Chapter 105 Penalty Kick!

“Penalty!” Everyone shouted the same word.

The Fiorentina players raised their arms to celebrate.

But they didn't hear the whistle. The referee completely ignored Zhang Jun's fall and allowed the game to continue!

The loudest boo of the day echoed over the Stadio Artemio Franchi, so loud it felt like it could kill you with the speed of your heartbeat.

Zhang Jun had been ready to embrace his teammates in celebration, but faced with this outcome, he became furious. He jumped up from the ground and rushed towards the referee, questioning why he hadn't called a penalty.

“He tripped my foot! He definitely tripped my foot! He didn't even touch the ball. Do you want to see his cleat marks on my shoe? I didn't dive! Why no penalty?!”

But the referee completely ignored Zhang Jun's protests. He disregarded Zhang Jun, who was standing in front of him, and signaled for Fiorentina to quickly take the throw-in.

However, the Fiorentina players had no intention of taking the throw-in. They surrounded the referee, demanding why he had turned a penalty into a throw-in.

The hot-tempered Xiang Tao was shouting even louder, “Tell that son-of-a-bitch referee to get lost! He's not fit to be a referee! Damn it! He deserves a beating!” He continued to push his way to the front. Zhang Jun, fearing that this powder keg would attack the referee and be sent off, quickly turned around and pushed him away. “Calm down! It's not your turn to yell!”

Sabato was also yelling from the sidelines, “Is that referee blind? That's clearly a penalty! How can he think Materazzi didn't foul? Go to hell, you motherfucker!” Finally, the Italian national curse slipped out.

Di Livio quickly pulled Sabato back, afraid that his loud voice would attract the referee's special attention.

But it was too late. Although the referee was surrounded by a crowd, his eyes and ears were exceptionally sharp. He could hear Sabato's disrespectful words even through the crowd. One had to wonder how he hadn't seen Materazzi's foul earlier.

He pushed through the crowd, running towards Sabato, his hand reaching into his back pocket, and then he pulled out… a red card!

The referee stood right in front of Sabato, holding up the red card and pointing towards the tunnel, the meaning clear: Get off the field!

But Sabato didn't want to leave like that. He continued to question the referee about the penalty. Di Livio pushed and pulled from the side, finally driving Sabato towards the tunnel entrance.

At this point, the atmosphere in the stadium couldn't be described as booing anymore; it was a roar in which you couldn’t hear anything else.

“This is so dramatic! Zhang Jun's breakthrough was fantastic, and from the replay, there's no doubt about Materazzi's foul. This really should have been a penalty. But from the referee's perspective, Zhang Jun's movement was too fast, which is why he made this mistake. So far, it's just a misjudgment. There are often such misjudgments in many games. But our lovely 'hooligan' Mr. Sabato has lost his temper again. He's shouting from the sidelines… Let's look at the lip movements: ‘You—mother—fucker—go to hell!’ A typical national curse! The red card is absolutely deserved. He's still cursing as he leaves the field. I wonder if he'll face further punishment? As it is, it's hard to say what will happen in today's match. Fiorentina lost a penalty and their coach.”

Seeing even the madman coach sent to the stands by the referee, the Fiorentina players stopped protesting. You can't argue with the authorities.

Zhang Jun was no longer angry either, afraid of attracting a red card himself.

The throw-in was taken casually. Fiorentina was still emotionally unstable, so they didn't pose any threat to Inter Milan's goal.

As the saying goes: When it rains, it pours.

This saying couldn't be more appropriate for Fiorentina.

The coach was sent to the stands, a refereeing error cost them a penalty, and now they faced an even heavier blow.

A minute later, Inter Milan launched a lightning-fast counterattack. Li Yongle got the ball near the center circle. He saw Adriano lurking ahead, a good opportunity for a counterattack. He didn't hesitate, a long pass, directly between the two central defenders, Ujfalusi and Kehl, where Adriano was waiting.

“A beautiful and precise long pass! Li's specialty!”

Adriano started running parallel to the two central defenders. He wasn't offside. Poor Ujfalusi was still raising his hand to signal Adriano was offside, but seeing that the linesman hadn't raised his flag, he turned back and desperately chased after him.

But how could he catch up?

Adriano hooked the ball with his long legs, beautifully controlling it, and then, without letting the ball touch the ground, he unleashed a powerful shot!

Frey rushed out only halfway before seeing Adriano's signature powerful shot. He instinctively ducked to block, his fingers brushing the ball. The ball bounced off the ground and then flew into the goal.

“2:1! A goal! A goal! A goal!! King Adriano!” The Inter Milan radio commentator shouted excitedly.

“This is even more dramatic! Haha! In the space of two minutes, Inter Milan has taken the lead again. Let's look at Sabato's face. Look how dark it is. He must be regretting why he cursed the referee just now.”

“No, no, he won't regret it. When have you ever seen him apologize for his words and actions?” The Sky TV commentator wasn't as excited as the Inter Milan commentator. They joked about Sabato.

“Fuck! Damn it! Shit! This game is shit!” Sabato cursed, unwilling to see his team falling behind.

Di Livio obviously realized the emotional fluctuations of the players. Before the game restarted, he called Zhang Jun over. “Zhang, you have to tell your teammates to stabilize their emotions. Although things are… bad, we still have to continue the game.” In contrast to Sabato, Di Livio was a calm and collected coach. His combination with Sabato was indeed excellent, because their personalities complemented each other perfectly.

Sabato brought passion to Fiorentina, while Di Livio's presence constantly reminded Fiorentina not to forget to maintain the necessary composure when they were fired up.

Zhang Jun nodded. He had also lost his head earlier, which had led to this result. Now the score was behind, and the coach had been sent to the stands. The situation was really unfavorable, but the game wasn't over yet. Less than half of the second half remained.

To bring his teammates back to their senses, he had to do something. Of course, he absolutely couldn't bring himself to shout slogans. Use action, break through Li Yongle's defense, and create scoring opportunities for the team.

Di Livio shouted the name of every player on the field, and when they looked over, he made a gesture of pressing down with both hands, telling them: Calm down! You must calm down, we will have another chance!

※※※

Cambiaso's defense wasn't too tight for Krøldrup. He slipped past and passed the ball to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun turned and ran to meet the ball, and Li Yongle also ran towards the ball.

Zhang Jun raised his right foot to stop the ball, and Li Yongle quickly braked, planning to close in as soon as Zhang Jun stopped the ball.

Zhang Jun originally wanted to turn around after stopping the ball to get rid of Li Yongle's entanglement. He raised his right foot to try to step the ball behind him. But he made a mistake. He didn't step on the ball. Krøldrup's pass had a lot of power, and the ball hit the inside of his raised right foot and bounced towards his supporting foot, his left foot.

But at this moment, he happened to be turning around, and his left foot just happened to knock the ball towards the back of his body—the direction he originally wanted to break through.

The ball was knocked far, as if it jumped from Zhang Jun's feet, bouncing to a gap three or four meters away. Then Zhang Jun turned around and rushed towards the ball.

Li Yongle thought Zhang Jun would stop the ball before turning around. He didn't expect Zhang Jun to dribble past him so directly. He was completely stunned in place, and hadn't adjusted his center of gravity.

The fans exclaimed, thinking that this move should be something Krøldrup would do, but they didn't expect Zhang Jun, who valued practicality, to also play fancy moves.

Even the commentators were amazed: “Zhang Jun’s turning dribble caught Li off guard. The ball seemed to have a life of its own, jumping backward from his feet towards where he wanted to go. Beautiful!”

They never imagined that this ball was actually Zhang Jun's mistake.

Zhang Jun didn't expect it either, but when he realized that the direction of the ball was exactly where he wanted to go, he immediately adjusted and accelerated to catch up with the ball, then rushed towards the penalty area.

This time, Inter Milan's defenders didn't dare to be careless. Cordoba and Materazzi rushed towards him at the same time, intending to intercept the ball by closing the door.

Zhang Jun flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot, and the ball rolled to the right wing. Jorgensen was unmarked. He followed up and crossed!

The near post!

Zhang Jun happened to be surging forward from the back, a diving header!

Toldo waved his hand and pushed the ball over the crossbar, a corner kick.

After Jorgensen took the corner kick, Toldo rushed out and got the ball. Then Inter Milan launched a quick counterattack, again initiated by Li Yongle. Unfortunately, Adriano's shot was eventually saved by Frey.

※※※

In fact, Li Yan felt that everything unfavorable to Fiorentina was a good thing for him, because the more unfavorable the environment, the more Zhang Jun could stimulate his potential, and would show one hundred percent of his ability to compete with Li Yongle. That way there would be more exciting moments, and he would have more to write about.

If he said that the confrontation between the two was only a few minutes long, with only a few exchanges, the readers probably wouldn't like it.

So, Zhang Jun, for the sake of newspaper sales and my bonus, you have to continue to work hard!

Li Yongle noticed that Zhang Jun was intentionally retreating, moving further and further away from the penalty area.

Isn't he a striker? Why is he running so far? Doesn't he plan to shoot himself?

Li Yongle was wondering when Mascherano made a direct pass from midfield, towards Zhang Jun's direction. He immediately perked up and prepared to face the enemy.

But he soon realized the error of his decision.

Zhang Jun was facing him to receive the ball!

Generally speaking, the most important means for defensive players to curb the performance of offensive players is to block their position and prevent them from turning around.

But now Zhang Jun didn't have the problem of turning around or not. He retreated far enough to allow him to receive the ball facing the goal like an attacking midfielder. For a player with such a fast sprint speed as him, receiving the ball facing the goal was much more threatening than receiving the ball with his back to the goal.

Zhang Jun's foot touched the ball, and in the next second he poked the ball to the right, accelerated his body, and easily flashed past Li Yongle. Li Yongle reached out and pulled him, and Zhang Jun staggered, but his acceleration quickly allowed him to shake off Li Yongle's entanglement and break through!

Li Yongle was broken through by Zhang Jun three times in a row, it seemed there was still a gap between them.

After breaking through, Zhang Jun suddenly took a long shot outside the penalty area. The ball had a clear downward trajectory. Toldo flew to the near corner, and in the end, the ball brushed the post and flew out of the baseline.

A huge sigh rose from the stands.

Zhang Jun turned his head and shook his right index finger at Li Yongle: You can't defend me.

Li Yongle clenched his lower lip, his face solemn.

※※※

When Zhang Jun received the ball again, ready to break through, Li Yongle didn't say a word and came up with a fierce tackle. Zhang Jun was caught off guard, and he fell and lost the ball.

The referee's whistle sounded, Inter Milan committed a foul, Fiorentina had a free kick in the attacking zone.

Li Yongle shrugged at Zhang Jun: I can foul, show me your ability to shoot directly from here.

The foul location was forty meters away from the goal, not within Zhang Jun's effective range at all. Fiorentina had to take an indirect free kick, re-launching the attack that had been interrupted by Li Yongle's foul.

Leading Inter Milan, with Mancini's tacit approval, tended to be conservative. As time passed, more and more Inter Milan players returned to the penalty area to defend.

Fiorentina fans were very dissatisfied with this passive attitude, and they booed Inter Milan non-stop. Even some neutral reporters were cheering for Fiorentina.

But Mancini didn't care. He knew that the most important thing for the team now was victory. As long as they got three points, he didn't care if it looked good or not, if it was passive or not.

He sat on the sidelines and began to consider substituting Adriano. Recently, in the domestic league, the Italian Cup, and the Champions League, three-line operations, Adriano started every game and played the full ninety minutes, he was too tired and should rest.

But what made him hesitate was that Fiorentina's attack was so fierce. If he substituted Adriano, he couldn't guarantee the pressure on Fiorentina's defense.

Just as he was thinking, Zhang Jun received a cross from Xiang Tao and took a sweeping shot. Although the ball was eventually saved by Toldo, Mancini smelled a hint of danger. He decided to leave Adriano on the field. With him on the field, Fiorentina's defenders wouldn't be so bold in their assists.

※※※

Fiorentina didn't have many ways to deal with Inter Milan's dense defense.

Sabato was sent to the stands, and Di Livio's on-the-spot command wasn't good enough. Fiorentina's attack looked fierce, but in reality, it wasn't very effective.

Sabato was anxious watching from the stands, but he didn't have a mobile phone or a walkie-talkie, he couldn't communicate with Di Livio at all.

“Fiorentina is almost surrounding Inter Milan and bombarding them, but they just can't score. Faced with Inter Milan's dense defense, they lack the ability to adapt. Sabato's departure has had a huge impact on them. Fiorentina is like a headless fly, bumping around everywhere.” Even the commentators in the Chinese studio could see Fiorentina's current predicament.

Fiorentina was struggling desperately, but they didn't know where to put their strength.

Zhang Jun wanted to use his performance to find a breakthrough for the team, but he soon realized that even if he could break through Li Yongle, he would be at a loss when facing a whole team.

Inter Milan quietly changed their tactics. For him, often after painstakingly breaking through Li Yongle, he would find himself facing the siege of three people, and in the chaos, the ball would soon be lost.

Mancini was very satisfied with this situation. No matter how good you are, Zhang Jun, there's no way you can win against eleven people.

Li Yongle is just holding you back. Let's see how you break through the siege?

※※※

“Damn it!” Zhang Jun's body tilted, and the ball was intercepted by Zanetti.

There were too many people. Even Krøldrup, with his delicate footwork, had no way to deal with this iron barrel formation. There were still ten minutes left in the game, but they were still one goal behind.

Damn it… If that penalty had been called, the score should be reversed now.

When he received the ball again, he had to pass it out again, using the ball to try to find a gap.

But unfortunately, Krøldrup's ability to find that moment of weakness in this complicated situation wasn't good enough. His specialty of using dribbling to tear apart the opponent's defense, which he usually took pride in, couldn't be used at all now.

“That’s why I hate defense…” Zhang Jun muttered in his heart.

Mascherano tried a long shot, but unfortunately it went high.

In the final moments, Di Livio replaced Lamb with Toni, switching to a 3-4-3 formation. But Sabato shook his head in the stands—bringing on Toni to strengthen the attack was the right thing to do, but it was too late to substitute him in now.

Inter Milan's fans were already celebrating their victory, while Fiorentina fans still hadn't given up cheering for their team.

The Sky TV commentators were lamenting that Fiorentina's fifteen-game unbeaten streak and their home winning streak were about to end.

Zhang Jun still hadn't given up. He was looking for any opportunity that would allow him to score.

Jorgensen crossed, and he jumped up to compete for the header with Samuel. The two collided fiercely, and the ball was obtained by Toldo.

Zhang Jun seemed unaffected by the collision and got up and ran back, waiting for Toldo to pass the ball.

Krøldrup chipped a pass, and Toni headed the ball back to Zhang Jun outside.

Zhang Jun chested the ball forward, and his body took advantage of the momentum to squeeze in. Then he stepped the ball down with his left foot, firmly pinning it to the ground.

Then he gently flicked it with his right foot, dodging a foot that didn't know who it belonged to.

“Zhang has fallen into the encirclement of Inter Milan's defenders! He is surrounded by four Inter Milan players!”

Zhang Jun looked down at the ball, he didn't have time to count how many Inter Milan players were around him. Someone was trying to steal the ball, so he pulled the flicked ball back again, and at the same time leaned his body back hard, pushing the opponent behind him, whose foot was still restless, back. Then he swung his right calf very quickly, kicked the ball, and shot!

The ball drilled through the legs of an Inter Milan player in front of him, heading straight for the far corner of the goal!

Toldo was shocked and fell to the ground, stretching his left hand as far as he could, lunging towards the far corner of the goal. Fortunately, he was tall and had long arms, so he barely touched the ball, causing it to roll out of the baseline.

“Dangerous! Dangerous! Zhang Jun almost saved Fiorentina, really just a little bit! His shot in the crowd was too sudden, luckily Toldo was focused enough.”

“Ah—” Sabato sighed in the stands, this was really an excellent opportunity, it was a pity it didn't go in.

“It seems that four Inter Milan players couldn't defend against Zhang Jun. His ball control ability and shooting skills in the penalty area are really terrifying! For him, it seems that the smaller the space, the better he can perform. He reminds us of that 'Lone Wolf'—Romario, a 'King of the Penalty Area'!”

The commentator's praise didn't help Fiorentina achieve the final victory. Zhang Jun's shot was Fiorentina's best chance to equalize the score before the end of the game.

In the end, the home team Fiorentina lost the game, ending their fifteen-game unbeaten streak and their home winning streak.

When exchanging jerseys with Li Yongle after the game, Zhang Jun seemed very helpless. “This shouldn't have been the result, that penalty…”

Li Yongle shook his head: “I also think the penalty should have been called, but that's how the game is, there are always a lot of accidents. You guys have been too glorious recently, it's time to pour some cold water on you.”

“What kind of logic is that…” Zhang Jun rolled his eyes, “See you next year, Happy New Year.”

“You too. But we'll be seeing each other soon, Yang Pan's wedding on January 1st.”

“Oh, I forgot. Speaking of which, Yang Pan is actually the first of us to get married. He didn't have much luck with women when he was in school… Then I'll see you at his wedding. When are you going to find yourself someone?”

“After defeating you.”

“Didn't you win today?”

“That was the team's victory, not my personal victory.” Li Yongle said very seriously.

Zhang Jun had a headache and quickly waved goodbye. If this continued, what would he be guilty of if the Li family had no descendants?

※※※

At the post-match press conference, Sabato clearly blamed the loss entirely on the referee: “We lost our first game in sixteen rounds away from home.” He emphasized “away from home,” using irony to express his dissatisfaction with the referee.

When a reporter asked him what he thought about being sent off with a red card for his foul language, Sabato spread his hands: “I don't think I did anything wrong. Yes, I cursed him, but that kind of referee who goes on the field without wearing glasses deserves to be cursed by me. He made a mistake, why can't I curse him?”

The next day, photos of Sabato pointing his finger and angrily cursing the referee appeared on the front pages of several newspapers, and the headline of *Milan Sports News* was the most representative: “Sabato: Referee Go To Hell!”

Two days later, the Italian Football Association announced its verdict on the matter: Given that Antonio Sabato interfered with the referee's work during the game, verbally attacked the referee, refused to apologize after the game, and showed no remorse, his attitude was vile. He was suspended for two more games on top of the two-game suspension for the red card. He was suspended for four games, fined three thousand euros, and because Fiorentina Football Club failed to exercise proper discipline and indulged him, the club was also fined ten thousand euros.

Fiorentina Football Club behaved quite honestly, claiming that they would not appeal, and the matter was concluded.

The players would have a two-week vacation to spend Christmas and New Year's Day. Zhang Jun's eventful 2007 was finally coming to an end.

But then again, in the last three years, which year hadn't been an eventful year for him?

※※※

In addition to the club's players, officials, and staff, the club's Christmas party also invited important figures from Florence's political and business circles. Ren Yu Di regarded this as an opportunity to further improve the club's image in the hearts of Florentines. He even invited some fan representatives to spend the holiday with their idols.

Of course, he didn't come forward for any of this. It was all handled by his spokesperson, Jalimian.

To be honest, the most tired person at this Christmas party was Zhang Jun. He always had to be busy dealing with all kinds of people: officials, businessmen, reporters, fans.

Because he was the most dazzling star in the audience, even the mayor of Florence held his hand and talked to him for a long time. It was nothing more than some: “Thank you for your contribution to this city, to this team, thank you for staying at the last moment. You will definitely become a new idol in the city of Florence…” and things like that.

When facing these officials, Zhang Jun also had to behave respectfully. These were people he couldn't afford to offend.

In addition to being pulled away by those political and business dignitaries to talk and sign autographs, he was surrounded by fan representatives for autographs and photos. Looking at their satisfied smiling faces, Zhang Jun felt that it was worth it to be tired.

During the two-hour party, Zhang Jun didn't eat much at all. He was empty until the end. He drank a lot of wine, not because he wanted to drink, but because he always had to have a glass with those people, and also because he was thirsty from talking so much, and he needed something to moisten his throat.

Sophie was with him, always maintaining a polite smile in the face of anyone, whether they praised her beauty or were so amazed that they couldn't speak, she always behaved appropriately.

The mayor of Florence said directly that Zhang Jun should be proud to have such a girlfriend.

Hearing such praise, Zhang Jun was a little embarrassed, and Sophie just smiled.

Everyone was very happy. Although they lost the game and ended their fifteen-game unbeaten streak, Fiorentina was ranked third in the standings after the first half of the season, which was a proud achievement. You should know that at this time last season, they were still hovering after thirteenth place.

After the two-hour party, someone suggested going out to play together and continue the fun. But Zhang Jun waved his hand and refused. He wanted to go home with Sophie. Xiang Tao howled from the side, “Someone with a wife is different…”

Zhang Jun smiled and gave him a kick, then waved goodbye to his teammates and got into the car with Sophie.

On the way home, he complained to Sophie that he hadn't eaten enough at night.

“Then I'll make you a midnight snack when we get back.” Sophie said softly, leaning against the passenger seat. She was also very tired.

When they got home, Zhang Jun insisted on helping, but Sophie forcibly pushed him out of the kitchen.

Helpless, he had to sit in the living room and flip through magazines aimlessly.

About ten minutes later, Sophie walked out with a bowl. When she put what was in her hand on the table, he saw that it was a bowl of plain noodle soup.

But it was this bowl of steaming plain noodle soup that stunned Zhang Jun, and he didn't reach for chopsticks for a long time.

“What's wrong? Is it not tasty?” Sophie sat opposite him, looking at him.

“No, no… I just remembered the past. It seems like I also cooked you a bowl of these noodles back in 1999.” Zhang Jun picked up the chopsticks, picked up a mouthful of noodles and blew on them gently.

Sophie smiled, “You still remember.”

“I remember, of course I remember. I also said I would cook you for a lifetime.” Zhang Jun ate the noodles Sophie made for him, “Very fragrant…”

“It's been eight years.” Sophie rested her chin in her hands, watching Zhang Jun eat the noodles. “In an hour, it'll be Christmas, and in six days it'll be New Year's Day. Another year has passed, and Yang Pan is even getting married. Time really flies, my memories are still stuck on when we were in college together.”

Zhang Jun put down his chopsticks: “Yeah, but Yang Pan actually asked us to be the best man and bridesmaid… this is clearly a curse!”

Sophie laughed: “Who told you to promise to win the World Cup before marrying me? Otherwise, we could have asked Yang Pan to be the best man. Marriage… Yilan looks good in a wedding dress.” She looked longing.

“You saw it?”

“Silly! Yilan asked me to help her pick out a wedding dress the day before yesterday. Isn't it said that women look best when they're wearing wedding dresses? Yilan, who is usually so lively, looked very gentle and demure in a wedding dress. I tried it on too, it was really good…”

Zhang Jun could hear the meaning in Sophie's words. She also really wanted to stand in front of everyone in a wedding dress.

From 1998 to 2008, he and Sophie had gone through ten years together, from ignorant teenagers to young men and women, to adulthood. They graduated and entered society. Just because he was a professional player and was more glamorous than ordinary people, it made their relationship seem different. But in fact, in Zhang Jun's heart, he and Sophie were just like ordinary lovers.

Some media liked to praise Sophie as a fairy because of her beauty and smile. There were even "Sophie Honor Guards" fan groups in China. In their eyes, Sophie was like a goddess.

But Zhang Jun knew very well that Sophie was actually an ordinary girl. The dream she had was also the most ordinary dream of a girl—to marry a man she loved, give birth to a healthy baby, and then live a happy and peaceful life as a family.

It was just because of his special status that Sophie's ordinary dream couldn't be realized. He felt that he owed Sophie a lot. Usually, his life was all about football. Fiorentina football, Chinese football, honor, patriotism, national self-esteem… When could he and Sophie be together to enjoy a world that belonged purely to the two of them?

Wedding dress, he also wanted to see Sophie wearing it in front of him…

※※※

“It's snowing in Milan. When are you arriving?” Yang Pan asked An Ke on the phone. Outside the window in front of him was indeed a white world. Yilan had once told him that she hoped the sky would be clear on the wedding day, but the ground would be covered with snow, so it would be romantic enough. Now it seemed that God was very obliging.

Because she was getting married, Yilan had been living with her father for the past two days. They would be separated soon, and the father and daughter would have a lot to say. Yang Pan didn't bother them, and only waited to pick up the bride on the wedding day.

An Ke was calling him from the airport. Several good friends had arrived, and An Ke was the last one. “Give me an accurate time so I can pick you up. Okay, okay, I'll leave in half an hour.”

After hanging up the phone, Yang Pan continued to stand by the window and watch the snowflakes fall.

His parents and some relatives had also rushed over from China. He didn't plan to go back to China to get married, so he brought his relatives to Italy. His parents were very satisfied with Yilan, mainly because Yilan behaved very well-behaved, sensible, and cute in front of his parents, and she could make his parents laugh from ear to ear with her unskilled Chinese.

Hmph, she was really a highly skilled actor…

They still bickered from time to time, and the two seemed to be immersed in it.

Marriage… he never thought that he would be the first of them to enter the church. Thinking back to his first encounter with Yilan, the mischievous girl who joked with him unscrupulously seemed to be still yesterday, smiling at him when he pushed the door open and entered: “Welcome!” It was that simple, and she walked into his life.

So, love was really a wonderful thing, making it difficult for people to explain.

Yang Pan looked at his watch, it was almost time, he had to go out and pick up An Ke.

Walking out of the bedroom, he saw Zhang Jun lying on the sofa playing *Pro Evolution Soccer*. Sophie had gone to Yilan's house to be with Yilan, and poor Zhang Jun had to live with him. Seeing how bored he looked, using the Brazilian team to be led by South Korea 0:2. He went up and pulled him up: “Let's go, come with me to pick up An Ke, that kid is almost here.”

Sitting in his Hummer, Yang Pan threw the keys to Zhang Jun: “You drive, I'll rest.” He was really exhausted recently from being busy with the wedding.

Zhang Jun started the engine and turned on the car audio.

“Elena, my name is Elena; I am an ordinary girl, I also long for love…” The song started to play. Yang Pan opened his eyes. It turned out that this disc had been in his car audio all along and he hadn't taken it out.

“Good song, what does it mean?” Zhang Jun asked.

“Um… the general idea is a story about an ordinary girl pursuing love…”

※※※

Milan, Malpensa Airport.

An Ke gave Zhang Jun and Yang Pan each a strong hug.

“Hey, easy! My bones are going to break!” Zhang Jun shouted.

“Haha! I missed you so much!” An Ke shouted in Feng Gong's tone.

Yang Pan looked at An Ke, then searched hard behind him. This move left An Ke confused and at a loss. “Yang Pan, what are you doing?”

“I'm looking for your rumored girlfriend. Where is she?” Yang Pan answered while searching.

An Ke screamed: “Damn! Why are you bringing up things I don't want to talk about? Where did I get a rumored girlfriend from?”

“Nonsense! The newspapers are full of it, saying that the busty woman you were hugging when you came out of the bar is your girlfriend.” Yang Pan pretended to be confused.

What he didn't expect was that An Ke didn't explode this time, but just sighed.

This surprised Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. They rarely saw An Ke sigh, because this rough-edged, big-nerved idiot man was basically very optimistic.

“Okay, since you want to hear the story, get in the car, I'll tell you when we get back.”

※※※

The song "My Name is Elena" was still playing in the car. An Ke had the same reaction as Zhang Jun just now, thinking that this song was very good.

“It's good, right? Your sister-in-law used this song to express her feelings to me back then.” Yang Pan said triumphantly. Nowadays, it was still a proud thing for a man to be pursued by a woman, which showed that they had enough charm.

“A woman chased you?” Yang Pan was very satisfied with An Ke's reaction.

“That's right, I didn't like her much at first. We argued every time we met, but I didn't expect that we would end up having feelings for each other from all the arguing. Haha! Don't you think love is a magical thing?” Yang Pan, who was about to become a groom, smiled happily.

But An Ke fell silent.

Yang Pan noticed An Ke's abnormality, but he didn't ask him now. When they got back to his house, he would have a way to make An Ke open his mouth.

Zhang Jun focused on driving, An Ke was silent, and Yang Pan looked out the window, humming along with the music.

“Yilan, my name is Yilan. A very ordinary girl. I have happiness and sadness. I also have a life of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. I want to find simple love. That love that belongs to me. I hope to have poetry and beautiful dreams to accompany me at night. If that were the case, I would have nothing else to ask for. There will be photos of you in the newspaper every week. I always pay attention…”

※※※

Because Yang Pan's house was going to be used as the honeymoon room, it couldn't be lived in. An Ke was arranged to live in Kaka's house, so Zhang Jun directly drove the car to Kaka's house. An Ke also gave Kaka a strong hug, “I missed you so much!”

Kaka settled An Ke down, and then a few people went to see Yang Pan's new house together.

Looking at the house that had been renovated because he was getting married, An Ke praised it repeatedly. He ran around, visiting, and it was very different from when he last came to live here.

“Wow! You even replaced the toilet with a new one!”

“How extravagant! You even have a water bed!”

……

Yang Pan grabbed An Ke, who was running past him: “Don't change the subject, we're all waiting for you to tell us the story.”

An Ke looked at the three of them: “Do you really want to hear it?”

Zhang Jun nodded.

Kaka was very excited: “We're always very interested in other people's privacy!”

An Ke rolled his eyes, knowing that he couldn't avoid it today. He had no choice but to sit down, and then he was silent for a while, thinking about how to start.

“You all know about my ‘scandal’ some time ago, right? Actually, I really didn't lie. That girl really isn't my rumored girlfriend, but… just a classmate of mine from Germany.”

“A classmate? You studied in Dortmund, but she appeared in Munich.” Kaka asked.

“Yes, she followed me to Munich.”

“Why?”

“Because… like Yilan, she chased me… she likes me very much, and she confessed to me.”

Yang Pan shouted: “Look! Look! Isn't this a girlfriend? She even confessed! Comrades, we underestimated An Ke! This kid still has some charm…”

“But I rejected her.” An Ke interrupted Yang Pan.

“You…” Yang Pan didn't know what to say for a moment.

“She likes me, but I don't like her. Why should I accept her confession? She started chasing me from Dortmund, when I was