Chapter 111 He Ying's Choice

The interactions between Zhou Yi, Sun Pan, and the others on Weibo attracted the attention of countless netizens. Their posts were forwarded nearly a hundred thousand times and were featured in news reports on newspapers and websites, being broadcast by media reporters as news, which further amplified the impact.

However, some observant individuals noticed a problem—in this incident where almost all of the Five Little Dragons came out to show their faces, He Ying was conspicuously absent.

Did He Ying not have a Weibo account?

Of course, he did. When Zhou Yi came out to lambast the public intellectuals, some enthusiastic fans were curious about which players had registered Weibo accounts, so they launched an online investigation. It was then that everyone learned that He Ying had registered a Weibo account, and it was officially verified with his real name.

His Weibo ID was simply [He Ying]. He registered very early, but he didn't use it much. From the 2010 World Cup to the present, he had only posted five Weibo posts in total. He would remember to post one every few months, and they were all reposts, with no original content.

But at least it showed that he was using Weibo.

During this time when the Olympic team players were celebrating wildly, He Ying disappeared.

What was he doing?

He was discussing his future with his agent, Zhang Qiang.

Unlike Zhou Yi, whose agent was a foreigner, He Ying was originally the earliest of the Five Little Dragons to gain fame. He was selected for the national teams at all levels very early and had always been a key player cultivated by the club, so naturally, he always had an agent.

Zhang Qiang was a well-known football agent in China, one of the first Chinese agents to obtain a FIFA agent license. Unlike those shady agents in China, he was a legitimate agent capable of handling international transfers. All of He Ying's transfer matters to Barcelona were handled by him.

He Ying had been working with him for many years, and their relationship had always been very good. He had always listened to him, and he would go to Zhang Qiang to discuss any problems. He trusted Zhang Qiang very much.

But this time, Zhang Qiang's opinion conflicted with Zhou Yi's, which made He Ying very hesitant.

"I don't recommend you transfer away from Barcelona, Xiao Ying," Zhang Qiang said, shaking his head with his arms crossed. "What was your reason for choosing to go on loan last season? Wasn't it to prove your ability to the Barcelona first team? Now the Barcelona first team has promoted you, you've achieved your goal, so why leave? Your performance at Valladolid was the key to entering Camp Nou. Now you're telling me that after knocking on the door of Camp Nou, you want to leave? Then what was the point of being loaned out in the first place?"

Under Zhang Qiang's series of questions, He Ying lowered his head, not knowing how to answer.

Yes, Zhang Qiang was right. He sought a loan in the first place so he could play games, to improve himself, so that when he returned to Barcelona, he could enter the first team with dignity...

"I know, the competition in the Barcelona first team is very fierce, but He Ying, isn't fierce competition normal? This is Barcelona! Who can play here who is an ordinary person? This is not Valladolid, where you can play as a starter as soon as you go. If you want to be a starter here, you should show your best form, don't be afraid of any opponents, you are the top scorer of the Olympic Games! You have the strength, the key is not to be afraid before the battle. If you leave Barcelona now, wouldn't you become a deserter? Do you want to be called a coward who fears competition, Xiao Ying?"

Zhang Qiang's voice seemed to have a kind of magic that could infect and encourage people. When he asked, He Ying shook his head, "I don't want to."

"That's right." Zhang Qiang spread out his hands. "If you want to become a successful professional player, if you want to become a superstar, you can't be afraid of any competition. If the opponent is strong, you have to be even stronger. It's not a big deal, stay in Barcelona, compete with them, fight with them, I believe in your ability, Xiao Ying. But the most important thing is that you have to believe in yourself too! With your ability, you can definitely occupy a place in Barcelona!"

※※※

After Zhou Yi returned to Dortmund from London, head coach Klopp was a little worried about his condition. After all, he had missed Dortmund's pre-season training due to participating in the Olympic Games.

As the core of the team, not participating in the team's pre-season training at all was very detrimental to Dortmund's preparations.

In addition, he participated in six high-intensity matches during the stage when he should have been adjusting his physical condition, which would definitely have a great impact on his physical fitness.

After returning to Dortmund, Zhou Yi underwent a comprehensive physical examination. His body was indeed a bit tired, which confirmed Klopp's worries.

In response to Zhou Yi's physical condition, Klopp and the coaching staff made a decision after some discussion to let Zhou Yi undergo recovery training and temporarily not consider any tactical training with the whole team.

They made a trade-off.

This was also something that couldn't be helped. If Zhou Yi's physical foundation wasn't solid, problems would arise sooner or later in the long season.

However, what Klopp didn't know was that this would not affect Zhou Yi's cooperation with the team, because he could also train with his teammates in the virtual space. From the night of the end of the Olympic Games, he had been training with his club teammates. Moreover, in the virtual space, he could use every hour as a day, so he didn't actually fall behind at all.

After finishing the Olympic Games and returning to Dortmund, Zhou Yi also had to face various transfer rumors.

He had said before the Olympic Games that if there was anything, he would talk about it after the Olympic Games were over. Now that the Olympic Games were over, he should be able to talk about his future, right?

So, after returning to Dortmund, Zhou Yi attended a weekly press conference. At the conference, the reporters were most concerned about Zhou Yi's whereabouts.

Facing Chinese and foreign reporters, Zhou Yi clearly stated that he would not leave Dortmund this summer.

"...I enjoy living in Dortmund very much. Everyone here is very friendly and kind to me. I have adapted to the climate, life, and food here. Dortmund is also a great team, and I have excellent teammates and coaches... I can't find a reason to leave here. So, all the rumors about my transfer are not true."

He said so.

A reporter asked: "What about the future? Will you consider leaving in the future?"

Zhou Yi shrugged: "I'm only twenty-one years old, and the future is very long. I'm not a prophet, I don't know what will happen in the future. I think it's best to do well in the present."

He didn't express loyalty by saying that he would retire in Dortmund, nor did he say that he would definitely leave. This was a very clever answer. No one would criticize Zhou Yi for being ambiguous on this issue, and no Dortmund fans would think that Zhou Yi's answer offended them.

Anyway, this matter was settled. After experiencing a summer of transfer rumors, Zhou Yi stayed in Dortmund once again. However, I believe that speculation about when he will leave Dortmund will continue until Zhou Yi really leaves Dortmund one day—anyway, except for Dortmund fans, no one really believes that Zhou Yi will play in Dortmund until he retires. With his strength and future development prospects, if his entire career is given to Dortmund, it would be a bit too boring...

The news that Zhou Yi decided to continue staying in Dortmund made Dortmund fans very happy. This summer, they reluctantly said goodbye to Kagawa Shinji, and what they were most worried about was that Zhou Yi, Kagawa Shinji's friend, would follow him. On the issue of the club renewing Kagawa Shinji's contract, many Dortmund fans also felt that the club was a bit too much, but they were still Dortmund fans after all, not Kagawa Shinji's fans, and they would still consider the problem from the club's standpoint.

It was Kagawa Shinji's freedom to transfer and leave, and no one would blame him, but they wouldn't want Dortmund to have bad luck because of this...

Zhou Yi's decision to stay was equivalent to preserving Dortmund's backbone. Dortmund fans all believed that as long as Zhou Yi was there, there wouldn't be any major problems.

After this press conference, major European sports media published the news of Zhou Yi's announcement to stay in a prominent position and accompanied it with a photo of Zhou Yi.

The German magazine *Kicker* commented that Zhou Yi's decision was equivalent to Dortmund gaining a major signing this summer.

Of course, some media outlets speculated that Zhou Yi's attitude was probably not as firm as it was when he faced the media. If he had made a decision long ago, why didn't he announce it before the Olympic Games, and kept delaying it until after the Olympic Games were over?

But this kind of speculation had no market, because no matter what Zhou Yi's attitude was, the result that he ultimately stayed in Dortmund was enough.

As for whether his attitude was firm or whether he would leave in the future, it didn't matter now.

Dortmund fans can now rest assured and look forward to the new season. But first of all, it depends on how well Zhou Yi rests and recovers, after all, he played in the Olympic Games.