Chapter 13 — The Strong Do Cry, But They Run With Tears in Their Eyes
After scoring, Xia Qi didn't celebrate immediately; he walked expressionlessly past Gerrard.
Was this arrogance?
Or…?
It left Gerrard, Suárez, Sterling, and the others stunned.
"So cool. I'll celebrate like that from now on."
Sterling's untimely remark earned him a smack from a teammate.
The referee's whistle sounded and pointed to the center circle.
2–1!
In the commentary box Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief; seeing Xia Qi's face they'd thought the goal might be ruled out.
"Ding… precise positioning complete, match continues…"
Even after precise positioning ended, Xia Qi still hadn't regained bodily control.
On Arsenal's coaching bench,
Pat Rice beamed:
"This kid — always so focused. If the match's not over, he's not emotional at all."
"He should learn to trust his teammates; football is a team sport. He can't do everyone's job alone."
"I know, but he's different here…" Pat tapped his temple with a finger.
Wenger: (^○^)
That reasoning is powerful!
Wenger had no rebuttal; if Xia Qi weren't troubled, City wouldn't have sold him and Arsenal wouldn't have had the chance.
"Well, a genius will always have quirks, but I still want to talk with him."
Xia Qi didn't celebrate, but his teammates couldn't hide their excitement — chiefly because knocking Suárez flying had set spirits soaring.
One came over: "Nice one, Xia!" and then ruffled his hair a bit.
Another: "Haha, I've never seen Suárez so embarrassed," and then also teased his hair.
His hair was soon ruffled into a nest, but Xia Qi still wore that iceberg face — as if head may be severed, hair may be tumbled, but the iceberg must not melt!
Luckily his teammates knew his temperament — the on-pitch and off-pitch versions of him were completely different, as if two people lived in his head.
On the pitch: social anxiety, poor with words.
Off it: a social bull who can stare demons down.
Among the teammates, Gibbs was the most disgusting; he virtually felt Xia Qi all over as if checking his bones, which grossed Xia Qi out — but he couldn't bawl "Get lost!"
Gibbs: "You don't seem stronger than me — why am I the weakest? … Hey Xia, why are your socks torn?"
Xia Qi's eyes had tears and words: "Brother, you've got an eye — check if I'm injured."
But the squad's tacit understanding wasn't quite there yet; they all saw him standing like a young green pine, ready as if nothing had happened for the restart.
No one thought to check his injuries, though that collision must have hurt!
Look, there's still a sparkle in his eyes.
What a professional ethic!
Arsenal's players stood in respectful awe!
The strong don't lack tears; they run with tears in their eyes.
Arsenal was moved!
Even the usually irate Wenger let some of the anger drain away.
"This kid's hunger to win is so strong. Playing like that, he's prone to injury."
Pat Rice: "That's exactly why I like him — focused, combative, tough. Of course, he still needs to learn self-protection. I'll talk to him after the match."
To lament his lack of wisdom, to sigh at his iron will, to be angry yet not cause trouble!
Arsenal's fighting spirit burned!
Beep!
Play resumed.
Substitute forwards got involved — Giroud and Podolski now couldn't play purely to their whims like in the first half.
They started checking their teammates more as they moved, and that small change made Arsenal's tactics much more dynamic.
Gerrard saw Arsenal's change. Holding a one-goal lead, he didn't press forward recklessly; both teams exchanged careful, concealed blows.
In this scene,
the system no longer did precise locking — Xia Qi could finally stay up front and make off-the-ball runs as Wenger wanted.
That eased Xia Qi but left him a little wistful.
Human hearts are never satisfied.
Sterling wanted to emulate Xia Qi's non-celebration — first he had to score himself.
He was Liverpool's liveliest man on defensive counters; however, he no longer wanted to just feed Suárez — he chose to cut inside and shoot.
Frankly, Sterling's dribbling, overlap, crossing and cutting in might not be the world's best, but they're top-class in the Premier League — his finishing limits him.
Although Sterling's shot was joyful, Arsenal wouldn't leave him to his joy.
Under Vermaelen's direction, the defense began to collapse toward him.
In the 72nd minute Gerrard switched the play again: Sterling took the outside route, but Vermaelen and others set a pocket trap for the joyful boy.
Sterling had no chance to resist; he was dispossessed and the ball was intercepted by Diaby, who passed to Arteta.
The ball entered Liverpool's box; Giroud, lurking, leapt high but did not head on goal, instead nudging the ball on to Podolski.
This combination was delicate: Giroud completed the focal task, drawing the entire Liverpool backline's attention.
Podolski at the far post was left completely free; with no defender on him he smashed a left-foot shot!
Yet what should have been a certain goal was somehow superbly punched away by Reina.
Both teams had thrown everything into the moment and the ball flew far.
"Ding…"
"Detected an attack-defense transition node in the host's zone. Activating [Defender at the Pinnacle] attribute…"
Xia Qi streaked toward the ball like lightning.
"Podolski's shot from the penalty spot was saved by Reina — that's Porti's first strike. But the ball is… Xia?"
"The ball flew over half the pitch; Xia Qi and Gerrard are chasing together."
Compared to Xia Qi, Gerrard had the positional advantage.
"Ding! Detected a normal sprint; the host cannot complete the [Defender] attribute. Increasing host speed.
This speed exceeds the host's speed limit; the host's muscles may suffer some strain. Please avoid strength training for one week and abstain from sexual activity, but this does not include left-hand exercises."
If he can't catch up then fine,
we're wage-earners, brother!
…
On the pitch Xia Qi kept accelerating, the gap to Gerrard closing steadily.
Arsenal fans' cries grew louder; Liverpool's grew fainter…
When the ball bounced back up, the two were side by side!
In an instant,
Arsenal fans gave everything and turned Anfield into the Emirates in spirit.
On the pitch, Gerrard felt the pain of Anfield.
A red army loyalist in desperation abandoned sportsmanship and flung an arm at Xia Qi.
Xia Qi seemed to have read his mind and ducked just in time.
Gerrard's arm swung through the air and almost caused him to fall.
In that instant Xia Qi used the chance to lengthen the distance.
By the time Xia Qi reached the ball and took perfect control, Gerrard had only just caught up.
This time the young player showed no mercy: instead of letting Gerrard set his defensive stance, Xia Qi slid the ball behind him and then received it back three seconds later, executing an outside-line overtake to avoid a tactical foul.
He ate him alive!
He'd been eaten alive!
A moment that should once have belonged to Bale gobbling up Maicon had now become Xia Qi's signature…
At that instant, the Liverpool captain tasted only bitterness: had he not flung the arm, the scene might have been different…
(END CHAPTER)
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