Sorry for the late release of my new book, but since I've already started, I can still keep my promise. Just as the introduction said, "Write the book seriously with a newcomer's attitude, and I guarantee that my character will never stop updating."
Now I'm starting to save up manuscripts. When there's no website to recommend, I'll make sure to update twice a day. If everyone gives me more support, I'll add more for every thousand recommendation votes. I hope to change my past habits when writing this book. I also want to break out occasionally, so I really need to save up some manuscripts. I hope everyone can understand and support me.
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Qin Xiong's apartment wasn't big. It was about 50 square meters, with one bedroom and one living room. The room was neat and tidy.
Qin Xiong put his shoulder bag on the clean table and went straight to the kitchen. He first hydrated himself, then opened the fridge and started cooking.
Freddy followed him in and sat down at the table. He accidentally saw a sketchbook peeking out from the shoulder bag. He casually took out the sketchbook and flipped through it. From the first page to the latest page, every drawing was a sketch. Half of it depicted the scenery, and the other half was a fantasy character that appeared out of thin air. For example, Freddy's favorite drawing was a drawing of a river watching the sunrise, but there was a pair of beautiful and spectacular wings in the sky above the rising sun!
When he turned to the latest page, Freddy stared at the demonic dragon above the towering mountains in a daze. Yes, perhaps in China, the dragon was a symbol of auspiciousness, representing good weather and prosperity. But in Western culture, the dragon was a symbol of disaster and misfortune.
Coincidentally, Freddy was also a Christian. In the Bible, the dragon was often Satan, the incarnation of the devil.
Moreover, the dragon drawn by Qin Xiong, no matter how one looked at it, it couldn't possibly represent the bright side.
Freddy closed the sketchbook and sighed softly. As Qin Xiong's guardian, he could roughly understand Qin Xiong's inner thoughts.
Qin Xiong suppressed the strength in his heart. This was the longing for life and the future!
It was time for change.
Qin Xiong walked out of the kitchen with two plates. On the plates were tonight's dinner. He and Freddy each had one.
Sitting across from each other at the table, Qin Xiong was not in a hurry to eat. He seemed to be waiting for something as he calmly stared at Freddy.
Freddy's expression became solemn and serious. He sat upright and spoke slowly in a low voice, "Stop your anger and abandon your anger. Don't let your heart be filled with injustice and do evil. "
Qin Xiong closed his eyes as if he was memorizing and recalling this sentence. About 15 seconds later, he opened his eyes. Freddy, who was sitting across from him, smiled at him. The two of them picked up their utensils and started eating. Qin Xiong used chopsticks while Freddy used a spoon.
In the past ten years, as Qin Xiong's guardian, Freddy would often recite a quote or two from the Bible as an interlude before the meal. Qin Xiong was used to it. Sometimes, it would cause him to reflect on himself. Sometimes, he would just treat it as Freddy's fart that was not smelly.
During the meal, the two of them chatted casually. Basically, it was Freddy asking Qin Xiong where he went during the day, what he did, and if there was anything new to share. Qin Xiong replied casually. He was not tired of Freddy, just a little absent-minded.
After dinner, Freddy took the initiative to clean the plates in the kitchen. Before leaving, he said to Qin Xiong, "By the way, I have something to tell you. Tomorrow is Tang Tian's 50th birthday. In China, Tang Tian is going to celebrate his 50th birthday. I invite you to attend with me."
"What's the specific time?"
"We'll leave at 5 pm."
"Okay, I'll remember it. Do I need to prepare a gift?"
"No need."
After Freddy left, Qin Xiong returned to his bedroom. His bedroom was not small. After all, there was a single bed against the wall. He walked to the bookshelf and took out a Spanish textbook from it. He also took out a Walkman, put on his headphones, and began his self-study lesson for the night.
He was a person with strong self-discipline.
Since he was adopted by the Tang Group 16 years ago and lived in this place, 70% of his time was spent on sports, mainly football, and the remaining 30% was spent on his own activities. In his cultural studies, he leaned towards liberal arts. In addition to China's culture, the other focus was on European culture and language. He had basically mastered English, and now he had been learning Spanish for a year and a half.
In the process of learning, Qin Xiong would wander around the room aimlessly, or walk in the living room, or go to the balcony to get some wind. After an hour of study time, he would do some light exercises in the room, and then continue to study, ensuring that he had two hours of study time every night.
When it was 9: 30 pm, he went into the bathroom to take a shower. When it was close to 10 pm, he lay on his single bed.
In the darkness, he looked up at the ceiling.
He had no parents. Yes, from the moment he could remember, he had no parents.
In this world, even if he lived in an apartment that others thought was comfortable, he still had nothing. Even a small bench did not belong to him.
Even if he had parents, when the day came at the age of 18, no matter how hard or sad his life was in the future, he could no longer blame his parents.
Qin Xiong had never resented anyone. He calmly accepted everything, and his eyes were always looking forward.
This was also the positive and optimistic thinking that had been instilled in him since he was supervised and taught here.
Last month, he had celebrated his 18th birthday.
He was an adult.
He thought that this was the arrival of a milestone moment, and he should fight for everything that he should belong to.
But a month had passed, and he was still "trapped" here, in a place where nothing belonged to him.
Tick, tick, tick. The alarm clock on the bedside table went to 10 pm. Qin Xiong closed his eyes and fell asleep …
The next morning, on the field that was neatly divided into four fields, the young people who came here from the dormitory or the cafeteria to prepare for training were not surprised to see a unique figure.
Qin Xiong came earlier than anyone else. He appeared to be full of energy during training every day, which came from sufficient sleep. His physical recovery was guaranteed, and he would complete a slow warm-up before the others arrived. Then, before the official training began, he would familiarize himself with the ball.
At this moment, he was alternately bouncing the ball with his feet. The football was like his doll, lightly and naturally bouncing back and forth between his feet.
Occasionally, the ball would be lifted high. Qin Xiong would touch the ball with his forehead, shoulders, bent down, and neck, but he was always able to keep the football from falling to the ground.
This did not mean that he had a natural inspiration for football. Anyone who had lived with football for 15 years from the age of three should be able to do this easily.
Outside the training base, some football-loving teenagers would idolize Qin Xiong, but they did not know that Qin Xiong was not liked by most people in the training base.
Most of the people here were orphans. They were also trained in football skills from an early age. However, on the road to growth, Qin Xiong was a maverick in their eyes.
Not only would he not secretly go outside with them to see the world and have fun, but he would also not chat with them in high spirits during rest time.
Qin Xiong was often silent and alone. His only hobby was drawing, and his drawing skills were particularly good. In addition, he showed that his football skills were obviously stronger than his peers since the age of eight. He was focused on training, had a personal apartment, and was paid more attention by the coaches, doctors, teachers, and so on. This easily aroused the jealousy of others.
Because of this, people who did not like Qin Xiong would privately call him a weirdo, but no one dared to provoke Qin Xiong face to face. This was because Qin Xiong had sent his opponents to the hospital in three fights. The lightest injury was a fracture, and the three people who provoked Qin Xiong eventually left the place. No one knew where they were now. Perhaps they were working in a factory to support themselves, or perhaps they were drifting with the crowd in some corner of society.
Starting from the age of eight, Qin Xiong had been widening the gap between him and his peers in all aspects every year for the past ten years, whether it was in terms of physical fitness or football skills. At the age of 18, he was revered by his peers and kept away from them.
Perhaps they were afraid that being with him would set off their own "weakness," or perhaps it was Qin Xiong's terrifying serious attitude and amazing hard work and tenacity in training every day. Obviously, in this impetuous social background, it was not surprising that a person like Qin Xiong was called a weirdo.
But Qin Xiong himself was clear-headed.
The Jiangcheng Youth Football Home had been established for almost 20 years. It trained children's football skills from an early age. There were more than 1,000 children in total. Some gave up early, and some ended up like Zhongyong. Until today, excluding Qin Xiong, only two people were considered to have some achievements.
One was Liu Yi, who was two years older than Qin Xiong. He entered the German football world last year and played for the FC Nürnberg in the Bundesliga 2. He played as a defensive midfielder.
The other was Zhang Pengfei, who received a professional contract from the Portuguese club Marítimo half a year ago. He played as a winger, and he was one year older than Qin Xiong.
And what was the future of Qin Xiong, the most eye-catching person in the Jiangcheng Youth Football Home?
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