Chapter Two: Eight Minutes at Twenty-Seven

He seemed to know where every boot would land and avoided each with the smallest movement. He no longer chased raw speed. Every run cut through the instant when defenders hesitated. In the seventy-sixth minute, he received Zhao Ye's long pass with his back to goal. Two defenders closed. Gu cushioned the ball on his chest and, before it fell, flicked it right with the outside of his boot. “Run!” he roared. Only then did Luo see the road to goal. He sprinted twenty meters and faced the keeper alone. Usually, match anxiety tightened his chest and shrank his vision to a white point. He remembered Gu's words—Without looking, you're running away—and forced himself to glance up. The goalkeeper leaned left.