In order to prove that he really loved Chinese culture, and also to find evidence for his claim that he had "taught himself Chinese," Tang En swept through all the new and used bookstores in Nottingham that afternoon, buying all the books about China that he could get his hands on. Chinese, English, French, German … he bought them all.
After pulling a cart full of books home, he began to worry. Because he could not find a place to put them. The two bookshelves in Tang En's house were filled with football-related items, from newspapers to periodicals, as well as all sorts of information Tang En had collected himself. There was no space left for these newly bought books. Tang En did not want to touch the information that had been categorized, so he could only pile all the new books on the floor.
After all, the house had been in a mess ever since he came. He was used to living as a bachelor, so he did not think there was anything wrong with it.
However, when Yang Yan came the next night, she was amazed by the books on the floor for a long time. In the end, there was pitifully little teaching time on the first day. Yang Yan's habit of "being willing to help others" acted up again, and she simply helped Tang En clean up the room.
Tang En helped. Faced with Yang Yan's incessant sighing and shaking of her head, he could only respond with a silly smile.
"You know … that, when a bachelor lives, it's often like this … Ah! Actually, you don't have to do that. I can just call a cleaner. "
Yang Yan could finally take a breather after tidying up the living room. She shook her head. "I'm not used to teaching you in this kind of environment, so … forget it, it's all cleaned up anyway."
Tang En smiled embarrassedly, but in his heart, he was enjoying it.
Yang Yan stood at the bedroom door and glanced at the photo hanging on the wall. She had seen it in the newspaper before. She suddenly became interested and walked in to take a closer look.
Tang En looked at Yang Yan's back. Since middle school, this girl had been everyone's sweetheart. She was understanding, willing to help others, and had almost no flaws. At that time, he was still a stubborn and eccentric bookworm, but yearning for love was something that any teenager would do. He would also fantasize that one day, he would suddenly gain the favor of everyone's sweetheart. But he never thought that one day, the sweetheart in everyone's hearts would be cleaning in his own home, alone with him …
The only pity was that Yang Yan was still Yang Yan, but he was no longer Yang Yan's classmate, Tang En. It wasn't that he didn't think of telling Yang Yan his true identity, but he rejected the idea after it flashed in his mind. First of all, he wasn't sure if people would accept the story of transmigration and possession. Second, he didn't know if he would lose his job if more people knew the truth. Now, he understood that even if he lost his job, he could still rely on the high welfare provided by the government to live on. However, becoming a football coach was his dream. It was no longer just a job to support himself.
Therefore, he could only pretend that he had not known his classmate for long. It was not a good feeling. There were several times when there was a brief awkward silence and he wanted to talk to Yang Yan about some interesting things that happened in middle school, even though he could not remember much.
Coming back to his senses, Tang En decided to enter the house to help. Walking into the bedroom, he found that Yang Yan was not busy. Instead, she was standing under the photo, looking up at it.
"Uh, I asked the newspaper company to reprint it and give it to me."
"She's beautiful …" Yang Yan sighed. "The choice of scenery, the composition, the color, the timing of the photo, the meaning … they're all great."
"I think so too. But the only reason I decided to collect it was because they were taking a photo of me and no one else. "
Yang Yan looked back at Tang En and smiled. "You're really not modest, Mr. Tang."
Tang En shrugged. "In the world of professional football, the last thing you need is' modesty. '"
Speaking of football, Yang Yan became a little interested. Because she had been in England for two years, she suddenly realized that many of the people she was familiar with were football fans, and they were especially hardcore ones. Originally, she thought that football and her own life had nothing to do with each other, as if they were two completely different worlds. But now, this view was changing bit by bit.
"What quality is needed the most?"
"Confidence. Believing that you're better than others, believing that you're the best, and then working hard with that as a goal. "
"Aren't you afraid that confidence will turn into arrogance?"
"If you have that ability, being arrogant is nothing. In the football world, players with such personalities are as numerous as the stars. If you don't have the ability but still want to be arrogant, then just wait for death. Such people don't deserve sympathy. They've already been automatically eliminated by the rules of the football world, and we don't have to worry about anything. "
Yang Yan sat on the chair and continued to look at the photo. She asked, "Hearing you say that, I feel that football is like an animal world where the weak are prey to the strong …"
Tang En snapped his fingers. "You're right. Professional football is a cruel world where the weak are prey to the strong. The capable survive, and the incapable die. Here, we don't believe in tears, and we don't need sympathy or comfort. It's a purely men's world. "
Hearing the last sentence, Yang Yan turned her head and asked Tang En, "A world that doesn't welcome women?"
If Tang En still could not hear the meaning of this, he would really be a fool. "No! Of course we welcome them! We welcome any woman who likes the sport of football to join us. In the eyes of the public, football and two things are inseparable. One is music, and the other is beautiful women. "
"I'm not a beautiful woman …" Yang Yan shrugged and curled her lips.
"What did I say just now? In the world of football, modesty is not needed. Do you want to enter this world? "
Yang Yan looked at the serious Tang En and smiled. "Well, I'm a beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman in the world!"
After shouting this, she and Tang En burst out laughing together.
Tang En decided to strike while the iron was hot. "If you're interested, you can go watch my team's games. You don't have to buy tickets. I have them."
Yang Yan smiled. "If I'm interested, I'll give you a call."
"Well, let me give you a little suggestion. If you want to enjoy the true joy of football and understand the mystery that makes it so attractive, you have to … "Tang En stopped here. He waited for Yang Yan to ask him. But he found that Yang Yan only looked at him and did not open her mouth. He could only surrender.
"Well … you have to choose a team in your heart to support. Watching football from a neutral point of view, most of the time you'll feel dull and uninteresting, with high expectations but little to gain. "
"Why?"
"Almost all neutral fans like to see beautiful goals and exciting attacks, but this is idealized football." Tang En simply gave the rookie fan an introductory lesson on football interest. Who was the one giving a lesson … "The reality is, if all games are played this way, a professional like me would have to be dismissed. Because in most cases, you can't win a game this way. What's the point of a professional football coach? It's to lead your own team to victory. So … if you want to experience the most charming aspect of football, you have to choose a team to support and devote yourself to it. Watching their games that way, you'll experience great joy and sorrow according to their performance. That's a wonderful feeling … whether it's victory or defeat, it's the same. The depression and pain after defeat, the joy after victory, and the ecstasy of escaping death … "
Tang En looked at the photo on the wall and murmured. He seemed to have returned to the day of the game against Wimbledon. A few hours after the game ended, he still had lingering fears. But the feeling of his heart racing was too great. It was like taking drugs. Once addicted, it was impossible to forget.
Yang Yan realized that Tang En had shifted his gaze away from her. The man seemed to have sunk into deep thought again. Standing in front of her, his hair was a little messy. The collar of his shirt was unbuttoned. One of his sleeves was rolled up to his elbow, while the other was unbuttoned and left wide open. His house was also a mess. This image was too different from the "gentleman" that her friends had spoken of …
A refined and courteous gentleman, a wild and uninhibited football coach, a slovenly and unkempt bachelor … Which was the real him?
And what confused Yang Yan the most was that she could see his shadow in this person. Sometimes, just for a moment, they looked very, very alike. But in reality, they were two completely different people. One was British, and the other was Chinese.
"Well, I'll choose the team you're in. From now on, I'm a Nottingham Forest fan. "
Tang En lowered his head to look at Yang Yan. The girl gave him a charming smile.
"Then I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders."
"Why?"
"Because I have another supporter. And as the manager of the team, I can't let my supporters down. Uh … Do you think these words are very mushy? "Tang En realized that Yang Yan was laughing the whole time as he said this. Was she laughing at him?
Yang Yan smiled and shook her head. "No, I think it's very good. Mr. Tang, I also believe that you won't let your supporters down. "
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