Do You Want to Play Football?

When Xie Lan saw her son standing before her looking like a mud monkey, anger immediately rose in her chest. She raised her arm, but in the end, the slap never came down. She merely let out a heavy sigh. "If your dad sees you like this, there's no way you're getting out of a beating!"

"I fell off my bike!" Hu Lai argued. "I'm obviously the victim here. Why am I still getting beaten?"

"Who are you trying to fool? Do you think your dad will believe that nonsense? Go take a shower. Take off your clothes, and don't throw them into the washing machine. I need to scrub the mud off first... Can't you ever give me a little peace of mind?" With that, Xie Lan turned and headed for the kitchen—the food in the wok was still cooking.

Behind her, Hu Lai asked, "Mom, is Dad stopping me from playing football because he knows I don't have any talent for it?"

Xie Lan paused on her way to the kitchen. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Right. Dad obviously won't let me play football because he hates football himself." With that, Hu Lai turned toward the bathroom.

Xie Lan looked back at her son's retreating figure and sighed softly.

Under an orange-yellow lamp stood a small square table, set with two dishes and a bowl of soup. There was meat and vegetables, but not much of either.

"Qingqing, how was your first day at school? Are you getting along with your classmates?" Li Ziqiang asked his daughter across from him, holding his rice bowl.

But his daughter gave no response.

"Qingqing?"

Li Ziqiang looked up at his daughter and found her eyes unfocused. She had clearly drifted off.

He waved a hand in front of her face, and only then did her eyes regain focus.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, nothing. Everyone's been pretty friendly to me... Oh, right, Dad, there's someone in our class who plays really well. He should make the school team, right?"

"You mean Luo Kai?" Li Ziqiang nodded. "I heard about him. Unless something unexpected happens, he should be selected. He's the strongest among the new first-years."

Li Qingqing thought of Hu Lai again. That guy actually wanted to make the school team too... The two of them were worlds apart, one in the sky and one on the ground.

I only said that to make him give up his pointless struggle sooner. After all, isn't it better to give up now than be rejected by the school team in front of everyone later?

As Li Qingqing thought this, that silhouette beneath the setting sun entered her mind again.

In the narrow, cramped bathroom, Hu Lai stood beneath the faucet with his head lowered, letting hot water pour over the back of his neck.

Li Qingqing's words still echoed in his ears:

"You can't even get into the football matches in PE class, and you want to join the school team and play against other schools?"

"You're not suited to football. Your coordination is too poor—you won't be able to play well."

So all that training was for nothing?

My body just isn't suited to playing football?

Those people had a point when they laughed at me?

Should I really just go play PUBG with Song Fatty?

Play my ass!

Whenever Hu Lai thought of Luo Kai's arrogant expression and imagined how smug his top lackey Li Zhiqun would be, a knot of anger formed in his chest, leaving him deeply uncomfortable.

Was he really going to deny all the effort and dreams he had held onto just because of a few words from other people?

I refuse to believe that!

"Hu Lai! How long are you going to take in the shower? Are you eating or not?!"

His mother's roar came from outside the bathroom.

"Coming, coming!" Hu Lai dipped his head into the water, scrubbed himself a few times at random, then hurriedly turned off the faucet.

After showering, Li Qingqing sat at her desk by the window. If she leaned out just a little, she could see the open lot where she and Hu Lai had played football that afternoon.

It was pitch-black there now, but Li Qingqing's gaze still pierced the darkness as she stared blankly at a spot where Hu Lai's football was hidden.

Would that guy give up?

He probably already had, right?

Actually, giving up was not so bad. If he liked football, he could just play for fun. Why did he have to join the school team? How many people could even make it onto the school team? Did all those people who did not make it mean they did not deserve to like football? As long as someone truly loved football, what difference did it make where they played?

Although poor coordination could be improved through training, there was only a month until the school team tryouts. With that boy's foundation, how could he improve so easily?

Besides, the golden age for coordination training was from eight to thirteen. Even if it could be improved through training afterward, the results would be extremely limited.

Hu Lai sat upright in the chair at his desk. From behind, he looked like he was studying seriously, and no one could have seen his little movements in front of him—he was searching on his phone: "How do you train poor coordination?"

He had already figured it out.

He admitted that his coordination was poor. Everything that girl had pointed out was true.

But did poor coordination mean it could not be trained?

If I train my coordination until it improves, can't I still play football and join the school team?

The only problem was that he had just one month left. Within that month, he had to improve his coordination enough to participate in the school team tryouts.

Hu Lai stared at the methods for training coordination on his phone screen and frowned.

No matter which method he looked at, they all said coordination training was a long-term process and could not show results in a short time. In normal youth football training, twenty minutes had to be set aside for coordination drills in every session, and those players had all started this kind of training from a young age. Was it too late for him to start midway?

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed impossible to achieve before the school team tryouts...

So should I give up?

Hu Lai shook his head. He would never give up. He would give it everything he had during this month, then make one more all-out effort.

He believed that heaven would not disappoint those who worked hard.

Just then, a ding-dong suddenly rang out in Hu Lai's mind.

Immediately afterward, an emotionless voice sounded. "Do you want to play football?"

Hu Lai was so startled that he sat bolt upright in his chair. "Dad? You're back so early?"

No one answered him. Only that emotionless voice repeated, "Do you want to play football?"

Only then did Hu Lai realize that the voice might not be coming from his father. At the very least, no matter how stern his father was, he would not sound like this...

So he secretly turned his head and glanced behind him. The bedroom door was tightly shut, without even a crack.

He looked around every corner of the room. Aside from himself, there was no one in the tiny room.

That emotionless voice sounded again. "Do you want to play football?"

Only then did Hu Lai realize that the voice did not seem to be coming from behind him or from any other direction. It had appeared directly in his mind.

A... system?

Hu Lai, who also read webnovels in his spare time, immediately thought of that.

While he was still letting his imagination run wild, the emotionless voice in his mind spoke again. "No response. Exiting in five seconds. Five, four..."

Hu Lai was shocked. What kind of system is this? It has a time limit?!

At that moment, he had no time to think about what kind of system it was or why it had appeared in his mind. He hurriedly nodded like a pecking chicken. "Yes, yes, yes! I want to! I really want to! I want it so badly! Coach, I want to play football!"

After Hu Lai responded, another ding-dong rang out in his mind. Then the emotionless voice spoke again. "Mission: Become the most dazzling guy in front of all teachers and students. Mission reward: Beginner's Gift Pack."

Almost at the same time, Hu Lai discovered an image appearing in his mind. It displayed the mission text, along with the reward—a treasure chest glowing with golden light and floating in the air.

"Holy crap, it really is a system!"

After staring blankly at the scene for a moment, Hu Lai exclaimed.

"What kind of system is this..."

The instant that question surfaced in his mind, the image flickered and changed into several large words before his eyes: Dream Football World.

Hu Lai finally understood where the game that had crashed and disappeared that day had gone...

It had turned into a system!

Looking at those glittering words, Hu Lai rubbed his hands together excitedly.

He had never expected playing a game would turn into reality. This was awesome!

He accepted the system's existence almost effortlessly, completely unbothered by the emotionless voice sounding in his head.

After all, the whole world had transmigrated. What was one extra system in his brain?

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