Chapter 6: Anxious Waiting

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are known as the four cities with the strongest economic power in mainland China. Their overall strength ranks at the very top, and so they are often referred to as “super first-tier cities.” Although Guangzhou, known as the City of Rams, is ranked third, its position alone speaks volumes about its prosperity.

This prosperity is most evident in real estate prices. Even though Dai Zhiwei’s annual salary now nears one million, he still cannot afford to buy a home. Take, for example, the area around Tianhe Sports Center, the home ground of Evergrande; Dai’s yearly income could only purchase a bathroom of about ten square meters there.

Unable to buy property and with his parents not living in Guangzhou, Dai Zhiwei naturally had no choice but to rent. Fortunately, Evergrande, with its roots in real estate, provides player apartments.

Of course, the apartment given to Dai Zhiwei by Evergrande cannot be compared to those provided to foreign players like Goulart or Elkeson. Elkeson resides in Xinghui Yunjin, a neighborhood in Zhujiang New Town where the average price per square meter is around seventy thousand yuan. His apartment is over two hundred square meters, and the club pays more than twenty thousand a month in rent.

His fellow Brazilians, Goulart and Rene, also live in the same complex, each with apartments over two hundred square meters to accommodate their families who accompany them in Guangzhou. Living in the same neighborhood, they often dine out together, favoring places like Taikoo Hui, Zhujiang New Town, and Guangyue Tiandi, which offer a greater selection of Western cuisine.

Dai Zhiwei’s player apartment is less than sixty square meters, but the facilities are complete; it’s more than enough for a couple, and all other first-team players without their own property reside in this complex as well.

“Dawei! What are you thinking about?”

Wang Junhui, who was promoted from the reserve team to the first team alongside Dai Zhiwei, had come over as usual, looking for something to eat.

Dai glanced at him and said, “Huizi, nothing, just feeling really tired.”

He truly was exhausted. Eight days had passed since the match against Shijiazhuang Yongchang, and every day, after training, he felt fatigue he had never experienced in his previous life as a journalist, unfamiliar with the intensity of professional football training.

Moreover, when not training in the afternoons and evenings, Dai Zhiwei, feeling his own inadequacies, would throw himself into the system’s virtual space for further training. This not only honed his awareness but also stimulated his muscles as in real training, with effects and exhaustion just as real. Though it wouldn’t affect the next day, for Dai Zhiwei, once merely a small-time reporter, it was almost overwhelming.

Even more taxing was the psychological strain. Dai Zhiwei was deeply anxious about being exposed as a fraud, and these days he had been cautious, keeping his nerves taut, unable to relax for even a moment.

Wang Junhui listened to Dai’s words and laughed, “Dawei, you’ve done well! At least you’ve played this season. I haven’t even set foot on the pitch! Not playing in the AFC Champions League is normal, especially since our trident has performed so well!”

Dai Zhiwei shook his head, “No, I’m already content.”

Though he said so, he still cared very much about playing time. Just three days prior, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao flew to Sydney to face last season’s AFC Champions League winners, the Western Sydney Wanderers. Thanks to Goulart’s hat trick, Evergrande triumphed 3–2 over the defending champions, marking two consecutive group stage victories.

Unfortunately, due to the trident’s stellar performance, Dai Zhiwei didn’t get a single minute on the pitch, sitting on the bench for the entire ninety minutes.

The agony of waiting is truly hard to bear!

Wang Junhui gazed at Dai Zhiwei, finding him increasingly inscrutable. It was as if, after the match against Shijiazhuang Yongchang, he had become a completely different person. Previously, Dai Zhiwei was sharp, competitive, stubborn, arrogant, and would even brazenly provoke or mock his opponents.

But now, Dai Zhiwei was gentle and refined, quietly carrying out his duties, maintaining humility with everyone.

“Dawei, do you think we’ll have a chance as substitutes in tomorrow’s match?” Wang Junhui asked, hopeful.

The schedule for Evergrande this season was favorable; the first two rounds were against newly promoted teams, easing the pressure to win.

“Hmm, tomorrow we face Chongqing Lifan. There shouldn’t be much difficulty. Hopefully, the team will take an early lead and Coach Cannavaro might let us get some minutes,” Dai Zhiwei replied.

After several days of training, Dai Zhiwei’s abilities had improved again. Though the gains were modest, on the day of the match against Chongqing Lifan, he managed to raise his overall rating to seventy, the threshold for first-team players.

Especially in dribbling, under the guidance of Tsubasa Ozora in the system’s virtual space, Dai Zhiwei’s skills had soared. In recent training matches, he was the undisputed king of dribbling, even more dazzling than several Brazilian imports.

“Come on, Chongqing Lifan!”

...

This season, Chongqing Lifan’s home ground, Yanghe Stadium, was renowned as a fortress. Five days before the second round of the Chinese Super League, tickets for Chongqing Lifan’s home match against Guangzhou Evergrande went on sale and sold out within ninety minutes. The next afternoon at two, Lifan released another ten thousand tickets, which enthusiastic fans snapped up in forty minutes.

On the eve of the match, ticket offices near Yanghe Stadium saw even longer queues than on the eleventh. At the Olympic Sports Center, the line stretched over two hundred meters.

A fan who managed to buy two tickets exited the booth. When a reporter asked how many tickets remained, he assumed the reporter wanted to join the queue and advised, “I saw more than twenty tickets on the desk, but you shouldn’t bother queuing. There are at least a hundred people waiting now, so you won’t get one.”

Xiao Wen, who had previously failed to secure tickets, excitedly told the reporter he finally managed to get one for a colleague. “It’s all about luck and persistence. Maybe filling out the purchase form ten times yesterday was unlucky, but today my luck finally turned,” he sighed.

Many fans posted screenshots online of their successful ticket confirmations. Some had seats that weren’t together, but they didn’t care—they were just glad to have tickets at all.

“Though there are over forty thousand tickets for this match, many are package deals, sponsor comps, or staff tickets, so not all are available for sale. The club has released every ticket it could,” Lifan explained.

The club suggested that at this point, the only option was to buy from scalpers, but doing so would only fuel their business. Currently, scalpers were selling eighty-yuan tickets for four hundred, and the best fifty-yuan seats for two hundred.

With such enthusiastic fans filling Yanghe Stadium, it would likely be one of Evergrande’s greatest challenges in the match.

For this game, Chongqing Lifan fielded their strongest lineup, while Evergrande rotated due to the midweek AFC Champions League—yet Dai Zhiwei still couldn’t break into the starting eleven.

Chongqing Lifan:
Goalkeeper: Sui Weijie
Defenders: Tan Wangsong, Sun Jihai, Lail, Xu Xiaobo
Midfielders: Zhang Chimeng, Wang Dong, Jackson, Aduah, Peng Xinli
Forward: Guli Audi

Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao:
Goalkeeper: Li Shuai
Defenders: Zou Zheng, Feng Xiaoting, Mei Fang, Rong Hao
Midfielders: Zhao Xuri, Rene, Huang Bowen
Forwards: Goulart, Elkeson, Gao Lin

The match proceeded in ways that surprised pre-match expectations. Evergrande started cautiously, adopting a defensive counterattacking strategy. But Chongqing Lifan, playing at home, wasted no time; from the first second, they launched an all-out assault.

In the seventh minute, Chongqing Lifan posed their first real threat. Wang Dong received a return pass from Zhang Chimeng in midfield and delivered a long ball straight into the penalty area.

Guli Audi sprinted forward, seized the drop, and struck with his right foot, aiming for the top left corner!

Li Shuai read the play perfectly, and as Guli Audi shot, he was already positioned at the left post, leaping lightly to punch the ball away. Feng Xiaoting cleared the danger with a powerful kick.

Cannavaro breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines, then strode onto the pitch, loudly directing his players to tighten their defense and pressure Chongqing Lifan’s midfield.

With several key players unavailable, this was Cannavaro’s best possible lineup. For a coach still finding his feet, there was little he could do as his team was pinned back by Lifan.

That attack from Chongqing Lifan immediately spurred Evergrande’s players to launch their own offense, but they always fell short at the final crucial moment.

“Let me play, Coach Cannavaro!” Dai Zhiwei silently prayed as he watched Cannavaro pacing on the sidelines.

He had no desire to spend another ninety minutes glued to the bench.