Unconventional Center

Chapter 1: The Fox in the Penalty Area, The Scorpion’s Tail

“There are still twenty-six minutes left in the match against Deportivo La Coruña, and the score remains 0–2. Perhaps most Chinese fans are no longer concerned with who will win or lose, but rather whether Chu Yang—who has been absent from the field for so long—will get a chance to play.” In the CCTV-5 studio, lead commentator Duan Xiang spoke eloquently. “Trailing by two goals, Deportivo La Coruña will definitely bring on a forward to push forward—Chu Yang should have a chance,” said the refined guest commentator Xu Songming. “That’s right. Although his performance hasn’t been great, it’s clear that the Deportivo La Coruña Coaching Staff has always had a lot of faith in Chu Yang… Oh, look, Chu Yang is warming up. The Coaching Staff really does have a soft spot for him.” Across various soccer message boards, forums, and chat groups, fans were already in an uproar. “They’ve always trusted him—that’s why they benched him. What a ridiculous logic.” “A player gets sent onto the field not because he can help the team, but because the coach is ‘considerate’? All I can say is, that’s some masterful trolling.” “How can you talk about Chu Yang like that? He’s clearly working really hard, you know?” “The person above is right—it’s rare to see a player who works this hard and still plays so poorly.” “Didn’t they say he got hit in the head by the ball during practice and passed out? How could he even take the field?” “When he couldn’t make it in China, he blamed the system. But what does it say about him that he’s playing this terribly abroad?” “It just goes to show that our so-called ‘genius’ is all hype. 370 minutes with 0 goals and 0 assists, a 40% pass completion rate, and 11 turnovers—is this the kind of ‘genius’ Huaxia, with its population of over a billion, has produced?” Chu Yang was warming up. Of course, he knew he was just a media hype job. Maybe he didn’t know it before, but now it was crystal clear—all because of that bizarre thing in his mind called the “Superstar System.” Name: Chu Yang; Height: 1. 81 m; Weight: 73 kg; I. Physical Attributes