7:15am,Saturdaymorning.

YangPanleapedoutofbedanddressedupbeforegoingforhisdailymorningjog.Itwasaroutinethathecarriedoutresolutelynomatterrain,sleetorsnow.HedidrestonSundaysthoughitwaswhenhewouldrecoveraftereachmatch.

However,theskyoutsidewasdarkandcloudy;itlookedsettobearainyday.

Despitethat,YangPandidnotthinkmuchofit.Heglancedattheskyonceandcontinuedwithhishomework.

Afterafewwarm-ups,hestartedhisjog.

*Caw Caw Caw *

Hehadnotmovedtwostepswhenanuglycryrangfromabove.Helookeduptoseeacrowflyingpast.

Acrow?

YangPanrubbedhiseyes,thinkingthathewasnotfullyawake;andthebirdwasnotthereanymore.

Arecrowsnotsupposedtoappearonlyatspookyplacessuchasgraveyardsandwastelands?Whywouldtherebesuchanunluckyomeninamodest,modernresidentialarea?

Hekeptrunning.

Thatfamiliaryethorriblescreechrangagainafterafewmorepaces.

Hestoppedandpromptlylookedupagain.Thistime,hesawitclearly,itwasindeedacrow!

"Whyareyouupsoearly?Isn'tthereagamethisafternoon?"ZhangJun'sfathersettleddownatthediningtablewhenhefoundhissonsittingoppositehim.

ZhangJuntookasipfromthecupofmilkhepouredanddabbedhislips."Can'tsleep.Whatuseisthereinstayinginbed?"

Heleftthekitchenatthat.

Isn'tthatwhatIusuallysay?Mr.Zhangthoughtblanklyashestaredathisson'sback.

Walkingouttothebalcony,ZhangJuntookadeepbreath.

Theairwasreallybetterinthemornings!Still,theskywasabitgloomyanditlookedliketherewouldberain.Nonetheless,hewasnotconcerned;whetheritrainedornot,soccercouldnotbestopped.

Despitethat,itwasfinetoenjoytheraremorningview.Usually,hewouldrushtofinishhisbreakfastanddashofftoschooltherewasusuallynotimeforhimtoenjoyanyviewatall.

Afewelderlypeoplewerepracticingmartialartsdownstairs.Itwasindeedagoodtimetotrain;theairwasfresh;thebirdsweresinging

*Caw Caw Caw *

Thebirdsaresinging?

ZhangJunliftedhishead,andtherewasacrow

Therewasnowayhecouldkeeprunning.

YangPanhadseennolessthan10crowsalonghisrun.Whentheeleventhflewoverhim,YangPandidnotevenlookup.

"Damn!Thisissobloodyinfuriating!"Hespatfuriouslyonthepathbeforeturningback.

"Thiskid!Whyareyouonlywashingyoureyes?"hismotherchided.ZhangJunhaddashedintothebathroomfromthebalcony,grabbingatoweltorubhiseyesrepeatedlyandviolently.

Hismotherwhojustenteredwasnaturallyshocked.

*Caw Caw Caw *

Acrowflewoverheadandcawed.

Itwasalreadypouringwhennoonarrived.Therewerebriefstopsinbetweenwheretherainalternatedbetweendrizzlesanddownpours.Nevertheless,thegroundwasnotsoakedthematchstayedonschedulesincethetournamentcommitteedidnotgiveanynoticethatstatedotherwise.

TheirbuswasspeedingonthewaytoYingcai.

SuFeistaredblanklyatthedarkenedskyandtheirregularrainoutsidethewindow;eventheglasswasdrenched.Shewasworried;therainlookedlikeitcouldgetworse.

Theywereplayingastheawayteaminsuchanenvironmentagainstateamofsuchcaliber.Kakawasright,thathugegoalkeeperfromYingcaiwasnotanaverageplayerhehadstoppedeveryattemptonhisteam'sgoalduringhislastthreegames.YangPan'spowerfuldrive may just give him some trouble,butZhangJun

Flustered,sheshookherheadwhenshefoundherselfdoubtingZhangJun.Shepressuredherselftothink:ZhangJuncandoit!ZhangJuncandoit!ZhangJuncandoit

"SuFei."

Startled,sheturnedtofindLiangKe.

"Youlooklikeyouhavesomethingonyourmind.Whatisit?"thecoachasked.

Sheturnedtolookoutside."Thesky"

"Isee.You'reworriedabouttheweather."LiangKesmiled."There'snoneedtoworry.Soccerisasportthatcan'tbestoppedbyrain,sleetorsnow.Therainwillhavecertaineffects,butthekeyliesinour11players.There'snothingthatcanstopthemiftheydesirevictory."

Theshowerstoppedjustastheplayersbegantheirwarm-ups.

SuFeilookedup.Itwasanoticeablybrightersky,maybeitreallyhadstopped?

Duringtheirwarm-ups, both teams on the field did not say a word to each other. Somewhat high in the midst of its dream run, Yingcai did not even see Shu Guang as a threat. The other team, soured by its dealings with the Ant was not in the mood for good tidings either.

Forthecoaches,itwasanentirelydifferentstory.Theyhadapractice game before and there was a sensation of destiny at work. It manifested in a way that they would meet again in the upcoming match.

"Hehe!Pleasegoeasyonus!"theyexchangedpleasantries.

Itwastrulya"pleasantry"forLiangKe.ThepossibilityofShuGuanglosingnevercrossedhismindtheyhadbeenintip-top form lately. Yingcai may be the dark horse of the year, but its only strength lay in just 2 of its players: Sima Hongxin and Ma Ni; soccer on the other hand, was an 11-man game.

Itwasa"pleasantry"fortheothercoachtoo.SinceMaNi joined the team, he became coach only in name; although many disliked the striker's attitude, he was pragmatic when it came to soccer. After all, it was not sheer luck that they gained complete victory over their last three games.

WheneverZhangJuncaughtaglimpseofMaNi'scockyface,hecouldnotwaittorunuptohimandwringhisneck.

But,heknewthatthebestplacetoseekhisrevengewasonthe field.Thebestwaytodothatwastoscoreandgivethemaslaponthefaceinvictory.Infact,hehadbeenwaitingforthisdaywithhisteethbared.Evenaheavydownpourwouldnotputoutthefireinhim.

Perhapsundertheinfluenceoftheirteam,theYingcaistudentsdidnothaveagoodimpressionofShuGuangeither.Jeers,boosandshoutsof"Gohome!"neverceasedsinceShuGuangsteppedontothepitchfortheirpre-gamewarm-up.

YangPan,captainoftheShuGuangteamreactedbyslammingapowerfulshotatthewallwheremostoftheYingcaistudentssat.

Theloudbangstunnedthemforafewmomentsbeforethejeersandboosreturnedwithavengeance.NotoneofthemremainedseatedastheyexpressedtheiroutrageatYangPan'sobviousprovocation.

ChenHuafengsmiledbitterly,shakinghishead."Ah!Thingsarealreadyheatingupbeforethegame!Whatisgoingtohappenwhenitkicksoff?"

Thevisitor'slockerroom.

"Ouropponent'sspearheadisthestriker,No.10,MaNi.Hehasalreadyscored10goalssincethiscompetitionbeganandhe'sthescorerofeverysinglegoalforhisteam.It'sararefeat, butitshowshowvaluableheistoYingcai.WangNing,LiHao,youtwowillworktogethertostophim.Defenseshouldstayonhighalerttoo.It'sbettertofoulhimthanlethimgetinsidethebox."

"Watchoutespeciallyforhis'90 Degrees' move that all the papers are talking about. According to statistics, he used this move to dribble past his markers before scoring 6 out of his 10 goals. It was also twice successful against Zhongyuan's Li Yongle in their practice match. That is why I demand that the back line puts in five times the effort. Keep it tight!

LiangKenoddedashisdefendersloudlyrespondedasone.

"Attackers,notethatSimaHongxinisanexcellentkeeper. He has the best goalkeeping record in Luoyang right now. I'll leave it to the four of you to decide how you'll score past him, hehe!" Thecoachsmiledslylybeforeturningseriousagain."Putuptheperformanceyou showed in the lastgameandleteveryonewitnessthegreatestoffensivelineupinLuoyang!"

Therewas notmuchelsethat neededtobesaid.Everyplayerlookedliketheywereoutforblood,and the raging fire was obvious in their eyes. He translated it as a grand desire to win the match and step into Xigong Stadium, where they would gain a whole new world.

Thehometeam's lockerroom.

MaNitookoverthereinsandscribbledontheblackboard,whiletherealcoachmerelystood in acornerlikeanobserver.

"ShuGuangisonlystronginappearance!Theirattackinggroupisformidable, but their defense is their vital weakness! Their coach has poured his heart out, trying to mend this aspect. However, the time he's had isn't enough, so his results are limited. No. 3, Lin Xiaofang and No. 5, Chen Bo have limited experience. It looks like they've improved and stabilized in the last few games, but that's just because they haven't met any strong opponents.

"Today,I'llkicktheminto shape! Stick to the usual strategy. When I get the ball, you run according to the planned routesgrab the attention of their defense and give me space."

Admittedly, Liang Ke would have nodded in agreement too if he had heard Ma Ni's analysis.

"Thereisn't much to worry about their attack. The forwards tend to do as they like and they're only scary if the team is focused. But, once they scatter, they won't be a danger. As long as I deal with the defense within the first 30 minutes, their offense will not even matter."

It was to observe how egotistical Ma Ni was by his use of "I" instead of "we". He did not even put his own team's capabilities into consideration. In his eyes, the other players were just good for crowding the other team when defending, and grabbing the attention of the other team's defense. Essentially, they were justobjects to be thrown at the opposition to stop its offense.

Bothteams stoodonthefield,waitingforthematchtostart.

SuFeifrownedatthejeersfromtheYingcaisupporters.TheonlyotheroccasiontheyreceivedthissortofwelcomewasatYangGuang.Shelookedupatthedrearyskiesagain;herworriesquicklybegan to grow asifagiganticrock was pressingdownonherheart.

Thistimehowever,shewas notworriedifZhangJuncouldscorethree goalsshe was much more concerned about Shu Guang's ability to win the match.

Aclearwhistlesoundedamid herworries.

Thequarter-finalmatchbetweenYingcai High andShuGuang High intheLuoyangregional qualifiers fortheNationalHighSchoolSoccerChampionship kicked off.