Chapter 81: The Sly Long Bisheng

During the winter break, the training gym was naturally less lively than usual. Gone were the days when entire classes would come to train together; now, most came in groups from their dormitories, each maintaining their form with daily sessions. Compared to the structured routines of regular days, the current training was much more relaxed. Generally, after completing a set of basic drills assigned by the coaches, everyone was free to pursue whatever exercises interested them—focusing on their strengths or shoring up weaknesses as they saw fit.

The members of Dorm 101 were no different, but as the winter break began, two things struck them as odd.

The first was that Liu Lin hadn’t gone home. After half a year together, Dai Guangming and the others had come to a realization: Liu Lin wasn’t much of a soccer player. If Long Bisheng was just approaching the campus average in skill, then Liu Lin was a couple of notches below even that. And with Long Bisheng’s physical attributes, he could always make an impact on the field beyond his technical level. Liu Lin’s training, on the other hand, always seemed perfunctory—he’d do what he could, skip what he couldn’t, never sweating it out like the others. Yet the coaches never scolded him for it, as if he didn’t quite belong to the class at all.

Everyone had their theories about this, but no one could confirm anything. Why would a student like him stay at school over the holidays? It was strange—wasn’t this just false enthusiasm?

The second thing that puzzled Dai Guangming and his friends was that, over the past month or two, Long Bisheng had become unusually secretive. At first, nothing seemed amiss—he trained as hard as ever, still dragging Li Jie and the rest into extra physical drills after hours. But gradually, he began spending more and more time alone with his basic routines.

That, too, might have gone unnoticed. But one afternoon, when the others decided to skip training, Long Bisheng took a ball and went off on his own. As dinner time approached and the others went looking for him in the gym, they found it empty. They searched every training field—though in this cold, it was unlikely anyone would be practicing outside—but still found no sign of him. Then they tried the cafeteria, the recreation center, the library—nowhere. By then, even the usually composed Dai Guangming and Hu Gandang looked worried. If someone as conspicuous as Long Bisheng had vanished on campus, it was no trivial matter.

Just as they were about to report his disappearance to the teachers, Long Bisheng strolled out of the dormitory as if nothing had happened.

“Damn it, Long, where were you? You scared us half to death!” Zhou Wei exclaimed, relief flooding his face.

“I was about to ask you guys the same. I came back to the dorm and found none of you there,” Long Bisheng said, puzzled.

“We were looking for you! You weren’t at the gym, or any of the fields, the cafeteria, the net café, the bookstore—nowhere! Where did you go?” asked Dai Guangming.

“I… I didn’t go anywhere,” Long Bisheng stammered, his face flushing. “I was at the gym, then after training I just wandered around… just walked around the campus.”

“Wandered?” Zhou Wei said, skeptical. “We searched everywhere. How come we didn’t see you? Where exactly were you?”

“I… How should I know why you didn’t see me?” Long Bisheng hesitated. “I didn’t go anywhere special, just here and there.”

Zhou Wei found this hard to believe. The campus was wide open, and with the sports grounds so deserted in this weather, how could someone as big as Long Bisheng have escaped their notice?

Zhou Wei was about to press further when Dai Guangming tugged his sleeve and smiled. “Forget it. As long as you’re not lost, let’s get dinner.”

“Um… I’ll skip dinner with you guys. Li Fang invited me over to his house tonight,” Long Bisheng said awkwardly. “Sorry, you go ahead.”

“Did he invite us, too?” Li Jie asked, grinning.

“Uh… I don’t think so.” Long Bisheng blushed. “Uncle Maimaiti and the others are out, and Li Fang can’t cook for so many, so…”

“Alright, don’t even think about freeloading,” Hu Gandang cut in. “He invited Long Bisheng, not all of us. Long, go ahead, but be back early.”

Long Bisheng mumbled an assent without meeting their eyes and all but fled toward the campus gate.

“What’s up with him today?” Zhou Wei muttered, then turned to Dai Guangming. “Why didn’t you let me keep asking? We obviously didn’t see him anywhere on campus.”

“You think I don’t know he’s lying?” Dai Guangming snorted. “We’ve known each other for over two years—he stammers every time he lies, don’t you notice? The way he just did, he’s definitely making things up. Everyone has their own private business. Why dig into it? Are you some kind of voyeur?”

“That’s filthy!” Zhou Wei protested, grabbing Dai Guangming in a mock stranglehold. “Can’t a guy be curious?”

“And another thing—didn’t you notice Long was lying about going to Li Fang’s for dinner?” Hu Gandang interjected.

“Huh? Why do you say that?” Li Jie asked eagerly.

Hu Gandang smiled. “First, he was stammering again and seemed flustered; second, don’t you know Li Fang? He’s as generous as they come—he’s never minded how many people show up, and Long isn’t the type to exclude us. We’ve mooched plenty of meals off Li Fang before, and he’s never complained; third, didn’t you see how hastily Long ran off just now? There’s definitely something going on!”

“Wow, Hu, you really are sharp-eyed for your age,” Zhou Wei praised him. Hu Gandang looked pleased. “Naturally.”

“From now on, we’ll call you Hu Three Points—point one, point two, point three, all so clear,” Zhou Wei quipped.

“And you’re the thirteenth point!” Hu Gandang shot back, chasing Zhou Wei around the room.

“So what do you think Long is hiding from us?” Wu Bufan grumbled. He was straightforward by nature and disliked friends keeping secrets. “What could he possibly not tell us?”

“Heh, maybe it’s personal,” Liu Lin said slyly. “Maybe he’s got a date with a girl tonight.”

“Filthy!” the others jeered. Everyone knew it was a joke. Aside from visiting Li Fang, Long Bisheng never set foot outside the soccer school—how could he have met a girl out there?

But they overlooked one thing: if Long Bisheng wanted to meet a girl, there were plenty of opportunities right on campus…

“Alright, maybe he’s just got something private going on. Let’s drop it,” Dai Guangming said, waving his hand. He felt a bit uncomfortable talking about girls, especially since everyone knew about his friendship with the bookstore girl. Any time the subject came up, it inevitably turned to him.

“So how come we didn’t spot Long on campus just now?” asked Zhang Yi as they grabbed their lunch boxes and headed toward the cafeteria. “There’s no way we could’ve missed him returning to the dorm—he’s huge. If it were Zhou Wei, maybe, but Long?”

“Yeah, Zhou Wei’s so short, perfect for hiding,” Liu Lin agreed. “He could crawl through tall grass and we’d never see him. But Long? Even lying down, the grass wouldn’t cover his—well, you know.”

“Hey, why pick on me? Am I shorter than you?” Zhou Wei protested.

“If we really want to know, we could have someone follow him tomorrow,” Hu Gandang suggested with a laugh. “But we’d have to pick someone good at hiding or Long will spot them and that’d be awkward.”

All six pairs of eyes turned to Zhou Wei, who quickly waved his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m not even the shortest—Liu Lin’s no taller than me, why not send him?”

“I’m fat and not nimble,” Liu Lin grinned.

“No way, I’m not going,” Zhou Wei insisted.

“Suit yourself,” everyone laughed. “It’s not like we’re that curious, right?”

“You…” Zhou Wei pointed at them all in mock indignation. “You’re just picking on my curiosity. I’ll never forgive you! Not a single one!”

“Go or not, it’s up to you,” everyone said with teasing expressions, sending Zhou Wei into a fit of mock outrage.

Joking and laughing, they arrived at the cafeteria. At the rear, Hu Gandang glanced back out of habit, then did a double-take.

“What is it?” Dai Guangming asked.

“Nothing,” Hu Gandang replied, shaking his head. But he wondered to himself, “Did I just imagine that?”

P.S.: If you’re looking for another good soccer novel, check out ‘Green Field Dynasty,’ book number 1167619. It’s currently featured on the competitive sports section; I’ve read it myself and it’s quite well written.