Liu Liang turned and walked toward the sidelines, but suddenly stopped and turned back, saying, "Oh, by the way, considering you guys are Pingping's classmates, I'll go easy on you and make it 3-0."
Liu Liang's arrogant attitude irritated everyone in the Management and Engineering Department. Yang Baishan was so angry that he almost crushed his fists.
The team members silently walked off the field and returned to the sidelines where their classmates were.
When the Computer Science team members returned to the sidelines, the dozen or so girls from the Management and Engineering Department were busy handing out water and wiping sweat for them.
Their eager behavior infuriated everyone!
Yang Baishan couldn't help but curse, "So shameless!"
There was a fifteen-minute halftime break.
At the beginning of the soccer match, Xu Xiuwen didn't care much about winning or losing.
But now, having reached the finals and facing the Computer Science team, coupled with their arrogant attitude, his anger was ignited.
Xu Xiuwen drank some water handed to him by Su Yanyan, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "We were lucky in the morning; they hit the crossbar, otherwise we would be a point behind. In the afternoon, they will definitely launch a fierce attack."
Dong Jun looked around, glancing at the ten players who had played in the first half. Except for the goalkeeper, everyone was panting heavily, and the four of them from 412 were drenched in sweat, exhausted.
He couldn't help but say, "We ran almost to our limits in the first half. Can we keep up in the second half? It will be hard to withstand their attack."
Everyone in the Management and Engineering team knew Dong Jun was right.
They were all somewhat disheartened. If they had almost conceded in the first half despite giving their all, how could they possibly hold off the attacks in the second half?
Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen said, "We can't sit back and wait for defeat. Winning or losing aside, we must at least ensure we don't concede any goals. Once we concede, it will be very hard to catch up."
Dong Jun noticed something and turned to Xu Xiuwen, asking, "Xiuwen, do you have a plan?"
Everyone turned their attention to Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen indeed had an idea in mind but wasn't sure if it would work or if it was a good one.
He hesitated, "I do have an idea."
Hearing Xu Xiuwen say he had an idea, everyone got excited.
Yang Baishan couldn't help but urge, "Xiuwen, what's your idea? Hurry and tell us."
Xu Xiuwen looked up at everyone and said, "I want to be the goalkeeper in the second half!"
"What?"
A chorus of exclamations!
No one expected Xu Xiuwen's plan to be this.
Yang Baishan was immediately anxious, "Xiuwen, how can you be the goalkeeper? Who will take care of the attacking midfielder? I was planning to score off your passes!"
Dong Jun glared at him, "Still thinking about scoring? Didn't you hear what Xiuwen said? The key is to not concede goals. Besides, their defense is like an iron wall. Do you think you can score by yourself?"
Jin Haonan asked, "Xiuwen, what exactly are you thinking? Tell us."
Xu Xiuwen exhaled and said, "I think our current situation means we should focus on not losing first. If we rely solely on our defenders, it's too demanding for them. They might not be able to do it."
"So, you want to be the goalkeeper?" Dong Jun asked.
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "Yes, it's not that I'm saying brother Wang isn't a good goalkeeper, but I feel my reaction speed is quite fast and might be more effective in goal."
There were some things Xu Xiuwen couldn't say out loud.
After being reborn, his physical fitness had been enhanced, far better than ordinary people.
In previous matches, whenever the opposing forwards tried to deceive him with feints, he saw through them all.
It wasn't because of his extensive experience, but because his reaction speed was exceptionally fast.
The opponents' small movements seemed slightly slow to him.
It's like a martial arts master in movies who always counters quickly and defeats the opponent.
The reason isn't that the opponent is slow, but that the master's reactions are faster.
To put it bluntly, Xu Xiuwen could compete with professional players in reaction speed, and it would be hard to say who would win.
Not to mention the Computer Science players; he was definitely far superior.
Moreover, Xu Xiuwen's jumping ability, both in height and speed, was stronger than ordinary people.
These traits were very suitable for goalkeeping.
So Xu Xiuwen thought that if he guarded the goal, there might be a chance to block all the opponent's shots.
It might seem a bit far-fetched.
But it was the only way Xu Xiuwen thought they could stay undefeated.
If they didn't try and continued with the first half's strategy, the Management and Engineering team's players would quickly get exhausted and find it very hard to defend in the second half, likely resulting in a loss.
After discussing it, everyone in the Management and Engineering team agreed that Xu Xiuwen's plan was the only one they could think of.
They decided to give it a try, no matter what.
After making the decision, everyone rested as much as they could.
Unlike the serious and heavy atmosphere of the Management and Engineering team, the Computer Science team was relaxed and confident, already feeling they had the match in the bag.
Just before the second half was about to start, Xu Xiuwen's phone rang.
It was a call from Xiao Youran.
Xiao Youran rarely called him; she usually communicated via text.
Xu Xiuwen glanced at Tang Weiwei and stepped aside to answer the call.
"Hello."
"Xiao Xu!" Xiao Youran's cheerful voice came through the phone.
"What's up? I'm a bit busy right now."
Xiao Youran chuckled and asked, "Xiao Xu, are you playing in a soccer match this afternoon?"
Xu Xiuwen hadn't told her about the match, so he was a bit surprised.
But since she asked, she must have found out somehow, so he didn't hide it and said, "Yes."
Xiao Youran teased, "Xiao Xu, why didn't you tell me about the match? If Shishi hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known."
"Shishi?" Xu Xiuwen was puzzled, thinking it was Cheng Lu who told her.
"Yes, Shishi saw the sports department's poster with your team's name on it and guessed you might be playing. Am I smart or what?"
"Yeah," Xu Xiuwen replied perfunctorily, then said, "The match is about to start, I'll hang up now."
But Xiao Youran suddenly chuckled and whispered mysteriously, "Xiao Xu, guess where I am now?"
"You're here?"
It wasn't hard to guess; she wouldn't ask if she wasn't.
"I see you, look back."
Xu Xiuwen turned to look at the stands.
He quickly saw Xiao Youran at the top of the stands.
Xiao Youran was wearing an elegant long dress, standing in the light, smiling and waving at him, looking dazzling.
Besides her, Song Siyu and An Shishi were also there, standing next to her.
Song Siyu was wearing a white T-shirt with an open beige jacket and jeans.
Xu Xiuwen hadn't seen her for a while, but she still looked beautiful.
Seeing her reminded Xu Xiuwen of the swimming pool incident and wondered if she had learned to swim since then.