Chapter 1 The Last to Return

Because he was surrounded by reporters eager to satisfy their curiosity, Chen Hero was the last player to return to the locker room.

When he got back, head coach Advocaat wasn't in the locker room; he'd already gone to the press conference.

Reporters clearly weren't going to let the Dutchman off easily at the post-match press conference. They were like children, with a million whys to ask Uncle Advocaat.

Chen Hero had just returned when Denisov pulled him aside.

"I've already told the two Alexanders! They're now members of the Zenit Saint Petersburg Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Crew!"

Chen Hero quickly reached out to shake their hands. "Welcome to the organization!"

"Alright!" Denisov clapped his hands. "To celebrate Hero's first career goal and to welcome the new members, Aleksandr Anyukov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov! I've decided that tonight we'll first go to the Oriental Restaurant for dinner, then we'll go to the Northern Pearl nightclub for some fun!"

Chen Hero and Kerzhakov raised their arms and shouted, "Ura!"

Unexpectedly, Anyukov frowned. "Northern Pearl? That place is too low-end, Igor! It's an old nightclub, the decor is outdated…" Then he turned to introduce Chen Hero to the place.

"But it's the most representative nightclub in Saint Petersburg!" Denisov said. "Of course you've been there, but Hero hasn't. Naturally, we have to take him to see the most representative place. It's like tourists who come to Saint Petersburg all go to the Winter Palace for a tour."

"I think we should go to Katyusha…"

"Am I the leader, or are you the leader?!" Denisov glared, and Anyukov raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay! The leader's word is law!"

Chen Hero watched them argue and found it amusing. He suddenly asked, "Anyukov, you're not a local, are you?"

Anyukov shook his head.

Denisov explained, "This kid only transferred here last season, and in just half a season, he's explored all the fun places in Saint Petersburg. He can find them with his eyes closed."

Anyukov proudly sniffed. "Because I have a nose like a hunting dog!"

"Bullshit, you clearly have a red-light district compass!" Denisov mocked.

"It's all your fault for leading me astray. When I first arrived in Saint Petersburg, I was so pure…"

Denisov gave Anyukov the middle finger. "Do you know what this means, Anyukov? If you're pure, my eighty-eight-year-old grandmother is a virgin!"

While the Zenit Saint Petersburg Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Crew was arguing about their evening plans, Advocaat was at the press conference, enduring a barrage of questions from reporters.

Unsurprisingly, almost all the questions were related to Chen Hero.

"Can you tell us more about this number 99 player who scored? We only have some basic information."

"I don't have much more information than you do," Advocaat said, spreading his hands.

In reality, of course, he knew a lot, like how Chen Hero had come to the club. But to protect the newcomer, Advocaat didn't want to talk too much about Chen Hero. The media's intense focus on him would bring him immense pressure, which would affect his performance. And… he worried that early fame would cause Chen Hero to lose his way. He had seen too many stories of talented youngsters who ended up becoming ordinary people.

He was even considering increasing Chen Hero's training after tomorrow, so that he could focus all his energy on training and not have time to think about other things.

"That's impossible, Mr. Advocaat! You're the head coach of the team, how can you not know about your players?"

"That's just the way it is. I only took over this team halfway through. And Hero was already in the youth team before I came. As for how he got here… I think you'll have to ask the former head coach, Petrzela…"

The cunning Advocaat kicked the ball out of the stadium. Petrzela had already been fired by the club and returned to his Czech hometown. In other words, if you reporters want to get to the bottom of this, then go to the Czech Republic and ask!

However, he underestimated the reporters' intentions. They quickly found the key phrase in this answer—"youth team." In other words, before this, Chen Hero was in the youth team! The youth team coach must know about Chen Hero, right? They didn't need to go to the Czech Republic, they just needed to go to the other side of the Yudeni Park training base and find the youth training director, Kennedy Popovich, to find out about Hero.

"After Tyk injured, you arranged for a newcomer who was just transferred from the youth team to start. Was that a bit risky?"

"I admit it, but I won the bet!"

"What do you think of Hero's goal?"

"It was beautiful and unexpected. To be honest, I didn't expect him to score in his first game." This was the truth. Chen Hero's goal surprised Advocaat, otherwise he wouldn't have had this unexpected encounter with the reporters at the press conference… No one was prepared.

He thought that according to the usual pattern, a newcomer like Chen Hero would definitely be nervous or excited in his first appearance, which would affect his performance, and he would replace him early without attracting much attention. This game gave Chen Hero a chance to experience professional league, and then he would return to training and continue to work hard, looking for a suitable opportunity to push him to the front again. At this time, both himself and Hero would be more mature and prepared to face everything that might happen next.

This was also the reason why he arranged for Chen Hero to assist Kerzhakov.

Who would have thought that Chen Hero would completely ignore the rules and score on his first appearance and first shot!

After the excitement, Advocaat realized that something was wrong.

This incident reminded him of the scene where Chen Hero had changed his arrangement without permission during training and headed the ball into the goal.

He had a vague thought in his mind—maybe this kid won't be easy to manage in the future…

After Advocaat used all his skills to finally escape from the press conference, he returned to the locker room.

After praising the players for their performance in this game, he announced that they were dismissed.

But he left Chen Hero behind.

Contrary to what Denisov had said, Chen Hero turned to look at Denisov.

Denisov didn't know what the head coach meant by leaving Chen Hero alone. He made gestures at Chen Hero and mouthed: See you at the hotel!

Then he left.

Chen Hero turned his gaze away from the door.

Now only he and Advocaat were left in the locker room.

"You did well, Hero. Being able to score in your first game is the dream start for many young players."

"Thank you, sir," Chen Hero said politely.

"But I hope you don't become arrogant and complacent. After all, this is only the first game, and your career is still long. You may have performed perfectly in this game, and everyone is praising you to the skies. You may also perform poorly in the next game, and every newspaper will be full of articles scolding you. That's just the way it is. I hope you can be down-to-earth and work hard."

"I will, sir!"

"Alright. The team has a day off tomorrow, get some rest," Advocaat said to Chen Hero.

Chen Hero knew that the conversation was over, and he quickly nodded and bowed to express his gratitude. "Thank you, sir. I will remember every word you said to me! Goodbye, sir!"

Then he turned and slipped out of the locker room.

Actually, Advocaat could see through Chen Hero's thoughts. This kid wanted to go out and have fun… Seeing his anxious look, anyone could tell.

But it didn't matter. An eighteen-year-old boy had just experienced his first official professional game and scored a crucial goal in the game. He had worked hard for two whole weeks for this outstanding performance—Advocaat thought that Chen Hero's crazy extra training was to secure a place in the team as soon as possible.

Let him relax and have some fun.

As long as… he doesn't overdo it.

In the dimly lit nightclub hall, the music was loud and the dance floor was full of people dancing wildly.

Denisov was holding a wine glass and dancing closely with a scantily clad woman with a red afro.

Kerzhakov next to him kept cheering, "Get closer! Get closer! Woohoo! Well done!"

Anyukov pushed Chen Hero down next to him. "Go, kid! Experience the enthusiasm of the Russian girls! Ahahaha!"

Chen Hero had just gone down when a woman with long hair pulled him into the crowd of dancers.

"Don't scare my friend! Haha!" Anyukov waved at them.

They were all drunk. Chen Hero was especially plied with drinks by his enthusiastic teammates, the excuse of course being: "To celebrate Hero's first goal! Cheers!"

Glass after glass of vodka was downed in one gulp.

Chen Hero had never drunk such strong alcohol before, and his brain was almost unconscious. Everything in front of him presented a bizarre image in his mind.

He only knew that there was a heavily made-up woman in front of him, who was smiling coquettishly at him. Then she pounced on him.

The last bit of consciousness allowed Chen Hero to feel how soft and hot the woman in his arms was.

He brought his alcohol-spraying mouth up and his hands automatically climbed onto her firm peaks and slender waist.

The woman kept twisting her body in his arms, and her tightly pressed lower body rubbed back and forth against his sensitive area, making him feel like he was in heaven.

Damn it, this feeling… is great!

I love Russia!