The exasperated Mr. Cooper had no choice but to reach out and give David Carter a push on the shoulder: “It’s morning, get up!”

……

David Carter had a dream. In the dream, he was once again in that training field shrouded by green trees, surrounded by people with blurred faces, all wearing the same color training vests as him.

He’d been having this dream a lot over the past month—not every day, but at least two or three times a week.

So by now, David Carter could already guess that those people were probably his teammates.

He just didn’t know their names, nor where they came from.

In front of him was still that beautiful short-haired woman, smiling as she said to him, “Welcome to the world of FIFAOL33 football…”

But after saying this, the woman would freeze, not saying anything else, just keeping her smile fixed on David Carter, which made him feel a bit creeped out.

David Carter could hardly tell if this was a good dream or a nightmare anymore.

Logically, a dream with a beautiful woman should be a good dream. But if the woman seemed a bit unhinged, just smiling at him without speaking… then no matter how beautiful she was, in David Carter’s mind, she’d instantly be classified as “crazy.” Being with a crazy person definitely didn’t count as a good dream.

Just then, the training field David Carter was in suddenly began to tremble, and everything in front of him started to distort, including the woman, who flickered and developed static, as if the signal was bad.

Next thing he knew, David Carter jolted awake.

He found himself indeed in a stadium, but not the training field from his dream. This was a real sports stadium, with a soccer field, a track, stands… Why did it look so familiar?

Oh, right, I’m at the national open finals…

Finals?

Finals!

David Carter snapped to attention, finally realizing where he was and seeing clearly the person standing in front of him.

“Ah, coach, I didn’t sleep for long…” David Carter wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, trying to explain.

Mr. Cooper was both angry and amused by his behavior, pointing to the field and saying, “It’s your turn to play!”

“Huh?” David Carter still looked half-asleep.

“Someone on the red team is injured, you’re going in as a substitute,” Mr. Miller explained simply.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Realizing what was happening, David Carter leapt up from the bench, ready to dash onto the field.

“Wait!” Mr. Miller called him back. “Do you know what position you’re playing?”

“Forward…” David Carter answered without thinking.

“You’re playing midfield,” Mr. Miller said.

“Coach, I’m… a forward…” David Carter pointed at himself.

“The injured player is a midfielder, so you’re going in as a midfielder,” Mr. Miller said in a tone that brooked no argument. He looked at the slightly dazed David Carter and asked, “Any problem?”

“Uh, no!” David Carter immediately turned and ran onto the field.

Behind him, the coach shook his head.

As the weakest among the twenty-three players, he’d actually fallen asleep on the bench during such an important final!

No matter how you looked at it, this guy just didn’t seem reliable…

The coach glanced back at the long bench. The smooth stainless steel surface gleamed in the sunlight. Under the scorching sun of early August, it had long since become burning hot. That’s why the coach himself would rather stand on the sidelines, pretending to watch the game like a real coach, than sit on that bench.

And that kid could actually fall asleep in such an environment…

Should he be called a heavy sleeper, or just thick-skinned?

Chapter 3 The Purpose of the Finals

Before going on the field, David Carter glanced at the scoreboard on the sidelines, which clearly showed “0:0,” meaning neither team had scored and the game was still tied.

That was good news for him.

He wasn’t surprised by the score.

Just from the way the match was going before he fell asleep, he could have guessed the score.

He really wasn’t lying—he had just fallen asleep.

Earlier, he’d been sitting on the bench watching the game, but the match itself was so dull, with nothing to see except for some fierce scrapping, that it was completely uninteresting.

He kept yawning, and since he’d been too excited last night, went to bed late, and got up early, he was sleep-deprived.

Even with the blazing sun overhead and the bench as hot as a grill, he still couldn’t help but doze off.

Although falling asleep on the sidelines was a bit embarrassing, David Carter didn’t feel too awkward about it. After all, football is about your performance on the field, not off it.

As long as he played well, so what if he’d fallen asleep on the bench?

He ran onto the field full of confidence.

……

After David Carter was woken up, everyone understood—so this kid had actually fallen asleep on the sidelines!

A burst of laughter erupted from the stands.

John Carter was annoyed by the laughter—That’s my son! No matter how embarrassing he is, he’s still my son! It’s not your place to laugh at him!