I Just Wanted to Play Soccer, But I Became a Hollywood Heartthrob

The next morning, Gu Ran woke up, carefully moving Sophie's leg off him before getting dressed.

Thinking back to last night, he immediately allocated the talent point he had picked up at the audition set to his stamina attribute.

His stamina increased from 61 to 62.

Taking a deep breath, he felt his fatigue from last night fading slightly.

Whoa—this was actually a pretty great use for talent points.

Before leaving, he planted a kiss on Sophie's cheek, feeling satisfied, then headed to the kitchen to make himself a nutritious breakfast.

After eating, Gu Ran didn't bother waiting for Andrew to wake up—he took a taxi straight to school.

By the time he changed into his training gear and stepped onto the field, most of the main players were already there.

Tomorrow was the match between the Bucks and the Tonbridge Boars.

Every main player knew how important this game was.

Southampton School had even excused the key players from classes today to give them more training time.

Once everyone was gathered, Captain Bread led the team on a warm-up run.

As always, the warm-up lasted 15 minutes.

This time, Gu Ran took the lead immediately, running at the front of the pack.

At first, the main players could keep up, but as the run progressed, most of them began gasping for air.

Meanwhile, Gu Ran kept increasing his speed.

Even though he had expended energy yesterday both in the afternoon and at night, the stamina point he had added this morning had already restored him to peak condition.

By the time the warm-up ended, he had lapped the entire team—again.

Captain Bread couldn't help but ask, "Gu… why do I feel like you're even stronger than you were two days ago? What the hell kind of training are you doing?"

Well, that's a long story…

Aside from my natural talent for picking up training bubbles, the main reason is that I actually work really hard.

Of course, I also have to thank Coach Carter's extreme training sessions and Ms. Maria's professional therapy.

But most of all—I just really want to play football.

Gu Ran took a deep breath and said calmly, "To be honest, I'm not even at my full potential today."

Rusty, standing nearby, asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

Watergate quickly clamped a hand over Rusty's mouth. "Don't ask! Don't give him a chance to—"

Too late.

Gu Ran smirked. "Sophie is leaving this afternoon. Before she goes, don't you think we should, you know, have a proper farewell? Between yesterday afternoon and last night… well, let's just say that if it weren't for her insistence, I'd be even faster today."

The whole team instantly lost their minds.

Bubbles exploded everywhere.

It was already frustrating enough to be lapped twice by the new guy, but now he was casually bragging about how his superstar girlfriend had been all over him?

AHHHHHH!

This Chinese kid is too much!

Watergate glared at Rusty. "I told you not to ask!"

Rusty scratched his head in confusion. "What? What's wrong? What does 'farewell' even mean? What exactly did they do?"

Meanwhile, Gu Ran quickly checked the bubbles around him.

There were two blue bubbles this time.

One of them belonged to Sniper Glider and contained: "Secret Phone Photography +1".

Gu Ran: …

The other belonged to Watergate and contained: "One-Two Pass +1".

Hell yes!

This was a must-have.

Gu Ran had already picked up One-Two Pass +1 from Watergate once before.

After seeing how useful it was in real matches, he knew this was a skill worth upgrading.

With a thought, he pulled the blue skill bubble from Watergate.

"Ding!"

"You have acquired 'One-Two Pass +1'. Since you already possess this skill, it has now upgraded to 'One-Two Pass +2'. Pickup progress: 1/10 for today."

Nice!

Gu Ran then scanned through the remaining white training bubbles and prioritized stamina training, followed by strength, defensive pressing, and passing.

He quickly picked up all nine remaining progress points.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations! You have accumulated 100 hours of specialized training and earned one additional talent point."

Awesome!

He decided to hold onto the talent point for now.

With his stamina already at 62, he could easily play a full match in the high school league.

Instead of spending it now, he would wait until the match tomorrow and decide where to allocate it based on the situation.

Now, the real question was—would he be starting tomorrow?

After warm-ups, Coach Carter arrived on the field, his expression serious.

The final pre-match team practice was about to begin.

Since it was the day before the match, training wasn't too intense—the focus was on tactical coordination.

Under Carter's direction, Gu Ran got the chance to practice link-up plays with Bread, West Plum, and Watergate.

The whole team started adapting to Gu Ran's rhythm and style.

Integration is a two-way street. If it were just Gu Ran trying to fit in, it would have taken a long time.

But because the whole team was actively adjusting to accommodate him, the Bucks' playstyle began to click.

The team had always built their tactics around the left wing, and now that Gu Ran was leading the charge on the left, they seamlessly returned to their old system.

The left-wing attack suddenly became much sharper, and their offensive flow improved significantly—though there were still some mistakes.

Carter stood on the sidelines, constantly yelling at the players to pay attention to Gu Ran's positioning.

Whenever someone messed up, he tore into them without mercy.

By the end of practice, almost every single player had been chewed out at least once.

Except Gu Ran.

When training ended, Carter didn't dismiss the team immediately.

Instead, he gathered everyone in front of him.

The players lined up obediently.

"Now, I'll announce tomorrow's starting lineup."

Carter pulled out a list and began reading names.

"...Left back:"

He paused, then locked eyes with Gu Ran.

"Gu Ran."

Gu Ran's heart pounded.

Finally!

He was finally getting a starting position!

Still, he forced himself to stay calm and keep a straight face.

The other players murmured in shock and admiration.

Gu Ran had only been on the team for five days.

He had played in only one official match—and now he was starting in his second?

This kind of treatment was unheard of!

This Chinese kid was something else.

After finishing the lineup, Carter's voice turned serious.

"Tomorrow's match is at 3 PM. We meet at the train station at 9 AM. Don't be late.

"And most importantly—no one is allowed to have any 'romantic activity' tonight!"

"Yes, Coach!"

"Dismissed!"

Before Gu Ran could leave, Carter called him over.

The coach looked him straight in the eye.

"Gu, remember—absolutely no romance tonight."

Gu Ran immediately nodded. "Coach, I swear, not tonight."

Carter gave a satisfied nod, then added in a meaningful tone,

"Tomorrow, make sure you play your best. Understood?"

…???

Though he wasn't sure why Carter was emphasizing this so much, Gu Ran still nodded firmly.

"Yes, Coach!"

"Good. Go."

As Gu Ran jogged away, Carter watched him leave, muttering under his breath:

"Old Rice… Get ready to be shocked."