Chapter Thirteen: The Golden Right Foot

What does it mean to be a man? A man is someone who protects the land beneath his feet, the parents at home, the woman in his arms, and the brothers by his side. This was Du Gu Ming's way of living. Years later, those who had witnessed these events would still speak of them with great relish.

"Good," Du Gu Ming's face broke into a joyful smile when he heard the resolute voice of the man across from him. He knew that perhaps this moment would change that man's life forever.

"You suit me well. Why don't we become friends? My name is Du Gu Ming. What is yours?" Du Gu Ming asked with a knowing smile.

Upon hearing this, Du Gu Ming's companion hurriedly replied, "My name is Wang Hongru."

"Wang Hongru, that's a fine name," Du Gu Ming said cheerfully.

Many years later, when Wang Hongru had become a figure of dominance, someone once asked him who he was most grateful to in his life. Wang Hongru answered, "A man named Du Gu Ming. Without him, there would be no me today. Everything I am now was shaped by him. It was he who taught me what it means to be a real man." But that is a story for another time.

Du Gu Ming turned around. "Zhang Liming, this is a matter between me and Fu Shixiao. If you don't want to get involved, it's all right. After all, you have no quarrel with him. I won't blame you. You can step aside." Without another glance at Zhang Liming, he strode straight toward Fu Shixiao.

Du Gu Ming stood over one meter eighty tall. Though lean, his body was powerful, his muscles sharply defined. When he stood before Fu Shixiao, he was more than a full head taller. "I—told—you—to—apologize—to—him," Du Gu Ming said, enunciating every word.

One can only guess what was on Fu Shixiao's mind. Perhaps he realized that he alone was no match for Du Gu Ming standing before him. Though he muttered a reluctant refusal, his tone had lost its earlier arrogance.

Seeing Fu Shixiao like this, Du Gu Ming’s lips curled up slightly. "I'm not here to fight today. We've come to reason things out. How about this? You look tired already. Rest for half an hour. Then we'll have a contest. If I win, you apologize to him."

"What contest?" Fu Shixiao asked.

"Let's play football. We'll each take turns saving each other's penalty kicks. Whoever scores first wins. How about it?" Du Gu Ming smiled as if utterly unconcerned about losing.

"What? Penalty kicks? Are you sure?" Fu Shixiao asked again for confirmation.

"Yes, penalty kicks. You heard me right," Du Gu Ming replied with confidence.

"Fine, it's settled. In half an hour, we'll have our penalty shootout. But what if you lose?" Fu Shixiao said.

"Do with me as you wish," Du Gu Ming replied, his face full of self-assuredness.

With that, Fu Shixiao turned and went off to rest.

At this point, Wang Hongru came over and asked, "Are you sure you want to have a penalty shootout with him?"

Du Gu Ming looked puzzled. "Why not? What’s the issue?"

"Don’t you know? Among us, his greatest skill isn’t dribbling, but his shooting. His strikes are powerful and accurate—almost never missing. They call him the Golden Right Foot of our school," Wang Hongru explained.

"Is that so? Well, that's unfortunate for him. From today on, he won’t be called the Golden Right Foot anymore. But so what?" Du Gu Ming shrugged with a wry smile.

Seeing Du Gu Ming so confident, Wang Hongru said in a relaxed tone, "With that attitude, I trust you know what you’re doing. You must have played football before, right? Must be pretty good at it?"

"Hmm? No, not at all. I’ve never played before. Today’s my first time. Why?" Du Gu Ming replied nonchalantly.

Wang Hongru turned, his big eyes wide in shock as he stared at Du Gu Ming.

Du Gu Ming smiled faintly, guessing what was on his mind, and said confidently, "Don’t worry. Remember this—'Believe that your strength can become the power to change your fate.' Wherever you go, keep these words in your heart, and your destiny will be yours to control."

Hearing this, Wang Hongru felt an inexplicable surge of strength and nodded resolutely.

That was the kind of strange person Du Gu Ming was. Everything he said seemed imbued with a kind of magic, filling those around him with energy before they even realized it. Sometimes, those who had interacted with him genuinely wondered if he truly had the power to change fate.

"I think Zhang Liming left," Wang Hongru said.

"I know. So what?" Du Gu Ming asked.

"I just noticed that you’re not nervous at all," Wang Hongru smiled.

"I believe he’ll come back. In fact, there really aren’t many things in this world that make me nervous," Du Gu Ming replied.

Half an hour passed quickly. Dozens of people had gathered around Fu Shixiao, all dressed like members of the school team. He had called the entire school team over.

Du Gu Ming stood up, patted Wang Hongru on the shoulder, and said, "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

Wang Hongru glanced around, then said with a wry smile, "Zhang Liming still hasn’t come back. Looks like you’re not quite as formidable as you pretend to be."

Du Gu Ming merely smiled and pointed with his hand.

There stood Zhang Liming at the far edge of the field, two large bricks in his hands, shouting, "Anyone who dares bully my friend Zhang Liming, I’ll fight them with everything I’ve got!" He was panting heavily, sweat streaming down his body—he had clearly gone to great lengths to find those bricks.

"I told you, he’d come back," Du Gu Ming said softly to Wang Hongru. "Remember—believe your strength can become the power to change your fate."

At that moment, Zhang Liming came running over with the bricks. "Brother, I’ve already heard about your contest with the Tiger. Don’t be afraid, just play your best. Worst comes to worst, we’ll fight. These bricks aren’t just for show."

The contest began. Fu Shixiao swaggered forward with his crowd and declared, "Kid, my grandpa is eighty this year. You know why he’s lived so long? Because he never meddles in other people’s business. You must be tired of living. I’ll give you one more chance: if you surrender now and kneel before me, I’ll be magnanimous and let it go. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you wish you were dead."

Du Gu Ming stared at him coldly. "Why weren’t you so arrogant before? Is it because you have more people now? It really goes to show—dogs only bark when they have backers."

One of Fu Shixiao’s underlings piped up, "Boss, he just called you a dog."

Fu Shixiao turned and slapped him. "You think I didn’t know? No need for you to repeat it. He’s brought this on himself. Did you all bring your gear?"

The group behind Fu Shixiao nodded and subtly pulled up their shirts, revealing all sorts of makeshift weapons tucked into their waistbands—baseball bats, tennis rackets, wooden clubs, and iron bars wrapped in paper.

Fu Shixiao nodded. "Once I win, you all go up and give him a good beating. Remember, don’t hit the head—go for the body. I can’t take the fall if someone dies."

"But what if he does die?" someone asked.

"Then he’s just unlucky," Fu Shixiao replied, his voice dripping with malice.

Believe in your own strength, for it can become the power to change your destiny.