Chapter Fifty-Nine: A New School Year, A New Dormitory, New Roommates

At the end of that year, Long Bisheng was once again absent from the list of those eliminated. This time, no one objected. His diligence was evident to all, and unlike the previous year, he had made noticeable progress. Though he was still a bit below average, everyone could see that with his relentless effort, reaching or even surpassing the average was only a matter of time.

Moreover, over the past year, Long Bisheng had grown taller, now exceeding one meter seventy. For a twelve-year-old, this height made him stand out impressively among his peers, like a crane among chickens.

With the semester ending, Long Bisheng and his classmates would soon be promoted to junior high. After entering junior high, their studies would focus even more on training, and even academic subjects would be chosen for their practical utility. The curriculum included various skills that could help them earn a living in the future. Given their progress so far, it was highly likely they would pursue football as a career. Even if they were eliminated from playing, there were promising jobs related to football, such as coaching, scouting, and management—less glamorous than being a professional player, perhaps, but offering more longevity.

By the end of the second semester in the 2000–2001 academic year, their class had shrunk to fewer than forty students. At this stage, the turnover slowed considerably. After all, with the growing emphasis nationwide on young talent, any twelve-year-old prodigy would have already been snapped up by other clubs. Poaching players from other youth teams was also difficult, and Yunjia Tianyu did not wish to damage its good relations with other clubs for the sake of a single young player.

In an environment where the phrase “the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled” was true of the Chinese football world, Yunjia Tianyu was something of an anomaly. Their record was impressive—they had already won two league titles—but they maintained good relations with their rivals. Apart from their steadfast allies in Hubei, Jilin, and Chongqing, they had no quarrels with other teams.

Despite poaching many players in the transfer market and often outplaying other clubs in the league, Yunjia Tianyu freely shared their fitness training plans with all the other clubs in the early years of the league, and frequently helped others acquire advanced European training equipment. Whenever a club manager mentioned Yunjia Tianyu’s president, Pei Wei, they’d give a thumbs-up. The reason was simple: Pei Wei pursued win-win outcomes. He ensured his club benefitted, but so did others. So although Yunjia Tianyu gained much, no one held a grudge.

Of course, if other clubs hadn’t begun to value youth development, and if Yunjia Tianyu hadn’t helped them hire coaches skilled at nurturing young talent, then even at the cost of damaging inter-club relations, Yunjia Tianyu would have found ways to poach promising players. To Pei Wei, the future of gifted children mattered more than inter-club relations.

However, before the new semester began, Coach Ding Yu pointed to a rather ordinary-looking child and announced to all the students, “Let me introduce a new classmate… Liu Lin, from Henan. Starting today, he’ll be your new teammate.”

All eyes fell on Liu Lin. He was short, plain-faced, but his eyes were bright and lively. What surprised everyone was that Liu Lin’s physique was not ideal—he was even a bit chubby.

Among the five hundred plus students at Yunjia Tianyu Football School, not one had as much extra flesh as Liu Lin. Though they were at an age of rapid growth, rigorous training had stripped them of excess fat, replaced by firm muscle.

Did this boy possess some extraordinary talent? Otherwise, how could he become a transfer student at Yunjia Tianyu at this age?

While everyone wondered, Liu Lin stepped forward, smiling broadly. “Hello, everyone. My name is Liu Lin, from Henan, and I’m twelve years old.”

He spoke fluent Mandarin without a Henan accent; and when he smiled, his previously unremarkable face became animated and friendly, instantly endearing him to everyone.

“Alright, Liu Lin, rejoin the group. Starting today, you’ll share a dormitory with Dai Guangming and the others,” Ding Yu nodded to him.

Since moving up to the junior high division, Long Bisheng and his friends knew they’d be switching dormitories soon. The junior high dormitory building was separate from the primary division, and the rooms were much larger. The number of residents increased from seven to eight, and there were reportedly many more amenities—conditions were much improved, and they had long looked forward to this day.

“Come over here!” Zhou Wei, ever sociable, waved at Liu Lin. “We’re all in the same dorm, now with you it’s not just seven stars gathering but eight immortals crossing the sea!”

Liu Lin laughed. “I’m no immortal, so I’ll count on you guys to look after me.”

Long Bisheng asked curiously, “What position do you play? You must be pretty good—everyone admitted to Yunjia Tianyu is impressive.”

He voiced the question everyone was thinking. Though there wasn’t a sense of gaining a new competitor with each newcomer, young people were always a little competitive. Even the steady Hu Gandang and the generous Dai Guangming watched Liu Lin intently.

Liu Lin did not answer, only smiled quietly.

“Alright, save the chatting for after class. Everyone quiet now,” Ding Yu coughed, and the room fell silent, all eyes on him.

“From this semester onward, you’ll be entering the junior high division,” Ding Yu raised his voice. “If only thirty percent of primary division students end up as professional players, the rate will be much higher in junior high. But the training will also be much tougher… Are you confident you can make the formal youth team from here?”

“Yes!” the group shouted in unison. Ding Yu nodded with satisfaction. “I believe you mean it, but training requires more than just words. You should learn from Long Bisheng’s attitude toward training. Of course, those not as strong as him shouldn’t force themselves to train as long as he does every day, or it might backfire.”

The students all laughed. After two years together, everyone knew Long Bisheng was a training fanatic. The coaches had made it clear that extra training wasn’t always right; overexertion could compromise normal training quality. As for Long Bisheng, not everyone could match his unusual stamina.

That didn’t mean the others admired him greatly—though he could do what others couldn’t, he had no grounds for pride when it came to football skills.

Long Bisheng scratched his head awkwardly, while Liu Lin watched him with keen interest.

“This semester, you’ll receive training and play matches even closer to those of professional players. Aside from the school-wide round-robin each term, we’ll arrange matches with youth teams from other clubs, so you get used to the atmosphere of real games. Keep it up! If joining the school and becoming a pro is a marathon, you’ve completed a third of the distance. The road is still long—let’s work hard together!”

“Yes!” the players responded in chorus.

“Okay.” Ding Yu waved his hand. “Dismissed. You can go move into your new dorms—remember your room numbers. First floor, Dormitory Building Two, rooms one through five are yours. Don’t move into the wrong one!”

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The former residents of Dorm 505 moved to Room 101 in Building Two. Once their belongings were settled, they looked around at their new dorm, more than twice the size of 505, faces beaming with delight.

“Wow, wardrobes!” Wu Bufan exclaimed theatrically at the two large wardrobes lined up against the wall. Their previous dorm had none; everyone kept clothes in their own suitcase, and laundry was hung directly on racks.

“Wow, there’s a television!” Li Jie shouted. “Now we don’t need to go to the screening room to watch matches!”

“There’s even a DVD player—we can rent discs and watch them ourselves!” Zhou Wei said excitedly.

“Wow, we all have single beds now! I don’t have to worry about falling out of the top bunk!” Zhang Yi called out.

“Alright!” Hu Gandang, with the authority of the dorm leader, shouted. “Are we here for a holiday? Better conditions mean we have to work even harder! Only by training well can we enjoy this environment with a clear conscience!”

Everyone fell silent, agreeing he was right. Though moving up to junior high was a step up from primary, compared to their ultimate goal, they had only just begun.

“Alright, hurry and unpack. The nice environment is meant to help us play better football, not to pamper us. Once you’re settled, let’s go train. I haven’t played with you guys for ten days—I can hardly wait,” Dai Guangming said.

ps: Spent the whole day at work, didn’t get home until five. Just one chapter today, sorry.