Early in the morning, Chen Ran woke up from his sleep, looked at Cheryl who was still sound asleep curled up in his arms, and smiled slightly.
He was well-rested; it was time to get down to business.
Suddenly, a rapid phone ringtone sounded, waking Cheryl up as well.
“It’s still early, you sleep a bit longer.” Chen Ran picked up the phone while giving Cheryl a good morning kiss.
“Stephen, calling so early in the morning, couldn’t you let me sleep a bit longer?”
“Chen, something’s happened.
Our club mortgage loan has been exposed.
Look at the front page of The Sun.”
“The Sun?
Got it.”
In the UK, it could be said that nobody didn’t know The Sun.
Owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, it was one of the highest-selling newspapers in the country.
This paper focused on gossip and scandal, famous for having no bottom line—they even dared to mess with the British royal family.
Hearing the name of The Sun, Chen Ran felt something was wrong; he was subscribed to it too.
Everyone loves reading gossip, but few want to be the gossip.
Sure enough, Chen Ran’s photo appeared on the front page of The Sun for the first time.
“Savior or Scammer?”
The massive headline appeared boldly on the front page, paired with Chen Ran’s photo, eye-catching and glaring.
The full text detailed the entire process of Crystal Palace’s mortgage loan, even detailing the exact time the bank sent people to the club for the financial review.
Fck, there’s definitely a mole!*
“Stephen, call Luis immediately, then both of you come over to my place.
We’re having a meeting.” “Understood.”
The fact that the loan was exposed so early was indeed beyond Chen Ran’s expectations.
However, he didn’t actually take it too much to heart; the whole thing was legal and compliant.
At most, he personally would face more questioning, which he was already mentally prepared for.
Roman Abramovich, who bought Chelsea, never lacked questioning either.
He just used continuous investment over a decade to shut everyone up.
As long as Crystal Palace started winning, the steady stream of bonuses would be enough for Chen Ran to do the same.
“Honey, what happened?” Cheryl, having been woken up, didn’t go back to sleep but walked out of the bedroom, looking languid and sexy.
“Nothing much, just a small matter.
Honey, what do you want for breakfast?
I have two friends coming over for a meeting shortly, so I’m afraid I won’t have time to keep you company today.”
Chen Ran pointed to The Sun on the table.
He hadn’t planned to hide it from Cheryl, and he couldn’t anyway.
“Whatever, Honey.
I can eat anything.” Cheryl replied casually, picking up The Sun to read.
“OMG, 30 million euros?” As Chen Ran expected, he soon heard Cheryl’s scream, even louder than last night’s.
“Honey, is what the paper says true?
Do you really have 30 million euros?” Cheryl looked at Chen Ran with glowing eyes, her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement.
Uh…
are you focusing on the wrong part?
Chen Ran muttered in his heart; it seemed she only saw the 30 million and not the “loan” part.
“That’s right, but that 30 million euros is a loan.
I mortgaged my equity in Crystal Palace.” “Crystal Palace?
You’re the owner of Crystal Palace Club?” “Yes.” “Honey, I love you!”
Cheryl threw herself directly into Chen Ran’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and offering a passionate kiss.
Right now, all she saw was Chen Ran: tall, handsome, and rich.
She absolutely couldn’t let him go.
As a girl who grew up in a single-parent family with five siblings and dropped out of school at sixteen to work, she had always longed for a safe harbor, a man who could shelter her from the wind and rain.
She finally debuted successfully through a reality show, forming the popular group “Girls Aloud” with four other girls.
It looked glamorous, but in reality, most of the money they earned was taken by the agency, and the rest had to be split among the five of them.
By the time it reached Cheryl’s hands, very little was left.
Children from poor families mature early; Cheryl had to be realistic.
“Alright, Honey, I love you too.” Chen Ran finally managed to soothe Cheryl.
The timing was wrong; those two guys would be here soon.
“Honey, don’t move.
I’ll go make breakfast for you.” Cheryl pushed Chen Ran down to sit on a chair and ran into the kitchen herself.
Watching Cheryl’s cheerful back, Chen Ran also felt his heart stir.
Judging from the divorce between Cheryl and Ashley Cole in his previous life, it started because Cole repeatedly cheated and was caught by the media.
With media like The Sun around, Chen Ran didn’t believe they only watched Ashley Cole and ignored Cheryl.
But until their divorce, no scandals about Cheryl were ever exposed, indicating she was indeed a good partner.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Stephen and Luis had arrived.
“Chen, how do you plan to handle this?” Stephen asked immediately upon entering.
“No need to be nervous, it’s no big deal.
We haven’t done anything illegal.” “Later, Stephen, issue a statement in the name of the club saying that this 30 million euros will all be used on Crystal Palace Club.
If it’s not enough, I can continue to inject funds personally.” “Okay.” “Also, since the details of this incident were disclosed so specifically, there must be someone inside the club working against us.
When you get back, investigate thoroughly.
Make a big scene; don’t be afraid to offend people.” “Understood.”
“Hey, Chen, do you have any food here?
I drank too much last night, got dragged over by Stephen early in the morning, and now I’m starving.” Seeing Chen Ran finish his business, Luis immediately started complaining, still looking hungover.
“Looks like you guys haven’t had breakfast either.
Let’s eat together then.” Chen Ran was a bit hungry too.
He turned toward the kitchen and shouted, “Honey, prepare two more portions for breakfast!”
“Got it!”
Hearing the sweet voice coming from the kitchen, Luis was dumbfounded.
“Chen, there’s someone in the kitchen?” Stephen also realized, “It can’t be that Cheryl, can it?” “Which Cheryl?” Luis asked first.
“The Cheryl, the lead singer of the hottest girl group ‘Girls Aloud’ right now.”
“OMG, what exactly did I miss?” Luis clutched his head and cried out, then asked unwillingly, “Chen, are you guys…”
“From now on, you will call her Sister-in-law.”
“…”
No answer, just two middle fingers.
The front page of The Sun made Chen Ran a sensation in English football once again.
Now, anyone in the UK who cared about football knew that the new owner of Crystal Palace was named Chen Ran, a Chinese man.
Subsequently, the official Crystal Palace Club released Chen Ran’s statement, pushing the heat of the matter to a climax.
Mortgaging all his equity for a loan and spending it all on the club—this was going all-in.
Not only arrogant, but crazy.
(END CHAPTER)