Chapter 35 Birthday

Wang Le suggested that Zhou Yi gain weight, but didn't arrange specific training content, instead indicating that today's training could end here.

Zhou Yi wasn't surprised by this, having experienced physical training before. Maybe it was because they were all from the physical training team, but he felt they all acted in the same style.

Wang Le also told Zhou Yi that he must gain weight quickly so that strength training would be most effective. A scrawny stick figure can't develop much strength because the foundation is too weak.

Zhou Yi was no stranger to the term "control weight." When watching the news, it often appeared frequently during the winter break or pre-season training for each season. It meant that some players were overweight and needed to lose weight.

So all along, Zhou Yi thought that the synonym for "control weight" was "lose weight."

But it actually had another meaning, which was "gain weight."

In the car, after listening to Zhou Yi's story, Mark sized him up and then nodded in agreement: "That's right, you are indeed too thin, Zhou Yi. How much do you weigh now?"

Zhou Yi recalled, "The last time was during the team physical examination. Fifty-eight kilograms, height one hundred and seventy-five centimeters."

"I'm about the same height as you, and I weigh sixty-five kilograms. Even then, I'm considered weak. You really need to gain weight!"

Back at Mark's house, Zhou Yi got out of the car but found that the windows, which were usually lit up, were pitch black today. He found it strange.

"Power outage?"

But when he turned around, he saw the lights from the windows of other people's houses across the street, illuminating the sidewalk outside.

"No one's home? Mark, where's your mom?"

"I don't know." Mark shrugged as he got out of the car. "Let's go inside first."

He pushed Zhou Yi to the front door.

Then he took out his key and opened the door, but he didn't go in first, instead letting Zhou Yi go first.

As soon as Zhou Yi stepped into the doorway, the pitch-black house suddenly lit up, and with a "bang," colorful confetti exploded above Zhou Yi's head, falling all around.

This startled Zhou Yi, and he quickly squatted down, holding his head with his hands.

At the same time, Mrs. Wagner jumped out and shouted, "Happy birthday! Zhou Yi... where is he?"

In front of her was not Zhou Yi, but her son Mark.

Mark looked down, so Mrs. Wagner also looked down, and they saw Zhou Yi squatting on the ground, holding his head and looking up.

Zhou Yi thought something had exploded, but when he saw the streamer in Mrs. Wagner's hand, he realized that he had overreacted...

It wasn't an explosion, but the sound it made when it shot out.

Seeing Zhou Yi like this, Mrs. Wagner laughed: "Zhou Yi, you're so cute! I just wanted to give you a surprise, I didn't expect you to be so scared! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Wagner..." Amidst the laughter, Zhou Yi got up from the ground sheepishly. "It shows that my reaction is still quick..."

After Zhou Yi stood up, Mrs. Wagner gave him another hug: "Happy birthday, Zhou Yi!"

"Birthday?"

Zhou Yi was stunned, then he reacted: "Is today the twenty-second?"

"Yes, February twenty-second, your eighteenth birthday!"

Zhou Yi stood there, dumbfounded.

He didn't expect Mrs. Wagner to know his birthday... No, knowing his birthday was nothing, because it was public information. But the fact that Mrs. Wagner actually remembered his birthday made him feel surprised and touched.

Because he himself had forgotten...

He was so immersed in training that he hardly had any sense of time.

With another bang, Mark set off the streamer in his hand, covering Zhou Yi's head with confetti.

"Happy birthday, buddy!"

Mark also offered his blessings.

Old Wagner, who had just parked the car and came in, also smiled at Zhou Yi and said, "Happy birthday, Zhou Yi!"

Being able to celebrate his birthday in a foreign country moved Zhou Yi deeply.

He rubbed his nose: "Thank you all!"

"Don't say that, Zhou Yi. You live in our house, you're family!" Mrs. Wagner led Zhou Yi into the dining room. "Tonight's dinner is very rich!"

Zhou Yi immediately saw the birthday cake placed in the center of the table.

If it had been before today, Zhou Yi would have hesitated when facing such a big cake. But now he had no burden in his heart.

The big cake had already transformed into muscle in his eyes.

Wasn't the coach asking him to gain weight?

Then eat as much as he could!

※※※

After Mrs. Wagner heard her son say the coach's requirements for Zhou Yi, she gave all the beef on her plate to Zhou Yi. Large slices of roast beef, served with rice and steamed carrots, plus cake, chocolate, and ice cream, this was a super high-calorie meal.

But Zhou Yi needed this kind of diet now.

Speaking of rice, it must be said that Mrs. Wagner's care for Zhou Yi was truly meticulous.

Traditional Germans actually rarely eat rice. Even if they do, the rice they use and the way they cook it are different from those in East Asia, so Zhou Yi couldn't get used to the taste of rice at first.

Later, after Mrs. Wagner learned about this, she specifically looked up Chinese rice cooking methods, bought a rice cooker in a Chinese supermarket in Germany, and cooked rice for Zhou Yi in the Chinese way, cooking only for Zhou Yi alone.

This moved Zhou Yi deeply.

So now, he could eat rice that was slightly closer to Chinese tastes in Dortmund, Germany, thousands of miles away.

That dinner, Zhou Yi ate a lot of cake and a lot of meat until his stomach was completely full.

Seeing that Zhou Yi had eaten too much, Mrs. Wagner thoughtfully brewed him a cup of black coffee to help him digest.

Holding the coffee, Zhou Yi went upstairs to his room, turned on his computer, and logged in to QQ.

As soon as he went online, the avatars on the QQ icon began to flash non-stop.

The beeping sound kept ringing.

When Zhou Yi clicked on it, he found that his father's QQ avatar was at the top.

"Son, it should be your birthday, right? Speaking of which, this is the first birthday we haven't spent together. But your mom still made a table full of good dishes, all your favorites. Too bad you can't eat them, so I get all the benefits! Hahahaha! I took some photos, I'll send them to you to take a look, you can have them with your coffee!"

Next came "Mom's Dishes Ten-Photo Shoot."

Ten photos, all different dishes.

Seeing these common home-cooked dishes that he could usually eat at home, Zhou Yi smiled and took a big sip of his bitter coffee. The meal was over, now he could only have the photos with his coffee.

"You're eighteen years old, an adult. You have to be more mature in your actions and behavior, don't be childish, and maintain good relationships with your teammates. Also, I know German beer culture is very prevalent, you're an adult, so the law can't control you when it comes to drinking. But as a player, you should avoid alcohol. You can drink a little appropriately on special occasions, but don't overdo it. Alcohol is not a necessity of life, you won't affect your quality of life if you don't have it. Remember, remember..."

"Also, you're already eighteen years old, it's natural to fall in love, and your mom and I won't interfere. But I still have some suggestions I hope you can listen to—if you meet a suitable girl, you can date, but don't put all your energy into romance. You have a long life ahead of you, the first person you meet doesn't mean they can accompany you to the end, your mom wasn't my first love... Now, your career is more important, it's normal for a man to establish his career before starting a family."

"Oh, your mom and I also discussed the issue of partners. You're in Germany, and if you can become a professional player in the future, you'll inevitably be abroad most of the time. We don't force you to find a Chinese girl. In fact, we don't care about nationality, the key is suitability. Chinese or foreign girls, as long as they are kind and good to you, that's fine. You can decide for yourself, we respect your opinion... but you still have to bring them back to show us! If you really can't come back, you have to send us photos as soon as possible! Remember, this is very important!"

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes—his dad was thinking too far ahead, right? He hadn't even thought about this yet!

He suddenly felt that as soon as he turned eighteen, it was like leveling up to max level in a game. All the previously locked quest lines were unlocked, and new achievements appeared before his eyes, waiting for him to complete.

Life suddenly became rich and colorful.

He could drink, and he could chase girls.

When he went to a bar again, he didn't have to drink juice. He could go to the bar and naturally buy alcohol from the bartender...

Being an adult is great!

After reading his dad's nagging on QQ, Zhou Yi replied below:

"Thank you for mom's dishes and the photos you took, Dad, but I have to say that you didn't focus properly, some of the photos are blurry! I had a very happy birthday at Mark's house. Mark's family is really good to me, so you and mom don't have to worry about my life at all. I'm not interested in alcohol, I won't drink it unless I have to. As for girls... Dad, you're thinking too much, my current goal is to play in the first team! By the way, I was just transferred from u17 to u19! I'm only one step away from the first team!"

Because international calls were still expensive, Zhou Yi and his parents communicated through the internet. The advantage was that it saved money, the disadvantage was that they couldn't communicate in real-time, and they could only see text and couldn't hear voices. Most of the time, Zhou Yi communicated with his parents through QQ, only occasionally making a phone call. Considering the time difference and cost, they could only do that.

After leaving a message for his dad, Zhou Yi continued to look at the other QQ messages. They were basically from his high school classmates, everyone wishing him a happy birthday.

Zhou Yi also replied to each of them.

But when one person appeared on his screen, he was stunned for a moment.

Zheng Lulu's avatar was flashing, he clicked it open, and it was also wishing him a happy birthday.

Braces Girl actually knew his birthday?

Zhou Yi really didn't expect this.

All the people who wished him a happy birthday before were boys, classmates in the class and teammates on the school football team.

Girls?

Not a single one!

Zhou Yi didn't seem to have much luck with girls in school, his relationship with girls was very average. Of course, this also had something to do with him focusing on football and being funny, and not getting close to girls much.

But ultimately, Zhou Yi wasn't the type that girls would easily like.

Especially his personality was too much of a minus in the eyes of girls...

He didn't expect Braces Girl to remember his birthday.

Although Zhou Yi was a little surprised, he didn't delve into the issue. After all, his birthday wasn't a secret, they had been classmates for almost three years, and it was also in his QQ profile, it was public.

So it wasn't anything very unbelievable.

Zhou Yi replied with a thank you, and typed a smiley face, just like he did with the other classmates. Then he closed the chat window.

At this moment, Mark poked his head in from the door: "Zhou Yi, special training?"

"Coming!"

Zhou Yi closed the lid of his laptop, got up, and followed Mark to his room.