I was distraught. But now, I understand that Dad lies only to help me have a better life. I know I have to get on that train and go to Beijing. I am happy to have a father who cares like that, even though he is not my father. Actually, I haven’t seen my birth parents for a long time.
My parents divorced. I know they don’t like each other. When my father took me to live with my uncle, I couldn’t accept it. I just cried and trembled. Worse, the parents left Wuhan, went to another city to live. I rarely see them again. We are no longer in contact, because I feel there is no problem at all. Thinking of goodbye every day, I just felt miserable. I don’t want to say about them anymore.
My parents are really my uncle. I consider my cousin as my brother. When I first lived in my uncle’s house, I was scared and could only lock myself in my room. Gradually my brother asked me to play football, to help me make new friends. In elementary school, we play football together during recess. There is a football club in the school, but only for boys. Thanks to him, I was allowed to play together. I left my hair short and had a face like a boy’s, making people call me: Tomboy. “Look at Tomboy, he’s so cool,” people often say. That memory always makes me smile.
Football helps me express myself and get attention from people. After my parents divorced, I really needed that. Football also helped me to be in a team. The whole team won together, lost together. Whatever happens, we are not alone. I love football so simply.
At the age of 12, I was accepted into a soccer training facility in Beijing. The school scared me because I was a few years younger than my classmate. I’m shy and always remember my parents and my brother. The school is located far from the city center, so I just hang around at the academy.