Chapter 1 "Didn't You Sleep With Her?"

"Didn't you sleep with her?" Dekura asked Chen Yingxiong, sitting next to him on the plane back to Rome, Italy.

Chen Yingxiong nodded firmly. "No."

Dekura looked at Chen Yingxiong with a skeptical expression.

Chen Yingxiong curled his lip. "Don't believe me?"

"A little."

"Can you not be so vulgar? I mean... when a man and a woman are together, how can you only think about that kind of dirty thing!" Chen Yingxiong said with a righteous look.

Dekura said seriously, "Because your previous behavior makes it impossible for me not to think that way."

Chen Yingxiong raised his hands in surrender.

"I just had dinner with her and spent a wonderful afternoon. At most... uh, hugged and kissed. You have to know that there's more to a man and a woman than just... uh, that kind of physical relationship. I think spiritual communication is more important..."

"Or did you just not have enough time?"

Chen Yingxiong rolled his eyes and said nothing. Then he leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

He smacked his lips, as if the sweet taste was still between his teeth...

※※※

Chen Yingxiong's panda commercial was first broadcast in Egypt, and the response was very good. Everyone was very interested in this humorous and funny advertisement idea. It also boosted the sales of Panda cheese.

Soon after, the television commercial could also be seen in mainland Europe.

Chen Yingxiong, who played the violent panda in the commercial, was also hotly debated by the media. Everyone praised him for being really talented in acting, and for portraying the image of a panda that would "kill you if you didn't buy" so vividly.

After that, some television stations even invited Chen Yingxiong to participate in the recording of reality shows. However, that's another story...

Back in Italy, Chen Yingxiong threw himself back into training. His teammates had not yet returned. He would not see them until after the national team matches in the middle of the week. At this time, Mazzarri mainly drew some players from the youth team to train with the first team players. At the very least, they had to be able to put together a table for mahjong... uh, no, the number of people for an intra-squad training match.

After Chen Yingxiong went to Egypt, he brought back many small gifts for his teammates—these things were not worth much. With Chen Yingxiong's financial resources, he could afford to buy something more expensive. But the meaning of a gift is not in the price, but in the thought behind it. It was rare enough to think of giving gifts to his teammates. It was even rarer to give gifts to everyone...

How could Chen Yingxiong's popularity in the team not be good?

When Maradona was in Naples, the reason why he could become the big brother was because he often organized various gatherings and was very generous to his teammates. Over time, everyone recognized him as the big brother.

Of course, Chen Yingxiong wouldn't know these things. He just felt that everyone was happy when he did this.

And indeed, every teammate who received a gift was very happy. The youth team players directly called Chen Yingxiong "Brother," even though Chen Yingxiong was not much older than them.

※※※

After the national team match day in the middle of the week, the players flew back to their respective clubs one after another to prepare for the weekend league matches.

"How does it feel to be back in the national team?" Chen Yingxiong asked, patting Cassano on the shoulder on the training ground.

"Just so-so." In fact, Cassano was very happy, but he deliberately put on a nonchalant look for Chen Yingxiong's benefit.

Being able to return to the national team meant that his condition was improving and that he had been recognized by others. Most importantly... Cassano himself very much hoped to serve his country. His most impressive national team journey was the 2004 European Cup in Portugal. That was the best time Cassano represented the Italian national team. Before the European Cup, he was considered to be Italy's biggest surprise. And it was true, all of Italy's goals in that tournament were related to Cassano.

In the last group match against Bulgaria, he scored the winning goal for Italy in the ninety-third minute! And the news that came earlier was that Denmark was leading Sweden 2:1, which meant that his goal would help Italy advance to the knockout stage. He became the hero who saved Italy, so he ran to celebrate, his face full of smiles. But when he rushed into the coaching area to celebrate, he learned that on another field, Sweden had just scored a goal, tying Denmark 2:2—before the match, everyone was saying that if Denmark and Sweden drew 2:2, Italy would be eliminated regardless of the result. But that was just people's speculation. After all, if they really played like that, it would be too obvious and too fake. But Denmark and Sweden really dared to play such a tacit match in front of the whole world, and they eliminated Cassano's Italy! This score meant that even if Italy scored ten more goals in the next two minutes of the match, they would have to pack their bags and go home.

At that moment, Cassano, who knew the truth, fell to the ground, unable to accept such a result.

"He jumped up and celebrated, but when he learned that Denmark had been tied, his laughter turned into disappointment. He lay on the ground, not wanting to continue. Italy's European Cup journey ended here." That's how *Milan Sports News* described the scene at that time.

If Italy had lost, it would have been fine to leave the European Cup like that. But Italy defeated Bulgaria thanks to Cassano's goal. The comedy instantly turned into a satire. Cassano's ecstasy and subsequent tears moved many people. The bad boy actually had another side, but everyone was blinded by his superficial appearance.

Because he always had this regret, Cassano really hoped to serve his country. Unfortunately, since the European Cup, Cassano's condition had been fluctuating, and he was even hampered by his own personality. He couldn't even enter the Italian national team.

After that, he moved to Real Madrid and Sampdoria, and his performance was sometimes good and sometimes bad. It wasn't until he followed Mazzarri's call and came to Naples that his career regained its second spring with the help of a group of friends.

He knew what it was all because of. It was Chen Yingxiong who helped him integrate into the team. So he also regarded Chen Yingxiong as a good friend. He knew that Chen Yingxiong had a conflict with their country's football association and had been kicked out of the team. He didn't know when he would be recalled—this kind of thing was not new in European football, so he was not surprised.

But he still felt sorry for Chen Yingxiong, who had the ability to participate in the national team but couldn't serve his country. So he never showed his joy at being selected for the national team, just to avoid stimulating Chen Yingxiong.

He used to jokingly suggest to Chen Yingxiong that he simply join the Italian nationality. With his ability, there should be no problem for him to be selected for the Italian national team. The current Italian national team just doesn't have a good center forward who can make a final decision.

As a result, Chen Yingxiong said to him very seriously that if he gave up his Chinese nationality, his father would probably beat him to death.

Chen Yingxiong, who was not afraid of anything, was only afraid of his father.

※※※

On October 18th, in the eighth round of the league, Naples played against Bologna at home.

In this match, Cassano was suspended because he received a red card in the previous league match. However, it was also good, so that he could have a chance to rest after participating in the national team match and prepare for the Champions League group match against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the middle of next week.

Moreover, the absence of Cassano didn't have much impact on Naples' strength. Bologna, which was ranked sixteenth in the league, couldn't pose any threat to Naples, which was playing at home.

In the end, Naples defeated Bologna 2:1 at home. Chen Yingxiong scored a goal in the match, but it was disallowed because of a foul in advance. This made him almost explode, almost following in Cassano's footsteps in the first half of the match and being sent off with a red card. Fortunately, his ability to control his temper was slightly better than Cassano's. He only received a yellow card.

Chen Yingxiong was a little unwilling to not be able to score a goal, but fortunately, the team eventually won the match.

So far, after eight rounds of the league, Naples has five wins, one draw, and two losses, with sixteen points, ranking sixth in the league. This result is not bad, and the team is very satisfied. After all, the team is fighting on two fronts this season, and it is not easy to stay in the top six in the league so far.

Chen Yingxiong has scored six goals in eight league rounds, and is currently tied with Totti for second place in the league's top scorer list. Udinese's Di Natale is in first place with eight goals. The gap between the two sides is not big, and Chen Yingxiong still has a chance to win the Golden Boot this season.

But what he is considering now is not the Golden Boot, but the Champions League.

After playing the match against Bologna, Naples will have to welcome Zenit Saint Petersburg at home.

For Naples fans, this is just a Champions League group match. But for Chen Yingxiong and Arshavin, this match is of great significance.

Because this is the first time they have played against their old club after leaving Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Thinking of this, Chen Yingxiong was very excited. He couldn't wait to score a goal in the match—not because he had a feud with his old club, but because he felt that this was the best way to express his feelings for his old club...

Go all out and use the best performance to thank the old club for their cultivation—if the coach of Zenit Saint Petersburg knew Chen Yingxiong's thoughts, he would definitely roll his eyes.

Arshavin has more feelings for Zenit, but in order for Naples to qualify from the group, he has to defeat his opponent in this match.

As for whether Zenit Saint Petersburg can qualify, that is not something he can control.

Judging from the previous two rounds of group matches, Zenit Saint Petersburg's prospects are not optimistic. They have one draw and one loss, with only one point. If they lose to Naples again in this round, they will continue to be at the bottom of the group.

But he is a professional player, and he cannot let his old club off the hook in this match.

Before the match, Russian media interviewed two former Zenit Saint Petersburg players. "How do you treat your old club?"

The two said in unison: "Go all out!"