“If the news that AC Milan’s Second Princess believes Palermo’s players don’t deserve a feast hits the major newspapers, I’m afraid it will be very detrimental to AC Milan’s morale.”
“Barbara, you wouldn’t want to see your father’s team fail to win a championship, would you?”
Barbara argued: “I didn’t say that!
You’re framing me, I’m just dissatisfied with you!”
He Tianqi spread his hands: “But things are developing in that direction.”
“Let’s go.
Whatever you have to say, you can tell me privately.
You’ve been cursing at me for a while, and I really want to know why.”
“Because in my memory, we haven’t had much interaction.”
Barbara looked like she was ready to settle the score properly.
She stepped on the gas and drove He Tianqi away at lightning speed.
Inside the bus, the players stared at each other in shock.
Modric: “The boss isn’t going to get in trouble, is he?”
Vidic: “I heard Italy has the Mafia.”
Di Donato: “Relax, that’s Barbara, AC Milan’s Second Princess; her father is the Prime Minister of Italy.”
Ribery: “Then we’re doomed; doesn’t the Mafia just work for the Prime Minister?”
Chiellini quickly covered Ribery’s mouth.
You can’t just spout nonsense like that.
…
Driving at seventy miles per hour.
Feeling completely free.
He Tianqi kept making calls, communicating with the team and the restaurant.
Barbara gradually lost her desire to yell at him.
After handling these matters, He Tianqi asked, “Alright, go ahead.
Where does our grudge originate?”
Barbara took a deep breath: “Nine years ago, my ninth birthday celebration.”
He Tianqi nodded: “I remember, we beat you 13-1 in that match.
Just because of that?
Didn’t I apologize in front of tens of thousands of spectators after the match?”
“Aside from the match result, everything that day should have been perfect for you.
It was a grand occasion that some people never experience in their lifetime.”
“As for the match, you couldn’t expect us to throw the game, could you?”
“You know how strong we were; we ended up winning the U15 league championship that season.”
Barbara ignited instantly: “Yes, you were very formidable back then, leading the originally weak Juventus U15 to slaughter everyone in your path, eventually pulling a comeback to snatch the championship from our AC Milan U15.”
“That’s nothing; that’s your skill.”
“What I’m angry about is, after you won the match, why did you have to embarrass me?”
“To ease the awkwardness, my dad asked if you could give me the match ball you were holding.
How did you reply?”
Saying this, Barbara mimicked the way He Tianqi spoke: “I’m sorry to be the spoiler of this celebration, but there’s no helping it; this is a competition, and it will always go against the wishes of some.”
“The match is the match, and the festival is the festival.”
“On behalf of myself and my team, I wish Barbara a happy birthday.”
“But regarding this football, I’m sorry, I cannot give it to Barbara; it holds a special significance.
Because today is also a special day for me.”
Barbara rolled her eyes: “And then you took off your jersey and polluted my eyes.
Did you really think everyone likes your sweaty clothes?
What kind of star are you?
What kind of champion?”
He Tianqi sighed in exasperation: “You should have said so earlier!
That jersey is very important to me.
Since you didn’t like it, I might as well have kept it for myself!”
“Speaking of which, wasn’t my action decent enough?
It even made it onto a European list of ‘high emotional intelligence’ moments.”
Barbara: “Decent?
What you did was called hypocrisy!”
“I know why you didn’t give me the football—because it was your trophy, right?”
“Because you defeated AC Milan?
Because you embarrassed the little princess of Italy?
Because you ruined someone else’s good day?”
“You build your happiness on the pain of others.”
“Just like those aristocrats who love hunting; they collect antlers just to prove how brave and battle-tested they are!”
“Do you know, that was the first time my dad threw a birthday party for me!”
“You ruined everything!”
Barbara broke down in tears.
This was the nightmare of a sensitive nine-year-old fairy princess.
“Uh…” He Tianqi was speechless.
This was purely Barbara over-interpreting things.
“Um, is there any possibility…” He Tianqi asked, “…that the day was actually very important to me too?
For example, that it was my birthday too?”
Barbara stopped crying.
What?
He Tianqi: “Didn’t you think it was a bit strange that we scored thirteen goals?
Because we could have scored more at the time.”
“And the truth is, that day was my thirteenth birthday.”
Barbara was confused: “You…
you’re lying!
Your birthday is August 25th, and that day was my birthday, July 30th!”
He Tianqi smiled: “I wonder if you’ve heard of the lunar calendar?
Or the Chinese calendar…
We Chinese usually celebrate that birthday.”
“When converted to the Gregorian calendar, there are a few days or even a couple of weeks of fluctuation every year.”
Barbara: “What about the football?”
He Tianqi: “To celebrate my thirteenth birthday, my family established a football charity foundation for me in China.”
“That football was the inaugural gift to the foundation, and also a gift to the children who love football that we would help in the future…
Originally, the jersey was supposed to be sent over too, but I gave it to you…”
Barbara’s world collapsed.
Oh my God!
He Tianqi didn’t treat that match as a trophy.
Nor did he intentionally want to embarrass her.
He was just doing something meaningful for him and his family, just as Barbara’s father had gone to great lengths for her birthday.
Why should a person like this be harshly criticized?
No, it wasn’t exactly the same!
For Barbara’s birthday, her dad made a huge fuss and invited tens of thousands of people to celebrate.
It sounded like sharing joy with the people, but it couldn’t escape the essence of showing off.
But when He Tianqi had his birthday, he directly established a foundation for charity.
This was a completely different level of thinking!
The gap was too big!
The key point was that she had held a grudge against him for so long!
This…
“Oh!
No!” Barbara was extremely remorseful.
“So what have I been doing all these years?
I’ve been living in hatred, turning into a vengeful monster…
no…”
???
He Tianqi caught onto something: “So over the years…
wait!
Don’t tell me those news articles attacking me over the past few years were written by you?”
Barbara panicked, her face filled with embarrassment.
Silence spoke volumes.
“S-sorry.” Barbara admitted her mistake.
“It’s fine, it’s all in the past anyway.
Those articles of yours didn’t really cause me any harm; after all, the clicks were too low…
So, let’s just turn the page on our history, okay?” He Tianqi looked at Barbara.
The outside world might think his retirement had something to do with those negative reports.
But only he knew his retirement stemmed from making peace with himself.
If Juve didn’t want him, there were plenty of other Serie A teams that did.
If he couldn’t play in Serie A, could he not play in Serie B?
At worst, he could go back home to play in the “Fake Super League,” right?
But was it meaningful?
It was meaningless.
From a grade-skipper to a held-back student, He Tianqi felt the powerful restriction talent placed on a person’s destiny.
His way of refusing to accept his fate wasn’t to continue bashing his head against the wall here, doing useless work.
Instead, it was to change his identity, using the power of a team and collective wisdom to break predetermined destinies, achieving self-transcendence while helping more people transcend as well.
This was the true reason and ultimate goal behind his choice to become a football coach!
This was harder and greater than becoming an epoch-making player!
A confident man shines the brightest!
For some reason, at this moment, looking at He Tianqi, Barbara’s heart rate suddenly spiked.
She seemed to see an immortal dynasty in He Tianqi’s eyes.
Without the filter of hatred, she suddenly realized, why is this man so handsome?
The dashing figure imprinted in her heart when she was nine gradually merged with the man right in front of her.