Chapter 10 The Flight to Madrid

In the tenth round of the league, the last match before the Champions League group stage away game against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund welcomed Stuttgart to their home stadium.

Facing Stuttgart and then Real Madrid, Klopp didn't rotate players this time, fielding almost all of his key players against Stuttgart.

In the end, Borussia Dortmund narrowly defeated their opponents 1-0 at home. Although the victory wasn't easy and the process was a bit thrilling, they managed to secure the three points.

In the same round of league matches, Bayern Munich also defeated Hamburg 3-0 away, maintaining the four-point gap between the two teams.

After this match, Borussia Dortmund boarded the plane to travel to Madrid for their away game against Real Madrid.

After a day of rest in Dortmund, they were going to Madrid two days early.

And in Madrid, they would use Atlético Madrid's training base to train.

Therefore, Zhou Yi and his good friend Sun Pan could meet up and catch up.

※※※

After finishing the first training session at Atlético Madrid's training base, Zhou Yi changed his clothes in the locker room with his teammates. When he reached the parking lot, he saw Sun Pan in trendy casual wear. The young man had his hair styled upwards with hair gel, making him look more like a model than a professional soccer player.

Seeing Zhou Yi, he whistled. "Hey, handsome! Let's go, bro! I'll take you out to eat!"

Zhou Yi laughed and turned to ask the team's captain, Kehl, for permission.

Kehl still remembered that Sun Pan was the goalkeeper who had eliminated them in the German Cup. He said to Zhou Yi, "Make sure you get him to pay for everything!"

After saying goodbye to his teammates, Zhou Yi walked towards Sun Pan.

He was sitting on a red Porsche sports car, and because the car was low and he was tall, he was basically sitting on the roof of the car. However, this "sitting position" looked a bit strange and didn't give off a relaxed or dashing feeling. Instead, it made people feel awkward.

Zhou Yi walked up to him and said with a smile, "You look like you're sitting on pins and needles. Are you afraid of denting the roof of the car?"

Sun Pan rolled his eyes at him. "Is that possible? This is a Porsche 911! It's not some thin-skinned Japanese car that gets a dent just by sitting on it!"

Although he said that, he quickly got off the car, stopping his posturing. Maybe he was really worried about denting the roof...

"Porsche, I know!"

Zhou Yi's reaction made Sun Pan very proud. He bought a new car just to show off to his friends. If Zhou Yi looked confused and asked, "What's that?" wouldn't that be a waste?

And with Zhou Yi's personality, he might actually deliberately say he didn't know.

Now that he saw Zhou Yi cooperating so well, Sun Pan was happy but also a little surprised—had this kid changed his personality?

"Made in Stuttgart, right?" Zhou Yi added, as if to prove that he wasn't deliberately teasing Sun Pan.

Sun Pan nodded repeatedly. "That's right, pure German!"

But Zhou Yi's next sentence almost made him want to punch Zhou Yi.

"Yeah, we just beat Stuttgart."

"Hey!" Sun Pan protested.

Zhou Yi laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding. It's a good car..."

"You're not a good person, are you?" Sun Pan stared at Zhou Yi warily.

Zhou Yi spread his hands. "I didn't say that. You're the one who admitted it."

Only then did Sun Pan realize that he had been tricked again. "Damn it! It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!" He still hadn't dodged Zhou Yi's venomous tongue...

"Damn, it's only been a few days, but your cultural literacy has improved, Pan Pan! You can even use idioms correctly now!" Zhou Yi said with a surprised expression.

"Get lost, get lost!" Sun Pan waved his hand. He didn't want to argue with Sun Pan. He really couldn't beat Zhou Yi when it came to verbal skills. He opened the car door. "Get in, I'll take you to eat barbecue! Let me tell you, the meat is amazing! Every bite is full of juice! It's so awesome!"

Zhou Yi opened the car door and got in, but he underestimated the height of the sports car's chassis. When he swung his leg, there was no seat to support him at the familiar height. As soon as his leg relaxed, he lost his balance and fell in, like suddenly falling into a ditch... in a very embarrassing way.

Seeing Zhou Yi's embarrassed look, Sun Pan laughed heartily. He had finally won one back!

Zhou Yi wasn't annoyed. He laughed along and said, "Pan Pan, I understand why you bought this car now."

"Tell me?"

"Think about it. When a girl in a short skirt gets in your car, no matter how she gets in, the sitting position is so low, and her legs are raised and spread apart, she's bound to show her underwear! And you can pretend to be very gentlemanly and open and close the car door for her, so you can see everything! Genius, simply genius!" Zhou Yi even gave Sun Pan a thumbs-up.

Sun Pan was stunned for a moment before he reacted. "Damn, Zhou Yi, you're so perverted!"

Zhou Yi was very disdainful. "Don't pretend to be pure. Pretending to be pure gets you screwed."

"I really didn't think of that!" Sun Pan defended himself. "But what you said sounds like you have a lot of experience. You must be living the high life in Dortmund, right?"

"Does holding a quilt in my left hand and hugging a pillow in my right hand count as living the high life?"

"Yesterday, the Madrid media said you were Dortmund's Xavi. I think you're Xavi even in bed."

"How so?"

"It's said that Xavi sleeps with a ball! When I think of you hugging your pillow and quilt, I can't help but shed tears of sympathy, hahaha!"

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes. He could only be completely defeated by Sun Pan in matters of love and relationships. There was no chance of a comeback.

※※※

Amidst friendly banter and mutual insults, Sun Pan drove the car to their destination. He parked the car on the side of the road, led Zhou Yi through a narrow alley, and then came to an inconspicuous storefront. If it weren't for the Spanish ham on display in the window, they wouldn't have known it was a barbecue restaurant.

The door was ajar. When they pushed it open, they found that it was bustling with activity inside. Many of the tables were full of customers, and waiters were skillfully navigating the narrow aisles, carrying large plates of barbecue, fries, and salads without any worry that they would drop them on someone.

Seeing someone enter, a waiter warmly greeted them. When he saw who it was, he smiled. "Sun!"

Sun Pan nodded to him, seemingly unsurprised, and then asked, "My friend and I, can we get a slightly quieter spot?"

The waiter quickly led Sun Pan through the room to a two-person table in a corner.

Along the way, people recognized Sun Pan. Whether they were waiters or diners, they greeted Sun Pan, and some even took out their phones to take pictures. Sun Pan responded to their greetings and didn't mind the people taking pictures.

He seemed to be used to this kind of treatment.

After the two sat down at the table, Sun Pan ordered a barbecue, and the waiter went to place the order. No one came to bother them, and they could chat freely.

"I can't tell that you're doing so well here, Pan Pan," Zhou Yi said, looking around.

"What are you talking about? This is normal! I can do well anywhere!" Sun Pan said proudly. Why else would he bring Zhou Yi to this place he frequented, if not to let his friend see how well he was doing now?

"Atlético Madrid fans seem to like you a lot."

"I'm just a likable guy." It seemed like a tail was wagging behind Sun Pan's butt.

"But your two-year loan is up at the end of this season, right?" Zhou Yi's next sentence was a bit of a mood killer.

Sun Pan grimaced, unsure how to respond.

"Will Atlético Madrid buy you out?"

"Do you want to stay at Atlético Madrid?"

"Are you going back to Chelsea to compete with Čech for the starting position?"

"Has Di Matteo contacted you?"

"Has Simeone asked you if you want to stay?"

Zhou Yi's questions came one after another, each more difficult for Sun Pan to answer.

He actually knew that he wasn't permanently transferred to Atlético Madrid, but was loaned by Chelsea. It was just that the loan was for two years, which was a bit long, and sometimes it created the illusion that he was an Atlético Madrid player.

But that didn't mean he really was.

He was still a Chelsea player, and after the loan contract expired, he would have to return to Chelsea. He would have to say goodbye to Madrid, a city where he was doing so well and living like a fish in water.

What would he do next?

He really hadn't thought about these issues much. He was focused on driving his sports car to pick up girls in his free time, and on enjoying life after making money, fulfilling the "daydream" wishes that he could only fantasize about when he was playing basketball in the provincial youth team.

He really hadn't thought much about the future.

No one else had mentioned it to him either. With his current performance and strength, the future didn't seem like something he should be worried about.

Until Zhou Yi came and asked a series of questions that gave him a headache.

"Damn it, can't we just eat in peace?" he protested.

Zhou Yi spread his hands, facing the empty table. "The food hasn't even arrived yet."

Sun Pan: "..."

"Just chatting, what are your plans for the future?"

Sun Pan shrugged. "I don't know, I'll just take it one step at a time. Transfers aren't up to me, they're up to the two clubs. If they can come to an agreement, I'd be happy to stay, but if they can't, what can I do? Go back and compete with Čech for the starting position. If that doesn't work, I'll transfer to another team. If they don't want me here, someone else will!"

Sun Pan said in a venting manner, but then he saw Zhou Yi give him a thumbs-up. "What?" he asked, surprised.

"You're so clear-headed. You actually have a pretty clear idea of what you want for the future. You've prepared for all three possibilities. I thought you only knew how to waste protein in bed."

"What the hell is that!"

"Protein, the essential building block of..."

"Who asked you about protein! I'm saying, don't underestimate me! It's not like I only know how to mess around with women!"

"Isn't that the truth?" Zhou Yi asked, surprised.

"Hey, what's with that expression!"

Just then, the waiter brought over the grilled meat, along with large plates of fries and a large bowl of vegetable salad.

Sun Pan breathed a sigh of relief. "Eat, eat, eat. Their barbecue is so good, you have to try it!" He enthusiastically cut the meat for Zhou Yi and put it on Zhou Yi's plate, practically wanting to shove it directly into Zhou Yi's mouth to shut up his annoying mouth.

Zhou Yi picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, then began to chew.

With the first bite, he could clearly feel the juices in the meat being squeezed out by his teeth, bursting out and hitting the walls of the meat. He continued to chew, and each bite released more juice, filling his entire mouth.

He closed his eyes, carefully savoring this familiar feeling—that's right, Kotana's grilled steak had this same texture. The first bite reminded him of Kotana. It had been a long time since he had eaten her steak, ever since Mark's serious injury and she moved back to her own home...

He hadn't made a comparison before, but now that he had, he realized that Kotana's grilled steak was so delicious. It was hard to imagine that this assertive woman would also have such good cooking skills...

"How is it?" Sun Pan's question rang in his ears. Zhou Yi opened his eyes and saw Sun Pan's expectant gaze. "How does it taste?"

Zhou Yi reluctantly swallowed the meat in his mouth and nodded vigorously. "Very delicious!"

Sun Pan was very happy. "I knew it, would I bring you to a place that wasn't good? Come on, eat more. It's not easy to get such delicious barbecue in a place like Dortmund!"

Zhou Yi did cut a few more pieces of meat and put them on his plate, but he didn't say the words that were on his mind:

That's not necessarily true.