Chapter 1 The End of "A Pile of Feathers"

For the Chinese people, the World Cup that was "a pile of feathers" had come to an end. It seemed they had gained nothing, but lost too much. A week after being eliminated from the World Cup group stage, Zhang Jun held a press conference in China and calmly announced his permanent retirement from the national team. From his calm tone, you couldn't even tell if he had participated in the World Cup, or if he had really led the team to a disastrous defeat.

After Advocaat's contract expired, he left. During his four years in office, An Ke, Zhang Jun, and Yang Pan successively announced their withdrawal from the national team, without winning a major tournament trophy. They played thirty games with twelve wins, eight draws, and ten losses… What exactly did the Dutch old man bring to Chinese football? This question continued to be debated even after he left.

The poor results of the World Cup, the strained relationship with meritorious players and coaches, being criticized by the media, and completely losing public support… All of this made the full-time vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association feel exhausted. Soon after, Chen Wei announced his resignation from the position of full-time vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association. Before he left, he still didn't forget to "hype" things up: he published a tearful open letter, admitting that he had made many mistakes during his nine years in office, especially in the later period. He believed that he was a sinner of Chinese football. But he also hoped that whoever took his position, everything could be changed, but please keep the "Chinese Football Future Plan" proposal and implement the Chinese football reform cause in accordance with the plan.

"The professionalization reform of Chinese football is not a matter of one day or two, nor can it be solved by one or two chairmen, and it is impossible to complete it thoroughly in one or two generations. This is a long and arduous process, just like the Red Army's Long March more than half a century ago. We must be psychologically prepared for a protracted war. I hope that my successors can work hard according to what is said on this, and strive to create a better condition and environment for your successors. This is my… the last request of this sinner of Chinese football. Maybe in your eyes, every word I say is unbelievable; maybe you think I am hyping up things and trying to win sympathy. But I implore you to believe what I say, Chinese football really needs to continue to reform. The Brazilian World Cup is not a mistake of reform, but my own mistake. I hope that the reform plan that I failed to implement during my tenure can be realized in the hands of my successors. I beg you all!"

This was the last sound left by the "sinner" who was spurned by thousands of people in Chinese football.

The days after the World Cup were far more exciting than the World Cup itself. This was the unique scenery of Chinese football.

※※※

While the country was still settling accounts for the World Cup fiasco, Zhang Jun and the others returned to their respective clubs to prepare for the new season. For our protagonist Zhang Jun, this season would be a very special one, because it was the last season of his contract.

When the Italian domestic investigation into the match-fixing scandal first began, the winds blowing from all directions clearly showed that Fiorentina would be relegated and penalized. Those who liked Zhang Jun, those friends of Zhang Jun were advising him to leave Fiorentina. How could a striker who had once been a whirlwind and still had a strong appeal end his career in the second division?

This time, even Hua Fang firmly opposed Zhang Jun's decision.

You once had a glorious career, and you deserve to have a glorious farewell as well.

This was their point of view.

Since I have already been glorious, then why should I ask for a glorious farewell as well?

This was Zhang Jun's view.

Just when the two sides were at a stalemate and no one could convince the other, the first instance verdict of the Italian court came down: Juventus was found to have committed serious offenses, the evidence was true, and they were relegated to Serie B with a penalty of thirty points. Fiorentina was found to have been involved in manipulating matches at the end of the 1314 season, and was sentenced to relegation to Serie B with a penalty of eighteen points!

This time, even people far away in China united to call on Zhang Jun to leave that lifeless tomb. Zhang Jun was facing what could be said to be the last crossroads of his career. Should he leave, or should he stay?

After hearing the first instance verdict, other people inside Fiorentina, like Zhang Jun, were also facing choices. Those young people naturally mostly hoped to leave, while those old guys wanted to stay.

When the future was still unclear, most people, like Zhang Jun, only had one year left, and they had to negotiate contract renewals with the club.

The club's general manager, Batistuta, desperately tried to persuade those who wanted to leave to stay for the time being and observe the situation. He promised those people that the club had appealed again against this result, and that they should believe that the club would eventually stay in Serie A. So they agreed to stay and see what happened. Many people even signed preliminary contracts with those clubs that had taken a fancy to them, waiting for Fiorentina to be relegated before immediately joining them… Of course, if there was no relegation, then the preliminary contracts would be void.

At this time, the most rumors about leaving were not about Zhang Jun, but about the team's powerful striker, John Jones. He had come to join his idol, but he didn't expect to not only miss Fiorentina's glory, but also encounter Fiorentina's great defeat. The only consolation might be that Champions League trophy.

Zhang Jun understood the situation this young man was facing. Now, the most attractive players in Fiorentina were probably him, Rio D'Arno, and Kru. Many wealthy clubs had offered irresistible contracts and prices, hoping they would join. Faced with this temptation, how many people could say no? For the former two, Zhang Jun didn't expect everyone to be as silly as him and stay. They had their own futures, and nothing could be a reason to hinder them.

But the two young men very resolutely signed a new three-year contract with the club, what did this mean? They were almost going to spend the most difficult years with the team, and were going to become Zhang Jun's most capable assistants.

On the other side, those old guys almost all chose to stay.

Frey told Zhang Jun that it was Fiorentina that made him the main goalkeeper of the French national team, and the best goalkeeper in Serie A. He had wandered around many teams in the first half of his career, and he was very glad to have met Sabato's Fiorentina in the second half of his career, allowing him to realize dreams he never dared to imagine before. A goalkeeper is not old at thirty-four, he can continue to play until forty, just like Zoff. He planned to continue playing for Fiorentina until the team no longer needed his position.

Gasperoni's reasons were almost the same as Frey's. The only difference was that Frey was still very popular now, while he had lost his peak state, and it was difficult to find his position in other teams. Since this was the case, it was better to stay and fulfill a "loyal" reputation.

Paccini, Zhang Jun's old partner in the back, also chose to renew his contract and stay with them. There were also many teams who wanted him to go, but his love for the team made him stay.

As for that Kru, Zhang Jun said nothing. He didn't leave last year, and he wouldn't leave this year. He didn't care whether he played for a wealthy team or an amateur team, the key was who was playing with him. He liked most of the Fiorentina players now, he liked everything here. The sunny Renaissance capital was much better than the cold and rainy London. He didn't care about where he could get a higher price, he didn't care about where he could get more money, where he could get more attention, where it would be more conducive to his career development… He didn't care about anything, as long as he could play with the people he liked. And all of this was because Zhang Jun was here. Although he never said it, Kru always felt that he owed Zhang Jun too much in his heart, just like this World Cup. If it wasn't for his momentary impulse to elbow his opponent, and stayed on the field with Xiang Tao in the third group match, they would have been able to defeat their opponent and advance to the second round, and then eliminate Brazil, pass all the obstacles, and kill their way into the final, so that Zhang Jun's last World Cup would end in glory. When everyone was guessing which game would be his farewell match, they suddenly realized that the real farewell match was the World Cup final… How great would that be!

He wanted to make up for the mistakes he had made, he wanted to compensate for the many troubles he had brought to Zhang Jun, but his personality made it impossible for him to put cheesy words on his lips. So he chose to stay and silently accompany Zhang Jun. As long as he still needed him, he would pass the ball to him, let him score goals, and then enjoy his embrace…

When many teams regarded Fiorentina as a piece of fat, the news that certain players were renewing their contracts with the team for several years kept coming out, which really surprised many people who were waiting to see a good show. They obviously underestimated the group of people who had fought for Fiorentina, underestimated their loyalty, and underestimated their feelings for this purple team.

As for those who were eager to leave, no one would admit that they were Fiorentina players.

What is true love in times of adversity? When they learned that the team would be relegated to Serie B, those old guys signed new contracts and entrusted their future, and even the last moments of their careers, to the team.

And Zhang Jun also decided to stay. This is what he said to those who advised him: "At worst, I'll renew my contract for another year and lead the team back to Serie A. Isn't retiring in the top league the same?"

Saying that, he actually signed a new two-year contract with Batistuta, from this summer to the summer of 2016. By then, he would be thirty-four years old, and no matter what, it probably wouldn't be far from leaving.

People who were used to Zhang Jun's stubbornness sighed and shook their heads and left. People who were not used to it exclaimed that Zhang Jun was a fool and spread the word everywhere.

※※※

Soon, the result of the second trial came down. Except for Juventus, the other teams were all left in Serie A, but the points deducted remained unchanged. Lazio, Siena, and Udinese all gave up continuing to appeal. Juventus also announced that they would give up continuing to appeal. They would start their Serie B journey next season with a score of negative thirty points.

Only Della Valle was still like a clown continuing to appeal, he still wanted to get back the qualifications to participate in the UEFA Cup… That's a lot of money.

The court's final verdict told Della Valle: Don't dream. Continue to stay in Serie A, the penalty points were reduced to eight points, but the qualification to participate in the UEFA Cup was stripped.

Della Valle finally stopped making trouble, because Di Livio told him that if they continued to make trouble like this, without any preparation for the future, they might really have to pack up and go to Serie B again at the end of this season… Uh, why did he say "again"?

Because Fiorentina finally successfully stayed in Serie A, those who had signed preliminary agreements did not leave. Fiorentina almost relied on the same team from last season to play this season's games.

After the season started, everything was fine. Zhang Jun and the team were all fine. They seemed to be completely unaffected by the match-fixing scandal of last season. They achieved a three-game winning streak at the beginning of the season, causing the fickle Italian media to start chanting that Fiorentina was back, and Superman (referring to Zhang Jun) had returned!

As a result, after the league rested for two weeks to make way for national team matches, Fiorentina suddenly couldn't find their rhythm. They fell into an awkward situation of not winning in ten rounds in October and October. Zhang Jun always participated in the games intermittently, and his legs seemed to be unable to hold on for much longer. And Fiorentina also fell from the first place in the league to the third from the bottom, entering the relegation quagmire early.

And Zhang Jun was injured again in the first game after taking a break. This time, the recovery time given by Feng Qing and the Italian doctors was two months, which would mean that he would only be able to participate in at most two and a half months of matches after he successfully recovered. And it seemed to have become Zhang Jun's characteristic to get injured in the winter. Some people analyzed that this was because it was a period when the energy stored in front had been used up, and the energy behind had not yet had time to be stored, so Zhang Jun's physical strength was always at its lowest ebb at this time. If his physical strength was not good, he would naturally not be able to guarantee the smooth completion of his movements, and it would be easy to cause injuries.

Zhang Jun's injury was undoubtedly adding insult to injury for Fiorentina, who was in the relegation zone, but what could they do? When Zhang Jun became the leader of this team, it also made Fiorentina suffer from "Zhang Jun dependence". All tactics revolved around Zhang Jun. If Zhang Jun was injured and left the team, then the team's tactics would have to be rearranged, and the players would have to readjust. This was equivalent to other teams playing fiercely in the league, but Fiorentina entered the summer preparation period again…

※※※

Fiorentina Sheng Yuliana General Hospital.

Zhang Jun was very familiar with this hospital, because he couldn't remember how many times he had lived here. Every plant and tree here, every corner of the ward… He even knew more about their work place than those newly arrived nurses.

Feng Qing looked at Zhang Jun lying on the hospital bed with apology, and Zhang Jun also looked at him, but his eyes were calm. There was no pain or frustration after the injury at all. Sophie and their lovely little son were accompanying him on the side.

The two looked at each other like this, seemingly for a long time. Feng Qing turned his head to the side, and after a while, he turned back and shook his head at Zhang Jun.

Little Jerry didn't understand what his father was doing with his uncle, he looked at the two people curiously, and made incomprehensible sounds from time to time, perhaps he was calling "Dad". Sophie hugged her son in her arms, not letting him disturb the "conversation" between the two men.

It was indeed a conversation, a very special conversation. No one spoke, but everyone knew what the other party wanted to say.

Zhang Jun saw Feng Qing shake his head, and he turned his gaze to the ceiling. Even this place hasn't changed… he said to himself.

For a long time, he was silent for a long time. "Where's Hua Jie?" He turned his head and said to Sophie.

"She's outside. When she came just now, I asked her to wait outside," Sophie said.

"Call her in, this news must be known to her."

Sophie hugged her child and got up and went out. Only two men were left in the room. At this time, Zhang Jun nodded to Feng Qing: "Brother Feng, thank you."

Feng Qing lowered his head and didn't say a word, the teeth biting his lip were trembling non-stop.

When Hua Fang and Sophie came in, she was still teasing the child in Sophie's arms, and little Jerry was giggling at her teasing. But when she saw Feng Qing, who was silent with his head lowered, and Zhang Jun, whose eyes met theirs, she was stunned for a moment. She felt for the first time that Zhang Jun's gaze could make her feel uncomfortable when he looked directly at people, so she couldn't help but lower her head as well.

She seemed to know what was going to happen.

After everyone was seated, Zhang Jun said to the few people in the ward: "You are my closest people, I think I must tell you about this, especially Brother Feng and Hua Jie, I am very grateful for your care and accommodation to me over the years."

Sophie turned her body to the window, lowered her head and concentrated on teasing her son, and giggles came from time to time, but it couldn't alleviate the suffocating atmosphere in the room at all.

"Last time, when I decided to withdraw from the national team, you two were also by my side. I am very grateful that you can be here this time as well. Brother Feng told me that he can no longer heal my legs. My current legs are like… like what?" Zhang Jun turned his head and asked Sophie.

"Rotten wood," Sophie replied without turning her head.

"Yes, rotten wood, completely broken. Treatment will only make the wood rot faster, so he gave up treatment." Zhang Jun smiled, "I also know in my heart that it is difficult for Brother Feng to treat me again. He was able to help me extend my career by ten years, I am already very grateful to him, and now I don't need him to do anything for me anymore. After this season, his relationship with Fiorentina will also be terminated."

When saying this, Zhang Jun was looking at Feng Qing, but Feng Qing kept his head down, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Then Zhang Jun turned his gaze to Hua Fang, who had regained her composure: "The other person who needs to be thanked is you, Hua Jie. My willfulness has caused you a lot of trouble. For my sake, you don't even have time to find a partner."

He still has the mood to joke at this time! Hua Fang cursed in her heart, and then forced a smile: "Silly, I am a singleist."

Zhang Jun smiled: "Because I am always in Florence and don't go anywhere, so I haven't brought much income to Hua Jie, I'm sorry." He leaned forward on the bed as a bow.

"I don't lack money…" Hua Fang shook her head gently.

"I haven't given Hua Jie the opportunity to show her skills. Being my agent is like being an invisible person. There are few opportunities for exposure, and for a long time, others can't see you."

"I'm a low-key person…" Hua Fang shook her head again.

"And I also want you to help me with school matters, which was originally my business…"

This time it was Hua Fang's turn to interrupt him. "I also have shares."

Zhang Jun looked at Hua Fang like this, and he shrugged, "Okay. I won't say polite words, anyway, I am very grateful to Hua Jie for your care and help over the years, like an older sister accommodating a willful younger brother."

After thanking the two important figures present, Zhang Jun turned his head to look at Sophie, who was teasing his child with his back to him. He said slowly and softly: "I don't think I have anything to miss about this anymore, it's time. Can Hua Jie help me contact to hold a press conference? It's in the back hall of this hospital, wasn't it there last time? That's great, I think."

"Zhang…" Hua Fang's mouth opened slightly, but she didn't know what to say.

"I decided to officially retire." His gaze crossed Sophie's back, then passed through the window, and flew to the distant blue sky.

※※※

Li Yan suddenly received an invitation. At first, he thought it was an invitation to a reporter gathering, but when he looked carefully, he found that the cover was written in Italian and Chinese:

Li Yan, reporter of *Titan Sports* stationed in Florence, Italy, personally receives.

When he opened it, he found that it was actually an invitation to Zhang Jun's press conference!

In the past, no matter what the content of the press conference, Zhang Jun would definitely call these invitations sent to other reporters one or two days in advance, and tell him in a very serious tone on the phone to come to participate in what press conference, even if the content of the press conference was not very pleasant in the end, his voice was always giggling. Why send invitations so solemnly this time, is it because he forgot or for some other reason?

Li Yan suddenly felt a little uneasy. He really wanted to call Zhang Jun, but when he took out his phone and looked at the number he had found on the screen, he suddenly pressed the number off.

Forget it, there are still two days anyway.

※※※

Cagliari, who was far away in Milan, was busy at home writing comments after this round of Serie A matches. He mainly relied on this for a living, so he couldn't be careless. AC Milan won again, and Inter Milan was also chasing their city rivals closely without relaxing. He scanned the detailed battle reports of this round sent by other editors, and conceived his own comments.

Lazio, Udinese… The teams that were penalized this season are doing well, and it is very good to be ranked in the middle reaches with a few points less than others.

Well… Fiorentina. Fiorentina lost again, and they are only one step away from the relegation zone. Cagliari sighed, what could be more sad than watching a team that had once brought him countless happiness quickly fall?

The only thing worth consoling may be that Zhang Jun's injury is recovering little by little. As long as Fiorentina can hold on until he comes back, everything should be fine… Well, yes, as long as he is there, everything is fine. They can't win the championship, but staying in the league is still no problem…

Cagliari suddenly realized that he seemed to be deliberately convincing himself, convincing himself to continue to believe in that Chinese.

The doorbell rang outside, and he had to temporarily give up thinking and get up to open the door.

A young man dressed as a courier company stood outside the door, holding an envelope in his hand. "Mr. Andrea Cagliari?" He looked at the name on the envelope in his hand, and then looked up and asked.

Cagliari nodded: "That's me."

"Your letter, please sign for it." The young man handed the envelope to Cagliari, and there was also a signature form on it.

Cagliari always receives a lot of printed materials, all kinds of things. He didn't take it seriously, signed his name, took the envelope, thanked him and closed the door, and went back to continue conceiving how his comments should be written.

But being disturbed by Fiorentina so much, he felt that he couldn't organize what he wanted to write no matter how he thought about it. His mind was very chaotic, there were too many thoughts and too many things to write, but the layout of newspapers and magazines was limited, and the editor-in-chief was very strict in this regard. In the era when network electronic media are becoming more and more powerful, their print media, although they are old brands, also feel the pressure of competition. "Control costs!" This is what the editor-in-chief often says, from the company's disposable paper cups to the paper of the newspaper are within his control.

His mind was a mess, and he suddenly thought of the letter he had received, and hadn't seen what it was. He got up and opened the letter…

But when he held the invitation card in his hand, there were no chaotic thoughts in his mind. The professional sense of a reporter told him—a great piece of material, something more valuable than any shitty round of comments was in front of him…

He hurriedly dialed the editor-in-chief's private number.

"Andrea, don't you know that it's lunch break now? If there's anything, wait until after three o'clock…" The editor-in-chief's tone was not very friendly, he was not happy that his subordinates were so reckless to disturb his lunch break.

"Okay, let lunch break go to hell! I may bring you big news, you have to leave enough space for me! Alessio, if you don't give it to me today, I guarantee you will take the initiative to resign!" Cagliari roared into the phone, he had never been so proud of the editor-in-chief like he was today.

Editor-in-chief Alessio Josephin listened to Cagliari's explanation of the matter, thought about it for a while, and then asked, "How much do you need us to leave for you?"

Cagliari had already started pulling out his suitcase to pack his things. He was going to drive to Florence now. "I can't tell you now, I don't know what the specific news will be, but we will understand when we think about how sensational it was when he held a press conference at Sheng Yuliana Hospital last time. In short, the more the better, I'm leaving now!"

After hanging up the phone, he slammed the suitcase shut, picked up the suitcase and rushed out of the door.

Zhang Jun, wait for me!

※※※

Even CCTV, which was far away in China, received an electronic invitation. Their reaction was even faster—it was definitely too late to set off from China. They immediately asked the reporter and crew stationed in Rome, Italy, to rush to Florence to bring back the most comprehensive report to China. Zhang Jun's sudden decision to hold a press conference reminded people of the scene four years ago, and everyone's hearts were raised.

Zhang Jun asked Hua Fang to plan everything for his press conference, so Hua Fang organized a grand scene for him—the press conference site was moved from the indoor hall to the hospital's open-air courtyard, where the lawn could accommodate hundreds of people's gatherings. Xinhua News Agency, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CCTV, Sky TV, ESPN, Fox Sports, Italian *Milan Sports News*, *Turin Sports News*, Chinese *Titan Sports*, *Football News*, *France Football*, *Team News*, British *World Football Magazine*, German *Spiegel Weekly*, *Kicker*, *Bild*, Spanish *Marca*, *As*, *World Sports News*… They invited everyone they could invite.

It really felt like the movie *Big Shot's Funeral*, "I only allow you to say you don't watch it, I don't allow you to say you can't see it!"

And when the logos of these world's top media were put together in one place, the people attending the press conference began to feel that something was wrong. What kind of thing required so many of the most influential media to attend at the same time?

Countless people were sitting in their seats and talking to each other at the press conference site downstairs, while Zhang Jun, who was standing upstairs watching these people, said to Hua Fang with a wry smile: "Hua Jie, are you dissatisfied with my decision to retire without asking for your opinion? Why did you call so many people?"

Hua Fang said solemnly: "Since the world's best player is announcing his retirement, the world's best media naturally needs to participate in the report, which is in line with your status and identity. And those media that received the invitation will definitely feel honored to be on the scene at this moment."

"I can be sure that I didn't face so many media at the same time when I lifted the World Cup…" Zhang Jun muttered to himself.

Sophie helped Zhang Jun pull his clothes behind him, and clapped her hands in satisfaction after making sure there were no wrinkles. "Don't look sad even if you announce your retirement. Don't let people pick out any faults from your dress and expression. Don't let those foreigners underestimate you." She said half-jokingly.

There were three slight knocks on the door outside, which was Feng Qing outside reminding Zhang Jun that it was time. He then hugged Sophie and walked out.

Looking at Feng Qing, who was wearing a black suit, Zhang Jun joked: "What? It's not like attending a funeral, why are you so serious?"

Feng Qing didn't look at Zhang Jun, he looked straight ahead: "A long time ago, I heard a saying: Professional players are people who die twice."

Zhang Jun understood the words in Feng Qing's words, he lowered his head slightly, and was also silent. In this way, the two silently walked to the press conference site, and Feng Qing stood below, watching Zhang Jun walk up.

The reporters, who were originally a little noisy, also stopped the noise when they saw Zhang Jun appear. They quietly watched Zhang Jun walk onto the stage, and then sat down in front of the "group" of microphones filled with various station logos.

He swept his gaze over every reporter, and the reporters also turned their gaze to him. Zhang Jun took a deep breath.

"The weather is very good today." This was his opening remark, which scared many people on the spot almost to fall off their chairs.

"What?" Zhang Jun found everyone's reaction very interesting, "Did I say something wrong? The weather is indeed good today, the sky is very blue, the wind is sunny, and it doesn't look like a cold winter at all. God is very considerate to everyone and knows that you are going to participate in this press conference outdoors, so he deliberately created a good weather."

No one knew what Zhang Jun was thinking, did he gather us here just to chat with us about the weather?

In fact, Zhang Jun was using this kind of nonsense to buy himself time and adjust his mood. He was a little uncomfortable after being said something by Feng Qing just now, and it felt like a stone was pressing on his heart. If he started to announce his decision to retire like this, he would definitely cry uncontrollably, and Sophie would laugh at him…

Next, he was silent for a while, waiting for everyone to gradually quiet down.

"I know that everyone here must have a lot of questions in your hearts, and maybe some people already have their own answers. First of all, I can guarantee that I called everyone here definitely not to discuss how the weather is today. I have something more important than the weather to announce."

He paused again. He always paused a lot like this in the press conference, because he couldn't finish what he wanted to say in one breath, otherwise he might turn into a crying voice later.

"As we all know, I am injured again. I don't remember how many times I have been injured in my career. But I want to assure you that this will definitely be the last time I have been injured in my career."

Hua Fang and Sophie were watching the live TV broadcast in the ward upstairs. "He talks too much nonsense." Hua Fang said with a frown.

Sophie smiled and didn't say anything.

※※※

February 14, 2015, 13:15 pm Italian Rome time, February 14, 2015, 19:15 pm Chinese Beijing time.

This time was when many Chinese people were watching the news broadcast while eating dinner, which was called the "golden time" for TV broadcasts. At this moment, the news broadcast suddenly played a "newly received news": Zhang Jun announced at a press conference in Florence that he would withdraw from professional football and completely retire!

Those who were watching the news in front of the TV were all stunned, and some people even forgot to put down the chopsticks they were putting food into their mouths with.

"…What I feel most sorry for in these years is my mother, wife, and children. I have spent too little time with them. I have not fulfilled the responsibilities of a son, husband, and father. Now I will have plenty of time to take care of them, be with them, travel with them, or just stay at home and watch TV and play games." Zhang Jun's calm voice was clearly transmitted to thousands of households in China through the TV, "This is very good, I can't find a reason to oppose myself doing this."

※※※

"Kaka! Quick! Turn on the TV! Stop talking nonsense! Don't ask why, you'll know when you turn it on… Don't ask which channel, all the sports channels are broadcasting it now!" Yang Pan roared to Kaka on the phone. He didn't mind waking Kaka up from his nap. He believed that Kaka wouldn't mind him waking him up after seeing the TV. After hanging up the phone, he stared at the TV in front of him. The news conference where Zhang Jun announced his retirement was being broadcast live on it, and the remote control in his hand was almost crushed by him…

"I have participated in twelve years of professional leagues. During this period, I have obtained all the honors that can be obtained. For others, I am extremely happy. But I am tired, and I want to rest, completely… rest. My body has told me more than once that I should not persist, but every time there are always various reasons to make me stay. Now there will be no more reasons that can make me stay, because my heart also tells me: You should rest." Zhang Jun pointed to his heart.

※※※

"…I am very grateful to everyone who has helped me, cared about me, and supported me in my twelve-year career, and even my opponents. I am grateful to them, because they make me have a sense of existence."

A glass of water lay unattended on the floor, and the water inside had long since soaked the fine Persian carpet. Li Yongle stared blankly at the huge rear-projection color TV in his living room. The wide screen gave him a feeling of being there when he watched movies. Now he seemed to be in the courtyard of Sheng Yuliana Hospital in Florence, standing among the dazed reporters, watching Zhang Jun announce that he would end his career.

※※※

"Thank you to Fiorentina Club, thank you to the Fiorentina teammates who used to be and still are with me, or those who have left and fought side by side, without you I would not have had those glorious years."

Xiang Tao hugged You You, and the two silently stared at the TV screen. They didn't know what to say at this moment, as if they were afraid of destroying the atmosphere.

For some reason, watching Zhang Jun sitting there saying goodbye word by word, what Xiang Tao thought of first was not the happy years or glorious moments he had spent with him, but the fireworks he saw at the fireworks party at the Xianghe training base after he represented the national Olympics team in qualifying for the Athens Olympic Games.

So gorgeous, but also so short-lived…

He was going to announce his retirement before the age of thirty-three. It was normal for people to be able to play until forty, with twenty years of professional career, but he only had twelve years.

※※※

Li Yan choked and muttered to himself: "Where is this a farewell? Zhang Jun, you are clearly giving an acceptance speech. You talk too much nonsense… Too much…"

He covered his face with his hands, and didn't look at Zhang Jun's calm face on the stage. At this moment, he was not the one retiring, but he was more excited than the real person involved. The more calm Zhang Jun was, the more excited he was inside. He couldn't explain why this was the case.

Zhang Jun stopped again to calm his mood. He glanced at the reporters again, and then suddenly turned his head to look back. His eyes crossed the sign behind him and stopped in front of a figure in the window upstairs.

How many years have we spent together?

I can't remember.

Forget it, it's not important. Anyway, there are more days to spend together in the future.

Uh.

What should we do after this season ends?

What do you say?

Leave Jerry to my mother, let's travel around the world!

Zhang Jun turned around, and then looked at the somewhat inexplicable reporters below and smiled: "I will leave at the end of this season. The last home game against Inter Milan in the league will be my farewell game. Other than that, I will not organize any farewell games in any form. If you still like to watch me play, please be sure to go to the stadium."

There was a commotion in the audience, but it quickly subsided.

"Everyone, we'll meet again in the future." He slowly stood up, then slowly walked off the stage, and then walked into the hospital building again accompanied by Feng Qing.

A gust of breeze blew past, rolling up his gray hair and the corners of his clothes, and also blurring people's eyes.

※※※

I am this dazzling moment!

It is a fleeting flame across the sky!

I came to see you without regard for anything,

I will be extinguished and never come back.

I am here!

Right here!

As fleeting as a startled swan,

As brilliant as summer flowers…

(Pu Shu, *Born Like a Summer Flower*)

※※※

ps: The championship has entered the countdown stage. Including the epilogue, there are only three updates left. Thank you for your support over the past three years!