tang Qian replied, “The boy, in this at least, is just like you!” Xu Tie gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I can’t run that fast! If I could, you wouldn’t have caught up with me back then!” Tang Qian’s brows arched as she glared at him. “Explain yourself—who was chasing whom in those days?” Xu Tie grinned, “I was the one chasing you, I was!” Tang Qian’s lips curled into a smile. “That’s more like it.” Xu Tie also smiled, casting another glance at the street corner where Xu He had vanished, murmuring, “The boy runs too fast. None of us in my generation could ever keep up with him.”

Xu He was rushing to school not because he had forgotten his old soccer companion, but because he couldn’t stop thinking about what Li Liying had said yesterday about the soccer league. Truth be told, Xu He hadn’t slept well the entire night—his mind was filled with thoughts of the league. The mere prospect excited him beyond measure! From today on, he could very well belong to a team, become someone who played in official matches. Just imagining it filled him with a tremor of exhilaration.

Arriving at school, Xu He headed straight for his classroom. As a day student, he didn’t have to attend morning self-study; as long as he arrived before the first class, it was fine. Today, he was truly early—self-study hadn’t even ended when he burst into the classroom. Only then did he realize that Li Jie, the sports representative for Class Eleven, Grade Seven, had yet to arrive. All his anticipation seemed to have been in vain.

He waited nearly twenty minutes before Li Jie finally arrived. Li Jie, sports representative and Xu He’s good friend, had bonded with him over soccer—their passion for the game had made them friends, brothers, and companions. As soon as morning self-study ended, Xu He rushed to Li Jie’s desk, exclaiming, “Old Li, I have great news for you!” Li Jie closed his Chinese text, looked up, and asked, “What news? You’ve memorized the Ten Analects?” Xu He replied proudly, “I memorized those ages ago!” Li Jie stared at him with mock resentment, as if to say, “Is this good news just to put me down?”

Xu He chuckled. “Of course not, that’s not the news I have for you.” Li Jie frowned. “Then what is it? Did you pass your math test?” Xu He glared, “Get lost!” Li Jie laughed, “So what’s the good news?” Xu He shot him another glare—this guy never missed a chance to tease. He said, “I got definite word yesterday—we’re organizing a soccer league for Grade Seven! And it’s not organized by the school, but by us students—a league entirely our own!” Xu He watched Li Jie with pride, then after a moment asked, “Isn’t that incredible?”

Li Jie gave him a sidelong glance. “That? I already knew,” he replied. Xu He was stunned. “How do you know? When did you find out?” Li Jie answered coolly, “A few days ago. All the sports reps in Grade Seven had a meeting about it. I was going to tell you myself, but who knew you’d already heard?” Xu He was dumbfounded—so the guy already knew.

Suddenly, Li Jie looked at Xu He with suspicion. “Hey, you’re not a sports rep. How did you find out?” How did I find out? Xu He instantly pictured Li Liying’s tall figure, and a smile unconsciously tugged at his lips. Li Jie was utterly bewildered, muttering to himself, “This guy’s smile is way too creepy!” He banged on the desk. “What are you daydreaming about, grinning like an idiot?” Xu He snapped back to reality, rolled his eyes, and said, “Mind your own business. And don’t ask where I got my news from. That’s not your concern. What you need to do now is get word out about the league and forming a team—rally the class to join. If we don’t hurry, it’ll be too late!”

Li Jie said, “You’re in such a hurry. The day’s only just begun. Why the rush?” Xu He replied, “How can we not hurry? The league is about to officially start. If we’re late, we won’t be able to join in. We have to move fast!” Li Jie admitted that made sense. “Alright then.” With that, he rose and went to the podium.

Watching Li Jie’s back, Xu He pumped his fist in encouragement. Li Jie said nothing, just turned to the blackboard and wrote:

“Class Eleven, Grade Seven, will be forming a boys’ soccer team to participate in our school’s Grade Seven Soccer League. We need eleven main players and five substitutes. Anyone interested in joining, please sign up with Sports Rep Li Jie. —Notice from the Sports Rep.”

Once done, Li Jie stepped down. The students who weren’t out during break glanced at the board, trying to figure out what was going on. When they understood, they returned to their own affairs. Seeing this, Xu He hurriedly added four bold characters after “sign up with Li Jie”—“The sooner, the better!” Li Jie could only smile wryly at Xu He’s impatience.

But Li Jie was serious about the matter. Just before class, when everyone had returned, he took the podium again and called on his classmates to join the league and sign up, encouraging their participation. As he stepped down, Xu He gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

The topic sparked much discussion in the class, and the room was abuzz until the math teacher, Ye Ziqing, entered. Only then did quiet return. Ye Ziqing looked at the students with surprise, then announced, “Class begins!”

Class Monitor Zhou Zheng promptly called out, “Stand!” All the students stood, greeting her in unison, “Good morning, teacher!” Ye Ziqing nodded in satisfaction. “Good morning, students. Please be seated.” The class sat down, took out their math books, and prepared for the lesson.

Ye Ziqing said, “Put away your math textbooks. Take out the test paper you received yesterday. Today, I’ll go over the common pitfalls and trick questions on this test…”

The morning dragged on torturously for Xu He. When it finally ended, he rushed to Li Jie and asked, “Old Li, how many have signed up? Don’t tell me it’s already full?” Seeing Xu He’s optimism, Li Jie smirked, “I really don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm.”

Xu He frowned. “What’s wrong?” Li Jie replied, “So far, counting you and me, only two others have signed up.” Xu He’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That can’t be! Usually, so many boys play soccer in PE. Why isn’t anyone signing up?”

Li Jie was equally puzzled. During PE, plenty of boys kicked the ball around, though not many were truly skilled. Still, this league wasn’t a professional affair—just a chance to play and exercise together. “Maybe everyone thinks you need to be really good to join,” Li Jie guessed. “Let’s give it a bit more time.”

It was all just for fun, a bit of exercise, and a chance to live out their soccer dreams. If everyone loved soccer, why not seize this opportunity? Xu He was crestfallen. “What do we do now?” Li Jie considered. “Let’s wait a couple of days. Maybe some will come around and sign up.”

Xu He agreed. “Alright, we’ll wait. By the way, when does the league start?” Li Jie explained, “They’re giving everyone a few days to form teams. This weekend, we submit the roster, and the league might kick off next weekend.” Xu He’s eyes lit up. “That’s soon!” Li Jie nodded, “It is.” Xu He said, “We have to hurry, or we’ll miss the deadline.” Li Jie replied, “It’s all voluntary—we can’t force anyone. Let’s give them some time to think.”

With Li Jie’s words, Xu He could only acquiesce, though the next two days were agonizing; he could barely concentrate in class. Soon, Friday arrived. Xu He hurried to find Li Jie and asked urgently, “How about now? How many have signed up?”

Li Jie sighed, “It looks like our class won’t have a team after all.” Xu He was shocked. “How can that be?” Li Jie handed him the sign-up sheet. “Minus the two of us, only three others signed up. With just five people, we can’t form a team. I really overestimated our class’s passion for soccer.”

Xu He was speechless. “Out of more than forty boys, we couldn’t even find eleven to play? What are they all thinking? This is such a great opportunity!” Disappointment washed over him—a hope so great, now so thoroughly dashed.

He didn’t even want to speak. Was his soccer dream really over before it had even begun?