Chapter 8 League Round Eight

In the eighth round of the league, Borussia Dortmund will challenge Borussia Mönchengladbach on the road. Because it is an away game, the team has to go to the away game a day in advance to prepare for the battle, so as not to rush from Dortmund to the city where the away team is located on the day of the match. That's really too much trouble, and the players' physical fitness cannot be guaranteed. After the training ends the day before the match, the players who have been selected for the eighteen-man list will set off with the team.

So the coaching staff will announce the list of players earlier than when playing at home.

After the training, everyone stood on the training ground, waiting for the head coach to announce the eighteen-man list for this game.

Klopp did not hold a piece of paper in his hand to read from, but put his hands behind his back and looked at the players, calling out the names one by one as if casually.

After observing in training for a week, he already had a complete list in his head, and he didn't need to write it on paper at all.

He called them out one by one, but Zhou Yi didn't listen at all, he knew that he would definitely not be able to enter the list.

But just at this moment, suddenly...

"Zhou Yi."

Zhou Yi hadn't reacted yet, but his teammates were in an uproar—this kid Zhou Yi was actually selected for the big list?!

Götze even turned his head to look at Zhou Yi with surprised eyes.

Klopp didn't care about the players' reactions at all, and continued to read the list, but after he read out the name of the next player to enter the list, he heard Zhou Yi shout, "Ah?!"

It was a bit funny, but no one in the team could laugh—they were all very surprised.

"Coach, did you just call my name?" Zhou Yi looked at Klopp to confirm.

Interrupted, Klopp had to answer Zhou Yi: "Yes, you are on the list."

"W-why?" Zhou Yi stuttered in surprise after receiving confirmation.

Klopp was amused by Zhou Yi's question—he had never seen a player who was selected for the big list and still asked why.

"Why? You don't think you're qualified enough, do you? Then I'll take you off the list..."

"Eh, no, no, no!" Zhou Yi waved his hands quickly, "That's not what I meant, coach! I'm very happy! Coach, your arrangements must be reasonable, you're right..." Zhou Yi was so frightened that he became incoherent.

Klopp snorted, ignored Zhou Yi, and continued to read his list.

Zhou Yi clenched his fists and waved them slightly, venting his excitement in this movement.

Götze pursed his lips when he saw Zhou Yi's movement—Klopp had finished reading the list, but his name, Mario Götze, was not on it.

Zhou Yi was selected for the list for the first time, while he would continue to watch from the sidelines.

Kevin Großkreutz patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder: "Congratulations, kid! You can watch the water dispenser on the sidelines!"

"Hey, Kevin. What's so congratulatory about watching the water dispenser?"

"Oh, think about it this way—you didn't even have the qualifications to watch the water dispenser before!" Großkreutz patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and smiled.

Zhou Yi frowned and said, "Thinking about it that way, it seems to be true..."

"See, being able to watch the water dispenser is also great for you now! You should celebrate!"

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After coming out of the locker room, Zhou Yi thought for a while and decided to call his parents. If he called now, it would be less than midnight in China, and his parents should not be asleep yet.

He didn't want to call in the first place, because it was just being selected for the list, which didn't mean he could play, and it was very likely that he wouldn't be able to play... If he excitedly told his parents, and they waited in front of the TV for an hour and a half, but didn't see him play at all, how disappointed would they be?

But then he thought again, even if he didn't tell his parents, they would know from the reports of domestic media that he had entered the list. At that time, they would still be watching in front of the TV, and they would complain that he didn't notify them in the first place...

So Zhou Yi decided to tell his parents himself, and make it clear to them, so that they would not have too much hope in watching this game.

He walked out while taking out his mobile phone and dialing the landline number at home.

Sure enough, after the phone rang three times, his father answered the phone: "Hello, who is it?"

"Dad, it's me."

"Oh, son? What are you calling for at this time?"

"Hey, Dad, listening to your voice, it seems like you don't want me to call..."

"No, when do you usually call home at this time... What's the matter?"

"Well, I have a message for you..."

"Good news or bad news first?"

"It's neither good news nor bad news, it's just a message, I hope you can treat it with a normal heart..."

"You've been demoted to the reserve team by the head coach?"

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes: "No!"

"Did you go back to the youth team?" Dad guessed again.

Zhou Yi sighed: "Dad, can you not be so gloomy? I'm telling you something, and you just guess the bad things!"

"You said it yourself, to treat it with a normal heart, it must not be a good thing!" Zhou Jianliang felt wronged.

"I've been selected for the eighteen-man list for the next game!" Zhou Yi decided not to play around with his father anymore, he should just say what he had to say.

"Ah?" Zhou Jianliang on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, and then his voice rose eight degrees: "Really?!"

Li Cuiyun, who was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, heard her husband's roar, poked her head out, and cast a curious look over.

"What am I lying to you for? It was announced just now when training ended..."

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zhou Jianliang's excited voice: "That's really good news! You're still trying to trick your dad, playing this game with your dad! Hey!"

Zhou Yi sighed while holding the phone, and after waiting for his father to finish speaking excitedly, he said: "So I said, Dad, you have to treat this news with a normal heart. I'm just on the big list, but that doesn't mean I can play. What are you so happy about? And there's a high possibility that I won't play at all, and I'll just sit on the bench for ninety minutes..."

"Then we can see you on TV! The TV broadcast lens will definitely sweep to the bench, right?"

Zhou Yi was stunned by his father's question. They didn't care whether he could play or not, as long as they could see him show up... Whether he could play or not didn't matter to them at all, they just missed him...

"After all, your mother and I haven't seen you alive for a long time..."

"Hey, Dad!" The little emotion that had just arisen in Zhou Yi's heart was shattered by this sentence, "What do you mean you haven't seen me alive! Did I die?"

"Eh, that's not what I meant, I just meant that I can only see your photos, and I haven't seen you moving..."

Zhou Yi felt that what his father said was getting weirder and weirder.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Li Cuiyun, who had been listening quietly, slapped her husband and complained in a low voice. "Can you speak properly?"

Zhou Jianliang was a little embarrassed, and explained to his wife in a low voice: "A little excited, excited, ha..."

"What a promising fellow!" Li Cuiyun rolled her eyes at her husband. "You're so old, you're not as stable as your son."

"He's just carefree, okay? Didn't you say that was his shortcoming? Why are you praising him now?" Zhou Jianliang retorted.

"Dad, I can hear you!" Zhou Yi coughed.

Zhou Jianliang then realized that the phone was still on, and he quickly said: "Anyway, son, being able to enter the big list is a good thing, whether you can play or not. This shows that you are one of the best eighteen people in the first team. I won't say more, your mother and I have to celebrate tomorrow, you go back quickly!"

"Dad, you're going to drink again..." Zhou Yi realized that before he could finish speaking, his dad had hung up the phone...

"Hey!" He shook his head and put away the phone.

※※※

Back at his residence, Zhou Yi was still thinking about what Großkreutz and his father had said. He always felt that something was wrong with what they said.

"What's so good about celebrating watching the water dispenser..." He muttered and pushed the door open.

"Celebrate what?" A face suddenly appeared in front of him, scaring him.

"Wow!"

Scared, he jumped backwards and jumped out of the house. Then he could see clearly who suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Hanna... you scared me to death!" Zhou Yi said, touching his chest.

"Ah, sorry, Zhou Yi." Hanna retracted her forward leaning body, "I..."

Before she could explain, Koutana in the living room said: "Hanna heard a strange noise at the door, thought a thief had broken in, so she wanted to come and see."

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes, how could he not hear that Koutana was teasing him? Because that's what he said when they came back.

"Ah, speaking of which, the security in your Germany is really not good, with thieves breaking in every now and then..." Zhou Yi said.

Koutana didn't expect Zhou Yi to retort, and didn't know how to respond for a while, so she just snorted.

Hanna quickly smoothed things over: "Zhou Yi, what were you mumbling about celebrating just now? Is there anything to celebrate?"

"No, there's nothing to celebrate." Zhou Yi shook his head and walked towards his room. "It's just that I was selected for the big list..."

"Wow!" This time it was Hanna's turn to shout, but her sudden shout still startled Zhou Yi...

Zhou Yi looked back at Hanna and said helplessly, "Hanna..."

"Ah, sorry." Hanna stuck out her tongue, and then took Zhou Yi's hand: "This is a good thing! Is it your first time on the list?"

"Well..." Zhou Yi was a little concerned about Hanna holding his hand. He looked down at it, wanting to pull it out but afraid that doing so would make him look timid...

"Then we have to celebrate!"

"No... what's so good about celebrating this?" Zhou Yi felt that today was so strange, everyone was saying to celebrate.

"Yeah, it's just being on the eighteen-man list, what's so good about celebrating? It's not like you'll be able to play." Koutana also said.

Although Koutana's point of view was the same as Zhou Yi's, Zhou Yi felt that these words sounded wrong coming from Koutana's mouth, always with a hint of sarcasm and teasing, so he replied in the same tone: "Thank you, I appreciate your kind words."

Koutana smiled at him: "You're welcome."

"Whether you can play or not doesn't matter, the key is that this is Zhou Yi's first time on the list for an official match, and that in itself is a very worthy thing to celebrate, the first time, the first time!"

"Is the first time worth commemorating?" Koutana asked.

"Of course!" Hanna replied.

"Then how did you celebrate your first time?" Koutana blinked.

"..." Hanna was stunned.

Seeing that Hanna couldn't speak, Koutana smiled slightly and continued to sit on the sofa and read her book.

Hanna was unwilling to admit defeat like this, she suddenly said something amazing: "I celebrated with the second time!"

This time it was Koutana's turn to be speechless.

"Okay, let's go out and celebrate!" The victorious Hanna announced.

Koutana had no choice, she got up reluctantly: "Hanna, I think you're just looking for an excuse not to cook."

Hanna, whose thoughts were exposed, stuck out her tongue again, and then looked at Zhou Yi: "You're the protagonist, you can't say no!"

Zhou Yi had just opened his mouth to speak, but had to close it again.

"Then it's happily decided!" Hanna happily jumped back to her room: "I'm going to change my clothes, you guys hurry up too!"

※※※

Half an hour later, Zhou Yi couldn't help but knock on Hanna's door: "Hanna? Are you asleep?"

"No, no, I'm still putting on makeup!" Hanna's voice rang from inside the door.

"It doesn't need to be so troublesome, we're just going out to eat..."

"How can we be casual? This is your first time, the first time! It has to be grand!"

"Are you going to wear that evening dress?" Koutana asked, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"It doesn't need to be that grand..."

"But I'm hungry, Hanna..." Zhou Yi said somewhat aggrievedly.

"Ah, soon! It'll be ready soon!" There was a sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the room.

Zhou Yi sighed helplessly.

Ten minutes later, Hanna finally opened the door and walked out.

"You put on makeup?" Zhou Yi was a little surprised.

"Yeah, beautiful, right?" Hanna turned around triumphantly.

"Uh, it feels like there's no difference from before..."

"That's the great thing about it! You have to put on makeup, but it can't be too obvious..." Hanna started to want to popularize women's knowledge to Zhou Yi, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Koutana: "Let's go! I'm hungry too!"

Hanna stuck out her tongue.

※※※

The three people raised their glasses in the restaurant, and Hanna said, "For Zhou Yi's first time, cheers!"

But Zhou Yi didn't mean to cheers, he said: "Hey, Hanna, I've been wanting to say this since just now... can you finish the sentence, it's the first time being selected for the eighteen-man list."

"It's too troublesome to say that, this is an abbreviation, an abbreviation!" Hanna waved her hand.

"But you always say 'first time' 'first time', it's easy to be misunderstood!" Zhou Yi spread his hands and said, "It's like we're celebrating my virginity!"

Koutana, who had just taken a sip of wine on her own, coughed violently when she heard this—the juice was choked into her trachea...

At the same time, she glared at Zhou Yi.

Facing Koutana's murderous gaze, Zhou Yi was not afraid: "I haven't said 'cheers' yet, you stole a drink!"

Then he deliberately took advantage of Koutana still coughing, and raised his glass, and said, "Now we can cheers, cheers!"

Then he drank the juice in his glass in one gulp.

Hanna held her wine glass alone, staring dumbfounded at Zhou Yi who was leisurely drinking juice, next to her was Koutana who was coughing non-stop...

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ps, today is also three chapters, there will be a chapter at twelve noon to thank the alliance leader~!