Shocked

When Connor first met Du An, the moment he saw his Asian face, he instinctively froze for a second. But he quickly composed himself, with a friendly attitude. Anyone Heighway personally coached and was given exceptional dormitory arrangements was definitely no ordinary kid, worth sincerely befriending. Besides, he was already well-liked in Kirkby, relying on his emotional intelligence. No matter who stood opposite him, he would never leave a bad impression on the other party. Du An nodded slightly and politely replied, "Hello, I'm Du An Scott." "My family is from St Helens, Merseyside." Connor was very talkative; as soon as he spoke, he started talking freely, with no sense of awkwardness at all. Du An also wanted to fit into Kirkby, so he simply followed the topic and chatted, "I know that place. Johnny Vegas is from St Helens. I live in West Derby, Liverpool." Connor instantly became interested. "Exactly! Johnny's 'Ideal' is super popular back home. My family actually isn't far from his hometown—we live in Haydock." He enthusiastically invited his new roommate, "You can come to my place during the holidays. Haydock is especially interesting, especially Haydock Park Racecourse—it's hugely famous and the experience is fantastic!" Talking about funny stories from his hometown, Connor talked non-stop. "Speaking of which, it's super interesting. Do you know Ferguson? That old man from Manchester United who makes people love and hate him!" Connor winked. Manchester United and Liverpool were sworn enemies, so he definitely wouldn't have too good an impression of Ferguson, but Ferguson's achievements in English football were undeniable. Connor teased, "I heard he once brought racehorses to Haydock Park to race and ended up losing terribly, looking absolutely furious, haha!" Hearing the relatively unfamiliar name Ferguson, Du An candidly said, "I don't know much about football. I used to study at Bishop John Catholic School and didn't follow football much." "Wow, I know that school!" Connor knew to actively ignore certain topics and talk about familiar local subjects, so he said with eyes full of admiration, "That's Gerrard's alma mater! Gerrard is my ultimate idol. I also play midfield now. My dream is to wear the Reds' jersey someday and play for Liverpool's first team!" The two chatted back and forth, and the sense of awkwardness quickly dissipated. After chatting for a while, Connor suddenly slapped his forehead and his expression turned serious. "Oh, no! I almost forgot the important matter. The boss specifically told me to cooperate with your training today." He immediately waved to Du An. "Come on, let's practice quickly. If the coach sees us chatting all the time, we'll definitely get scolded." Du An had no objection. He had originally planned to return and continue training anyway, so having someone to train with was better. Connor said while setting up balls, "Let me explain the training content. The boss arranged for us to practice the three-cone drill. Don't worry about these unfamiliar names. Anyway, I'll keep kicking the ball in different directions toward you, and you receive and pass it." "There's a little trick here, also a core point, I suppose. Don't stop the ball dead. For example, if I kick the ball to your left foot, your first touch should naturally guide the ball to the open space to the front right. Immediately accelerate and follow up, then receive and pass it back to me. That's roughly it. The coach told us the requirement is to do it continuously without pausing." "Got it." After listening carefully, Du An roughly understood what to do. Training started soon. At first, Du An still had a novice's unfamiliarity. His control of strength and landing spot wasn't precise enough. A few times, his receptions were slightly too heavy, causing the connection to the next movement to be noticeably sluggish. But Connor showed not a bit of impatience. Throughout, he kept encouraging Du An: "It's okay, take it slow. Everyone is the same the first time they practice. Just adjust your rhythm. Don't rush..." However, Du An's learning ability could be called terrifying. His progress was completely visible to the naked eye. At first he made mistakes, but gradually he found the rhythm of receiving and passing. Not long after, his entire set of movements became smooth. Every time he could receive the ball into the open space for his next step of running, allowing him to connect his acceleration movement cleanly and decisively. Du An himself felt a great sense of achievement in this visible progress. Seeing Du An adapt, Connor couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. From Du An's reception, it was clear this guy had very solid fundamentals. After all, ball reception could well reflect a player's fundamentals. Some people receive the ball five meters away. Some receive the ball stuck to their feet, while others receive it exactly on the line for their next push forward. These are the gaps! After a round of training, the two briefly stopped to rest. Taking the opportunity, Connor asked curiously, "By the way, which youth academy team did you train with before? Your ball sense and fundamentals are too solid. It feels like you learned this movement quickly once you tried it. Your progress is outrageous." Du An shook his head slightly. "I haven't trained with any youth team before. Today is my first time experiencing formal football training." "What?!" Connor instantly widened his eyes. He was stunned, his face full of disbelief. Instinctively he exclaimed, "First day?! Du An, don't joke around. This isn't funny at all!" Du An shrugged slightly, his expression candid. "No joke. It really is my first day of training." Looking at Du An's candid expression, Connor was somewhat certain the other person really wasn't lying. At this moment, he was genuinely shocked. "My god..." To be honest, he was shaken by this news and still couldn't believe it. This three-cone drill was far more difficult than basic passing. Back when they were youth academy players, they all honestly practiced basic short passing and stationary reception for a month, only starting this project after their fundamentals were basically fine. They were clearly about the same age, yet Du An was experiencing formal training for the first time! Suddenly, an even more outrageous idea appeared in Connor's mind, leaving him somewhat dazed. He was currently in Liverpool's U16 youth team, and now Heighway had deliberately arranged for him and Du An to be roommates. Did this mean Heighway had long planned to bring the complete beginner Du An directly into the U16 youth team to train with them?! Thinking of this, Connor was completely confused. After all, normal youth academy players were promoted step by step, gaining experience at each level, slowly advancing from lower age teams to U16. And Du An, on his first day joining the team, was already slated for U16! This treatment was unparalleled in all of Kirkby! Du An, on the other hand, was somewhat stunned. He didn't understand why Connor looked so shocked. It was just practicing football. Was there a need to make such a fuss? Connor looked at this new roommate who seemed ordinary but actually had outrageous talent, and was completely speechless. A few seconds later, Connor finally shook his head vigorously. "My god, no more talk. Let's continue training!" He looked at Du An. "After training, I must introduce you to John and the others. A talent like you must make them gasp in amazement too!" The two threw themselves into training again. This time, Connor completely put away the mindset of guiding a newcomer, entirely treating Du An, who was training for the first day, as a formal teammate, holding nothing back. Their coordination became increasingly in sync. Not long after. After finishing youth team affairs, Heighway returned to this training field and watched for a while from the sidelines. He then interrupted them, asking, "How is it? Are you adjusting well to today's adaptability training?" Du An nodded first. "Very well adapted. Connor taught me very well, boss." Connor beside him immediately took up the conversation. "Boss, Du An is definitely not an ordinary newcomer. He's simply a top-tier genius! He mastered the three-cone drill in just over ten minutes. His rate of progress is truly outrageous." Heighway, upon hearing this, was also obviously surprised. He had originally arranged for Connor to accompany Du An in training, not expecting Du An to master anything at all. He just wanted him to get more familiar with his roommate. But the current effect completely exceeded his expectations. Heighway couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. This kid really gave him a difficult problem. It seemed the basic training plan originally customized for Liverpool youth academy players no longer applied to Du An at all. He had to readjust immediately. To create a brand new advanced training plan tailored for Du An!