The confrontation between the two drew a larger crowd. Captain Chen Yang sensed the situation was getting out of hand and hurried over to pull Nezha back. "Hey, hey, hey, Nezha, calm down! Don’t act impulsively!"
"Get off me!" Nezha shook off Chen Yang's hand. "If I don’t teach this self-righteous guy a lesson today, I won’t call myself Li Nezha!"
"Enough!" A stern voice interrupted Nezha's fury.
The coach strode over, his expression grim. "Li Nezha, what are you doing?"
Nezha pouted and reluctantly let go of his grip. "It’s nothing; this guy just deserves a beating."
The coach glanced at the disheveled but still composed Blue-Haired Boy, then back at the furious Nezha, his brows furrowing. "Are you alright, young man?"
The boy straightened his collar and adjusted his glasses. "I’m fine; I just got hit by a ball. Then this classmate not only refused to apologize but also insulted me and even threatened me."
The coach’s expression darkened further. "Li Nezha, is this true?"
Nezha shifted uncomfortably. "He said my skills were bad first!"
The coach let out a heavy sigh. "Nezha, regardless of the circumstances, your behavior is unacceptable. As a member of the School Team, you should know how to conduct yourself both on and off the court." He turned to the Blue-Haired Boy. "On behalf of the team, I apologize to you. Nezha can be a bit hot-headed at times, but he means no harm; he wouldn’t really hurt you."
The Blue-Haired Boy nodded. "I accept your apology, but I hope he understands that excellent performance on the field does not excuse inappropriate behavior off it."
Nezha was fuming, itching to rush up and grab that annoying guy again, but the coach's large hand was already resting firmly on his shoulder.
"As a punishment for your behavior, after today's training, you will run twenty laps around the field," the coach said sternly.
"What? Twenty laps?" Nezha's eyes widened. "Coach, you can't do this! It's not fair!"
"Thirty laps," the coach replied coldly. "Do you have any objections?"
Nezha knew that arguing further would only make the punishment worse, so he shut his mouth and shot a fierce glare at the Blue-Haired Boy.
"Now, let's continue the match," the coach blew his whistle, signaling the players to return to the field.
Reluctantly, Nezha turned and walked toward the court, mentally cursing that blue-haired Ice Block Face a thousand times. He vowed that if he got the chance, he would make that guy pay!
The game resumed, but Nezha's mind was no longer on the court. His movements became reckless; he made several passing errors and even failed to control a simple ball, nearly leading to a turnover.
"Nezha, focus!" Captain Chen Yang couldn't help but remind him.
Nezha irritably waved his hand. "I know!"
But his eyes couldn't help but glance toward the sidelines. The Blue-Haired Boy had returned to his seat on the bench, picking up scattered books and continuing to read as if the earlier conflict had no effect on him. This calm demeanor only fueled Nezha's anger; he felt belittled.
"Just watch me!" Nezha vowed silently, determined to score an impressive goal to prove his skills.
The opportunity soon arose. The opposing defender made a passing error, and Nezha's teammate intercepted the ball and quickly passed it to Nezha, who was in the best position.
Nezha received the ball and quickly turned to face the last defender. In his mind, he had already mapped out the route to get past him: first, a feint to deceive the defender, then using his speed to shake off the opponent, and finally, a precise shot to break through the goal!
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