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"Campione! Campione!"
"Ale, Ale, Ale—"
"Look who's back!"
"Our King!"
"All hail, my King!"
In the European world, it's incredibly difficult to make a group of proud Caucasians bow down and pay homage to an Asian person.
Yet, in the Atlético Madrid changing room, such an impossible scene was indeed unfolding.
After Lance finished his TV interview, he was greeted by the bowing and worship of all his teammates.
If 6 goals in 2 games wasn't shocking enough, then 8 goals in 3 games certainly was.
By then, even those in the team who previously disliked Lance were genuinely impressed by him.
"What are you guys doing?"
Lance was bewildered by these guys.
"The season just started, and you're already popping champagne at half-time, celebrating winning the league?"
From the corridor, he could hear that the song they were singing was clearly a classic European club championship anthem.
They were getting carried away after just three league games.
"Don't be so serious, relax, brother!"
"Campione! Campione! Ale, Ale, Ale—"
Griezmann pulled Lance in, slung an arm around his shoulder, and continued to belt out the victory song.
"Oh well, who cares."
Since things had come to this, Lance no longer worried about popping champagne at half-time.
Just get hyped!
This was the difference between La Liga clubs and the Bundesliga.
Everyone was completely relaxed.
Compared to the German streets, where doors were tightly shut after dark and there was no nightlife, Spain's nightlife was almost comparable to China's.
They were naturally inclined to delay, so it was normal for small restaurants and pubs by the river to still be open after 10 PM.
After defeating Athletic Bilbao, a group of young men from Madrid found a paella restaurant in the area, and happily sat by the river, drinking beer and chatting.
"Lance, don't go easy on your old club in the Champions League game in a few days."
"That's right, we're all counting on you."
"Bayer Leverkusen's main lineup has been dismantled, and you're still worried?"
"Of course, it's all because of you."
Torres was flushed from drinking.
Recalling being eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16 last season was still a mental block for the Atlético Madrid players.
To participate as defending champions and lose to a Bundesliga newcomer was simply unacceptable.
However, Bayer Leverkusen had shown strong dark horse potential in European competitions for two consecutive years, going all the way.
Leaving a very deep impression across all of Europe.
Although the team had disbanded, Bayer Leverkusen's lingering prestige still loomed over the European continent.
Thinking of Bayer Leverkusen, Lance couldn't help but think of that exquisite, Barbie-doll-like girl again.
"I wonder how she's doing?"
Before leaving Bayer Leverkusen, Chloe was preparing for the important Abitur graduation exam.
During that time, Lance was busy with photo shoots for print ads, and busy signing with Atlético Madrid.
The two hadn't even had time to meet and were already separated by distance.
Just as he was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.
[What are you doing?]
Although Lance had no romantic experience, his theoretical knowledge was quite rich.
When a girl proactively sends this message, there's only one meaning.
"I miss you."
Having just drunk half a can of beer, Lance didn't care too much and threw a direct ball to see how she would respond.
[I miss u too]
I miss you too.
Then, he saw [typing...] constantly appearing on the other end.
She was typing.
Lance could even imagine Chloe's little expression, surely agonising over how to reply for a long time.
After waiting for a long time, Lance couldn't help but get up and go to the riverside, looking at the night sky with the bright moon reflected on the river.
He directly dialled a WhatsApp video call.
Leverkusen, Schlebusch district.
In the living room of a villa, the girl Chloe suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"
"Chloe, what's wrong?" Oliver Haus was on the phone with school management discussing something, and looked over when he heard his daughter's commotion.
"No… nothing."
Chloe's heart was pounding, and she hurriedly ran upstairs to her room, locked the door, took several deep breaths, and then answered the video call.
Lance had waited for a long time on his end, and just a second before hanging up, he suddenly saw Chloe's delicate, doll-like face.
"Are you asleep? Did I wake you up?"
"No, no. Are you outside?"
"Yes, after the game, I came out with my teammates."
"I watched the game just now, you played great!"
"You watch La Liga too?"
Chloe used to only watch Bayer Leverkusen's games, and wasn't very clear about which teams were in La Liga and the Premier League, so he didn't expect her to actively watch La Liga.
"Because, because you're in it…"
Chloe said this as if she wanted to bury her face in a pillow.
Her shy expression made Lance's heart flutter, he really wanted to flash to the girl's front.
"Oh, right, are you coming back in a few days? I've already bought tickets, do you know how hard Champions League tickets are to get now? I pulled some strings with my father to get one ticket."
"Then after the game, shall we meet?"
"Okay, okay."
Even without much experience, Lance could feel the emotions between them.
It's just that Chloe had said she would study in Germany, and Oliver Haus had already found connections and written recommendation letters for her.
Barring any surprises, she would most likely go to Munich University.
He would also be staying in Madrid for the next two years.
Long-distance relationships are difficult to maintain.
Lance had seen too many long-distance relationship cases in Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético Madrid, and the results were never very good.
Sometimes, watching TV, the male and female leads would struggle to confess their feelings, making the audience anxious.
How could such a simple sentence be so hard to say?
But when it came to his own experience, it was indeed not that easy.
After a brief silence, Lance switched to the rear camera; the night scene and the moon's reflection on the water formed a rather beautiful oil painting.
"Wow, this is so beautiful."
"Isn't it? I'll bring you here sometime. Chloe…"
"Hmm?"
"The moonlight is beautiful… My teammates are calling me, I have to go. Get some rest early, goodnight."
Anyway, this was a unique Eastern romance, a German girl probably wouldn't get it, Lance hurriedly hung up the video call and returned to his teammates, not noticing Chloe's slightly surprised expression.
Thump thump! Thump thump!
On the bedroom balcony, Chloe leant on the railing, lost in thought.
Her mind was replaying Lance's words.
"Der Mondschein heute Abend ist toll."
The German meaning was very straightforward, simply stating that the moon was beautiful.
But Chloe, having long been immersed in anime culture, how could she not know the implied meaning of that phrase?
"Could it be… he…"
Thinking of this, the girl's heart beat even faster, her mind in a muddle, she returned to bed and tossed and turned.
"What should I do? I'm going to see him in a few days."
Lance, tired from a day of playing, was fast asleep in his hotel room, completely unaware, that a German girl was sleepless all night because of a casual remark he made…
"Atlético Madrid Announces Champions League Squad! Lance, Griezmann, Torres Lead the Way!"
"Will Lance Start Against His Old Club? Bayer Leverkusen Coach: Welcome Home, Lance, We Will Give Our All"
"Bayer Leverkusen Fans Miss Lance: It's a Shame to See Lance On the Opposing Team, He Will Always Be a Hero of Bayer"
The days of preparation and training passed quickly.
The last La Liga match felt like it was just yesterday, and Lance had already flown with the entire Atlético Madrid team to Cologne, about to step onto the pitch he knew best.