"Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!"
When Twain opened his eyes in the morning, the first thing he heard was his wife, Shania, whispering in his ear.
However, he could not bring himself to smile. Instead, he sighed and looked at Shania, who was lying on him with a bitter face. "It's my 50th birthday, what's there to be happy about …"
Shania giggled and said, "I don't care so much, as long as it's my birthday! Happy birthday, Uncle Tony! "She repeated again and gave Twain a good morning kiss. Shania jumped off the bed.
The servants downstairs had already prepared breakfast. Ever since they had a child, Twain no longer insisted on living alone in such a huge villa. Theresa was afraid every night — the house was too big. Even if all the lights in the rooms and corridors were turned on, she was always afraid that a monster would suddenly rush out from the corner. They might as well hire some permanent servants and nannies to add some liveliness to the house.
And even if Twain and Shania brought Theresa back to England in the future, the house would still be left for the servants to live in.
Houses were meant for people to live in. Otherwise, no matter how good a house was, as long as no one lived in it, it would deteriorate at an alarming rate. And as long as people lived in it and cleaned it regularly, the house would look new every day.
Having thought this through, Tang En no longer cared about his privacy or anything else.
Twain also got up, dressed, and washed up. And Shania, who was one step ahead of him, did not have the habit of wasting time in front of the dressing table. As long as she was not out for activities, she would always be bare-faced. Although she was not as beautiful as the posters, movies, advertisements, and catwalks, she was still beautiful. After looking at her for a long time, Twain felt that Shania was even more beautiful without any makeup.
At this time, Shania had already run to knock on her daughter's door.
"Theresa, are you up?"
When her daughter opened the door, bouncing, Shania, who was waiting at the door, suddenly hugged her in her arms and tickled her armpits. Immediately, the little girl's bell-like laughter drifted throughout the house.
Twain ignored the mother and daughter playing there and went into the bathroom alone to wash up. He habitually looked up at himself in the glasses. His hair was black, but that was only on the surface. He used a comb to tidy up his messy hair, but the white under the black surface couldn't be hidden, and it all popped out. In fact, a fifty-year-old man's hair would not have turned white so quickly and obviously, but a manager was a profession that used his brain. He was also under a lot of psychological pressure, so it was not unusual for his hair to turn white faster than the average person.
Twain touched his grizzled hair and felt helpless. The aging of the body was not affected by one's will.
However, more and more wrinkles appeared on his face, and he still looked a little depressed. After transmigrating, although he had won many championships and had a beautiful wife, he had lost a few years of his lifespan for no reason. Furthermore, he did not have children of his own, so he could only adopt one. This was truly an equivalent exchange of 'what you get comes with what you give'. It was just that he didn't know if those championships and money were worth the few years of lifespan and descendants that he had lost …
He splashed the cold water on his face, and the water splashed everywhere. At the same time, he also splashed the messy thoughts in his mind.
Today's breakfast was more sumptuous than usual. It was obvious that the servants had received special instructions from Shania and knew that today was the male master's 50th birthday.
"Do you have any plans today?" Shania asked during the meal.
"No." Twain shook his head. He had been busy for the past few days. Today, he was finally free, and completely free. In the near future, there would probably not be anything for him to be busy with. Twain felt that the older he got, the less excessive his birthday would be. So, he did not invite people to throw a birthday party with great fanfare. Otherwise, his house would become Hollywood's vanity fair.
Perhaps some people liked to use their birthday as an opportunity to make friends with famous people to raise their fame and status. That was their freedom, but Twain did not like to do so. At times like this, he just wanted to be with his family. Even if he was curled up on the sofa at home watching television, he still wanted to socialize with those celebrities. After all, he was a football manager and was not in the same system as Hollywood stars. Even if he went to film a movie, he would only be making a cameo appearance to satisfy his cravings. He did not have to curry favor with anyone or look at anyone's face.
Tang En's lack of desire put Shania in a difficult position. She couldn't possibly spend her birthday peacefully, could she? It was his 50th birthday. How many 50th birthdays could a person have in this lifetime … Alright, just one. If he were to spend such a special day at home, he would really be unwilling.
Seeing Shania at the side having a headache by herself, Twain advised, "Don't think about it. I don't want to go anywhere."
"How can that be? How can you stay at home on your birthday? "
"I can go shopping with you." Twain spread his hands.
"It's your birthday, not me. Why would you accompany me?" Shania glared at Twain and retorted.
Unexpectedly, Twain kept his smile and did not avoid Shania's glare. Instead, he stared into her eyes seriously, as if he wanted to see her heart through them. Only when he saw that Shania was a little embarrassed did he say, "To me, what's important is not how I celebrate this birthday. What's important is who I spend it with. My birthday wish is to spend it with you, and … "He glanced at his daughter eating breakfast at the side." Theresa. As for where and how we spend it, it's not important at all. Whether we stay at home watching television or go shopping at the supermarket, it's all the same. "
In fact, there were still things he did not say. Those words were not very auspicious, but he did not mention it on such a festive day. It was fine as long as he knew it in his heart.
Twain's words came from the bottom of his heart. Shania was touched, but she did not show it on the surface. With a tacit understanding, there was no need to do those superficial things, such as being moved to tears, holding hands and looking at each other speechlessly … She just pouted helplessly. "Anyway, it's your birthday today. It's up to you."
Twain immediately put the playful smile back on his face and went to tease his daughter, Theresa.
Shania watched the father and daughter get along well and sighed softly in her heart. Uncle Tony was actually fifty years old … This made her very sad when she thought about it. Although she said "happy birthday" to Uncle Tony, in fact, she felt the same way as Uncle Tony — the birthdays after fifty years old were probably going to get sadder and sadder.
The first time she met him was 15 years ago. At that time, she was 13 years old and Uncle Tony was 34 years old. After the two met, there was a little misunderstanding. Thinking of Uncle Tony's perverted look at her chest, Shania could not help but laugh.
She did not expect to get on his "pirate ship" and not be able to get off.
I was only 13 years old at that time. How did I fall in love with a middle-aged uncle like him?
"What are you laughing at?" Twain heard Shania's laughter and turned to look at her. He found that there was an obvious smile on her face, but her eyes were unfocused. It was obvious that she was distracted.
"Ah … I'm thinking about the first time we met." Shania did not hide it and looked at Twain openly.
When she said that, Twain also remembered. He had once been mistaken for a pervert by his wife in front of him. At that time, he had just lost an important game and the season he had worked hard for for half a year. Michael had left him and gone to America. Lil 'Gavin had died tragically in a fan riot. His mood was a mess. However, his encounter with the mischievous Shania made his mood suddenly brighten up. It was as if the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed.
Twain suddenly thought of a saying, "If life is only as good as when we first met."
His relationship with Shania was quite in line with that saying. Fifteen years were like one day. From beginning to end, it was as if it was the first time they met. He had never grown tired of Shania, and neither had Shania. Perhaps it was because they had been apart more than together for the past 15 years?
"Teresa said she wanted to go to Hollywood to play and watch people make movies. It's my birthday anyway. It's not good to be cooped up at home. " Twain told Shania about his daughter's wish. In fact, Teresa said that on purpose because she did not want to see her father and mother quarrel.
Shania naturally had no objections. She pulled Teresa upstairs to put on her makeup and put on her clothes.
Twain left the dining room and sat down in the living room to rest, waiting for the mother and daughter.
He did not wait long. Since it was just going out to play, Shania only put on some light makeup, and Teresa only changed out of the pajamas she wore at home.
Watching Shania holding Teresa's hand as they walked down the stairs, Twain realized that although they were adopted children, the black-haired Teresa and the dark-brown-haired Shania's facial features were somewhat similar. Shania had a bit of Chinese blood in her, so they looked like biological mother and daughter. With the two of them to accompany him for the rest of his life, Twain had no more desires. Anyway, there was no turning back as time passed. No matter how unwilling he was, he was already 50 years old. Since that was the case, instead of lamenting about how time flew by and lamenting about growing old, it was better to live a good life with his wife and children.
Shania saw Twain's hair at a glance as she walked down the stairs. She frowned and asked, "Aren't you going to dye your hair?"
Twain shook his head and said, "No, I won't do it again."
Shania was surprised and said, "You didn't get upset, did you, Uncle Tony?"
"I just suddenly thought of something." Twain took Shania's arm and said, "White hair looks good too."
※ ※ ※
In fact, Twain did not feel at ease when he went out to play. His phone kept receiving calls from his friends, as if they had planned it in advance. They were all calling to wish him a happy birthday. Michael, Wood, Brosnan, Dunn, Kerslake, Walker … It made Shania a little unhappy. Thinking about it, it was not Shania's fault. It was supposed to be time for a family of three, but it was cut into pieces by phone calls.
"Alright, there shouldn't be anyone calling me anymore." Twain knew that his wife was a little unhappy. It was really annoying to be interrupted by the phone before they could even say a few words. "I'll turn off my phone."
He raised his phone, intending to turn it off. But it was such a coincidence that the phone in his hand started vibrating with music again.
Shania rolled her eyes.
"Alright, no matter who it is this time, I'll just turn off my phone." Twain glanced at the phone screen, but there was an unfamiliar name flashing on it — Evan.
When the name first appeared in Twain's eyes, he actually could not remember who it was. Just as he was about to hang up and turn off his phone, his finger hovered over the hang up button because he suddenly remembered who the person behind the name was.
The question was, why would he call him? Ever since his contract with the club ended in 2014, other than a phone call from him later, hoping that he would return to Forest Team, the two of them had not contacted each other again. Why would he call him at this time? Could it be that he was also calling to wish him a "happy birthday"?
Twain frowned, unable to figure it out no matter how hard he thought about it. Then, he reacted. Wouldn't he know what it was if he picked up the call?
"Damn it …" he muttered as he pressed the answer button.
"Hey!"
Shania saw Tang En raise his phone to his ear and pulled Teresa along as they walked briskly towards the shops.
"Happy birthday, Tony!" Evan Doughty's voice came from the other end of the phone, but the content of the call made Twain not know how to react.
Hearing such a passionate voice, Twain was even more confused as to why Evan was calling him.
"Thank you … Evan." After thinking for a while, he did not call him "Mr. Doughty," but changed to the more affectionate "Evan." Although he did not have a good relationship with Evan when he first left, it had already been four years. It was not like he killed his father or stole his wife. What was there to be unable to let go of? No matter what, he had won so many championships, and Evan had played a part in it.
"I heard you went to Los Angeles?" Evan Doughty seemed to be in high spirits over the phone.
"Yeah, to accompany my wife. She kind of misses her daughter. " However, Twain did not want to talk much with him. It was not because he was dirty towards Evan, but because he did not want his wife to wait too long. If she brought Teresa out of the store later and found out that he was still on the phone, she would definitely explode …
Evan Doughty also seemed to feel the coldness in Twain's tone. He only thought that it was because he chased Twain away back then that made him resent him.
He smiled bitterly and said, "Tony, do you still care about what happened back then?"
"Ah?" Twain was stunned for a moment before he immediately understood. Evan clearly misunderstood. "Oh, no. Let bygones be bygones. In fact, I buy season tickets for every season. Occasionally, I also go to the home stadium to watch the game. "
Evan certainly knew, because he saw Tang En's figure in the Forest team's first home game of the new season, appearing in the stands of the Crimson Stadium.
※ ※ ※
"Mom, what are you looking at?"
Teresa found it strange that after her mother brought her into the clothing store, she did not take her to choose clothes like she usually did. Instead, she used the excuse of "looking for herself" to turn to this corner and look outside through the display window.
"Of course I'm looking at Dad." Shania touched her daughter's head and cast her gaze over.
"Who is Dad on the phone?"
"Mom doesn't know."
Although separated by the display window, Shania could see that Twain's expression was not as happy as he was during the previous few phone calls.
Who was it that was calling him?
Although he said to let bygones be bygones, since it was brought up, there was no way to avoid it. This topic immediately made Evan Doughty feel that Twain was a little further away from him, because the tone on the other end of the phone was getting colder …
But in fact, Twain was anxious because Shania was coming out soon. If the phone call did not end soon, he would suffer.
He realized that it was not good for him to make such a rash call. It was not suitable to continue the conversation. So, Evan Doughty politely wished him a good time and hung up.
When the phone call was hung up, Twain felt relieved. He immediately turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket, waiting for Shania and Teresa to return from shopping.
But the mother and daughter came back empty-handed.
"Didn't you buy anything?" Twain asked a little guiltily.
Shania shook her head and went straight to the point. "Who's calling?"
"… Evan, Evan Doughty." Twain hesitated for a moment and chose to tell his wife the truth.
The name was not unfamiliar to Shania. She frowned and asked, "Why did he call you?"
"He just wanted to say 'Happy Birthday.'" Twain shrugged.
Shania looked at her husband suspiciously. She knew her husband too well. His love for football could practically surpass everything. Sometimes, she often wondered whether this man loved her or football …
"That's all. We didn't talk much. I was worried that you would see me on the phone when you came out, so I casually said a few words to him. "Twain was afraid that Shania would become suspicious and quickly explained.
Shania looked at Twain, and then the corners of her mouth slowly curled up into an arc. Then she leaned forward and nestled in Twain's arms. She reached out and hugged the crook of his arm, while her other hand held onto Teresa.
"I'm thirsty. I know a place that has delicious ice cream. Let's go!"
※ ※ ※
Twain, who quietly celebrated his 50th birthday with his family, did not return to England. Instead, he continued to stay in Los Angeles. When his wife was working, he brought his daughter to accompany her. When his wife was resting, the family went out to play. Their days were carefree and carefree.
People often said that at thirty one would stand tall, at forty one would not be confused, and at fifty one would know one's destiny.
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