Rebirth in a Shura Field, but in an Abstract Version

Does the 085 program have no entry requirements?

On Saturday morning, a restless atmosphere permeated the campus of the University of Hong Kong-Shanghai.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the loosely drawn curtains, piercing into room 404 like a golden sword and landing squarely on Wang Zhe's face.

Wang Zhe frowned, rolled over, and groggily reached for his phone under his pillow. He turned it on and saw it was already 9:30 AM. The dorm was a bit noisy; his three roommates all seemed to be awake…

No, something's completely wrong!

Normally at this time, the entire dorm should still be fast asleep. Why are Fang Gang, who stays up late playing games, Luo Yueshi, who stays up late reading novels, and Wei Jing, who for some reason always stays up the latest?

Wang Zhe sat up, looking at his three roommates with a blank expression: "No classes today, why are you all up so early?"

While fixing his hair, Wei Jing said, "Old Wang, are you still half asleep, or have you become so ignorant from working for others all day?"

"What do you mean?" Wang Zhe yawned.

Fang Gang, standing nearby, quickly answered, "Today is club recruitment!"

Luo Yueshi put down the novel on his phone, looked up, and asked, "Old Wang, don't you have any clubs you'd like to join?"

Wang Zhe climbed out of bed and fell into deep thought as he put on his clothes.

Clubs...

In his previous life, during his freshman year of college, he and Song Zhiyi were deeply in love. In order to spend more time together, they discussed it for a long time and finally signed up for the photography club together.

That club is indeed quite suitable for couples. Every weekend they organize trips to parks or old streets for photography, and everyone takes photos of each other with their DSLRs, which is essentially a disguised date.

But is that really what he likes?

Wang Zhe shook his head.

Back then, he compromised many of his interests for love. In fact, as a normal guy, he secretly preferred sports that were more competitive and physically demanding.

For example, football.

Now that he has been reborn, he certainly doesn't intend to follow the old path this time.

As Wang Zhe got out of bed, he said, "I want to join the football team."

"ha?"

Wei Jing, who was spraying hairspray, trembled and almost sprayed it into his eyes.

He turned around and, in a tone of someone with experience, advised, "If you want to exercise, you should join the basketball team! Think about it, how attractive is the basketball court to girls? The soccer field is so far away and so big, and you can't score a goal in ages, who's going to watch you play?"

Fang Gang chimed in, "Yeah, Lao Wang. Although I love watching football, to be honest, if you're just looking to pick up girls, the football team is definitely the worst option."

Wang Zhe rinsed his mouth, wiped his lips, turned to look at his utilitarian roommates, and laughed, "You guys are overthinking it. I'm not interested at all whether girls are watching or not."

"Tch, keep pretending," Wei Jing rolled his eyes. "I don't believe you can get excited looking at empty stands."

Fang Gang became interested and asked, "Are you going to sign up for the school team? I heard it's pretty hard to get into the school team."

Wang Zhe shook his head: "It's not realistic for freshmen to directly join the university team. They can only apply to the college team first. If they perform well in the college team, they will have a chance to receive a trial invitation from the university team later."

"The art school team..." Fang Gang stroked his chin, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey? We're from the Academy of Fine Arts, so you signed up for the Academy of Fine Arts team, right?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Holy crap! You're in luck!" Fang Gang slapped his thigh. "Think about it, what's plentiful in an art academy? Lots of girls! When the academy team plays in competitions, it represents the academy's honor. Won't all the girls from the oil painting and traditional Chinese painting departments go to cheer you on for the sake of collective honor?"

Upon hearing this, the air in the dormitory seemed to freeze for a second.

The next moment, Wei Jing suddenly turned around, abandoning all pretense of fixing his hair, and stared at Wang Zhe with gleaming eyes:

"Old Wang! You're right! Football is the world's number one sport, it's a man's romance! I think I should also try my hand at playing football!"

Seeing how quickly Wei Jing's expression changed, Wang Zhe couldn't help but laugh.

"Have you thought it through? There are fewer boys in the art academy, and the level of the school team is indeed relatively low. But it's still a football team; you need at least some basic skills. Can you play football?"

Wei Jing puffed out his chest, looking confident: "Of course I can! I've played it countless times in PE class in middle and high school!"

"Physical education class..." Wang Zhe's smile deepened when he heard those three words.

That kind of aimless kicking in PE class, with a bunch of people chasing the ball, has no tactics or sense of position whatsoever, and is completely different from a regular college team match.

But he didn't expose Wei Jing's inexplicable confidence; he simply shook his head and remained silent.

Just then, Wang Zhe's cell phone, which was on the table, rang.

When I picked it up, the caller ID showed it was Su Xiaocheng.

"Feeding? So early?" Wang Zhe answered the phone.

"It's getting late! The sun's already high in the sky!" Su Xiaocheng's energetic voice came from the other end of the phone, with background noise of people and music audible. "Wang Zhe, are you up yet? Club recruitment is today, which club are you planning to join?"

Wang Zhe said as he put on his shoes, "I'm up. I was just getting ready to leave. I'm planning to sign up for the college football team."

"A football team?" Su Xiaocheng's voice was full of surprise. "Why do you want to play football? That's so... so unprofessional!"

"Why aren't you doing your job properly?" Wang Zhe asked with amusement.

Su Xiaocheng said matter-of-factly, "You're a partner in a startup now! Even if it's part-time, since you're working in gaming, you should join some clubs that are helpful for your work!"

Wang Zhe asked, "And what about you? What did you apply for?"

Su Xiaocheng said proudly, "I signed up for the ACG Association! I've heard that there are a lot of experts in this association. I want to join and learn how to do game art design, and maybe I can recruit some people."

Upon hearing this answer, Wang Zhe couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"ACG Association?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just think you might be overthinking it. As far as I know, most of the time in university ACG clubs is spent cosplaying, and the rest of the time is spent playing online games, discussing new anime, or posting lewd pictures in group chats. Do you think you can study proper game art design there?"

"Huh? No way..." Su Xiaocheng's tone suddenly became hesitant, "But that senior told me there would be a lot of technical exchanges..."

"Alright, then go in and experience the harsh realities of society. Getting scammed is a required course for freshmen; they have no choice but to try it."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

10:00 AM, the square in front of the stadium.

Just as Fang Gang had said, the place was bustling with activity.

Colorful tents stretched out in a row, and all sorts of banners fluttered in the wind. Guitar club members were playing and singing, street dance club members were having a dance battle, roller skating club members were weaving through the crowd, and Hanfu club members were handing out flyers while wearing beautiful ruqun (traditional Han Chinese clothing).

The air was thick with the smells of sweat, perfume, and hormones, and the noise was almost enough to lift the roof off the stadium.

Wang Zhe and his group of four weaved through the crowded streets, struggling to find the small tent belonging to the "Academy of Fine Arts Football Team".

"What club is that senior from? Holy crap, her legs are so long!" Wei Jing's eyes darted around as he walked.

"That's the esports club over there! Looks like they're having a League of Legends tournament!" Fang Gang was also incredibly excited.

Luo Yueshi followed closely behind the three men, clutching several flyers that had been shoved into his hand. He didn't see a trash can and didn't know where to throw them away.

Finally, in a secluded corner of the square, they found their target.

Compared to the bustling crowds at popular clubs, this place is practically deserted.

Under a slightly crooked blue tent, a banner that read "Academy of Fine Arts Football Team" hung. One corner of the banner had fallen off, drooping down, making it look particularly desolate.

Two boys were sitting under the tent.

One was wearing a jersey, lean and dark-skinned, twirling a pen in his hand with a bored expression; the other was lying on the table playing on his phone, looking completely unmotivated.

When Wang Zhe and his three friends walked over and stopped in front of the tent, the skinny, dark-skinned boy who was spinning a pen was first taken aback, then his eyes widened and he immediately stood up.

"Hey! Students! A few students!"

The dark-skinned, thin boy's enthusiasm was practically overflowing. He walked around the table, stopped Wang Zhe who was walking in front, as if afraid he would run away, and asked, "Want to come see our football team? Do you like playing football? Interested in joining?"

Wang Zhe was a little amused and exasperated by this sudden enthusiasm, and nodded: "Yes, I'm here to register."

The dark-skinned, thin boy was overjoyed and quickly turned around to wake his companion who was playing on his phone: "Wake up! Someone's here! Quick, get the forms!"

The senior student quickly handed over a crumpled registration form and a pen. Watching Wang Zhe write down his student ID, class, and name smoothly, the smile on his face never faded.

"Wang Zhe, right? Great, great, you're definitely a promising soccer player! I'm Li Shuxian, the captain of our college team. From now on, we're brothers!"

Seeing the captain's eagerness, Fang Gang couldn't help but ask, "Um... senior, doesn't your team have any recruitment requirements? Don't you need to have a trial period, like seeing how you juggle a ball or something?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shuxian revealed a smile that was more like a grimace.

He pointed to the empty tent behind him and sighed:

"A threshold? Brother, do we even have a threshold here? This whole morning, apart from a few freshmen asking for directions, you're the first group to actually register."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.