Chapter 259 Motherland, Mom (Part 2)

Kru decided to take a bath and go to bed. He lived alone now; the increase in income since signing a new contract with Chelsea had made it possible for him to rent a spacious apartment on his own.

As he took off his clothes, his hand touched the necklace around his neck, and his fingers were chilled. He threw the clothes he took off on the ground, and then carefully untied the chain and held it in his hand.

Then he stared blankly at the delicate 24k gold necklace.

When he first entered that gang, a veteran thug ridiculed him for being a sissy, because he would actually wear an old-fashioned, feminine gold necklace to hang out. As a result, regardless of the difference in strength, he went up and punched the kid with acne all over his face. The final result was naturally that he was beaten by a group of people, but until they were caught, he was very hostile to the acne kid who had mocked the necklace.

Because this was the necklace his mother used to wear.

Now this necklace was broken on one side, and he had tied it with a thin rope.

The necklace and the photo were the only evidence related to his mother and the family of the past, carrying his memories.

※※※

The water was rushing, the showerhead sprinkled warm water, and Kru lowered his head and stood in the water, letting the water flow down his golden hair, over his cheeks, and then drip from the tip of his nose and chin to the ground.

He gently bumped his head against the opposite wall, once, twice, three times, four times, five times... continuously.

Mom, what should I do? What should I do? What should I... do?

※※※

Kru, who had dried his hair, lay on the bed, holding the necklace in the air with his hand, and then squinting at it. After staring at it for a while, his eyes were no longer focused on the golden chain.

The afternoon sun was very bright, so bright that it was dazzling. Kru turned his head away. He held his mother's hand, hoping to go to the other side, because there were shadows cast by the buildings over there, and it was not comfortable to be exposed to the sun in summer. But his mother pulled him back, telling him that he had to cross the road at the zebra crossing ahead.

There was a bank in front. Kru ran a few steps, because there would always be cold air blowing out of the bank door, and he liked to stand there and enjoy the coolness.

But today he was disappointed, because the glass door of the bank was closed, and not a trace of cold air leaked out. Kru looked at his mother and father aggrievedly, and they both walked towards him with smiles.

Kru liked his mother's smile the most. For him, who was still young, it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

The door of the bank was suddenly pushed open, and the cold air inside sprayed out all at once, which made Kru shiver, but he immediately closed his eyes and enjoyed it.

Suddenly, he felt unsteady and sat down on the ground with his buttocks. When he opened his eyes, he was first blinded by the sun, and then he saw his mother being dragged into the bank by a person with his neck stuck. He didn't know that person, it wasn't his father, because he was wearing a black hood, covering his face, only revealing a pair of eyes and a mouth, and he was holding a gun in his hand!

Dad wanted to go up and save Mom, but was kicked back by that person.

What's going on? Kru was stunned. The sound of glass breaking, people screaming, the man roaring, and gunshots…

The police and police cars seemed to emerge from the ground, surrounding the bank entrance. He didn't know what dragged Kru and his father back. In front of them was a wall composed of police and police cars. Mom was outside the wall, and they were inside the wall.

People were constantly moving, and people upstairs stuck their heads out and looked down. Through this wall, Kru could still see his mother at the bank entrance. Her face was bruised, her lips were bleeding, and her eyes were looking at the crowd, scanning it in horror, searching. When she saw little Kru behind the police, she breathed a sigh of relief and stopped struggling.

Then a policeman took a loudspeaker in his hand and shouted loudly inside, and the gangsters inside were also shouting loudly outside, and the gun in his hand was still on his mother's neck.

Dad was crying desperately on the side, begging those people to let his mother go. Kru didn't know what to do. He didn't even cry, just stared at his mother with wide eyes in horror, without blinking. He was afraid that if he blinked, his mother would disappear.

The police and the gangsters were deadlocked for a long time, and more and more people came to watch the excitement.

Kru still clearly remembers that the sun was very dazzling and pale that afternoon.

The police's negotiators were still working hard, but it could be seen that the gangster's emotions had obviously shown signs of getting out of control. Finally, the gangster fired first, and the bullet pierced his mother's neck.

A stream of bright red blood suddenly spurted out of his mother's snow-white neck, which was so terrifying.

Kru finally cried, and he cried very loudly, but no one paid attention to him. Instead, the father next to him didn't cry or shout, but knelt on the ground, looking at the front blankly, like a wooden chicken. His wife's blood splattered on the ground, and was still flowing out of the wound, dyeing the white T-shirt red.

The necklace that was hit by the bullet broke in the middle, and then flew out and fell to the ground. The golden necklace and the blood stained on it were shocking.

The gangster who shot the hostage didn't want to live anymore, and he was subsequently shot dead by the police's sniper.

When Mom was carried into the ambulance, her hands were cold. Dad grabbed a police officer and shouted at him excitedly. Kru followed behind the police officer, clutching the necklace in his hand. He didn't believe that Mom was gone. He thought that after staying in the hospital for a few days, Mom would get better. Just like he used to be hospitalized for a cold and fever.

The hospital is not fun at all, Mom, you have to come back soon! I will wash my clothes myself, I will fold the quilt, I will not be picky about food, and I will not kick the football against the wall anymore. I will go home immediately after school. You have to come back soon, Mom, Dad and I will be waiting for you at home…

The necklace was constantly swaying in the sun, shining, jumping, very dazzling…

※※※

Kru found himself crying again, and would cry every time he thought of the scenes of that day. No matter how many times he cursed himself as a coward in his heart, he couldn't change it.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and then refocused his eyes on the necklace, which was still swaying gently.

It had been a long time since he had recalled what happened that day, because he didn't want to touch the most secret wound in his heart.

But today he thought of his mother more than once.

…

"Mom, why are we leaving China? Is it because China is not good?" Sitting on the plane back to London, Kru asked his mother beside him. This was the first time he had returned to China since he was five years old and understood things, to attend his grandmother's funeral.

"Little fool, that's because Dad's business needs it! Not all departures are because of dislike."

"I don't understand…" Kru blinked and frowned.

"You'll understand when you grow up!" Mom gently scratched his nose. "Our home is in Qingdao, Shandong, China, and we will come back in the future."

"Isn't our home in London? Why do we have to go back?"

"Because Grandpa and Grandma are there, and we have to go back to see them in the future. Yangyang has to remember that no matter where we go, China is our motherland."

"Mother...land?"

"Yes, motherland, just like mom." Mom smiled.

※※※

motherland…mother…land…mother…

Mom, is this what you want to tell me?

The motherland is like a mom.

Kru sat up from the bed and put the necklace back around his neck. Then he picked up his mother's photo and looked at it like that.

Thank you, Mom. I have decided on the direction I want to go. Before announcing this decision, I want to see Dad. Because of those paparazzi, I haven't seen her for almost two months. The doctor said he won't survive this year. Mom, bless him in heaven.

Good night, Mom.

Kru put the photo back and turned off the bedside lamp.

※※※

Tomorrow is a round of the Premier League, and then the league will be suspended for a week and a half for the national team to train and prepare. This year's second international match day, England's warm-up opponent is the Greek team.

There was a half-day holiday this afternoon. Kru packed up and took a car alone to Kingston in southwest London, where there was a Kingston Nursing Home, where his father was.

The winter in England rarely has such good weather, and the sun is warm on the body. Kru was only wearing a sweater and long jeans, and when he climbed to the nursing home on the top of the small hill, he was so hot that he wet his collar.

But he finally arrived. There was not much trouble along the way, except for the reporters behind him. Kru looked back triumphantly at the reporters following him, panting like dogs.

Originally, it wouldn't take him so long to come in the past. He deliberately detoured today, which resulted in nearly twice as much mountain road as usual. He himself was a player, and this road was nothing to him, but the reporters behind him were exhausted.

As long as he entered the gate of this nursing home, he wouldn't worry about anything. He was familiar with the dean, and the dean would lock the door and ignore the reporters.

Kru met his father in the old place. He was sitting in a wheelchair, his head weakly tilted to one side, and his hands were shaking non-stop.

Kru watched from behind for a while, then sat down opposite his father. Dad tilted his head slightly and looked up, his eyes always wandering in the blue sky.

When he first came, he would get angry because of his father's repeated performances, but now he was used to his father's appearance. Anyway, no matter what he said or did, his father would not pay attention to him, but sometimes, Kru just wanted to say a lot to him, a lot of things that he wouldn't say to others. Regardless of whether he understood or not, he talked to him like a conversation.

"Dad, I haven't come to see you for a while, because I encountered a little trouble. In the twenty-five-man list announced by the England team last week, there is my name. This means that I was selected into the England team and became a national player. This is a good thing, you think so too, right? But since then, Chinese reporters have kept running to me, always asking me about my memories of my old home in Qingdao. I know what they mean, they all want me to switch to the Chinese national team. This is ridiculous, isn't it?"

Kru's father was still looking up at the sky, twitching from time to time.

Kru smiled to himself and continued to say to his father: "Last night, even the Chinese player who has the same agent as me called to persuade me to join the Chinese team. Dad, what's wrong with this world? I want to make money in peace and someone will dig up my old accounts. I was selected into the England team, and someone came to ask me to change back to Chinese nationality. They kept shouting 'Come on! Come on!', but they couldn't give me more generous conditions. Why should I go? Dad, you are in business, you should know the principle of not doing loss-making business, right?"

This time Dad changed his posture, he tilted his head from the right to the left.

"So I refused them all in one go, telling them not to have any hope. I thought I did a good job, but yesterday I thought of Mom again, and thought of many days we spent together. It's strange why I thought of those yesterday, I haven't recalled them for a long time. Dad, do you still remember that year when Grandma passed away and we went back to our old home in China? I didn't know any of the relatives in the family, and I couldn't understand what they said. Mom needed to translate on the side. They looked at me strangely too. I wasn't used to anything from sleeping to eating. At that time, I really didn't have any good feelings about my old home, and I didn't want to go back in the future. But on the plane back to England, Mom actually said that we would go back again, because that was our home, our motherland. But Dad, isn't our home in London? Isn't our nationality British? I thought about it for a long time yesterday, and I couldn't figure out this question. But even so, I still decided to switch to Chinese nationality."

This time, Dad's attention was attracted by two butterflies chasing each other.

"Isn't it strange that I just said something contradictory? Because I am still contradictory in my heart. I didn't make this decision because I love the country. In fact, I am not interested in that kind of thing about loving the country at all. It can't bring me much money, and it can't make me much famous. But Mom likes her old home so much. She always tells me about her childhood in China. I can see that she misses that time very much. Mom always said that she would go back, but now she can't go back. I think even if I earn more money now, I can't get Mom back, but I can still do something for her. Mom can't go back, I can go back. Even if I wear the Chinese team's jersey, I won't feel proud of serving the country. I still don't have much affection for my old home, but I will try to understand China and like China. This will be difficult. But Mom likes China so much, likes her old home. Whenever I can't change my accent at home and still speak English, she will definitely teach me a lesson. For Mom, the motherland is China, and for me, the motherland is Mom. I only play football for Mom, and only change my nationality for her, not for money, and not for patriotism."

"Of course, some fans in England will definitely be angry with what I do, because the reason why I was able to enter the national team was the result of their appeal. But that has nothing to do with me. They have the freedom to be angry, and I also have the freedom to decide which country I am." Kru smiled, "I asked Mom to bless you in heaven, you must live on, Dad. I came to tell you so much nonsense today, and I feel much better. I should go back." He looked up at the sky, "Dad, wish me good luck. In two days, I don't know what the world will be like."

Kru stood up and stretched: "Goodbye, Dad, take care."

※※※

In this weekend's league, Chelsea will face promoted Crystal Palace at home. This is also a London derby to some extent, but Mourinho didn't care much, because Chelsea and Crystal Palace are too far apart.

He let Kru start in this game, which was also a reward for his first selection into the England team.

Kru, who started, lived up to expectations. Not only did he threaten Crystal Palace's goal with his superb dribbling and passing, but he also often stepped in to shoot.

In the thirty-eighth minute, his efforts finally paid off. Kru received Lampard's pass in the penalty area and directly turned around and swept the ball into the goal!

This was his third goal in the Premier League, and also Chelsea's third goal in this long game. In the end, Chelsea won 5-0 against Crystal Palace, who was in the relegation zone. Kru contributed one goal and two assists to the team and was named the best player of the game.

"Stamford Bridge is cheering for one person in a normal game. Kru has won the welcome of Chelsea fans with his excellent football skills. This is Kru's game. He has been selected into the England team again. We congratulate him." Taylor, the host of British Sky TV, praised Kru. Until now, he still can't forget Kru's first Premier League game. The same skills in receiving the ball and the fiery temper are combined together, making this person naturally have the ability to be liked by the media and the public.

"As the best player of the game, let's see what he has to say."

The director cut the picture from the studio back to the scene.

The game was over, but Stamford Bridge was still very noisy, and the fans were cheering.

Kru Lee was holding a bottle of champagne - this was the reward for the best player - and was receiving an exclusive interview from a Sky TV reporter.

"Talk about your feelings, being elected the best player for the first time." The reporter put the microphone to Kru's mouth.

"I'm very excited, this is an affirmation of me." Kru answered very simply and formulaically. The reporter was obviously not satisfied with Kru saying so little, and she continued to ask: "Then talk about your views on being selected into the England team?"

"I think it's great, to be recognized for my ability by Eriksson. You know, I can't guarantee a start in Chelsea at this time. But I want to say sorry to Eriksson, I won't go to the national team training camp to report on Monday."

Kru's answer surprised the reporter, and Taylor joked in the studio: "April Fool's Day hasn't arrived yet, Kru."

"Sorry, I don't think I heard clearly just now, the cheers from the fans were too loud, which caused some interference..." The reporter expressed doubt euphemistically.

"Okay, I'll make it clear." Kru shook his head, "I have decided to submit an application to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Kingdom, applying to restore my previous Chinese nationality. Since the Chinese government does not recognize dual nationality, I will give up British nationality and give up the opportunity to become an England international, join Chinese nationality, and join the Chinese national team."

The female reporter was dumbfounded. In the current English football world, these words are undoubtedly a blockbuster.

Kru ignored the reporter who was stunned and walked straight to the player tunnel.

Taylor said with a wry smile in the studio: "Hey, Kru, April Fool's Day hasn't arrived yet..."

※※※

"Kru Lee: I give up British nationality."

"...After making amazing remarks at the end of the game, Taylor of Sky TV thought he was celebrating April Fool's Day in advance. But after the training the next day, Kru held a formal press conference, announcing that he would give up British nationality and the qualification of England international, and apply to restore Chinese nationality, waiting for the call of the Chinese team's coach. He said that making this choice was entirely because of his deceased mother. In addition, it is said that the Chinese team's coach has come to London... In fact, in international football, changing nationality is common, but since the Chinese side does not recognize dual nationality, Kru Lee's decision made him unable to play for England. This fact has angered many fans, who have scolded Kru as a traitor, and some people have even put up banners questioning at the training ground: How much money did the Chinese give you? ... I believe he has been under great pressure in these three days..."

This newspaper is considered to be the most objective evaluation from the British side that Qiu Suhui has ever seen. He also has two tabloids on hand. Just looking at the titles, he can know how angry the British are.

"We have all been deceived!"

"This is treason!"

"The voice of the fans: He should be kicked out of Chelsea!"

…

Qiu Suhui put all the newspapers aside, looked down at his watch, it was already 3:40 in the afternoon: "We agreed to meet at 3:00 pm..."

"It's not my fault." Kru shrugged, without apologizing to Qiu Suhui for being nearly forty minutes late. "I almost couldn't get out of my house. If those reporters and emotional fans didn't know that the house had a back door, I wouldn't be able to come to the appointment."

"This reflects how popular you are from another side." Qiu Suhui smiled, "What do you want to order?"

"Anything."

"Two cups of Blue Mountain coffee." Qiu Suhui turned his head and said to the waiter on the side. After the waiter left, he smiled at Kru: "I originally planned to be a lobbyist, and the rhetoric in my stomach was all prepared, but now I can't use it."

"Rhetoric? The great truth of patriotism?"

Qiu Suhui waved his hand with a smile: "That trick won't work on you. I will just suggest to the Chinese Football Association to greatly increase the bonus for the Chinese team to win the game in the German World Cup, and the bonus for entering the top 16, top 8, top 4..."

"Bonus? How much to increase?" Kru became energetic when he heard about money.

"I don't know yet, because we have to wait for the Football Association of England to announce their bonus distribution plan."

"Why wait for the Football Association of England?"

"Because I only plan to be one hundred euros higher than the bonus in England, haha!" Qiu Suhui laughed, Kru Lee's automatic "surrender" made him feel better than ever.

Kru couldn't help but smile dumbly. The coach of this national team is really an interesting person.

After the joke was over, Qiu Suhui decided to get down to business: "From the end of March to the beginning of April, I will take the Chinese team to Europe to play two warm-up matches. I will recruit you into the team at that time, so I hope you can guarantee your state. If your state is not good, I won't let you play. Although you play for Chelsea, I can't guarantee that you will definitely be able to play in the Chinese team."

Kru smiled again, this smile had a hint of contempt in it. But Qiu Suhui was not angry. He smiled and said: "Don't underestimate our players. I have said this to Zhang Jun too."

"Zhang Jun? Isn't he in trouble recently?"

"Your information is really blocked. He is now the second shooter in Fiorentina."

"A B-level team..."

"It will be A-level next season." Qiu Suhui interrupted Kru with a smile.

Kru looked at Qiu Suhui with a smile on his face, and finally decided not to dwell on this issue. He changed the topic: "Since I have announced my restoration of Chinese nationality, what are you doing here as a lobbyist?"

"Well, it's nothing, I just want to get to know you first, so that we can be more tacit in the future." Qiu Suhui said, leaning back on the chair.

Kru looked at his watch and decided to say goodbye: "Then since there is nothing else, I will leave first. There is still training in the afternoon."

Qiu Suhui nodded: "Okay."

Kru stood up and turned to leave, but was stopped by Qiu Suhui: "Kru, can you understand Chinese?"

Kru was stunned: "Yes... but not if the speed is too fast."

"What about spoken language?"

"Simple phrases are okay, but long sentences or fast speed are not."

"Okay." Qiu Suhui nodded.

"What are you asking this for?"

"I just want to know whether to use bilingual explanation in the national team's dressing room, use Chinese for them, and English for you."

Kru thought for a while: "Just use Chinese, I will ask you directly if I don't understand."

"Okay. Then are you just going to walk out like this now?" Qiu Suhui pointed to the reporters who were gathering more and more outside.

Kru turned his head to look at those excited reporters, not surprised, nor frowning, and said calmly: "If I don't walk out, do you want me to run out?"

Qiu Suhui watched Kru walk out calmly, and then made a gesture to the reporters' flashes and lenses that made his eyes drop - "V"!

Qiu Suhui covered his face, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: Sure enough, he is an interesting person. It seems that this incident should not put any pressure on his mind. He has to maintain his state. Li Yongle still can't get more opportunities in Inter Milan. The Chinese team's offensive organization depends on you.

※※※

The teammates didn't have much reaction to Kru's choice of Chinese nationality. This kind of thing is too normal in the world football world. It's just that several teammates who are also England internationals feel sorry for Kru Lee. Through so much contact and cooperation, they also like to play football with this little brother. Sometimes when you see him use the kind of moves that others don't even dare to think about to dribble or pass the ball, you really want to praise God.

During training, passionate and radical fans kept protesting outside the wire fence that Kru Lee was "treason", and some fans even dressed up as judges and then announced that Kru Lee was "guilty of treason".

Kru turned a deaf ear to this. He had been alone for so many years, what scenes hadn't he seen? Could a few fans and reporters scare him?

Mourinho doesn't care whether the new Kru is of British or Chinese nationality, as long as he can maintain his state and not slack off in the final stages of the league.

Kru was stopped by Perizzalo, who was rushed over from the youth team, when the training ended.

"Kru, why did you choose China? This doesn't help you who is in the rising trend. Do you know that?" Perizzalo questioned his disciple as soon as he saw him.

Kru didn't care, and said to his mentor with a smile: "I know, Giorgio." Because he had lived with Perizzalo for a long time, he had already omitted the word "Mr." However, Perizzalo has always opposed Kru's way of calling him: "Add 'Mr.', Kru."

"Okay, Giorgio, Mr." Kru still said with a smile, without any seriousness.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Worried about what?" Kru shrugged.

"External reaction, your future, how to maintain your current state... There are many things you need to worry about and consider, can you still laugh now?" Perizzalo was a little angry.

When Kru saw that his teacher was angry, he had to put away his hippie smile and shook his head: "I don't know how long I have considered what you said before I made this decision. Now that I have decided, there is naturally no need to worry about it, Mr. When I was a gangster, I often lived a life where I had this meal but not the next. I'm already used to it. The current situation is much better than that time."

"Do you really not regret your choice, Kru?"

Kru thought for a while: "Mr., if you ask me this now, I can't tell you my answer. It takes time, maybe I will regret it, maybe I won't. That's a matter of the future."

"But don't you need a lot of money? If you go to the Chinese team, can the influence be as great as when you are in England?"

"Mr., although I need money very much, but..." Kru thought of his mother, even if he has more money now, can he bring his mother back to life? "But there are some things that can't be bought back with more money."

If a butterfly in Chile flaps its wings, the disturbed air may be a storm when it reaches Japan. Moreover, this time it was a storm from the beginning.

But the person in the eye of the storm is very calm.

Perizzalo knew that since this matter had been reported and a final decision had been made, he couldn't change anything. In fact, he came to Kru just to complain. He never expected Kru to really change his mind. He sighed: "Well then, okay. I wish you, child, good luck!"

※※※

Zhang Jun was a little surprised to hold the British newspaper that Li Yan had brought him.

"Kru Lee has submitted an application to the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom to restore his Chinese nationality. The Chinese ambassador has instructed to handle the matter specially, and they will deal with it as soon as possible. At the same time, Chinese team coach Qiu Suhui was photographed by reporters meeting with Kru in London..."

He was surprised that Kru had changed his attitude so quickly. What made him make this change?

But what is he thinking so much about? Since Kru is willing to come over, doesn't it suit his wishes? Anything that has a good result is a good thing, what does it matter why?

Zhang Jun patted his forehead and put the newspaper aside. Two warm-up matches from the end of March to the beginning of April? He looked at the date displayed on his phone, February 28th, there is still nearly a month, he has to work hard too, it would be too embarrassing if he was brushed down because of his poor condition.

So, let's start working hard from tomorrow's league!