The Departure Wave

"Sorry, we haven't opened yet. Please come back a little later."

Seeing several Dutch youths pushing through the door, Shen Yuzhu hurried over and warmly apologized.

It was still more than two hours before lunchtime, and the kitchen in the back had not been prepared yet.

After entering, the group looked around, seeming both curious and as if searching for something. The man at the front politely turned to Shen Yuzhu. "Excuse me, is Yang Yang here?"

"Yang Yang?" Shen Yuzhu froze for a moment.

In the year since she had come to the Netherlands, this was the first time someone had come looking for Yang Yang. But who were these people? What did they want with Yang Yang?

As his cousin, she could not help worrying a little.

"Yes, Yang Yang from Almere Youth Team. Does he live here?" the man repeated.

Just then, Shen Ming and his wife heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen. They looked warily at the sturdy young men and asked Shen Yuzhu in Chinese, "What's going on?"

"They're here to see Yang Yang."

"May I ask why you're looking for Yang Yang?" This time, Shen Ming asked the young man at the front in Dutch.

"Hello, I'm Henk Dimer, the captain of Almere Youth Team. We want to find Yang Yang, but the only contact information he left with the club was this address, so..."

So they were Yang Yang's teammates from Almere.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and secretly laughed at their own suspiciousness.

But it was no wonder. The Netherlands was not entirely peaceful, and young people getting into fights was common enough. Besides, Yang Yang was Chinese, so they were genuinely worried that he might have accidentally provoked some bad character.

"Yes, Yang Yang lives here, but he isn't here right now," Shen Yuzhu replied fluently in Dutch.

"He isn't?" Henk Dimer was somewhat surprised. The team and school were both on summer break.

"He should be at the Skate Park." Shen Ming glanced at the clock on the wall, then turned to his daughter. "Yuzhu, take them there. And have them stay for lunch."

Most people in Almere worked in Amsterdam, so the restaurant was not busy during lunchtime. Since Yang Yang's teammates had come all this way, Shen Ming naturally wanted to show them some hospitality on Yang Yang's behalf.

Shen Yuzhu agreed at once. After ushering Henk Dimer and the others out of the restaurant, she headed north with them. Before long, they entered the Skate Park through the entrance beside Aminiga Villa District.

As they drew closer to the skating area, they could faintly hear dull thuds.

Henk Dimer and the others had all played football for years, so they easily recognized the sound of a ball striking something.

Could Yang Yang be training here?

When they reached the central area and stood on the tree-lined path, they saw Yang Yang from a distance. More than twenty meters from the Graffiti Wall, he kicked the ball against it again and again. After each thud, the ball rebounded, he controlled it, and then kicked it again.

The already mottled Graffiti Wall had become even more battered after more than a month of his abuse. It was pitted and uneven, with the bricks and soil exposed in many places.

Yang Yang was training with extreme concentration. He did not notice anyone approaching from behind, and his entire body was already drenched in sweat.

One kick after another sent the ball flying, followed by one rebound after another.

The movements were simple and almost monotonous, yet Yang Yang trained with absolute precision, taking every kick seriously.

The dull thuds of the ball striking the wall seemed to land in Henk Dimer and the others' hearts. They felt admiration, awe, and even a little shame.

So this was how Yang Yang had won first place.

"How long has he been training here?" Henk Dimer asked quietly.

"More than a month, I think. I'm not sure either. I only know that apart from eating, sleeping, going to school, and training, he spends practically all his remaining time here. He doesn't dare slack off in the slightest." Shen Yuzhu spoke softly.

Ever since she had come to the Skate Park and watched Yang Yang train, she had felt especially protective of this younger cousin of hers.

He was definitely someone with great ambitions!

She did not know exactly how long he had trained, but just looking at the ruined Graffiti Wall was enough for everyone to imagine how hard Yang Yang had worked here. They felt ashamed of having doubted him before.

They had originally thought that Yang Yang already worked hard enough at school and on the training ground. They had never imagined that, in places they could not see, he worked ten or a hundred times harder.

If Henk Dimer and the others had still been skeptical of Yang Yang winning first place, they were starting to accept it now. After all, it was the result of Yang Yang's own blood, sweat, and effort.

At last, Yang Yang stopped, panting heavily, and suddenly noticed the people behind him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yang Yang asked in surprise.

Shen Yuzhu approached with a towel in one hand and water in the other, handing both to Yang Yang. "They said they were your teammates. They came to the restaurant to find you, so I brought them here."

Yang Yang wiped away his sweat first, then unscrewed the cap and took several gulps of water. He understood.

The summer amateur tournament must have been arranged.

Since she had brought them over, Shen Yuzhu had to return to the restaurant to help. She simply told Yang Yang to keep his teammates for lunch, saying that Uncle Shen Ming had already started preparing.

There was actually nothing special to prepare. They would just stir-fry a few of the restaurant's signature dishes.

They had only watched from a distance before, but after seeing the Graffiti Wall up close, Henk Dimer and the others were even more impressed.

This was absolute proof of Yang Yang's diligence and hard work.

"So, what did you come to see me about?" Yang Yang asked as he drank his water.

"Didn't I tell you before? We registered for the tournament, and the schedule has been drawn up."

"When is it?" Yang Yang asked eagerly.

He had been busy with his end-of-term assessments recently and had not played a match for two weeks. He felt as if he had lost his excitement.

Strangely enough, he had never felt this way before he started playing matches. But after becoming accustomed to them, stopping made him feel completely out of sorts.

Now things were better. He had matches to play again.

"It starts next Wednesday, with one match every five days," Henk Dimer said.

They were taking part in an amateur tournament for players under eighteen. The intensity was not particularly high, so one match every five days was entirely manageable.

"Guess who our first opponent is?" Nick leaned over and asked with an excited smile.

"Who?"

"AS80."

Seeing Yang Yang frown, Henk Dimer knew that he had no idea. He explained, "The AS80 club is just east of Almere. Most of the players they've entered this time are from Omnibus."

Yang Yang suddenly understood. Right, AS80 was the amateur club that worked with Omnibus.

It was said that the club was an established team that had been rooted in Almere for many years. Its youth development was quite good. One or two years ago, it had even sent a player into Ajax's Youth Training Camp. If Almere had not risen over the past few years, AS80 would have been the undisputed strongest team in the city.

"This is our chance to get revenge," Yang Yang said, rubbing his fists, eager to try.

The match against Omnibus had infuriated him. It had been his first match, yet they had lost.

But things had changed. Yang Yang was no longer the same player he had been more than a month ago. If Omnibus's defenders had been unable to stop him then, they would have even less chance now.

Seeing Yang Yang full of fighting spirit, Henk Dimer, Nick, and the others nodded repeatedly. He was a born competitor.

Whenever they stepped onto the pitch, everyone wanted to win. No one wanted to team up with someone who lacked ambition. Yang Yang had not been afraid when he heard the name Omnibus. Instead, he had shown eagerness. They felt the same way, and gradually accepted him even more.

"But we can't afford to be careless. Besides Omnibus's tournament players, several age-eligible First Team players will also take part. They're not weak. Although they'll be playing in an amateur league, we still need to pay attention to them," Nick reminded him.

Almere would also have First Team players taking part, but they were mostly players who could not get match time with the First Team, using the summer amateur tournament to regain their form.

"The First Team has already disbanded. Starting the day after tomorrow, those of us participating in the amateur tournament will begin training together. I discussed it with the coaching staff, and we'll still train and play at the club's training ground."

John Rep strongly supported the Youth Team and some First Team players participating in the amateur tournament. Everyone at the club tried to make things convenient for them, but they obviously could not let them use the home stadium. The maintenance cost alone for a single match was considerable, and they could not assign dedicated coaches to support them either. Everything had to be organized by the players themselves.

Of course, both John Rep and Dick Van Pool had repeatedly said that they would come over to help whenever they had time.

With the Youth Team as their foundation, everyone trained together regularly, so their coordination would not be a problem. The only issue was the several newly added First Team teammates, but that was not serious either. They only needed some time to build their chemistry.

However, the situation of Almere's First Team was not looking very good.

In the decisive final-round match for promotion to the Dutch Second Division, the team had suffered a home defeat and failed to earn promotion. John Rep's lineup decisions had come under some criticism, while many players' performances had also been blamed by the fans. The entire team's morale had fallen into a slump.

It was understandable. Over the past year, everyone had been dreaming ambitiously of the Dutch Second Division. Then, overnight, they had been sent back to square one. Anyone would inevitably feel disappointed, let alone these players who had fought and bled on the pitch for an entire year.

"This failed promotion bid dealt a serious blow to the team. Several players are also having problems with their contract renewals and may leave this summer. Our hopes of earning promotion next season..." Henk Dimer was, after all, the team captain and had access to more information.

Almere's First Team had performed very well this season. Several players had attracted the attention of professional Dutch Second Division clubs, especially several newly promoted sides. On top of that, after failing to earn promotion, the players were bound to feel dejected. A wave of departures really might be unavoidable.

If the team's strength was severely weakened this summer, its hopes of promotion next season would be greatly reduced.

Of course, everything still depended on how John Rep and the management handled things. If they reinvested the transfer proceeds into the market, there might still be hope.

Moreover, the departure wave was a decent opportunity for Yang Yang and the others, who were about to join the First Team.

If they could achieve something in the summer amateur tournament and perform well during preseason training, they might have a chance to become starters in the new season.

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