Chapter 363 Low Morale

The media never figured out why Chen Hero was so sluggish in the game against Queens Park Rangers.

After all, very few people knew about the concussion, and those few kept their mouths shut.

They knew that if their opponents knew Chen Hero couldn't use headers for some reason, it would be much easier to defend against him.

Now Liverpool wanted to give their opponents the illusion that Chen Hero would continue to rely on his headers so that they would continue to focus on defending the high balls. Then they would find that all their pre-match arrangements had been in vain!

The only question was whether Chen Hero could complete this final transformation as soon as possible.

※※※

Chen Hero didn't score in the game, but fortunately, his competitor, Van Persie, didn't score either.

Arsenal beat Everton 1-0 away from home. The goal for Arsenal was scored by Vermaelen, not Van Persie.

The gap between the two remained just one goal.

Van Persie, running ahead, could already feel the heat being breathed down his neck by Chen Hero from behind.

But he soon breathed a sigh of relief. In the thirtieth round of the league on March 24, Chen Hero still didn't score, and Liverpool drew 1-1 with Wigan Athletic at home.

Van Persie, on the other hand, scored twice in the game against Aston Villa, helping his team win 3-1 at home.

The goal difference between the two had widened to three goals again.

Chen Hero's performance in this game still didn't improve, continuing his form from the previous game against Queens Park Rangers.

The commentators were at a loss, not knowing what to say. The fans were also puzzled.

After the game, the Liverpool local media, the *Echo*, used the headline "What's Wrong With Hero?" to express their doubts.

Chen Hero did accept an interview this time, saying that it was normal for his form to fluctuate. "Now you can breathe a sigh of relief, because Chen Hero is still a human being after all, not some alien creature or a robot from the future..."

As for why his form was fluctuating, Chen Hero didn't say, but everyone could use their imagination.

Some people thought it might have something to do with Chen Hero's girlfriend, Christine Cabrera—perhaps because Cabrera was draining Hero every night, which was why Chen Hero's performance had been so poor recently…

If that was the case, it could only mean that there was someone in this world who could control Chen Hero! Back when he used to go clubbing, he didn't seem to have weak legs. Such a vigorous and strong man was being drained by Cabrera. How terrifying was Cabrera? Maybe they did it ten times a night? Changing positions and styles…

Some tabloid reporters ran to Chen Hero's house and rummaged through the trash, hoping to find a large number of used condoms, but naturally, they found nothing.

So this guess was quickly overturned. Some people pointed out that Cabrera and Chen Hero had already lived in the same house for three years in Naples. They refused to believe that Chen Hero, the famous playboy in Italy, would be like Liu Xiahui, refraining from picking the peach at home. And it had always been rumored that Chen Hero and Cabrera had been in a real relationship since they were in Naples. At first, Cabrera was considered a bodyguard, but in the last two years, her bodyguard status was just a disguise. So Chen Hero must have had something going on with Cabrera a long time ago.

But why didn't Chen Hero show this kind of inexplicable decline in form in Naples? On the contrary, he was in excellent form!

And even if he was staying up all night with Cabrera, making love until dawn, and that was why his form was declining, how could you explain his header stats being zero? You know, if his legs were weak, he might not be able to head the ball properly, but he should still get a few headers in a game, right? Even if they went straight up and down?

But what were Chen Hero's header stats in these two games? Zero! Not one!

This made many people feel that it was abnormal. No matter what, he should have gotten at least one header, right?

Unless he was deliberately not using headers, but why wouldn't he use headers? No one knew… Chen Hero avoided talking about this topic.

In short, the strange things happening to Chen Hero made the media feel a headache and confused the fans. On the Chinese internet, many guesses had already appeared, most of which were spoofs.

Chinese netizens and fans fully used their imagination and creativity. Some made people laugh out loud at a glance, while others made people feel that they had a lot of meaning…

Chen Hero didn't explain any of this.

And he had more important things to do than explain.

He had to see Cabrera off. Cabrera had been here for almost a month, and she was about to end her vacation and return to Italy to start working again.

※※※

"A month is too short..." Chen Hero was very reluctant in front of Cabrera.

But in reality, he was conflicted. Of course, he wanted Cabrera to be with him all the time. But through this month of contact, he realized that if his girlfriend was always with him, he probably wouldn't have the opportunity to grind levels in the training system to improve himself…

This discovery was like a bucket of cold water being poured on him. For him, who wholeheartedly wanted to have a world of two, this was a fatal blow.

If he wanted a world of two, then he couldn't grind levels. If he wanted to grind levels, then there was no world of two…

This was a complete paradox.

Chen Hero couldn't solve it. In reality, there were always many couples who broke up with each other because of their own private matters. The most typical reason was that they were addicted to online games or work, and neglected their partners. The originally sweet relationship turned into daily quarrels over trivial matters, which eventually evolved into an irreversible disaster.

Chen Hero didn't want to break up with Cabrera because he was addicted to grinding levels. And it wasn't just a simple breakup—at least everyone would know why others broke up with their girlfriends because they played online games, and the girlfriend could shout out in grief, "Do you want me or the game?" But Chen Hero couldn't explain it to Cabrera. Wasn't his last girlfriend, Sharapova, broken up with for this reason? During that time, he was addicted to grinding levels, desperately improving himself, so he neglected Sharapova. Although he repeatedly explained that he didn't go out to mess around with other women, Sharapova didn't believe him—which was also true. You said you didn't go looking for other women, but why didn't you call me all night? Then you must be lying! You must have someone outside behind my back!

The final result was that the two had a big fight and said goodbye completely. This underground relationship ended before it even had a chance to be exposed.

Because there was a secret training system that no one could know about, Chen Hero had to find a partner who could give him some personal space. Now he knew how right Cabrera was not to agree to come to England with him. Otherwise… he was afraid that he would have to make excuses to go to a friend's house every week and find a place to secretly grind levels. That kind of life would be too miserable.

Cabrera didn't know Chen Hero's little secret—Chen Hero hadn't even told his closest parents about it, let alone Cabrera—she was a little touched to see Chen Hero so reluctant to let her go.

Who knew that Chen Hero was actually very conflicted in his heart, wanting her to go back and not wanting her to leave…

"Come to Italy when you miss me. I don't think I'll have such a long vacation next time," Cabrera said.

Chen Hero nodded: "I will!"

Chen Hero wouldn't hesitate to become a frequent flyer to find Cabrera. And for now, this was the best choice, satisfying both his love for Cabrera and not delaying his level grinding…

※※※

After seeing Cabrera off, Chen Hero returned to his home alone. The room still seemed to have Cabrera's scent, not perfume, just the scent that her body emitted.

He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent.

But his thoughts of Cabrera were limited to this. There was no time for sentimentality now. Every minute and every second was especially precious to him. He had been "performing abnormally" for two consecutive games, which had aroused all kinds of speculation from the media. He was really afraid that the truth would be revealed by reporters, so he had to score as soon as possible to divert everyone's attention, otherwise, who knew what new rumors would appear…

Now that he was temporarily single again, he had important things to do.

He had to adapt to this transformation as soon as possible in the training system. Many things couldn't be accomplished through real training, only with the help of virtual training. Because in the training system, the team could train according to his ideas without being restricted by various real-world conditions. His virtual teammates would never ask him, "Hero, why did you suddenly stop using headers? Why is that? Is something wrong with you?"

Just dealing with these questions every day was enough to give Chen Hero a headache.

So Chen Hero's explanation to his teammates was just one sentence: "I want to challenge my limits!"

Wasn't this answer very pretentious? Very rogue? But some people believed it…

Because this kind of arrogant words became very normal when spoken from Chen Hero's mouth.

He closed his eyes and recalled every plant and tree in the Melwood training base in his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Melwood training base he had created, surrounded by his teammates.

"Long time no see, guys, let's get started!"