Chapter 290: Some people can’t sleep, and some people don’t want to sleep
"Xiao Shi..."
When the Chinese team players all left the conference room and returned to their rooms to rest, the national team leader Hong Renjie also knocked on the door of Shi Wuyin's room, but hesitated to speak.
"Lao Hong, just say whatever you have to say. Do we still need to be so polite?" Shi Wuyuan said with a smile.
"Actually, it's nothing... I'm just wondering whether the method proposed by the coaching staff to let the players watch the game together to learn is still open to question? After everyone watched the game between the Korean team and the American team this time, I felt a little bit
I'm so lost..." Hong Renjie expressed his thoughts.
Because of Shi Wuyin's series of contributions to Chinese football, and because of the personal relationship between the two, Hong Renjie spoke tactfully.
The words "to be discussed" are used instead of "nonsense".
That's very polite.
"They seemed to be even more nervous after watching that game. You know, after Gao Chen and Jiang Wanqing played, the atmosphere in the team was already tense, but now it's completely added fuel to the fire... Otherwise, it's better to cancel
Is this an arrangement? Don’t watch live matches in the future..."
Shi Wuyin smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Lao Hong, canceling this event does not mean telling the players that we know they have been hit and frightened, so we simply blindfolded their eyes and blocked their ears to prevent them from being frightened again.
... What do you think the players will think then? Will they feel less nervous? Will they feel slighted and become more frustrated and less confident?"
"Uh..." Hong Renjie also felt that this was inappropriate.
"This is how I look at it, Lao Hong. You will definitely be nervous if you are nervous. After all, this is our first World Cup. Don't you see that the Korean team is also very nervous today? Otherwise, they could have conceded a goal at the beginning?
So whether we show our players the game or not, they will still be nervous... Besides, if you don’t gather them together to watch the game, won’t they watch it privately? They will learn the information differently. So.
We will still be nervous no matter what we do." Shi Wuyin said, "Being nervous is not necessarily a bad thing, or if it cannot be avoided, then don't regard it as a trouble."
After listening to Shi Wuyuan's explanation, Hong Renjie remained silent, but at least he did not object anymore.
Shi Wuyin continued: "And this is the first game after all. If you watch a few more games, maybe you won't be nervous anymore? I feel it's a pity now that we are in Group B. Tomorrow is our game against Algeria.
. So before tomorrow’s game, we can only watch this one..."
"You said that, are we not enough?" Hong Renjie was amused by Shi Wuyin's words.
He actually felt that what Shi Wuyuan said made sense, at least he was convinced. He just took this opportunity of joking to give everyone a step down, make a haha, and forget about it.
Unexpectedly, Shi Wuyin did not answer him, but frowned and suddenly became silent. After thinking for a while, he said to Hong Renjie: "Old Hong, you are right about one thing. I shouldn't let them play before the first World Cup game."
Look, because there are no other games in between... There is only this one game, and there is no way to relieve their tension... If they wait until the first game is over before watching other teams' games, that tension will probably be relieved.
a lot of……"
Hong Renjie did not expect that Shi Wuyuan would suddenly start to reflect on his own.
Shi Wuyin thought to himself and shook his head and sighed: "Miscalculation, miscalculation... Alas! But that's all it can do!"
"Are you okay, Xiao Shi?" Hong Renjie asked with concern.
Shi Wuyin came back to his senses, shook his head and said, "It's okay, Lao Hong. I didn't think carefully this time."
Hong Renjie waved his hand quickly: "No, no... I just said it casually. You are right, no matter whether we do this or not, we will still be nervous. After all, this is the first World Cup in our history.
, it would be weird if I wasn’t nervous..."
He spoke for Shi Wuyuan again.
But Shi Wuyin just shook his head: "You're right, Lao Hong. It would be strange if you weren't nervous... I was nervous too, thinking too much and arranging too many things, and the result was... self-defeating."
Hearing what Shi Wuyuan said, Hong Renjie was a little dumbfounded: Are you really thinking here?
He thought Shi Wuyin was just talking to show his humility...
So he could only pat Shi Wuyin and persuade him: "You don't have to blame yourself. All of us are inexperienced. The first World Cup trip is a process of discovering and solving problems..."
After coming out of Shi Wuyin's room, Hong Renjie looked back at the closed door, still thinking about the conversation he had just had with Shi Wuyin.
Shi Wuyin, who performed well in the top 12 competition, also made mistakes.
All I can say is that it deserves to be the World Cup!
Just when Hong Renjie was about to leave, the door behind him suddenly opened again, and Shi Wuyuan poked his head out: "Old Hong, don't ask the players to get up on time tomorrow morning. Just let them sleep until they wake up naturally.
."
"Ah?" Hong Renjie was a little surprised by this. "Why?"
"I just suddenly thought that some people might not be able to sleep well tonight."
Hong Renjie also understood: "Yes."
"So let them sleep a little longer so that they don't lose energy during the game."
"Okay." Hong Renjie nodded and agreed. Shi Wuyin's suggestion was not in line with the regulations, but it was realistic.
※※※
With the U.S. team's 2-0 victory over South Korea as a symbol, the 2026 U.S.-Canada World Cup officially kicked off.
Many fans in China felt gloating about the Korean team's failure, but in Atlanta, the Chinese team's players were inevitably tossing and turning this night.
This is not the first time they know the strength gap between Asian football and world football.
However, the United States is not considered the top team in the world, and South Korea, the top team in Asia, was still beaten and unable to fight back.
Besides, Chinese players didn’t feel the same way in the past. After all, the Korean team was beaten into a dog by others in the World Cup, and it had nothing to do with them, because even if those teams wanted to beat the Chinese team into a dog, they had no chance...
It's different now. When I think about my appearance in the World Cup tomorrow, my own nervousness coupled with the impact of this game, the night before the first game of the World Cup becomes even more painful.
"Hu Lai?" Wang Guangwei's voice suddenly sounded in the dark room.
No one answered him.
"Are you asleep?" Wang Guangwei muttered.
"I fell asleep if you didn't call me." Hu Lai's voice sounded from the bed next door.
"I'm sorry... Oh no, you can still fall asleep?"
"Otherwise, do you want to keep your eyes open until dawn?"
"I can't sleep. As soon as I close my eyes, it's the game between the Korean team and the US team, and our game tomorrow..."
"Old Wang, are you nervous or excited?"
Wang Guangwei thought for a while and then said: "Both of them, both nervous and excited..."
"Hey!" Hu Lai said with a smile, "I didn't expect you, Lao Wang, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would be like this!"
"Damn, Hu Lai! What's wrong with me? Isn't it normal to be nervous and excited?"
"It's nothing, I just think of you in high school, you felt like an over-age player, more mature than the average high school student. So I feel like you are more mature than us..."
"High school?" Wang Guangwei suddenly thought of his style in high school. He specially used hairspray to take care of his hairstyle, and also carefully created and maintained a persona whose "hairstyle would not be messy"... He laughed dumbly: "How mature is that?
?Clearly childish.”
Hu Lai sighed faintly: "Oh, I'm really feeling a little emotional. When we played against each other in high school, we never thought that one day we would be able to participate in the World Cup together... Have you ever thought about the World Cup, Lao Wang?"
"I have thought about it, but I just thought about it."
"Me too before."
Before hanging up, Hu Lai silently added something in his mind.
"Are you nervous, Hu Lai?"
"I'm nervous, of course I'm nervous. I'm not an emotional machine, how can I not be nervous?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Guangwei suddenly stood up from the bed and turned to look at the bed where Hu Lai was: "Really?"
Hu Lai turned over: "Why should I sit up with you?"
"I just want to see if you are telling the truth or are you lying to me."
"What's the point of lying to you that I'm nervous? If I say I'm not nervous, you think it's normal for you to lie to you..." Hu Lai couldn't laugh or cry. "I'm really nervous."
"It's really surprising that you are nervous too..." Wang Guangwei muttered and lay down again, making a rustling sound. "I've never seen you nervous during the Olympics..."
"Didn't you stay awake and talk to me the night before the Olympics?"
Wang Guangwei was silent for a moment, because he recalled that on the night before the first game, he slept well at the Olympic Games. Although he was a little excited and nervous, he still fell asleep smoothly after changing positions on the bed several times.
Unlike today, whenever I close my eyes, my mind is filled with images of the match between the Korean team and the US team, and then I can't help but substitute these images into tomorrow's game... and then I can't sleep no matter what.
He sighed: "I suddenly remembered that before the first game of the Olympic Games, Director Shi also asked us to gather together to watch the game, but not to watch other teams' games, but to watch the women's football game. I don't know if it was because of that time
The women's football team won the game, which gave us psychological hints and confidence, so I was not very nervous before the game against Nigeria. But this time I watched the South Korean team lose..."
"That's why it's so weird!" Hu Lai scolded.
Wang Guangwei was amused.
※※※
Xia Xiaoyu repeatedly changed positions and failed to fall asleep. He finally couldn't help but open his eyes and called softly: "Zhou Zijing?"
No one answered him.
"Zhou Zijing, are you asleep?" Xia Xiaoyu asked softly again.
This time there was a snore coming from the bed next door.
Hearing the snoring sound, Xia Xiaoyu sighed softly.
It was everyone's first time participating in the World Cup. Why could Zhou Zijing be able to sleep? But he was so nervous that he was tossing and turning?
Sure enough, you are still too inferior, right?
He thought again of Brother Hu, the man who was born for big scenes. He must have fallen asleep long ago... He felt more and more that he was still far behind...
Zhou Zijing wanted to turn over, but he didn't want Xia Xiaoyu to find out that he was not asleep, so he could only keep his current position.
But lying on the bed motionless like this for a long time feels uncomfortable... After all, pretending to be asleep is actually a very tiring thing.
In the end, Zhou Zijing couldn't bear it anymore, so he could only use the cover of snoring to turn his body little by little, using the sound of snoring to cover up the movement caused by the friction between his body angle and the quilt sheets.
※※※
"Captain Yao..." Lin Zhiyuan lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling with big eyes, and murmured.
After about two seconds, Yao Huasheng's voice came from the bed next to him: "Aren't you asleep yet?"
"Sleep how to do?"
"You have to sleep even if you can't!" Yao Huasheng said seriously, "Nine times out of ten, if you don't get a good rest, how will you compete tomorrow? You are our last line of defense, so don't let your guard down this time!"
After reprimanding Lin Zhiyuan very harshly, Yao Huasheng seemed to feel that he was too harsh, so he changed his tone and softened it slightly: "Close your eyes and force yourself to sleep."
After saying that, he turned over, pulled up the quilt and covered his head, forcing himself to fall asleep.
※※※
"Sleep, Lao Wang." Hu Lai said.
"Well, I'm sleeping." When Wang Guangwei responded to him, he had already changed his position, from facing him to facing away from him.
The room became quiet again. I don't know how long it had passed before the sound of slow and steady breathing could be heard.
It was late at night, and the nervous and excited Chinese team players finally fell asleep one after another.
※※※
Li Qingqing was lying on her side on the bed, holding her mobile phone in her hand and setting the alarm clock.
She initially set it to 3:50 a.m. tomorrow, but after thinking about it, she changed it to 3:40 a.m. tomorrow.
Get up twenty minutes early, change clothes, wash your face, and then go to Hu Lai's house to watch the game, so you have a little more time.
After setting the alarm clock, she lay down again.
Dad knocked on the door: "What are you doing?"
"Just fell asleep." Li Qingqing replied through the door.
"Going to bed so early?"
"I want to watch the Chinese team play."
"All right……"
"Dad, please go to bed early too! Good night!"
After speaking, Li Qingqing pulled up the quilt to cover her body and closed her eyes.
The sound of father's footsteps walking away could be heard outside the door, and the light in the living room that came through the crack in the door was extinguished.
The sound of children playing in the community could be heard outside the window. Who knew who was entertaining guests? The sound of drinking and fist-fighting could be faintly heard...
Li Qingqing suddenly found that she couldn't sleep.
Originally, she had gone to bed at 8:30 pm before...
In order to be energetic enough to watch the game at four o'clock tomorrow morning, she went to bed early this morning, but sadly found that she couldn't fall asleep...
She stood up again, picked up her phone again, and looked at the homepage. Next to Jincheng's local time, there was an Atlanta time that she had specially set.
It's also half past eight, but it's half past eight in the morning.
I don’t know how Hu Lai was doing yesterday. Did he get up already...
Li Qingqing thought this in her heart, hesitated for a while, and finally sent a message: "Have you gotten up yet?"
Then she held her phone and waited.
One minute has passed, three minutes have passed, and ten minutes have passed.
no reply.
So Li Qingqing determined that Hu Lai probably hadn't gotten up yet.
If you haven’t gotten up yet at this time...did you go to bed late last night?
Why do you sleep late?
nervous?
Um……
Although Li Qingqing felt that Hu Lai was also nervous, she was a little surprised, but she soon realized that it was normal to be nervous. After all, this was the first World Cup match in the history of the Chinese men's football team.
Hu Lai is also a human being...
She hit her head and felt so stupid.
Since Hu Lai didn't reply to her, she put down her phone, lay down on the bed again, closed her eyes again, and tried to fall asleep as soon as possible.
※※※
Chu Yifan pushed open the box door and saw Yan Yan holding a microphone, holding his voice and singing in a falsetto: "... She has a blue cloud window, just waiting for someone to share it with her..."
He laughed dumbly: "Good guys, you don't plan to go to bed and just work all night?"
As soon as Yan Yan turned around and saw Captain Chu, he said into the microphone: "I'm still sleeping, get up! Captain Chu!"
"You won't go to work tomorrow?"
"The company has a half-day holiday tomorrow, and the boss knows that he will stay up late to watch the game," Yan Yan said.
Others also talked about it: "Our company just gave us a day off. I guess the boss knows that even if we let us go, he won't be in the mood to go to work..."
“So does our company!”
"If anyone doesn't take a vacation now, he will probably be scolded on the Internet..."
"So just sing until one o'clock and start watching the football, and then go home and sleep after watching the Chinese team's game!" After Yan Yan finished speaking, he followed the music, stretched out his hand to Chu Yifan, held a flower in his arm, and sang in a sharp voice: "Come on, be happy.
!I have plenty of time anyway”(Note 1)
Everyone in the box burst into laughter.
Amidst the laughter, Chu Yifan picked up a bottle of beer from the coffee table, then walked to the front of the song-ordering station and started to order songs for himself.
On the dance floor in the box behind him, someone was swaying his buttocks to accompany Yan Yan.
The funny dance postures caused everyone to burst into laughter from time to time, but both the singers and the dancers seemed to be paying no attention to anyone else and were very involved.
On the night before the Chinese team's first game in the World Cup, some people couldn't sleep and some didn't want to sleep.
