Chapter Twenty: The Heroic Side Dive

Page (1/3)

“If you don’t dare, that’s fine. Next time, if there’s something fun, we’ll talk about it,” Xiao Yao began brushing off the large clumps of mud stuck to him. Too much mud would weigh him down, making running exhausting.

“Then next time, you have to bring me along if it’s fun,” Lin Qisan immediately insisted.

“Why should I?” Xiao Yao rolled his eyes at him with amusement; he really was just a kid.

“Then what do you want me to do for you to agree?” Lin Qisan asked anxiously.

“Well… first, call me ‘brother’ and let me hear it,” Xiao Yao said with a smile.

“Brother!” Lin Qisan responded without hesitation. “You promised, no backing out. I’m going to play soccer now.” Saying that, as if afraid Xiao Yao would change his mind, he didn’t wait for a reply and immediately ran off toward his father.

Xiao Yao could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

Nearby, Zhou Zhihao wiped mud from his face and head, then turned to run toward the edge of the field. Zhou Lixing was quick and grabbed him, asking, “Where are you going?”

“I want to climb up and jump down too!” Zhou Zhihao said excitedly.

“No, we’re playing a soccer match now. After the game, then you can jump,” Zhou Lixing hurriedly replied, glancing helplessly at Xiao Yao. That guy really knew how to stir things up.

Seeing Xiao Yao and Lin Qisan deliberately flopping into the mud while lying down like that, Sun Tingting’s aversion to the mud pit seemed to lessen considerably. After some encouragement from her father, she finally mustered the courage to step down into the mud. Although she thought Xiao Yao and Lin Qisan’s antics were fun, she wouldn’t dare jump and fall like that.

Watching everyone finally descend safely, Chen Lei announced the start of the match. Tossing the ball into the mud pit, Xu Dong blew his whistle sharply, signaling the beginning of the game!

Sun Zhihao, wisely, didn’t rush forward to snatch the ball. Instead, he retreated to his own goal and crouched down. Naturally, the goalposts in the mud pit were makeshift—constructed from wooden sticks and fishing nets—and only about a meter wide and tall. By crouching in front of the goal, Sun Zhihao nearly blocked it up completely.

Xiao Yao immediately raised his hand and called out, “Referee, is there a goalkeeper? Uncle Sun is squatting right in front of the goal, blocking it all. How can we play like this?”

Xu Dong promptly blew his whistle in agreement and pointed at Sun Zhihao. “New rule: no guarding the goal, no standing still in front of it.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhihao had no choice but to stand up and rush forward to compete for the ball.

It was difficult enough to run in the mud pit, let alone play soccer. From the start, the field became a chaotic tangle of people and mud. Everyone got muddier and muddier.

In this muddy terrain, once you started running, unless someone blocked you head-on, no one could catch you from the side or behind. And the stamina and speed of five- or six-year-olds were obviously no match for adults. So, after about ten minutes, the red team, made up of three adults and two children, led 2-0, with goals from Zhao Tao and Sun Zhihao. Even if Xiao Siqi was the least athletic, he could easily stick to a blue team adult in the mud, leaving the rest mostly two-on-one.

“This won’t work; we need a strategy!” Zhou Zhihao gathered his teammates to discuss. “We definitely can’t outrun them. Shaohua, you take Qisan to defend, mainly within three meters of the goal. If they bring the ball close, Shaohua, you rush forward; Qisan, you retreat into the goal and block it. The referee said no guarding, but he won’t be that strict with kids. Qisan, remember, don’t let the ball in. If you think you can’t stop it, dive with your whole body onto the ball—even use your hands if you have to, understand?” Seeing Lin Qisan nodding vaguely, Zhou Lixing sighed inwardly. Then he continued, “I have good stamina, so I’ll stay in the middle. When they attack, I’ll be your first line of defense. If I stop them, I’ll launch a counterattack; if not, it’s up to you, Shaohua. If either of you intercepts the ball, pass it directly back to me. Remember to lift it because the ball won’t roll far in the mud. Then Bayi and Zhihau, you two stand near their goal, one on each side. When I kick the ball near you, kick it into their goal. We try to run as little as possible and save energy; that’s our only chance.” After the discussion, the blue team scattered according to Zhou Lixing’s plan.

Unfortunately, hopes were high, but reality was harsh. As an experienced soccer professional, Xu Dong immediately saw through the blue team’s setup and commented, “We see the blue team has changed tactics: two defenders, one in the center, two roaming near the opponent’s goal. They intend to use long passes to break through in the most energy-saving way. I have to say, in this mud, reducing running, dribbling, and short passes, and using targeted long passes is a very fitting approach. The blue team’s players are quite tactical.”

The red team realized this was true and quickly adjusted their strategy. The two kids, who had been running crazily on the field, were given specific tasks to mark Zhou Zhihao and Xiao Yao man-to-man near their own goal. Noticing that Xiao Yao was gentler with girls (he voluntarily swapped positions with Sun Tingting) but rougher with boys (he threw Lin Qisan into the mud), Sun Zhihao cleverly assigned Zhao Rui to follow Zhou Zhihao and Sun Tingting to follow Xiao Yao. Since Zhao Rui was two years older, he could definitely keep Zhou Zhihao in check, and Xiao Yao, unlikely to rough up a girl, would find it hard to shake off Sun Tingting. The blue team’s chances were basically gone.

Indeed, the red team’s physical advantage allowed them to implement a straightforward one-on-one defense. Besides the two pairs of kids, Xiao Siqi tangled with Zhou Zhihao in midfield, while Sun Zhihao or Zhao Tao marked Lin Shaohua, and the other covered Lin Qisan. Scoring was only a matter of time.

Page (2/3)

Five minutes later, the red team scored again, making it 3-0. The adults on the field were panting, clearly exhausted.

Taking advantage of everyone’s fatigue and momentary slackening, Zhou Lixing summoned his last reserves of energy, ran back to Lin Shaohua in defense, received the ball, and, noticing Xiao Siqi couldn’t keep up, took a step forward with the ball. Finding he too was out of steam, he simply booted the ball toward the front field.

Before this, the ball had mostly been circling in the blue team’s half. Except for a few adults, even Lin Qisan was worn out. The only ones with energy left near the red team’s goal were the four kids. Zhao Rui, being older and more focused, stayed right by Zhou Zhihao. Sun Tingting, as a girl, was less attentive. Xiao Yao noticed this and gradually distanced himself from her. Zhou Lixing saw it too; he realized the kick was aiming for Xiao Yao, but whether from exhaustion or poor technique, the ball headed straight toward Sun Tingting.

Zhou Lixing’s long kick was a clear signal of intent. Seeing the gap between Sun Tingting and Xiao Yao, Sun Zhihao immediately shouted, “Duor, follow Bayi.”

Sun Tingting turned around to find Xiao Yao, who was about a meter beside her, ready to receive the ball. But as the ball flew through the air and began to descend, it was heading straight for Sun Tingting’s head. Judging by the arc, it would hit her squarely.

“Oh no!” Everyone’s heart skipped a beat. The ball, covered in mud, was much heavier than usual, having rolled in the mud for a while. Dropping from that height onto her head would certainly hurt.

“Duor, duck down!” Sun Zhihao shouted urgently. Xiao Yao was over a meter away and couldn’t reach her in time to pull or push her out of the way.

Sun Tingting heard her father’s yell but didn’t squat down. Instead, she instinctively turned her head back toward him. Just then, she saw a large mud ball coming straight at her, growing larger in her vision. She opened her mouth to scream, but before a sound emerged, the scene froze her in place. Just as she thought the mud ball would collide with her face, a mud-covered hand suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. That hand slapped the ball aside to her right, and then fell downward in front of her.

“Ah!” Sun Tingting finally let out the scream she had been holding back.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Dong, instantly switching from referee to commentator, gushed, “Beautiful! Blue team’s young player, Xiao Bayi, heroically dived to the side and slapped the incoming ball away, protecting little Duor’s head from being struck. Let’s cheer and applaud Xiao Bayi’s brave performance!” He even started clapping himself.

“Good!” Everyone laughed and joined in the applause, shouting sincerely.

Sun Tingting quickly looked at Xiao Yao lying on the mud with his body sideways, then bent down to pull his arm and help him up, anxiously asking, “Bayi, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

It’s tough to exert force in the mud. Although Xiao Yao had stepped onto a relatively dry patch to make the diving save, that move had drained all his strength. Unlike when he had thrown Lin Qisan into the mud earlier, this time he was prepared—his muscles tensed on landing, so he didn’t feel much pain. Now, having used all his energy to leap and slap the ball away, he fell without control, hitting the mud hard, which definitely hurt.

In front of the little girl, Xiao Yao couldn’t lose face and forced a smile. “It’s okay. Mud is soft; falling doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Then get up! Why lie in the mud?” Sun Tingting pulled harder on Xiao Yao’s arm, but with her little strength, if he didn’t resist, she couldn’t lift him.

“The mud is soft and comfy. You should try lying down too,” Xiao Yao teased. When Sun Tingting tugged harder, he pulled her down into the mud with him.

“Hey! You’re mean!” Though she was already muddy from the waist down, the little girl’s love for cleanliness remained. She hadn’t fallen before and kept her upper body relatively clean. But now, Xiao Yao had dragged her into the mud, smearing it on her upper body and even in her hair. Frustrated, Sun Tingting grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at Xiao Yao’s face.

Xiao Yao didn’t dodge. He closed his eyes and took the hit, then wiped his eyes with a clean patch on his arm. Opening them, he grabbed a handful of mud, raised it, and grinned, “Daring to throw mud at me? Now it’s my turn.”

“No! Don’t!” Sun Tingting screamed and ran off. Rushing in the mud, she couldn’t pull her legs free fast enough and fell flat in the mud again.

She lay on the ground, looking back and up, only to see Xiao Yao standing over her with a big clump of mud in his hand. He grinned mischievously, “Nowhere to run, huh?” Raising his hand—

“No!” Sun Tingting quickly covered her face with both hands.

“Smack!” A sound rang by her ear. Confused, she lowered her hands to see a big splatter of mud broken on the ground beside her. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Yao with empty hands, shrugging and smiling, “Just kidding. Look how scared you were. Get up now,” he said, extending his hand.

Page (3/3)

Sun Tingting grabbed Xiao Yao’s hand and he helped her up. Just as she was about to speak, a “smack” sounded again—this time, mud hit Xiao Yao’s back.

Xiao Yao looked toward the direction the mud came from and saw Zhou Zhihao hopping on one foot, yelling, “Xiao Bayi, bullying girls, shameless!”

“Fine, bullying girls isn’t impressive; I’ll bully you then. Fatty, just wait,” Xiao Yao called, running toward Zhou Zhihao. As he ran, he bent down to grab another handful of mud, squeezing it tightly.

“Smack!” Another sound rang out. Xiao Yao, expanding the fight, deliberately tossed mud at Zhao Rui standing near Zhou Zhihao, hitting his chest squarely.

Zhou Zhihao, who was about to throw mud back, frowned and, worried about hitting innocent bystanders, immediately ran off.

Xiao Yao curved his path, chasing after Zhou Zhihao, shouting, “Fatty, don’t run!”

“Xiao Bayi!” Seeing himself completely ignored, without a word of apology, Zhao Rui lost his temper and grabbed some mud, chasing after Xiao Yao.

“Dad! Stop him!” Xiao Yao yelled, seeing Zhou Zhihao running toward Xiao Siqi’s direction.

Adults shouldn’t be throwing mud at kids—if they misjudge the force, it would hurt more than a child could bear. But if they can’t throw, they can at least smear mud. Hearing Xiao Yao’s shout, Xiao Siqi grabbed two large handfuls of mud with a grin and headed toward Zhou Zhihao.

“Hey, adults can’t bully kids,” Zhou Zhihao panicked and yelled, turning sharply. He twisted too fast, stumbled, and fell flat into the mud.

“Let go of my son!” Just as Xiao Siqi laughed, ready to smear the mud on Zhou Zhihao, a shout rang out nearby. A hand shot forward and slapped a big clump of mud onto Xiao Siqi’s face. Zhou Lixing had arrived in time to rescue his son.

Since it was all in good fun, no one hit hard. Covered in mud, Xiao Siqi didn’t flinch. Instead, he grabbed Zhou Lixing’s arm, lunged at him, and the two tumbled into the mud together.

Away from the fray, Lin Qisan, unwilling to be left out, quietly grabbed some mud and tossed it at Zhao Tao, who was the closest besides his father.

“Whoa!” Zhao Tao was startled, turning to grab mud to throw back at Lin Qisan.

“Dad!” Lin Qisan shouted, laughing, and dodged behind Lin Shaohua, circling around before running toward the center of the field where the action was fiercest.

“Dad!” Sun Tingting was dumbfounded and shouted loudly.

“Don’t be afraid, Duor, Dad’s coming,” Sun Zhihao called. But he and his daughter were at opposite ends of the field, and to reach her, he had to go through the most chaotic area in the middle—passing through unscathed was nearly impossible.

The field was in complete chaos now; the soccer match itself had long been forgotten. Xu Dong blew his whistle to end the game, but no one paid attention. He sighed helplessly, stroking his chin as he watched everyone playing wildly, secretly wondering whether he should just let loose and join in the youthful madness. Just then, “smack!”—a flying clump of mud hit his shoulder.