A Roar from 1.72 Meters

Sophia Catina debuted at 19, taking Europe by storm with The Look of Youth and becoming the quintessential dream girl for the continent's youth that year.

As her fame grew, she was hailed as one of the ten most beautiful women in Europe and one of the three most beautiful women in Italy.

But everything was destroyed when she turned 24.

Despite the fact that many of Sophia's works and her personal style were often associated with words like "sexy," "beauty," and "temptation," she was actually quite conservative regarding relationships.

When she was 24, she collaborated with a national treasure-level Italian director, only for him to attempt to coerce her into a sexual relationship.

She chose to expose everything.

That legendary director's reputation was ruined, forcing him into early retirement and leaving behind a trail of chaos.

However, Sophia's career suffered a devastating blow, and she was tacitly blacklisted by the Italian entertainment industry.

From that point on, the glamorous star vanished from the public eye.

Later, some said Sophia had grown tired of a life defined by her beauty and wanted people to see her intellectual side; she began trying her hand at behind-the-scenes production, learning how to become a skilled screenwriter and director.

But it didn't seem to be going well.

Sophia could no longer secure directing opportunities from domestic sources because she was blacklisted, and it was difficult for her to gain the trust of investors based solely on her own writing.

Four years have passed, and the now 28-year-old Sophia has been away from the entertainment industry for just as long.

No one expected her to appear in Sanremo, a city known as the City of Sunshine.

And even less expected was seeing her in deep, pleasant conversation with Lu Yang, a star player for Sanremo Football Club.

"This is absurd!" Rondo rubbed his eyes repeatedly; he couldn't possibly be mistaken about Sophia—she was their childhood goddess!

Nine years ago, when Sophia first debuted, she was a vision of perfection. Rondo was only twenty-five at the time and was a fan of hers.

"This is too absurd!" Moric gritted his teeth, feeling as though his best friend was about to be snatched away.

"This is truly too absurd!" Nagy, whose date had failed, condemned the unfairness of God.

He gave Lu Yang talent on the pitch, and he had to give him good looks too!

"I must be hallucinating." Vedian, who had parted ways with a girl on bad terms due to his excessive speed, had returned as well.

In the booth.

"That's the story I know, and it actually shares many structural similarities with the one you've written," Lu Yang was saying to Sophia. "To be honest, please don't be offended, but while your script has a lot of great ideas, the overall narrative is too thin to support everything you're trying to express."

"If you could make a breakthrough in the storytelling, perhaps by incorporating elements from the story I just mentioned, I think it would be very compelling."

"A brilliant suspense story is never afraid to throw clues at the audience. On the contrary, every clue they drop guides the audience to guess the outcome of the case. But that is never the truth; they ensure the truth is reserved only for the final moment."

"That is the core control of a suspense drama!"

After Lu Yang finished speaking, Sophia didn't respond immediately, instead staring straight at him.

"Sorry, was I too harsh? Actually..." Lu Yang's words trailed off.

Sophia had already planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You are amazing! Every word you say gives me inspiration; you are so talented... has anyone ever told you that you're very charming when you speak?" After the kiss, Sophia hugged Lu Yang and spoke excitedly. "I know how to revise this script now. I'll definitely succeed this time."

"Sorry, I have to go back and write down every word you just said... By the way, can I have your phone number? I think I might bother you quite a bit in the near future..."

Lu Yang decisively exchanged phone numbers and names with her.

"I'd be happy to help, but I can't when I'm playing matches, so..."

"Playing matches? What do you do?"

"Yes, I'm a football player for Sanremo Football Club."

"No wonder your muscles are so firm. Just now, my chest, uh... are all football players as strong as you?"

"Not all of them. See that short guy over there who's 1.72 meters? He's quite weak."

"He does look pretty pathetic. Once I finish the script, can I come watch your match?"

"Of course. Contact me in advance, and I'll get you a ticket."

"Okay, I... um... I... may I ask, are you really only sixteen?"

"Yes, but... what determines a person's maturity, besides their body, is their mind, and the latter is even more important."

By the end of their conversation, neither Lu Yang nor Sophia knew what they had asked, why they had asked it, or why they had answered the way they did.

Perhaps... it was purely instinct.

They felt the information conveyed by each other's eyes and responded accordingly.

"Looking forward to our next meeting!" Sophia winked at Lu Yang before leaving.

The whole thing felt like a dream.

It wasn't until Lu Yang woke up the next day and saw Moric's resentful expression that he confirmed the lipstick mark on his cheek from the night before was real.

During the afternoon training session, Soto asked Tom, "Did Moric and Lu Yang have a fight? Why does he seem so strange on the pitch today?"

Tom frowned and said, "I was wondering why Moric is tackling so aggressively today. It really does look like he's throwing a tantrum."

Afterward, Soto sought out Rondo to ask about the situation.

Rondo just chuckled, "There's no problem between them. Any European man would be jealous of what's happening to Lu Yang, I guarantee it."

Soto was speechless.

Are you sure?

What could I, Soto, possibly be jealous of?

Three minutes later, Soto looked pained. "Lu Yang, go run laps for me! Run until you can't run anymore!"

Lu Yang was full of question marks.

That evening, Soto spoke with Maniero on the phone. "Maniero, our youth... it seems to be over!"

Maniero sat bolt upright upon hearing this, and a few minutes later, he let out a sigh.

Sure enough, every otaku goddess is destined to eventually become someone else's little darling.

But that lucky brat Lu Yang, by what right did he earn the favor of Sophia?

In the thirty-first round of the league, San Remo challenged Juvista away from home.

The latter was a team in the relegation zone.

Three months ago, they were both brothers in adversity, but now, their statuses were worlds apart.

This made the Juvista fans somewhat heartbroken.

And what made them even sadder was that less than ten minutes after kickoff, San Remo breached Juvista's goal.

The one who broke through the goal was none other than Lu Yang!

He took the ball outside the penalty area, leaning his body to the right to feign a move in that direction.

The opposing center-back remained unmoved, as Lu Yang had used this exact move in the previous round to deceive Foggia's players before delivering a rabona pass and shot.

As one of the current star players in Serie D, Lu Yang had begun to be studied by other teams.

However, what the Juvista center-back didn't expect was that Lu Yang didn't use a rabona; he actually pushed the ball to the right.

This was equivalent to a player taking a touch to the side after receiving the ball, instantly creating excellent space for a shot.

BANG!

A powerful Dipping Shot found the back of the net because the opposing goalkeeper wasn't fast enough to get down.

Lu Yang clenched his fist, quite excited.

But when he went to find Moric, who had provided the assist, Moric looked resistant. "You already have a girlfriend, do you still need to celebrate with me?"

Lu Yang was speechless. He grabbed Moric and said, "Brother, Sophia and I are just friends. We were talking about her work, which is why she was a bit excited. Besides, even if she really were my girlfriend, shouldn't you be happy for me?"

Moric sneered, "Happy? You already betrayed our 1.70m Alliance! Now even your future girlfriend is 1.75m tall. What exactly is your game?"

"If I were 1.81m, I would never date a girl over 1.72m just to spare your feelings!"

Pfft!

Lu Yang burst out laughing.

So it was Sophia's height that had triggered Moric. Lu Yang had been worried Moric had some improper orientation; he'd been scared for a second.

"You're only seventeen, brother, you'll definitely keep growing! You'll surely be taller than Sophia in the future," Lu Yang said very seriously.

"Really?" Moric felt a bit better.

"Of course it's true. But Sophia is a woman, it's normal for her to wear high heels, she'll easily be 1.80m then. I'll be under pressure, let alone you..."

"Damn it, Lu the Dog, prepare to die!"

And so, on the pitch, there appeared the spectacle of an assisting player chasing the goalscorer to kick him.

The referee didn't know whether to issue a card or not.

It was his first time seeing such a celebration.

After the match restarted, San Remo displayed powerful control. If not for the poor form of the forwards, the score might have been more than one-nil.

Before halftime, Lu Yang took possession. The Juvista players, knowing Lu Yang lacked elite passing ability, grew a bit lax.

But Lu Yang delivered a precise long pass.

The ball landed right near the edge of Juvista's penalty area.

Vedian started his run at full speed, charging ahead of everyone.

However, the Juvista center-back hadn't been left far behind.

If Vedian's touch wasn't smooth, the defender would be able to break up the attack.

Situations like this are actually common in football.

Many forwards who seem to have a lead end up stumbling after a poor touch, only to be caught by the defenders.

And today, Vedian, who wasn't in the best form, had already lost similar balls twice.

His touch was just off.

However, the surprising part was that after Vedian's touch, the ball did not fly wildly but remained stable as it moved forward. Both its speed and direction perfectly aligned with Vedian's intentions.

As a result, he didn't have to pause for even a fraction of a second.

He had effectively sprinted into a one-on-one situation.

Bang!

Vedian didn't hesitate and fired a shot.

Goal!

"Oh, this is truly an unexpected result. San Remo's midfield engine Moric has repeatedly delivered brilliant passes without recording an assist or a goal, yet it was Lu Yang, the formidable midfield sweeper, who provided the precise long ball to assist Vedian's goal!"

"We can see that Vedian received the ball very comfortably; this pass was of such high quality, it hardly looked like something Lu Yang would deliver."

"This is a Weighted Spin Pass. Due to the nature of the spin, it remains stable in the air, making the pass highly accurate. Furthermore, the consistent rotation helps the receiver control the ball, which was a huge help to Vedian, whose touch hasn't been great today."

"Lu Yang has playmaking ability. I believe the second half will be even tougher for Juvista, because they can no longer focus solely on Moric and leave Lu Yang unmarked like they did in the first half."

The commentator's prediction quickly became reality.

In the sixty-second minute of the second half, because Lu Yang helped draw away some of the opponent's defense, Moric found an opening and sent a long pass to the team's right forward.

There was a massive gap there.

The right forward went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, took a blind shot, and scored.

Five minutes later, San Remo came back for more.

Moric passed to Lu Yang, and Lu Yang feinted a long ball to the right flank.

However, he used a rabona to return the ball to the nearby Moric.

Moric didn't trap the ball, instead immediately delivering a De Bruyne-style curling long pass over the top.

Vedian once again blew past the Juvista defensive line, collected the ball, and scored his second of the match!

In the seventy-fifth minute of the second half, Moric, still lacking proper coverage, dribbled past an opponent's challenge. He then used a flashy dribbling move he rarely employs to bypass another midfielder before unleashing a long-range shot.

Boom!

The ball struck the crossbar and deflected into the net; the opposing goalkeeper was helpless.

A world-class screamer—how could he possibly save that?

"Roar!"

After the goal, Moric let out an angry roar. As the team's brain, he rarely had such spectacular performances. But who isn't wild in their youth?

After being composed for so long, it's fine to show off once in a while.

Lu Yang, who rushed over to hug Moric first, knew this was a distant cry from someone standing at 1.72 meters.

It was the wail of a lonely soul.

Even though he was technically a lonely soul himself.

"Moric, don't get too worked up. Sophia and I really haven't started anything yet," Lu Yang explained again; he didn't want Moric to pick up bad habits.

When faced with the temptation of women, a man must remain composed.

Moric replied, "Oh? Then why did she invite you to dinner tonight?"

"You were looking at my phone?" Lu Yang caught Moric in the act.

"I just happened to glance at your screen when you were reading the text," Moric argued.

"Are you sure someone 1.72 meters tall can glance at the screen of someone 1.81 meters tall?"

"Damn it!"

Moric chased Lu Yang across the pitch again and then gave him a kick.

This left the already furious Juvista players unsure whether they should remain angry.

It looks like San Remo is having an internal conflict?

Although we suffered a crushing defeat, the fact that San Remo's Midfield Twins are at odds makes this a win in defeat, right?

After this goal, Soto substituted out Moric, who had seemed a bit emotional today.

He had put up a beautiful stat line of two goals and one assist. Not only was he the team's core on the field, but his stats also reflected that status—that was enough.

It would be bad if he got injured.

Lu Yang and Vedian were also substituted together; they had both been playing full matches recently, and it was time to rest.

Afterward, having lost their attacking core, San Remo could no longer organize decent offensives. Nagy, the center-back who replaced Lu Yang, shifted the team to a five-man defense. Even though Rondo was coasting, the defense remained solid, and neither side scored again.

The final score was five to zero—another massive victory!

However, after the match, news headlines appeared with titles like: "San Remo's 'Little Soto' Lu Yang Underperforms, Contributing Only One Goal and One Assist."

This left many fans bewildered.

Is one goal and one assist considered bad?

What kind of god-tier team is this?

Upon checking Lu Yang's stats from the previous league round, well, two goals and two assists—this performance was indeed a significant drop, cut right in half.

Consequently, "only one goal and one assist" became a buzzword following this round of the league, even used by some media outlets to poke fun at certain star players in Serie A.

And when everyone learned that this anecdote originated from the Italian fourth tier, they all shared a knowing smile.

San Remo's Lu Yang had, quite invisibly, flooded the feeds once again.

The reporter behind that initial report was none other than—Hans.