Chen Hero had been feeling down recently. He scored a goal in the match against Chelsea, proving that his goal tally wasn't just from padding stats against weaker teams.

But it didn't help the team win.

His goal count was increasing, but the team's league ranking was declining. It was a frustrating truth.

Another thing bothering him was that he noticed his relationship with Suarez seemed to be growing distant again. Whether intentional or not, Suarez was avoiding him. He had invited him out several times, but was always rejected. Although the reasons sounded plausible, Chen Hero suspected they were excuses. Maybe the guy was just at home, not going anywhere?

But why lie instead of going? Chen Hero couldn't figure it out.

He didn't think he had done anything to make Suarez dislike him...

Adam Johnson was also somewhat unstable. Privately, he had complained to his friends more than once about his strained relationship with Dalglish, vowing when drunk to leave the team no later than next summer and find another opportunity.

Now that Suarez's attitude was ambiguous and Adam Johnson was leaving after the season, could the Liverpool branch of the eat-drink-and-be-merry gang even get off the ground? He had originally planned to invite Suarez out a few more times so the Liverpool branch could be officially established. Now it looked like it would have to be postponed, and no one knew how long that would be.

Why was it so difficult to find people you could really click with?

More importantly, it looked like the extra reward for the mission was about to expire. The percentage increase in successful assists from friends in the "Because of Friendship" talent point had already dropped to 20%, and two-thirds of October had already passed. If he didn't complete it in November, the success rate would be only 10% in December. What would be the point of the mission reward then?

He really couldn't delay any longer!

Frustrated, Chen Hero wanted to understand the problem, so he asked Skrtel and Adam Johnson, but they didn't know either.

And being alone in Liverpool, he couldn't find anyone to discuss it with.

After thinking about it, he decided to call Cassano, tell him about his troubles, and ask if he had any good advice.

What are friends for, if not to be a trash can for your complaints?

"Ah, Hero. What a coincidence, I was just talking about you," Cassano said with a laugh when he heard Chen Hero's voice.

Although they weren't on the same team anymore, they were still good friends and kept in touch often.

"Oh? What were you saying?"

"The members of our eat-drink-and-be-merry gang just got together the day before yesterday, and everyone was criticizing you for keeping it a secret that you got together with your bodyguard. They said you were a traitor to friendship, all about the looks and forgetting humanity!"

Chen Hero didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard Cassano say that. "What do you mean, keeping it a secret? Christine and I started after I came to Liverpool, okay?"

"Hmph. Don't try to argue. I'm telling you, back when you were still in Naples, I could already see something was going on between you two!"

Chen Hero was speechless. He had to admit that Cassano had a point. He had been interested in Cabrara back in Naples, but since they were together every day, he had gotten used to it, and the interest wasn't as strong as it was now.

He cleverly changed the subject. "You guys had another gathering? I'm so jealous!"

"Then come back," Cassano said casually.

"Cough, cough," Chen Hero coughed. He felt like today was really unlucky. Even changing the subject made him feel awkward.

"What, haven't you made any friends in Liverpool, Hero?" Cassano asked.

"I have... but there aren't many who can really be considered friends, just teammates I have a good relationship with."

"Oh—that's normal. It's like that everywhere. You can't be friends with everyone on a team of dozens of people. Generally speaking, it's good if you have two or three close friends." Cassano could say things like this now. He hadn't had very good relationships with people when he was at Roma or Real Madrid...

Now he had settled down in Naples. He had a girlfriend with stable emotions, and he had teammates with similar interests. Coach Mazzarri also valued him, which made him feel at ease. He had now decided to settle down completely in Naples. He was almost thirty years old and had a heart condition. He didn't know how much longer he could play. Naples was a good place where he could spend the last years of his career in peace.

Chen Hero told Cassano about his situation with Suarez and asked for his advice.

"I think... just inviting him out to play may not be a good idea, Hero," Cassano said after thinking for a moment. "I heard you say he has a wife and children. Family may be more important in his life than it is for you, Hero."

"Hey, I have a girlfriend too!"

"Tch! Is your girlfriend by your side? Most of the time you're a bachelor, you can do whatever you want as long as you don't get caught by the media... oh, sorry, I forgot, even if you get caught on the spot by reporters, you'll just give them the middle finger and then go about your business as if nothing happened... Anyway, going out to play has no concerns for you, but he has to consider a lot..."

"Then what can I do? Is there really no way to move this relationship forward?"

Chen Hero frowned on the other end of the phone.

But Cassano laughed heartily on the other end.

"Hey, there's nothing to laugh about!"

"Hero, do you really want to make friends with others?" Cassano asked after laughing.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Don't you have any other motives?"

Chen Hero's heart suddenly beat faster. He hadn't told anyone about the upgrade system, dungeons, and missions... Could Cassano have guessed?

Unlikely...

"What other motives could I have? I just think it would be more fun to have a few more friends on the new team. You know, I'm the kind of person who likes to have fun..."

"Making friends depends on your heart. Just be sincere. When a friend needs help, you step up. When you're in trouble, naturally he will help you. Back and forth like that, and the relationship will get better. What kind of friends are you making by just treating them to meals?" Cassano laughed. "Why did we become friends, think about it, Hero?"

Chen Hero fell into deep thought when he heard these words.

In fact, he and Cassano hadn't liked each other at first. That's why they had fought in front of so many reporters at the Volturno training base the first time they met, not giving Coach Mazzarri any face at all.

At the time, many media outlets had predicted that he and Cassano wouldn't get along and would become two ticking time bombs in the Napoli locker room, ready to explode at any moment. Many people were waiting to see the joke.

Who would have thought that they would become friends in the police station that very night?

Why was that?

Because Cassano had been attacked by a group of extremist fans at the time, and he had stepped forward to help Cassano. Because of this, he had made Cassano look at him with new eyes, and he thought that Chen Hero was a friend worth knowing and getting along with. In this way, they became one of the best friends in the Napoli team after their fight.

Someone who only thinks about enjoying the benefits that friends bring to him, but never thinks about reaching out to help when a friend needs help, is indeed not qualified to have friendship.

As Cassano said, friendship built on treating people to meals and playing with women is unreliable. There is a word in the profound Chinese language that can describe this kind of relationship very well: fair-weather friends.

Chen Hero felt that he was too eager for quick success. Because of that mission reward, even making friends seemed to have become a task. He wasn't making friends for the sake of making friends, but was actively trying to befriend Suarez in order to get the mission reward...

No wonder people were distancing themselves from him.

They must have seen the utilitarianism in his actions. Maybe he didn't mean to, but he must have inadvertently revealed a trace of it. After all, even Cassano seemed to have heard something wrong over the phone. Suarez was in contact with him every day, so he might have seen it long ago.

Well... forget it, stop thinking about the mission!

Suarez is really good and worth befriending.

Take it slow, and if there is a chance, rebuild a friendly relationship with him...

※※※

While Chen Hero was thinking about Suarez, Suarez was also reflecting on his relationship with Chen Hero.

He felt that after these two weeks of intentionally or unintentionally distancing himself, Chen Hero probably didn't think of him as a friend anymore, right?

Anyway, when he refused time and time again, although Chen Hero said, "It's okay, go spend time with your wife!" he could still see the disappointment in his eyes.

Was he being too heartless?

Wasn't that too bad?

After all, he had pretended to befriend him in order to defeat him, but the other person seemed to sincerely treat him as a friend...

This made Suarez feel a little guilty. After all, he had deceived him first...

And after all this, Chen Hero was still able to continue scoring goals and sit firmly in the position of the offensive core. He went back and forth to Italy, he frequented nightclubs and bars, and whether the team lost or won, he could score goals...

In that case, what was the point of doing all this?

As the season progressed, as Suarez had more contact with Chen Hero, and as he learned and saw more about Chen Hero's personal abilities, Suarez had to admit that in terms of scoring goals, Chen Hero was really a little bit better than him...

Yes, just a little bit—it was already amazing that Suarez could admit this, even if it was just a little bit...

Suarez stroked his chin.

So next time, if he asks me out to play again, should I reluctantly agree?

※※※

ps, please continue to vote for monthly tickets!