I Turned Down the Lead Role as Yang Guo and Became the Greatest Footballer in History

In 1997, on the eve of Hong Kong’s return to China, auditions for TVB’s The Return of the Condor Heroes are underway. When the fifteen-year-old Lu Xingran appears in costume, the whole room erupts. The producer bangs the table and makes his decision: he’s born to play Yang Guo. The talent director declares that he’ll be the future top star of Hong Kong’s entertainment circle. A multimillion-dollar paycheck and a superstar career are his for the taking, all he has to do is sign. Amid the admiration and flattery, Lu Xingran sets down his pen and says in a clear voice, “I’m not taking the role. I want to play professional football.” The room falls silent, then erupts in an uproar. All of Hong Kong laughs at him for throwing away his future, leaving the easy road for the narrow, difficult path of football. No one knows that Lu Xingran has been reborn with the Peak Invincible Football Superstar System. Ronaldo’s stepovers, Zidane’s Marseille turn, Beckham’s bending free kicks: he can pull off countless legendary moves with ease. Starting out in Manchester United’s youth academy, he dominates the derby, conquers the Premier League, wins the Champions League, and leads the national team to the top of the world. When images of him raising the World Cup spread across the globe, the people in Hong Kong’s entertainment circle who once mocked him watch the king of the pitch on their screens and fall silent as one. In this life, his stage isn’t beneath the spotlight. It’s at the summit of world football. This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.