Chapter 1 周易和沙尔克记者
Chapter 1 Zhou Yi and the Schalke Reporter

The clash between Zhou Yi and the Schalke reporter stirred up strong reactions, not only among the media and fans.

In the "Squeeze Out Old Guo" group, everyone was talking about it too.

"Hey, Zhou Yi, that Newton stuff you said... did you just make it all up?" Sun Pan asked.

Because Zhou Yi was always in the habit of talking nonsense with a straight face, the first thought that popped into everyone's head when they heard something like this was—this kid is pulling our leg again.

Zhou Yi denied Sun Pan's claim. "How could it be made up? I'm a person who received higher education!"

Yang Mu'ge said, "Huh? Zhou Yi, didn't you skip the college entrance exam?"

"Yeah."

"Then how can you be someone who received higher education?" Yang Mu'ge asked, puzzled.

"Higher middle school education, abbreviated as higher education!"

"..." The group members could only send speechless emojis.

The next morning, Zhou Yi saw Deborah getting ready to leave in the living room.

Deborah stared at Zhou Yi, making him feel bewildered. "What are you looking at?"

"You're really making me see you in a new light," Kotana said, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yi asked.

"You actually understand Newton's Second Law."

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes. "In China, that's a normal physics lesson in high school, okay? I'm a person who received higher middle school education! Don't talk about me like I'm an idiot."

Kotana was choked by Zhou Yi's words, and without a word, she turned and went out.

Watching Kotana's back, Zhou Yi snorted and pursed his lips.

At the Brackel training base, when Zhou Yi walked into the locker room, Großkreutz took the lead in making a "worship" gesture. This gesture was often used by fans to express their admiration for a certain player.

After Großkreutz took the lead, the other teammates in the locker room followed suit.

Zhou Yi was startled—what's going on?

Seeing Zhou Yi's expression, everyone burst into laughter, and then Großkreutz came up and hugged him. "You kid! I used to think that pre-derby trash talk was just a fancy way to curse people. I didn't expect you to take it to a whole new level..."

It turned out that they were all impressed by Zhou Yi's performance when facing the Schalke reporter yesterday.

※※※

After today's training, Klopp announced the eighteen-man squad for the match.

Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker who joined the team this summer, was left out of the squad this time after being a substitute for several games in a row, because his performance in training had not been very good.

The striker who replaced him in the squad was Marc Wagner!

When Klopp read out this name, Zhou Yi turned to look at Marc and winked at him.

However, Marc couldn't see Zhou Yi at this moment. He looked at Klopp with a surprised expression, as if he couldn't believe that he had made it into the squad.

Back in the locker room, he hugged Zhou Yi excitedly and asked repeatedly, "Am I dreaming? Am I dreaming?"

Zhou Yi took the opportunity to pinch Marc. "You're not dreaming, Marc!"

Marc winced in pain, but he didn't hold it against Zhou Yi. Instead, he was smiling, grinning foolishly at Zhou Yi. "I thought I'd be happy just staying in the first team, but I didn't expect to get into the squad so soon..."

"You deserved it, Marc," Zhou Yi said, patting him on the shoulder. "Stay calm, stay calm. You're already this happy just getting into the squad. What if you get to play? Are your legs going to go weak?"

The teammates in the locker room laughed. Marc wanted to show his strength and confidence in front of his teammates, so he said, "My legs are hard, Zhou Yi!"

"Hard legs? Being hard is no good. If you can't even bend them, how are you going to run and shoot?"

Marc was stunned for a moment before he realized what Zhou Yi meant, so he shouted, "No, that's not what I meant. I mean I... can bend and stretch, can be soft and hard!"

Zhou Yi pointed at his crotch, with an exaggerated expression of surprise. "Can be soft and hard? Can bend and stretch? Are you talking about *that* thing, Marc?"

Marc was speechless and didn't know how to respond, while his teammates around him laughed even harder.

Kehl smiled beside him, turning his gaze to Zhou Yi. He remembered how excited Zhou Yi was when he was first selected for the squad last season, and he was even incoherent when talking to the coach. His performance wasn't much better than Marc's.

But now, after a season of training, he has become more and more composed...

※※※

When Zhou Yi returned to his residence, he found Kotana on the phone in the living room, speaking impatiently. "I know, I know. I'll watch it anyway, so stop telling me where to watch it!"

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

Without asking, Zhou Yi knew that Kotana must have quarreled with her mother again. Although Mrs. Wagner was very kind to Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi could tell that she was a very strong woman with a high presence at home, compared to her husband, Old Wagner, who seemed like an invisible man.

And Kotana's personality also seemed to have inherited some of her mother's traits, being opinionated to the point of stubbornness. It was inevitable that two strong-willed people would quarrel when they got together.

Zhou Yi used to live in Marc's house, so he had seen many wars between these two women.

But after all, this was someone else's private matter, and it wasn't good to ask if they didn't say anything. He could only pretend that he hadn't seen or heard anything and walk straight back to his room.

Unexpectedly, Kotana stopped him. "My brother made it into the squad?"

"Uh..." Zhou Yi didn't expect Kotana to ask him. "Yeah, he did."

"Do you think he has a chance to play?"

If it were any other time, Zhou Yi would definitely roll his eyes at Kotana and tell her that he wasn't really some "wizard," didn't know mysterious Eastern witchcraft, and couldn't predict the future.

But this time, Zhou Yi's mind quickly turned. Looking at Kotana, he nodded decisively and said, "Yes. He will play."

Seeing Zhou Yi say it so definitively, Kotana looked at him with suspicion instead. "You're not a real wizard, you can't predict the future, how would you know?"

Hearing Kotana say this, Zhou Yi cursed the woman in his heart for being a complete nutcase—you know I'm not a wizard, I can't predict the future, so why are you asking me such a stupid question? Are you an idiot?

But on the surface, Zhou Yi still said in a very affirmative tone: "Because I believe in my friend. I've seen Marc's performance in training and warm-up matches, and I believe that with his ability and performance, he is fully qualified to play in the match."

When saying this, Zhou Yi's face seemed to be radiating a gentle, warm, holy light...

After speaking, Zhou Yi abandoned this foolish woman and walked straight back to his room, while also trying to maintain a steady pace, leaving Kotana with a seemingly tall and sacred back.

Kotana turned her head to look at his back, without saying a word, lost in thought.

※※※

As soon as Marc returned home, his mother gave him a big hug.

"Well done, Marc!" After the hug, she gave him a passionate kiss.

Marc struggled a bit. "Mom, I just got into the squad..."

"Being able to get into the squad is enough to prove your strength. As long as you have a little more luck, you can play!"

"I'm not thinking about playing right now. Just being able to get into the squad and feel the atmosphere on the sidelines is good enough..." Compared to his excited mother, Marc was still quite clear-headed.

He had recovered from the excitement of just getting into the squad and knew that he still had a long way to go.

His idol, Zhou Yi, had also been selected for the squad last season, but he didn't get to play. So this is a very normal thing for newcomers.

"How can that be, Marc? You have to have big ambitions! You train so hard, is it just to feel the derby atmosphere on the bench? That's the Ruhr Derby!"

"I know, Mom. But what can I do? I can't decide whether I can play or not..." Marc spread his hands, saying somewhat aggrievedly.

"But you have to be ready to play at any time. It's a matter of mindset. You have to have a playing mindset. Because you're a substitute, Marc, you don't have much time to warm up and adapt to the match. If you come on, you definitely need to be able to perform at your best right away. If you don't adjust your mindset, you won't perform well." Mrs. Wagner put her hands on her hips, seriously lecturing her son.

"Also, your sister will be watching your match. If you don't perform well, guess what she'll say? 'My brother really isn't cut out to play football'..." Mrs. Wagner imitated her daughter's tone. "Do you want to be laughed at by her?"

"No! Of course not!" Marc immediately became motivated when he heard this.

"That's right, my son! Our whole family will be proud of you!" Mrs. Wagner gave Marc another hug.

But in his mother's arms, Marc finally realized something. "Then if I don't play, won't my sister have even more to say?"

"My son, not playing and playing badly after coming on are two completely different things, you know," Mrs. Wagner whispered in Marc's ear, holding him close.

※※※

In her room, Kotana closed the door and called Hannah.

"Hannah, can you help me buy a ticket?"

Hannah on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback. "A ticket? What do you need a ticket for, Kotana?"

"To watch the game, of course."

"This..." Kotana's answer was simply impeccable, leaving Hannah speechless. So she asked again, "Which game?"

"Schalke 04 at home against Borussia Dortmund."

After Kotana finished speaking, there was no sound on the other end of the phone for a long time, so much so that she thought the call had been disconnected. "Hello? Hannah? Hannah, are you there?"

After calling out several times in a row, Hannah's voice finally sounded. "I'm here, Kotana, I'm here... You scared me, Kotana. Suddenly wanting to watch a game, and it's the Ruhr Derby..."

"My brother made it into Dortmund's squad for this match," Kotana told Hannah the answer.

"Ah... that's really something to celebrate, you should definitely go watch. Okay, I'll ask my friend, but... you should have told me earlier, Kotana. For such an important match, tickets sell out very early, and I can't be sure if I can help you, but I'll try my best."

"Thank you, Hannah." Kotana was thinking that if Hannah couldn't help her buy a ticket, then her mother wouldn't be able to blame her for not going to the stadium to support her brother.

"Don't mention it, Kotana. It's rare for you to want to watch a game, of course I have to help you realize your dream, haha!" Hannah happily laughed and hung up the phone, and then probably went on to date some other guy...