"Sorry! I am so sorry, sir!"
A soft voice sounded, and a fair, jade-like arm reached out to lift the bicycle.
The elf-like young girl quickly squatted beside Lance, and leaned over with an apologetic expression to check on him.
According to Lance's aesthetic, he wasn't particularly interested in Western women with highly defined bone structures, full, thick lips, and curvaceous figures.
He preferred girls with an Eastern aesthetic, like Liu Yifei, Sophie Marceau, or Jennifer Connelly.
From primary school to his current high school, different girls in his class would always proactively approach him, but Lance generally politely declined them.
After living in Germany and Belgium for so many years, it was rare for a girl to instantly capture his heart.
The girl in front of him looked as if she had stepped out of a two-dimensional manga, possessing both an ethereal, unworldly coolness and an adorable, soft charm.
Moreover, the girl's voice was much gentler than that of ordinary German speakers.
He never imagined that the rigid pronunciation of German could produce such a lazy, soft effect.
Being knocked down by a car while cycling—this first encounter was a bit cliché, but Lance felt he had gained something by being able to strike up a conversation with this girl.
"Sir, are you alright? Sir…"
The girl's voice was on the verge of tears, her eyes red, as Lance lay on the ground seemingly seriously injured.
In reality, Lance was perfectly fine; the car was moving very slowly, and he had only scraped his knee when he fell.
Bayer Leverkusen was already a quiet small city, and this road was deserted, so the accident did not impede traffic.
"I, I'm fine. It wasn't your fault just now, it was… cough cough, I wasn't paying attention when crossing the road…"
Lance deliberately coughed twice.
"You should leave quickly; let's just forget about this."
"How can I do that? Hold on, I'll call an ambulance for you…"
"Hey, don't."
Lance was quick-witted and grabbed the girl's soft, delicate hand.
"Sir?"
"No need to call an ambulance, I can go back by myself, I'm fine."
"But…"
Lance struggled to stand up, his feet wavering, almost causing him to fall again.
The girl was very thoughtful and immediately wrapped her arm around Lance's waist, and Lance, taking advantage of the situation, gently placed his hands on her slender shoulders.
So fragrant!
Lance didn't do it on purpose; his knee was hurting, and he genuinely couldn't steady himself.
Preventing her from calling an ambulance was, on one hand, to avoid exposing his ruse, and on the other hand, calling an ambulance in Germany was quite expensive.
A single ambulance trip with medical personnel cost 400 Euros.
For minor accidents or illnesses like this, public health insurance required full self-payment; those with commercial insurance also needed to pay upfront and then claim reimbursement based on valid receipts.
Bayer Leverkusen Football Club had purchased commercial insurance for all its members, so these few hundred Euros could be fully reimbursed.
But there was no need to make it so troublesome.
"Are you really alright, sir? Or perhaps I can drive you home."
"My place is just up ahead. Thank you, don't worry, it's just a minor issue."
Although Lance wanted to take a spin in the girl's Porsche 911, he needed to return to school for extra lessons immediately.
He had already taken many days off this month, and he absolutely had to attend today's class.
"Alright, I'm truly sorry."
The girl bowed apologetically, her face full of remorse, "I just got my provisional driver's license, and if a traffic policeman found out, it would affect my subsequent driving test… so I'm really grateful today that you're not pursuing this."
"How about this, I'll give you my number, and if there are any related medical expenses later, I'll cover them in full."
So she was the same age as him, no wonder she was so flustered.
In Germany, there was a two-year probationary period for driver's licenses, during which supervision was relatively strict, and serious situations could require retaking the test.
"That works."
He got the girl's phone number.
"Oh, wait! You are…"
The girl had been too nervous earlier and hadn't dared to look into Lance's eyes.
Now, as she slightly relaxed, she realized Lance looked more and more familiar; her sapphire-like eyes instantly lit up, and she almost screamed out loud!
"You!!! You are Lance! It's really you!!"
"You know me?"
"Of course! I'm your fan!"
The girl excitedly unbuttoned her denim jacket, revealing a white away jersey underneath.
Although she hadn't fully developed, her front already showed alluring curves.
To show Lance the number on the back, she even took off her jacket, revealing her slender waist.
"Hmm, not bad."
Lance secretly praised her, then noticed the number on the jersey.
"Mine?"
"Yes! I bought it during your first DFB-Pokal match! You were so cool playing against FC Schalke 04 yesterday!!"
Originally, the girl had an ethereal, calm, and cool demeanor, but when she talked about football, it seemed to ignite a fiery passion within her.
"It's my honor."
Lance also hadn't expected that the first fan he met in person would be the person who caused his accident.
What kind of strange turn was this?
The girl seemed a little embarrassed, her face flushed as she cautiously said:
"Can… can I get an autograph?"
"Of course… where should I sign?"
Lance deftly pulled out a fine marker pen from his bag.
Since becoming a professional player, Lance almost always carried a pen with him, and it finally came in handy.
"Here."
The girl gestured for a while, then pointed to the hem of her jersey.
As Lance leaned in to sign, they inevitably got quite close, making both of them a little nervous.
After signing in flowing Chinese script, Lance looked up at her:
"What's your name?"
"Chloe."
"That's a beautiful name."
"Danke…"
Being in such close contact with her favorite football star, and even having an accident with him, the young girl Chloe's head was already spinning.
"To Chloe, all the best."
"Thank you so much for today!"
"It's nothing. Next time you drive, remember to have an adult accompany you. And, pay attention to the road."
"Got it, I will."
Chloe adorably stuck out her tongue, waved goodbye as she watched Lance push his bike away, stood dazed for a moment, and then got into her car.
The sound of her heart pounding was clearly audible.
Lance's apartment was just two steps away, so there was no need to ride his bike for now.
He pushed the bike, and couldn't help but take out his phone, first saving the girl's number to his contacts, then copying the number to search for friends on Facebook.
Chloe was very confident in her looks and used a selfie as her profile picture.
He clicked on her homepage album…
"Oh, she's a model too?"
The album dazzled Lance; she seemed to have signed with an agency and had taken many print magazine advertisements.
He was so engrossed that Lance almost bumped into a signpost.
He quickly put away his phone and focused on walking.
Whether walking, cycling, or driving, using a phone was very dangerous.
The events of that day were just a small interlude in his monotonous training life.
Lance's daily routine remained a three-point line.
It was early September 2013, and the weather in Germany was gradually turning autumnal.
Bayer Leverkusen was at home, about to face the challenge from VfL Wolfsburg.
Due to his excellent performance as a substitute in the previous round, Lance had earned a spot on the squad list!
Of course, starting was still very difficult.
Lance, sitting on the bench, was not anxious; being consistently on the squad list was already the first step to success!