Tang En was woken up by someone. It had been a long, long time since he had enjoyed such treatment.
In his sweet dreams, in his warm bed, someone suddenly lifted the blankets and shouted in his ear, "Wake up!"
He opened his sleepy eyes and saw clearly that the person standing by the bed was Shania. His drowsiness disappeared — he had only worn a pair of underwear when he slept.
"Hey!" He sat up abruptly and pulled the blankets over to cover his body.
Shania smiled happily at the side. "Uncle Tony, you've maintained your figure well. Do you want me to introduce you to a model?"
Tang En glared at her fiercely. "Why are you here? I remember that you weren't here last night … "
"I came in the morning to specially make breakfast for you. Are you touched?" Shania waved her hand. Only then did Tang En see that she was holding a wooden spatula.
"You know how to cook?" Truth be told, Tang En had never seen Shania in the kitchen. He deeply doubted that a girl who lived in a wealthy family would know how to do household chores.
"Won't you know once you try it?" The curtains were blown open by a gust of wind. Sunlight spilled in and Shania's face.
Tang En was even more afraid.
He reached for his pants and muttered, "Let's go out to eat …" Looking up and seeing that Shania had no intention of leaving, he pointed to the pants in his hands. "Are you planning to watch me put on my clothes the whole time?"
Shania pursed her lips and ran out.
Tang En jumped off the bed. Wearing only a pair of underwear, he stood by the window and looked out at the bright and beautiful morning. He felt that it was all very strange.
Shania had actually become his tenant again, living under the same roof as him. Most of the time, it was just the two of them in the house …
He shook his head with a bitter smile and began to put on his clothes.
After washing up in the bathroom upstairs, Tang En walked downstairs and saw that there were already two sets of cutlery on the dining room table. There were bacon and fried eggs on the plates, fruit juice in the glasses, and an apple on the other side.
It looked like it was going to happen.
But!
Just like mushrooms, the brighter the appearance, the more poisonous it was.
Shania was already sitting opposite him, grinning at him.
He really wanted to suggest that they go out for breakfast and go shopping. Didn't all girls like to go shopping?
But when he saw the smile on Shania's face, he swallowed his words.
Sitting at the dining table, Tang En was still hesitating. Shania had already bent over to cut the bacon for him, smeared peanut butter on it, and pushed it to him with a smile. "Eat up, Uncle Tang En!"
"Uh, Shania … Actually, you can wait for Uncle Tony to cook for you. You don't have to go through so much trouble … to make breakfast for me …" Tang En made his final struggle.
"It's different. I want to personally make breakfast for Uncle Tony. "Shania propped her chin up with her hands and tilted her head.
Tang En sighed, picked up a piece of bacon, and sent it into his mouth. Wasn't it just a little unpalatable? I'm going all out!
He had miscalculated. It was not just a little unpalatable, it was extremely unpalatable. It could be seen what kind of family environment Shania had lived in since she was young. She must have never been involved in these household chores.
He really had the urge to spit out these things that he had previously called "food". But when he looked up and saw Shania's expectant expression, and heard her eagerly asking, "How was it? How was it?", he changed his mind.
Not daring to continue chewing, he swallowed the food with great difficulty. Tang En replied to Shania with a smile. "Not bad!"
Following that, he resisted the urge to finish the breakfast without leaving any scraps behind.
It was the first day after the league tournament, and the team was on break. Tang En was able to sleep in, but he did not expect to eat such a meal. Watching Shania humming a song as she tidied up the cutlery, Tang En had to suffer in silence.
After eating breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, there was a knock on the door.
Tang En had intended to open the door himself, but Shania had already skipped over.
Standing outside, Dunn was a little surprised to see Shania open the door for him.
"Dunn, good morning!" Shania, who was in a good mood, greeted him warmly.
"Ah, ah … Good morning, Shania." Dunn walked in and saw Tang En standing in the living room, smiling bitterly at him.
He deeply understood.
"I've sorted out the video of yesterday's match against Wigan Athletic." He waved the videotape in his hand.
"Put it on the table." Under these circumstances, it was obvious that he could not study the video of the match.
After Dunn put the videotape down, he was about to leave. Tang En wanted to urge him to stay, but his attitude was firm. "I suddenly remembered that I have something to do. I'll leave first. Goodbye, Shania. "
Shania waved at him. "Goodbye, Dunn."
After the door was closed by Dunn, only Tang En and Shania were left in the house.
There was a sudden silence, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Tang En picked up the videotape on the table and played with it. He was thinking about what he should say next and what he should do.
"Uh, Shania, where do you want to go to play?"
"Is there anything fun in Nottingham?"
"Those castles, the place where Robin Hood once fought …"
"Nothing." Shania pursed her lips.
"Uh." Tang En also knew that these things were indeed meaningless. He and Shania were not people who liked to travel around and lament over the great rivers and mountains.
"I'm not going anywhere." Shania shook her head. "I'm not here in Nottingham for a vacation. I'm here to see Uncle Tony. Where else should I go? "
Tang En was stunned by Shania's words.
To go to a foreign city to visit an old friend whom he had not seen for many years, and the old friend enthusiastically arranged his friend's itinerary: to go to a certain scenic spot today, a certain scenic spot tomorrow, a certain commercial street the day after … But the person who came shook her head and refused, saying to her old friend, "I'm here to see you, not to see those scenic spots."
Thinking of this, Tang En laughed. "Oh, my life is very boring …"
"I don't care." Shania sat down on the sofa. "You can do whatever you want. Don't mind me. It's fine as long as I'm here. "With that, Shania flipped open a magazine and started reading.
Tang En looked at the little girl and did not say anything.
He knew that there would be a lot of days like this in the future. Clearly, Shania was treating this place as a long-term base of residence.
Alright, let her be if she likes it.
※ ※ ※
Tang En was still a little worried about letting Shania stay in his house. Although there were no reporters lying in ambush around his house, who could guarantee that some reporter would not see a world famous model entering and leaving the Nottingham Forest manager's house when he passed by?
Fortunately, everything was peaceful these few days. Shania had also made ample preparations and did not let the media discover any flaws.
It was just that the way Dunn looked at Tang En was a little strange. Tang En could not be bothered to care about what Dunn was thinking — it was not something good anyway.
Other than the addition of a pretty tenant in his house, Tang En's life and work were normal. He led the team to train, prepared for matches, and occasionally dealt with the media. Of course, he was a little nervous when facing the media now, afraid that the omnipresent and omnipotent paparazzi would suddenly ask him questions like why Shania was in his house.
Actually, Tang En was thinking too much.
Shania was usually very busy with work. She did not spend much time in Nottingham in a week, and even less time in Tang En's house. Most of the time, she needed to work in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid … or even in America.
If she was not in Nottingham, Tang En would receive text messages from Shania every day. Everywhere she went, she would use her phone to take a lot of pictures of her there and send them to Tang En via multimedia messages.
Thanks to modern technology and means of communication, even if two people were thousands of miles apart, they could still chat as if they were face to face.
Of course, these were all small adjustments in life. Work was still more important. Shania was working hard, and so was Tang En.
After winning against Barcelona in an away game, Forest tied with Wigan Athletic 2: 2 in the 28th round of the league tournament. On March 3rd, they won against Newcastle United in an away game.
The result of one draw and one win was not bad.
Then it was the Champions League round of 16. This time, it was Nottingham Forest's home game. Their opponent was Barcelona.
Nottingham Forest's morale was high after obtaining two away goals and defeating Barcelona at Camp Nou. Barcelona's trip to England boded ill.
※ ※ ※
Before the game, there was a press conference attended by both managers. It was very brief. It was to announce the preparation of both teams for the game. The media had also hyped up the results of the previous game, so there was basically nothing to pay attention to. The real show would come after the game.
During the interview, Tang En praised Barcelona highly, believing that they were outstanding and had magnificent playing style. They were the representatives of artistic football in the football world today. He also said that it was Barcelona's tradition. He expressed his respect for the Barcelona Football Club, which had always adhered to this tradition. Because in the increasingly utilitarian professional football, it was not easy to adhere to the way of artistic football. The price was likely to be a few years in a row without a championship title.
These words shocked both the media and Rijkaard.
Tony Twain was kidnapped by aliens? Why did he suddenly change his mind?
Rijkaard's considerations went deeper. He suspected that this was a smokescreen that Tang En deliberately praised his opponent to make them lower their guard. He knew that Tang En was a very cunning person. The more he praised his team, the more careful he had to be.
Just as Rijkaard was secretly guarding against Tang En, Tang En had already finished praising Barcelona. Next, he said to the media, "Look, Barcelona is so great. It's like those aristocrats that have been passed down for generations. They are noble and gorgeous, and they talk about art and literature every day. They are well-dressed and have many honors that others can't even count. Does anyone object to my analogy? "
No one shook their head, and no one voiced any doubts. Tang En's analogy was indeed quite fitting. Compared to most "commoner" teams, what else could the powerhouse, Barcelona, be but "aristocrats"?
Tang En was very happy with everyone's reaction. He turned his head to look at the still confused Rijkaard and said with a smile, "And our Nottingham Forest … is much shabbier compared to Barcelona. We're not aristocrats. We're just a bunch of Robin Hoods. "
As soon as he said that, the quick-witted reporters immediately laughed. At first, everyone was still guessing why Tang En deliberately complimented Barcelona. Could it be that he was deliberately showing weakness to make the other side lower their guard? Now the answer was revealed.
What did Robin Hood do? He specialized in going against the aristocrats.
How was this Tang En showing weakness? This was clearly a naked provocation and threat.
Rijkaard was not an idiot. He still knew a little about what kind of person Robin Hood was. Most of the reporters at the press conference laughed at Tang En's words. Even those who did not react at first laughed after listening to the explanation. The scene made the Dutchman lose face.
With Tang En causing such a ruckus, there was nothing left to do at the press conference. Rijkaard and Tang En parted on bad terms, waiting to take revenge on the field.
Tang En was not going to let him get what he wanted.
Advancing to the Champions League final this season was the minimum requirement. He would not allow Barcelona to be a stumbling block for him.
If it was a stumbling block, then he would kick it away!
※ ※ ※
A day later, at the City Ground Stadium. On this day, the City Ground Stadium welcomed its highest attendance since the reconstruction of the 1996 UEFA European Championship. The stadium, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was filled to the brim. Countless fans lingered in the square outside for a long time, unwilling to leave, hoping to wait for a refund.
When Platini drew this opponent, the Forest fans collectively looked forward to the arrival of this day. They wanted to give Barcelona the grandest "welcome" at their home ground. They wanted the Barcelona players to remember the atmosphere of this game until years later.
Fat John stood in the front row of the stands. He turned his head to the hardcore fans and roared at the top of his voice, which was more like a howl. "Guys, this is our chance! Two weeks ago, the Barcelona bastards used their numbers to oppress us on their turf. Today is the time for revenge! Let them see the tradition of our English fans! Let those people see what a real fan is! "
"Sing! Don't stop!"
"Shout the slogans! Don't let the voices of the Barcelona people overwhelm us!"
The atmosphere at the scene was brought up by the fans in the stands. The atmosphere grew louder and wider. It spread from the stands to the entire stadium. All the Nottingham Forest players were singing songs and shouting slogans. The game had not yet begun, but the Barcelona players had fully felt what it meant to be an "away game."
There were no shouts or cheers from their own fans. They could not see their own fans at all. As far as the eye could see, all they could see was red, like a sea of blood, crashing against the railings of the stands. It seemed that it would break through the obstacles and pour down at any time, turning the green stadium into a sea of red.
Camp Nou was a super-large stadium that could accommodate up to 90,000 people. 90,000 people shouted in unison, and the momentum was powerful. But the small size of the City Ground stadium also had its advantages. The narrow space reduced the distance between the players and the fans. Every curse and song from the players seemed to be right next to their ears. Not only did it impact these people's eardrums, but it also impacted their hearts.
They might have to shout when they talked face to face, otherwise they could not hear clearly. This formation … was not even seen at the Bernabéu, the home ground of their arch-rival, Real Madrid.
It was said that the atmosphere of the English fans in the stadium was fanatical, and it really lived up to its reputation …
Well, that's not right. Now was not the time to lament about this.
Tang En stood on the sidelines, very satisfied with the home ground atmosphere. It was said that the fans were the twelfth man on the field. The fans with such a performance were well-deserved. He was grateful that God had given him such a group of loyal fans, who could push him from behind at crucial moments.
He suddenly felt like a general, commanding thousands of troops to charge and break through enemy lines, defeat strong enemies, reclaim territory, and gather people with a wave of his hand.
King, to kill or not to kill!
King, to kill or not to kill! Kill or not to kill!
Kill or not to kill! Kill or not to kill! Kill or not to kill!
Tang En stretched out his right hand and waved it fiercely.
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