Chapter 102: Fan Pengfei’s Reluctance (Free)

After shaking hands with Ding Yu, Chi Shangbing stepped onto the field and spoke with his players. Ding Yu watched his back, only then allowing himself to relax from the intense tension he had been holding. Though he appeared calm on the surface, Ding Yu had been under extreme pressure throughout the match. The players were desperate not to lose, but he was even more so—Chi Shangbing was clearly on the decline; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped back from the frontline. Ding Yu was still on the rise, and if he couldn’t defeat Chi Shangbing now, it would leave an indelible stain on his coaching career and deal a severe blow to his confidence.

Every attack by Dalian Eastern made his heart pound wildly. Throughout the game, he seemed composed, but sweat had soaked through his T-shirt. Thankfully, the match was over, and thankfully, they had won.

“Kid,” Ding Yu grabbed Zhou Wei’s collar just as he was about to rush onto the field. “If you pull a stunt like that in future games, don’t blame me for being harsh!”

“Don’t be like that, Coach.” The short-statured Zhou Wei, dangling in the air, flailed his arms and legs while still talking back. “I was wrong, really wrong. I swear I won’t do it again... Besides, I did contribute! If I hadn’t gotten the girls singing together, we might not have held out till the end... Just think of me as a fart—let me go.” Ding Yu set him down and gave him a light kick under the foot. “Get back. I’ll let it slide this time... but you won’t get to play in the finals. If you pull this again next year, I’ll cut you from the team—after all, I am the head coach, and I have that power.”

Zhou Wei shrank his neck but didn’t run onto the field to celebrate. Instead, he stood quietly by Ding Yu’s side.

“Why aren’t you celebrating?” Ding Yu asked in surprise.

“I better not,” Zhou Wei shivered. “Those guys will come after me... There are too many people on the field, nowhere for me to run...”

Ding Yu laughed out loud. It was true that sitting down suddenly after intense effort felt great but was harmful to the body. The more tired one was, the less one should sit. Standing for a while to recover before sitting down was healthier, especially for young athletes. After exhausting their energy reserves, allowing them to recover gradually could actually raise their physical endurance ceiling.

The lone goal scorer, Long Bisheng, became the center of attention. More girls offered him towels and water than to anyone else, and he was flustered, unsure whose hand to take things from.

Suddenly, someone patted him on the back. Turning around, Long Bisheng saw Ning Xi’s smiling face alongside a teasing question: “Star Long, how does it feel to score the decisive goal in such a crucial match?” She mimed holding a microphone up to his mouth with her left hand.

Long Bisheng scratched his head bashfully. He was used to talking closely with Ning Xi—after all, they were young and uncomplicated. “Don’t make fun of me... That goal... was just luck. Pure luck.”

The nearby girls laughed, and two called out loudly: “What a shame! Long says he scored by luck! Luck beats you all—you're so weak!”

Other players jeered with mock disdain, but everyone knew it was all in good fun—a unique way to celebrate victory. They deserved to celebrate easily because of all the hard work they had put in before.

Dalian Eastern’s players had also worked hard, but football was like that: only victory rewarded the effort. Hard work didn’t always guarantee success; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many “uncrowned kings” in the world.

Chen Yongjun sat on the ground, ignored by his teammates. Though his team was eliminated by Yun Jia Tianyu, he respected their key players—except for Long Bisheng. But it was exactly Long Bisheng’s golden goal that knocked out Dalian Eastern, Chen Yongjun’s current team. He had often mocked Long Bisheng’s poor technique before!

Yet here was a man who, in just three months, could turn his back to the goal, receive the ball, break through, and shoot in an official match. What right did Chen Yongjun have to mock him?

Chen Yongjun began to reflect on his own mistakes. Thinking carefully, he realized he and Long Bisheng had no real grudge; the conflict had started with him, and he had even provoked Long repeatedly, but Long never retaliated. Now that he was in Dalian and no longer at Yun Jia, was it worth holding a grudge?

Youth means not fearing failure. For young people, if they can honestly examine their mistakes after failure, there is still time to correct them because they are young. But if they refuse to face their errors, failure awaits them.

“Maybe I should apologize to him,” Chen Yongjun thought, then quickly dismissed the idea. “Damn it, they won this time; why should I apologize? Forget it, I’ll wait for another chance.”

Shaking his head, Chen Yongjun stood and staggered off the field. He needed to work harder; otherwise, he might never have the opportunity to face them on the field again—and then, maybe, he’d never get to say sorry.

Chen Yongjun had untied one knot in his heart, but Fan Pengfei had not. His performance in the match was decent; at least his personal skill kept Yun Jia Tianyu’s captain, Hu Gandan, focused solely on him. But for someone proud like Fan Pengfei, that small success couldn’t outweigh the frustration in his heart.

Why was that? He had been training formally since he was five. His talent and skill earned praise from the veteran coaches at the Bayi team. Now at Dalian Eastern, a youth academy only slightly behind Yun Jia Tianyu’s in quality, among equally gifted peers, his talent still shone like a beacon in the night. He believed he was born to be the star on the pitch, the brightest light on the field.

For players born in 1989, the only chance to showcase their skills to the outside world was this invitational tournament, especially after reaching the semifinals, particularly in a match between Yun Jia Tianyu and Dalian Eastern. Yet why was the most dazzling player in this game Long Bisheng?

Besides scoring a goal, Long Bisheng’s relentless runs in the attacking third kept Dalian Eastern’s defense occupied. Fan Pengfei couldn’t do that; his stamina was mediocre from a young age. Though he didn’t get winded after a few steps, he had to conserve energy to last the whole game. He helped Yun Jia Tianyu’s quick counterattacks by heading the ball to the first target, but Fan Pengfei couldn’t do that either; he needed the ball at his feet to be effective. He often tracked back to help defend; among the crowded penalty area, his slow pivot and turning were weaknesses, but his jumping, aerial ability, and heading skills compensated well. Fan Pengfei couldn’t match that; he was weak in physical confrontations and was decent in attack but was a liability when retreating to defend.

After eight years of playing football and receiving professional training, why was his role on the field still inferior to Long Bisheng, who had only three years of formal training and relied mainly on his physique? Had his hard-earned skills really fallen short of pure natural strength?

If just physique could make a good player, what hope was there for players like him whose physical gifts were average?

Fan Pengfei’s resentment blinded him. He completely overlooked Long Bisheng’s solid fundamentals, tireless effort, and fighting spirit on the pitch. He had no idea what hardships Long had endured over the past three years. Long’s outstanding performance today was not just because of his natural strength but because of every grueling day and night spent training—beyond the essential eight hours of sleep and basic needs, every spare moment was dedicated to football. That was how he covered in three years what others took eight to achieve.

When Long Bisheng came to greet him, Fan Pengfei replied briefly and then left the field with his teammates.

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Center Forward, Chapter 102: Fan Pengfei’s Resentment (Free) is complete. For the next part, please stay tuned!