Chapter 1 The First Meal

Zhou Yi's first meal at the training base was lunch on the day he reported, a unified meal in the restaurant not far from the dormitory building.

Here, Zhou Yi not only saw Sun Pan, Yang Muge, and that irritable guy Guo Nu again, but also met the other teammates.

As soon as Sun Pan saw Zhou Yi, he enthusiastically beckoned him to sit over.

So Zhou Yi walked over with his stainless steel tray and sat with Sun Pan and Yang Muge.

"Hey, Zhou Yi, have you heard?" As soon as Zhou Yi sat down, Sun Pan leaned over, mysteriously, as if there was some news.

"Heard what? Do you have news again?" Zhou Yi also got excited and responded immediately.

This made Sun Pan very happy—it would be boring if he excitedly shared gossip and no one listened. You need someone who appreciates fine music, it's no fun playing the lute to a cow, right?

Sun Pan liked people like Zhou Yi who were so cooperative, so he lowered his voice and said, "Didn't I ask you this morning who else hadn't arrived besides you?"

"Yeah. Could it be that person is here?"

Sun Pan snorted softly, "Of course, a big-name star, of course, has to make a grand entrance last, or how can he be the finale? And the head coach personally went to the gate to greet him and take him to register. Look at that treatment... tsk tsk!"

"The head coach personally took him to register... Why does he get to enjoy such treatment?"

"He's the only national team player on our team." Sun Pan spread his hands and shrugged.

"Isn't our team supposed to be the strongest in the country for our age group? Isn't it normal to have a national team player?" Zhou Yi found what Sun Pan said strange. The *only* national team player?

As soon as Zhou Yi asked this question, Sun Pan stopped talking. The usually talkative Sun Pan was actually silent for once. Yang Muge next to him answered Zhou Yi's question instead.

"That's just media hype, a gimmick. Actually, we're not the strongest in the country for our age group at all. Shouldn't the strongest be the U17 (Under 17 National Team)? If that's the case, just let the national youth team go, why would we have these people temporarily formed into a team?" Yang Muge didn't talk much either, but his taciturnity was different from He Ying's. Even when he wasn't talking, he always had a smile on his face, while He Ying would have a cold face and wouldn't say a word. One was a warm man, and the other was a cold man.

In order to explain this clearly to Zhou Yi, Yang Muge rarely said so much in one breath.

"So actually..." Zhou Yi had already guessed it.

Yang Muge nodded, "Many of us can't even make the starting lineup in our respective club youth teams. Otherwise, which club's youth team would be willing to send their main players to participate in a reality show that's just for fun?"

"So, no one really cares..." Zhou Yi thought of his excitement when he saw the news on TV. It turned out that it was because he hadn't seen the world. How could someone who has seen the world take the advertising seriously? He was a little disappointed. He felt that this show might just be everyone going to European cities to play some games and take some scenic photos and that's it. He was now even starting to doubt whether he would even see the youth training geniuses of those European powerhouses.

"That's right, who would believe that a group of people cobbled together temporarily would be qualified to challenge the youth academies of powerhouses like Barcelona and Real Madrid?" Sun Pan snorted from the side. "Europeans would definitely think we're talking nonsense if they heard this."

Yang Muge didn't continue talking either. He had said what needed to be said. Continuing would inevitably be discouraging, and he didn't want to dampen the morale of this new teammate.

But Zhou Yi was still thinking along this topic, "So, in order to make our team look not so weak, and to save face, the production team found someone from the national youth team?"

"That's right, and not just a substitute on the national youth team, but a starter, a starting forward!" The way Sun Pan said this made Zhou Yi feel like it was laced with sarcasm.

"Forward..." Zhou Yi frowned as soon as he heard this word. He was also a forward, and with such a strong competitor, he might only be able to be a substitute. It would be a pity if he couldn't play in Europe.

"Yeah, it feels like he's the head coach's own son..." Sun Pan lowered his voice when he said this, obviously knowing that it wasn't good to criticize the coach behind his back.

"Since he's such an awesome person, why would he come to participate in our reality show? Didn't Yang Muge say before that those clubs weren't willing to play with us?" Zhou Yi had another question.

"I heard that our head coach used some personal connections to get him here, so he's being treated like a treasure..."

Just as he was speaking, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance of the restaurant. Many people who were eating put down their chopsticks and spoons and looked up.

Then Sun Pan, Zhou Yi, and Yang Muge saw someone walk into the restaurant.

"Hey, the protagonist has arrived. He even has to be the last one to show up for meals, what a show!" Sun Pan snorted through his nose.

But Zhou Yi was dumbfounded.

Why?

Because the person who came in was none other than... He Ying, his roommate!

※※※

When He Ying walked into the restaurant, he could clearly feel the originally noisy restaurant quiet down, and countless pairs of eyes were watching him.

However, He Ying wasn't surprised or unfamiliar with this.

As the starting forward of the Chinese U17 national youth team, he was used to facing this kind of treatment.

He also ignored those gazes, whether they were curious, ingratiating, or disdainful and contemptuous.

He looked straight ahead and walked directly to the food serving window, picked up a stainless steel tray, and began to order food.

He didn't order much, and deliberately avoided particularly greasy dishes. He didn't want any of the pork that was so popular with the others.

After ordering the food, he took his plate and went straight to an empty table to eat.

The restaurant wasn't small. After all, it was a comprehensive training base with not only a football field, but also tennis courts, a cycling training field, a golf course... and a series of other venues. There were also many people participating in the training, and the restaurant had to ensure that so many people could eat at the same time. Now, only the players from these football teams were training here temporarily at the training base. Most of the huge restaurant was empty, and there were many empty tables, so he didn't even have to look for one.

Zhou Yi quickly observed the situation in the restaurant. Some people wanted to go over and chat, but obviously didn't have enough courage. Zhou Yi deeply understood this. In the dormitory room, he wanted to find something to talk about with He Ying to liven up the atmosphere, but when he thought of He Ying's dead fish-like eyes, he couldn't open his mouth.

There were also people who looked at He Ying with disdain and indignation, disliking this show-off. Sun Pan was a typical example.

Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze.

Sun Pan was still muttering, "I wonder which unlucky bastard is in the same room as him... Of course, he's a big shot, so he might be living in a single room..."

As he was saying this, he saw Zhou Yi point to himself.

Sun Pan was strange, "What?"

"Me." Zhou Yi said.

"You what?" Sun Pan was confused.

"That unlucky bastard is me." Zhou Yi pointed at himself and said.

※※※

"You live in the same room as He Ying?" After leaving the restaurant, Sun Pan couldn't wait to ask after walking not far.

Zhou Yi nodded, "Yeah."

"Is it fun?" Sun Pan pressed.

"It's so fun, I don't think I even need to turn on the air conditioner at night to sleep." Zhou Yi replied.

Hearing his description, Sun Pan laughed out loud. His hearty laughter instantly traveled more than ten meters, attracting the attention of passersby. He quickly covered his mouth.

Even Yang Muge next to him smiled slightly at Zhou Yi's words.

"I've heard that He Ying is particularly cold, very indifferent to people, and very arrogant. Hearing your description, it seems that the rumors are true." Sun Pan lowered his voice.

"I can completely understand your situation. If I were his roommate, I would kill myself!" Sun Pan said exaggeratedly.

Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly, "I understand."

Of course, he understood.

If a chatterbox like Sun Pan were to share a room with He Ying, even if Sun Pan had no prejudice against He Ying before, the almost solidified indoor air would probably suffocate him.

"Okay, I can't help you with this matter. Brother, I wish you good luck." Sun Pan patted Zhou Yi's shoulder, his tone solemn, as if Zhou Yi was going to the execution ground when he returned to the dormitory.

Yang Muge said with a smile, "It's not that exaggerated. Zhou Yi, just don't provoke him. I don't think he's the type of person who actively looks for trouble."

Sun Pan was about to agree with his roommate, but he had only nodded halfway when he suddenly remembered something, and his face changed, "That's not necessarily true, Yang Muge. I don't think Zhou Yi is the type of person who doesn't cause trouble..."

Hearing him say this, Yang Muge's face also changed slightly. Then he and Sun Pan looked at each other, and both saw the same thought in each other's eyes—obviously they had thought of the same thing.

Zhou Yi didn't expect his two friends to change their opinion of him so quickly. He expressed his dissatisfaction with this and pointed to his face, asking, "Hey, look, look at my harmless appearance, put your hand on your heart and tell me, do I look like the kind of person who causes a lot of trouble?"

Sun Pan and Yang Muge nodded at the same time and said in unison, "Yes!"