At two in the afternoon, the school field was packed with people.
Today was the first match of the Summer Cup—Class 3 versus Class 7.
The stands were jammed with students.
On the rostrum, Ethan Zhang sat beside Coach Peter, smiling broadly.
"Coach Peter, that's our class's team—the tall one at the front in the number seven jersey is Ethan Yi," Ethan Zhang explained, pointing to the field.
The interpreter relayed Ethan Zhang's words to Coach Peter. Peter glanced over, nodded slightly, and said nothing, his expression serious.
He'd devoted his whole life to soccer and had seen countless dazzling prodigies. From Coach Peter's international perspective, very few could truly surprise him.
Skills could be trained, but ball sense was different. Extraordinary ball sense meant pulling off moves others couldn't even imagine—that was pure football talent.
If Brightsea No. 2 High hadn't once produced Gavin Gu, Coach Peter wouldn't even be interested in watching this game.
Even Gavin Gu, Brightsea No. 2's proudest star, was just a decent player in Peter's eyes—far from truly outstanding.
Spotting Ethan Yi, Peter paused for a moment before speaking slowly: "I hope he can surprise me. If he really is a genius player, I'll personally recommend him for the national team."
"And if his talent is truly exceptional, I'd even be happy to introduce him to my old club, Chrisbill FC." Peter's tone was slow and measured, the interpreter relaying his words to Ethan Zhang.
Ethan Zhang's face lit up. He hurriedly thanked Peter, secretly thrilled.
Chrisbill FC was one of the world's top three football teams. If Ethan Yi could join them, he'd definitely become a true international star.
Ethan Zhang could already imagine being introduced in the future as the high school homeroom teacher of Chrisbill star Ethan Yi.
Just the thought of it made Ethan Zhang's heart race with excitement.
...
"Ten minutes left. Ten minutes and the game starts. Here's some water—everyone, let's give it our all!"
Unlike the lively atmosphere on Class 3's side, Class 7 was much quieter.
Mia Chen and a few boys hauled over two cases of water and set them down in the rest area. She glanced at Class 3's players across the field, her beautiful eyes full of worry.
"No matter what, we have to give it our all in the first half!" Darren Zhao took a deep breath and gulped down a big mouthful of water.
The stands were packed with students. Losing by too much would be humiliating, even if the opponent was Ethan Yi.
"Where’s Evan Lin?" Mia Chen looked around but didn’t see Evan.
After fighting with Mr. Zheng in the morning, Evan Lin left the classroom and hadn’t been seen since.
Class 7 was already short one substitute. If Evan Lin didn’t show, they’d have no substitutes at all—a huge disadvantage.
"That kid probably bailed." Darren Zhao sneered.
"Yeah, there’s no way he’d play by himself. He’s just afraid of losing face, so he ran off first," another player chimed in.
"Damn it, that bastard injured Victor Feng and now left us with this mess—what an asshole!"
At this moment, hardly anyone was still thinking about Evan Lin.
With the match about to start, Darren Zhao wasn’t even sure if his team could keep the score under 5–0.
Class 3 was a tough opponent, and Ethan Yi was their star lion.
"Alright, everyone get pumped! Forget about Evan Lin. Do your best out there—even if we lose, we can’t lose too badly." Mia Chen encouraged the players.
"That’s right! Let’s go all out!" Darren Zhao shouted.
"Let’s go!"
Class 7’s team began to take the field.
In Class 3’s formation, Ethan Yi stood at the front, one foot resting on the ball.
After setting up tactics, Ethan Yi looked relaxed. The whole Class 3 team was at ease—having Ethan Yi meant the only question was how much they’d win by.
"Sorry, bro, I may not hold back today." Ethan Yi looked at Darren Zhao, a smirk on his lips.
He’d already heard about Coach Peter, so this time, Ethan Yi decided to show his true skills and play a perfect game!
"Ethan Yi! Go for it!"
"Ethan Yi is so handsome."
"He’s so cool! Class 3 is definitely going to crush Class 7 this time." The Class 3 girls clustered together, gazing at Ethan Yi with infatuated eyes.
Handsome, talented at soccer, and from a good family—Ethan Yi was the perfect Prince Charming in their eyes.
"Fang You, what’s up with your friend—Evan Lin, right? I heard he was going to take on the whole field by himself?" In another section of the stands, a girl looked over at Class 7’s area but didn’t spot Evan Lin.
What Evan Lin said at the pep rally this morning had already spread everywhere. Most people treated it as a joke and didn’t take it seriously.
Evan Lin had clearly become the butt of everyone’s jokes.
"No idea, maybe he’s not feeling well." Fang You glanced at the field, didn’t see Evan Lin, and felt relieved.
If Evan Lin actually went up against Ethan Yi and got destroyed, that would be so embarrassing.
"Tch, what a coward. I heard Evan Lin said days ago that Ethan Yi was trash at soccer and most people weren’t worthy of playing with him. In the end, he turned out to be just a deserter." Another girl scoffed, clearly looking down on Evan Lin.
"Stop talking, the match is starting!"
(Irrelevant webnovel break skipped.)
Fang You frowned.
As the whistle blew to start the match, Fang You stopped worrying about where Evan Lin had gone.
She craned her neck, looking toward Ethan Yi.
Ethan Yi took the ball and dashed toward Class 7’s side at lightning speed.
"Stop him!"
Darren Zhao shouted, then charged forward with two teammates, forming a triangle to surround Ethan Yi.
"Ethan Yi, pass the ball!"
Someone in the stands shouted.
Darren Zhao and his teammates blocked Ethan Yi’s path. Passing seemed to be the best option.