"Look! This is the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium! " Tang En said excitedly as he pointed at the name on the tall white wall. Shania, on the other hand, yawned at the side. She had just arrived in Spain a few days ago. She thought she would go sightseeing at the beach or the ancient city. She did not expect to come here early in the morning to watch the stadium.
"Uncle Tony, haven't you seen enough while you're working?"
Tang En, who was stunned by the grandeur of the Bernabéu Stadium, did not hear the dissatisfaction in Shania's tone. He shook his head. "How can that kind of place that looks like a middle school stadium be mentioned in the same breath as this sacred football shrine?"
This time, Shania deliberately magnified her yawn exaggeratedly. Tang En finally noticed her yawning non-stop.
"What happened to you? Are you still sleeping? Didn't I tell you to sleep at eleven yesterday? "
Tang En's question made Shania feel powerless. She rolled her eyes and stopped yawning. "No, I'm just moving my facial muscles for beauty purposes."
"Thinking about this at such a young age …" Tang En smiled. After a few days of interaction, he felt that this little girl was becoming more and more adorable.
Sometimes, he also thought that if the girl really didn't want to go back to her adoptive parents, he might as well go through some procedures to adopt her. Although he didn't know if he would be annoyed by having a child by his side in the future, for now, he really enjoyed the company of such a lively little angel. At the very least, he wouldn't feel so bored every day. Even bickering once in a while was good enough.
"You really like football," Shania said sarcastically.
"Don't you like it? You're from Brazil … "Tang En glanced at her.
"Of course, I'm Brazilian. You also like football … Ah, my bad, you don't like it! You are infatuated! Shania pointed at Tang En and announced loudly, "You're obsessed with football, just like you're obsessed with women!"
"What does a child know about women and infatuation?" "Football and women are two completely different … things. Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat. "
Shania felt strange and scratched her head. "Aren't you going in?"
Tang En looked up at the magnificent football field and shook his head.
"Judy, I'm a football coach, you know that, right?"
Shania nodded, but did not understand what this had to do with her question.
"If I walk into that place one day," Tang En said, pointing at Bernabéu, "there are only two possibilities. First, I lead the team to play here. Second, I become the owner of this place. "
Tang En said this to her with his back to the light, so Shania could not see his expression.
"Let's go and have lunch! I'll take you to eat the famous Madrid stew … "Tang En held Shania's hand and led her away from the holy shrine of football in his heart without looking back.
In the following days, Tang En took Shania to Atlético Madrid's home ground, Calderón Stadium, to Barcelona's home ground, Camp Nou, and to Valencia's home ground, the Mestalla. They ran from one city to another as if they were in a hurry, visiting the football stadiums in the cities like dragonflies skimming the surface of the water, and then moving on to the next destination.
When the train passed outside Barcelona, Shania could only look out of the window at the looming sunshine beach and the rippling sea in the distance.
Although she had been in Spain for the past week, she felt that it was no different from being in Brazil or England. Have we been to Malaga, the "City of Paradise"? Have we been to Spain's famous bullfight? Have we been to Formentera, the last paradise of the Mediterranean? Have we been to Seville Cathedral? Have we been to Barcelona Cathedral? … We haven't been anywhere. There were hundreds of photos in the digital camera, but they were all about football stadiums.
She sighed and looked at Tang En, who was sleeping slanted to one side due to the fatigue from the journey. She then pouted.
This holiday that was filled with longing passed just like that … so boring!
Tang En, who was sound asleep, and Shania, who was sighing, did not know that while they were traveling around Spain, there were people in England who were going crazy looking for them.
As was his custom, Sir Finnan picked up The Times after breakfast, and, after perusing the latest political and economic news, noticed a photograph in the corner.
It was a missing-person notice. A pair of anxious parents were asking the whole society for help in finding their runaway daughter. Other than a detailed description of the woman's appearance, name, age, height, and other characteristics, there was also a clear photo attached.
Finnan's full attention was attracted by the photo. The more he looked at it, the more it looked like someone — the little girl he saw in the taxi, the little girl curled up in Tang En's arms!
Although he did not know what was going on, out of a sense of responsibility, Mr. Finnan still picked up the phone and dialed the number published at the end of the notice.
While waiting at the Madrid airport, Tang En took the time to organize the photos in the digital camera. It was a very large project, and he did not expect to finish it in a short hour. Shania sat opposite him, kicking her legs back and forth. Her two snow-white legs swayed in front of him, causing him to be distracted.
So, Tang En simply maintained his original position, but secretly shifted his gaze up to carefully observe the little girl.
Shania seemed to be a little bored. She sat on the chair, looking around, not knowing what to do. One moment, she would pout and look at the plane taking off and landing outside the window. The next moment, she would take out a nail clipper to trim her nails. But very quickly, her attention was shifted to the beard of a fat man diagonally across from her …
Only then did Tang En realize that his mind had been filled with football and the rich and powerful families. He had inadvertently neglected Shania, who was with him. Even so, Shania had never lost her temper in front of him. At most, she sighed a little more frequently and pouted so much that one could hang an oil bottle on it.
Tang En decided to make it up to her. He put away the digital camera and stood up to tell Shania, "Judy, I'm going to leave for a bit. I'll leave for a bit. Wait for me here. "
Hearing Tang En speak to her, the disappointed expression on Shania's face immediately disappeared. She nodded vigorously and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you here!"
Coming out of the waiting area, Tang En wandered around the building. He wanted to buy something for Shania as a souvenir, but he had forgotten about it when he was at the tourist attraction. Now that he wanted to make up for this regret, he could not find anything suitable to give her.
After the "headless fly" Tang En bumped around everywhere, he stopped in front of a duty-free shop that sold gifts. His gaze was attracted by the adorable and charmingly naive toy figurines in the shop window. He remembered that girls would probably like such cute toys.
So, he walked in and picked out the figurines that Shania might like. There were so many of them. Which one should he give? Finally, his gaze stopped on the largest figurine — a Chinchilla. He remembered that when he first met Shania, the child had a mini Chinchilla hanging on her backpack. This is it!
Returning to the waiting area, Shania was still bored to death with her head lowered to trim her nails, even though there was nothing left to trim there. Seeing her tilting her head absent-mindedly, Tang En decided to tease her.
He quietly walked around to the back of Shania's seat and slowly placed the Chinchilla figurine in front of the girl. Lowering his voice, he imitated the Chinchilla's cry. "Awooo ~ ~ Awooo ~ ~ ~"
"Wow!" Shania, who was lost in thought, was so shocked that she almost jumped out of her seat.
Seeing Shania's shoulders shake violently, Tang En could not help but laugh out loud at the back.
Realizing that she had been teased, Shania frowned and pursed her lips. She did not say a word and just stared at Tang En. However, Tang En did not see any anger in those oriental eyes. He handed the figurine in his hand to Shania, who was pretending to be angry.
"Here, this is for you. I originally wanted to bring you out to play, but in the end, it became you accompanying me. I completely forgot about your feelings … "Tang En was a little embarrassed as he spoke. His other hand was pinching his nose and hair, not knowing where to put it.
Looking at Tang En's embarrassed state, Shania snorted but still reached out to take the figurine. Then, she buried her face in the furry Chinchilla's embrace and rubbed it back and forth.
“Totoro！” She cried happily, her voice muffled in the fluff of the figurine. This was the Japanese transliteration of the Chinchilla's name.
Seeing that her mood had improved, Tang En was also relieved.
His vacation was over. When he returned to Nottingham, he would immediately face preparations for the new season. Even though the team was still on vacation, as a manager, he had to prepare for a rainy day. What would happen to Shania when he got busy with work and had no time for day and night? He finally had to face the problem that he had been avoiding for a week.
After spending more than a week together, Tang En discovered many parts of Shania that were cute and likable. He felt that perhaps with such a lively, cute and sensible little girl, life would not be so boring. Before he met Shania, his life was actually very monotonous and boring. Other than work, he spent most of his time in the bar, occasionally looking forward to Yang Yan coming to give him lessons.
If Shania also liked to be with him, why not adopt her? Anyway, she was adopted by that pair of heartless people … In fact, the most important reason was buried deep in Tang En's heart. Perhaps even he himself did not know it. That was, this smart and intelligent thirteen-year-old girl would remind him from time to time of another child who was about the same age as her, but who could never show a smile.
"Judy, do you still want to go home? Uh, I mean, your home in Brazil?"
Shania, who was happily playing with the Chinchilla figurine, shook her head.
"Then … you …" Tang En did not know how to ask this question.
"Uncle Tony and I will live with you." Don't worry, I won't give Uncle Tony any trouble! "
This was what Tang En hoped to hear. He grinned, but he frowned in his heart. The child thought it was a very simple matter. Even though Tang En had never adopted a child before, he knew that it was a very complicated matter. It looked like this summer was destined to be even busier than usual. When he got back, he had to find that lawyer, Jack Landy, and ask him about the legal procedures for intercountry adoption.
Looking at Shania, who was carrying the Chinchilla that was half her size, Tang En smiled bitterly and shook his head. He did not expect to have a child before he even knew where his wife was.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
