The Tide of Departures

"Sorry, we're not open yet. Please come back later."

Seeing the few Dutch youths push through the door, Shen Yuzhu quickly stepped forward and apologized warmly. It was still over two hours until lunchtime, and the kitchen in back wasn't ready yet.

After entering, the group looked around, both curious and as if searching for something. The one in front politely addressed Shen Yuzhu. "Excuse me, is Yang Yang here?"

"Yang Yang?" Shen Yuzhu was taken aback.

In the year since coming 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 him? As his cousin, she couldn't help feeling a bit worried.

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

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

"They're looking for Yang Yang."

"Excuse me, you're looking for Yang Yang? What for?" This time, Shen Ming asked the lead youth in Dutch.

"Hello, I'm Henk Dimer, captain of the Almere Youth Team. We're looking for Yang Yang, but the only contact he left at the club is this address, so..."

So they were teammates from Almere. Shen Ming and the others all breathed a sigh of relief, silently laughing at their own suspicion. But it was understandable—the Netherlands wasn't exactly peaceful, and fights among young people were common. Plus, Yang Yang was Chinese, and they worried he might have run into some bad sorts.

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

"Not in?" Henk Dimer was surprised. Both the team and school were on summer break.

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

Most people in Almere worked in Amsterdam, so lunchtime wasn't busy. Since teammates had come looking for Yang Yang, Shen Ming naturally wanted to play host on his behalf.

Shen Yuzhu agreed at once and led Henk Dimer and the others out of the restaurant, heading north. Before long, they entered the Skate Park through the entrance beside the Aminiga Villa District.

As they neared the skate area, they could faintly hear a dull thudding sound. Henk Dimer and the others had played football for years and easily recognized it as the sound of a ball.

Could it be that Yang Yang was training here?

Reaching the core area, they stood on the shaded path and saw Yang Yang, more than twenty meters away from the Graffiti Wall, repeatedly kicking the ball at the wall. With a thud, it rebounded, and he stopped it, then kicked again. The already somewhat mottled Graffiti Wall, after a month of his abuse, had become even more battered and pitted, with many spots exposing brick and earth.

Yang Yang trained with intense focus, completely unaware of anyone approaching behind him, his whole body drenched in sweat.

Kick after kick, rebound after rebound. It was a simple, almost monotonous routine, yet Yang Yang practiced it meticulously, each kick serious and deliberate. The dull thuds of ball against wall struck Henk Dimer and the others like blows to their hearts, stirring admiration, praise, and a touch of shame.

So this was how Yang Yang earned his top spot.

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

"Over a month, I'm not sure exactly. I just know that aside from eating, sleeping, school, and training, he spends almost all his time here, never daring to slack off," Shen Yuzhu said softly.

Ever since she'd come to the Skate Park and seen Yang Yang's training, she'd felt a special tenderness for her younger cousin. He was definitely someone with great ambition!

Though she didn't know the exact duration, looking at the battered Graffiti Wall, everyone could fully imagine how hard Yang Yang trained here. It made them ashamed of their earlier doubts about him. They'd thought he was already working hard enough at school and on the training ground, but they never imagined that where they couldn't see, he was putting in ten or a hundred times more effort.

If Henk Dimer and the others had questioned Yang Yang's top ranking before, now they were starting to respect it. After all, this was the result of his blood, sweat, and hard work.

Finally, Yang Yang stopped, panting heavily, and suddenly noticed the crowd behind him.

"What are you all doing here?" Yang Yang asked, full of surprise.

Shen Yuzhu, holding a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other, approached and handed both to Yang Yang. "They said they're your teammates. They came to the restaurant looking for you, so I brought them over."

Yang Yang wiped his sweat first, then unscrewed the cap and took a few sips of water, understanding in his heart. The summer amateur matches must have been settled.

Since she'd delivered them, Shen Yuzhu needed to get back to help at the restaurant. She just told Yang Yang to make sure his teammates stayed for lunch, saying Uncle Shen Ming had already started preparing. There wasn't much to prepare anyway—just a few signature dishes from the restaurant.

Having only watched from a distance before, Henk Dimer and the others were even more impressed when they got close to the Graffiti Wall. It was the best proof of Yang Yang's hard work.

"So, what's up? Looking for me?" Yang Yang asked as he drank.

"Didn't I tell you before? We signed up, and the schedule's been drawn up."

"When?" Yang Yang asked with concern.

He hadn't played a match in two weeks, busy with end-of-term assessments, and felt like he wasn't excited enough.

Strangely enough, he hadn't felt it before when he wasn't playing, but ever since he started playing, stopping just felt all wrong.

Now, at least, there was another match to look forward to.

"Starting next Wednesday, one game every five days," Henk Dimer said.

They were taking part in an amateur competition for players under eighteen, so the intensity wasn't too high—one game every five days was perfectly manageable.

"Guess who our first opponent is?" Nick leaned in, grinning with barely concealed excitement.

"Who?"

"AS80."

Seeing Yang Yang frown, Henk Dimer knew he probably didn't recognize the name, so he explained, "AS80 is based east of Almere. Most of their players in this tournament are from Omnibus."

Yang Yang's eyes lit up with understanding. Right, wasn't AS80 the amateur club that partnered with Omnibus?

Word had it that this team was a long-established Almere club with a solid youth setup. Last year, or maybe the year before, one of their players had even made it into Ajax's Youth Training Camp. If Almere hadn't risen in recent years, AS80 would have been the undisputed top team in the city.

"Looks like we've got a chance to settle the score," Yang Yang said, cracking his knuckles eagerly.

That match against Omnibus had left him frustrated—it was his first game, and they'd lost.

But times had changed. The Yang Yang of today was nothing like the one from over a month ago. Back then, Omnibus's defenders couldn't hold him; now, they'd have even less of a chance.

Seeing Yang Yang's fighting spirit, Henk Dimer and Nick nodded approvingly. He was a real competitor.

Anyone stepping onto the pitch wanted to win, and no one wanted to team up with someone lacking drive. Yang Yang's reaction to hearing Omnibus wasn't fear but eagerness, which resonated with them and made them accept him even more.

"But we can't get careless," Nick warned. "This time, besides Omnibus's players, there'll be a few age-eligible guys from their First Team. They're not weak, and even though it's an amateur league, we need to take them seriously."

Almere would also have some First Team players joining, but mostly those who couldn't get game time on the main squad, using the amateur league to find their rhythm over the summer.

"The First Team has already disbanded. Starting the day after tomorrow, those of us in the amateur tournament will begin joint training. I've talked it over with the coaching staff—training and matches will be at the club's training ground."

John Rep was fully supportive of the youth team and some First Team players taking part in the amateur competition, and the club did its best to accommodate them. But there was no way they'd let them use the main stadium—the maintenance costs alone were too high—and they couldn't assign dedicated coaches. Everything had to be player-organized.

Of course, both John Rep and Dick Van Pool had repeatedly said they'd come by to help when they had time.

With the youth team as the core, everyone trained together regularly, so chemistry wasn't an issue. The few new First Team players joining would need some time to mesh, but that wasn't a big deal either.

Still, Almere's First Team was in a tough spot.

In the final push for promotion to the Dutch Second Division, they'd lost at home, and the failure had drawn criticism of John Rep's tactics. Several players had also been blamed by the fans, and morale across the team was low.

It made sense. For the past year, everyone had been dreaming of the Dutch Second Division, only to have it snatched away overnight. Anyone would feel disheartened, let alone players who'd bled and sweated through a grueling season.

"This promotion failure hit the team hard. Contract renewals for a few players are in trouble, and they might leave this summer. As for next season's promotion hopes..." Henk Dimer, as team captain, had more inside information.

Almere's First Team had performed well this season, drawing interest from several Dutch Second Division clubs, especially the newly promoted ones. With the promotion failure, players were bound to be discouraged, and an exodus seemed unavoidable.

If the team lost too much strength this summer, their chances for promotion next season would take a serious hit.

Of course, it all depended on how John Rep and the management handled things. If they could sell players and reinvest in the transfer market, there was still hope.

Besides, for Yang Yang and the others about to enter the First Team, the departure wave could be a good opportunity.

If they could make a mark in the summer amateur league and perform well in preseason training, there was no reason they couldn't earn a starting spot in the new season.

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