Chapter 1 The Roster

Yan Min appeared in the list of players announced by Borussia Dortmund.

But this wasn’t the first time for Yan Min. It wasn’t his first time being selected for the Champions League squad.

In the first Champions League match, Borussia Dortmund challenged Napoli away, and Yan Min entered the eighteen-man list.

However, he did not play in that game, and Zhou Yi was knocked unconscious in that game, so whether he could play was not the focus of everyone's attention.

And this time, everyone was concerned about whether Zhou Yi could play against Arsenal, so it didn’t seem so important whether Yan Min was on the list.

Everyone was looking for Zhou Yi's name in the roster.

But they didn’t find it.

"...Zhou Yi will not travel with the team to London..." Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp said clearly in an interview with the media. "Although he has started training with the team, we don't think his physical condition has been adjusted to the best... We will be cautious about Zhou Yi's recovery..."

This was extremely disappointing to the media, especially Chinese reporters.

Some people worried that what Klopp said was just a pretext. They worried that Zhou Yi would become the second Gundogan.

When Gundogan was first injured, Borussia Dortmund officially vowed that he only needed to rest for two weeks, but later two weeks turned into a month, and now a month has turned into who knows when he will recover…

Would Zhou Yi become like that too?

For a time, the media and fans were filled with worries about Zhou Yi's health.

In response, Zhou Yi had to come out to dispel the rumors.

"I feel very good, but I'm not going to London out of caution. I obey the coaching staff's arrangements, and for a better me, please be patient."

Although many fans expressed their support and blessings to him, some people still worried that what Zhou Yi said was also a cover-up.

Unless Zhou Yi plays, the speculation about him may not disappear…

※※※

After Klopp took the team to London, the Brackel training base seemed a bit quiet.

Today was match day, and those players who did not travel with the team to London did not have to come to the training base; they could rest at home.

Only the youth teams of all ages were training at the training base.

So when Zhou Yi came to the treatment room to find Kotana, the latter was a little surprised.

"Dr. Braun said your body has completely recovered and you don't need any more massages or acupuncture," Kotana said, looking at Zhou Yi at the door.

"I personally think I should consolidate it," Zhou Yi said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kotana didn't speak, just stared at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi felt a little hairy from her gaze and continued to explain: "Uh, I felt a little tight here after getting up this morning..." As he spoke, he stiffly moved his neck.

"Lie down." Kotana didn't listen to Zhou Yi's explanation and pointed to the massage bed.

Zhou Yi happily took off his shirt, stripped to the waist, and lay down on the massage bed.

Kotana began to perform acupuncture on him.

"You not going to London makes our medical team very passive..." Kotana chatted casually with Zhou Yi while performing acupuncture.

"Ah, why?" Zhou Yi asked strangely.

"Everyone outside is saying that Borussia Dortmund's medical team is just taking money and not doing anything. There are so many injured players this season, and it's all related to our medical team's poor work," Kotana said.

"Isn't that nonsense..." Zhou Yi wanted to turn over and explain in excitement, but he touched the silver needle and was in so much pain that he quickly lay back down.

"Don't move." Kotana gently patted him on the shoulder.

"The medical team didn't just start working this year. There were so few injuries in the previous seasons. Why didn't they say it was your credit?" Zhou Yi was still speaking up for Kotana and the others while lying on the bed. "We're just unlucky this year..."

"Mm." Kotana nodded.

Then the room fell into silence.

Kotana removed the silver needles and began to massage Zhou Yi.

Her palms roamed over Zhou Yi's muscles, feeling the lines and angles.

You couldn't really tell when he was wearing clothes, but Zhou Yi was actually much stronger than before. Kotana remembered when Zhou Yi first came to her house as a boarder, his small body made her laugh; he wasn't material for playing soccer at all.

She never thought that he would not only play professional soccer, but also become a top player in Europe, no... maybe the world.

This little boy had really broken many of her old ideas.

But what was most subversive was that he was so famous, so successful, but nothing had changed.

She had seen too many stories of stars becoming arrogant after becoming famous—the news media was always happy to report gossip about the stars; they called it "anecdotes."

Originally, they were children from ordinary families, or even poor children, but once they had money, they easily lost themselves. They lingered in nightclubs and alcohol, indulging in the gentle embrace of women. Many dazzling stars on the field actually had very depraved and unsightly private lives.

But in Zhou Yi, Kotana didn't see any of these changes.

He was still the same as when she first saw him.

But it's not to say that he was still as green and ignorant as he was back then. In fact, he had changed a lot. He had become more mature, more famous, more temperamental, and even more charming...

Thinking of charm, Kotana's face turned red, which was rare, but her complexion quickly returned to normal.

What made her admire Zhou Yi was that Zhou Yi had never changed his innocent heart, whether it was for soccer or for the people around him. Kotana could feel that this big star had not undergone any qualitative changes as he became famous and rich.

Of course, Kotana couldn't guarantee that Zhou Yi wouldn't change in the future, but so far, Zhou Yi was still the Zhou Yi she knew.

"Are your parents still in Dortmund?" Kotana asked suddenly.

"Yeah. They originally said they'd stay for a month, but I got injured, so they weren't in a hurry to leave... So, speaking of which, being injured isn't necessarily a bad thing, haha!" Zhou Yi said with a laugh.

"You're crazy, who says that..." Kotana rolled her eyes at Zhou Yi.

"But your parents will have to go back eventually, right?" she asked again.

"Yeah..." Zhou Yi sighed. "They're actually very uncomfortable living here. They don't speak the language, and they don't even go out much. I used to think that after I made money, I could take good care of my parents, bring them to my side, and share the happiness. But when I actually did this, I realized that things weren't as simple as I thought..."

"How so?"

"Everyone has their own life. I have mine, and they have theirs. If I force them to give up their lives for the 'filial piety' in other people's eyes, I think that's actually 'unfilial.' If they miss me, they can fly over to see me, but they'll always have to go back to China. There, they have their work, friends, and lives. They don't belong here, and they won't be happy staying here. Just like my mom, I desperately wanted to persuade her to quit her job at first, because the money I earn now doesn't require her to work, but she's unwilling..."

Zhou Yi began to tell Kotana about the story between him and his mother, from when he was a child playing soccer and his mother opposed it to now when he had made it and persuaded his mother to quit her job without success.

Kotana listened quietly.

She found that Zhou Yi's mother and her own mother had had the same things in common. They both had a strong desire to control their children and always hoped that their children would live according to their plans. But how was that possible? It didn't matter when they were children, but once they grew up and had more self-awareness, conflicts and conflicts were bound to occur.

After telling the story, the massage and treatment were almost over.

Kotana motioned for Zhou Yi to get up and put on his clothes.

Zhou Yi was very surprised: "No cupping?"

"You still want to be my guinea pig?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Of course there is. You can't just do cupping casually." Kotana shook her head and refused Zhou Yi. "Too much cupping will cause problems with your body instead."

Zhou Yi was still trying hard: "I think I have a lot of internal heat, so I want to get rid of it..."

"Find a woman to relieve the heat." Kotana rolled her eyes at him; this brazen look was exactly the same as back then...

"Isn't that why I came to you?" Zhou Yi said casually.

After saying that, both of them were stunned.

Literally speaking, Zhou Yi was right. He came to Kotana for cupping, and Kotana was a woman, so he was looking for a woman, no problem.

But Kotana's so-called "finding a woman" was not a literal meaning. There was also a hidden meaning, and this meaning was not difficult to understand.

So Zhou Yi's answer would of course be understood as another layer of meaning, or who knows what he really wanted to express?

After Zhou Yi realized the hidden meaning in his words, he was a little embarrassed. He quickly put on his clothes and ran away in a panic: "Well, I'll go first, goodbye..."

Kotana didn't respond to him; she didn't seem to have recovered yet...