Chapter 13 The Show Ferments

The final episode of *Green Field Inheritors* officially began to ferment the day after it aired.

Reactions online were faster than offline. That night, a wave of discussion formed. Whether people felt excited or incredulous, at least everyone was talking about it.

On Baidu Tieba, QQ groups, and forums, everyone was heatedly discussing the victory.

After the initial excitement, some speculated whether this was an effect of the program—that the victory had been predetermined.

However, as soon as someone raised this point, they were immediately refuted. People pointed out that judging from the match itself, the La Masia Youth B team had given it their all. Furthermore, in order to win the game, the final stoppage time was as long as seven minutes, completely exceeding the initial five minutes.

In addition, some felt that given La Masia's reputation and pride, they would absolutely not accept being arranged to lose to a Chinese team in such a TV program. For the production team to make them willingly lose and with such technical difficulty would require immense PR capabilities.

"...If *Green Field Inheritors* has such PR capabilities, I suggest the Football Association let them handle the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA, ensuring our national team gets into the World Cup finals every time..."

Still others focused on the football itself—there must be a reason why the Chinese team was able to win this game. They dismissed the PR talk with a sneer and preferred to find the reasons for the victory in the match itself.

Simple, the Chinese team played better and was more united.

From the beginning of the match, the Chinese team was in rhythm, and the first threatening shot of the entire game came from the Chinese team.

Of course, some people objected, pointing out that when the Chinese team and the La Masia Youth B team first played each other, the first threatening shot of the entire game also came from the Chinese team, but why were the results so different this time?

Someone gave the answer: "Duh! The only difference is whether Zhou Yi played or not! The first time the two sides played each other, Zhou Yi was a substitute. The entire Chinese team was a disorganized mess. The offense relied entirely on He Ying's individual ability. How could that be threatening? But in this match, Zhou Yi started and organized the Chinese team's offense in an orderly manner. Naturally, the Chinese team could continuously and steadily threaten the La Masia Youth team's goal!"

This answer was well-reasoned and convincing.

Yes, all the changes were because Zhou Yi played.

So, in fact, the Chinese team was able to have such a transformative performance and defeat the La Masia Youth B team because of Zhou Yi.

Even He Ying's fans had to admit that without Zhou Yi's assist, He Ying's performance would not have been so dazzling. If Zhou Yi hadn't decisively inserted himself at the last moment, He Ying's dribbling would likely have been a dead end.

For a time, the name Zhou Yi became the subject of discussion and attention for fans across the country.

Although there had been media reports about Zhou Yi before, knowing that he was indeed a student, having just become a senior high school student in September of this year.

But more information about Zhou Yi was really scarce. Apart from knowing that he was a student player, everyone knew nothing else.

In such a situation, it was obviously impossible to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

However, Zhou Yi's status as a student player also led everyone to speculate: after performing so well in this reality show, could Zhou Yi continue to be an ordinary senior high school student after returning home?

"What student?! If I were him, I'd drop out and play football! Based on this game alone, I don't believe there isn't a club in China that wants him!"

That's how netizens were planning Zhou Yi's future.

Zhejiang Television did not say in the final episode that Zhou Yi had reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund. After all, the two sides had not yet signed a contract. This transfer only existed in the verbal promises between the two sides. It was an intention and had not yet become a reality. Naturally, they were not in a position to reveal anything in advance.

If netizens knew that Zhou Yi had reached a transfer agreement with Borussia Dortmund and that he had rejected offers from Arsenal and Barcelona, would those who were focusing on domestic clubs feel that they weren't being bold enough...

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The day after the show aired, not only online, but also major newspapers and television media began to follow up on the story.

"In the finale of a currently popular TV reality show, a team of domestic football youths unexpectedly defeated the strong Barcelona youth team..."

"...This team, temporarily put together for the sake of filming the program, was originally not favored by people. The first time the two sides played each other, the Barcelona youth team defeated the Chinese football youths by a score of 12:0. Therefore, last night's victory caused a strong reaction among domestic fans. In response to online claims that the outcome of the match was prearranged by the program team, Zhejiang Television and North Hemisphere Company have both issued rebuttals, stating that they will not make any arrangements for the match itself. Otherwise, the Chinese youths would not have lost so miserably the first time they met the Barcelona youth team..."

"...In the finale of *Green Field Inheritors* broadcast last night, Zhou Yi, a student player from Qingyang High School in our city, became the key figure in determining the victory and influencing the game. In the match, he first used an assist to help the Chinese team take the lead. Then, in the final stages of the game, he personally scored a goal, sealing the victory against the powerful Barcelona youth team..."

"...We all remember that at the beginning of last year, the Chinese Olympic team went to Europe for training in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. That was a team that gathered the best players in China under the age of twenty-three. As a result, they lost miserably against the reserve teams and youth teams of various clubs, and there were also scandals of fighting. Compared with them, these Chinese football youths are more like a 'motley crew'. They are not the best in the country in this age group, and there are even amateur players who are students. They also lost very badly in the first few games abroad, but why were they able to defeat a strong team like the La Masia Youth B team in the end? I think this is a question worth pondering for Chinese football players..."

Traditional media reports were more in-depth and influential than those online.

Not only Zhou Yi, but other football youths besides He Ying also became famous to varying degrees.

Before going abroad, they were all players who couldn't get into the main lineup of their respective clubs, but after becoming famous, their fate in their respective clubs may change to varying degrees.

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When the plane carrying the Chinese football youths finally landed at Beijing Capital International Airport, they received a warm welcome at the airport.

In addition to the welcoming team specially sent by the program crew, there were also the media and fans. The media came to pursue the news, while the fans came spontaneously to welcome these young players.

Because what the young players showed in the last game made them very excited.

When the young players came out, the fans who had been waiting for a long time cheered and raised the display boards with the names of the various young players written on them. The scene was almost the same as welcoming celebrities.

Sun Pan also saw a fluorescent board with his name on it, and he pointed excitedly and said, "Look! I have fans too!"

"Calm down!" Zhou Yi hummed beside him. "Isn't this a matter of course? You have to show some style!"

Before he finished speaking, he heard a burst of screams from the crowd: "Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi!! I want to have your babies!!"

Zhou Yi, who had just been sternly teaching Sun Pan a lesson, turned his head like a radar and looked around, listening for the source of the sound.

His voice was even trembling with excitement.

Sun Pan rolled his eyes at him from the side: "What about your style?"

"What's the point of having style when you have female fans? Are you stupid!" As a result, he was taught a lesson by Zhou Yi again...

Sun Pan made a sound of disapproval. It seemed that Zhou Yi was right no matter what!

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After leaving the airport, the youths got on a bus and were sent directly to the hotel they had booked. There, there would be a formal and grand celebration banquet, jointly organized by the sponsors, the TV station, and the production company. Many media were also invited.

The young players, like real stars, were solemnly pushed to the front stage.

Zhou Yi and He Ying were the two most sought-after by the media, and among these two, Zhou Yi was the one the media was most interested in. Because everyone was very familiar with He Ying. The sports media was very clear about his path from childhood to fame.

But this suddenly rising Zhou Yi seemed mysterious.

Everyone was curious about how a student could have such excellent football skills and abilities.

Zhou Yi's answer to this question was so simple that it left people speechless, but they couldn't refute it.

"Talent," he said.

Indeed, judging from what was shown in the TV program, Zhou Yi's talent was very outstanding, and only explaining it with talent might be the most credible.

If Zhou Yi said that he had a powerful virtual system in his mind that could help him improve his strength, he would probably be considered joking instead.

The media was also most concerned about whether Zhou Yi would continue to be a student after this experience.

"In fact, several clubs have contacted me," Zhou Yi said.

"Domestic?"

"No, European." Zhou Yi's words were shocking, and the reporters became excited.

European clubs!

If a student really completed the task of playing football in a European football club... that would truly be an inspirational example of a dream come true!

"Can you reveal which club it is?" a reporter asked impatiently.

"Borussia Dortmund," Zhou Yi replied.

The reporters who were interviewing him were in an uproar.

Borussia Dortmund!

A Champions League-winning powerhouse!

Although everyone felt that with Zhou Yi's performance, it was not very surprising that he was being targeted by a professional football club, they were still very surprised when they learned that it was a team of Borussia Dortmund's level—before this, only Dong Fangzhuo could be said to have joined a European powerhouse in Chinese football. Apart from that, no other Chinese player has been able to join a powerhouse.

Regardless of how Dong Fangzhuo played at Manchester United, or whether he had opportunities, Zhou Yi has already become the second in the country in terms of joining a powerhouse. But in fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the first, because Dong Fangzhuo was a professional player. Before joining Manchester United, he was already very successful in the Dalian team and was once considered Hao Dong's successor.

And what about Zhou Yi?

Before this, he was just an ordinary high school student!

He has not even received professional and systematic football training!

Joining Borussia Dortmund as a professional player with such a status... what is this jump if not the first in Chinese football?

The reporters looked at Zhou Yi, and it was really difficult to associate this young man with a slightly immature face with the person who created Chinese football history.

In the past two months, he has brought us enough surprises.

So, what will it be like when he reappears in front of us as a professional player?

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ps, I asked the editor to modify the chapter name of the previous chapter, but no one responded for a long time.

I estimate that if I delay it any longer, everyone will think that I only have one update today, because if it is not modified, the chapter names of the previous chapter and this chapter will be the same.

There was nothing I could do, so I had to move this chapter, which was originally scheduled to be updated at 6:00 p.m., to 12:00 p.m.

We'll have an extra update at 6:00 p.m. as an apology for messing up the update order.

So there are three updates today, please vote for the monthly ticket!