Chapter 1 Chen Yingxiong is Getting Attention

Chen Yingxiong had scored in two consecutive games, and he noticed that some media outlets were starting to pay attention to him. For example, after training, he would often see a few familiar reporters asking him questions.

These reporters had been following the team to away games and had witnessed Chen Yingxiong's performance firsthand.

Scoring in two consecutive games, starting in two consecutive games.

This seemed to indicate that it wasn't just luck; he had real talent.

These reporters were seasoned professionals who had been covering soccer for years. They had seen countless so-called rising stars quickly fade away, and they had also witnessed the enduring power of experienced players. They could tell what kind of player Chen Yingxiong was.

Starting and scoring in two consecutive games, and scoring crucial goals at that. That was all well and good, but look at the strength he displayed in the match against Vladivostok Energiya—he almost completely dominated the aerial battles.

The Vladivostok Energiya defenders and defensive midfielders looked like midgets in front of the towering Chen Yingxiong, helpless and forced to look up.

Arshavin's goal was the perfect example. Energiya's two center backs, Sheshukov and Shtanyuk, had sandwiched Chen Yingxiong in the middle, employing a double-team defense. You couldn't say that defense wasn't tight, but what was the result? Chen Yingxiong still managed to get his head on the ball despite their interference.

And it wasn't just a glancing header; he directed the ball towards the goal with considerable threat. Otherwise, Energiya's goalkeeper, Romanya, wouldn't have had to palm the ball away instead of catching it cleanly. If he had caught it cleanly, there wouldn't have been Arshavin's follow-up shot. It was precisely because Chen Yingxiong's header made Romanya's save difficult that he had no choice but to parry the ball, giving Arshavin the opportunity to score.

Therefore, any soccer reporter with any sense who watched this game understood Chen Yingxiong's ability, and… his significance to this Zenit team. Advocaat had just taken office and needed to secure his position. He needed results and his own loyalists. To that end, he had brought in three South Korean players in one go, even if the media mocked him as a "Korean."

Now, Chen Yingxiong was someone he had personally promoted to the first team and given the opportunity to prove himself, essentially grooming Chen Yingxiong into one of his own. With such a powerful center forward supporting him, his job at Zenit would be much easier.

So, as long as Chen Yingxiong wasn't in terrible form, he would occupy the starting center forward position until Tekke recovered from his injury.

As for what would happen after Tekke recovered… he might have to face competition from Chen Yingxiong.

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, Chen Yingxiong would be one of the focal points of this city's soccer team, as long as he continued to score. But what the St. Petersburg media found shameful was—such a prominent figure had scored two goals right in front of them, performing outstandingly. Yet they still didn't know where this person came from…

Every day, roars echoed in the editorial department: "Where the hell did this Hero come from?!"

"I want his detailed information! Detailed information! Do you guys even know what 'detailed' means?!"

"Of course, I know he's Chinese! So what? There are billions of Chinese people! But why is he the only one who showed up at St. Petersburg Zenit?"

"We contacted Mr. Chen, the chairman of the Chinese Association in St. Petersburg. He knows a lot about the Chinese community here, but even he doesn't know where this Chen Yingxiong came from… What can we do?"

The Ruilong Ju restaurant, with its high-hanging red lanterns, felt a bit deserted. The part-time Russian student waiters stood listlessly in the lobby. It wasn't mealtime yet, so there weren't many customers.

However, Ren Tianhua, the owner of Ruilong Ju, didn't mind. He was reading the local St. Petersburg newspapers. This was his daily routine.

In fact, he had seen a report about Chen Yingxiong in the St. Petersburg newspapers a week ago. Although the media only wrote that this person was called "hero_Chen," Ren Tianhua didn't react at first. Later, he realized that "hero" was "英雄 (Yingxiong)"!

He went back and reread the news. It said that Chen Yingxiong had started in a Russian Premier League match yesterday and scored the only goal of the game.

Now everyone was speculating about Chen Yingxiong's background and how he came to St. Petersburg Zenit.

Of course, Ren Tianhua didn't know the answers to these questions either. He had only chatted with Chen Yingxiong once and hadn't asked in detail, just making small talk. He hadn't asked why Chen Yingxiong came to play soccer here or how he got here. It was easy to be misunderstood if you asked too many questions on the first meeting.

However, he didn't expect to see news about someone he knew in the newspaper so quickly. This made Ren Tianhua interested in Chen Yingxiong, whom he had only met once.

At first, it was just because there was another Chinese person among a group of Russians. He was particularly enthusiastic and liked to make friends. When he saw a fellow countryman, he naturally wanted to greet him warmly.

But that was all. Chen Yingxiong never came to the restaurant to eat again. Ren Tianhua had to entertain so many guests every day, and many of them were regulars, so he slowly forgot about Chen Yingxiong.

Now that he saw him again, he didn't expect him to be in the newspaper. There weren't many Chinese people who could get into the local Russian newspapers in St. Petersburg, especially with a positive image…

After that, he began to follow all the news about Chen Yingxiong.

Another weekend later, he saw Chen Yingxiong's report again. From the report, he could see that the young man had scored again in the game. Ren Tianhua wasn't a soccer fan, but he understood the basic principles—scoring consecutive goals definitely meant that he was good, and only talented people could score. Otherwise, why would so many people like players who could score?

He didn't expect this little countryman to be so outstanding.

But what he found amusing was that even now, a week later, the St. Petersburg media still didn't know who Chen Yingxiong was. Apart from leaving a huge name and the record of two goals, he had nothing else. It was like a mysterious figure.

Ren Tianhua also had a copy of the local St. Petersburg Chinese newspaper, the *Chinese Community News*, by his side, but it didn't mention Chen Yingxiong at all. The Chinese community wasn't very sensitive to sports. The Chinese newspaper was full of study abroad information, investment information, Chinese restaurants' chef recruitment ads, and small articles similar to *Reader's Digest* that were excerpted from the Internet. There were also reports on the activities of local Chinese organizations and the latest news from the motherland.

That was all.

Seeing this little brother score goals one after another, Ren Tianhua also became interested in watching Chen Yingxiong's game…

He didn't know much about soccer, but everyone was Chinese, and Chinese people should cheer for Chinese people.

After training, Denisov gathered the members of the drinking and merrymaking group again.

"I've already found the location for our second activity!" he said to the other three.

Anyukov asked, "Where is it?"

"Katyusha, like you said last time."

"Hehe." Anyukov laughed. "I told you, that place is definitely good! I don't go to bad places at all!"

"But I'm telling you in advance… no drinking like last time. We're going out to have fun, not to drink!" Denisov warned. The last time, the four of them got drunk and made fools of themselves in front of their teammates. It was too embarrassing, and no one wanted to do it again.

"Oh, last time was because…" Anyukov explained.

"Don't explain! Anyway, no getting drunk! Everyone has to stay sober! Even if you're going to a hotel, you have to go with a woman, not with…" Denisov didn't continue. He felt like it was a stain on his life that could never be washed away.

The other three obviously felt the same way, so no one mentioned that day.

The four of them showered in the locker room, changed into their clothes, and prepared to leave for Katyusha.

Except that Chen Yingxiong was dressed a little too casually, the other three were like male models. Denisov was the most exaggerated, wearing a shiny silver casual suit. He was as flamboyant as he could be.

Professional soccer players are actually very conscious of their image, so even when they come to the training ground, they dress very formally. They would never wear sportswear, or their image as stylish men would be ruined if reporters photographed them.

Only Chen Yingxiong didn't understand these rules, and he didn't have any fashionable clothes anyway. So he wore a black and white checkered shirt on his upper body, slim-fit dark blue jeans on his lower body, and even more casually… a pair of Converse sneakers on his feet.

Sitting in the back seat of Kerzhakov's black Mercedes-Benz ML500 SUV, Denisov slapped the back of the front seat hard: "Let's go!"

"The old men are here, Katyusha girls!!"

The four lecherous wolves howled excitedly.

Anton Boris was a photojournalist for a local St. Petersburg gossip tabloid called *St. Petersburg Life*. Tonight, he planned to relax at Katyusha and find a girl or something. Men always have an endless need in that area.

This street was a well-known red-light district in St. Petersburg. The signs of various nightclubs dazzled the eyes along the way. If you came to this place for the first time, you would definitely be shocked by the scene. But who was Boris? He had been to this kind of place countless times. On the one hand, he had his own needs, and on the other hand, he could always meet some celebrities here. As a gossip reporter, he could make a fortune as long as he could take pictures of these celebrities.

Tonight, this street was as lively as ever, and the parking lots on the street were almost full. Especially the Katyusha nightclub, which was doing well, their dedicated parking lot was full, and they had to park outside.

Boris finally found a parking space and was about to back into it when a sudden braking sound came from behind.

Boris looked back and saw a black Mercedes-Benz ML500 SUV sliding directly into the empty parking space he had spotted in a beautiful and arrogant manner…

"Damn it!" Boris angrily slapped the horn on the steering wheel.

But then he stopped honking. Because he saw the people getting out of the car… He was a fan of St. Petersburg Zenit, so of course he knew the main players of Zenit…

The driver's door opened, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov came out. Aleksandr Anyukov came out of the passenger seat, and Denisov came out after the rear door opened… and that mysterious hero who had been the shame of the entire St. Petersburg media world for the past two weeks!

A professional gossip reporter's keen senses made him realize that he might have caught a sensational story!

He quickly grabbed the camera from the passenger seat.

Hiding in the car, he took a flurry of photos of the four Zenit players. In the lens, the four people huddled together and said a few words, and then walked straight to the magnificent door of Katyusha!

Let you take my parking space, damn it! I'll expose you!

Boris cursed in his heart as he pressed the shutter button furiously.