He didn’t understand why Sophie had changed after entering university. Was it the environment that had changed? There were indeed many people in college who were better than him. He didn’t do well in his studies, wasn’t handsome, had no money, and was sometimes a bit dull, not good at sweet talk—he didn’t have any of the qualities that could attract girls. Sophie was an outstanding girl and had never lacked admirers; he knew that. It was just that people from Shuguang were all very simple, and he hadn’t thought about this kind of threat before. Now that the environment had changed, it was normal for other, even better boys to appear, right? Maybe, maybe he should try to change himself too—be a bit more charming, a bit more suave.

But if he did that, would he still be Jason Bolton?

He had gone too far on Sunday, actually leaving Sophie alone in the crowd and running off by himself. Today was a great opportunity—it was Sophie’s eighteenth birthday, and he knew what he should do.

Looking at the pair of shiny, polished leather shoes, Jason Bolton nodded in satisfaction. This expensive pair of NIKE sneakers was bought in his second year of high school, using the national championship prize money plus all the pocket money the two of them had in Shanghai. To get this pair of sneakers that fit well and looked great, Sophie had accompanied him all over half of Shanghai before finally picking them out. After buying the shoes, they barely had enough money left for the bus ride back to the hotel, and couldn’t even afford the scarf Sophie had her eye on. But Sophie didn’t say anything; she was just happy that Jason Bolton had finally gotten a pair of shoes that suited him.

Paul Young pushed the door open and came in—he had just changed his clothes: “Alright, hurry up! Time’s almost up!” He yanked Frank Bolton, who was still in bed, up. “How can you nap for so long! Aren’t you afraid you’ll be sleepwalking on the field later?”

Frank Bolton grumbled as he sat up in bed: “Even if I’m sleepwalking, I can still win. What’s there to be afraid of? Just watch me pull off a hat trick—yawn—” Before he finished, he yawned again and flopped back onto the bed.

Hearing “hat trick,” Paul Young turned to look at Jason Bolton, who was still staring at his shoes in a daze. This guy… heh! He chuckled and started patting the just-lying-down Frank Bolton again: “Hurry up! If you don’t get up, you’re not playing in the final! What were you doing last night?”

“Doing… a revolution!” As soon as Frank Bolton heard he might not play in the final, he quickly rolled out of bed and hurriedly put on his jersey and shorts.

When Shawn Thompson heard that Sophie was going to watch the game, he immediately agreed, saying he wanted to go too. Shawn Thompson thought it was a great idea—he could accompany Sophie to the game and act happy and content in front of his rival, which would be enough to make a statement. After that, if Sophie and Jason Bolton fell out, he would have the upper hand.

The two of them arrived at the stadium just as the match was about to start. The field for the history department’s match was already surrounded by people. Shawn Thompson, taking advantage of his 1.87-meter height, led the way, pushing through the crowd and helping Sophie squeeze in.

Jason Bolton and Frank Bolton were standing by the ball, ready for kickoff. When he looked up, Jason Bolton saw Sophie… and Shawn Thompson, who was beaming beside her. At the referee’s whistle, Frank Bolton waited for Jason Bolton to pass the ball, but Jason Bolton didn’t react at all. Only after Frank Bolton nudged him did the ball finally get passed to his feet.

The match had begun! The crowd erupted in excited cheers—another spectacular game was about to unfold!

Sophie was also filled with anticipation, though what she was looking forward to was different from everyone else.

There was no suspense about the outcome; the only thing the spectators cared about was how many goals the history department would score, how many goals Jason Bolton would score, and how many beautiful goals there would be.

Frank Bolton immediately satisfied the crowd’s desires. Right in front of the goal, he made a powerful lion’s header, sending the ball crashing off the underside of the crossbar and into the net. The goalkeeper tried his best to save it, but it was no use. 1:0!

The first wave of excitement swept through the stands.

Right after that, a corner kick from Paul Young was smashed into the net by Frank Bolton again. 2:0!

A rather odd free kick from Henry Clark was deflected into the goal by the keeper. 3:0!

By the 25th minute of the first half, the history department was already leading 3:0. It was a smooth start as usual, with the only slight exception being that Jason Bolton hadn’t scored yet.

Every time the history department scored, Sophie cheered along with everyone else, always smiling as she waited for that moment to come.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Jason Bolton finally got on the scoreboard. He received a direct pass from Henry Clark, took a shot, and the ball bounced off the inside of the post and into the net. 4:0!

This time, Sophie cheered even more enthusiastically than before, while Shawn Thompson forced a smile, feeling quite unhappy inside.

In the second half, after switching sides, Paul Young unleashed a powerful shot from near midfield, blasting the ball into the opponent’s goal! 5:0!

What a thrilling match! All the spectators felt the same. But Sophie was still waiting—there were only twenty minutes left, and Jason Bolton had only scored once.

In the 82nd minute, Jason Bolton shook off his marker in the penalty area and easily tapped in Paul Young’s shot into the empty net. 6:0!

Sophie was a bit excited. Although there were still about eight minutes left in the match, she had confidence in Jason Bolton.

Minute by minute, the match ticked away, and it seemed Jason Bolton had no more chances. At that moment, Paul Young made a forceful breakthrough down the wing into the penalty area and was tripped by a defender. The referee immediately awarded a penalty kick!