Chapter 866

【666666】

【Fuck, we actually won, holy shit, Escrivà!】

【？？？？？？？？】

【？？？？？？？？】

【Don’t get it—does 3:2 mean China is advancing to the quarterfinals? Isn’t this the World Cup, not the Asian Cup?】

「wow！」

Escrivà jumped onto Tang Ye from the front.

The Chinese team’s head coach isn’t light, but for Tang Ye, a professional athlete, it was still easy.

But…

Tang Ye was genuinely exhausted right now.

「Fuck.」

He shouted, and together with Escrivà, he fell to the ground.

「Haha!」

Escrivà seemed even more excited than Tang Ye, lying on the grass with both arms raised: 「Vamos!!!」

「Fuck, calm down!」

Tang Ye shoved the coach away and quickly got up: 「You’re covered in sweat—you’re stuck all over me, damn it.」

「Hey, aren’t you sweatier than me? Your whole shirt’s soaked!」

「I’m the one playing the match—sweating is normal for me. You’re a bureaucrat—why are you sweating?!」

「Haha! Fuck!」

After being scolded, Tang Ye stopped arguing with Escrivà and walked to the sideline to wash his hands with mineral water.

Click-click!

Click-click-click!

At least fifteen photographers stood before him, each holding cameras and relentlessly snapping photos of Tang Ye’s face.

Clenching his right fist against his chest and pointing one finger at the lens, Tang Ye wrote his name in the photographers’ frames.

「Tang Ye!」

「Tang Ye!」

「Chinese national team, awesome!!!!」

「Fuck, awesome, Tang Ye!」

Recalling the comforting words fans shouted at him at halftime, Tang Ye now felt deeply uneasy, so he walked toward the stands near the player tunnel.

「Sixteen is not enough!」

「Last World Cup we made sixteen—now we’re still at sixteen—don’t look down on us!」

「Wow!!」

「Haha! Fuck, awesome, Tang Ye! You’re my fucking dad!」

……

Dongqiudi report: Dawn has broken! China defeated Spain 3:2 in extra time, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in history. Tang Ye scored one goal and provided one assist, covering 16.2 km on the pitch. (Comments: 1,023,568)

Two accompanying images: Tang Ye’s sliding knee and Fernando’s imitation of Thunder Yatalais. In the distance, Chinese fans raise their hands in celebration.

Something feels missing…

Hmm, golden championship confetti should be drifting through the sky right now!

「Sss… my god, I still haven’t fully accepted it.」

「Haha, normal!」

「Quarterfinals of the World Cup—this is China’s best-ever result. Reaching the quarterfinals on their third World Cup appearance? That’s impressive, hehe.」

「Haha, Coach Zhang, I just feel like giving the players a trophy right now.」

「Oh, normal! If I could, I’d do it too, haha!」

……

Dongqiudi secondary pinned post: Tang Ye named Man of the Match in China vs. Spain—he’s maintained a 100% MOTM rate across all four World Cup matches.

【#ChinaVsSpain】

【#China3:2SpainAdvanceToQuarterfinals】

【#China3:2Spain】

【#ChinaForeignPlayerArmorFused】

【#SpainLost】

As the biggest underdog of this World Cup group stage, China maintained their identity in the knockout rounds.

If their Round of 16 opponent had been Japan, Chinese fans would’ve expected a quarterfinal berth.

But their Round of 16 opponent was Spain…

Fuck it, I’m playing the quarterfinals—Spain better die!

「oleoleole~」

「I’m singing from beyond the mountains~ listening to the wind sing heavenly melodies~~」

「Time has changed~ but my heart remains free~~」

「I sing across ten thousand miles…」

The home team locker room was lively; Escrivà heard the noise from afar.

Walking over, he was surprised to find Tang Ye wasn’t inside—he was leaning against the wall by the door, lost in thought.

「What’s wrong?」

「Captain, aren’t you coming in? Can’t you sing?」

Hearing the voice, Tang Ye looked up, looking flustered: 「Uh, oh, yes, sir. You go ahead—I’ve got something to take care of.」

「Oh.」

Escrivà nodded, took a few steps toward the door, then stopped: 「You’re going to look for Rodri?」

「…」

Tang Ye said nothing, just stared into his eyes—Escrivà realized his guess was right.

「There’s nothing to say—this is football. You won, you won.」

「…」

「I know, but…」

Tang Ye turned his head, glancing toward the end of the corridor: 「It might be hard for him to accept this.」

「… Yeah, that’s true.」

Placing a hand on Tang Ye’s shoulder and patting it, Escrivà said no more and walked into the locker room himself.

「Wow!」

From inside came a sound—predictably, the coach had just been doused with water by the players.

Outside, Tang Ye kept staring down the corridor, pinching his earlobe. After a moment’s thought, he walked over.

The away team’s locker room was quiet; only Gavi stood outside.

Before the match, Gavi had asked Tang Ye for his jersey—but now both seemed to have forgotten it.

Seeing Tang Ye approach, Gavi raised his hand in greeting: 「You looking for someone?」

「Uh… no, I just came by to check…」

Tang Ye waited outside for a while until Rodri emerged.

Seeing Tang Ye, Rodri didn’t seem surprised—he walked over with open hands: 「Don’t be down. No need. You won—you won.」

As teammates began to exit, Rodri told Tang Ye to talk privately later if he had anything to say.

「… Yeah, okay.」

Tang Ye and Rodri bumped fists, then quickly left.

He came all this way, waited so long in the hallway—and ended up saying nothing?

But there was nothing to be done—Rodri said to talk later; he probably needed time to cool down.

From Rodri’s perspective, he truly might not be able to accept this result so quickly…