Chapter Sixty-Five: Journey to Beijing

"The coach is truly a sly old fox." That night, Dorm 101 was in complete chaos as everyone packed their change of clothes—this trip to Beijing would last nearly a month. Fortunately, the weather was still hot, so all they needed were light T-shirts and undershirts. Even so, by the time they were nearly done, everyone had accumulated quite a collection of large and small bags.

Zhou Wei muttered as he packed, his roommates long since accustomed to his chatter. "I bet the news that even the students not on the roster could go to Beijing was out ages ago. But they insisted on announcing it only today, after publishing the list. It's despicable, shameless, really."

"What's despicable or shameless about that?" Long Bisheng asked, a little confused.

"Isn't it obvious? If they'd announced it earlier, we wouldn't have trained so hard. After all, everyone gets to go to Beijing, right? Even if we can't compete, we can still sightsee and have fun, visit Tiananmen Square, stroll through Xidan and Wangfujing, and eat roast duck."

"Probably only you think like that," Dai Guangming glanced at him sideways. "So you just want to go shopping and eat?"

"Hey, look at what he's bringing—skin lotion, moisturizer. Zhou Wei, why do you pack like a girl?" Li Jie rifled through Zhou Wei's bag and called out in mock horror.

"Come on, rummaging through someone else's stuff isn't cool." Zhou Wei snatched his things back and shoved them into his bag. "You guys don't know? Beijing is notorious for its sandstorms. Once those hit, my skin will be ruined. What about my future female fans? They'll be heartbroken." He stroked his face, utterly self-absorbed.

The others all pretended to retch. After a bout of commotion, Hu Gandan turned to Liu Lin. "Aren't you supposed to have all the inside info? How did you miss something this big?"

Liu Lin smiled. "Who says I didn't know? If I'd said anything, would our training have been as intense this past month?"

"So you were in on it!" The group suddenly understood, realizing now why Liu Lin had been so lackluster during practice—he'd known all along that everyone would go to Beijing.

"Brothers, get him!" At Li Jie's shout, a mob promptly surrounded Liu Lin and started pummeling him.

"Well, you guys sure are lively," a clear voice called from the doorway. Everyone froze and turned to see Ning Xi standing there, bright and charming.

"Ning Xi, you’re here," Zhou Wei was first to greet her. Long Bisheng and Wu Bufan hastily pulled T-shirts over their heads—they were the ones most afraid of the heat and usually went shirtless in the dorm.

"I heard you're leaving for Beijing tomorrow, so I came to see you off. After all, we’re classmates." Ning Xi walked in, accepted a glass of water from Dai Guangming, and smiled. "So, am I welcome?"

"Of course, you're very welcome!" Zhou Wei quickly replied. "Come, have a seat."

Ning Xi sat down, glancing around. "For a boys’ dorm, you keep things quite tidy. I thought all guys’ dorms were, well… walking past the others just now, some were honestly unwatchable."

"Thank Long Bisheng for that—he set the example." Zhang Yi pushed Long Bisheng forward with a laugh. "Your desk mate’s here, aren’t you going to greet her?"

Long Bisheng, awkward, sat down beside her. Ning Xi studied him with interest. "So, you’re good at chores too? I wouldn’t have guessed."

"Ah Long grew up in a military compound," Hu Gandan explained, "so this is nothing to him. If he didn’t lead the way, our dorm would be just as messy as the others. These guys are all lazy."

"As if you were ever diligent," the others shot him looks of pure disdain.

"We’ll bring you a gift from Beijing," Zhou Wei said, eager to please. "What would you like?"

"That's not necessary," Ning Xi laughed. "I’m actually from Beijing myself."

That left Zhou Wei speechless for a moment, but he quickly found a new topic. "Then tell us, what’s fun to do in Beijing?"

She looked at him. "Are you going to Beijing to have fun?"

That shut him up, and the others burst out laughing, Li Jie adding, "Don’t worry, apart from him, the rest of us are there to compete."

Zhou Wei was so deflated that his spirits didn't recover until half an hour after Ning Xi left.

"That girl has a sharp tongue," he sighed. "She’s impossible to handle."

"You can’t handle anyone," the others mocked. "Look at Dai Guangming—he quietly won over the bookstore beauty, Ma Xiu’er. See, he was the first to offer water when Ning Xi came in. Learn from him."

"Why drag me into this?" Dai Guangming blushed. "It just means you guys have no manners! Don’t you know to offer guests water?"

That night, the boys of Dorm 101 didn’t fall asleep until late. Tomorrow they would leave for Beijing, there to test themselves against the nation’s best in their age group—a thrilling prospect.

No doubt it was the same in other dorms. The next morning, when they got up, they noticed all their friends had red eyes—not from sadness, but from a restless, excited night.

As they assembled on the playground, students from other grades watched them with envy. Three club coaches' buses were already waiting at the gate.

The coaches checked the players one by one, making sure no one was missing or still in the restroom. The girls’ soccer class chattered excitedly, and a few lively ones shouted encouragement, making the boys' blood boil with anticipation.

"Maybe next time we should bring the girls’ class along," Ding Yu whispered to Xia Liqian. "Look, just a few cheers from them and these boys’ fighting spirit goes up ten percent."

Xia Liqian, ever the old-school coach, shot him a helpless look. He had studied in Europe but still found Ding Yu’s newfangled methods odd—bringing a cheer squad along? What kind of idea was that?

As they chatted, the coach in charge of headcount ran over. "Everyone’s here, not a single one missing."

"Good," Xia Liqian nodded and took the microphone. "Everyone quiet, listen up. Board the buses by grade. First-years on Bus 1, second-years on Bus 2, third-years on Bus 3. There’s storage for your luggage. Let’s go!"

The students, led by their coaches, filed out through the school gate and boarded the buses according to their year. The three coaches’ buses provided by Yun Jia Tianyu Club were large enough for forty or fifty people each and would take them all the way to Wuhan, where they’d catch the train to Beijing. The buses would then drive empty to Beijing and serve as their transportation for the month.

The club’s arrangements were meticulous.

"Goodbye!"

"Good luck!"

"Bring back all the championships!"

After the three junior teams had boarded, the rest of the soccer school students poured out to the gate, shouting encouragement to the buses.

Long Bisheng sat by the window in the last row, watching his excited schoolmates outside, a sense of pride swelling within him. This was his first time representing Yun Jia Tianyu Soccer School in an official competition! Did this mean that one day he might play for the first team as well?

Whatever annoyance he’d felt about the coach only picking him for his height had long since vanished, replaced by anticipation and excitement for the coming trip.

Glancing out, he saw the girls’ class at the gate cheering them on. Though they had only joined Yun Jia Tianyu a month ago, the girls’ class had already become a beautiful sight at the school.

Ning Xi, like the other girls, waved and shouted encouragement as the buses departed. Long Bisheng smiled genuinely, and when her gaze met his, he waved to her through the window.

She saw him and smiled even brighter.

"Wow, Dai Guangming, your girlfriend came to see you off!" Zhou Wei suddenly shouted in mock outrage.

On the fringe of the crowd stood a quiet, bookish girl, not cheering like the others. Dai Guangming blushed and leaned out the window to wave at her.

"These kids..." Ding Yu shook his head from the front row. Then he shouted, "Everyone sit tight, we’re heading out!"

The engines roared, and the three coaches’ buses slowly rolled onto the road.

"We’re off—to Beijing!"