She felt a deep envy for Zhan Jing. She was always so quiet, seemingly unaffected by anything, unlike herself who was always so easily bothered. Moreover, Gao Xiaojie knew that Zhan Jing was never flamboyant. If she hadn't heard it from Zhan Jing herself, Gao Xiaojie wouldn't have believed that such a girl was a die-hard Fiorentina fan for ten years, and that her favorite player wasn't the incredibly handsome Beckham, but the Argentine football legend Batistuta. And even after Batistuta left, she continued to support Fiorentina, a team whose results were never particularly impressive.
"Ten years ago, I liked the whole team because I liked one person. Ten years later, I like every single person on the team because I like this team." She smiled calmly as she recalled Zhan Jing saying this: "No matter what their results are, as long as the players and fans have done their best, that's enough."
Thinking of Zhan Jing's words, Gao Xiaojie clenched her fist tightly: "So what if their skills are a bit worse?! Humph, I watched them learn the game all the way through back then. As long as they practice properly, how could they be worse than those pigs on the national team?"
Thinking about this, Gao Xiaojie felt that the weather was incredibly beautiful and the air incredibly fresh. Because she was a very emotional girl, sometimes even the smallest things could cause her emotions to change drastically.
Thinking of this, Gao Xiaojie felt he should go back to the football field, because those guys all looked very serious. Chairman Mao once said that the most important thing is to be serious! As long as they are willing to train hard, they may not be unable to achieve good results in the freshman cup.
So Gao Xiaojie called Zhan Jing and asked if she was going to the football field now. Zhan Jing hesitated for a moment and said she was busy and would go next time. Gao Xiaojie then happily went to the football field by herself.
It was getting dark, and it was past seven o'clock. Gao Xiaojie walked to the vicinity of the playground and saw a group of people running on the field from afar. With her 5.0 vision, she could clearly see one of them shouting and yelling, and it was Qin Xiaoan, that beast.
Gao Xiaojie found it somewhat amusing when she saw this guy. Earlier that day, when she first spoke to Qin Xiaoan, she asked him what position he played. Qin Xiaoan scratched his head and said his position was midfielder, specifically responsible for defense, roaming around the center circle in front of the defenders. So Gao Xiaojie said, "Why don't you just say defensive midfielder? Why go through all that trouble?"
Then it was Qin Xiao'an's turn to be a bit confused, because he had been admitted to Hexie University from a small town school. High school life there was all about attending classes, doing exercises, and taking exams. Girls there hardly knew anything about football. But he never expected that the person standing in front of him was not only a serious football fan, but also a beautiful girl. This made Qin Xiao'an a little dizzy.
However, with Gao Xiaojie's keen eye, he could naturally see Qin Xiaoan's strengths. He was physically strong, had good stamina, and was quite fast. Moreover, having played for a considerable time, his awareness was much better than that of other rookies. Although his footwork was somewhat rough, he was a decent player for a defensive midfielder. With him anchoring the midfield, the team's defense would be significantly improved.
"At worst, we can play a defensive counter-attacking style!" Gao Xiaojie clenched her small fist. Although she had always disliked the Italian style of defensive counter-attacking, which she felt lacked passion, she had no other good options due to the limited circumstances.
Seeing that the group of athletes were still training so late, Gao Xiaojie felt that he should encourage them, so he went to a small stall next to the playground, bought more than a dozen bottles of mineral water, and carried them in two plastic bags to the court.
Although it was late, a beautiful girl like Gao Xiaojie was truly like a firefly in the dark, especially in a place where a group of older men gathered. The sudden appearance of such a delicate Jiangnan girl naturally attracted countless eyes.
Liu Guang was one of them.
He was a third-year chemistry major, a bit handsome, 183cm tall, with a great physique from playing soccer, and naturally, his skin never tanned. So, his pretty-boy looks earned him the title of the most handsome guy in the chemistry department.
Liu Guang had just broken up with his previous girlfriend because he felt she was too big-boned and not petite enough. Now, seeing Gao Xiaojie, such a delicate and charming petite woman, he was naturally amazed. Then, noticing she was carrying two bags of mineral water, Liu Guang had an idea.
To get to the football field, she first had to pass through the incredibly lively basketball court in the secluded area. So Gao Xiaojie was carrying the water very carefully to prevent some animal from bumping into her. But just then, she suddenly heard a gust of wind. Before she could even turn her head to look, something hit her left shoulder.
The force of the impact wasn't exactly heavy, but it wasn't light either. Plus, she hadn't been paying attention beforehand, so she lost her balance with a cry and fell to the ground, spilling the bottled water she was carrying.
"Who did this?!" Gao Xiaojie turned around and saw a soccer ball not far away, knowing that she had been hit. She gritted her teeth and looked around to see which animal was so blind that its skills were worse than those pigs on the national team and yet dared to play soccer.
Just then, a handsome young man came along, wearing a Real Madrid number 23 jersey. Gao Xiaojie got even angrier... because it was her favorite Beckham's jersey!
This guy dares to call himself Beckham?
Gao Xiaojie felt that if he didn't hang him up and whip his corpse today, he would be letting down the Party, the people, and Beckham!
But the guy jogged over, but instead of running towards the soccer ball on the ground, he hurriedly said, "Sorry, sorry, it was too dark for me to see it. Did it hurt you?"
His sincere apology immediately calmed Gao Xiaojie's anger. Although she was outgoing, she wasn't an unreasonable girl, and given her experience playing basketball, getting hit by a ball wasn't a one-off occurrence. Since he had smiled apologetically before even speaking and his attitude was so sincere, she couldn't very well retaliate.
"Damn it, I guess I'll just have to accept my bad luck." Gao Xiaojie stood up, dusted herself off, and thought to herself that she was lucky she wasn't wearing a skirt today, or she would have been terribly embarrassed. Then she said it was okay and started picking up the scattered mineral water bottles on the ground.
"Let me help you, let me help you." The animal looked very apologetic and bent down to help her pick it up. But while picking it up, Gao Xiaojie discovered that a plastic bag had torn when she fell, and it couldn't hold anything anymore. The problem was that the bag contained seven or eight bottles of water, and she couldn't possibly carry it all by hand! And she was also carrying another bag.
Gao Xiaojie glared at the beast with displeasure, while Liu Guang scratched his head sheepishly and then took off his jersey.
This action nearly made Gao Xiaojie scream in fright; she thought this beast was up to something in front of everyone. But Liu Guang just smiled and said, "Use my clothes to catch it. Anyway, the water hasn't been wrung out yet, and I just changed my clothes; I'm not sweaty."
Actually, Liu Guang did this with a specific purpose. Due to long-term training, he had a very good physique. Even shirtless, you could clearly see his strong upper body muscles. He wasn't intimidating like a muscleman, nor was he as thin and weak as a pretty boy. Moreover, he had broad shoulders, making him a natural clothes hanger. During team matches, his favorite thing to do after scoring a goal was to take off his shirt to celebrate, which would elicit screams from the female spectators.
Gao Xiaojie, however, was completely unmoved by his behavior. She showed neither shyness nor a second glance, simply sighing and saying, "Thank you for your trouble," before picking up a bag and heading towards the football field. Liu Guanglian repeatedly said, "No trouble at all," and followed behind her, carrying seven or eight bottles of water.
Qin Xiaoan and the others were puzzled to see Gao Xiaojie walking over with a shirtless man, who looked familiar; they'd played soccer on the same field that afternoon and seemed quite skilled. But just as they were wondering what was going on, they saw the water she was carrying and all smiled, saying, "Gao Xiaojie, you're so kind! It's such a blessing for our team to have a manager like you!"
Gao Xiaojie laughed and scolded, "Come on, I only spent money because you've worked so hard." Liu Guang, who was standing next to him, also found an opportunity to speak, saying, "This beautiful lady is actually your manager? You're really lucky. You're freshmen, right? Which department are you in? I'm a junior in the Chemistry Department. How about I help you arrange a friendly match between your department and our freshmen?"
Gao Xiaojie immediately agreed, saying it would be a good opportunity to test the team's current strength. Since arranging matches was her job as the manager, Gao Xiaojie had long forgotten about being hit earlier, so she asked Liu Guang, "Senior, let's discuss it and set a time."
Liu Guang had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and readily agreed, "No problem. I'll call my juniors later to ask about their class schedules and pick a time. Also, I feel really bad for passing the buck to you earlier. How about this, I'll give you a chance to have dinner with me, and then I'll call over the captain of our department's freshman team to talk about the competition."
Gao Xiaojie initially didn't want to agree, because she understood the implication in Liu Guang's words: he just wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to her and then get her phone number to send text messages that evening. Under normal circumstances, she would have refused, but because it concerned the team's first game, she thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Liu Guang was overjoyed. He had already decided to make up some excuse when he called later, saying that the freshman couldn't come, and then spend some time with this pretty girl to leave a good impression.
Just as Liu Guang was about to say, "Let's go," a voice suddenly rang out from behind: "Hey, this guy deliberately kicked you with the ball!"
The person who arrived was none other than Chen Xu!
Chapter 12 Halley's Comet
When Chen Xu walked over, he realized that this girl was the petite girl who had mentioned "porn" in class, sitting next to Zhan Jing.
He and Wu Yuangang had just finished eating in the cafeteria and, having nothing to do, wandered over to the playground. When they got to the soccer field, they saw Qin Xiaoan and the others playing soccer. The two of them leaned on the railing and watched for a while with great interest. Just then, they saw Liu Guang put the ball on the ground, then assume a free-kick stance and aim at Gao Xiaojie to kick it.
The two players were about thirty meters apart. For some players with good footwork, hitting the ball in the intended landing spot within that distance wasn't particularly difficult. Moreover, Liu Guang dared to wear Real Madrid's number 23 not only because he was the most handsome student in the Chemical Engineering department, but also because his passing was very accurate. Therefore, this guy increasingly considered himself "the Beckham of the Chemical Engineering department."
Chen Xu didn't recognize Gao Xiaojie at first, but anyone with half a brain could see the guy's intentions. Originally, Chen Xu hadn't planned to get involved, but seeing the girl painstakingly carrying so much water to Qin Xiao'an and the others, Chen Xu was convinced she was one of his own. He couldn't accept his own people being bullied or deceived, so he rushed over.
Hearing Chen Xu say this, Qin Xiaoan and the others, who had just finished drinking water and were about to continue playing football, also gathered around, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Liu Guang was caught off guard and was speechless with embarrassment. His appearance only proved what Chen Xu had said. Liu Guang's friends, who had been watching the commotion from a distance, noticed the situation and gathered around.
Gao Xiaojie had always considered herself a clever and adorable girl, someone whose intelligence was certainly not insecure. Seeing this situation, how could she not understand what had happened? Although she didn't know this righteous person, he at least looked familiar, like a classmate. In that case, she would naturally choose to believe her classmate.
"You're slandering me!" After a long while, Liu Guang finally said this, then looked at Gao Xiaojie, only to be disappointed to find that the petite girl was looking at him with disdain.
"I knew you'd either accuse me of slander or of talking nonsense; your lines are so unoriginal," Chen Xu said disdainfully. "If you have nothing to hide, dare you swear in public? If you kicked her on purpose just now, your wife is a virgin for life!"
Everyone present, including Liu Guang's classmates, broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that this oath was really too vicious, and how could the thoughts of freshmen these days be so impure.
Liu Guang's face flushed red and then paled, thankfully it was dark and he couldn't see very clearly. He glared venomously at Chen Xu, too lazy to even say a polite word, and squeezed out of the crowd. His classmates, feeling humiliated, followed him out. Once outside, Chen Xu and the others clearly heard Liu Guang say to the person next to him, "What's with the arrogance, you son of a bitch? You think you can get away with playing terribly by bringing a pretty girl to cheer you on? Bullshit!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the Information Science Department turned extremely pale!
"Stop right there! Say that again if you dare!" A clear shout rang out, and people realized that it was Gao Xiaojie who spoke!
She hadn't shown any anger when she learned that Liu Guang had tricked her, but now the girl from Jiangnan's face was flushed red as she pointed at Liu Guang and said, "Say that again if you dare!"
The crisp sound echoed across the entire playground, drawing the attention of many people nearby.
At this point, Liu Guang felt like committing suicide. What could he possibly do to a girl like that in front of everyone? Forget about hitting her; even if he talked back, he'd probably be scorned by everyone around him!
But the problem was that if he showed weakness now, he wouldn't be able to stay at Hexie University in the future. So he put on the air of a veteran and said, "What's wrong? Can't people criticize my skills? Football is a sport that emphasizes strength. What's wrong with me telling the truth? If you're not convinced, we won't bully you. We'll do what we just said. Your freshman team will play against our chemistry department's freshman team."
"Come on then, who's afraid of who!" This angered even Qin Xiaoan and the others, and they all started shouting.
Gao Xiaojie gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, let's set a date!"
The guy laughed and said, "We won't bully you. How about a week from now? Look, you kids haven't even bought matching jerseys yet. We'll give you some time to buy a set and train a bit more. Just don't lose too badly then."
That's outrageous! Even the freshmen from the Information Science department felt an urge to gang up on him! Chen Xu was so angry he wanted to pin this beast to the ground and smash him to death with three punches, like Wu Song fighting the tiger. But then someone stood up for him. A familiar voice rang out from the entrance to the stadium: "Damn it, who the hell is bullying our juniors here?!"
Chen Xu turned around with great joy, only to find it was Wang Dong and his group. He wondered how they had gotten there. Liu Guang and the others, however, changed their expressions upon seeing Wang Dong.
"Who the hell is causing trouble here?" Wang Dong, shirtless, wearing a basketball jersey, shorts, and slippers, looked more like a thug than a student. When he saw Liu Guang and Gao Xiaojie, whose face was flushed, Wang Dong, knowing Liu Guang's character well, quickly understood and said to Liu Guang without any politeness, "Liu Guang, I can't control what you do in other colleges, but the School of Information Science isn't a place for you to make your living. Get lost!"
That's awesome!
The freshmen's admiration for this senior was like a surging river, endless and unstoppable! It wasn't just because he spoke so bluntly and clearly protected them like a mother hen, but more importantly, when Wang Dong said such harsh words, practically calling Liu Guang a dog, this pretty boy gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but didn't dare to utter a single word!
Only then did Chen Xu briefly recount what had just happened. This time, not only Wang Dong, but several of his classmates also sneered, "What's this? Since when did your Chemistry Department football team dare to be so arrogant towards our Information Science Department? Or have you forgotten what Halley's Comet is?"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the chemistry department students became even more unpleasant. Chen Xu asked a senior student next to him curiously, "What happened to Halley's Comet?"
"It's nothing," the senior student said, seeing the juniors and the pretty girl listening intently. He deliberately sneered and spoke loudly, "You can only blame the Chemistry Department for being so unlucky. For four consecutive years, they've been grouped with the Information Science Department in the school's 'Cooperation Cup' football tournament. Add to that the regular warm-up matches and league games, and the Chemistry Department hasn't won a single game against us in those four years. They've conceded a total of 76 goals, an average of nineteen per year. Since Halley's Comet has a 76-year orbital period, we call them Halley's Comet!"
He spoke loudly enough that many of the onlookers could hear him clearly, which immediately caused a burst of laughter. Even the most good-natured members of the Chemistry Department couldn't take it anymore. Liu Guang stepped forward and said, "Damn it! Wang Dong, we don't deny that our team used to be inferior to yours..."
Before he could finish speaking, someone next to him immediately started jeering: "You can't deny it even if you want to, unless your chemistry department is Korean!"
Liu Guang's face paled, and he ignored him, continuing, "But starting this year, your Information Science Department's leading advantage is gone! If you don't believe me, let's have a competition between the freshmen of our two departments, and let our strength speak for itself!"
As the captain of the Information Science department's team, Wang Dong had already come to scout out the freshmen before, so he naturally knew his own team's strengths and weaknesses. This year's students truly lacked any exceptionally talented individuals; their overall strength was indeed much weaker than previous years. So Wang Dong disdainfully said, "If you're so capable, bring your team over and let's see who's truly lacking in ability."
Liu Guang and the others pursed their lips, indicating that they were unwilling to talk to Wang Dong and the others.
"Fine, let's compete!" Gao Xiaojie felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger. This was simply too much for him to bear. What the hell was so arrogant about?!
"Next Sunday, 3 PM!"
"It's settled then!"
Seeing the smug smile on Liu Guang's face, Chen Xu couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but say, "What's there to be proud of? So what if you guys win?"
These words made Liu Guang and the others stop in their tracks again. What do you mean by that?
Chen Xu felt he needed to project some dominance, so he said, "I really don't understand. What does it mean if you freshmen win the game? Does it mean your chemistry department is awesome? Pshaw! Please, have some common sense! It's the beginning of the freshman year. What determines the team's strength? It depends on their soccer level before entering university! What does it have to do with your chemistry department? It's not like they were trained by your chemistry department!"
As soon as he said this, a group of animals nearby immediately started to jeer. Gao Xiaojie gave Chen Xu a very appreciative look, thinking that this animal was clever and quick-witted, and looked very pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that his words had an effect, Chen Xu became even more smug and said, "Besides! So what if you guys play good football?! That bunch of pigs on the national team are probably the best players in China, right? They're still terrible! You guys play well, so why don't you get on the national team?!"
Chen Xu felt very proud after saying that, but he soon realized that something was wrong.
Not only did Liu Guang and his group look gloomy, as if they owed them millions, with eyes as fierce as knives, but Wang Dong, Qin Xiao'an, and the others also looked extremely ugly. Gao Xiaojie gritted her teeth, as if she wanted to pounce on him and bite him a few times.
Chen Xu scratched his head: "Did I say something wrong?"
Chapter 13 Mosquito Killer
"You big idiot! You're so stupid!" Gao Xiaojie yelled "Ahhh!" in frustration on the dormitory balcony, then ran over and hugged Zhan Jing, wailing, "Jingjing, how can that idiot be so stupid? I thought he was pretty smart, but I never expected him to be even dumber than a pig!"
Zhan Jing had already heard her recount what had happened on the playground earlier, and laughed, "I guess he just spoke rashly in the heat of the moment, not expecting to use a map weapon that hit you all as well. But he was just trying to stand up for you, so don't take it so seriously."
Gao Xiaojie wrinkled her cute little nose in annoyance: "Who cares? There are plenty of guys who want to date me, and I've seen all sorts of tricks. That bastard, ptooey ptooey, he thinks he's Beckham. Just looking at him makes me sick. How could I possibly fall for his tricks?!" After a pause, Gao Xiaojie continued, "If that bastard Chen Xu hadn't been trying to help me, just for what he said, I would have slapped him to death on the spot, dug a hole, buried him, and planted an old locust tree on his grave!"
A woman nearby immediately asked, "What does it mean to plant an old locust tree?"
Gao Xiaojie said, "Haven't you read 'Ghost Blows Out the Light'? It's a really popular book this year, about feng shui and tomb raiding. It says that the locust tree is composed of 'wood' and 'ghost,' so it belongs to yin. If you plant this on someone's grave, it will prevent the animal in the grave from ever being reincarnated!"
Several women were startled and said, "You've gone too far!" Then one woman said, "Gao Xiaojie, are you a pervert? How can you read such scary books? Ghost stories?"
Gao Xiaojie chuckled maliciously and said, "It's just a ghost story, but it's quite well-written. How about I tell you a few excerpts during our late-night chat tonight?"
The women's expressions immediately changed, and they said, "If you dare to say that, we'll all squeeze into your bed and sleep with you tonight!"
He thought his words would scare her away, but Gao Xiaojie laughed and said, "My beloved concubines, are you all too impatient? Then I'll come and favor you tonight." The women froze on the spot, saying, "Zhan Jing, stay away from this girl, don't let her corrupt you."
"No way! My Jingjing loves me the most! Right?" Gao Xiaojie turned her head, then suddenly reached out and scratched Zhan Jing's chest, laughing loudly, "Oh my, bamboo shoot shape! Bamboo shoot shape! It feels so good!"
Zhan Jing covered the spot where she had been attacked, laughed and cursed, "Go to hell!" Then she said, "How can you be so shameless? Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore. Which jersey are you planning to buy for your college team this time? You like Beckham so much, are you planning to buy Real Madrid's or England's? Although England didn't play well in the 2006 World Cup, their jerseys were still quite nice."
The mere mention of Real Madrid reminded Gao Xiaojie of that beast Liu Guang, wearing Real Madrid's number 23 jersey—it was utterly disgusting. She turned to look at Zhan Jing, whose face still flushed from the groping incident, making her look incredibly beautiful and adorable. So she said, "Let's buy Fiorentina!"