The next day, in Hale Village.
Morning sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of trees as Ling jogged along the wide fitness trail, maintaining a steady, relaxed pace of about five minutes per kilometer.
Manchester United's next match wasn't until February 28th, three days later, so Jose Mourinho had given the team a rare day off.
Ling had originally planned to sleep in, but his biological clock was too strict—he woke up promptly at 6:30 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep.
He decided to get up and do some light recovery training instead.
Hale, Bowdon, and Barnes were the most popular areas for Premier League players to reside.
Over thirty of them lived in Hale alone.
"Luke, morning!" Ling greeted with a smile as he passed a familiar figure.
"Going to see Guardiola again?" Luke Shaw said with a cheeky wink as he jogged alongside his captain.
"Oh, wait, I mean Ms. Guardiola."
"Get lost! Maguire told me you've gained another 0.8kg recently. Hurry up and go for a run, or you're dead!" Ling retorted irritably, though with a grin.
Lately, due to Manchester United's grueling and packed schedule, Mourinho had become increasingly strict with the players' diets and fitness, conducting daily tests on various metrics to ensure they were in peak physical condition.
The smile instantly vanished from Luke Shaw's face.
"Let me say it again—I'm not fat, I just have a big bone!"
"Alright, I hope the boss thinks so too. I'm off." Ling shrugged, waved, and accelerated away.
Along his route, he ran into several other familiar faces—Virgil van Dijk, Eden Hazard, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and others.
It was actually quite strange, although they were fierce bitter rivals on the pitch, they were all quite polite and friendly when meeting privately in the neighborhood, without any sense of tension or hostility.
Soon, Ling arrived at Guardiola's sprawling doorstep.
Maria was already waiting outside, dressed in her workout clothes and wearing a lively, spirited smile.
"Well, if it isn't the busy man? Finally have time for me?" she teased.
"You know how it is—we've had so many matches lately, I've practically been living at the training ground," Ling spread his hands helplessly.
"Fine, I know you're busy." Maria quickly walked over to Ling, gently brushed a fallen hawthorn petal off his broad shoulder, and said with a smile.
"Buy me an earl tea, and I'll forgive you."
"Not just one early tea—a hundred would be fine, as long as you can catch me."
With that, Ling shot off down the path like an arrow.
Maria stood there stunned for a split second before chasing after him angrily shouting.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Suddenly, a glint of light reflected from a second-floor window as Pep Guardiola watched the two young lovers run off, sighing quietly to himself.
Ever since the two families had dinner together on New Year's Day, Ling and Maria had officially become a couple in the public eye.
Deep down, Guardiola knew that Ling was arguably the best choice for his daughter—low-key, humble, incredibly dedicated, no scandals, and he treated Maria incredibly well.
But for some reason, he always felt an uneasy paternal knot in his stomach, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
Knock, knock, knock!
Valentina walked into the study carrying a cup of coffee. "Dad, don't stay up all night studying tactics again."
Guardiola's eyes filled with affection as he turned away from the window.
Although his eldest daughter Maria was a complete romantic at heart, at least he still had his adorable and considerate younger daughter.
However, Valentina's next words nearly made him spit his coffee across the room.
"Um... for next month's English League Cup final, can I sit in the Manchester United family section with my sister?" Valentina said apologetically, looking at her shoes.
She asked mainly because she felt Manchester City fans has no passion.
Manchester United fans, on the other hand, were far more passionate and explosive.
Whenever Ling controlled the ball, took a shot, or scored a goal, the roaring cheers were an entirely different, intoxicating experience.
Just thinking about it got her blood pumping!
"Alright then," Guardiola waved his hand weakly, suddenly feeling a massive headache coming on.
The rich, aromatic coffee that had been so enjoyable a moment ago now tasted incredibly bitter and bland.
Valentina clenched her small fist in victory and flashed a sweet smile.
"Thank you, Dad!"
After she skipped happily out of the room, Marius eagerly ran up to her in the hallway. "Well? Did Dad agree to let us sit with Jeremy?"
"I think I forgot to mention you," Valentina said, scratching her head awkwardly.
"Huh?!" Marius was completely dumbfounded.
...
A few minutes later, as Ling and Maria jogged back past Kyle Walker's massive villa, two highly glamorous, unfamiliar women happened to walk out the front gates and even threw a few flirtatious, lingering glances Ling's way.
Ling instinctively glanced over before quickly looking away.
He thought to himself, 'Kyle Walker truly lived up to his tabloid reputation as the Premier League's number one playboy.'
'He had broken up and gotten back together with his long-term girlfriend Annie numerous times, had cheated on her multiple times with her best friend, and rumor had it the two of them had even had a secret child together.'
At first, Walker had stubbornly denied everything to the press
But after a DNA test report was shoved in his face, he had no choice but to settle the matter quietly with a massive amount of money.
Even so, miraculously, Walker's girlfriend still chose to forgive him.
But clearly, looking at the two women leaving his house at 8:00 a.m., Kyle Walker wasn't satisfied yet.
"Tsk tsk, the British really know how to play," Ling sighed twice, shaking his head.
"Disgusting!" Maria wrapped her arm tightly around Ling's bicep, staking her claim, and shot the two women a look full of absolute disgust.
"You won't be like that in the future, will you?" she asked suspiciously, looking up at him.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Ling, but mainly because in the Premier League, players' private lives were famously chaotic, with infidelity scandals frequently making front-page headlines.
And some even liked to involve their teammates in their wild parties, like Walker.
"What are you thinking? Am I that kind of person to you?" Ling gave Maria a light, affectionate flick on the forehead.
"I choose my company wisely."
"Players like Maguire and De Gea in our team have never been involved in scandals!" Ling continued proudly.
"And as their leader and captain, I'm the most loyal one of all!" Ling raised an eyebrow confidently.
If this were back in the Class of '92 era under Sir Alex Ferguson, he definitely couldn't have said that with a straight face, what with Ryan Giggs famously fooling around with his own brother's wife and Wayne Rooney getting involved with a granny.
But this current United squad was different.
"That's good then," Maria nodded in satisfaction, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.
...
Over the next two days, Manchester United resumed their regular training, and all the players underwent full physical examinations to ensure everyone was in peak condition before the grueling Champions League knockout stages arrived.
Therefore, for the Premier League's 24th round on January 30th, Manchester United traveled away to face Crystal Palace.
Since the team had just finished their massive, exhausting match against Chelsea a few days prior, and the main players' bodies hadn't fully recovered, Mourinho boldly deployed a rotated lineup.
It was the old 4-2-3-1 formation from last season, with Romelu Lukaku as the lone striker.
Lukaku had already reduced his weight back to his original level through intense training and performed exceptionally well in the early stages of today's match.