Chapter 1: The Slacker of Utrecht II

July 18, 2015: a pre-season friendly between the Eredivisie B team Utrecht II and Go Ahead Eagles.

With the new Eredivisie season only 20 days away, both teams organized this friendly match for two purposes.

One, to help the players within the squad find their match fitness.

Two, to determine the starting lineup for the beginning of the new season.

"Tang, do you think we have a chance to play today?"

Zaka, sitting on the substitutes' bench, wore a worried expression; having just been promoted from the U17s, he was unclear about Coach Meurent's substitution habits.

"It's a friendly, so we should be able to play, right?"

Tang Ye, sitting nearby, replied, "But it doesn't matter anyway; if we don't play, we don't play."

"Hm? Tang, you were already with the B team last season; did you get any playing time during the league matches?"

"I did!"

Tang Ye twisted his neck to loosen up his muscles and bones, then held up five fingers.

"You played five matches?"

Zaka's eyes lit up; Tang Ye was only 15 last season, and for a 15-year-old player to appear five times in the Eredivisie was significant.

Looking at it that way, perhaps he himself could also get quite a few opportunities?

"It was five minutes."

Tang Ye corrected him; leaning back in his chair on the substitutes' bench with both hands supporting the back of his head, he looked so relaxed that Zaka beside him sighed repeatedly in amazement.

Dude, you're only 16 and you're already slacking off?

Then what about me, who's 17?

At the same time, on a certain Happy Beans website in China.

"Good evening, brothers! Hmm? This stream source isn't very clear; wait a moment while I find a new one."

The streamer Wang Chao fiddled with the backend; after about half a second, the live room screen suddenly froze, and when it reloaded, the picture was indeed much clearer.

The match had already started; without panic, Wang Chao dragged a string of numbers to the top right corner of the screen—this was a QQ group he had created.

"Brothers in the live room can join the streamer's fan group; inside, there are daily recommended sure-win bets and guaranteed-loss compensation slips. Also, if anyone doesn't have a betting site or wants a better one, you can private message the streamer!"

After delivering his classic opening lines, Wang Chao noted that the match time had already reached the 4th minute.

"Yes, for this match I personally recommend betting on the correct score; either 0:2 or 0:3 works."

【0:3? Does the streamer rate Go Ahead Eagles that highly? I feel Go Ahead Eagles aren't much stronger than Utrecht II; although it's the B team, Utrecht is a powerhouse after all.】

【Let's be conservative and bet on a Go Ahead Eagles outright win; correct scores are too unpredictable. When I first entered this circle, I had two brothers with me, but now they're all gone.】

【Go Ahead Eagles, charge, charge, charge!】

【I heard there's a Chinese player on Utrecht II; looking forward to seeing him!】

【You mean Tang Ye, right? He won't play; last season I watched the entire Eredivisie campaign, all 38 matches, and he warmed the bench the whole time.】

【Pure hater! Tang Ye clearly played for 5 minutes, okay? He even had one touch of the ball!】

Although the Eredivisie lacks popularity, today's Happy Beans live room was quite lively; the reason was that there was a Chinese player on Utrecht II, one of the few players currently studying abroad.

Speaking of Tang Ye, many domestic fans had heard of this name.

Of course, this wasn't because the guy was particularly awesome, but rather because he was purely a slacker.

Last summer, during a U17 International Invitational Tournament, Tang Ye helped Shandong Taishan U17 equalize against Ajax U17 with an imaginative long-range shot; it was precisely because of that match that Tang Ye was brought to the Netherlands by an Utrecht scout and currently plays for Utrecht II.

Utrecht's scout thought he had found a teenage genius, never expecting that this guy was actually a lazy pig.

Meurent had coached the B team for 12 years, and Tang Ye was the first player he had ever seen run away in the middle of a training match!

Meurent, standing in front of the substitutes' bench, noticed Zaka chatting with Tang Ye and shouted, "Isaac, you can start warming up!"

Meurent didn't know why Zaka was chatting with Tang Ye.

Damn Chinese kid, don't you dare corrupt my genius!

Called by name, Zaka stood up and pulled on a yellow training bib; beside him, Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up: "Good luck."

"Thanks!"

Zaka put on the bib, preparing to enter the field; he and Tang Ye had a decent relationship, and he really wanted to say a few words to Mr. Meurent on Tang Ye's behalf, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

If Mr. Meurent knew he had become friends with Tang Ye, he would definitely curse!

The match continued; Go Ahead Eagles' high press in the attacking third left the Utrecht II players gasping for air.

Inability to hold possession in midfield was a problem that had plagued Utrecht II since the previous season.

And the answer to solving this problem...

Meurent glanced again at Tang Ye sitting on the substitutes' bench; the scout had brought Tang Ye to the B team specifically to solve this issue.

In a situation where youth training was severely homogenized, Tang Ye was Utrecht II's only possession-oriented midfielder.

Damn it!

The mere thought of Tang Ye filled Meurent with rage; finally, he shook his head.

Focus on directing!

On-site, the organizers knew many Chinese fans were watching this match, so during stoppages in play, they deliberately directed the camera toward Tang Ye sitting on the substitutes' bench.

At this moment, Tang Ye was squinting, his head nodding like a chick pecking at rice.

He was on the verge of falling asleep!

【Damn it!】

Fans in the live room who had tuned in specifically to watch Tang Ye began to curse loudly.

"Tang Ye..."

Wang Chao saw Tang Ye dozing off in the camera frame, and his expression suddenly turned somewhat disappointed: "Actually, Tang Ye does have some talent; he's just far too unwilling to work hard."

No sooner had Wang Chao finished speaking than Forward Eagle seized an opportunity on the wing; after the winger delivered a cross, they were the first to breach the goal of Utrecht II, causing the players on the substitute bench to let out wails of despair one after another.

Hearing the commotion, Tang Ye opened his eyes; although his team was trailing, he felt absolutely nothing about it.

Tang Ye knew the level of Utrecht II, and he also knew that playing football here offered no future.

Since effort proved useless, it was better to simply keep one's mindset calm and level.

When victory or defeat has nothing to do with you, invincibility is not far behind.

And Tang Ye was precisely that invincible person!

Just then, a line of small characters floated before Tang Ye's eyes.

【Due to your slacking nature since childhood, you wasted your innate football talent; over seven years in Europe, your total playing time in official matches amounted to merely five minutes. At 22, having squandered your talent, you arrived in the Chinese Super League, relying on your status as an overseas-trained player to act arrogantly and show off wildly.】

【Now it is the year 2036; at 37, you retired in humiliation from the China League One and became a football commentator, taking endless pleasure in smearing star players. Watching one gifted young player after another showcase themselves in the top five European leagues on television, you suddenly felt some regret, lamenting that time cannot be rewound.】

【You lowered your head to look at your own body, feeling regret for not fully realizing your talent during your playing career, and thus resolved to come out of retirement.】

【Appear in a warm-up match. Reward: A random midfield star player's skill.】

……

(End of Chapter)