So if, after reading more than a dozen chapters, you still haven’t seen an exciting, adrenaline-pumping match you were looking forward to, please don’t feel disappointed... because that’s actually a feature of this book: compared to other sports novels, it doesn’t have endless competitions. What I want more is to use soccer to express the youthful feelings of boys and girls. In this book, soccer serves the things that happen off the field, rather than, like in "Champion," where off-field events serve the matches.

This is, at its core, just something written for remembrance, for commemoration. Soccer is only a part of that remembrance and commemoration.

From 1998 to 2001, I once thought those three years would be etched in my memory for a lifetime, but I didn’t expect that after just five short years, I would already begin to forget. So, I couldn’t wait to start writing, hoping to record them all before I forget, even if no one applauds. Because for me, this book is not just another tool to make money.

A tribute to youth, with these awkward words.

Chapter 001: The Loser Brian Ford

Qiu Zhi Middle School, a modern private school, boasts a strong faculty, advanced teaching facilities, and a great learning atmosphere. Choosing Qiu Zhi Academy means choosing a bright path to tomorrow for your child!

Hey, now’s not the time for advertisements.

……

Uh, so let’s start our story at this private school.

※※※

The autumn sun shone warmly through the window, casting slanting rays onto the students. The sky was clear, a gentle breeze was blowing. The English teacher’s authentic dialect accent was like a lullaby, making everyone drowsy.

It would be a waste not to nap in weather like this.

Brian Ford was lying on his desk, stretching his hand forward lazily. But his hand accidentally poked the girl in front of him. The girl with the ponytail turned her head to look at Brian Ford behind her. She was truly a beautiful girl, her skin so fair that it seemed dazzling in the sunlight, her features delicate, her tightly pressed lips tinged with a faint pink, and her black hair also reflecting a reddish sheen in the sun.

“Brian Ford, pay attention in class!” she whispered to Brian Ford behind her.

“Alright—” The person being reminded replied weakly with a yawn, but before he could finish yawning, he suddenly clutched his chest and slumped onto the desk, groaning in pain.

Emily Carter was startled. She twisted her whole body around and grabbed Brian Ford’s shoulder: “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Brian Ford!”

Brian Ford lifted his head, his face contorted in pain, and stammered, “Cra... cramp...!”

Black lines appeared on Emily Carter’s forehead, and the whole class burst into laughter. Only then did the two realize they were still in class, so what about the English teacher...

Emily Carter quickly turned her face back, just in time to see the English teacher Michael Bolton on the podium, his face dark as if he were Judge Bao.

“Emily Carter, Brian Ford, both of you come up and do a vocabulary dictation.” He had to show these two students, who openly disrupted the class, a lesson. Damn it! Do they think I’m invisible? Putting on such a mushy act right in my class!

With her back to the teacher, Emily Carter stuck out her tongue, while Brian Ford, just recovering from his cramp, glared resentfully at Emily Carter: “It’s all your fault! See!”

“Don’t worry, I know them all anyway.”

“……” Brian Ford really wanted to strangle this smug girl.

Brian Ford puffed out his chest and strode forward proudly. He felt like he was walking to his execution with the spirit of a revolutionary martyr, but when he saw the English teacher’s stern face, all that spirit vanished.

“Stand on either side of the blackboard, no peeking.” The English teacher stood between them, separating the two. The students below waited with grins, ready to watch the show.

Brian Ford held the chalk, standing weakly in front of the blackboard, wondering how he could possibly write those difficult English words.

“We’ll do a dictation of the words from Unit 4. First one, host.” The English teacher finished and waited for them to write the word on the board. Emily Carter quickly wrote the correct word, earning a nod of approval from the teacher. Then he turned to look at Brian Ford, who was frowning and biting his finger.

The English teacher frowned and said to Brian Ford, “If you can’t write it, just draw a circle.”

Brian Ford finally breathed a sigh of relief and drew a circle on the blackboard. At least the circle was pretty round.

“Second one: scare.”

Emily Carter wrote it herself, then sneaked a glance at Brian Ford. Because of the glare on the blackboard, she couldn’t see what Brian Ford wrote, but judging by his hand movement... it looked like he drew another circle.

“Third one: disaster.”

There were already some stifled laughs from the class. The English teacher, with his back to the blackboard, didn’t see what Brian Ford and Emily Carter were doing, and continued reading the words.

“Fourth one: finally.”

The laughter grew louder.

“Fifth one: advance. Alright, just these five...” The laughter was now so loud that maybe even the upstairs and next-door classrooms could hear it. The English teacher turned around in confusion to look at the blackboard. He checked Emily Carter’s first—good job, all correct, neat handwriting, easy to read. Then he looked at Brian Ford’s...

“Brian Ford!” The English teacher suddenly felt a vein bulging at his temple.