Fame with a ball

"What did you text me mean?"

Less than a second after the call was connected, Lin Zhigao heard John's questioning voice, obviously the other party was very confused.

Lin Zhigao pulled his hair, and said dryly: "Well, I sent the text message by mistake... I was going to send it to my manager."

"Are you sick?" John's tone sounded very concerned: "I googled that sentence, and the mobile phone didn't translate it very well, but you seem to have mentioned being sick?"

"...It's not sick, it's just pretending to be sick."

John was even more puzzled: "Why are you pretending to be sick?"

"Uh, it's because the Chinese Football Association wants me to postpone my return to the team to play a friendly match."

"A friendly match?" John was very surprised: "Are you sure?"

"I can't be more sure. I even almost quarreled with the officials of the Football Association. After they arranged everything, they notified me and asked me to ask for leave from the club, because their request has been rejected by the club. I don't want to. Agreed, and then I had a dispute with them." Lin Zhigao smiled wryly and said, "Just now I discussed with my agent, he said he would try his best to help me resolve this matter, and I told him that if it really doesn't work, I can pretend Illness, avoiding this game, avoiding public opinion, and returning to the team at the end of the winter break in time."

John thought for a while, and suggested: "I don't think it's a good idea to pretend to be sick. Obviously, you can't use the excuse of having a cold to get over it and create other causes. If this matter is exposed later, it will damage your reputation." Huge impact."

"I know this is not a good way, but I really can't think of any other ideas." Lin Zhigao knew that John might not understand this. It is probably hard for Europeans to imagine a player refusing to play in a friendly match for some reason. And things like being bombarded by the whole country will really happen, and that is not because they missed the World Cup finals.

So he briefly described the complex relationship between China and Japan, and tried to use Britain, France, France and Germany as examples, although this may not be appropriate.He wanted to use Italy as an example, but unfortunately Lin Zhigao didn't know if the Italian people really had a blood feud. It seemed that he had never heard of any country that Italy hated in particular?

Fortunately, John finally understood what Lin Zhigao wanted to express, and he said, "Maybe I can help you a little bit."

Lin Zhigao felt that it was difficult for John to help, no matter how strong he was, he was still in Europe, so could he still reach out to China?But he still expressed his gratitude to John, even for that concern.

John smiled on the phone and said, "If I can help you, what will you give me in return?"

Lin Zhigao scratched his head, "What do you want?"

"Well, I probably need to think about this."

"Well, think about it slowly." Lin Zhigao sounded very tired: "I'm going to bed, and I have to fly to Shanghai tomorrow."

"Good night." John said in a very gentle tone, but unfortunately the person he was talking to didn't even recognize the difference in his tone, so he hung up the phone so simply.

Lin was still so confused, John raised his eyebrows at the phone, thinking.

After hanging up the phone, he rested his chin with one hand and tapped the table with the other hand, thinking for about half an hour, then he picked up the phone and dialed a number: "Giuseppe, I have something to ask inform you."

……

Jiang Shupeng's guess was not wrong. Two days later, he specially asked Sun Dawei, who helped him keep an eye on the wind, to call him and said, "Hey, buddy, you guessed right. The Football Association has made a big move these two days. Yesterday one of their Officials let us know that there is a big star playing big names in the sports world, and they also said that that person is throwing away national honor for nothing, and the Football Association is negotiating with that person, and if the negotiation doesn’t go well, they will hold a press conference.”

Jiang Shupeng sneered, and continued to ask: "What did the official ask you to do?"

"The meaning of becoming an official is to let us air the news on the newspapers and the Internet, make the nature of this matter worse, and let the people of the whole country discuss who this person is and what he has done. They will come out after the topic becomes hot. Solve the mystery, and then let us follow them to pour sewage. I had a private discussion with a few reporters who are close to me, and it didn’t feel right. Is the Football Association going to punish someone? Otherwise, why did they come up with such a vicious idea?”

Jiang Shupeng said indifferently: "Lin Zhigao has provoked people."

"Damn! He got into a fight with the Football Association?! Let me tell you, the Football Association used to come here directly, why did it learn how to hype this time? It turns out that he wants to catch big fish!" Sun Dawei was so shocked that he even said quickly Can't come out: "Why is this? Let him enter the national team and he won't enter, the game is also very good, and this kid has nothing to do with power or something, why is he looked down upon by those bastards Is it pleasing to the eye?"

Jiang Shupeng briefly explained the matter, and then said: "If they really play like this, Lin Zhigao's reputation will be ruined, so I must attack before them."

"It's so fucking poisonous, this group of people!" Sun Dawei really spit on the ground: "I think this group of people don't take the national honor seriously, it's just a friendly match, if you don't play, you will lose money." Did you offend them? They didn’t even care about the top ten games in a few months, and if Xiao Linzi was brought down, they wouldn’t be afraid that the national team would have no one who could play football?”

"I think for them, players may not know how to play football, but they must not be disobedient."

"Bah, bah, bah! Can you stop talking about such a mess! Let's talk about something important, what are you going to do?"

"The way to deal with it is very simple. We have to hold a press conference before them and announce that Lin Zhigao will not attend the China-Japan friendly match. The reason is ready-made on our side. The opening ceremony, Lin Zhigao has to report to the club, and Juventus has already rejected the request of the Football Association. As long as we explain this clearly and don't give the Football Association time to muddle in, I don't think anything will happen. Great storm."

"It's a little risky, but it's a way." Sun Dawei thought about it and said, "This reason is reasonable, but there must be some criticism in China. After all, the Sino-Japanese war is no different. Some fans always say, 'Why can't Lin Zhigao Come back to play games? It's not like he can't take time off.'”

When he said this, Sun Dawei deliberately imitated a harsh and critical tone, but he immediately returned to normal: "But I believe that most people can understand this, and a small number of other people, people It can’t be perfect, can it? There is always a little pressure.”

Jiang Shupeng nodded and said: "I think so too, let's take this incident as a little tribulation for Lin Zhigao. Back then Liu Xiang was able to get over the incident of the Beijing Olympics, there is no reason why Lin Zhigao would not. It's just that It’s still up to you in the media circle to slow down and don’t let them report this first.”

Sun Dawei patted his chest and agreed: "No problem! It's all on me!"

……

So the next day, Jiang Shupeng held a press conference for Lin Zhigao, and invited almost half of China's sports reporters and other reporters to participate, there were probably more than 100 reporters.

Some of the reporters from authoritative newspapers and periodicals have friendship with him or Sun Dawei. They have communicated with these reporters before the press conference, hoping that they can help a little bit during the questioning session of the press conference, and help some demanding journalists. The question shifts focus or something.

But when the press conference is held, Jiang Shupeng will not stand on the stage, he will stay in the audience and control everything in a low-key manner to prevent any accidents.It was Qian Qing who faced the reporter. From now on, she would block most of the media's spies for Lin Zhigao. This is the job of a spokesperson.

Qian Qing took a deep breath, tidied up her brown professional suit in the background, and after straightening her appearance, walked to the microphone with her head held high.

The discussion among the more than 100 journalists in the hall gradually quieted down, and they pointed their video cameras at Qian Qing.

"My friends from the press, hello everyone. My name is Qian Qing, and I am Lin Zhigao's press spokesman." She nodded to everyone, gestured for a moment, and then said: "Everyone is invited to come here today. To announce one thing, that is—”

The attention of all the reporters in the hall was attracted. They looked at Qian Qing intently, trying to catch any news information in her next words.

"Lin Zhigao will not appear in the China-Japan friendly match on January 1."

There was a buzzing sound in the press conference hall. The reporters were surprised, discussing from left to right, and they all raised their volumes and asked, "Why didn't Lin Zhigao attend the Sino-Japanese War?"

"But isn't his name on the big list of the Football Association?"

"What's the reason for not playing?"

"Did Lin Zhigao never plan to play, or did he change his mind?"

"Has Lin Zhigao discussed this matter with Camacho or Football?"

Qian Qing raised her hands and pressed down, hoping that the reporters would calm down and listen to her, but the reporters were all scrambling to ask their own questions first, and the hall was still full of noise until a particularly loud voice appeared— —

"Is it because of Juventus?"

The crowd fell silent instantly, and they all turned their heads to look at the person who said this, including Qian Qing and Jiang Shupeng.

Taking advantage of people not paying attention, Qian Qing cast a puzzled look at Jiang Shupeng who was standing in the corner of the crowd, and Jiang Shupeng himself was a little puzzled, he looked carefully at the man who was talking, and found that he was not the child he was looking for!

The male reporter who spoke didn't expect that he would attract so many people's attention all of a sudden, and being stared at by so many people's shining eyes, he shivered and nervously raised the phone in his hand : "I just logged on to Juventus' official website, and there was a notice issued half an hour ago, saying that because some players in the club were found to have a heart attack during the winter break, the club asked all players to come back three days in advance. After returning to the team, they collectively conducted a comprehensive physical examination, including physical examinations, and said that the results of this physical examination even affected the contract with the club-is it because of this reason?"

Qian Qing's eyes widened in surprise, she opened her mouth and closed it again, she didn't know what to say for a while.

Although Jiang Shupeng himself was also shocked, his speed of absorbing information was much faster than Qian Qing's. He winked at Qian Qing desperately in the audience, and finally made Qian Qing react.

Qian Qing took a deep breath, and said in a calm voice as much as possible: "Yes, that's the reason. Actually, uh, we learned about this matter last night, that's why we held a press conference today—Lin Zhigao himself is I really want to participate in this China-Japan friendly match, but because the club's physical examination is closely related to the players' contracts, and Capello's coaching is very strict, so he has to regretfully reject this match."

This time the reporters' reaction was much more flat: "So that's the reason, I thought something happened!"

"There's nothing the club can do if they want a physical examination, heart disease! The killer of professional players! Juventus is worried about the health hazards of the first-line players!"

"Actually, the club is quite responsible to the players for doing so."

"That's right, if Cassano could have had regular physical examinations at that time, maybe he wouldn't have been off the game for almost a year because of a heart attack."

"Whether we play this friendly match or not, as long as Lin Zhigao is in the national team, he will always meet the Japanese team in the future!"

"That's right!"

The press conference ended faster and more smoothly than expected.The reporters basically didn't pay attention to Qian Qing's words in the second half of the period. Each of them was busy logging on to Juventus' official website, finding the notice, and then translating it!

Qian Qing was half grateful, half patted her heart in pity: "It's a pity that I have been busy all night preparing to deal with all kinds of tricky problems!"

"This kind of development is the best." Jiang Shupeng sighed: "Even God is helping Lin Zhigao!" He actually made an agreement with Qian Qing. That's not right, let her go back and instigate her uncle to put some pressure on the Football Association from above to calm the turmoil. It seems that this trick is unnecessary now.

As for whether someone from the Football Association will vomit blood in anger after seeing the results of today's press conference, they don't care!

……

Unlike Jiang Shupeng's rejoicing, the moment Lin Zhigao saw the news at his home in Zhengzhou, he immediately imagined the truth.

He threw the half-eaten chicken leg on the plate, ignored his mother Qian Hongyan's muttering to him, "It's a waste of food again!", ran back to his bedroom, and took out his mobile phone to make a call.

Just unlocking the keypad lock, he thought for a while, then stood up and closed the door of his bedroom, then lay down on the bed and dialed the number.

"John Elchin." The phone rang five or six times before anyone answered, and the other party's voice was so hoarse and sounded sleepy.

"Oh, how did I forget about the time difference!" Lin Zhigao slapped himself on the forehead, and then quickly said to the phone: "This is just a midnight harassing call. There is nothing wrong with it. Go back to sleep!"

After speaking, he hung up the phone.It happened to be midnight in Italy right now, and he was out of his mind just now, otherwise why would he have called out without even converting the time difference!

Lin Zhigao got up from the bed and was about to go out to finish his breakfast, but at this moment the phone rang irresistibly.

I took it out and checked the call, yes, John called back.

"I really didn't mean to disturb your sleep." Lin Zhigao apologized sincerely: "I just watched TV, and as soon as the news came out, I knew that you helped me, so I just wanted to thank you quickly, I didn't expect to wake you up."

"I won't be angry even if you did it on purpose." John smiled faintly on the other end of the phone.

Lin Zhigao felt that with his friendship with John, it would be a bit pretentious to be humble on the phone, so he said directly: "Anyway, thank you for your kindness. If you come to China in the future, I will treat you well. "

John turned on the bedside lamp, stepped on the carpet with bare feet and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, looked at the sky outside, and said with a chuckle, "Did you forget something?"

Lin Zhigao thought hard: "What did I forget?"

John reminded him: "I made a bet with you on the phone two days ago."

Lin Zhigao remembered: "Oh, that one! The one who bet you did me a favor and repaid you? I thought you were joking with me!"

"Of course not. In fact, I'm waiting for you to fulfill your promise."

"What promise? Tell me, as long as I can do it, I will definitely do it!"

"A date."

Lin Zhigao was stunned: "What did you say?"

"I said, I want a date."

A feeling of embarrassment slowly rose from his heart, and Lin Zhigao even held his breath for a moment. His inner world was extremely complicated at the moment, and even part of his organs were screaming 'Whatthefuck!' - he felt that John must have I can hear the change in my emotions, because the two ends of the phone are really quiet at the moment, too quiet.

"Uh, I, I will definitely treat you to a meal...or, not a meal?" Lin Zhigao was a little incoherent: "Or drink, like when I went out with Pepe and the others?"

He was at a loss and didn't know what to say because he wasn't sure what John meant.

a date?Is he kidding me, or is he serious?

"A formal date." John's words made Lin Zhigao's heart stop beating again for a second, and then he added: "Not the kind between friends, I assume you understand and will not refuse this request?"

"I..." Lin Zhigao opened his mouth, and finally asked: "Appointment, dating... How do you usually go about it? Me, I only ate KFC with people and watched small literary movies before!"

John laughed, he not only laughed out loud, but also laughed backwards and forwards: "Okay, Lin, I know this request is a bit embarrassing for you, I can imagine what you look like on the other end of the phone, you just treat me as a Just kidding."

From the other party's smug laughter, Lin Zhigao realized how stupid the question he just asked was.

Feeling that his self-esteem was hurt, he temporarily forgot the embarrassment he had just had, and said in a stubborn temper: "No! I agreed to the bet with you, how can I let it go! That date must be counted, you can't No promise!"

John coughed hypocritically, and said slowly: "This, it's a bit too embarrassing for you, isn't it? A serious date is by no means as simple as a meal, and it will take most of the night. Why don't we let it go, you Bring some Chinese specialties as compensation?"

The more John said this, the more Lin Zhigao felt that his face was burning and flustered. He yelled fiercely into the phone microphone: "Shut your mouth! Good! Good! Wait! Wait! Let's go!"

……

After hanging up the phone with John, Lin Zhigao became sleepy.

The only remaining arrogance he had just yelled out, and now his heart was in a state of turmoil, and he was a little restless and uneasy.

Lin Zhigao can't even deal with women, let alone men.

Once he met an enthusiastic female fan and left him his phone number, he would be at a loss. In the end, all the benefits went to the perverts in the team.The identity of a virgin is almost known by the whole world. Every time he wants to find a chance to break it, either he doesn't like the passionate woman who comes to his door, or he doesn't have the time and energy to pursue a beautiful girl by himself.

Could it be that he was too self-conscious, so John mistakenly thought he was GAY?

Lin Zhigao's heart was in a mess, and he floated back to the living room.

At present, Qian Hongyan greeted him: "Come here and eat the meal you haven't finished, and the half of the chicken leg, don't let it stay."

"Oh." Lin Zhigao responded, sat down obediently, and began to cook rice without saying a word.

Qian Hongyan picked up the remote control to watch TV programs, then pretended to be casual and asked: "Gao Gao, who did you call just now when you returned to the bedroom?"

"a friend."

"A friend from Italy or a friend from China? Why did you close the door?"

"Uh..." Lin Zhigao hesitated, "Let's talk about something."

Qian Hongyan glanced at him, couldn't she see what her son looked like when he was guilty?

Smiling, Qian Hongyan said very generously: "You will be 20 during the Chinese New Year, and you are considered an adult no matter at home or abroad. So, your parents don't care what kind of friends you make, but if you If you have a girlfriend, my father and I still hope that you can bring her back for us to take a look—in fact, Chinese and foreigners don’t matter, anyway, my mother thinks that mixed races are pretty.”

"Mom!" Lin Zhigao blushed, "What did you say!"

Qian Hongyan curled her lips, stood up and cleaned up the dishes: "Forget it, you have been closer to your father than me since you were young, and you like to discuss anything with him. Mom doesn't care about you, and won't ask you, you If you want to talk secretly to your dad, just go ahead."

When she reached the kitchen door, she turned her head again: "Anyway, your dad will tell me in the end."

Lin Zhigao: ...