After the "little class," Carter arranged for Drummer to distribute brand-new school team jerseys. Julian received five pristine "No. 3" jerseys: one primary, one replacement, one spare, and two away kits for color clashes.
——In amateur matches, away jerseys are rarely necessary.
The home jersey features red-and-white diagonal stripes, reminiscent of Southampton FC's design—though theirs uses vertical stripes. Embroidered on the chest is Southampton Private School's crest: a stag standing tall in a forest, antlers sharp as steel halberds. On the back, Julian's initials "GR" are printed—"G" for *Gu*, "R" for *Ran*.
Though educated in the UK, Julian never adopted an English name. He wasn't "Jack" or "Pony." Foreigners mispronouncing Asian names reflects *their* limitations, not the names. For now, as an unknown player, Julian uses abbreviated letters to avoid phonetic errors. Staring at the initials, he felt a swell of emotion:
> *I finally have my own jersey!*
> *This is just the beginning…*
> *One day, my name won't be abbreviated on this fabric.*
> *One day, the world will know me.*
> *One day, foreigners will learn to say Asian names clearly.*
Julian clenched his fists, then carefully packed the jersey into his sports bag.
"The jersey recipients are the 18-man roster," Coach Carter announced sternly. "These players skip tomorrow's morning classes. Pack your gear and gather at the school gate at 8 a.m. We take the bus to the airport for a 9:10 flight to Manchester."
"Manchester?" The players exchanged uneasy glances:
- "Fack! Our first match isn't against the *Pirates*, is it?"
- "Must be. Manchester's only top-32 team is Manchester Grammar's Pirate Fleet."
- "I still remember their dirty tackles…"
- "But their cheer squad is top-tier…"
"Quiet!" Carter barked, scowling. "You've guessed it—tomorrow's opponent is Manchester Grammar's Pirates. Match schedules are in your emails. After today's training, go home. No bars, no alcohol, no girlfriends—or boyfriends, or *yourselves*. Study the data, rest well, and prepare. Understood?"
"Yes, Coach!" the team shouted.
"Good. Dismissed—go home!" Carter waved them off. The players exhaled in relief.
Julian showered in the locker room, shouldered his bag, and left. After dinner, he returned home. After brief greetings to Andrew and Sally, he retreated to his room and opened his laptop.
Sure enough, there was an extra letter in the mailbox from the school team's official address.
The letter introduced the group match schedule:
The official name of the Genius Cup National Competition is the "All England High School Amateur Football Championship."
This national competition is held annually. The winning team receives a Football Association-issued trophy for talented players and gains potential recommendations to first-tier professional clubs.
The competition follows a seeded team model. The previous year's top eight teams bypass qualifiers and advance directly to the group stage.
Thirty-two national high school teams are divided into eight groups, with the eight seeded teams distributed among them.
This structure means that while the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout round of 16, only one spot is realistically available for non-seeded teams. The eight seeded teams are exceptionally strong, making upsets unlikely.
The Southampton Private School Bucks Steel Horns are not seeded. Their best historical achievement was reaching the national quarterfinals once.
This year, Southampton Private School was drawn into Group E.
The other three teams in Group E are:
- The Pirates Fleet from Manchester Grammar School
- The Wild Boars from Tonbridge Secondary School
- The seeded Rugby School Golden Fleece team
Seeing this, Julian took a deep breath.
Rugby School—the birthplace of modern rugby—was also instrumental in formulating modern football rules. Founded in 1567, Rugby School has won 29 championships in the competition's 80-year history. In last year's final, they narrowly lost 3–4 to Westminster School!
The team's style evaluation notes: "They rely on physicality and speed to overwhelm opponents, possessing League One-level strength, speed, and technique."
This isn't just a seeded team—it's royalty slumming it in the lower tiers.
Now, the other two teams' profiles:
Tonbridge Secondary School's Wild Boar Jazz has won 5 national championships and 11 runner-up titles. Their style: "Solid defense, excels at wing attacks." Tonbridge is a top-tier aristocratic school under royal patronage. Students are typically born with "golden spoons," granting ample time for football. To counter perceptions of elitism, they've admitted non-aristocratic students—provided they're elite athletes. Most notably, they boast 28 football fields, five meeting international standards.
Finally, Manchester Grammar School Corsairs: 3-time national champions, 7-time runners-up. Their style: "Aggressive, physically intense, technically superb, maximizes pitch width." While less renowned than Rugby or Tonbridge, Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton attended this school. The team regularly trains with Manchester United stars.
By comparison, the Southampton school team seems hopeless.
What does Southampton have? A coach with +6 trash-talking skills! Their best result: one national quarterfinal appearance. This year's prospects dimmed further when their star left-back transferred to Westminster College.
No wonder Coach Carter is frantic—Group E is a "group of death," and Southampton is its weakest member.
The schedule:
- May 5, 25:00: Bucks Steel Horns away vs. Manchester Grammar Corsairs
- May 5: Bucks Steel Horns away vs. Tonbridge Wild Boar Jazz
- June 6: Bucks Steel Horns home vs. Rugby School Golden Fleece
The schedule is grueling—essentially two matches per week—demanding extreme physical stamina. Southampton's weaker squad faces two away games and one home match. Given these odds, their previous 0-point finish seems almost logical.
The group stage uses a points system: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. The maximum 9 points can't be achieved by two teams in one group. After three round-robin matches, the top two advance.
Julian calculated that the Bucks Steel Horns need at least 4 points to qualify—requiring one win and one draw. Losing twice would eliminate them. This challenge seems insurmountable. Merely drawing against any Group E opponent would be a monumental feat.
Though Julian's skills improved recently, his stamina remains insufficient for full matches at this intensity. He must prioritize physical training immediately.
Hence, pursuing Sophie grows increasingly essential—one "future star" talent point equals 10 hours of training. He isn't drawn to Sophie herself, just her "talent bubbles."
12 Midnight.
Julian took out his mobile phone, considering how to get Sophie to come to his room.
After all, that morning he had forced himself on Sophie, unable to control his youthful impulses. He still didn't know how to explain it to her.
What if he just pretended to forget?
Julian set the phone down hesitantly.
Just then, the door eased open.
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