At that moment, the computer suddenly started beeping, and a girl's profile picture flashed in the lower right corner of the screen.

Clicking it open, David Carter saw it was a female classmate from his class named Emily Harris.

"I can sponsor you with two hundred yuan." After this sentence, there was also a grinning QQ default emoji.

Someone was actually willing to support him! And it was the "braces girl" Emily Harris—so called by the boys in the class in private because Emily Harris wore braces.

Just as David Carter was about to reply to her, a coughing sound came from outside the door, followed by the door being pushed open.

David Carter quickly snapped the laptop screen shut, then pretended to be reading a book, ignoring the approaching footsteps behind him.

"Your mom agreed." His father's voice sounded from behind.

"Yes!" Hearing his father say this, David Carter could no longer pretend. He jumped up from his chair. "Long live Mom!"

"It was me who convinced your mom!" John Carter protested.

"Long live Dad!" David Carter quickly added.

Only then did John Carter nod in satisfaction. "Let me ask you, son. You won't get eliminated in the first round, will you?"

David Carter held his head high and said, "What are you thinking, Dad? Your son is the main striker of the school team! And our school is number one in the city!"

He said this with great pride.

"That's good. It would be too embarrassing to get eliminated in the first round!"

"Don't worry, Dad, that kind of thing could never happen to your son!"

After seeing his father out, David Carter excitedly pumped his fists a few times in his bedroom, then began to imagine what it would be like to participate in the open tryouts.

Until he remembered that Emily Harris was probably still waiting for his reply.

So he immediately rushed back to his desk, opened the computer, and said to the now-grayed-out profile picture of Emily Harris, "Thank you, but my mom has already agreed, so I don't need your sponsorship!"

After the message was sent, Emily Harris's profile picture lit up again: "Oh, it's okay. Congratulations! I hope you go further and faster on the road to pursuing your dreams! I hope your dreams will blossom into beautiful, vibrant flowers!" After her words, she added a tongue-out winking QQ default emoji.

But after sending this message, the girl on the other side of the computer let out a gentle sigh.

……

That night, the excited David Carter tossed and turned in bed for a long time before falling asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but picture himself standing at the Bernabéu, Camp Nou, Allianz Arena... places like that, wearing the Chinese national team jersey, facing off against the players of those powerhouse clubs, each one a world-famous superstar, and he was going to challenge these stars.

If he scored a goal in the match, how would he celebrate?

Thinking about this, David Carter didn't remember when he fell asleep.

In his dream, he found himself on a training field shaded by green trees, with rolling mountains in the distance as a backdrop, and white snow on the mountaintops.

There were some indistinct people beside him, all wearing red training vests like him. In front of him stood a tall, short-haired beauty with delicate features—the only person whose face David Carter could see clearly.

She smiled at David Carter and said, "Welcome to the world of football in FIFAOL3..."

Chapter 1: You're a Substitute

This was a university stadium. On the low bleachers sat quite a few people, and on the soccer field surrounded by the stands, twenty-three teenagers stood in line. In front of them stood several middle-aged men.

One of them stood out, drawing everyone's attention.

He was the former main striker of the Chinese national team, Asia's number one striker, Eric Grant. Now retired, he appeared before everyone today in casual clothes.

Not only were the twenty-three teenagers on the field looking at him, but the people in the stands were also watching him, and some even took out cameras to take pictures.

John Carter was among them, holding his camera and taking photos, but his lens was not focused on the legendary figure of Chinese football, but on his son David Carter.

David Carter was among those twenty-three teenagers.

When he first persuaded his wife to let their son participate in this talent selection, even John Carter probably didn't expect that his son would make it all the way through, standing out from the open tryouts and making it to the final national finals. Although his ranking was last among the twenty-three, he was still one of the top twenty-three young footballers in all of China.

He wanted to take more photos of his son, as a memento of this unforgettable summer.

Through his lens, David Carter was focused on Eric Grant, just like the other kids around him.

For a boy who loved football, the famous former national player Eric Grant was the idol of them all.

To be able to get so close to his idol, David Carter's face was full of excitement. There was no sign of nervousness about participating in the finals on his face at all...

……

Eric Grant stood in front of the twenty-three teenagers, giving a speech.