110

Rusty leaned against the fence, smoothing down his hair with an air of practiced coolness.

The girl on the other side giggled, covering her mouth. "Rusty, you don't need to introduce yourself—I already know you! You were amazing today!"

"Really? Hahaha!" Rusty gave his hair another quick fix, flashing a confident smile. "I think so too! But hearing it from a beautiful lady like you makes it even better."

"M-me? You think I'm beautiful?" The girl blushed, looking genuinely excited.

Truthfully, she was maybe a 7/10 at best in terms of looks and figure. But that didn't matter to Rusty—his flirting skills didn't discriminate based on a rating system.

In his eyes, as long as it was a girl, she was a beauty.

After all, he was a man who had confessed to over 50 girls and been rejected every single time. What mattered to him wasn't their looks—it was his success rate.

Clearing his throat, Rusty went in for the kill. "So, beautiful lady, we're going out to celebrate tonight. Would you like to join us?"

The girl's eyes lit up. "Really? You're all going out? I can come too?"

Rusty's heart soared. "Of course!"

"That's amazing! I'm totally free! I don't even need to go home tonight!"

Rusty felt like he had won the lottery.

Not going home tonight…

Wasn't this exactly what Gu Ran had promised? Play football well, and the girls would naturally come to you!

He wasn't even ready for this, and yet, spring had arrived early!

But just as he was about to bask in his victory, the girl carefully pulled out an envelope from her pocket and handed it to him. "Rusty, can you do me a favor and give this letter to my idol, Gu Ran?"

Rusty froze.

The smile on his face turned stiff.

What the hell…

Before he could react, the girl, blushing shyly, continued, "Tell him… tonight, I'm up for anything. Please, I'm counting on you!"

Rusty clutched the love letter, his lips trembling. "…Okay."

"Thank you, Rusty! You're such a great guy!"

With that, the girl skipped away happily.

Rusty stared at her retreating figure, then threw his head back in agony.

"No! No! Nooooooo—!"

Inside the locker room, the celebration was still going strong.

The team, fresh off their historic win, continued hugging, singing, and shouting in joy.

Breaking into the final 16 after 20 years—there were no words to describe this feeling.

They weren't just players anymore.

They were heroes.

Rusty walked in, looking like he had just been through hell, and shoved the letter at Gu Ran.

Gu Ran blinked. "What's this?"

"What do you think it is?! A love letter!" Rusty shouted, his voice full of grief.

The entire locker room fell silent.

Everyone turned to stare at Rusty.

Watergate leaned in with a grin. "Rusty… did you just give Gu Ran a love letter?"

"Whoa, Rusty! That's bold!"

"Rusty, are you saying you gave up on girls and finally decided to try guys?"

"Oh my God! I don't think I can shower with you anymore!"

"Rusty, I support you!"

The team erupted in laughter, hooting and teasing.

Rusty waved his hands frantically. "No! No! You've got it all wrong! It's not from me! A really pretty girl asked me to give it to him!"

Even as he said it, he clutched his chest in pain.

"Oh." Gu Ran let out a relieved sigh. "You scared me for a second there."

He had been fist-bumping and chest-bumping Rusty all game—if the letter had really been from him, Gu Ran would've wanted to drop dead on the spot.

He took the letter and, without even opening it, tossed it into his locker.

Rusty was stunned. "You're not even going to read it? That girl was actually pretty!"

Gu Ran chuckled. "I'm not interested in romance. It's a waste of time. I just want to play football."

What he liked was something more… direct.

No emotions, just pure technique.

Rusty groaned. "Damn it, you heartless bastard—TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!"

Coach Carter entered the locker room, his face glowing with pride.

He had just come back from a meeting with the school board, where he had undoubtedly received heaps of praise.

Southampton Private School had made it past the group stage many times in its 100-year history, but never with such a dramatic comeback.

"Listen up, boys!" Carter shouted. "Congratulations! You played your hearts out today! You showed what Southampton football is all about! You were ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!"

"YEAH!!"

The locker room erupted once more.

Carter raised his hands, signaling for them to settle down. "Alright, listen up! I know you all want to celebrate, so I'll keep this short. I have a few announcements, and then you can go do whatever you want!"

"HOORAH!"

"Yes, Coach!"

The room quickly quieted.

"First—post-match ratings."

Carter pulled out a sheet of stats. "We always review our performance, even on days like today. I'll only announce one thing—the highest-rated player."

Watergate smirked. "Coach, do we even need to guess? It's obviously Gu Ran!"

"Yeah! It has to be Gu Ran!"

"If it's not Gu Ran, I'll eat my own cleats!"

The whole team chimed in.

Carter smiled. "That's right. The highest-rated player is Gu Ran."

Applause filled the room.

This was well-deserved.

In just three games—less than two weeks—Gu Ran had gone from a newcomer to an undisputed core player.

No one had any complaints.

Especially not after today's performance.

He had been phenomenal—not only with crucial tackles and pinpoint passes but also in sheer work rate.

And, of course, he had scored twice and provided an assist.

His rating was bound to be sky-high.

His previous game had been an 8.5. This one had to be at least… an 8.6?

Gu Ran looked at Carter expectantly.

But Carter folded up the paper and slipped it into his pocket. "Alright, moving on to the second announcement."

…What the hell?

Did my rating just get ignored?

How much time would it take to announce it?

Gu Ran raised his hand. "Coach, I'd really like to know my rating."

Carter cleared his throat. "It's decent. But you still need to work harder."

…Damn it.

Another round of psychological warfare.

It was probably ridiculously high, and he didn't want me to get cocky.

Fine, I'll play along.

Gu Ran nodded seriously. "Understood, Coach. I'll keep pushing myself."

"Good." Carter looked pleased. "Now, let's talk about discipline—specifically, the fact that some of you decided to change the free-kick taker without my approval."

Bun immediately stepped forward. "Coach, that was my call. I gave it to Gu Ran voluntarily."

Gu Ran shook his head. "No, Coach, this is on me. I broke the rules. If anyone should be punished, it's me."

Bun protested. "I'm the captain. I knew the rules and still went against them. I should take responsibility."

Carter was known for his strict discipline.

Breaking the rules often meant at least 200 frog jumps.

Or worse—being kicked off the team.

But Carter simply nodded in approval. "Good. You're taking responsibility instead of shifting blame. That's what this team is about. Normally, I'd punish you both. But… that free kick was too damn good. And it won us the game. So, I'll let it slide."

Bun's face lit up. "You mean… we're off the hook?"

Carter grinned. "This time, yes. But from now on—no more changing free-kick takers unless I say so. Understood?"

"Yes, Coach!"

Gu Ran felt a little disappointed. Did this mean he wouldn't get to take free kicks anymore?

But then—

Carter continued, "Which brings me to my next announcement. From now on, Gu Ran is our first-choice free-kick taker."

The room went silent.

Then—

"HELL YEAH!"

Gu Ran's banana shot had convinced everyone.

Carter wasn't restricting him—he was officially recognizing him.

Gu Ran's grin widened.

Looks like I'll be scoring a lot more goals from now on.

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