Why Do You Like It?

Dongchuan Middle School had a very beautiful sports field. If only one class used such a beautiful field for PE each period, wouldn't that be a waste?

So most PE classes at Dongchuan Middle School were shared by two classes, and sometimes even three.

That made full and effective use of the excellent facilities.

This afternoon's PE class was being shared by Class 2 and Class 3 of the first year.

The boys from both classes had arranged long ago to play a football match during PE, using it as a warm-up for the upcoming school team tryouts.

Li Qingqing stood in the stands. Down by the edge of the field below her were the boys from Class 3, gathered together as if discussing their lineup.

Even if Luo Kai had not invited her, she would have come to watch this match anyway.

She wanted to see just how good the football level at this school was, and what kind of team her father would soon be coaching.

Then she spotted that thin, frail figure among the boys.

Hu Lai.

She had already heard that name several times that morning.

He could practically be called a "celebrity" in the class, except it did not seem to be a good kind of fame. Whenever people mentioned him, their tone carried more mockery and disdain than anything else.

Just like now.

"Hu Lai, you should probably stay out of this..."

"Yeah, we're playing a match. What are you coming over here to mess things up for?"

Hu Lai tried to squeeze his way in, but the other boys kept him outside the crowd.

"You can't judge me with your old opinions! I've gotten stronger after special training!" Hu Lai shouted loudly, jumping up and raising his arms from outside the crowd.

No one heard him. No one even looked at him. No one took him seriously.

"Why don't they want to let him play with them?" Li Qingqing muttered to herself in the stands.

"Because Hu Lai is terrible at football."

A voice suddenly sounded beside her, startling Li Qingqing. She turned her head and realized that, at some point, a huge fat guy had appeared beside her.

Seeing the puzzled look in Li Qingqing's eyes, Song Jiajia put on an almost ingratiating smile. "My name is Song Jiajia."

"Hello." Li Qingqing nodded with a smile, then quickly steered the conversation back. "Is he really that bad at football?"

"Absolutely terrible!" Song Jiajia said with great certainty.

Li Qingqing had seen Hu Lai play before. In her opinion, he was not very good, but there still seemed to be quite a gap between that and being absolutely terrible.

Seeing that Li Qingqing did not seem convinced, Song Jiajia got fired up. "You don't believe me? Let me tell you, Hu Lai is the kind of person who goes undercover for the other team's defenders when he plays striker, and goes undercover for the other team's forwards when he plays defender!"

"That's an exaggeration, isn't it?"

"Not at all, not at all." Song Jiajia waved his hand as if fanning himself. "The first time our class played Class 3, he was the striker. The first time he got the ball, he stepped on it and fell over! He blocked two of Luo Kai's shots. And there was another time when he had an open goal right in front of him—the opposing goalkeeper had rushed out and missed, and the ball landed right in front of Hu Lai. Guess what he did?"

Li Qingqing tried to guess. "He kicked it over the bar?"

Song Jiajia wore an expression of smug delight, as if Hu Lai was simply that impossible to predict. "He actually tried to hit it with his hand! And he still didn't get the ball in with his hand! He slammed it down hard, but it bounced straight up and hit him in the face! Hahaha!"

The fat guy laughed so hard that all the flesh on his body shook.

Li Qingqing imagined the scene and thought it really was a little... ridiculous.

But she did not laugh. Instead, she asked Song Jiajia, "Aren't you Hu Lai's deskmate?"

What she really meant was that he seemed to get along fairly well with Hu Lai, so why was he so happy when talking about Hu Lai embarrassing himself? How was he any different from those who mocked Hu Lai?

Faced with Li Qingqing's question, Song Jiajia curled his lip. "I don't like Hu Lai playing football."

"Why not?"

"What's so good about football? If you play as badly as he does, you can only become a laughingstock."

"Isn't it possible that he plays because he likes football?"

"He plays because he likes football?" Song Jiajia suddenly laughed. "Then he gets mocked, turned into a joke, looked down on... That's what liking football gets him? What's there to like about football, then? If someone can't feel happy doing something they like, what's the point of liking it? Hu Lai doesn't look like a masochist to me..."

Li Qingqing's mouth fell slightly open, but she could not say anything. She felt that what Hu Lai's deskmate had said made a lot of sense, and she could not refute it.

When she thought about it carefully, why did she like football?

At first, it was because of her father, who introduced her to football. Then, when she was little, she liked the feeling of chasing after a round football—her father said that before she could even walk, she had liked crawling after a football. The ball would roll ahead, and she would chase after it on all fours, giggling all the way.

Later, once she was older, her talent for football was discovered. She liked dribbling past opponents and scoring on the pitch. She liked enjoying the applause and cheers people gave her. She liked seeing the satisfied look in her father's eyes...

Had football ever made her sad or hurt?

Of course it had. But overall, it had given her more positive feedback and more happiness, which was why she liked football.

But what if someone liked football and had never gained any happiness from it?

Was there still any need to keep holding on to that love?

It was like liking someone who never responded no matter how much passion and sincerity you gave them, who never treated you well, who never cherished your passion and sincerity... How long could that kind of love last?

Seeing Li Qingqing fall silent, Song Jiajia said, "So why should I support that guy playing football? Better to make him give up on it sooner."

Li Qingqing did not reply. Instead, she turned her gaze back to the field.

In the end, Hu Lai had not made it into the lineup for the match against Class 3. The football-loving boys from both classes had already taken their positions on the field. Hu Lai, meanwhile, walked to the sideline. Rather than standing with the other spectators, he stood alone, facing the pitch.

Seeing this, Song Jiajia shouted at him, "Hey, Hu Lai, let's play PUBG! I brought two phones!"

Hu Lai ignored him.

"I'm telling you, PUBG is so much fun! Your bro will carry you!"

Hu Lai still ignored him.

Song Jiajia stopped shouting and cursed under his breath, "What's wrong with his head? How is football more fun than PUBG?"

He sat down beside Li Qingqing and actually pulled two of the newest smartphones from his school uniform. He set one aside, held the other in his hand, lowered his head, and started playing.

Bang, bang, bang!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Boom!

"Damn it! What kind of shooting was that?!"

Down on the field, a football match tied to the honor of two classes was underway. The students were all cheering for their respective class teams, but Song Jiajia was completely oblivious, totally absorbed in his game.

Li Qingqing understood now. Hu Lai's deskmate really did not like football.

The match between the two classes ended with Class 2 claiming victory.

Not only did Luo Kai score a hat trick in the match, he even netted four goals, making him the biggest contributor to Class 2's win.

Every time he scored, he ran beneath the stands to celebrate, turning his gaze toward the lovely figure in the seats. Seeing her smile made him happier than scoring itself.

But that lovely figure was absentminded most of the time, repeatedly looking toward the lonely figure by the sideline during the match.

He watched the game by himself with great focus, even though the match had nothing to do with him.

When Hu Lai rode his bicycle to his secret base, he let out a long sigh of relief when he saw that there was no standing water in the clearing at its center.

He had specifically come by that morning on his way to school just to check the condition of the field.

He had found puddles of all sizes, so he used an old discarded broom that someone had thrown there to sweep the water away as hard as he could. Then he hoped the sunlight throughout the day would evaporate the remaining moisture.

For that, he had paid the price of being three minutes late.

Now that he saw the field, Hu Lai felt that even being punished with three laps had been worth it.

The standing water was gone. He could play football.

He tossed his bicycle aside and rushed straight toward the bushes where he had hidden the football yesterday.

But when he pushed aside the bushes, he did not see the football—the spot was empty. There was nothing there at all!

It was as if a spinning top on a table had kept spinning and spinning without stopping. A cold sweat suddenly broke out across Hu Lai's back...

Just then, a girl's voice sounded behind him. "Are you looking for this?"

Hu Lai stood up and turned around. At the entrance to the secret base stood a girl in a Dongchuan Middle School uniform, her foot resting on his football as she looked at him.

PS: Please support the new book with recommendations!

Also, there is a prediction event in the book review section about the direction of the plot and the characters' development. There are fifty thousand Qidian Coins in prizes altogether, so everyone is welcome to join in!

Maybe you can even give me some inspiration—there are not many saved chapters for this book, partly because I have considered that readers might come up with ideas beyond my own that could inspire me.