Thursday morning.
“Move your feet!!” A rough male voice rang out from the other side of the field.
“Max! Run!”
“Are your legs just for decoration!” Amid the noisy roar of coaches, mixed with the cheering of parents,
Lin Wansheng’s voice sounded especially full and powerful.
He stood at the sideline with his arms folded, sweeping his gaze over his team.
On the field, Max jolted at his shout and hurriedly picked up his pace, running faster around the marker cones.
Lin Wansheng nodded.
Then his eyes shifted to a child who was doing footwork drills.
“Leo, keep your center of gravity lower! What are you standing so tall for? Trying to shoot a basket?”
“Bend your waist down!!”
……
……
Ever since the system had given him the physique reward, Lin Wansheng felt like a battery that was always fully charged every day, constantly wanting to find somewhere to discharge all that inexhaustible energy.
At this point, the two-hour training session was already more than halfway over. Yet the children’s energy was still abundant.
It was just that Lin Wansheng’s patience had nearly been worn out by this bunch of kids.
He looked at the children before him, who were drenched in sweat but still howling as they sprinted all over the field.
Inwardly, he felt that this kind of training was really a bit too boring.
Lin Wansheng’s gaze drifted unconsciously toward the sideline.
Sure enough, Hank had come again.
Like a loyal fan, he had brought a folding chair and was sitting by the field.
And standing beside him was naturally Kate, the overseer, again.
Today, she had changed into a sky-blue tracksuit and was idly taking the occasional sip from the matcha Frappuccino in her hand.
What Lin Wansheng could not quite understand was this:
The team’s proper head coach had, up until now, only ever stayed at the U10 field.
On the other hand, Hank, the director, spent every other day hanging around the U8 training field.
He even came more frequently than those PTA moms doing spot checks.
Looking at Hank, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
He could show off his training results in front of the big shot at just the right moment.
And conveniently pad out the remaining training time too.
Two birds with one stone. Perfect.
“All right, kids, stop for a second~~”
He clapped his hands.
He called all the children over.
Smiling, he suggested, “You’ve practiced for so long. Want to check your progress?”
“Let’s have a real game!”
The moment they heard there would be a game, this bunch of overenergetic children instantly exploded.
They began shouting over one another.
“I want to be on Leo’s team! He’s the strongest! That way, our team is guaranteed to win!!”
“No way! I’m the fastest runner! I want to be on Leo’s team!”
“I’m the fastest, okay! Me, Max, and Leo on one team—we’ll be invincible under heaven!”
Lin Wansheng waited until they had more or less finished arguing before slowly raising his left hand and pressing it downward.
The children fell silent at once.
He looked at their little faces, already flushed red with excitement.
Then he raised the stakes. “Choose for yourselves the team you think is the strongest!”
“Whether you vote or have a competition among yourselves.”
“In half an hour, we’ll meet on the field.”
With that, he pointed at himself again.
“I’ll play a 1v5 game against all of you by myself. How about it!”
He paused, then smiled again.
“If I lose, I’ll treat you all to ice cream~~”
“But let’s agree on this first. This is our secret.”
“You have to promise that you won’t tell your parents!”
“Ah!!!”
The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the field.
Lin Wansheng knew all too well how devastating ice cream was to these little brats.
In America’s parenting culture, there was a piece of “common knowledge” that almost every parent firmly believed in.
“Sugar High.”
This concept had become popular around the 1970s. It referred to children suddenly becoming unusually excited, energetic, and even difficult to manage after consuming too much sugar.
Although countless scientists and nutritionists had already proven over and over that this was complete nonsense,
it had still become an urban legend that parents believed in without question.
However, he had already greeted those PTA moms this morning.
After all, they had been training for almost a week now.
It was time to give the children a little reward.
This way, a “shared secret” could further stimulate the cohesion within the team.
Moreover, he had already found a friend in advance. At noon sharp, his ice cream truck would appear at the school gate on time.
Spending a little money not only bought off the moms, but also helped consolidate his part-time job.
No matter how he calculated it, this deal was worthwhile.
After all, if he failed to apply for a scholarship to Northwestern University,
and could only stay in New York for school,
then if this part-time job could continue until he graduated from university, it would also be a considerable sum of income.
Just then, amid the children’s cheers,
the system voice that had been silent for several days suddenly sounded in his mind.
【Observation: The Attendant resides in a foreign land. Though he bears the body of a child, he has not abandoned his ambition to rise to the azure clouds.】
【He has taken the initiative to challenge his peers, intending to make his name before the masses and seek a foundation for establishing himself.】
【This act possesses quite the air of valor. It is the beginning of establishing oneself and earning renown in this place. Since he has such resolve, the Heavenly Dao shall aid him.】
【The Path of Self-Preservation has now been opened.】
【First Task: Resistance is no strategy for establishing oneself. A reckless act may invite unforeseen disaster.】
【If one wishes to quell conflict, one must first earn people’s trust.】
【Westerners esteem martial strength. Choose five of the robust among them, spar with them in sinew and bone, temper your physique, and display your courage and perseverance. Only then may you slowly plan what comes after.】
【This sparring, regardless of victory or defeat, shall serve as tempering.】
【To commend this courage, a special reward of 3 Physique points is hereby bestowed as encouragement.】
?
Lin Wansheng looked at this group of children who only came up to his waist, his head full of question marks.
The strongest one on the team, Leo, was even missing a front tooth today because he was losing his baby teeth.
When they had met that morning, he had first grinned foolishly and said to Lin Wansheng, “Coach Lin, my birthday is next month!”
But after he said that, he lowered his head somewhat sadly. “But I’ll be eight, so I can’t stay on the team anymore.”
Seeing the little guy’s dejected expression, Lin Wansheng smiled and comforted him, “Don’t worry, Leo. The league rules go by your age before the season starts. You can stay in U8 for the whole season.”
So.
This…
is my peer?
Lin Wansheng fell silent for half a second.
Well…
Emmmm.
Fine, I guess.
……
……
……
Half an hour passed very quickly.
The game officially began.
As the offense, Lin Wansheng stood in the center of the field.
Opposite him were the five strongest champions voted in by the children themselves.
They had taken up a rather imposing defensive formation.
At the sideline, Hank put down his clipboard, leaned forward slightly, and his gaze became focused.
Just then, however, Kate set down her iced drink and walked over on her long legs.
“Hey, Coach Lin.”
She wore a faintly sly smile.
“According to the rules, the offense has to have a center snap the ball to you, right?”
“You can’t just throw the ball up yourself and then run, can you?”
Lin Wansheng was taken aback, then spread his hands. “Then what should we do? We can’t have the kids split off another person to help me, can we?”
“Of course not.” Kate winked at him and tied her hair into a ponytail.
“For the sake of the taco you treated me to last time, I’ll be your center for free today.”
After saying that, without waiting for Lin Wansheng to react, she walked straight in front of him.
She picked up the football from the ground, spread her legs, and bent down.
She assumed a not-quite-standard snapping stance.
Her tight sports pants outlined her perky curves to the fullest.
Sweat had slightly dampened the back of her neck, glistening under the sunlight.
“What are you standing there for?” She looked back at Lin Wansheng from between her legs, her gaze provocative. “Get ready to catch the ball, Quarterback.”
Lin Wansheng did not know whether to laugh or cry as he walked behind her, bent over, and got into position to receive the ball.
In an instant, the distance between their bodies rapidly narrowed.
“Set.”
Following Kate’s crisp command, the football in her hands was passed backward.
Perhaps because it was their first time cooperating, the position where she handed the ball back was slightly higher than expected.
Lin Wansheng’s fingers adjusted upward with precision before grasping the leather.
His fingertips inevitably brushed past a soft, warm place.
“Hut—ah?”