Super Wingstorm

After the assessment results were announced, the youth team officially began its summer vacation and was dismissed on the spot.

Yang Yang jogged south, juggling a ball. He felt incredibly light. Every step was precise, and every touch on the ball was perfect.

He knew it was partly psychological, but he truly felt relaxed and at ease.

When passing the skate park, he made a special detour into the skating area. On one hand, he wanted to see the graffiti wall that had been his companion for over a month. On the other, he hoped to see Louis van Gaal again.

He really wanted to have a proper chat with the world-famous manager.

It was almost funny. He’d known the man for so long, yet he didn’t even know his name. They barely exchanged a few sentences each time they met. The deepest part of their "relationship" was that one bottle of water. He had truly missed a golden opportunity.

Unfortunately, even after practicing in the skating area for a while, he didn’t see Van Gaal appear.

Yang Yang sighed with regret. ’Maybe he’s not in Almere anymore.’

Leaving the skate park, he headed south, passed through the Amminiga Villa District, and soon arrived at the auto district.

But when he reached the back door of the Chinese restaurant, he suddenly changed his mind. He decided to give his uncle and the others a surprise. He stopped, composed himself, and after making sure his expression revealed nothing, he walked into the restaurant’s kitchen.

It wasn’t dinnertime yet, but his uncle, Shen Ming, was already busy with the chefs. They had to prepare the evening dishes in advance, especially those that required a long cooking time. Otherwise, they would never be ready in time for the rush.

Shen Ming, who was sweating buckets in the kitchen, knew Yang Yang had his assessment today. When he saw his nephew walk in through the back door with a completely blank expression, his heart sank. ’This is bad,’ he thought. He immediately took a moment to step out.

"How did it go? What were your results?" his uncle asked with concern, wiping his hands.

He looked just like a parent worried about their child’s final exam scores.

Yang Yang’s brow furrowed slightly, a troubled look on his face. He didn’t speak for a long time, just letting out a long sigh.

"Ahem." His uncle sighed as well. "It’s alright. Just keep working hard. Even if you can’t stay at Almere, you can go to other teams. With your current performance, there are definitely teams that would be interested."

He thought Yang Yang had done poorly on the assessment and had been cut by Almere.

Just then, his aunt and cousin heard them and came into the kitchen one after another. Seeing the expressions on Shen Ming’s and Yang Yang’s faces, they understood the situation. They didn’t say anything more, just looked a little regretful and disappointed.

They had all seen how hard Yang Yang had worked over the past month. They originally thought that since he had played well in the matches, he should have gotten a good result. They never expected it to still not be enough.

"It’s okay, Yang Yang. Just keep working hard."

"Yeah, if it really doesn’t work out, I’ll talk to your mom. I’ll tell her to let you stay in the Netherlands and study. Aren’t your grades pretty good? You can continue your education here, try to get into a good university. Coming back to China with a foreign degree would be very respectable."

The love and concern from his cousin and aunt were palpable, and Yang Yang was deeply moved. He decided it was time to reveal the truth and immediately burst out laughing.

Shen Ming’s family of three were all feeling sorry for Yang Yang, so when they saw him suddenly laughing so joyfully, they looked at each other, confused. ’Did he do so badly that it drove him mad with laughter?’

"Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, I passed the assessment," Yang Yang announced, spreading his hands with a hint of pride.

"What?"

"You passed?"

"Hey, you little brat..."

How could the three of them not realize by now? They had been played by this little rascal.

He had deliberately tricked them.

His uncle raised his hand as if to slap him, but Yang Yang just grinned and didn’t flinch. He knew his uncle would never actually hit him.

Sure enough, the highly raised hand landed gently on Yang Yang’s shoulder.

"You little rascal, you even dare to prank your own uncle? You’re really something else."

"Exactly! And here I was, about to cry looking at your expression. Turns out you were acting the whole time."

"Yang Yang, I’m not even kidding, you could win an Oscar," his cousin said.

His uncle threw a strong arm around Yang Yang’s shoulders, beaming from ear to ear. "Quick, tell me, you brat. How were your results?"

"I accidentally got first place."

"Huh?"

Shen Ming and the other two were stunned for a moment, then they all burst into laughter again. His cousin pointed at Yang Yang dramatically. "Yang, you should quit football! You should go to Hollywood and act, or go back to Beijing and be a comedian! My stomach hurts from laughing."

Who would believe he could get first place? And *accidentally*, at that?

"See? Truth is always stranger than fiction," Yang Yang said with a pretentious little shrug.

Not only had he passed the assessment, but he had also taken first place and earned a spot at the Ajax Talent Days. Yang Yang felt completely at ease, and he became more playful with his closest relatives, cracking a rare joke.

After their laughter subsided, Shen Ming and the others noticed that Yang Yang’s expression was still completely serious. Their own faces immediately turned solemn.

"Don’t tell me... you really got first place?"

"As real as it gets."

"How did you manage that?"

"How should I know? I just winged it and ended up in first," Yang Yang replied with a cheeky grin.

Shen Ming nearly flew into a rage and kicked the little show-off. ’It’s just first place, isn’t it? Is it really necessary to flaunt it like that?’

But... getting first place really wasn’t easy.

He had witnessed everything Yang Yang had gone through this past year. He felt the boy’s suffering as if it were his own. The once cheerful and confident kid had suddenly become silent and withdrawn, which had been hard for him to watch.

Thankfully, over this past month, Yang Yang had regained his confidence. They could feel the self-assurance and joy radiating from him now, especially when he smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth that seemed to glow.

His aunt and cousin believed him too. They knew Yang Yang wouldn’t lie about something like this. Besides, his happiness was too genuine to be an act. It came from the heart, leaving them no choice but to believe.

After a round of congratulations, his uncle’s smile faded. He looked at Yang Yang seriously and said in a grave, earnest tone, "You know better than anyone how hard it was to get first place this time."

Yang Yang nodded. It was the result of over a month of relentless, day-and-night training. And he had nothing to be arrogant about. To be blunt, he had merely taken advantage of the assessment system. In terms of raw skill, he was still inferior to players like Henk Demyer, especially when it came to his fundamentals.

Getting first place was an affirmation, but it was also a spur to keep him moving forward, a form of encouragement.

"You’re a smart kid, so you should understand that modesty brings gain, while pride brings loss. Almere is just a small team in a small city in the Netherlands. Getting first place now and making it to the first team is nothing to get too worked up about. There’s always someone better out there. You have to guard against arrogance and impatience, understand?"

Yang Yang was very touched and nodded. "I know, Uncle."

With his parents not around, his uncle had always treated him like a son. These words were, naturally, meant to guide him.

"Since you got first, you should be going to the Ajax Talent Days next, right?" his uncle asked, smiling again.

’If word of this got out, who knows how envious the neighbors would be.’

"Cousin, cousin, listen to me," his cousin said, immediately sidling up to him. "You’re going to the Ajax Talent Days, right?"

"Yeah."

"Get me Van der Vaart’s autograph! And if you get a chance to take a picture with him, that would be even better!"

Van der Vaart was currently the hottest rising star in the Netherlands, and even all of Europe. Hailed as the leader of the "New Dutch Three Musketeers," he was also the vice-captain of Ajax. He had countless fans in the Netherlands, especially female ones.

The reason was simple: Van der Vaart was handsome. He was the type who could have easily made a living off his looks, but insisted on relying on his talent. What was even more infuriating was that he also happened to be a genius player. He had it all.

Not long ago, Van der Vaart’s romance with the famous Dutch television host Silvia had been all over the papers. The beautiful and sexy Silvia became an overnight sensation because of it, attracting the attention of all Dutch media.

Because of this, Van der Vaart and Silvia were hailed as the Beckham and Victoria of the Netherlands.

"I’ll try my best," Yang Yang could only promise.

He wasn’t sure if he’d even get to see Van der Vaart. Besides, he was a little resistant to the idea. After all, Van der Vaart was only twenty years old. For him, a sixteen-year-old, to go asking a twenty-year-old for an autograph like a fan felt pretty awkward.

"Alright, hurry up and call your parents. Tell them the good news." After a pause, his uncle gently patted Yang Yang’s shoulder again. "When you get back, our family will have a good drink to celebrate."

"Uncle, I can’t drink alcohol," Yang Yang reminded him.

"Then you can drink water. We have plenty," his cousin, Shen Yuzhu, laughed, loving the chaos.

His parents back home were shocked to hear that their son’s football skills had improved by leaps and bounds and that he had taken first place in the semester assessment at Almere. At first, they were a bit skeptical, but after asking for details, they were overjoyed for Yang Yang.

Although they weren’t keen on their son playing football, since he was already playing—and playing well—they could only be supportive.

However, his parents repeatedly warned Yang Yang to guard against arrogance and impatience. At the same time, they stressed that he absolutely had to keep up with his academic studies and get into a university no matter what.

They knew how brutal the professional leagues were. Even if he really got to play for Almere, and even if Almere really got promoted to the Eerste Divisie, so what? Could Yang Yang guarantee his future?

A professional player’s career is a young man’s game, and players in the lower leagues don’t earn much money. It was barely enough to support oneself. Therefore, they still hoped their son would go to university, learn a skill to fall back on, and have better prospects when he returned to China in the future.

Of course, Yang Yang understood his parents’ expectations. He readily agreed and was confident he could do it. After all, his memory was now incredibly sharp; you could almost say it was photographic.

After the phone call, Yang Yang went to help out at his uncle’s restaurant. After the dinner rush, the family and a few workers gathered for a celebratory drink. Yang Yang naturally became the center of everyone’s congratulations, drinking plain water until he was bloated.

For the next two days, Yang Yang didn’t have to go to school or team practice. He spent his nights training in the Super Training, and most of his days training at the skate park. He would only help out at the restaurant during the evening dinner rush. His days were packed and fulfilling.

It wasn’t until the afternoon of the third day that Henk Demyer and the others came looking for him.