Chapter Three: A Goal Made by Seven

The gold light left Gu, and he fell to his knees. Luo reached the ball. One on one. The keeper advanced. Luo looked up. He saw the far corner—and Qiu arriving centrally. At the last instant, he resisted the glory and squared the ball. Qiu passed it into the empty net. Four-three. The final whistle vanished beneath the away bench's stampede. Cape City's players ran across the pitch and hauled Gu from his knees. He studied the scoreboard with no wild joy, only the exhaustion of a man who had finally touched fire after a long winter. Back in the away dressing room, someone slid an unmarked envelope beneath the door. It contained a copy of a bank transfer.