Chapter 424: A Whole Yellow Thing to Play With (Including Memories)

Shandong, 2009.

"Watch me, watch me, watch closely!"

Tang Ye emphasized to his teammates, then kicked the ball straight up from the ground with one foot.

"Wow! Awesome, Tang Ye!"

Liu Liu Changqi and He Tongshuai clapped rapidly.

Tang Ye was currently the only player on the U13 Red Team capable of performing this ball-lifting maneuver, so he was happy now.

Standing in place watching his teammates attempt the same move, Tang Ye caught something out of the corner of his eye: "Damn, the coach is coming, the coach is coming!"

The moment Tang Ye finished speaking, the 18 young players on the training field scrambled around and quickly moved to their respective positions.

As the youngest player on the U13 Red Team, Tang Ye played a very important role within the squad.

He was the team's scout, because he could always spot the coach approaching from afar at the first moment.

Arriving at the training field and seeing that all the players were training properly, Li Li Weibin was very pleased: "Keep it up, stay focused, don't let the Yellow Team overtake you; the Red Team only has 15 spots, and if you perform poorly, you'll be relegated to the Yellow Team!"

Li Li Weibin walked slowly across the grass, observing the players training on the field.

"Is Tang Ye staying?"

The assistant coach beside him suddenly said.

"What else? Are we supposed to send him to the Yellow Team?"

Li Li Weibin shrugged: "I know having a ten-year-old play in the U13s is a bit like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, but you wouldn't really move a player with this kind of talent down to the Yellow Team, would you?"

"No, what I mean is... the U15 side wants him."

"..."

The corner of Li Li Weibin's mouth twitched: "Let's wait and see for now; this kid's passing ability is a bit too exaggerated, but he has many shortcomings, absolutely no physical confrontation."

"His teammates and opponents are both two years older than him; there's no way he can compete physically..."

"Geniuses have their own methods of cultivation."

Li Li Weibin had his own views on the matter.

Training ended quickly, and Tang Ye and Wang Wang Ruiqi walked together toward the cafeteria.

"The list is out!"

Wang Wang Ruiqi suddenly shouted, and Tang Ye quickly followed over.

【Honors and Commendations】

【National U15 Champions Cup Champion (Shandong Luneng Football School U13 Red Team)】

【Commended Players: Tang Shi, Wei Wei Shihao, Liu Yang...】

"Truly amazing..."

Tang Ye opened his mouth wide: "National champions; if I won this award, my dad would probably be very happy."

"Of course, if you win a championship, your mom and dad will definitely be happy," Wang Wang Ruiqi said.

"It's not the same, it's not the same at all!"

Tang Ye corrected: "My dad says I play football just so I don't have to sit in a classroom; actually, I quite like football, but he just doesn't believe it. If I win a national championship, he should believe it then. Hmm... a Guangdong championship should work too; I can win the Guangdong championship."

Wang Wang Ruiqi nodded quickly: "Then let's work hard together."

"Let's go!"

Tang Ye pumped his fist.

"By the way, Tang Ye, are you going to the cafeteria for dinner?"

"Definitely; one can't skip meals, right?"

Tang Ye hugged his soccer cleats and asked in return.

"No, today is the centralized parent visitation day; moms and dads usually take their kids out for dinner. My dad called me at noon and said he's taking me out to eat KFC!"

"... Oh, oh."

Remembering that today was a special day, Tang Ye nodded gently.

His heart beating faster, Tang Ye followed Wang Wang Ruiqi toward the main gate.

As expected, many parents from all over the country were standing outside the main gate.

Not only for the U11s and U13s, but parents also came to visit the U18 and U19 players.

After all, no matter how old the players get, in their parents' hearts they are still just children.

Just as mentioned earlier, Wang Wang Ruiqi's father took him out to eat KFC.

He turned back to look for Tang Ye, but Tang Ye had already hidden away.

In the distance from the main gate stood a rockery; Tang Ye climbed to the very top and sat down, propping his hands behind him.

This was a good spot; from here, Tang Ye could see all the parents coming from outside the gate or even from afar.

"Hmm..."

It was now 5:00 PM.

5:30 PM.

6:00 PM.

Until 7:30 PM, by which time it was completely dark; Tang Ye tilted his head, blinked rapidly, and then jumped down from the rockery.

The parents had taken everyone away, so at this hour Tang Ye couldn't return to the dormitory anyway, since there was nothing inside the dorms.

Walking back and forth near the main gate, Tang Ye soon spotted a guy wearing a Shandong Luneng training uniform.

He was about ten centimeters taller than Tang Ye, but Tang Ye approached him anyway.

"Hello, hello, are you from the U13s? I saw your uniform."

"I'm from the Yellow Team."

Luo Kang said, and seeing the red team uniform on Tang Ye, he regarded him with deep respect: "You're a genius; you can't be more than eleven years old."

"Haha, thank you."

Tang Ye scratched his head: "Um, I'll treat you to KFC; shall we eat together? Over by that rockery, where the lights are on."

"Really? Is it free?"

Luo Kang's eyes lit up, but then he lowered his head again: "But... without a guardian, we can't get out, can we?"

No sooner had Luo Kang finished speaking than Tang Ye pulled a mobile phone from his pocket: "Earlier, when my friends went out, I had them note down the number, so they can deliver it inside."

Because extra money was added, the delivery was very fast; twenty minutes later, Tang Ye and Luo Kang were sitting beneath the rockery.

"Mm, the Spicy Chicken Burger is mine; you can have everything else."

Tang Ye was so generous that Luo Kang could barely believe his eyes.

At the Shandong Luneng Football School, fried chicken and burgers were extremely precious items, yet Tang Ye had just handed over an entire bag!

"Wow, why aren't you eating with your teammates?"

Luo Kang squeezed ketchup onto his fries and asked.

"They're all out tonight."

"Surely some people don't go out; parents don't come every time, you know. My parents only visit once every two months. You could hang out with those who stayed behind. Hmm, they're probably all hiding in the dorms playing CF right now; the senior dorms have computers, all bought by their parents. The teachers and coaches don't crack down on it because they're seniors."

"Tang Ye, do you play games?"

Luo Kang turned to look at Tang Ye, who nodded: "I do; I play hide-and-seek. I'm very good at finding people; I win almost every time."

Tang Ye was extremely proud, but he had clearly misunderstood what game Luo Kang was talking about.

"Haha, no wonder you know so few people. It's CF! You have to play CF; lots of the seniors play this game. The kind where you shoot with guns—bang, bang, bang!"

Holding fries in one hand, Luo Kang mimed a shooting motion with the other.

"CF?"

Tang Ye frowned: "I think I've heard of that."

Swish, swish!

Rubbing his hands together, Tang Ye suddenly had an idea.

Shooting with a gun.

That feels kind of cool!

The Guardian—Tom was photographed by fans entering the Carrington base in a car; his return to the squad has been confirmed.

The Sun's report, based on airport staff sources, included no photos, but The Guardian's coverage was more compelling.

A Guardian reporter published photos in the newspaper showing Tang Ye sitting in the back seat of a black car, earphones in his ears, looking in high spirits.

However, due to the car's tinted glass, fans could not clearly see the change in Tang Ye's complexion.

What could be confirmed was that the airport staff's claim that "Tom's body has become broader" was true.

【So he really was training in the US; this is my GGBond!】

【Huh???】

【He's only back today for tomorrow's match; will he even be able to play?】

【So Manchester United is just writing off the first game of the new season, then? Tang Ye hasn't even played any warm-up matches.】

【Wait, do we even need Tang Ye to play against Leicester City?】

【Feels like Tang Ye has bulked up? Does this mean we don't have to fear physical challenges anymore?】

Fans zoomed in on the photos, carefully examining the changes in Tang Ye, trying to figure out exactly what he had been doing in the United States.

Why had Tang Ye chosen to train specifically in the United States?

Would Tang Ye's technique show obvious changes after training in the United States?

These were the questions fans wanted answered.

But before the official match arrived, there was no way for the fans' doubts to be resolved.

"Wow, Tom!"

On the training ground, Tang Ye, dressed in casual clothes, high-fived his teammates one by one.

Although Tang Ye had kept in contact with his teammates and coaches while training in Los Angeles, they were still surprised by his transformation.

"Only twenty days?"

Mata squeezed Tang Ye's shoulders: "These aren't muscles you can build in twenty days. Fuck, I feel like you could play as a striker now."

"Wow, really?"

Tang Ye rubbed his arm, then pulled down his sleeve cuff, wanting to show off his newly built muscles to his teammates: "I'm seventy-two kilograms now, infinitely close to seventy-three. I feel like I'm practically invincible now."

"Hahaha!"

Tang Ye's words sent Valencia and Lin Lin Jiade into fits of laughter.

"What do you mean, invincible?"

Herrera pressed.

"In terms of physical challenges, of course."

Saying this, Tang Ye bumped into Herrera: "Nope, Sebastian, I still can't beat you, but everyone else is different; none of the others are a match for me."

Tang Ye then gave Rashford a bump as well.

"Oh!"

Rashford let out a cry and fell straight to the ground.

Of course, he was acting.

"Hey, no need, it's too fake, Marcus! They won't believe you like this!"

"I believe it, I believe it, anyway I believe it, haha!"

Rodri was still laughing; Tang Ye shook his head helplessly and soon spotted Manchester United's new signings for the summer transfer window.

Having heard the bad news from Ten Hag that Dembélé would not be joining, Tang Ye felt somewhat depressed, but having new teammates was naturally a good thing.

Ziyech, De Jong, and Greenwood, who had been promoted from the youth academy—Tang Ye knew all three players, and he could say he was very familiar with De Jong and Greenwood in particular.

And then...

The esteemed Mr. Eric!

Ten Hag walked toward Tang Ye, and the two embraced firmly.

"You're back too late!"

Ten Hag pretended to be very angry: "In that case, you won't be able to play tomorrow."

"Haha, I've already seen the schedule; when you guys have your match tomorrow, I'll just adjust my time and go straight to sleep."

Tang Ye spread his hands toward Rodri: "So don't expect me to watch your game; haha, I won't be watching."

"Someone returned from the Lakers, but their heart is still with the Lakers!"

Ashley Young shouted.

"It's a pity the NBA hasn't started yet, so you have no games to watch."

"You misunderstood me, Young; I don't watch basketball games, I was just training over there!"

Tang Ye offered a weak excuse, greeted his teammates one by one, and then headed toward the office building; he had some documents to sign for the new season.

"Good luck tomorrow!"

Tang Ye raised both hands.

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: Valencia's cold shot leads to Bailly's own goal; Manchester United draws 1:1 with Leicester City at home. De Jong delivers an outstanding debut for Manchester United; Tang Ye not included in the matchday squad. (Comment count: 13852)

The match itself was a point of interest, and the post-match interview was an additional one.

Click-click!

Reporters interviewed Ten Hag, asking about what Tang Ye had experienced over the past few days.

"Tang one hundred percent does not have a mental illness; as head coach, I can vouch for this matter. Tang's psychological condition is healthy."

"I watched that Sky Sports program; it made sense, but unfortunately, a scholar's conjectures are not always correct."

Ten Hag spoke slowly, briefly explaining the fact that Tang Ye had been training in the United States.

"Is Tom not planning to come to the stadium today? The fans are eager to see him."

"Oh, he is currently adjusting to the time difference. You just asked why he didn't participate in the friendly; I feel this has little impact on him."

"I can almost guarantee that Tang will be included in our squad list for the next match; by then, the fans will be able to see him."

Click!

Click-click!

Having captured key information, the reporters photographed Ten Hag vigorously.

Facts proved that over the past twenty days, Tang Ye had indeed been undergoing training in the United States, which did not align with the impression fans had of Tang Ye's character.

But now, what mattered was not why Tang Ye had done this.

What mattered was what Tang Ye had gained after doing so.

Fans now only hoped that the NBA training would not adversely affect Tang Ye's excellent passing technique.

If that were the case, Manchester United fans would collapse!

"Sir, shall I thin out both sides a bit for you? Do you think that would be suitable?"

The barber pressed Tang Ye's hair with his index finger, observing and analyzing simultaneously.

"Hmm..."

Tang Ye pondered over every hairstyle he had ever seen, trying to find the one most suitable for himself: "Can it be a bit fluffier? I see other people's hair is fluffier than mine; mine is too flat. When it grows long, it will block my eyes. It's best not to block my eyes; I don't like that feeling of being blocked."

"Sir, the fluffiness you're talking about usually requires a perm. Would you like to get a perm? If you do, it will be even fluffier."

"Hiss..."

The barber's words plunged Tang Ye into thought.

He had never tried perming his hair before.

Maybe it was worth a try?

"Then let's do it!"

"Okay, let me show you some style pictures; you can choose one."

The barber went to fetch his booklet while Tang Ye looked at his reflection in the mirror, his brain working rapidly.

Recalling Brother Hao Wei Wei Shihao's handsome yellow hair, Tang Ye got an idea.

"Uh, wait a moment."

"Bro, do you think my hair would suit being dyed a color?"

"Of course; what color do you want?"

"How about red? That's the color of the Manchester sky," the barber joked.

"Haha, thanks."

Tang Ye shook his head: "Red is too exaggerated; it would be too conspicuous on top of my head."

Tang Ye's presence on the field was already strong enough; if he got red hair, I reckon the opposing eleven players would probably chase him down just to tackle him.

Tang Ye's presence on the field was already strong enough; if he added red hair to the mix, all eleven opponents would likely chase him down just to tackle him.

This is not a good thing!

"Hmm..."

"The whole yellow thingy."

Tang Ye wore a smile full of anticipation on his face.

PS: There are still two more updates today, before 23:00 tonight.

(End of Chapter)