Beep, beep beep. The electronic dinging of the alarm clock echoes around the darkened flat. Sensing that the bed is empty, it stops, giving way to an eerie silence. Morning light filters through the blinds, shining upon the empty bed. The shower is already running, steam flying out the windows into the busy streets of Shanghai. The bustling city has turned into a divided world. Slums in one half of the city, with expensive bungalows in the other. The rich and the poor, in the same city. Yin and Yan. The steam quickly mixes with the smoke of the bustling city, and the honks of cars and buses milling around the city square. The shower stops. Picking up a fluffy, white towel, Li-Xuang Hu dries himself off, the microfibres soaking the droplets of water from his skin, leaving it fresh, and dry. Friday: match day. Shanghai Shenua is about to face the second place Beijing Guoan. The deciding match. 1st vs 2nd. Li knows the importance of this encounter, the title in the balance. The coach has trained them, and they are ready. Victory will be theirs. Playing the game he loves, for the town he loves; perfect. He walks to the bedroom and finds his clothes lying upon the freshly made sheets of his bed. Knowing he can't stomach down breakfast, he whizzes out an fresh energy drink, pouring it from his Cookotron 5. Opening the door of his apartment, he knows the significance of this fixture isn't just for the team, with the transfer window approaching. He will play well. He must play well. His future depends on it.
Sitting in the blue-lighted changing rooms, he can hear the buzzing of VIP guests around him. Yet the image doesn't really connect, with bigger pictures upon the mind of Li. He felt the stadium above him, the pressure of the tens of thousands of fans expectant of a win. Yet Li was in the zone. He will win. Walking out onto the pitch, he is focused, prepared for the battle to come, as Shanghai Shenua's leading midfielder. It's his time to shine.
The midfield maestro passes the ball around beautifully, and he knows that in the coming days, the papers will liken him to Paul Pogba, the best midfielder, the ballon d'Or winner. he gracefully tackles, dribbles, shoots. He is in the zone. Pass, run, pass, run. The game flows through him. The crowds, the fans. He craves the audience, the buzz, the sweat. Suddenly, he's open, in the box. Falling into the hole in the defence he collects the ball, just the keeper to go. Focus. Focus.
GOAL!!! The ball ricochets off the post, past the goal keeper and into the back of the net. Sliding along the ground, he marks the cross on his chest. The game sealing goal. 3-0 to Shanghai Shenua. The team is exuberant in the changerooms, celebrating their victory. The title is theirs. Man of the match for Li, the team knows they need him. And he knows his transfer sum will be huge.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
