The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 228 - 63: This Is the Strength of a Bundesliga Star
But it was even cleaner.
Wang Shuo dragged his suitcase to the gatehouse at the main entrance and gently tapped on the window.
"No visitors allowed."
The gruff voice of the old man in the gatehouse rang out almost immediately.
His tone was as unpleasant as ever, but his voice was strong.
Wang Shuo was used to it.
This was Uncle Liu, who was famous for his foul temper, but he had a genuinely good heart.
"Uncle Liu, I don’t get to come back often. Let me just go in and take a look," Wang Shuo said with a grin, lowering his head to get closer to the window.
"Hey, is that you, Wang Shuo?"
The next thing he heard from inside the gatehouse was a CLATTER as an overexcited Uncle Liu knocked his radio to the floor.
"What are you doing back here?"
Uncle Liu hurried out, fumbling to open the gate for Wang Shuo.
"I missed you all, so I came back as soon as I had the time."
Uncle Liu was grinning from ear to ear. "You rascal, you’ve picked up some bad habits. That silver tongue of yours is getting more and more unbelievable."
But it was clear the old man was genuinely happy.
As he welcomed Wang Shuo in, he gave him a thorough look-over.
"You haven’t gotten much taller, but you’re not any tanner either. I heard you’ve been training like crazy over in Europe. Is that true?"
Wang Shuo had been here for years and had dealt with Uncle Liu countless times, who had always looked out for him.
He immediately stood ramrod straight and replied, "According to official Bundesliga standards, I’m 1.81 meters now. But those things have a margin of error, so I’m probably still 1.8 meters."
"Also, I report to you, sir! The climate in Germany is different from ours. Isn’t it strange? No matter how much time I spend in the sun, I just don’t get a tan. Their sun is just different from ours over here."
At first, Uncle Liu listened in a daze. But by the end, he nearly burst out laughing and swung his leg up, pretending to kick him.
But in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
"Ah, Wang Shuo, your Bundesliga matches... I’ve watched every single one. You’ve played so well, making all of us in China proud!"
"Well done!" The old man gave Wang Shuo a thumbs-up.
"That’s all thanks to your guidance, Uncle."
"By the way, did Zhao Yifan come back with you?"
"He decided to stay behind for extra training. He’s moving up to the second team in the new season, and I reckon he wants to make a push for the first team."
"Good! He needs to train hard!"
As they were speaking, Uncle Liu pointed to the training building and practice fields in the distance.
"Right, Wang Shuo, Old Gao and Old Ma are both here, and Zhang Xiaopeng’s group are all in special training. You should hurry over and see them."
"Alright, see you later, Uncle!"
As Wang Shuo turned to leave, Uncle Liu walked back to the gatehouse.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "That’s a good kid. He’s made it big, but he hasn’t changed a bit."
...
When Wang Shuo, pulling his suitcase, suddenly appeared at the edge of the training ground, everyone on the field was dumbfounded.
Every single one of them stared at Wang Shuo, their faces full of shock.
"Wang Shuo!"
Zhang Xiaopeng was the first to react, bolting over as if he had wings.
This caught Wang Shuo completely by surprise.
"Holy shit, Zhang Xiaohou, when did you have a growth spurt?" Wang Shuo asked, astonished.
Over a year ago, when he left for Germany, Zhang Xiaopeng was still known as Zhang Xiaohou. He was also a forward, known for his speed and pretty good technique.
But now he’d shot up, and was nearly half a head taller than Wang Shuo.
"Are you on something?" Wang Shuo asked, finding it unbelievable.
"Heh heh, Wang Shuo, he’s not Zhang Xiaohou anymore. He’s Zhang Dahou now."
From the tone of voice, Wang Shuo knew it had to be Chen Xiaosen, a full-back.
He also had a twin brother named Chen Dalin, but their personalities were complete opposites.
"Chen Xiaosen, get the hell out of here!" Zhang Xiaopeng looked like he wanted to send the guy flying with a kick.
His teammates all swarmed him at once, chattering away as they eagerly asked how he’d been.
They had all been keeping a close eye on his career in Germany.
They especially hadn’t missed a single match after he entered the Bundesliga.
"You know, when we were watching the DFB-Pokal final, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Was that really *our* Wang Shuo scoring a hat trick?" Chen Xiaosen said with a touch of exaggeration.
His comment immediately sent everyone into a fit of laughter.
But it was true.
The Wang Shuo they saw on the live broadcast still felt like a stranger.
But now, seeing Wang Shuo in person, they felt that sense of closeness again.
"Wang Shuo, why did you come back without telling us in advance? We could have picked you up."
Wu Youqiang was the team captain. Nicknamed Nanny Wu, he truly took special care of his teammates, though he could be a bit of a mother hen.
But on the pitch, he was the backbone of the team’s defense and always gave it his all.
"I wanted to give you guys a surprise, didn’t I?" Wang Shuo said, hugging Wu Youqiang.
Then there was Lin Guodong, the midfielder with a bulldog-like face who looked like a total menace.
The guy looked ferocious and was built like a tank, and on the pitch, he was a relentless workhorse.
In private, however, he had a shy and reserved personality.
This adorable contrast in his personality meant he was often teased by the team.
The commotion on the training ground soon reached the training building.
Coaches like Gao Huairen and Ma Yongcheng also came out when they heard what was going on.
They were all visibly shocked to see Wang Shuo.
Wang Shuo hadn’t been back to China in over a year and was thrilled to see Gao Huairen and Ma Yongcheng.
"It’s great that you’re back. Just the other day, Old Gao was wondering if you’d make it back this year."
"I’ll come back. If I have the time, I’ll definitely come back."
Wang Shuo hadn’t returned to China last year, mainly because his position wasn’t secure.
As a newcomer, he obviously had to give it his all.
But now, things were different.
Even though he was leaving Mainz, he didn’t have to worry about his place on a team at all.
