“Ryan Howard, you’d better not come…”

“Yeah, we’re playing a match—why are you here to mess things up?”

Ryan Howard tried to squeeze in, but the other boys blocked him outside the crowd.

“You can’t judge people by their old standards! I’ve gotten stronger after special training!” Ryan Howard, outside the crowd, jumped up and raised his arm, shouting loudly.

No one heard his voice, no one looked at him, no one took him seriously.

※※※

“Why does no one want to let him play?” Olivia Lee, sitting in the stands, couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

“Because Ryan Howard is terrible at soccer.”

A voice suddenly sounded beside her, startling Olivia Lee. She turned her head and realized that at some point, a big chubby guy had appeared next to her.

Seeing Olivia Lee’s puzzled look, Emily Scott wore an almost fawning smile on his face. “My name is Emily Scott.”

“Hello.” Olivia Lee smiled and nodded, then quickly shifted the topic back. “Is he really that bad at soccer?”

“Really bad!” Emily Scott said with absolute certainty.

Olivia Lee had seen Ryan Howard play before. In her opinion, he wasn’t very good, but it didn’t seem like he was that terrible either.

Seeing that Olivia Lee seemed a bit unconvinced, Emily Scott got excited: “You don’t believe me? Let me tell you, Ryan Howard is the kind of guy who plays as a striker but acts as an undercover defender for the other team, and when he’s a defender, he’s an undercover striker for the other team!”

“Aren’t you exaggerating?”

“Not at all, not at all.” Emily Scott waved his hand, as if fanning himself. “The first time our class played against Class Three, he was a striker. The first time he got the ball, he stepped on it and fell! He blocked two of Luo Kai’s shots. And there was this one time, an open goal right in front of him—the opposing goalkeeper had rushed out and missed, and the ball landed right in front of Ryan. Guess what he did?”

Olivia Lee tried to guess: “He kicked it over the bar?”

Emily Scott wore a smug expression, as if to say “Ryan Howard is just that unpredictable,” and said excitedly, “He actually tried to hit it with his hand! And even with his hand, he couldn’t get the ball in! He slapped the ball hard, and it bounced right up and hit him in the face! Hahaha!”

The chubby guy laughed so hard that all his flesh was shaking.

Olivia Lee pictured the scene and thought it really was… a bit ridiculous.

But she didn’t laugh. Instead, she asked Emily Scott in return, “Aren’t you Ryan Howard’s deskmate?”

The implication was: you seem to have a good relationship with Ryan Howard, so why are you so happy talking about his embarrassing moments? How are you any different from those who mock him?

Facing Olivia Lee’s question, Emily Scott pouted. “I don’t like Ryan Howard playing soccer.”

“Why not?”

“What’s so good about playing soccer? Playing like he does, he’s just a laughingstock.”

“So he’s not allowed to like soccer, and that’s why he plays?”

“Because he likes soccer, so he plays?” Emily Scott suddenly laughed. “But the result is he gets laughed at, treated as a joke, looked down on… If liking soccer leads to this, what’s the point of liking it? If someone can’t feel happy doing what they love, why bother? Ryan Howard doesn’t seem like a masochist to me…”

Olivia Lee’s mouth opened slightly, but she couldn’t say anything, because she felt that Ryan Howard’s deskmate actually made a lot of sense—she couldn’t refute it.

Thinking carefully, why does she like soccer?

At first, it was because of her dad, who introduced her to soccer. Then, as a little girl, she liked the feeling of chasing after a round soccer ball—her dad said that even before she could walk, she loved crawling after the ball, giggling as she chased it on all fours.

Later, as she grew up, her soccer talent was discovered. She liked dribbling past people and scoring goals on the field, enjoyed the applause and cheers from everyone, loved seeing the look of pride in her father’s eyes…

Has soccer ever made her sad or hurt?

Of course, but overall, the positive feedback outweighed the negative, and she was happy more often than not—so she liked soccer.

But what if you like soccer, and never feel happy because of it?

Is there any point in holding on to that kind of love?

It’s like liking someone, but no matter how much passion and sincerity you give, that person never responds, never gives you a kind face, never cherishes your feelings… How long can you keep liking someone like that?

Seeing Olivia Lee fall silent, Emily Scott said, “So why should I support that kid playing soccer? He might as well give up sooner rather than later.”

Olivia Lee didn’t respond, but turned her gaze to the field.

On the field, Ryan Howard still didn’t make it into the lineup for the match against Class Three. The soccer-loving boys from both classes had already taken their positions on the field, while he walked to the sidelines. He didn’t stand with the other spectators, but stood alone in one spot, facing the field.

Seeing this, Emily Scott shouted at him, “Hey Ryan Howard, let’s play PUBG! I brought two phones!”

Ryan Howard ignored him.

“I’m telling you, PUBG is really fun! I’ll carry you!”

Ryan Howard still ignored him.