Would You Mind If I Play?

Whether they liked it or not, the new semester arrived on schedule; students who had not seen each other for a long time gave one another warm greetings.

“You’ve gotten fat!”

“It was extremely fun!”

“I earned 800$ of ang pow money!”

“I envy you so much!” Dialogues such as these filled the school grounds.

“I’ve just realized that going to school isn’t that annoying,” Zhang Jun said as he gazed around. He had come by the school once during the winter break, but the place was so eerily silent―the scenery was appropriate for a horror film. “So nice to have so many friends and play soccer every day!”

“Tsk.”

“All you know is play!” Su Fei rolled her eyes at her neighbor.

Suddenly, Liu Qi appeared out of nowhere with a face of sunny brilliance.

“Bro!” He made a lunge at Zhang Jun.

“My foot’s recovered, you can’t catch me now!” Liu Qi grabbed thin air as Zhang Jun dodged him agilely. But Liu Qi turned and prepared for another attempt.

“Liu Qi!” Su Fei called.

Liu Qi froze in his tracks.

“Why are you so happy?”

“We have a new classmate!”

“So? Why are you being happy?” Su Fei did not understand.

“You wouldn’t understand. If the new classmate’s a girl and a beautiful one to boot…”

“Now there isn’t an empty seat next to you,” Zhang Jun told Liu Qi.

He was speechless.

…

Zhang Jun had rushed to school in a jog. He unfortunately napped until 1.45pm and he was left with five minutes before the school bell rang. He was going to be late if he did not hurry―it would be an undesirable record to be late on the day school started after the long holidays.

Without paying attention to where he was going, he ran into another person and both of them plummeted to the ground.

“Ouch!”

“Dui bu qi! Sorry! Sorry!” The other person blurted out a humorous combination of Mandarin and English.

Zhang Jun rose and slapped the dust off his body. “It’s nothing! Luckily, I play soccer―I’m used to falling.”

The other guy’s eyes sparkled. “You play soccer? No wonder your movements were so beautiful even as you stumbled!”

“Are you praising me or… Argh! This is bad! I’m going to be late!” Zhang Jun was ready to speed off again, but he was stopped.

“Friend, can you tell me how to get to Shu Guang High School?”

Zhang Jun did not look back. “Follow me!” he responded. However, he was already five meters ahead by then.

“You’re so fast!” A gasp sounded from behind and his schoolmate followed tightly.

…

The bell rang just as Zhang Jun plonked himself on his chair, gasping for air. “Phew―that was close!”

Liang Ke entered the classroom and was welcomed by the noise of different things being packed up hurriedly. He furrowed his brow. These kids…

“We’re welcoming a new boy to our class today,” he began. And already, a considerable number of became gloomy when the class teacher used “boy” instead of “new student”.

“Do come in and greet the others.”

The boy walked in and this time, the girls’ gazes glinted. Tanned skin, wide crystalline eyes, a clear face and jet-black hair that carried hints of curls as well as a sunny smile; he was your standard-issue pretty boy.

Zhang Jun’s eyes lit up too―please do not misunderstand―it was because he had seen the boy before.

“Hello everyone! I’m Li Ni. It’s a pleasure to be in this class.”

It’s him! Zhang Jun finally came to a realization―he was the guy he had ran into earlier. “Li Ni” was a bizarre name, though.

“Li Ni’s roots are in China, but he was born in Brazil,” Liang Ke explained. The class immediately erupted in quiet commotion.

“My dad says that I’ll be a laughing stock if people found out that I’m Chinese but haven’t been to China. That’s why he sent me here for my high school education. Hehe, nonetheless, Chinese fried rice is delicious!”

The guy was funny.

Li Ni smiled and there was no telling how many girls were going to lose sleep that night. Still, they were just being delusional―the new boy was merely greeting Zhang Jun.

…

In a single afternoon, news of a foreign hunk joining Year 1, Class 3 had spread throughout the entire school. There was an incessant flow of people coming over for a glimpse. However, they merely stared from afar and never made an approach because…

“Why do I have to be your bodyguard?” Liu Qi complained indignantly.

“They’re being too kind!” Li Ni smiled amid the awkwardness.

“You are so popular,” Liu Qi replied as he eyed a bunch of girls who stood a distance away.

“I never wanted this, I’m not some celebrity.”

“Well, it can’t be help. They just aren’t that sensible! Hmph! When our school soccer team made it into the final eight last year, I was quite the sight when I captained the cheerleading team…”

“Shu Guang has a soccer team?”

“Yeah! They participate in the regional preliminaries for the National Championships every year. Last year, they even had quite the battle against Zhongyuan High, the eventual champions…”

“Quick!” Li Ni grabbed Liu Qi by his sleeve and spoke hurriedly, “tell me how to join the school team!”

*Cough!*

“Look for… our class teacher… Old Liang…”

…

Zhang Jun noticed an extra head during the afternoon training session.

“Isn’t that your new classmate?” Su Fei pointed at Li Ni, who was playing keepie uppie alone. “Why is he playing too?”

“Stupid! He’s from Brazil!” Yang Pan retorted. An expression that said “I knew it” appeared across his face. “How many Brazilians wouldn’t know how to play soccer?”

Zhang Jun also put forward his critique, “Great technique, immaculate control, sharp movements… As expected of a Brazilian.”

“It’s really unexpected. Never thought that the coach’s black hand had already reached out of Asia and is groping around the world―” An Ke was hit on the head before he could finish.

“Gather round!” Liang Ke bellowed.

The team dutifully formed two rows in front of him.

“Let me introduce our new member, Li Ni.”

“Hello everybody!” Li Ni smiled.

“I believe everyone has already learned much about him, so I won’t elaborate,” Liang Ke said, “impressed” at how fast news traveled among his pupils. “He’ll be your teammate in the future. Wang Bo has left, so you’ll be taking his place as attacking midfielder. Su Fei, jersey.”

Su Fei handed Li Ni the No. 10 shirt.

“Whoa! Pele’s number!” Li Ni gasped and ceremoniously received his new clothes with both hands.

“There’s something else. We’ll be having an internal match this Thursday afternoon to welcome Li Ni.”

…

“It’s just a game amongst ourselves, why are you so excited?” Su Fei asked Yang Pan, who was dancing around.

“I want to show off in front of the Brazilian!”

“Do you have a grudge against him?”

“Nope. Can’t I show off a little? My difficult training in the winter break wasn’t just for show!” Yang Pan answered. He had been practicing his long shots in the neighborhood field, kicking the sand-filled ball against the wall from 30 m away. He did this almost every day during the winter break.

“I’m looking forward to it too,” Zhang Jun added. “I want to see what the Brazilian has to show us.”

“You two, he’s just arrived and you’re already gonna bully him!”

“Hey! Think about it! There’s no telling who’s gonna be the bully! Do you think that Brazilian’s some kind of minnow?”