Chapter 1 Cabrera Executes a Work Assignment

Cabrera finally had some time off after completing a work assignment, and she had been looking forward to seeing Chen Yingxiong, whom she hadn't seen in a while. Cabrera had been assigned to be a bodyguard for the wife of a wealthy businessman.

This time, they met in Spain because they were both tired of always traveling in Italy. Cabrera knew Italy very well, and Chen Yingxiong had also spent three years there. They both felt like they needed something new.

So they discussed it and decided to meet in Spain.

Cabrera arrived first and spent two days exploring the area on her own before Chen Yingxiong arrived.

They chose Mallorca as their vacation destination. It was a famous tourist destination in Spain.

Unlike other couples who go on crazy shopping sprees, Chen Yingxiong and Cabrera simply sunbathed on the beach and took leisurely strolls hand-in-hand.

Having just gone through so much trouble, being able to wander on the beach with his lover was the best way to relax.

Cabrera was well aware of everything that had happened to Chen Yingxiong recently. That was why she had initiated this date and chosen Mallorca, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, so that Chen Yingxiong could relax.

※※※

Chen Yingxiong lay on the beach, a plastic sheet beneath him. He wore nothing but sunglasses and swimming trunks.

It was January, and he hadn't seen the sun in over forty days in England. The sunshine on Mallorca felt warm and pleasant.

He couldn't help but sigh, thinking, "We're all on the same planet, so why is there such a big difference…?"

Cabrera had gone swimming in the sea, leaving Chen Yingxiong alone. Women in various sexy bikinis often walked past him on the beach, and some of them couldn't help but turn their heads to glance at Chen Yingxiong's well-built and sculpted muscles.

Of course, no one recognized that the man wearing sunglasses and exposing his upper body was Chen Yingxiong.

Chen Yingxiong's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, were also taking in the passing beauties.

Their slender necks, high breasts, flat abdomens, slightly trembling buttocks as they walked, and their long, shapely thighs and calves…

While Chen Yingxiong was secretly admiring these beauties, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear: "Are they pretty?"

Chen Yingxiong nodded reflexively. "Yes, they are!"

But in the next second, he realized what he had done and turned to give the returning Cabrera a smile. "But none of them are as pretty as you, Christine!"

Cabrera simply pursed her lips at his flattery and dried the water from her hair with a towel. Her hair was now a little longer than before, barely reaching her shoulders.

"Actually, you'd look good with long hair…" Chen Yingxiong said, staring at her hair.

"Thank you for the compliment," Cabrera said coolly.

Chen Yingxiong sensed that Cabrera was a little angry—she was jealous of him looking at other women.

"Uh, I'm just a little bored. You know, the most common creature on this damned beach is a woman, and no matter where I look, I can see them…" Chen Yingxiong explained ramblingly.

No matter how much he explained, Cabrera's expression remained serious.

Chen Yingxiong was at a loss for words. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.

"Actually, you don't know how worried I've been about you these days…" he said, staring bravely into Cabrera's serious eyes.

Sure enough, this topic piqued Cabrera's curiosity.

Although she was a bodyguard, most of the time there was no danger, so there was no real reason to worry. She knew that Chen Yingxiong was deliberately changing the subject, but she was curious how he would continue the conversation.

"Oh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I love watching you raise your eyebrows, it's so heroic!" Chen Yingxiong said, giving Cabrera a thumbs up.

"Don't change the subject, Yingxiong." Cabrera wasn't fooled; she knew that this kid was trying to distract her!

"That's right!" Chen Yingxiong clapped his hands. "Speaking of this… do you know why I've been so worried about you? Even though I know that the tasks you're performing aren't actually dangerous… It's because I pray to God every day—" At this point, Chen Yingxiong looked at Cabrera and said slowly and affectionately, "Praying that if you are well, then the day will be sunny. But damn it! I haven't seen the sun in England for over forty days!"

"Pfft!" Cabrera, who had been keeping a straight face, finally laughed.

Seeing her laugh, Chen Yingxiong breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been with many women, and he had even dated Sharapova, but among all these women, he always felt a little intimidated when facing Christine. Chen Yingxiong couldn't figure out why.

But he didn't intend to figure it out. He was afraid, so be it. When they got to bed, he'd see who begged for mercy, hmph!

After being amused by Yingxiong, Cabrera didn't plan to continue pursuing the matter of Chen Yingxiong secretly peeking at beauties behind her back. She thought of something else: "Does flying around like this affect your performance?"

There had been controversy in the English media about Chen Yingxiong flying back to Italy to meet her, and the Italian media had also reprinted the stories, so she knew all about it.

Chen Yingxiong snorted. "Even if I spend the whole night with you before a game, it won't affect my performance!"

Cabrera rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything more. She had witnessed Chen Yingxiong's vulgarity and straightforwardness over the past three years.

But she felt a little bad about making Chen Yingxiong fly back and forth like this.

She had already decided that the next time she had a vacation, she would go directly to Liverpool to find him, but she wouldn't tell him in advance. Instead, she wanted to give him a surprise.

※※※

Chen Yingxiong and Cabrera spent a wonderful two-day vacation in Mallorca. But to outsiders, this vacation was no different from going to war.

Chen Yingxiong finished his game on the afternoon of the 14th and went straight to the airport, then flew to Mallorca. He stayed there for two days, and on the last day of his vacation, the 16th, he took the last flight back to Liverpool, arriving at his home after 2:00 a.m. on the 17th…

And today, at 9:30 a.m., Liverpool had a training session.

No wonder the media doubted that Chen Yingxiong's back-and-forth travel might affect his performance.

It was too tiring to do this. Not to mention athletes, even ordinary people would yawn constantly and feel weak the next day if they did this before going to work.

Yet Chen Yingxiong showed up at Melwood on time and looked energetic. This surprised his teammates.

"Did you really go to Mallorca for vacation, Yingxiong?"

"You weren't hiding at home jerking off, were you?"

"Screw you!" Chen Yingxiong gave Skrtel, who was grinning, the middle finger.

※※※

After returning to England, Chen Yingxiong still had to face days of not seeing the sun. The weather in the UK in winter could be simply summarized as: "Tonight until tomorrow during the day, cloudy with light rain throughout the country…"

But his mood had improved a lot because he had enjoyed the bright sunshine in Mallorca and spent two wonderful days with Cabrera.

The media might still think that Chen Yingxiong's frequent flying would affect his performance, but Chen Yingxiong proved with his actions that flying back and forth did not affect his performance… No, it didn't affect it in a bad way.

He felt refreshed every time he came back from vacation.

When he was in a good mood, his performance improved greatly.

So the next opponent was bound to be unlucky…

On January 21st, in the 22nd round of the league, Liverpool challenged Bolton on the road, and the final score was 3:1. Liverpool, playing away, won cleanly. Chen Yingxiong scored twice in the game and was once again named the best player of the game.

"Yingxiong performs excellently again, helping Liverpool take down Bolton on the road!"

"Now Yingxiong is Daglish's barometer. If he's in good shape, Liverpool can win. If he's not in good shape? Daglish must hope that day never comes…"

"Yingxiong lives up to expectations, even though he just flew to Mallorca a few days ago for two days of fun… He has already scored sixteen goals in the league, and Liverpool's total goals in the league are only thirty-one… He accounts for half of them alone. On the one hand, it shows Yingxiong's excellent form and super-strong individual ability, but it also shows that Liverpool has become ‘Yingxiong-dependent’, which may not be a good thing!"

While the commentators were cheering for Chen Yingxiong, they also expressed concern about the simplicity of Liverpool's tactics.

Anyone could see how much Daglish was relying on Chen Yingxiong now, so the key to containing Liverpool lay in containing Chen Yingxiong. Wouldn't it be normal to think that whoever could make Chen Yingxiong unremarkable throughout the game could defeat Liverpool?

The TV broadcast camera had been following Chen Yingxiong all along. He was the best player of the game and deserved such treatment.

At this time, Daglish appeared in the camera and stepped forward to hug Chen Yingxiong. It was normal for the coach to hug his players after winning the game to show his celebration. However, he hugged Chen Yingxiong for a longer time than he hugged others. He also said a few words in Chen Yingxiong's ear.

From this shot, one could also see the relationship between the two.

※※※

Although they defeated Bolton on the road and won a hard-earned three points, Liverpool's ranking remained unchanged. They had been in eighth place in the league for ten rounds. However, the people of Liverpool had already seen hope.

Because Arsenal and Newcastle in sixth and seventh place respectively both had thirty-six points, Liverpool had already tied them. As long as they could win another game and Arsenal and Newcastle lost, Liverpool could rise to sixth place, and at least they would have a chance to qualify for the Europa League.

As for the top four in the league, they were only five points away—Chelsea in fourth place had forty-one points.

But the league championship was completely out of the question. Manchester City currently had fifty-four points, eighteen points ahead of Liverpool. Wanting to reverse the situation and win the championship with such a huge points difference was simply a pipe dream.

Liverpool didn't have to worry about falling from eighth place for the time being. Stoke City, ranked ninth, had thirty points, six points behind them, so it wouldn't be easy to catch up.

January was coming to an end, and Suarez was starting to do recovery training alone in the weight room. If he returned, it would be no less meaningful than Liverpool buying a new player in the winter break.

Everything seemed to be getting better.

Liverpool fans were full of hope for the future.