Chapter 40: Serving as a Ringer

Guangfa Youth Training Academy cafeteria.

Chen Shaojie and his teammates were eating dinner when his phone suddenly pinged.

"Ding-dong!"

A message arrived from someone named 'Sunny Little White Horse'.

[Brother! Need your help!]

Chen Shaojie took a bite of his food, picked up his phone, and typed a reply.

[As a guest player?]

Ding-dong.

Sunny Little White Horse: [Exactly! But we're in a bit of a bind this time. We only have four players on our side, and while Teacher Tong recruited four more from abroad, we're still three players short to form a full squad!]

Chen Shaojie pursed his lips and dialed the number directly. The other party answered almost instantly.

"Xiang Ming, what's going on?" Chen Shaojie asked directly.

Xiang Ming replied, "Didn't the tournament in the Netherlands get canceled? We found another one in Spain. We originally had enough people, but suddenly several of them had to go for trials. You know how it is—trials take precedence over everything here. Teacher Tong absolutely refused to let them come back, so we have to scrounge for players everywhere ourselves!"

"Same old rules: you cover your own round-trip airfare, we cover all other expenses! Don't you have plenty of players at Guangfa? Borrow a few to come and play. Playing in international matches is awesome—let's go beat those foreigners!"

Chen Shaojie grinned, "We're out of players here at Guangfa. Starting next week, we're participating in a tournament in Japan."

"Ah~~~ You guys are going too?" Xiang Ming wailed. "Don't go! There's no point playing against the Japs; it’s much more interesting to play against foreigners! Come help us, brother! I’m begging you!"

Chen Shaojie chuckled, "I could skip it, since our youth academy supports us playing in Europe, but you need to round up enough people!"

Xiang Ming said, "I contacted Millennium from Hongyun, but they're also participating in the Japanese tournament!"

Chen Shaojie’s eyes darted, "You should contact He Chaoyue! Wili has enough people!"

Xiang Ming: ".... I'm not close with him!"

Chen Shaojie smirked, "You two are really something..."

Who would have thought that these two national youth team strike partners would have such an awkward relationship? Xiang Ming and He Chaoyue were equally renowned geniuses, but their styles were starkly different, and they both looked down on each other. He Chaoyue despised Xiang Ming’s lack of discipline and lax attitude, while Xiang Ming disliked He Chaoyue for being too rigid and stiff. Because of this, despite being teammates, they had almost no interaction.

Chen Shaojie said, "Forget it, I'll contact Wili, though I can't guarantee I can recruit them."

"Brother! You are my own brother! Thank you so fucking much!"

"Quit the flattery. You need three people, right?"

"More substitutes would be better, but it all depends on your skill. We can't just grind through a whole tournament with eleven people, right?"

...

Jiaozhou Wili Football School.

Wei Lai grabbed his luggage and moved directly out of the Grade B dormitory. Yang Fan helped him carry his belongings.

"From now on, we're roommates!" Yang Fan laughed loudly. Ever since Wei Lai had his back in a fight, he had considered Wei Lai a true brother.

Wei Lai was moving into the Grade A dormitory, but there were no empty rooms, so he had to squeeze a bed into the room with He Chaoyue and Yang Fan. This was a downside of his special promotion—the process was a bit rushed. Although Yang Fan had been demoted to the Grade B team, he hadn't moved out of the Grade A dormitory. After all, it was a disciplinary action, not a true demotion.

The Grade A dormitory was not much different from the Grade B one; most of the residents on the left side of the fifth floor were U15 players. When they heard a newcomer was arriving, they gathered around one by one.

"Wei Lai!" Wan Tao laughed, throwing his arm around Wei Lai’s shoulder, "I knew you’d get promoted!"

"I didn't expect a mid-semester promotion..." Weng Shaojie remarked, "It seems Grade B couldn't contain you anymore!" Weng Shaojie reached out his hand, "We’re teammates from now on."

Wei Lai shook his hand with a smile.

He Chaoyue pointed to an empty bed near the door, "You can take this one."

Wei Lai nodded. He Chaoyue and Yang Fan occupied the beds on either side near the window. The novelty wore off quickly, and the other Grade A players gradually left.

"You've made it to Grade A, while I have no idea when my punishment will be lifted!" Yang Fan sighed. He wanted to return to Grade A too! With Wei Lai gone, the Grade B team was mostly rookies, and he didn't enjoy playing there.

He Chaoyue turned his head, "That’s why I told you to control your temper!"

Yang Fan looked at He Chaoyue and retorted, "Old He, whenever I get into a fight, you always try to stop me. Wei Lai is much better; he joined in with me!"

Wei Lai gave an embarrassed cough. At the time, Yang Fan had stood up for him, so he really couldn't have stayed out of it!

He Chaoyue rolled his eyes, "And then both of you ended up getting a major demerit!"

Yang Fan waved his hand, "That’s nothing!"

Ding-dong!

At that moment, Wei Lai’s phone chimed. He picked it up to check.

Piggy Teenager: [Wei Lai, are you free to talk?]

Wei Lai started a voice call. "What's up?"

Hearing Wei Lai on the phone, He Chaoyue and Yang Fan fell silent.

Chen Shaojie’s voice came from the other end, "Do you guys have any matches this month?"

Wei Lai blinked; he had just been promoted and wasn't sure. He looked at He Chaoyue, "Do we have any matches this month?"

He Chaoyue shook his head, "No matches."

Wei Lai replied, "No matches, why?"

"That's great! Do me a favor and come as guest players!"

"Huh? Guest players?"

"Yeah! It would be best if you could bring He Chaoyue and Yang Fan along too. The three of you come to Green Field Cubs as guest players. They are really short on people!"

Wei Lai blinked and switched the call to speakerphone.

Chen Shaojie: "He Chaoyue, Yang Fan, and you—come as guest players. We're playing in a Spanish tournament. I heard that prestigious academies like Madrid's Santuario Youth, Barcelona Athletic's youth team, Italy's Milan Social youth team, and Turin youth team are all participating!"

Wei Lai looked up at Yang Fan and He Chaoyue. "Does our football school allow us to be guest players?"

He Chaoyue walked over and asked directly, "What about the expenses?"

Chen Shaojie: "Oh? Are you there too?"

Wei Lai: "I got promoted, I just moved into He Chaoyue and Yang Fan’s room!"

Chen Shaojie: "That's perfect, saves me from calling one by one. As for expenses, you cover your own airfare; Green Field Cubs will handle the rest. The organizers will send the invitations for the visas!"

He Chaoyue didn't hesitate: "I'm in!"

He Chaoyue was looking for challenging competitions, so as soon as he heard about the Spanish tournament, he agreed immediately.

Yang Fan: "I have no problem with it!"

Wei Lai was still unsure, "Will our school let us go?"

Yang Fan explained, "A few people from the older age groups have played as guest players for the Green Field Cubs before. There’s a precedent, and the results were quite good. They’ll likely agree, but the Green Field Cubs will need to coordinate with the school."

Chen Shaojie said excitedly, "The three of you are all in?"

Wei Lai nodded, "No problem!"

"Alright, then I’ll let Xiang Ming know and have Green Field Cubs contact your school!"

Wei Lai nodded, "Sounds good!"

With that, he hung up the phone.

...

Shuicheng, Taihu Training Base.

Tong Xianfeng, the founder of the Green Field Cubs, was in the middle of a live stream.

"We are still three people short. We have four players here, and I've found four guest players in Spain, but we still need three more. I'm currently contacting some players from Jixiang, but I don't know if it will work out!"

Tong Xianfeng coughed, looking rather unwell. Over the ten years of running Green Field Cubs, he had transformed from a chubby middle-aged man into a gaunt old man with graying temples. He had to handle so many things personally—not just fundraising and managing expenses, but also overseeing the children's training, trials, and everything else.

It was back-breaking work!

Fortunately, these children were determined enough! The previous batch had been excellent, and the current 15-year-old group was even better—truly stunning in their potential.